Petting Zoo!

Usually when we go to Disneyland, we usually skip the petting zoo (I know, some of you are thinking "There's a petting zoo?"), but last week we took the girls in for a visit to the goats. It was pretty cute. They made Lauren a little nervous but she still made attempts to pet them. I can't blame her for being nervous, the goats were crazy. They were all jumping up on each other and over the fences. It was a little chaotic but still pretty fun.

So it has begun....

I love Emily's preschool. Emily loves her preschool. When I signed her up I had only one reservation. I dreaded the day when we would see a varied array of diseases run their course through our home due to the fact that Emily spends a whopping 4 hours a week with 17 other 3-4 olds. So yesterday, 6 of the 18 kids in her class were absent, assumably home ailing from one disease or another. So, like clockwork, last night it happened. Emily got sick, tummy sick, the best variety. Now we will hold our breathes for the next few days, praying it doesn't pass on to the rest of us. If tradition persists, Lauren and Jason will get it. I will be spared, I think, for the sole purpose of taking care of everyone else. We hope all is well with you in your homes. If you're kids aren't big enough for nursery or school yet, just wait, you'll understand all too soon.
In light of all this, I do have to say I have the best husband. He is such a trooper when the kids are sick, in fact, he is the one that ends up sleeping with them and taking care of them in the middle of the night. Last night he and Emily watched "Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang" about 1 am. What a guy!

P.S. I just want to note that while I was posting this, the police department called. Apparently someone in our home dialed 911 and they just wanted to make sure we were ok. It's going to be a great day.

Sleepover!!!

Monday night, Jason found out last minute that he needed to go to Utah Tuesday morning for work. He never has to travel much but we still miss him tons when he's gone. So, to help pass the time, Jen and the twins were sweet enough to come stay with us Tuesday night. We had a blast. The kids played, we chatted and crafted. It was great. The only draw back was the weather. The last two days have been some of the hottest and most humid of the summer (P.S. it case you missed it, it is not summer any more!). We did venture to the park but the kids mostly sat in the shade drinking water, they're no dummies. All and all, we had a super fun time and are so glad we have such fun friends to play with. Thanks guys!

Beating the heat with popsicles..
Sign of a good time....a messy room!

What an Angel!!

So not really something that's said about her all the time (although she is a super sweet girl), she can be very mischevious. Although she looks innocent and very cute in this picture, she had climbed up on the computer chair, found the headphones and was pushing buttons at a feverish pace. Lucky for her the reflective material on the head phones gave a more angelic look than her behavior would attest to.

Preschool, Yeah!

Emily started preschool this week and (double yeah) she loves it. She love her teacher, Miss Claire and has had no problems going. Lauren, on the other hand, cries and screams Emily's name when she goes. So far, we have some beautiful paintings to show for her efforts. Today, I asked her what songs they sang and she told me "Wheels on the Bus" but she told me that her teacher didn't know "I am a Child of God." (for obvious reasons). I asked if she had suggested that song and she said "Yes, but noboby could sing it." Hopefully, that's a good start to her lifetime missionary efforts.
Here she is on her first day, empty backpack and all. Funniest thing, that all kids associate a backpack with school even if they don't need it.

My Messy Baby!

So, Lauren's in the whole "eat by myself" stage and to start out with she always does a good job. She starts by eating with a utensil, but never fails, it's too slow and she reverts to fingers. And this is the result. As you can see, she enjoys it very much and although it's fun for her, the clean-up is horrific. Needless to say, we've been buying a lot more wipes lately!

She's so proud!

Absent.....again!

So sorry, seems I've been sporadic in my posting. To tell the truth, we have just hunkered down the last few weeks and recovered from our busy summer. But things are picking up againg so I'm sure we'll have more to share soon.

I've been tagged....

So Jill tagged me and I am supposed to share 6 random things about me. I always have a hard time thinking of what to share but here goes......

1. I love to read. Lately I have been very into memiors. For some reason I find reading about other people's life experiences fascinating. I have read some really great ones in the past few months. Most of them left me very grateful for the life I have.

2. I am a little bit of a procrastinater. Always have been. I like to use the excuse that I think I'm better under pressure (but I think I just always start late.) Good news though, everything always gets done and I'm working on it so hopefully I am getting better.

3. I love almost any sporting event. Being raised with 5 brothers did that to me. I love to watch football, basketball, tennis, swimming, volleyball and yes, even golf. I don't really enjoy baseball on t.v. but I do love a game in person. All time favorite event: March Madness. Jason and I fill out our brackets every year and have a little competition. And the best part is, that I even enjoy playing most sports. I am always up for a little competitive activity! So fun!

4. I am a little crazy about laundry. I am a pre-soak, pre-stain treatment fanatic. I HATE stains, especially on my kids clothes. We have lots and lots of clothes that I don't like to be dried. Shrinking messes up everything. Being so weird about laundry means that I have to do it myself. Jason's off the hook on this one. I'm not really proud of this, it's just the way I am I guess. I do not mind the washing part of laundry, but I do not enjoy folding or putting away. ( I was reminded of this little tidbit because I am in the middle of laundry right now.)

5. I miss SEASONS! Being raised in Seattle (with plenty of weather), I miss having a little variety. I especially miss when the weather starts to get a little chilly in the fall and it's time to bust out the warm weather clothes. Just so you know, it's 88 degrees today in Torrance. Not exactly fall weather. I shouldn't complain because we are blessed with beautiful weather most all the time but I just long for a cloudy, Seattle-like day every once and a while! The grass is always greener right?

6. I feel so lucky to have the family I have. Cheesy, I know. Not just my wonderful husband and cute girls, but my parents, Jason's parents, our siblings, and extended family. We are so blessed. The more I am out and about in the world the more I realize how fortunate we are to have all the love and support we do. Not to mention, I have fabulous friends too, old and new.

Ok, so that's that. I will pass on the pleasure and tag Whitney, Luisa and Kim. You know who you are!!!

Back to Life!

After all of travels and being out of town, it is so nice to be home and settled for a while. Things have been so crazy, we are so anxious to get back to real life. Yesterday I took the girls to the park for the first time in a while and it was so nice to just enjoy the park and the girls without worrying about what else needs to be done. Home Sweet Home!!!

Food, Fun and Lots of girls!

This last week I had the chance to go to girls camp with my ward. After being in Young Women's for 3 years this is actually the first time I've been able to go. This year was also the first time in about 8 years that our stake has done the tent camping thing. It took alot of preparation with food and equipment, but overall it went really smoothly. Camp was on Catalina Island which is just off the coast of Long Beach/Orange County. Besides a lot of bees and one rattlesnack, we avoided the wild life and got to participate in some really fun stuff. We hiked, swam, snorkeled, jump off rocks and sea kayaked. We also went to a marine research facility which was really fascinating. Our girls were real troopers and I think came away with a great camping experience.