Boonsage & Kabuski

Dress Re-fashion

2012-02-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

I have pinned ton of t-shirt dresses on Pinterest, so I finally made one for Lizzy. I liked how it turned out. The shirt was a heavier knit so it was a little difficult to sew, but not too hard. It just made me want a serger even more. Alas. Anyway, here is the finished project, I made the arm holes a tad too big so I fixed that later.

From 2012-01-27 Shirt dress

Luckily Lizzy loves it. It reminds me a little of a Romulan outfit, but I like it!

Baptisms and Blessings

2012-02-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

From 2012-01-28 Taylor's Baptism

Saturday we were able to witness Taylor's baptism. I love going to baptisms. I was grateful that my children were able to see their cousin get baptised. Lizzy is so excited about being baptized that she mentions it almost everyday. She knows that she has 5 more years to go, but she is so excited! It makes me smile. Then on Sunday my nephew received a name and a blessing in sacrament meeting.

Isn't he the cutest? Daniel was able to stand in the circle while Rex performed the blessing. It was very special. Afterwards we had to rush home so Daniel could leave for Vancouver. I always hate it when he leaves for long periods, but that's where we are at right now. Hopefully he'll be back next weekend! This weekend was wonderful!

Winter Fun

2012-01-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

We finally had some snow and I took the kids out to enjoy it. Lizzy was disappointed that her snow balls fell apart, but they both had fun.

Looking Back

2012-01-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

Since this is a new year I wanted to take a look back at the past year. I have so many fond memories of 2011. I met wonderful people and had many grand adventures. We moved back home to Washington and I met many wonderful people here as well. Some thing that I will miss about living in Missouri are:
Seeing the Mississippi river, it is such a celebrated river and truly lives up to it's fame.
Going to the St. Louis Zoo with all my friends.
The Magic House and the City Museum.
Being closer to the Bartholomews.
My fabulous Ward family.
Climbing on the tank in the park.
Going to Nauvoo.
Adventuring around Eastern USA
Play dates and LINK
Frozen Custard!

So many fun things and wonderful people to share them with. Now we are looking forward to the new year and all of it's possibilities. Daniel accepted a job working at the Clark County Power plant in Vancouver, Wa. He will start work on the 30th. We went down to look at houses and made an offer on one we like. The home owner accepted our offer and we hope to move in by March! I am so excited! There is so much to do in Vancouver and Portland that I'm sure I will be busy for some time. Check out their web page Here.

Making Wands

2012-01-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

To get away from the winter doldrums I suggested that we make wands. I kept seeing this post in Pintrest about making wands out of glue and paper. See here. I was intrigued to say the least. Daniel was game and so we set out to make wands with the girls. Since we were limited with glue I suggested that we try filling them with melted crayons. They worked great and were much cheaper. Here's Daniel filling the wands:

From 2011-12-28 Wand Making

It was a fun all day process. Here are some finished wands:

From 2011-12-30 Wands

Christmas

2012-01-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

As Christmas was on Sunday we decided to celebrate a day early. So on Friday night we celebrated Christmas eve. Traditonally we read the Christmas story out of Luke in the Bible, but since the kids are so young we opted for the nativity movie the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put out a few years ago. I like the simplicity of it. Then we opened a present and listened to the Tabernacle Choir sing. It was a nice night. Saturday morning was fun, we had to convince Lizzy that Santa had really come and she was sad she missed him. She woke up the Grandparents and we all went downstairs to see the tree.

From 2011-12-24 Christmas

It was so classic. Charles was not ready to get up!

From 2011-12-24 Christmas

Lizzy and Charles had a great time opening gifts. It was great. Later on Jessica and the gang came over to help us celebrate:

From 2011-12-26 Christmas

Good times, good times.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-30T11:55:00.000-08:00

From 2011-12-08 Tree trimming

Here is Charles helping us get into the Christmas spirit! We trimmed the tree together. Then we took a candle light tour of the historic Fort Steilcoom. It was so fun, like we were guests of the Ghost of Christmas Past. The girls really enjoyed the dancing:

From 2011-12-11 Ft. Stilicum candle light tour

I really enjoyed hearing the musicians outside. They let us play the Jaw bone.

From 2011-12-11 Ft. Stilicum candle light tour

It was really quite magical. Next Charly helped us get into the Christmas Mood by Singing at the Seattle Center Winterfest. We had fun riding the ferry and listing to the schools perform. Charly did a wonderful job!

From 2011-12-14 Charly's concert

Every year the Seattle Center sets up a miniature train. Lizzy even got to be a guest conductor!

From 2011-12-14 Charly's concert

Lizzy go to be an Angel in the primary "Picture a Christmas" program. She was so excited!

From 2011-12-16 tward party

Unfortunately she was in the very back so we couldn't see her. Here we all are!

From 2011-12-16 tward party

Then we went to the Clear Creek Nursery to see some real reindeer and a camel! Not only that, but inside they make it snow! Lizzy loved it!

From 2011-12-18 Saturday Fun

And finally our last Christmas stop was Poulsbo! A quaint little Norwegian town. They had Father Christmas and horse drawn carriage rides.

From 2011-12-18 Saturday Fun

We finished by taking in the lights at the Harborside park.

The Birth of Sean Jackson

2011-12-30T10:55:00.000-08:00

It was a dark and stormy night.... OK, it was an overcast afternoon when Jessica got the call to come into the hospital. Her baby was already 9 days late and she was ready to hold him. She asked me to go as her coach and I was happy to oblige. Luckily Daniel was able to stay home with the kids. Here is the before shot:

From 2011-12-02 Sean Jackson's birth

Not bad huh? I never look that pregnant. I never really look pregnant, but enough about me... Anyway we were finally admitted to the Bremerton Naval Hospital around 2. I had dutifully packed my snacks and things since this hospital really doesn't have a cafeteria. They put us in a room and we waited for a while. Then a corp man came and hooked Jessica up to an IV and we waited. And waited. The Dr. came in and asked how she was doing and told her she had already had her trauma 10 lbs. baby today so Jessica could not have one as well. Then she said that she was going home for dinner and that she'd be back later. Here she is with Jessica:

From Sean's Birth

Well all was well, going slowly actually, it was nearing 4 pm when the petosin was finally administered and then another few hours before Jessica was feeling any real contractions. We sent Rex to go get dinner and snacks for us and put in Harry Potter Deathly Hallows part 2 and settled in to wait for some more contractions. They were slow coming. Daniel came by with Charles so I could nurse him and I went down to the Subway to get a sandwich for later on. Then around 7PM the contractions had picked up and Jessica was starting to really feel them so they started the epidural. The anesthesiologist was crazy. Making weired remarks about his wife and getting girls paralyzed. Very different. Well, long story short, Sean Jackson came at 1:06 AM. on Dec. 2nd. He Weighed in at 9 lbs 4.5 oz and 21 in. long. We were so glad to see him!

From Sean's Birth

Holiday Events

2011-12-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

I have been a little lax in my blogging lately so I have a lot to make up for. First let me tell you about Thanksgiving! Traditionally thanksgiving is a nice slow day with dinner around 1PM and lots of family. We don't usually watch football unless my Uncle Harris is visiting, but Dad felt like watching the game and Lizzy sat with him. They were so animated! Lizzy dutifully repeating Papa's words. I took a video because it was so funny:

From 2011-11-24 Thanksgiving

The dinner was wonderful and the company most welcome. Quite an enjoyable day. The festivities continued with our early celebration of Caitlin's birthday. She of course wanted pumpkin pie instead of cake.

From 2011-11-26 Caitlin's Birthday

This was our fourth pumpkin pie event in November. Once is never enough! Sal dressed up for the occasion:

From 2011-11-26 Caitlin's Birthday

Isn't that something? This was his work attire. Pretty spiffy Sal! And finally we went to the Bremerton Stake's Creches and carols display. It was so nice. The kids loved the activity room where you could dress up as characters of the Nativity.

It's My Party

2011-11-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

From 2011-11-23 Charles 1st birthday

Charles turned one on the 22nd. We had a great day getting ready for it. Charles helped clean and Lizzy helped me bake the cake.

From 2011-11-23 Charles 1st birthday

We had the Martins over for lumpia and red rice and then we let Charles open gifts and ATTACK CAKE. Here the girls are helping him figure it out:

From 2011-11-23 Charles 1st birthday

It was quite fun. He even chucked a piece of cake at Charly. He did better then I thought he would.

They Finally Got Married

2011-11-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

Sal and Caitlin were married on Nov. 5th. The ceremony was so beautiful and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The bride and groom looked so happy. Afterward we all went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Except from the pollen getting all over us, it was a pleasant day.
We had the reception the following Sat. in the new Central Valley building. I had planned the decorations and Daniel helped me put them up. We make a great team. It only took us 3 hours to set everything up. I think it turned out nice. The pictures don't do it justice.

From 2011-11-14 Sal's Reception

Charles had fun playing with the lines:

From 2011-11-14 Sal's Reception

Sal and Caitlin had fun dancing to "Moondance."

From 2011-11-14 Sal's Reception

It was fun to watch. The cake was beautiful and Daniel and I even got to dance a little bit! The church was so perfect, we didn't have all the things we needed, but the church had them. That was a blessing. Daniel and I started the tradition of cutting the cake with a sword. It is traditional in Spain. Sal used his Calvary sword he got on his mission.
We had the best photographer! Doranda Woestman! Check out some of her pics from her blog: http://watchoutforthewoestmans.blogspot.com/2011/11/more-wedding-pics.html and http://watchoutforthewoestmans.blogspot.com/2011/11/sal-and-caitlin.html

This is Halloween!

2011-11-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

From 2011-10-31 Halloween

This year Lizzy got sick right before Halloween. Right after the sacrament was passed she came down with a fever. Daniel took the kids home and I caught a ride with my brother and soon to be sister-in-law. So we had a stay at home Halloween. Lizzy helped me carve the pumpkin. She didn't like taking out the innards with her hands, but did fine with the spoon. She was so excited to pass out the candy to the trick-or-treaters! All in all, it was a fun day. I like how our pumpkins turned out.

We went to the Libray's Trick or treat and it was so fun! Lizzy was Ladybug Girl and Charles was a pirate.

From 2011-10-28 Library Trick or treat

They took us through all the inner workings of the library and in the bookmobile "Violet" It was neat to see how they sort and distribute the books.

Brownsville Halloween

2011-10-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

My sister invited us to celebrate Halloween at her kids school. The kids got to dress up and play carnival games and go trick or treating. It sounded fun so away we went. We arrived some time before my Sister and her entourage, but we had fun watching Lizzy play the games. She was a great shot! Most of the games you had to throw something. When Jessica showed up we all went down the trick of treat lane. Some of the teachers were hiding an used scary gloves to pass out the candy.

Steaming: It all started with a skirt

2011-10-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I have been interested in the Steam punk genre for a while now. While we were still in St. Louis it came to our attention that Seattle hosts the worlds biggest Steam punk Convention SteamconIII! And it was in October just after we moved back to Bremerton! Kismet! So when Amanda Myler gave me a bag of random sewing things along with a green skirt originally given to her from Sue Hodgeston I took one look and knew I had the makings of a great steam punk outfit.
Daniel's outfit was fairly easy, He wanted to wear Knickers so I found a great video on how to modify pants. Sew easy! Here's how they turned out:
Then Daniel got to work making goggles out of leather. They were so cool. Here is the pair he made for Lizzy:
Ours were similar. I stamped flowers onto mine and had Daniel add ribbon and a different nose piece. Daniel made a leather octopus to put on his. The theme this year was 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Then I got to work on my outfit. I found a pattern at Joann's that I liked and went for it full steam ahead. After I made the corset (which was a bit of a challenge) I focused on the spats and hat. I found a wonderful video on how to make spats and used some fun techniques to make my hat. Then I visited Micheals for a little inspiration and came home with a fun cameo that I turned into a broach and some vintage keys.
Daniel made a cuff and arm band for his costume and I had my brother Steam out my guns. They are awesome! Here's a few pics of the various accouterments:

Then I got to work on my jacket. After a small miscalculation it turned out great and I was ready for the ball!

From 2011-10-16 Steamcon3

It was an awesome night. The minute we stepped onto the lobby floor the air was electric. I have never seen so many Steam punked people in my life and I loved it! I started taking pictures right a way. This was the third year of Steamcon so most of the attendees had been before. We just soaked it all in. There were workshops and music and so so much eye candy. We toured the emporium and the art gallery. We learned about making props and weapons from the gentleman who made Castle's arm for him:

From Aug

That was pretty cool! Then we searched and searched for a place to eat dinner. Not finding anything we settled on Daniel's Broiler up on the 21st. floor. The dining area was full, so we took a cosy table in the corner with a great view. We didn't think to ask for real menus so we ordered some appitizers and dessert. It was all wonderful, but the scallopes took over 20 minutes to get to us. We watched the sun set and talked. Then after a quick pit stop at the car to drop of a few things we headed up to Captan Nemo's ball. It was an hour of social dancing. We danced the star trek which was great fun and the waltz. Then we decided it was enough and headed home. It was wonderful night.

I have strange kids

2011-10-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here is Charles, he just picked up the hammer and I thought, "Thor!"

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

Isn't he cute? Then Lizzy had to get in on the action:

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

She just loves getting her picture taken. Also a cute moment as the two of them were dancing together:

From 2011-10-08 Dancing Thor

Later Lizzy showed off her amazing skills as she fearlessly rowed one handed down the hall:

From 2011-10-14 row row row

I love how creative my children are. Every day is an adventure!

From 2011-10-14 row row row

War!

2011-10-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

For my niece's eighth birthday we had a World of Warcraft theme. I had the distinct privilege of being a Mage:

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's birthday

I got to inform the magi how their powers work. The guests got to choose between Mage, Warrior, Hunter and Priest. Each had a special ability. Magi throw fireballs, we used soaker balls sans water. Later I became one of the beasts they had to slay. I was a two headed ogre. Here's Lizzy my little helper:

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's b

We hid behind the ogre and shot Nerf guns at the kids.Then after the second wave of intrepid warriors came through Lizzy and I followed them down the water soaked terrain. I was not prepared for exactly how water soaked the terrain was. I lost both shoes to the muddy recesses. I recovered them with out too much difficulty and just went barefoot the rest of the time.
Once they crossed the bridge they had to face a demonic robot intent on taking over the world! My sister threw projectiles at the assailants. Then after defeating this mighty foe they had to "blow up a door way":

From 2011-10-03 Taylor's birthday

The kids loved popping all those balloons! And finally they had to face My Brother in law, Daniel and our friend Pat to finally win their quest. It was pretty intense. Check out the video:

I think everyone had a great time. Taylor got a ton of nerf guns and Legos.

I can't wait for the next battle!

Twirling

2011-09-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

I love Costco! And twice a year they bring out the little girl dresses. Normally these dresses go for around $35-$50, but at Costco they are $19! Love it! So I am always excited to see the new dresses. This time I got Lizzy 2 since one was a little big. She may fit into it next year... Any way here she is sporting the black and white one, She is checking it's twirlability:

From 2011-09-25 twirl

I think it passed.

Mall Rats

2011-09-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

So I needed a day out of the house and didn't have any specific plans so we headed to the mall. My favorite time wasting space. We played at the play area, Lizzy dominated the Submarine there. It was great until she bent a nail back and then a kid kept trying to hold onto Charles. I would get him off and he'd do it again. Lizzy, ever the big sister, ran over and freed Charles only to be latched upon. She started yelling and finally the boy's mother got involved. Thanks Mom, better late then never right? Any way we decided it was high time to relocate. We checked out a few stores for inspiration and Lizzy liked what she saw. Take a look:

From 2011-09-16 Mall

Need another look? Well here you go:

From 2011-09-16 Mall

I love my girlie girl!

Un Locked

2011-09-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Since my cousin was getting married in Seattle I had some family come up for the event. We decided to get together at the Ballard Locks It was a beautiful day and I was excited to see everyone. We wandered around the gardens a bit then went over the locks themselves.
Here is Lizzy looking over the lock:
There was a seal eating the Salmon as they were trying to climb the fish ladder. Poor things. There were plenty of fish in the viewing area though. Here we are learning about the Salmon growth cycle. It was fun then we went up to play on the waves: Isn't she a doll! We decided to go to Pikes place for lunch, but after touring the parking for half and hour we abandoned the idea and Sal, Caitlin and our family went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for a wonderful lunch. After that we drove home, but Sal and Caitlin went back to Gas works Park and met up with Grandma, Uncle Matt and Family. It was a nice day.

Lions Park

2011-09-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Lions Club helped build a park on the waterfront in Bremerton in 1964. It has beautiful views of the mountains and a bout launch. Walking paths and ball fields. It is a lovely park, but it was in need of a few repairs and parking was an issue and so on. So, the city decided to update it. We went to the re-dedication and viewed the park for ourselves. It is still a beautiful park, but not one I'd recommend for children. The play equipment was removed and replaced with stone Whales, which, while beautiful, get rather hot. And one slide, a zip line ans a sandpit with a water rock. Oh, and there is a boat. All nice and all, but the play area is covered in mulch. Lizzy had splinters all over her body after a few hours of play, She also was injured on one of the rocks. Like I said, beautiful park, but not kid friendly.

It' Fair

2011-09-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to the Kitsap Fair in Aug. I love going to fairs. It is fun to see all the artwork, flowers and crafts everyone has been doing. Check out this cabbage: Crazy huh? There were some amazing produce, especially since I haven't seen so much as a tomato out of my parent's garden. And here is a cake: Doesn't it look good? We saw most of the animals and the kids got to pet a cow and rabbits. Jessica lost her lens cap in the Turkey pen, but it was retrieved for her. The kids had a blast. Here's Daniel and Charles in his modified carrier: He did get a few stares! I love the flower arraignments, they are always inspiring. My favorite was this one: Isn't it beautiful? And of course the Dahlias were gorgeous. All in all it was a wonderful day.

Walking on

2011-09-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 12th we met together to have Family Home Evening As we do every Monday night. Ours starts with a Hymn and prayer, then we have a brief lesson and then we have share-time. This is usually the best part. It is when everyone starting from the youngest to the Oldest gets to share something. It doesn't matter what it is, everyone gets a chance to shine. We all applaud the person after each turn. So after Mom gave a wonderful lesson on what we learned in Stake Conference we turned to Charles for his share time when, low and behold, he takes three steps toward Mom by himself! We were all amazed and began clapping. Charles thought that was great and during Lizzy's share time he proceeded to take three more steps. He is a scene stealer for sure! So of course I did not have my camera on me so no fun video, but I'll be ready next time! Nine months and Walking! Heaven help me. Here's a video I took at the Mall:

From 2011-09-16 Mall

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig.

2011-09-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

So after four days of sitting on our rears in a car, we made it to Grandma and Papa's house. I am glad that the drive is over, but the kids did amazing! We got in a day earlier then I predicted, so we surprised everyone. Tabitha especially. We were able to help her though so is was all good. Here I am meeting my newest niece, Trinity!

From 2011-08-20 Move

We had a nice visit with TJ and Family then we set off for Uncle Duane's house. That was a nice visit as well. Then we made the trek northward and finally made it here. Ron drove the truck for us and he arrived the following day. We spent the day in Tacoma at the Museum of Glass.

From 2011-08-20 Move

Charles has taken to the stairs like a champ

From 2011-08-20 Move

He is so mobile.

From 2011-08-20 Move

We had to dig the safety gate out of the storage unit. We went on a few more adventures: we tried to play at the Fountain Park, but it was closed for repairs so we played in the water by the base instead.

From 2011-08-20 Move

Then we went to the new Bug Museum in Bremerton. Is was fun and very interesting. The shop is not huge, but there was plenty to see. Here's Lizzy all bugged out!

From 2011-08-20 Move

and my happy boy playing with bugs!

From 2011-08-20 Move

And here's a great shot of Junon!

From 2011-08-20 Move

I love Charles' expression! And finally, because this post is getting dangerously too long: the library had a civil war not quite reenactment that we attended. I love going to things like that!

From 2011-08-20 Move

It was a fun first week back. Now it's time to relax a little. Yeah, right.

Last Days

2011-08-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Since we will be moving in 4 days, I wanted to catch the few last things to do here that we have not yet attempted. So yesterday we set out for the Science Center. It was a beautiful day. We got a great parking spot and went in through the planetarium.

From 2011-08-09 SCience Center zoo

I had been to the Science Center once before, but never to this side. It had lots of fun, vintage space toys. I especially loved the Leave it to Beaver space game: nice huh? I like the pickle jar over his head. We saw how fast the cars were going and learned about all kinds of birds. I really enjoyed playing the laser harp. It was so easy. No strings!

From 2011-08-09 SCience Center zoo

In one of the rooms the chairs are like something out of Dr. Seuss. Watching Lizzy attempt to get up on them was quite amusing. I think she liked them. After the Science Center, we went to the Zoo so I could pet the stingrays.

From 2011-08-09 SCience Center zoo

They were slimy but friendly. My friend calls them the "stinkrays" because your whole arm stinks after you're done. It was fun though. Then we ran into some of the 200 missionaries having their preparation day in Forest Park. I felt bad for them since it was a rather warm day and a lot of the people were abstaining from sensible clothing. We saw some animals and finished our visit off with the hippos.

From 2011-08-09 SCience Center zoo

I love watching Lizzy get excited over the hippos! Oh, and in case anyone wants to know what Daniel looks like at work, you are in luck! I snapped this pic just as he was coming out.

From 2011-08-09 SCience Center zoo

That was pretty much our day! We had fun. Then Megan (She is one of the CTR 4s I taught) made me a going away gift. So her family came over to present it to me. It was so sweet. She gave me a hug and kiss and asked me for both as well.

From 2011-08-09 Megan's gift

So Long Frank Lloyd Wright....

2011-08-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I were able to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright House here in Kirkwood. I enjoyed searching for all the parallelograms in the house. So many angles! Even the furniture. Like so many of his houses, Mr. Wright designed the furniture and lights. You can buy a replica lamp for a measly $1,000.

Nice huh? It represents a tree. Any way, the home owner was lucky enough to be an artist so he built some of the furniture and all the art glass.
There is an impressive wall of art glass that leads out to the patio. If you ever get a chance to experience a Frank Lloyd Wright house or building. Do it. It is an amazing experience.
Later we picked up the kiddos and headed to The Magic House for one last time. I found all sorts of new nooks and crannies to explore. It was a hair raising time! and in a side note, Daniel finished Lizzy's goggles.

Grant's Home

2011-08-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

From 2011-07-28 Ulysses Grant Home

President Ulysses S. Grant was stationed at the Jefferson Barracks when he visited the Dents at White Haven. (His friend from West Point's family.) There he met Julia. Who he persuades to marry him. She said that she preferred to be engaged and he decided that was enough. Then he was sent out for four years where upon his return Julia still wanted to marry him and so they did. Ulysses did not spend much time here, but Julia did, 3 of their children were born here. Their families did not like the match. He being from the North and anti-slavery and she being from the South and had slaves. His family treated poor Julia abominably when she was around. After the death of her Mother and the failing health of her Father, Ulysses bought White Haven with the hope of raising race horses there. However he was elected for a second term in office as President and so he never came back to White Haven. Interesting side note, the green paint has Arsenic in it to achieve the color! Here Lizzy has located the washing machine:

From 2011-07-28 Ulysses Grant Home

The ice they brought in from the river stayed frozen in the Ice house for 4 years! They just packed it in saw dust and straw. Amazing.

Our City

2011-08-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

The Bartholomews came down to spend the weekend with us so we took them to the City Museum! I love this place!

From 2011-07-25 City Museum

Daniel, Charles and Joseph took off to explore their way and the rest of us went at our pace. It is such an amazing place. Lizzy built her own city:

From 2011-07-25 City Museum

Ta da! Such fun!

Over Arching

2011-08-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

I finally got to see the Arch! After the first fiasco I came prepared. Or so I thought. We parked and walked the short distance to the Arch. It is along the Mississippi River and we saw a coal barge floating down. I was quite excited. It was so long! The coal Daniel gets at work comes down the Mississippi River on these barges.

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

Later we entered the line to get into the Arch and some kind people told us there was no line on the other side, so we crossed over and they were right. Security was like the airport. You were given buckets to place your stuff in, there was an x-ray and metal detector, you even had to remove your belt. But you could keep your shoes! After entering and feeling extremely grateful for air conditioning, we got in line to pay to go up. There is a museum in there that is free, and we walked through it after our adventure up the Arch. More on that later.
So we decide to go the whole enchilada and get tickets to the Arch and the River boat tour. I had a coupon so Lizzy was free. I was so excited! We got in line to go up, but first you must go down. And down some more, then finally down again. You get a colored card and your picture is taken and you wait around for a while. There are plenty of things to read about the construction and builders, but Lizzy didn't care, so we listened to some phones that told you about the construction and builders, but after 2 minutes, Lizzy didn't care. So we waited until we could descend the staircase to get to the elevator doors. We got door number 8. Here's Lizzy at our door. We were told that the ride was like getting into a washing machine, and they were right. The pods are small and only allow 5 people, then the door closes and you are ratcheted up and up and up. Once this started, Lizzy began to fear for her life. She cried and clung to me. I tried to calm her, but she would have none of it. Finally we exited the pod and I lead her crying up to the view ports.

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

Still crying she attempted to look out, but really she just wanted down, so after about 2 min. We got in line to go down. This was much more cramped and when Lizzy realized that we must take the elevator down she dissolved all over again. Some how she thought we were going to walk all the way back down! So eventually I got her in the pod and held on to her while we descended. The silly thing was once she could see stairs out the little window of the elevator, she was fine. Crazy child. So we visited the general store and got some taffy and cookies, which we ate before entering the museum. The museum was interesting. I really liked this boat:

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

Then we went down to the River Boat dock.

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

On the way down the hundred or so stairs a kind man helped me take the stroller down. He said that he had been there before. He had 3 kids. I was very appreciative. We had lunch on their patio and Lizzy tried to catch the birds. We saw our steam boat come in. We were all excited.

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

Ever ready for tourists, to enter the boat you had your picture taken, then we walked down the gangplank and entered.

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

I hefted the stroller up the stairs and we got a seat on the outside near the big wheel. Here is a video of it.

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

It was a fun tour and the Ranger came down and showed the kids all kinds of animal parts. I liked the beaver's tail. She saved the buffalo chips for last and asked them if they knew what it was. No one did. She passed it around and one small boy tried to break off a piece to keep. Gross! When the tour ended, we walked back up all those steps and then walked across the street and up to the capital building. The stone was warm so Lizzy complained that it was giving her a hot butt.

From 2011-07-24 The ARch

The capital was dressed in all it's finery. There were dioramas and a video about the Dred Scott trial. It was amazing. We got to sit in the judge's chair and read about the trial. There were exhibits in the rooms about St. Louis from it's begining through to now. Then we climbed the stairs to the second floor and looked in the court room and observed the paintings. It was quite hot up there. We decided to take the wheel chair lift down since I'd had it with all the climbing with a stroller. This it turns out was another mistake, the lift is a giant metal box, so as it had sat out in the 103 degree weather it was rather like an oven. Not only was it unbearably hot, in fact Charles touched the wall and burned himself, but it was unbearably slow...... So when we left we were all ten pounds lighter from all the water loss. We walked back to the car all the while Lizzy kept asking if we could go back up the Arch. Ah, No.

Milestones

2011-08-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Charles is very mobile now, I caught some of his tricks on video and have to show them off!

From 2011-07-25 Crawling

Next, he has four teeth on top now and I caught a toothy grin just for you:

From 2011-07-25 Crawling

He is too adorable, and loves to chase Lizzy around the house. I am glad that they get along so well. I am so blessed.

Hannibal, Mo

2011-07-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to visit Hannibal since we moved here, but never seemed to get around to it. Well on the 4th of July we went for it. It is about two hours north of us, so not too bad a drive. Daniel was working that night so we left him sleeping and went north. There were two things on my agenda, although there are a few more things to do and see there. I wanted to see the Molly Brown house and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. We stopped at a visitor center just outside of Hannibal and got a booklet of coupons. Then we went to the Molly Brown Home. Turns out her real name is Margret and she went by Maggie her whole life. Hollywood changed it after her death. (Apparently Molly is easier to sing then Maggie.) Also not only did she survive the Titanic, but 2 other boat crashes and a fire! I'm not sure if she was lucky or cursed. She was very intelligent and learned several languages most of which she spoke fluently. This aided her on the Titanic where she was able to interpret for the immigrating passengers. She accomplished much during her lifetime. Quite a remarkable woman.
Then we went to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. These are separated into various buildings. We started at the museum and then walked to the Home and saw his father's law practice and home of his sweet heart. I enjoyed visiting Hannibal, but was shocked to find no marker nor mention of Hannibal's other Star: Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO. Alas. I guess The Unsinkable Molly Brown is the only musical to be celebrated there.

Palmyra, NY

2011-07-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to be able to go to Palmyra for the pageant, but for our first stop we went to Chicago! I have wanted to go there forever. I love the architecture. So Daniel let me plan that leg of our trip. We arrived at the:

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

A quaint B&B outside of Chicago. The owner played the piano for us during breakfast! She was super sweet. We had the upstairs room. It was cute. Then after we had unpacked for the night we set off once again for: Medieval Times!

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

We enjoyed dinner and the show.

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

Charles had a hard time with the noise, but Lizzy had a blast cheering and booing. She was so excited. In the morning we went to Chicago and after the GPS went haywire, we finally got on track and made it to the down town. I was so excited I was practically jumping. We stopped in the Library first which had a visitor center and picked up a few brochures. Then we headed out. We walked down to Wacker Dr. and I got a pin at the Hard Rock Cafe, then we spotted some window washers on one of the buildings. See if you can spot them:

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

Not a job I would want! Daniel said that he'd try it though. We saw the Sears Towers and the Chicago theater.

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

We headed up to the Millennium Park for lunch. We had some less then outstanding Chicago Dogs and listened to the band play. Our parking cost a whopping $28. for 2 hours! I wasn't expecting that. Then we headed west to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park. We were in time for the 2 o' clock tour and I just loved his studio. He used chains to create tension for the structure. It was beautiful! Here is the upstairs part The columns are on casters and store the drafts. The house was impressive too especially the children's play room. On the opposite side is a grand piano set inside the wall and a gallery for plays and whatnot. The piano end sticks out overhead in the stair case. It was so fun. Then we were off to Clinton and Janet's house. That was great, but we had to leave the next morning for Palmyra. So off we drove through 3 states and numerous toll booths to arrive at Niagara Falls! After a few false starts, nearly going to Canada and several rings around the parking lots we made it. Click on the video to experience it:

From Palmyra Falls

Then I got a pin at the Hard Rock Cafe there. It's a good thing we weren't eating there as there was a 2 hour wait! Then we raced off to Palmyra to arrive just in time for the pageant. We got some food from the Lion's Club vendors and set up our blanket. It was a beautiful night, and the pageant was wonderful.

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

Then we went to find our car amidst the blaring Anti Mormon preachers across the street. That was funny. We spent the night in a little town just outside Palmyra in a nice hotel, there was a wedding party there too. I would have liked to explore there too since there was a lot of fun history. (Jell-o was invented there) But time was short so we went back to Palmyra and visited the church sites. We saw the Smith's log home where Joseph recieved the vision of the Angel Moroni. Then we toured the frame house which is just a few yards away as you can see in this picture.

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

But it crosses the county line so we couldn't tour the upstairs. I was most impressed with their sink.

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

We toured the barn and saw the beehives:

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

and the cooper shop. Then we went into the Sacred Grove. I wish I could impart the feeling there. It was like entering the Temple. Though there were many people visiting, the tone was hushed and reverent. I asked Daniel to go ahead and I sat down on one of the many benches. He decided to stay and stand there in front of me so I didn't quite get the moment I wished, but oh well.

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

We had to leave, so I got up and strolled out. I wish we had more time. I do hope that we may be able to return someday. We returned to Clinton and Janet's for a scrumptious meal. Janet, Lizzy and I went to the park and Lizzy was scared by the fire flys. She has a real aversion to bugs. Here's a video.

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

Then we went to bed. After a glorious breakfast, we drove home. Charles finally started crawling during this trip and now he has two teeth on top. So it was momentous for all!

Wild Things

2011-07-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Last week my friend Elizabeth invited us over for an animal party. I was excited and asked Lizzy what animal she wanted to be. She said a spider, but later changed that to a sheep. OK I think I can manage that. So I break out the hot glue gun and cotton balls. This outfit will be epic! I get to gluing and Lizzy starts out by handing me the cotton balls. Then she hides them, next she starts throwing them like snowballs all the while yelling, "Snow, snow!" Eventually I am able to locate them all when I realize I don't have enough! What to do? So I frantically search the house for white fluffy wool like material. I find some batting and get back to gluing. At last it is finished and looking a bit wonky, but it's too late to start over. Note to self: Just use Batting to begin with, it's easier and faster then cotton balls. Anyway, so we arrive and Lizzy is the only one with a costume. Oh well. So much for my frantic morning. We made masks and danced around and then had a snack of bananas and animal crackers while Grace performed a puppet show. We all had a good time.

From 2011-07-02 Animal Party

And here is the whole enchilada:

From 2011-07-02 Animal Party

On another note, Lizzy is my little Sous-chef. She has been helping herself to the unfinished products for years now. It baffles me how she can eat flour and salt plain, but I digress. Anyway so while shopping at Michael's the other day I found a Chef hat and just had to buy it. Now that I've tried it on, I'm going back for my own. It is so fun. Unfortunately, after decorating it, she didn't want to wear it so here is Charles modeling it.

From 2011-07-02 Animal Party

Adorable right? I love it! We also got to meet Cara Bartholomew for the first time. Janet and Cara braved the 9 and 1/2 hours to come down for a visit and we met up with them at Denise and Jason's home. We had a scrumptious meal and got reacquainted. Cara is a dear. We had Baby Wars:

From 2011-07-02 Animal Party

Cara won. She's a contender:

From 2011-07-02 Animal Party

Events

2011-07-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

A lot has occurred in a short time, as often is the case with children. I am excited to announce that Charles is now mobile. He can crawl and even climb up our one step with out too much difficulty. This of course means I need to locate the safety gate and put it up. In addition he has gained a tooth on top. I can feel a second one coming in too. Soon he will be able to chew anything. My fingers may be safe! It is amazing how so much can happen in such a short time. The day before Charles tooth emerged, Daniel had a dream that Charles had a new tooth. Isn't life funny?

From 2011-07-10 Palmyra

Royal Pains!

2011-07-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have bad teeth. I have come to this realization. For no amount of brushing and flossing seems to keep the cavities away. Regardless what the dentist says. So I was not overly surprised when at my last appointment I was told of yet another cavity. Unfortunately upon peering at my x-ray of teeth, resembling more an old patch-work quilt then teeth, it was apparent that there was less tooth then should be possible and a crown was in order. Wow, I get a crown! Yea. Little did I know what lay ahead. I made an appointment and left in blissful ignorance...

Cue next visit. Start the soothing music. And Begin. So I arrive and wait for the office staff to finish their morning meeting before ushering me to The Chair. It was a hot day as are common in MO. and the hygienist had a fan basting in the room. Yea. Next she puts the lovely necklace of paper towel around my neck and asks if I had any questions. I answer no and she proceeds to tell me that this apt. will take 2 hrs. Lizzy was with a babysitter, but I had Charles with me. Ugh. luckily the ladies at the front desk kept him occupied when he had had enough of his car seat.
We made a mold of my teeth and then the drilling commenced. They had to destroy what was left of my tooth in order to crown it. That was sad. Then she fitted a temporary in place and sent me on my way. I was to return in a week when my permanent crown would come in. I collected my by now sleeping son and raced to pick up Lizzy. My mouth was quite sore.
Next visit... now the real fun begins. This time I had the foresight to leave both kiddos with a babysitter. Silly Mom. After a few pleasantries, I again meet the Chair and get the necklace. We begin. I typically need more Novocaine then most patients and so it takes a long time for any of my dental work. Dentists are generally disbelieving of me when I tell them at the beginning that I need a booster shot. Even when it says so in my chart. Anyway, so I get the first shot and they drill and it HURTS and then they give me a booster. So this takes twice as long as normal. Yea. This time was no exception. So I get topical applied to my crown and then the hygienist pops off my temp crown and proceeds to cram the new permanent one in it's place. Ouch! Then began the long process of putting it in, wiggling it a bit and pulling it out and polishing, rinse and repeat. Then we had to stop because all the movement had got my gums bleeding and they had to calm down before we could proceed.
I wish I could have read a book or something. Alas. Once that ordeal was over we took and x-ray and then then it was time to attach the crown. So I got cement the the crown and then the fun really kicked into high gear! She proceeded to floss off the remaining cement from the surrounding teeth, but could not. So, like anyone facing a problem, she did it again and again. Mostly just causing my gums to bleed and breaking the floss. "Wow, this cement loves your teeth." She says. Then she breaks out the saw. This instrument rather looks like a miniature logging device. She proceeds to saw off the cement, along with my lips. I was beginning to fear my gums might just walk off the job in protest. I couldn't blame them, if anything this was cause for a mutiny. Finally the task was completed, and I could relax for a moment. She alerted the Dentist and then applied topical to my mouth because NOT only do I have a crown, but of course an other cavity as well. So then the dentist came in and checks the crown. Looks good. She tests the area for numbness and unfortunately, the Hygienist had numbed the wrong area. So take two. This time I get the shot and the filling is put in without further complication. Finally I am allowed to get up. I was never so glad to leave a place in my life! So much for the royal life. You can have it!

Back in Wonderland

2011-06-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

This last Wednesday I took the kiddos back to the Botanical gardens. They are free on Wed. and Sat. before noon. This time we tried out the children's garden. It was so fun. I found a new plant I like called an urn plant.

From Mo Bot Garden

The children's garden has a water park that Lizzy loved. There is a pollination play area too. Lizzy tried to climb up the tree house, but got scared. It was quite high. A nice girl helped her down. We spent another 3 hours there and I still haven't seen much more then the first time. I need to go back and see the Japanese garden sometime. Lizzy picked up a cactus and got a needle in her finger. I had to enlist the help of another patron to hold her down so I could remove it. Poor thing, she was hurting. Then as we were walking out a lady stepped in front of her and Lizzy said, "Hey, excuse you!" I am glad the lady didn't hear her, but it was funny.

Arr you ready to Party?

2011-06-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

From 2011-06-11 Lizzy's pirate birthday

Lizzy was ready for a pirate party! We were at Sioux Passage Park. Nearly every table was already reserved, but we found a few near the playground and set up. Daniel was quite annoyed with me since I hadn't reserved the pavilion, but I knew it would be fine. All of the kids got a sword and eye patch and I set up the bubble machine and let them go. It was so fun watching their antics. Daniel helped me with the cake. He did the icing. I think it looked great, but it tasted better! We had a treasure hunt which Lizzy ruined by making a beeline for the treasure chest, so everyone just raced after her and they were so excited to see the gold! Then we had lunch of Hot dogs and fish! Gold fish and Swedish fish that is. What's more piratey then that? Lizzy loved her gifts and had such fun. I think we all had a good time (even Daniel). I had made clothes for us all, but Daniel didn't put his on so I took a picture of his at home later. Lizzy picked this outfit and I tried to adapt it: I really liked how Charles'outfit turned out.

OK Recap 1.0

2011-06-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

So after much deliberation over what to do for Daniel's birthday I decided that we should go to the Lewis and Clark days in St. Charles. Have I ever told you how much I love St. Charles? NO??!?! Well... I do! It is so quaint with specialty shops and gas lamps and a party nearly every weekend. Why didn't we move there? Hmm. But I digress... So off to the festival we go. We arrived a bit early, but since it was a hot day that was ok. We saw some Newfoundland dogs, apparently Lewis took his on the expedition. They are huge!

From Lewis n Clark

Then we watched some people make paper. That was fun. We chatted with a parson who was writing his sermon for Sunday. He had a ton of religious quotes from the founding fathers. He was very nice, but unfortunately he sliced his thumb just as we met him and he was trying hard not to bleed on anything as he showed us his collection. We ran into the Elders who each won a wooden sword for helping a vendor put up their tent. They were quite jazzed. It was fun.

Then it was off to Kansas to visit. Cynthia and Marty had returned form Germany and we took advantage of the time to see them and as an added bonus, Tina and Nathan came up too. Tony and Susan graciously allowed us to stay with them for a few days.

From 2011-06-06 Bart reunion and Ephram's baptism

Susan took us to Antioch Park. It is huge! Lizzy had fun playing. The water lilies were real pretty. Daniel and Dad worked on cutting out the lenses for our goggles. I worked on Mom. Then on Sunday after church we all met up at the temple site, the construction has progressed well. We had lunch and of course took pictures. Then we drove home. The next Sunday we went to Columbia to witness Ephraim's baptism. It was wonderful. Now Lizzy keeps telling me about when she gets baptized. I'm glad that she is excited to follow her cousin's example. And finally an update on Charles: He is almost crawling, he wants to so bad. He can really get around on the bed. I've had to catch him before he crawls right off quite a number of times.

From 2011-06-06 Almost crawling

He is getting so big!.

Recap

2011-06-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

So much to share! So as I mentioned before, we went to the Bellefontaine in Bloom. It was drizzling sightly, but still nice enough out. Lizzy carried the umbrella.

From Bellefontaine

She was super cute! There were actors of some of the famous people buried there. They told about their lives. They had food from the Joy of Cooking. Since the author is buried there too. And there were carriage tours. Sadly, we had to get home so Daniel could go to work so we missed the tours, but it was fun! Next we have a bag race, do click it is fun.

From Playtime

More to follow... Dom da domm....

The Morning Routine

2011-06-04T05:52:00.000-07:00

Sung to the tune of Billy Joel's the Piano man
Ahem,
It's 6 am this Saturday, and Lizzy shuffles in.
Seems her night is over and she's ready for the day to begin.
She says, " Mom it's time to get up, I want to watch some pink."
And I know she is ready so I take her to the potty and then I get her a drink.

Chorus:
"It's time to get up Mommy. The day started an hour ago.
I need milk in my sippy and I think maybe some cereal in my bowl."

Da da da da da dad daaa....

It's still early this Saturday, and I groggily get to my feet,
since firefox's broke I need to use chrome to find some episodes of pink.
And Lizzy is sitting there waiting a sippy and bowl in each hand,
She ready for the day, so lets get up and play.
Who knows what we have planned.

Da ada da daada da dada daaa...

Repeat Chorus

The movie is running perfectly. The sound is turned down low.
I feed Charles his morning meal and hope he's ready to go.
Maybe if they're distracted I can take a shower,
As soon as I'm gone, then some one yells, "Mom"
And I know just what they're after.

Repeat Chorus

It's a pretty good day for a Saturday,
Every one's home just now and we just can't wait
to take on the day, look out, were coming out now.

Da da da daaa da ada adaada etc...

Sword and Shield

2011-05-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

I just thought Charles looked like a knight ready to do some damage and had to document it. Also this shows my crazy trimming job on poor Lizzy ;)

Next we have Charles showing off his amazing self sitting skills and Lizzy just plain showing off. Enjoy:

The Florissant Flower Festival

2011-05-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is the big shindig for Florissant. We went last year and came back to witness the festival. Also there was this awesome Mexican Bakery that came up last year and I have been craving their pastries since. Speaking of food, here is Lizzy holding our Potato Tornado. It looks better then it was, but it was so fun to watch them make it! The booth was run by four elderly gentlemen who were an absolute riot!

From 2011-05-07 Florissant flower fest

We listened to some fine music and a ventriloquist who amazed me by simultaneously clucking his tongue and humming. It was crazy. There was an awesome band/tap dancing group that was amazing. Lizzy made a sand necklace, pained a snake, colored a penguin, made a flower and got her face painted. She was tuckered out by the end of the day. I was expecting to see some friends in the parade, but they didn't come. Alas. The floats were cute. And yes the bakery was there. Hooray!

National Garden Day

2011-05-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

On the 6th of May was National Garden day and in honor of that great occasion we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I had been wanting to go for some time and this just seemed to perfect to pass up. I had no idea how large the garden actually is. It is divided up into smaller gardens each with some sort of water feature and a piece of Chihuly blown glass. http://www.chihuly.com/home.aspx I recognized his work right away and declared to Lizzy, "Look there's a Chihuly!" to which I got a few odd looks. I guess he is not so well known or maybe I just sounded odd. Who knows. Anyway, We had a wonderful time looking at all the plants and fountains. We had a lovely lunch at a tiny cafe in one of the gardens, but sadly we had to leave after 2 hours and there was so much more to see. We will have to go back. They had a lot of "tree houses" on display. Lizzy liked exploring in them. Henry Shaw, who started the garden and donated the land to the state, has a house still on the property that is a museum. His grave is also there. I liked our tour guide, she was funny and quite informative. It was a splendid day.

Out and About

2011-05-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

As Daniel is working nights now I find myself in the unique position of both having the car all day and needing to be out all day. Hmm, whats a girl to do? Well I have been dragging the kids to all the ST. Louis destinations I have wanted to visit and have thus far not seen. First we stopped off at the Jewel Box. Conveniently free on Mondays. It is a grand garden inside a Jewel boxed shaped green house. I did not expect the fountains in the middle though. It was quite beautiful, then we had lunch at the famous Crown Candy Kitchen. http://crowncandykitchen.net/ A St. Louis tradition since 1913. It is a fourth gen family run outfit that sells home made ice cream sundaes the same way they sold them at the 1904 worlds fair. The food was good and the ice cream HUGE. Then as we headed back home we past the Bellefontaine Cemetery. http://www.bellefontainecemetery.org/ Established in 1849 there are many notables buried here, including St. Louis’ notable residents such as William Clark, James Buchanan Eads, Susan Blow, and Adolphus Busch. I was intrigued by the sculptures of which there are many, and the beauty of the grounds. We didn't spend too much time there due to the lateness of the hour, but they are hosting an event in a few weeks and we will attend. It was a great day!
Another day we visited the Little Creek Nature area. We had to dodge a lot of 2nd. graders, but it was quite peaceful.
Another park we visited was the Sioux passage park, here in Florissant. It was quite large. Luckily Daniel got to go with us. I love the boat play area. We decided on doing a pirate birthday party for Lizzy this year and I want to reserve this pavilion for it.

Where the Wild Things Are

2011-05-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

By now you know of my love for the zoo. We go quite a bit, but this time Lizzy got to pet a stingray and see sharks! YAHOO! Also it was the last time my friend and zoo going buddy Karina could go. They are moving to Texas on the 13. Boo. Any way,

From 2011-04-30 zoo

here we are enjoying the Zoo! Lizzy got a little Puma at the build a bear station in the zoo.

The Great Graduation

2011-05-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

My little brother graduated on the 9th of April so in honor of that great occasion I packed up the kids and away we went! Ahh I love a good adventure (which is good since I tend to run into them a lot. As if being a Mom of two wasn't adventure enough!) So Daniel dropped us off at the airport and we started our journey. I'll not bore you with the details, needless to say it was adventurous. I was so glad to be back in good old WA. It was a relief to see Mom. We made quite an exit with all our gear.

From 2011-04-22 Sal's graduation

After a little sleep we caught the ferry and headed East. Due to an avalanche we had to turn around and go South. We arrived in Pendleton around 11pm. We slept and headed East again. We stopped in Eagle to see Grandma, Uncle Matt and Uncle Duwayne's family. It was a nice visit. I'm so glad that Charles got to meet everyone. Then on to Idaho Falls. Tabitha and her family were already there. The next day we went to see Sal and Caitlin. We had her try on her wedding dress.

From 2011-04-22 Sal's graduation

She is so adorable. We met Sal's roommates and I did some laundry. (On the last day of our trip Lizzy went through 4 pares of pants.) Later we went to the church and set up for dinner. Luckily Uncle Armin and Aunt Cheryl came prepared with games. Dad set up the Karaoke and we had a fun time playing around. Sal and Caitlin danced to a song. They are so cute together. Still in that constant communication phase. I finally got to see Rexburg. I thought it would be greener. It snowed. Oh well. Then Tabitha and co. and my crew went exploring in Id. Falls. We went to the temple visitor center and dodged 4 wedding groups. Then it was back to the West. Are you getting dizzy yet?
We arrived in Baker City around 11pm. I sense a pattern... We had breakfast at the Geiser Grand Hotel. I love baker City! It is a perfect halfway point between SLC and Seattle. It has loads of charm and many family friendly things to do. And the Geiser Grand is one of the best things in my humble opinion. The breakfasts are amazing and the ambiance wonderful. Some day I will stay there! Anyway. Check it out: http://www.geisergrand.com/
The rest of the week we just relaxed. We played with Jessica and the girls. I saw the elusive Rex twice! Quite a feat I might add. We did Zumba, played at the park, ate Sal's wonderful fajitas and went to the Blodel Reserve. A beautiful members only garden on Bainbridge Island. Mom and I have wanted to go for years and on this day it was free and open to the public. It was amazing. I took too many pictures, but it was so beautiful.
We ended our visit with an Easter egg hunt. It was great fun, but I heard later that the eggs were still quite raw, so no one ate them. Still it was good to be home. Yet, I was glad to be going back to MO. I missed Daniel something fierce; and there are still quite a few things I need to do here before I am ready to move on. Here then are all those pictures:

Breakfast at the Bartholomews

2011-04-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

So we decided on waffles and since we had whipping cream and strawberries on hand, to add them to the list. Not bad, not bad, but wait! What about some Bacon? I just need to thaw some out and cook it up. Yes, oh wait... Hmm "Daniel, want to whip the cream?" this innocent sounding request was actually quite sinister since all the equipment was in the dish washer. So Daniel bravely starts to whip by hand. Soon thereafter he muses how anyone ever had the patients to do this by hand in the first place. I pull out the mixing bowl and whip and clean them off. We dump the cream in and put it on HIGH! Come on kitchen aid, do your thing!
Well soon I am dodging flying debris and run for the mixer...yes folks we have BUTTER! Ok well, fresh butter is good on waffles. Let’s try this again shall we... I take the new butter out and lament the fact that I could have used the butter milk in the waffles had I only known! Alas. I re-clean the mixer and start afresh. This time I check it more frequently and all looks well. Until... I quickly turn it off when I realize we are past the cream state and have wandered into new territory. Somewhere between Cream and Butter. Hmm, sweet cream? Oh well by this time the bacon and waffles were done so we just put it all on the table and commenced to partake. Let me just tell you, it was amazing. I hope to never go through this hour long process for breakfast again, but it sure was tasty!

Easter

2011-04-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

We had an exciting couple of days leading up to Easter. The kids and I returned to St. Louis just before the tornado hit. We got to witness the torrential rains from the safety of our own rooms. Huzzah! The following morning we were informed that the church was out of power as were half the ward. Many had trees where their sunroofs had been. So the Easter egg hunt was canceled. No problem, we needed to relax anyway. So we went to the store where we were informed that the airport closed down yesterday due to the storm. We were almost diverted to Kansas City! The bagger and I both hoped that church would not be cancelled. I mean What is Easter without church? Later Lizzy colored some eggs. We watched a movie and called it a day.
Then Easter was upon us! I can't say the clouds parted or anything, but the rain had let up. We had a wonderful service and the kids got a ton of candy from the Primary. Then the rain began as we exited the building to go home. We had a very chill afternoon and then we ate grilled Salmon for dinner with corn on the cob. Not your average Easter feast I know, but very yummy! All in all it was a nice day. I was reminded of Elder Wirthlin's talk, Sunday will come.

Indeed Friday was terrible with it's storms and destruction, but Sunday did come with it's glorious reminder of the life, death and Resurrection of our dear Savior. Sunday did come.

Spring has sprung and gone

2011-03-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

So in this marvelous world of the "mid-west" I find myself frequently scratching my head and looking outside with a mixed look of wonder and incredulation. As one who grew up in the West, (Northwest to be specific) I am accustomed to varying weather. However there is a bit of consistency to it. But HERE in the "mid-west" there is no consistency, no patterns and just plain weirdness! For example: This past week we have had 3 days of 70 deg weather followed by snow and hail. There was even a small tornado last week just to spice things up! In the course of the last month we have had Hail, Snow, Sleet, Sun, Rain and the poor thermometer outside gave up the ghost from sheer exhaustion! I am in a state of discontent.
I finally saw some vestiges of spring last week. A scattering of miniature daffodils and a few blossoms on bushes. Monday there were 7 Magnolias bravely touting their colors. I was excited for the promised spring was at last upon us, wooing us from our winter dens, BUT it was a LIE! I tell you! A LIE! For today outside my frosted window lies an inch of snow with more falling. What did I do to deserve this? I know it is the last days and all, but come on! I want a week of sunshine. Is that too much to ask? Seven days? OK, OK six? Including the weekend? Pretty please with sugar on top? No? Humph. Fine then. I'll be hibernating till next spring. See you then!

I Want to Fly Like an Eagle

2011-03-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

From 2011-03-05 Joseph's eagle

Joseph earned his Eagle scout award and we were able to go support him when he received his award. We drove up on Thursday night and stayed with Mom and Dad. On Friday we went to the Science City. When we got there the line was amazingly long so we decided to go to the train exhibit first and let the lines die down. The trains are amazing! There was so much to see. Little details everywhere. I loved the drive-in and the T-Rex with safety goggles on. After we had seen all the trains, we went back and the line was still long, but we were able to get in. It was field trip day. Several schools had come to play too.
Besides being a bit crowded, it was a blast. There were so many neat things to do and see. Lizzy wanted to go down the slide, but once we got up there she changed her mind. Since there was a train of kids waiting for their turn, I grabbed Lizzy and down we went! Almost. We got stuck half way down and had to scoot out. That was graceful. Heh heh, not! I really liked the mystery mansion. lots of fun optical illusions. It was a fun trip.
Later that evening we went to the church and helped set up for the reception. Dad had blown up a ton of balloons and we put them on sticks in jars on the tables. The ceremony started a bit late, but there was a great turn out and it was really enjoyable. Joseph did wonderful! The cake had the notorious blue frosting of death! It got on everything and everyone and stained pretty throughly. But everyone enjoyed themselves. I am so glad that we got to go. It was a nice visit.

Where Magic Lives

2011-02-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

So on Fridays this month the Magic House was free. I happened to have a baby shower I was going to this last Friday and I thought it would be a great opportunity for a Daddy Daughter date. So while Charles and I went to the shower (which was great fun!) Daniel and Lizzy went to play. They had a lot of fun too and here they are showing off their crazy hat.

The Magic House was celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. A few weeks ago LINK had a field trip to the Magic House. I invited Margaux and her son to come with us. We had lots of fun, I especially liked the new water works valve contraption on the wall. I felt quite powerful as I directed the flow of colored water. Buhahhahaha!!! Cough, cough. Ahem... Any way... It was a fun trip. We ended with a story about the Chinese New Year and then games on that theme. Lizzy got to try all different kinds of chopsticks to put things into a box.

Working out

2011-02-27T12:25:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Charles doing his tummy time. I think he is doing great. Keep that head up!

Roll over, roll over...

2011-02-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

On the 10th of February Charles rolled over. Fearing this was a fluke, but hoping it was not, I have been keeping the camera at bay. Then on the 21st he did it again! This time, just as I left the room. So I grab the camera and try to get him to roll again. Finally he tires of being filmed and gives up for the day. Fine, I understand. Then yesterday when I put him down, camera at the ready, he rolls almost immediately. Yes sir we have a winner! Click on the picture to view:

From 2011-02-22 roll over!

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

2011-02-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

As we had finally had the mercury rise to a balmy 65 degrees last week I decided to tempt fate and go to the zoo on Saturday. I really enjoy the St. Louis Zoo and if you get there by 9 am the children's zoo is free. So filled with enthusiasm I awoke to a not so balmy, cloudy, 40 degree day. Alas, no paltry cloud cover will deter my determination! And with that away we went. We found a superb parking spot and exited the vehicle. No more then 4 steps later Lizzy's nose is bright red and I comment on how cold it is. We stop and deliberate, continue on our quest for animal visitation or abscond to the enclosed, and therefore warmer, science center. After a few moments we ask Lizzy which she would rather and not surprisingly the zoo won out. Away we go again. As we got down into the children's zoo a light sprinkling of rain begins to fall and I fear our trip may be cut short. But just then I witness two Cardinals fly by and as I marvel at their beauty, so alien to my world, I resolve to continue. As if in concert to my decision, the rain lets up and the sun shines down on our little party. We continue on as the day brightens. When at last we tired sufficiently to return home I am content. Thank heaven for tender mercies. Below is a clip of Daniel talking to a chicken:

From 2011-02-19 zoo

Posting 101

2011-02-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

So some time ago I realized that I had reached my 100th post. How crazy is that? When I started this blog a little over 2 years ago I had no idea how much I would enjoy writing it or how therapeutic sharing can be (even if no one else reads it). I can say that having this place as an outlet has been a wonderful thing and I am glad that I kept up with it. So here's to another 100 posts!

City Museum

2011-01-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to go to the City Museum since we moved here. It is like a park for adults. The concept is urban art, using discards of the city and making something beautiful and functional and totally cool. The best part is you can climb and crawl through everything. There are secret passages and tunnels, caves and even a few stores and an aquarium! I knew it would be fun, but I had no Idea just how fun. So when my friend Amanda emailed me and asked if we would like to go I jumped at the chance. It was Awesome! I had Charles in the baby carrier and Daniel took Lizzy around and away we went! I don't think I can describe the experience, but if you ever are in St. Louis, you must check this place out! We were there for almost three hours and even though Lizzy and I were tired, I hated leaving. I can't wait to go back. Daniel joked that if we had a membership there I wouldn't need Zumba. He is so right. Too bad the membership is like $200. Ouch. Oh well. We had a blast.
This is a video of my friend Karina doing Zumba in the city museum:

All dressed up and no where to go....

2011-01-30T14:37:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we were hoping to bless Charles, unfortunately the weather was uncooperative so we didn't get to. We decided to dress him up and take pictures anyway, which was good since he barely fit into the blessing suit Grandma Bartholomew made. It is gorgeous and we wanted to at least document the occasion even if he wasn't blessed yet. He looks so good! So this Sunday we were able to have Ron and Na dene and Joseph join us for the blessing. It was so sweet. We had the Bishopric and our home teachers stand in the circle along with Dad and Grandpa. I so wish my Dad could have been there too, but that didn't work out.
The blessing was wonderful and when Daniel said that Charles was named for his ancestor and that he would be helping him through out his life from the other side, I couldn't help but cry. I have always felt particularly close to my great Grandfather Charles Henry Murphy even though he died before I was born. We named Charles in his honor and I am so pleased that he is willing to look out for his namesake. It was a beautiful day. I am so glad that we have the priesthood restored today. It brings me such comfort.

you got old

2011-01-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

Recently I had a hankering to see the movie You Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. I remember seeing this when it first came out what, ten years ago? Any way, I remember liking it so when I saw it at the library a couple of weeks ago I checked it out. About half way through the movie I began to be disgruntled and by the end of the film I was quite upset. I mean why oh why did this JERK, who isn't faithful to his girlfriend, get to take over and ruin something special and STILL get the girl?! I mean, how is that fair? And the girl isn't faithful to her boyfriend either so maybe they are just meant for each other.
It reminded me that somehow in the last ten years I have grown up a lot. I look at this dysfunctional dynamic and realize that they can not be happy in their situation because they don't have their priority's strait. But mostly they don't understand the beauty of a loving faithful relationship. Yes, I have learned a lot about marriage and being a good spouse in the last ten years. (Obviously things that I did not know back when I first watched this movie.) All in all I am glad to know now what I do. I love being married to Daniel. He makes my day better just by walking in the door. And I love being a mother, every day is a challenge, but I have found joy. And I wouldn't give that up for the world.

Lizzy n Charles

2011-01-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

Lizzy is once again helping Charles with his exercises. She got a robe for Dia de los reyes so she is sporting it here.

Fun!

2011-01-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

From playing

For Christmas Lizzy got Bath Crayons. Above is her creation. I have to say I think it's grand!

Exercise

2011-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

So Lizzy has taken over tummy time. She likes to show Charles how to do push ups. I think it is great!
And Charles is doing so well. I wish that I had a better picture. Alas.

Christmas or something like it

2011-01-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

So we had a quiet Christmas this year. After having a baby the holidays hit kind of low on my radar. We didn't even get a tree. As a substitute, Lizzy and I decorated our back window. Like the paper ornaments? I didn't finish my shopping until Christmas eve. And the stockings never got filled so I'm saving that for Dia de los Reyes!
On Christmas eve Lizzy and Charles, with Lizzy's help, opened up a gift. Then we watched the Nativity. It was nice.
We told Lizzy that she could open her presents after breakfast. She did a great job waiting. She loved opening the gifts. It was fun watching her.
For dinner I attempted my first ham. After the appropriate amount of time I took it out of the oven and proudly placed it on the table with a grand "ta da." Unfortunately as we bit into it we discovered it was not heated all the way through. So much for that. Everything tasted great though. We Skyped Mom and talked to Caitlin for the first time, She is Sal's fiance. That was great. I am so excited for their wedding in April.
Later Lizzy decided to dress up and go ice skating around the living room. It was great, she even sat down to put on her imaginary skates!

This morning...

2011-01-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

So Lizzy came into our room this morning telling us that, "this is yucky" I look in her hand and see what looks like a partially chewed frosted mini wheat and a glob of poop. Yes indeedy, poop. She found it under her bed, I assume it rolled out of a diaper when I was changing her. Yucky is right! When I had her show me where she found it I found one more little pebble of poop. I cleaned it up and had to laugh. Now we know to stay away from poop! Hope it makes your day better!

One month, but whose counting...

2010-12-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

So today marks one month that Charles has been with us. So many things have happened. Charles was born, yep. Lizzy adjusts to having a brother. This is an ongoing process. We adjust to having 4 in a family. I had my 30Th birthday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Chinese food! Yum! So easy. Charles saw his pediatrician for the first time. He had to go to a Urologist to get circumcised.
Crazy story: So the Pediatrician would not let him get circumcised at the hospital stating that his boy parts were too small for the procedure. Ask his pediatrician in a week. So we do, she says it looks alright, but lets ask a specialist just to be sure. So we set up and appointment and go in after I wrote down the wrong address and we had to turn around. Needless to say we were late. The Urologist says it looks fine and they must have been worried about the loose skin. This makes no sense to me, but I am new to all this boy stuff. So we sign off to have him perform the procedure and wait for the scream. I hear it, but it isn't prolonged. about 10 mins later the Dr. comes out with him. Charles was sleeping nicely sucking on his sugar coated Binky. Then the Dr. proceeds to tell us that he put stitches in so that we won't hurt him when we clean him and that because of this "loose skin" issue, we need to be extra diligent in changing and cleaning him. At this point I'm a little freaked, but we take him home and Daniel volunteers to do the first diaper change. He opens the diaper and stares in astonishment. He then looks up at me and says, "Where did it go?" It looked like the doctor had cut his penis off! Now I am thinking, "OK, maybe that pediatrician was right, it was too small." Also we didn't understand exactly what the doctor wanted us to do to clean it. I wish I had the foresight to ask for a demonstration. I mean how dare they send two new parents out with an injured baby and not demonstrate what we should do to care for him. Really! Well, we more or less figured it out, I think.
So back to this month of milestones, Charles rolled over at 2 weeks and is smiling now. His cord stump was accidentally pulled off by me, (this must be my super power as I did the same thing to Lizzy.) What else? We braved the last minute Christmas shoppers to play at the Mills Mall with the Purdys. That was fun. I am just glad I didn't need to do a lot of shopping as it was quite mad there. Charles got to see both Grandmas and one Grandpa. Yep, I think that about covers it. All in all, a great first month!

From One Month

Table for 4

2010-12-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

I am at last mostly on my own. Daniel is back to work and Mom is back in Washington so it is up to me now. Ahhhh!! Gasp, Deep breath. There. Exhale. I am also now out of those wonderful pain meds they gave me in the hospital. Ouch. But thanks to a very kind Heavenly Father I am mostly functioning and able to change 2 sets of diapers in a row. My biggest problem is refraining from picking up Lizzy. She wants to sit on my lap or get down from a chair and I tend to just pick her up. Big No No! I feel the pain immediately afterwards, so I keep reminding myself: You can't do that right now. Lizzy is mostly understanding and quite patient with me. Although she does occasionally walk hunched over holding her abdomen saying "I hurts." I'm not sure if I should be flattered that she still wants to emulate me or if it is all just mockery. Alas, who knows. Charles is a dear. He rarely crys and is just so sweet. Now if only I could nap during the day like him I'd be golden. Last night we were getting the kids ready for bed and there we were, Daniel and I each with a squirming child changing diapers side by side. I looked over at Daniel and thought, " Yes, this is the life!"

To the Hospital and Beyond...

2010-11-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

What an experience! The morning was quite relaxed as we finished our preparations and headed out to the hospital. I was feeling a little anxious, but composed. We found the wrong entrance and had to ask for directions to the actual hospital. That was fun; it was a bit of a walk, but we made it. I said good bye to Mom and Lizzy and then Daniel and I headed into the maternity ward. I filled out the paperwork and then we went back to the prep room. Daniel left to give Mom some directions and I got all hooked up and prepped for the surgery. The next part was the worst, we had to wait for an hour before the actual procedure was to take place. Yea. I had to drink this awful stuff which was to minimize stomach acidity. It is much worse then the sugar drink you have to take for a gestational diabetes test. EWW! Then they rolled me down to the operating room and while the nurses counted all the various surgical equipment, I received my Spinal. Then I lay on the table and waited some more.... Do dodo to do.
After a while they put up the tent and let Daniel come in and sit next to me. Then the party really started. The anesthetist said that he'd warn me when they were ready to pull Charles out, but they were distracted so I heard and felt them pull him out before he told me. Charles cried a bit and then they took him and cleaned him up. I didn't get to see him of course, but Daniel did. Then they sewed me up and rolled me back to the recovery room where we waited some more. About 2 and 1/2 hours. I was beginning to think they forgot about us. I threw up and then they brought Charles in to us. I got rolled into my room and they took Charles to do his tests. We waited some more. I finally got to feed him when they came back. Mom and Lizzy came by and we enjoyed the visit. Charles was born at 1:34 in the afternoon, he weighed 6 lbs and 10 oz. and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. He is so tiny and perfect. He is a sweet baby too. We are so very blessed. Daniel stayed with us the first night, in the morning I asked how he was and he said it was like being back on the sub. Same amount of traffic and same hard bed. Poor thing. I told him to go home to sleep after that. The hospital staff were awesome and Dr. Lieberman did a wonderful job. He is a great doctor. I really lucked out. They let me go home Thanksgiving Day and we are here recovering. It has been an adventure, but well worth it. Charles is such a blessing. Lizzy is so good with him. And I am so glad to have my Mom here to help out. I couldn't do it without her.

Baby news

2010-11-22T06:26:00.000-08:00

So this is the day I get to see my baby. I am so excited and feel so blessed to have this experience. My pregnancy has been good. There are the usual aches and pains, but on the whole I am actually healthier when I am pregnant. The only thing I really don't like is the fact that I don't really look pregnant. Here I am at 40 weeks and people still didn't know that I am pregnant. I get told all the time how I don't look pregnant. Alas, whats a girl to do? Maybe I should get a pillow to stuff my shirt just to shirk comments. Oh well, it is almost over. This is definitely going to be different then Lizzy's birth. It's like I'm going in for any other procedure. Arrive 2 hrs. early, be fasting, get prepped, have surgery, recover oh and here's your Baby. Thank you. How wild is that? I am so glad that we have modern medicine. I hope all goes well. I really like my doctor. He is really confidant and thorough. Well, that's enough chatter from me. Keep us in your prayers!

Doctor Doctor

2010-11-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Lizzy has been sick lately and on Sunday she got a bloody nose. So I took her to the doctors to see if there was anything wrong, or anything I could do to help her. With all these medication recalls I didn't know what to give her for her cold and cough. As we entered the doctors office Lizzy started saying over and over how she didn't want the doctor to touch her belly. I had no idea where this came from so I explained that the doctor was going to look in her ears and nose and mouth, not at her belly. She seemed pacified for the moment, but when the nurse came into the exam room she started up again. I explained again and showed her the tools the doctor would use to look in her ears and mouth. She said OK and we read a book and waited for the doctor. The prognosis was good, no ear infections! Yea! And no antibiotics needed. I was able to pick up some over the counter cold medicine and she is doing fine now. I still was confused about the whole tummy thing though. Well on Wednesday all was revealed. I took Lizzy to my weekly appointment at my Obgyn's office. She has been to nearly every appointment with me. And what do they do there? They check my tummy of course! Ha, no wonder she was concerned. She sees me get checked all the time. Too funny.

Halloween

2010-11-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Since Halloween was on Sunday we didn't do anything too festive. Plus Daniel was working again this year. Trick-or-treaters don't come to our door so it was a relatively quiet night. We had the Primary program and as a teacher I got to sit up in the stand and help. It was fun. the kids did great. Lizzy slept through the whole thing. A huge thank you to Sue for watching her for me! I made cookies for my class as a job well done. They were so tired. I think they must have all had a candy overload that morning. 3 were trying to sleep when we hit our second hour. Lizzy got a bloody nose during Nursery, I'm not sure what happened, but it started up again when we got home. So that was our Halloween scare.
Later Lizzy put her stroller basket over her head and said, "I'm a turtle, I in water." I laughed and told Daniel that's what she should be for Halloween. He said, "She is." It was cute. Quite appropriate.