Tuesday, July 21, 2009We had another fun day today. It was kind of a lazy morning; we just got up whenever we woke up, which for me was when Rori woke up. ;) She slept until 7:30, so that was okay, especially since she slept the whole night without having to get up to go potty. I had been worried before this trip that the change and excitement might mess up her potty progress, but so far that has not been the case! (Yay!) She has kept herself clean and dry the whole time, even when we were out at the beach or in town shopping, she has been able to hold it until we made it back to a restroom. *knock on wood*Once we got our acts together, we headed into town again. Cadi had a flip flop become just a flop and we wanted to get her new ones and my friend didn’t have a sweatshirt to match her shorts, so she wanted a new one too. Hey, if it sounds like a good enough of an excuse to go shopping, we will use it, right ladies? ;) The shopping part of the trip was pretty quick. Cadi didn’t find flip flops that she liked and I didn’t really care because I had an extra pair she could (and was at the time) use anyway. After Susan got a new sweatshirt, we took the kids to the beach to see a partial whale skeleton that has been preserved on the sand dunes. Super exciting stuff, I know. ;) As we were leaving to go back home for lunch, we saw a mommy and baby dear grazing in the grass in the dunes. Rori was very excited to see “Bambi”. lolSince Susan had just bought another sweatshirt, the weather decided to warm up. It was so warm, we were all getting too hot in our sweatshirts. We were very excited that we’d have a warm afternoon at the beach! We hurried home to eat lunch and get changed. It wasn’t more than an hour later, we headed to the beach in our suits and with our toys to dig in the sand, and we noticed… it wasn’t quite warm anymore. What had been clear was now misty. We were bummed. But we still went down to the beach and played anyway. The kids even got wet still. (Surprise, surprise. lol)After playing for a couple of hours, we collected driftwood for tonight’s fire and headed back. We roasted hotdogs for dinner and then marshmallows, of course. Then the games began. We played Phase 10, Skip Bo, and “The Question Game” (which was quite entertaining and had us laughing a lot). Eventually, we realized we were all getting a bit too loopy, and Susan and I noticed the kids must have been tired because they didn’t even argue when we said it was time for bed. lol The house is quiet now and I’m about ready to turn in, too. I’m hoping for another uninterrupted night of sleep again and another full day of fun tomorrow. I miss my Blue, but I’m still having a great time! :)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Long Beach Day Two
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Long Beach Day One
I'm finally getting around to posting a report and pictures from our beach trip! We really had such a great time! I took some time before I went to bed each night to write a little about that day, so here is what I wrote about our first day:
Stay tuned for Day Two...
Monday July 20, 2009This morning, the girls and I left Vancouver with our good friends and headed to Long Beach, WA. The first sign that this was going to be a good trip was that Rori made the entire 2 ½ hour trip (plus the hour before leaving town, doing errands in the car) without needing a single potty break! She did great!We arrived at the house we are staying at right in time for lunch. We quickly made sandwiches and pulled out veggie sticks to eat and then got changed to go to the beach. We had been watching the forecast for a few days and we were very excited that it was actually going to be 80 degrees here today! However, as usually, the forecast was not entirely accurate. It was more like 60. lol But we were excited to be here, so we got ready and walked the ½ mile or so from our beach house to the ocean. It was cold. Not freezing, but definitely cool. For some reason, that did not stop any of the kids (who are all undergoing psychiatric evaluations) from playing in the waves. After a pretty short visit, Susan and I called the kids back in so we could go into town and do some shopping instead. We had fun looking through the cute shops and each and every one of us ended up with a new “Long Beach” sweatshirt. We also each ended up with a yummy ice cream cone once we were done shopping. ;) Just before leaving, we noticed that the sun was out in full force and the fog had burned off, so we made a beeline for the car and raced back to the house so we could try the beach again.This time it was MUCH warmer! It was so warm that most of us took our new sweatshirts off and we all enjoyed a little water. We gathered driftwood to carry back to the house and after dinner, we started a fire in the fire pit so we could roast marshmallows and have Smore’s. YUM! Once we were out of firewood, we came back inside, started a load of laundry (because most of us used two, and in some cases three changes of clothes today, which we hadn’t entirely expected) and sat down to watch Twilight.The house we’re staying at is just right. It’s not super fancy but it is large and has everything we need. I’m hoping that the next time we have family come visit us for any decent amount of time that we can come up here for a couple of days. It’s beautiful, convenient, and affordable. :)Everyone’s in bed now (though, I’m positive the kids are up talking and being goofy) and I should turn in so I’m up for the full day of fun tomorrow. I miss my Blue but I’m having a fun time with my girls and friends. :)
I took many pictures on our trip. And then I came home and played with them... creating even more! Here is a slideshow with some of the pics from our first day. One thing I didn't realize when we first arrived, was that this was Jake and Jessica's first time to the beach! And it was only Emma and Kaitlyn's second! Poor deprived children!!! ;) Now I understand better why they were so excited and how every little thing fascinated them. :)
Stay tuned for Day Two...
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Words I live by...
just kidding. lol
While at the beach last week, Susan and I happened into a cute little gift shop. One of the things I was tempted to buy was a keychain that said,
"A woman should always spend more than her husband makes... it keeps him motivated."
I loved it! lol And I almost bought it, but I didn't think Ryan would find it as funny as I did. However, the other night when I told him about it, he laughed and thought it was pretty funny.
Drats! I totally should have followed the keychain's advice and gotten it! ;)
While at the beach last week, Susan and I happened into a cute little gift shop. One of the things I was tempted to buy was a keychain that said,
"A woman should always spend more than her husband makes... it keeps him motivated."
I loved it! lol And I almost bought it, but I didn't think Ryan would find it as funny as I did. However, the other night when I told him about it, he laughed and thought it was pretty funny.
Drats! I totally should have followed the keychain's advice and gotten it! ;)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Baby Blue
Today my baby turns three! I can hardly believe it!
Aurora keeps me so busy; she keeps all of us on our toes. But she is one of the best things to happen to our family. Aurora is nothing more than a miracle and no one will ever know just what that means to me and to us as a family. We adore her. She has brought out the best in all of us. Acadia has become a wonderful, loving, patient big sister. Ryan's heart melts everytime Rori laughs and says "Daddy". And me... well, she brought me healing that nothing else could. I often say that her cuteness is her saving grace, but the truth is, to a certain degree, she is my saving grace.
Acadia is my "Mini Me" and Aurora is more of a miniature Ryan in little girl form; she's my "Baby Blue".
Happy Birthday Aurora! We love you!!!
Aurora keeps me so busy; she keeps all of us on our toes. But she is one of the best things to happen to our family. Aurora is nothing more than a miracle and no one will ever know just what that means to me and to us as a family. We adore her. She has brought out the best in all of us. Acadia has become a wonderful, loving, patient big sister. Ryan's heart melts everytime Rori laughs and says "Daddy". And me... well, she brought me healing that nothing else could. I often say that her cuteness is her saving grace, but the truth is, to a certain degree, she is my saving grace.
Acadia is my "Mini Me" and Aurora is more of a miniature Ryan in little girl form; she's my "Baby Blue".
Happy Birthday Aurora! We love you!!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Little Guys Can Do Big Things, Too!
We were having a lazy morning. I had a headache and was slow to get out of bed. Somehow, the girls were picking up on this and were also slow getting out of bed. *yay!* Finally, I got up to take some drugs and that's when the phone rang. It was my neighbor and she needed our help!
*Cue "Mission Impossible" music*
They were driving their camper trailer up to Olympia where her hubby and older girls would be spending Girls Camp this week. (The hubby gets to sleep in the trailer while the girls camp with the other girls in camp.) As they were driving, they realized that no one remembered grabbing the keys to the trailer. But they weren't sure... maybe they were just in the car somewhere, but maybe they were still hanging on the hook in their kitchen.
So, my friend asked to have Cadi go over, crawl through the doggie door and look for the keys. If they were here, they'd come back for them. If they were not, they must be in the car somewhere. I had to wake Cadi up but she was eager to help, so she threw on her flip flops and ran over. But she couldn't fit through the doggie door. The only hope we had to help our friends was to convince Rori to do the job. But would she understand what we needed her to do? We gave her a pep talk and a quick training at our house, then headed over to see if our littlest family member could do the big job that none of the rest of us could do...
Hurray for Aurora! She did it! Unfortunately, that means our friends have a lot of driving to do, back and forth... but at least they know where the keys are now.
***This blog post brought to you by Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle episode:
*Cue "Mission Impossible" music*
They were driving their camper trailer up to Olympia where her hubby and older girls would be spending Girls Camp this week. (The hubby gets to sleep in the trailer while the girls camp with the other girls in camp.) As they were driving, they realized that no one remembered grabbing the keys to the trailer. But they weren't sure... maybe they were just in the car somewhere, but maybe they were still hanging on the hook in their kitchen.
So, my friend asked to have Cadi go over, crawl through the doggie door and look for the keys. If they were here, they'd come back for them. If they were not, they must be in the car somewhere. I had to wake Cadi up but she was eager to help, so she threw on her flip flops and ran over. But she couldn't fit through the doggie door. The only hope we had to help our friends was to convince Rori to do the job. But would she understand what we needed her to do? We gave her a pep talk and a quick training at our house, then headed over to see if our littlest family member could do the big job that none of the rest of us could do...
Hurray for Aurora! She did it! Unfortunately, that means our friends have a lot of driving to do, back and forth... but at least they know where the keys are now.
***This blog post brought to you by Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle episode:
Sunday, July 26, 2009
We cannot tell a lie...
We did chop down the cherry tree!
Of course, it was first a weeping cherry blossom tree and only recently became a cherry tree... but still, we chopped it down. "Why?" Well, to make room for my Dogwood, of course! And because that tree was just confused and making us confused. lol
Yesterday was a hot day, so Ryan started by working in the shade of the tree he'd be demolishing. He dug around it and chopped off the roots first. His friend, James came with his kids and they helped. It was James who gave Ryan the idea to climb up in the tree and "ride it down". He didn't have to suggest it twice. lol
The guys tied a rope around one of the upper branches and had the kids pull on it while James chopped at the final root holding the tree in place.
After the tree was down, we borrowed our neighbor's chainsaw to cut it to pieces. Their kids came over to help and we sent them home with the wood to add to their wood pile. The kids cut the branches into managable pieces and piled them in the corner of the yard while Ryan chopped the thicker branches and trunks to load into the wheelbarrows. Everyone helped and everything went smoothly. :)
(It was really cute - Rori kept trying to pull the rope tied to the tree, even though it was laying on the ground. lol)
We'll be planting my Dogwood close to where this tree had been. I'm anxious to get it in the ground! :)
Of course, it was first a weeping cherry blossom tree and only recently became a cherry tree... but still, we chopped it down. "Why?" Well, to make room for my Dogwood, of course! And because that tree was just confused and making us confused. lol
Yesterday was a hot day, so Ryan started by working in the shade of the tree he'd be demolishing. He dug around it and chopped off the roots first. His friend, James came with his kids and they helped. It was James who gave Ryan the idea to climb up in the tree and "ride it down". He didn't have to suggest it twice. lol
The guys tied a rope around one of the upper branches and had the kids pull on it while James chopped at the final root holding the tree in place.
After the tree was down, we borrowed our neighbor's chainsaw to cut it to pieces. Their kids came over to help and we sent them home with the wood to add to their wood pile. The kids cut the branches into managable pieces and piled them in the corner of the yard while Ryan chopped the thicker branches and trunks to load into the wheelbarrows. Everyone helped and everything went smoothly. :)
(It was really cute - Rori kept trying to pull the rope tied to the tree, even though it was laying on the ground. lol)
We'll be planting my Dogwood close to where this tree had been. I'm anxious to get it in the ground! :)
Follow the Prophet; he knows the way!
Last night our family had a faith-building experience.
Ryan had lost his wallet and we searched EVERYWHERE for it. We started to worry that he had left or dropped it at the store he went to the night before. As you can imagine, it was getting stressful and Ryan was especially concerned. A couple of times when Acadia suggested a place to look (which he had already checked) he was frustrated and asked her to just be quiet.
Backtrack to a few days earlier... The August Ensign had arrived and Ryan was the first to get his hands on it. The First Presidency Message was by President Eyring, and it was about teaching our children the power of prayer by example and then expressing personal testimony of it.
Ryan was in our bedroom and at a loss of where else to look; he felt frustrated, anxious, etc. He thought about the message by President Eyring and began a prayer as he sat on our bed. It didn't feel quite right, so he stopped, got on his knees and began again. He prayed first for patience - with his family, with the situation, etc. Then he prayed for peace. And finally he prayed to find his wallet, and if not, to know all the things he would have to do (cancelling credit cards, etc) if it was lost/stolen. Immediately, before he even finished his prayer, he felt peaceful.
When he finished his prayer, he got up, knowing that somehow it would all be okay. He walked into the bathroom and looked behind the door. There, on the floor, were the shorts he had worn earlier in the day (he had checked shorts in the laundry that he thought were the ones he had been wearing) and had to smile. He knew right away that he had just found his wallet.
He came out of the bedroom and called the family together to relay the whole experience to us; that he had read words from a prophet that we should turn to Heavenly Father whenever we need anything and then share our experiences and testimony with our family, and that he had just prayed for help, had received peace immediately, and then found the wallet right away.
We are grateful for our prophets' wise words and counsel, for the wonderful blessing of prayer, for a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers, and for the opportunity to learn and grow together as a family.
Ryan had lost his wallet and we searched EVERYWHERE for it. We started to worry that he had left or dropped it at the store he went to the night before. As you can imagine, it was getting stressful and Ryan was especially concerned. A couple of times when Acadia suggested a place to look (which he had already checked) he was frustrated and asked her to just be quiet.
Backtrack to a few days earlier... The August Ensign had arrived and Ryan was the first to get his hands on it. The First Presidency Message was by President Eyring, and it was about teaching our children the power of prayer by example and then expressing personal testimony of it.
Ryan was in our bedroom and at a loss of where else to look; he felt frustrated, anxious, etc. He thought about the message by President Eyring and began a prayer as he sat on our bed. It didn't feel quite right, so he stopped, got on his knees and began again. He prayed first for patience - with his family, with the situation, etc. Then he prayed for peace. And finally he prayed to find his wallet, and if not, to know all the things he would have to do (cancelling credit cards, etc) if it was lost/stolen. Immediately, before he even finished his prayer, he felt peaceful.
When he finished his prayer, he got up, knowing that somehow it would all be okay. He walked into the bathroom and looked behind the door. There, on the floor, were the shorts he had worn earlier in the day (he had checked shorts in the laundry that he thought were the ones he had been wearing) and had to smile. He knew right away that he had just found his wallet.
He came out of the bedroom and called the family together to relay the whole experience to us; that he had read words from a prophet that we should turn to Heavenly Father whenever we need anything and then share our experiences and testimony with our family, and that he had just prayed for help, had received peace immediately, and then found the wallet right away.
We are grateful for our prophets' wise words and counsel, for the wonderful blessing of prayer, for a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers, and for the opportunity to learn and grow together as a family.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Pioneers
Today is Pioneer Day. Members of our church celebrate today and remember the pioneers who left their homes and journeyed across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. They left because they were being persecuted; their homes and crops were attacked and burned by mobs, the men were beaten and sometimes killed, even the women and children were attacked. In order to find a place where they could live and worship in peace, they left their home and country and found a new home in unclaimed territory. The journey was perilous and many did not make it. But after traveling (mostly on foot) for 1300 miles, the Saints finally reached the Salt Lake Valley.
As we remember the early pioneers, we also celebrate modern day pioneers. I see Ryan as a modern day pioneer; he and his brother are the first in his family to join the church. I see my brothers and sister as modern day pioneers; they are the first in our family to serve a mission for the church. Check out this video:
There is one hymn that every church member associates with pioneers, and in fact, the pioneers themselves sung it along the trail. I found this beautiful video using an original arrangement of the hymn on YouTube, the words to the hymn follow:
Come, Come, Ye Saints
As we remember the early pioneers, we also celebrate modern day pioneers. I see Ryan as a modern day pioneer; he and his brother are the first in his family to join the church. I see my brothers and sister as modern day pioneers; they are the first in our family to serve a mission for the church. Check out this video:
There is one hymn that every church member associates with pioneers, and in fact, the pioneers themselves sung it along the trail. I found this beautiful video using an original arrangement of the hymn on YouTube, the words to the hymn follow:
Come, Come, Ye Saints
1. Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
’Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell—
All is well! All is well!
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
’Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell—
All is well! All is well!
2. Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
’Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—
All is well! All is well!
’Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—
All is well! All is well!
3. We’ll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.
We’ll make the air with music ring,
Shout praises to our God and King;
Above the rest these words we’ll tell—
All is well! All is well!
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.
We’ll make the air with music ring,
Shout praises to our God and King;
Above the rest these words we’ll tell—
All is well! All is well!
We're Back!
We got home from the beach last night; it was such a fun time! I have a ton of pictures to go through and upload. :) (I might wait to post them until I get copies of our friends' pics.)
I had a headache last night and was so tired, so I dozed on the couch for a few minutes after we got home. My headache was still there when I woke up (just a few minutes later... maybe 30 minutes tops) so before going to bed, I took a couple Excedrin.
Yeah.
Note to self: Don't take anything with CAFFEINE right before trying to go to sleep!!! I was laying in bed, wide awake until after 3 AM!!! No joke, and so not cool. :S
I finally got to sleep and thankfully, Rori slept in until 8am. I am a little tired, but what can ya do? And, my head feels fine, so... lol.
Today I need to recover from our trip and get ready for a meeting this afternoon. Hopefully I'll get to posting more about our trip soon. Until then: the beach was gorgeous, the weather was cool, and the company was fabulous! :)
I had a headache last night and was so tired, so I dozed on the couch for a few minutes after we got home. My headache was still there when I woke up (just a few minutes later... maybe 30 minutes tops) so before going to bed, I took a couple Excedrin.
Yeah.
Note to self: Don't take anything with CAFFEINE right before trying to go to sleep!!! I was laying in bed, wide awake until after 3 AM!!! No joke, and so not cool. :S
I finally got to sleep and thankfully, Rori slept in until 8am. I am a little tired, but what can ya do? And, my head feels fine, so... lol.
Today I need to recover from our trip and get ready for a meeting this afternoon. Hopefully I'll get to posting more about our trip soon. Until then: the beach was gorgeous, the weather was cool, and the company was fabulous! :)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Life's a beach.
At least, it will be for us this week. :)
In the morning, the girls and I are heading to the coast with our good friends and neighbors. We'll spend four days/three nights at our mutual friend's beach house. We are all very excited! I think we timed it right because we're heading back into the 90s here tomorrow and will be in the 90's most of the week. But it'll be mostly the 70s at the coast. Nice!
So, don't look for me here for a few days. But do watch for lots of fun beach pics when I get back! :)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
A successful test run.
Today Ryan and I joined some good friends for a lunch date. I had already paid for a sitter so much this week, I really didn't have the money to pay again, so we decided since it would be a relatively short amount of time, close to home, during the day, when we would be easily available/contactable, and our neighbors would be home in case of emergency... this might be a good time to let Cadi babysit.
I was a little nervous... I think even Cadi was a little nervous, even though she was also very excited. lol But it went pretty well! Just as Ryan and I walked up to the restaurant, Cadi called, and I thought, "Here we go..." fully expecting to get several calls during lunch. But she only wanted to see if they could have popsicles, which yes they could, and after that, we didn't hear from her! At the end of our enjoyable lunch, we called to check in; they were doing "great" so Rye and I stopped by a consignment store that was having a liquidation before coming home.
We arrived home to find it still standing and each of the girls in one piece. I'd call that a success for the first time! Cadi earned $5 and gained her first babysitting experience. I have already assured my "go to" babysitter that she still has a job; I won't use Cadi at night or ever when I can't get home immediately, and since most dates are at night, she can still count on me needing her services. But it's good to know that I can use Cadi for little things, especially visits I need to make for my calling, which was starting to cost me an arm and a leg - it really adds up! :)
I was a little nervous... I think even Cadi was a little nervous, even though she was also very excited. lol But it went pretty well! Just as Ryan and I walked up to the restaurant, Cadi called, and I thought, "Here we go..." fully expecting to get several calls during lunch. But she only wanted to see if they could have popsicles, which yes they could, and after that, we didn't hear from her! At the end of our enjoyable lunch, we called to check in; they were doing "great" so Rye and I stopped by a consignment store that was having a liquidation before coming home.
We arrived home to find it still standing and each of the girls in one piece. I'd call that a success for the first time! Cadi earned $5 and gained her first babysitting experience. I have already assured my "go to" babysitter that she still has a job; I won't use Cadi at night or ever when I can't get home immediately, and since most dates are at night, she can still count on me needing her services. But it's good to know that I can use Cadi for little things, especially visits I need to make for my calling, which was starting to cost me an arm and a leg - it really adds up! :)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Two is even better than one.
Especially when you're talking about viewings of the new Harry Potter movie!!!
Yesterday, Ryan took the day off from work because he has to go in on Sunday this weekend. We took advantage of that and got a sitter for Rori so Ryan, Cadi, and I could go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
WE LOVED IT!!! We loved it SO much, that as soon as we got home, Cadi and I decided to take our friends who had wanted to see it with us earlier, but were not able to go when we were going. So, yeah, Cadi and I went to see Harry Potter twice yesterday - pretty much back-to-back! lol
Yes, it's that good.
Also, DANG these kids are growing up! Hermione and Ginny are beautiful and Harry is looking cuter than ever. :)
Yesterday, Ryan took the day off from work because he has to go in on Sunday this weekend. We took advantage of that and got a sitter for Rori so Ryan, Cadi, and I could go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
WE LOVED IT!!! We loved it SO much, that as soon as we got home, Cadi and I decided to take our friends who had wanted to see it with us earlier, but were not able to go when we were going. So, yeah, Cadi and I went to see Harry Potter twice yesterday - pretty much back-to-back! lol
Yes, it's that good.
Also, DANG these kids are growing up! Hermione and Ginny are beautiful and Harry is looking cuter than ever. :)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
5 Point Stop
We do not recommend it.
Or, as Cadi says, "Rori it the pavement... and the pavement hit back!"
Poor baby. But it's not slowing her down. She's a trooper! :)
Or, as Cadi says, "Rori it the pavement... and the pavement hit back!"
Poor baby. But it's not slowing her down. She's a trooper! :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Eat, Drink, & Be Merry
Some friends and I were talking about how much we like church recipe books because the recipes are all "tried and true", are often budget friendly, and will also often "feed the masses". They're just so practical. And it's great! But, we wouldn't want to put in the effort to make one. That's when my friend turned to me and said, "Well Sariah, you like to cook, and you have all of your favorite recipes on your computer... I wish there was just one place we could all go to see your recipes and maybe share our own, too."
Well, that's simple enough... so I created a new recipe blog! It's called
So, please, come visit! And if you'd like to be a contributor, I'd love to make you one, so just let me know! Or, if you don't want to be a contributor but would still like to share an occasional recipe, just e-mail it to me and I'll post it for you. Feel free to invite others, too. (The more the merrier!)
I've posted a few recipes already and will continue posting more. They are labeled in a variety of categories to make it easy to search for a more specific kind of recipe later. I hope you'll stop by and share with us! And let me know what you think! :)
www.rsrecipeblog.blogspot.com
(Special thanks to my friend, Lilac, who helped me with the template design. You're marvelous, darling. Simply marvelous!)
Well, that's simple enough... so I created a new recipe blog! It's called
"Eat, Drink, & Be Merry".Originally, it was planned to be a place for the ladies from my church to share recipes, but since we can't really have it be an official church website, I'm doing it as my own personal blog, and then inviting all of my friends and family (including my ward family) to participate.
So, please, come visit! And if you'd like to be a contributor, I'd love to make you one, so just let me know! Or, if you don't want to be a contributor but would still like to share an occasional recipe, just e-mail it to me and I'll post it for you. Feel free to invite others, too. (The more the merrier!)
I've posted a few recipes already and will continue posting more. They are labeled in a variety of categories to make it easy to search for a more specific kind of recipe later. I hope you'll stop by and share with us! And let me know what you think! :)
www.rsrecipeblog.blogspot.com
(Special thanks to my friend, Lilac, who helped me with the template design. You're marvelous, darling. Simply marvelous!)
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
It's Baaaaaaaack!!!!!
Yesterday, Ryan's friend called just as he was getting ready to go to work. His car had stopped working. Again. So last night, they towed the darn thing back to our house. Oh joy. I think they guys were afraid to tell me. lol But they PROMISE it will be out of my driveway by the end of the week. Yeah, we'll see. lol
Last night, Ryan stayed up to almost midnight working on it with his friend. They drained the recently-filled gas tank and removed said gas tank, among other things. (They are pretty sure it's the gas pump that needs to be replaced.) Now my front yard smells like gasoline. Lovely. I really hope they're right, that this doesn't take long this time.
***Update***
Ryan's friend stopped by on his lunch break to test the gas pump. Well guess what, it's working fine. So that wasn't the problem! Wonderful. Back to square one... That's what I was worried about... until they couldn't keep a straight face anymore and admitted that after ALL THAT WORK last night, and the car being in numerous parts today, the problem??? The stupid easy-to-fix-in-five-minutes FUSE!!!
Dorks.
So, at least once the car is put back together, I know it will be driving away, hopefully NOT to return anytime soon. lol
Yesterday, Ryan's friend called just as he was getting ready to go to work. His car had stopped working. Again. So last night, they towed the darn thing back to our house. Oh joy. I think they guys were afraid to tell me. lol But they PROMISE it will be out of my driveway by the end of the week. Yeah, we'll see. lol
Last night, Ryan stayed up to almost midnight working on it with his friend. They drained the recently-filled gas tank and removed said gas tank, among other things. (They are pretty sure it's the gas pump that needs to be replaced.) Now my front yard smells like gasoline. Lovely. I really hope they're right, that this doesn't take long this time.
***Update***
Ryan's friend stopped by on his lunch break to test the gas pump. Well guess what, it's working fine. So that wasn't the problem! Wonderful. Back to square one... That's what I was worried about... until they couldn't keep a straight face anymore and admitted that after ALL THAT WORK last night, and the car being in numerous parts today, the problem??? The stupid easy-to-fix-in-five-minutes FUSE!!!
Dorks.
So, at least once the car is put back together, I know it will be driving away, hopefully NOT to return anytime soon. lol
Monday, July 13, 2009
Impatiently awaiting a lesson in patience.
Rori wanted to watch a Veggie Tales dvd but Cadi was watching a show. She didn't want to wait her turn and repeatedly asked to watch the movie. She fussed a bit and even started to throw a tantrum, until finally it was her turn to watch the dvd. We went to put it in for her and had to laugh... the dvd she wanted to watch was:
"Abe and the Amazing Promise: A Lesson in Patience"
Am I the only one that thinks that's kinda funny and ironic? lol
"Abe and the Amazing Promise: A Lesson in Patience"
Am I the only one that thinks that's kinda funny and ironic? lol
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Happy Birthday to me...
... Ryan gave me a tree!
And I LOVE IT!!!
For awhile now, I've been wanting to landscape our yards and the first thing I want to do is plant a pink flowering dogwood tree. Ryan's not agaist the idea, though he has been telling me that he wanted to wait before we did anything, which was fine with me because I hear fall is the best time to plant new things. So, I was very surprised when we opened the door to go to church this morning and I found this:
(Of course, it's not flowering right now, but trust me, come next spring, this tree is going to be beyond gorgeous!)
In fact, in the back of this pic, you can see the tall tree in the front of our yard, that's where this baby's going. We've made the final decision to cut down our confused cherry tree and plant my dogwood in it's place.
Prior to this moment, the girls had given me their gifts. Rori gave me a chocolate bar and Acadia gave me this:
I like it a lot and received lots of compliments on it at church. It means even more after I found my tree on the doorstep. This necklace and that tree will always remind me of my awesome family and how much I love them. It'll be our own little family tree. :)
Ryan and the girls had made me breakfast this morning and for dinner, we had a frozen lasagna so I didn't have to do any work. :) Of course, we had to have cake! And because I can, I had purchased an ice cream cake. YUM! We sat down with our ice cream cake and watched LOTR together... it was a great birthday! :)
And I LOVE IT!!!
For awhile now, I've been wanting to landscape our yards and the first thing I want to do is plant a pink flowering dogwood tree. Ryan's not agaist the idea, though he has been telling me that he wanted to wait before we did anything, which was fine with me because I hear fall is the best time to plant new things. So, I was very surprised when we opened the door to go to church this morning and I found this:
(Of course, it's not flowering right now, but trust me, come next spring, this tree is going to be beyond gorgeous!)
In fact, in the back of this pic, you can see the tall tree in the front of our yard, that's where this baby's going. We've made the final decision to cut down our confused cherry tree and plant my dogwood in it's place.
Prior to this moment, the girls had given me their gifts. Rori gave me a chocolate bar and Acadia gave me this:
I like it a lot and received lots of compliments on it at church. It means even more after I found my tree on the doorstep. This necklace and that tree will always remind me of my awesome family and how much I love them. It'll be our own little family tree. :)
Ryan and the girls had made me breakfast this morning and for dinner, we had a frozen lasagna so I didn't have to do any work. :) Of course, we had to have cake! And because I can, I had purchased an ice cream cake. YUM! We sat down with our ice cream cake and watched LOTR together... it was a great birthday! :)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Playing at the Park
This morning the girls and I spent some time at the park up the hill. Check out some pics:
NO DIAPERS!!!
It is official:
Aurora is potty trained!!!
For the last week, Rori has kept her diaper dry at night, so last night we let her sleep in her big girl panties. Yay!!! NO MORE DIAPERS!!! She's been doing fantastic during the day, only struggling with her recent fear of pooping, but even that is improving. Yesterday she pooped in the toilet 4 times with minimal fussing, which is a huge improvement from pooping only once every 3 or 4 days with lots of crying. I'm hoping that in a few more days, this poop problem will be a distant memory. :)
Good job, Rori! We are so proud of you!!!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Power of Forgiving
I was reading this week's lesson for Relief Society and there were a few quotes I wanted to share:
"Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive our brother on the first intimations of repentance, and asking forgiveness; and should we even forgive our brother, or even our enemy, before he repent or ask forgiveness, our heavenly Father would be equally as merciful unto us." Joseph Smith, Jr. (emphasis added)
"Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand, and watch over them with tenderness." Joseph Smith, Jr.
I really liked both of those quotes. The first one really made me think about whether I was so eager to forgive others - to even forgive them before they ask for forgiveness. That's my new goal. I love the promise that if we show mercy and forgiveness to others so quickly, our Heavenly Father will show mercy and forgiveness to us just as quickly.
And to take it to the next level, we should then forgive others even if they don't repent or ask forgiveness. What they do is up to them, what we do is up to us. Their actions don't need to dictate our actions.
The second quote is so true! Showing love and tenderness is such a positive, motivating force to help others do what is right. I know I'm strengthened and inspired to be better when other show kindness toward me. I think we should consider this more in our interactions with others, especially those who are struggling and need support and encouragement.
Those were just my thoughts and I thought they were worth sharing. Some things to think about. :)
"Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive our brother on the first intimations of repentance, and asking forgiveness; and should we even forgive our brother, or even our enemy, before he repent or ask forgiveness, our heavenly Father would be equally as merciful unto us." Joseph Smith, Jr. (emphasis added)
"Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand, and watch over them with tenderness." Joseph Smith, Jr.
I really liked both of those quotes. The first one really made me think about whether I was so eager to forgive others - to even forgive them before they ask for forgiveness. That's my new goal. I love the promise that if we show mercy and forgiveness to others so quickly, our Heavenly Father will show mercy and forgiveness to us just as quickly.
And to take it to the next level, we should then forgive others even if they don't repent or ask forgiveness. What they do is up to them, what we do is up to us. Their actions don't need to dictate our actions.
The second quote is so true! Showing love and tenderness is such a positive, motivating force to help others do what is right. I know I'm strengthened and inspired to be better when other show kindness toward me. I think we should consider this more in our interactions with others, especially those who are struggling and need support and encouragement.
Those were just my thoughts and I thought they were worth sharing. Some things to think about. :)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Don't toy with my heart.
I went to my favorite news page to get the weather report for today and the next few days. Right away, a bright red warning caught my attention: VOLCANO ALERT!
Exciting!!!
I love living here and I am hopelessly in love with Mount St. Helens. I love Mt. Hood, too, but Mt. St. Helens just sets my heart beating faster everytime I see her. Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but sometimes when I'm driving along and catch a view of her, I tear up. I just LOVE Mt. St. Helens and find her fascinating and stunning. Even after blowing a third off the top, she's still huge!
I love to read and watch stories about her past:
(One day before erruption)
(May 18, 1980)
(After)
I love to visit her,
and I love to see how she is rebuilding herself.
(Inside the crater)
A few years ago, there were all those little erruptions and I remember my mom was a little worried, kept suggesting I should go visit her or something. lol No way! We aren't in danger where we are - we're 50 miles south of her and we have great views, if something were going to happen, I want to be here to see it!
So, when I saw that warning, I knew it was probably just another ash plume or maybe a couple of stronger earthquakes than normal (there are earthquakes up there everyday, that's nothing alarming at all). I clicked on the link, read the report, and at the end it says,
"A PILOT REPORTED ASH DRIFTING NE
FROM MSH. WEB CAM SUGGESTS THIS IS RESUSPENDED
ASH DUE TO STRONG WINDS. NO ERUPTION IS
OCCURRING."
Well, that was very unexciting. What a let down! Even though I expected it to be nothing serious, I did expect that the mountain had done something, but nope, just the wind and a paranoid pilot.
Bummer.
Exciting!!!
I love living here and I am hopelessly in love with Mount St. Helens. I love Mt. Hood, too, but Mt. St. Helens just sets my heart beating faster everytime I see her. Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but sometimes when I'm driving along and catch a view of her, I tear up. I just LOVE Mt. St. Helens and find her fascinating and stunning. Even after blowing a third off the top, she's still huge!
I love to read and watch stories about her past:
(One day before erruption)
(May 18, 1980)
(After)
I love to visit her,
and I love to see how she is rebuilding herself.
(Inside the crater)
A few years ago, there were all those little erruptions and I remember my mom was a little worried, kept suggesting I should go visit her or something. lol No way! We aren't in danger where we are - we're 50 miles south of her and we have great views, if something were going to happen, I want to be here to see it!
So, when I saw that warning, I knew it was probably just another ash plume or maybe a couple of stronger earthquakes than normal (there are earthquakes up there everyday, that's nothing alarming at all). I clicked on the link, read the report, and at the end it says,
"A PILOT REPORTED ASH DRIFTING NE
FROM MSH. WEB CAM SUGGESTS THIS IS RESUSPENDED
ASH DUE TO STRONG WINDS. NO ERUPTION IS
OCCURRING."
Well, that was very unexciting. What a let down! Even though I expected it to be nothing serious, I did expect that the mountain had done something, but nope, just the wind and a paranoid pilot.
Bummer.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Our Birthday Part for America
We SO look forward to the Fourth of July every year! This year, as always, we went to my aunt and uncle's house to BBQ, play, and light fireworks. This year, we brought along some friends of ours, our awesome neighbors. :)
We visited and played bananagrams (I lost miserably the first game, but kicked butt the second game. lol) while we waited for dinner. Uncle Matthew BBQed and everyone brought sides and salads. Everything was SO GOOD!!!
After dinner, we headed up the hill to a park, bringing along the wading pool full of water balloons. :D Matthew tried to lay out the ground rules, silly enough to believe we'd actually follow them, and then the fun began! We played Water Balloon Freeze Tag until we were out of water balloons. We actually did kind of stick to the main rules of the game... for the most part. lol It was a lot of fun! And since it was 90 degrees, the water fight was refreshing! :)
Usually, I watch Rori and take pics while everyone plays, but this time I decided to get in on the fun and I left my camera in the hands of my friend, Susan. She mostly took video of the fight, which I'm sure is going to be embarrassing to watch seeing as how I became a huge target for some reason and kept getting pelted with water balloons, but she did get a few pics:
We had some time between the water balloon fight and fireworks, so we visited and played more bananagrams.
And finally it was dark! And that can mean only one thing... FIREWORKS!!!
Rori is frightened by the fireworks, so we had ear muffs for her and let her snuggle under a blanket. She started out sitting with Emma, but after I took a few pics, she ended up on my lap and fell asleep. She slept through all of the fireworks! Except for the one time when a couple of the tubes exploded on the ground, everyone jumped, some of the girls screamed... yeah, that did wake her up for a few minutes, but then she fell back to sleep and slept until it was over. lol
While my normally sane and sound husband transformed into his annual pyro self, Stan helped the kids light sparklers and roman candles. It's fun to take pics of the kids with sparklers, you get the neatest pics:
Ryan let Cadi light off a few of the fireworks this year. It was hilarious because after she lit her first mortars, she yelled, "I feel like a Roser!" It had us all laughing!!! I didn't get a pic of her lighting the fireworks, but I did get this pic of her and Jessica helping Ryan load the next round of mortars.
I tried to take a candid pic of the group watching fireworks, but it turned out blurry. :(
I love my camera! These were pics taken with my camera; I took some, and Emma took some (She loves my camera, too! lol):
The finale finished up around 11:45pm. About that time, we realized that we never ate the cheesecake Ryan had made. So we started what may become a new tradition: Midnight Cheesecake. lol After the cheesecake, cleaning up, and saying goodbyes, we finally got home around 1am.
It was such a fun night, probably one of the best Fourth of Julys we've had! And I am already looking forward to next year's! :)
We visited and played bananagrams (I lost miserably the first game, but kicked butt the second game. lol) while we waited for dinner. Uncle Matthew BBQed and everyone brought sides and salads. Everything was SO GOOD!!!
After dinner, we headed up the hill to a park, bringing along the wading pool full of water balloons. :D Matthew tried to lay out the ground rules, silly enough to believe we'd actually follow them, and then the fun began! We played Water Balloon Freeze Tag until we were out of water balloons. We actually did kind of stick to the main rules of the game... for the most part. lol It was a lot of fun! And since it was 90 degrees, the water fight was refreshing! :)
Usually, I watch Rori and take pics while everyone plays, but this time I decided to get in on the fun and I left my camera in the hands of my friend, Susan. She mostly took video of the fight, which I'm sure is going to be embarrassing to watch seeing as how I became a huge target for some reason and kept getting pelted with water balloons, but she did get a few pics:
We had some time between the water balloon fight and fireworks, so we visited and played more bananagrams.
And finally it was dark! And that can mean only one thing... FIREWORKS!!!
Rori is frightened by the fireworks, so we had ear muffs for her and let her snuggle under a blanket. She started out sitting with Emma, but after I took a few pics, she ended up on my lap and fell asleep. She slept through all of the fireworks! Except for the one time when a couple of the tubes exploded on the ground, everyone jumped, some of the girls screamed... yeah, that did wake her up for a few minutes, but then she fell back to sleep and slept until it was over. lol
While my normally sane and sound husband transformed into his annual pyro self, Stan helped the kids light sparklers and roman candles. It's fun to take pics of the kids with sparklers, you get the neatest pics:
Ryan let Cadi light off a few of the fireworks this year. It was hilarious because after she lit her first mortars, she yelled, "I feel like a Roser!" It had us all laughing!!! I didn't get a pic of her lighting the fireworks, but I did get this pic of her and Jessica helping Ryan load the next round of mortars.
I tried to take a candid pic of the group watching fireworks, but it turned out blurry. :(
I love my camera! These were pics taken with my camera; I took some, and Emma took some (She loves my camera, too! lol):
The finale finished up around 11:45pm. About that time, we realized that we never ate the cheesecake Ryan had made. So we started what may become a new tradition: Midnight Cheesecake. lol After the cheesecake, cleaning up, and saying goodbyes, we finally got home around 1am.
It was such a fun night, probably one of the best Fourth of Julys we've had! And I am already looking forward to next year's! :)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
What's more American than a pancake breakfast and bicycle parade?
Our ward (church congregation) gathered this morning to enjoy a yummy breakfast, flag ceremony, bicycle parade, and singing of Patriotic hymns. We had a great time!
It started with the Boy Scouts presenting the flag and we all said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the Cub Scouts had a brief presentation about the U.S.A., followed by a beautiful acapella solo of "The Star Spangled Banner". And then it was breakfast time; pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage links, hash browns, and juice.
When we finished eating, the kids brought in their bicycles and decked them out in red, white, and blue.
Of course, they had to have a parade, so they made one lap around the cultural hall and then made a lap our two around the building.
And we finished up by singing "God Bless America".
I love celebrating Independance Day and this was the perfect way to start!
It started with the Boy Scouts presenting the flag and we all said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the Cub Scouts had a brief presentation about the U.S.A., followed by a beautiful acapella solo of "The Star Spangled Banner". And then it was breakfast time; pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage links, hash browns, and juice.
When we finished eating, the kids brought in their bicycles and decked them out in red, white, and blue.
Of course, they had to have a parade, so they made one lap around the cultural hall and then made a lap our two around the building.
And we finished up by singing "God Bless America".
I love celebrating Independance Day and this was the perfect way to start!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Liberty
I love celebrating our Independance Day! And I'm thoroughly looking forward to all of the celebrations tomorrow. I hope that all of you enjoy a fun and safe Fourth as well.
I also hope that we remember how blessed we are to live in this great country. We take our freedoms for granted. I love the song in this video (though, my favorite version is sung by Hilary Weeks; this version is by Twila Paris, the songwriter):
(If the video doesn't work, here is a link to it on YouTube.)
What Did He Die For?
He was 21 in 1944,
He was hope, and he was courage on a lonely shore.
Sent there by a mother, with love beyond her tears,
Just a young american who chose to rise above his fears,
And as I watch him struggle up that hill,
Without a thought of turning back.
I can not help but wonder,
What did he die for, when he died for you and me,
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free.
I believe that we will answer each to heaven, For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did he die for, when he died for me?
To the darkest day in a.d 33, Came the mercy and compassion of eternity,
Sent there by a Father with love beyond His tears,
Blameless one, the only Son to bear the guilt of all these years,
and as I watch him struggle up that hill,
without a thought of turing back,
I cannot help but wonder,
What did he die for, when he died for you and me,
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free.
I belive that we will answer each to heaven, For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did he die for, when he died for me?
He died for freedom,
He died for love,
And all the things we do to pay him back, could never be enough.
What did he die for, when he died for you and me,
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free.
I believe that we will answer each to heaven, For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did he die for, when he died for me?
I also hope that we remember how blessed we are to live in this great country. We take our freedoms for granted. I love the song in this video (though, my favorite version is sung by Hilary Weeks; this version is by Twila Paris, the songwriter):
(If the video doesn't work, here is a link to it on YouTube.)
What Did He Die For?
He was 21 in 1944,
He was hope, and he was courage on a lonely shore.
Sent there by a mother, with love beyond her tears,
Just a young american who chose to rise above his fears,
And as I watch him struggle up that hill,
Without a thought of turning back.
I can not help but wonder,
What did he die for, when he died for you and me,
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free.
I believe that we will answer each to heaven, For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did he die for, when he died for me?
To the darkest day in a.d 33, Came the mercy and compassion of eternity,
Sent there by a Father with love beyond His tears,
Blameless one, the only Son to bear the guilt of all these years,
and as I watch him struggle up that hill,
without a thought of turing back,
I cannot help but wonder,
What did he die for, when he died for you and me,
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free.
I belive that we will answer each to heaven, For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did he die for, when he died for me?
He died for freedom,
He died for love,
And all the things we do to pay him back, could never be enough.
What did he die for, when he died for you and me,
Made the sacrifice so that we could all be free.
I believe that we will answer each to heaven, For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question,
What did he die for, when he died for me?
I've got good news and bad news.
I'm the kind of person that likes to hear the bad news first, so everything will end on a good note, so here you go:
The bad news: Aurora woke me up at 5:30am. Then again at 6:30am, for good.
The good news: It was to go potty in the toilet.
And even better news: She kept her diaper dry ALL NIGHT LONG!!!
The bad news: Aurora woke me up at 5:30am. Then again at 6:30am, for good.
The good news: It was to go potty in the toilet.
And even better news: She kept her diaper dry ALL NIGHT LONG!!!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
I've got three words for you:
NO ACCIDENTS TODAY!!!
Aurora did such a good job today! We played at the park for an hour, went to the grocery store for a quick trip, attended a 2 hour baby shower, and then took Cadi shopping at three stores - and through that all, she stayed clean and dry! :)
Aurora did such a good job today! We played at the park for an hour, went to the grocery store for a quick trip, attended a 2 hour baby shower, and then took Cadi shopping at three stores - and through that all, she stayed clean and dry! :)
Ryan has created a monster.
We absolutely love living in this great state of Washington. And we LOVE celebrating the Fourth of July here because you can really celebrate in style; just about everything is legal and it's a BLAST! (Literally! lol)
Last year, we were smart and went to the Indian Reservation the day after the Fourth to buy all of this year's fireworks ahead of time. We got such a good deal! And we were set. :)
As the Fourth has approached, Ryan started getting that look in his eye and all he could think about was blowing up stuff. He started to get crazy ideas, like buying MORE fireworks. I made him promise that he would pull out the supply he had stored up from our day-after shopping trip last year before he went out shopping, because I was confident we had enough and something of everything he wanted to have. Thankfully, he agreed. And when we did pull out all of the fireworks this week, I was right (of course *wink*) and Ryan had to admit it. We did good!
But there was just one more thing he'd really like to get. Just a few aerials, you know, fun little stuff for the kids. Uh huh. So, I went with him. Ryan unaccomanied in a fireworks tent is NOT a good idea. Even with me being "the mean lady who holds all the money", he still managed to get another set of tubes for his finale. But we left spending less than $100 so I was happy. We both got what we want.
*whew* Crisis averted.
Or was it?
Yesterday when Ryan got home from work, the first words out of his mouth were, "How much do you love me?" To which I responded, "I love you so much, I let you buy nearly $100 of fireworks even though we had a room full of fireworks already. How much do you love me?" "Well, uh...." So, I worded my question differently, "How much did you spend?"
"I stopped by this tent... 90% of the proceeds were going to soldiers (or their families, or something like that). And the family working the tent had a son/brother killed in action themselves. Then, while I was there, my co-worker stopped by. Turns out, his fiance is the cousin of this soldier who had died and it was her family working the tent..."
Again, I asked, "How much did you spend?"
"A lot."
*groan*
I committed him to staying away from any more fireworks tents/stands/stores. "Even if there is a poor, starving, orphan getting all of the proceeds, YOU CANNOT BUY ANY MORE FIREWORKS!!!"
The survivalist in him flashed his smile (that he knows I'm a sucker for) and quickly agreed, along with agreeing that he totally owed me and was going to do some major kissing up. He was done. No more. Don't worry.
Later that night, he and the girls went to return a couple of movies we had rented last weekend. They took awhile longer than I expected and I suspected (hoped) that they were picking out a new movie or two to rent. Instead...
The first thing I heard when the door opened this time was, "Don't be mad at Acadia, be mad at me."
"WHAT?!?!?!?! Did she take her wallet with her?"
Acadia had spent her birthday money to buy more fireworks!!! (He swears he tried to talk her out of it.) I was flabergasted!!! Are you kidding me? We already have enough to have our own firework stand, why would she use HER money to buy more? Ryan always lets her light some, so she didn't need to get her own for that. And if she really wanted to have "her own", she could have given ME the money and we'd let her have some of ours. This family certainly did not need more fireworks in this house!
But she didn't want to wait until Saturday, so she bought some to fire off in the meantime. Last night she lit a few of them, but she saved most of them to light with her friends either tonight or tomorrow night. She and I did have a little talk today about thinking things through and not just making decisions in the heat of the moment. I pointed out that she could have gotten a huge Littlest Pet Shop play center, or several smaller toys, or cute outfits (she's getting more into fashion lately), or even taken a girlfriend to a movie and lunch or something... any of which would have lasted longer and probably been worth more to her in the long time. I hope that next time she thinks a little more first.
I think she just got caught up in the heat of the moment. Her dad's been going crazy over these fireworks and we are all looking forward to our own personal pyro show Saturday night. I understand why she wanted to get them, I just hope she understands why she really didn't need to, and therefore it was a little foolish. Harmless, but foolish. :S
Oh, and lest you think I'm exaggerating about how many fireworks we have...
Do you see what I'm saying? No joke, we have PLENTY of fireworks and none of us need to spend a single dime on more!
But we are gonna have one heck of a firworks show this weekend! lol
Last year, we were smart and went to the Indian Reservation the day after the Fourth to buy all of this year's fireworks ahead of time. We got such a good deal! And we were set. :)
As the Fourth has approached, Ryan started getting that look in his eye and all he could think about was blowing up stuff. He started to get crazy ideas, like buying MORE fireworks. I made him promise that he would pull out the supply he had stored up from our day-after shopping trip last year before he went out shopping, because I was confident we had enough and something of everything he wanted to have. Thankfully, he agreed. And when we did pull out all of the fireworks this week, I was right (of course *wink*) and Ryan had to admit it. We did good!
But there was just one more thing he'd really like to get. Just a few aerials, you know, fun little stuff for the kids. Uh huh. So, I went with him. Ryan unaccomanied in a fireworks tent is NOT a good idea. Even with me being "the mean lady who holds all the money", he still managed to get another set of tubes for his finale. But we left spending less than $100 so I was happy. We both got what we want.
*whew* Crisis averted.
Or was it?
Yesterday when Ryan got home from work, the first words out of his mouth were, "How much do you love me?" To which I responded, "I love you so much, I let you buy nearly $100 of fireworks even though we had a room full of fireworks already. How much do you love me?" "Well, uh...." So, I worded my question differently, "How much did you spend?"
"I stopped by this tent... 90% of the proceeds were going to soldiers (or their families, or something like that). And the family working the tent had a son/brother killed in action themselves. Then, while I was there, my co-worker stopped by. Turns out, his fiance is the cousin of this soldier who had died and it was her family working the tent..."
Again, I asked, "How much did you spend?"
"A lot."
*groan*
I committed him to staying away from any more fireworks tents/stands/stores. "Even if there is a poor, starving, orphan getting all of the proceeds, YOU CANNOT BUY ANY MORE FIREWORKS!!!"
The survivalist in him flashed his smile (that he knows I'm a sucker for) and quickly agreed, along with agreeing that he totally owed me and was going to do some major kissing up. He was done. No more. Don't worry.
Later that night, he and the girls went to return a couple of movies we had rented last weekend. They took awhile longer than I expected and I suspected (hoped) that they were picking out a new movie or two to rent. Instead...
The first thing I heard when the door opened this time was, "Don't be mad at Acadia, be mad at me."
"WHAT?!?!?!?! Did she take her wallet with her?"
Acadia had spent her birthday money to buy more fireworks!!! (He swears he tried to talk her out of it.) I was flabergasted!!! Are you kidding me? We already have enough to have our own firework stand, why would she use HER money to buy more? Ryan always lets her light some, so she didn't need to get her own for that. And if she really wanted to have "her own", she could have given ME the money and we'd let her have some of ours. This family certainly did not need more fireworks in this house!
But she didn't want to wait until Saturday, so she bought some to fire off in the meantime. Last night she lit a few of them, but she saved most of them to light with her friends either tonight or tomorrow night. She and I did have a little talk today about thinking things through and not just making decisions in the heat of the moment. I pointed out that she could have gotten a huge Littlest Pet Shop play center, or several smaller toys, or cute outfits (she's getting more into fashion lately), or even taken a girlfriend to a movie and lunch or something... any of which would have lasted longer and probably been worth more to her in the long time. I hope that next time she thinks a little more first.
I think she just got caught up in the heat of the moment. Her dad's been going crazy over these fireworks and we are all looking forward to our own personal pyro show Saturday night. I understand why she wanted to get them, I just hope she understands why she really didn't need to, and therefore it was a little foolish. Harmless, but foolish. :S
Oh, and lest you think I'm exaggerating about how many fireworks we have...
Do you see what I'm saying? No joke, we have PLENTY of fireworks and none of us need to spend a single dime on more!
But we are gonna have one heck of a firworks show this weekend! lol
Celebrating even the smallest successes.
Even though we spent half of yesterday at the neighbor's house, I don't really count it as an actual "outing" in regards to testing Rori's potty training skills. So, today has been big!
We first went to a park (that does not have restrooms) this morning for an hour. When Rori needed to go potty, she told me, we got in the car, and raced home. She made it!
Then, the real test: we had to go to the grocery store! It wasn't a big trip, just a few items I would need for this weekend. We went potty before we left, I packed my purse with an extra change of clothes and some baby wipes, and headed out. Again, she made it! We didn't even need to use the store's restrooms. :)
These were both small trips but still a good sign. This afternoon we're going to a friend's house for a baby shower. Hopefully that will run just as smoothly. :)
We first went to a park (that does not have restrooms) this morning for an hour. When Rori needed to go potty, she told me, we got in the car, and raced home. She made it!
Then, the real test: we had to go to the grocery store! It wasn't a big trip, just a few items I would need for this weekend. We went potty before we left, I packed my purse with an extra change of clothes and some baby wipes, and headed out. Again, she made it! We didn't even need to use the store's restrooms. :)
These were both small trips but still a good sign. This afternoon we're going to a friend's house for a baby shower. Hopefully that will run just as smoothly. :)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A pretty good summer day. :)
Today started off productive; I cleaned out the playroom. There was one bag full of trash and another (plus) filled with toys to donate to the thrift store. It looks great! And as one friend already pointed out, all I need to do is keep the girls out of it and it will stay looking great. ;)
After lunch, the girls got their swimsuits on, we put on our sunscreen, and we headed over to our backyard neighbor's house to visit. The girls played with their friends in their kiddie pool and I sat and visited with my friend, talking about the beach trip we're taking in a couple of weeks. (Yay!)
Rori did pretty well. She did wet her swimsuit once (that we know of, lol) so I ran her home for a quick change, but other than that, she had me running her inside for potty breaks fairly often.
I took lots of pics, check them out:
After playing outside, it was wonderful to come home to a cool, A/C house. I grilled ham and pineapple kabobs for dinner and the girls are now snuggled on the couch watching a movie. It was a pretty good Summer day. :)
After lunch, the girls got their swimsuits on, we put on our sunscreen, and we headed over to our backyard neighbor's house to visit. The girls played with their friends in their kiddie pool and I sat and visited with my friend, talking about the beach trip we're taking in a couple of weeks. (Yay!)
Rori did pretty well. She did wet her swimsuit once (that we know of, lol) so I ran her home for a quick change, but other than that, she had me running her inside for potty breaks fairly often.
I took lots of pics, check them out:
After playing outside, it was wonderful to come home to a cool, A/C house. I grilled ham and pineapple kabobs for dinner and the girls are now snuggled on the couch watching a movie. It was a pretty good Summer day. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)