The Busy Butler Family

Important Work

2012-01-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

On the way home from church this afternoon, Clayton was telling me that Caroline was going to take care of his stuffed dog for him because he had to work. I reminded him that it is Sunday, and that we don't do work on the Sabbath. His reply: "But Mom, I have to do my Home Teaching!"

First of the Year 4-H Activity

2012-01-11T14:53:00.001-08:00

Caroline began participating in 4-H as a Cloverbud in 2011. Our little 4-H club out here had a 2012 kick-off activity at a friends house that is right on nearby Box Butte Resevoir. It was a beautiful day, and the kids had a blast sledding, riding on sleds pulled by 4-wheelers, ice skating and learning to play broom ball.

Love Bug and her friend A. being pulled by the 4-Wheeler driven by A's grandapa.

Sledding down the hill.

I had to get in on the fun somehow!

Bubba the dog, trying to give me kisses.

More 4-wheeling fun.

Helping drive!

Love Bug's attempt at ice skating. Our sweet, ever patient neighbor held her hand for at least 30 minutes as she figured out how to maintain her balance on the skates. She was doing pretty well by the time we had to leave!

Getting her out on the ice.

Fun, fun, fun!

Stocking Stuffers!

2012-01-10T09:41:00.001-08:00

We had an ultrasound on December 19th. Jake is the only one who peeked, and shortly afterward, he called my good friend and asked her to create something that Santa could put in a little stocking to let the rest of us in on the secret!

Christmas Eve, we hung a teeny tiny stocking, and when we woke up, instead of it being filled, it was laying on top of a good-sized gift box.

Before we opened it, my sister gave us a gift card to Target. Attached was a fun "Spin the Stork" game, and everyone took turns spinning to see what the guesses were for the baby's gender. The the general consensus was that it would be a girl. Except Papa, who after originally guessed girl, then looked at the ultrasound photos and changed his mind because the baby's ear looked like a "boy ear".

My dad HAS always had a knack for correctly guessing what's in a present before he opens it...

Merry and Bright

2012-01-10T07:53:00.001-08:00

We were so blessed to have my parents and sisters and brother-in-law spend Christmas with us this year!

There was some X-Country Skiing and playing in the snow,

Delicous food (I assigned everyone a night and NOBODY disappointed!),

Santa visited us a day early, since we wrote him a letter asking if he could please come on Saturday so that we could focus our Sunday on the real reason we celebrate Christmas (I think he understood!),

Uncle Ryan, Aunt Marilyn, Aunt Lucinda & Aunt Kitty,

Papa, Mona and Aunt Nanny, (There is a story behind Papa's face and the cute items he is holding!)

There was, of course, some saving of the world...

And loads of fun just being together!!!

We loved having Papa (and Mona) here!

There was some horseback riding...

And more fun being in one another's company!

We spent Sunday celebrating the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Angels - who are looking rather "sore afraid".

Connor the shepherd and Nanny the sheep.

Mary & Joseph.

We also celebrated the birth of Papa on Christmas Day, 65 years ago! He loves lamb, so that's what we had for Christmas dinner. I must say, it was my best leg of lamb attempt yet, and turned out a little prime-ribbish. Nom!

It was a beautiful visit, but much, MUCH too short! Can't wait for this little munchkin to join our family so everyone has an excuse to come back to the ranch!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-04T17:36:00.001-08:00

A sneak preview of the holiday sweetness at our house this year. More to come!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T07:04:00.000-08:00

All for one, and one for all!!!

2011-11-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Oh, Brother!!!

2011-10-25T09:40:00.001-07:00

As in, I have a new one, that is!!! Last month, my beautiful little sister married this amazing man in the Monticello, Utah temple.

Our trip to Monticello was a little crazy, but as soon as we arrived, Papa whisked us down to the farm to help feed this little guy:

We held the reception the night before the wedding at a local chuckwagon. It was laid back, relaxed and had such a fun atmosphere!

Ryan and Marilyn with their Niece & Nephews.

The girlies.

The Redd side of the family.

The next day was absolutely beautiful and such a tender, sweet experience to be with my Mar-bud (what I called her when she was teeny tiny) in the temple to be sealed to her sweetheart for time and all eternity. Our sister Lucinda made the absolutely beautiful wedding dress - simple, clean lines, so classic and so Marilyn. She also made her own stunning dress, and little darling vests for the boys (I don't have a photo of us all after the wedding yet.) I worked my tushy off before the festivities to make little bowties to match the vests, a beautiful dress for my Lovebug and a skirt for myself.

It was such a beautiful day and we are so excited to have Ryan as a member of our family! He is perfect for Marilyn and she is perfect for him. Because we hadn't had a chance to meet him at all before the festivities, it was a lot of fun to watch them together and see how they fit like two pieces of a puzzle. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Tobler!!!

Sharing some love with her Auntie Marilyn.

An Announcement:

2011-10-19T15:00:00.001-07:00

Love Bug's Birthday!

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

My little princess turned 6 last month. SIX!!! I swear, just yesterday I was holding her sweet little newborn self in the hospital in Amarillo, TX!

Just as we finished her birthday dinner, I told her I was sure that I heard someone knocking on the door and sent her to answer it. I booked it out the back way trying to get a shot of her reaction to the new bike sitting on the deck. It's all she wanted this year, and she was estatic!

For her dinner, she requested Tortellini Soup and homemade breadsticks (a serious surprise to me, since usually she would rather have mac & cheese than anything else!) And every time we go to the store, she begs me to buy pink snowballs. I never have. For her birthday, I had Jake pick up a huge box full and I stacked them up on the cake plate and stuck candles in them. Easiest birthday cake I've ever made, and though I was worried, she didn't feel one big slighted that the boys got their cake and she got this - I think they were all she dreamed of and more!

Connor picked out a set of Ken doll clothes for her (which I think he was most excited to play with - she was still going on and on about her bike.) Clayton chose a Tangled book for her to read and a bar of Dove chocolate. I think he'll do well with the ladies in later years.

My Big 4 Year Old!

2011-10-17T16:03:00.001-07:00

My poor middle child. I didnt realize, but totally jipped him in the birthday photo dept. this year. Rest assured, he got the same awesome treatment as his little brother! I can't believe this guy is already 4. He is so much fun, such an amazing helper, and I love him so much!

Sheriff Clayton, wearing the cowboy shirt Aunt Cindy sent him (that matches Connor's!)

Opening his Buzz Lightyear figurine. Endless Toy Story fun at our house now with Woody, Bullseye and Buzz!

Birthday Boys!

2011-10-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

I'm usually pretty good about making sure the boys each have their own special day, even though their birthdays are so close. This year, we opted to let them open their individual gifts on their birthday, but celebrated with family, cake and ice cream on the day that lands smack dab in the middle of their two days. So basically, we partied for 3 days straight!

As a joint gift from Jake and I to both boys to share, we came up with a dress-up box full of superhero costumes to add to their growing collection (and to add a nice bin they can keep everything in under the bed!) After perusing the toy dept. of Wal-Mart, we found a Green Lantern mask & ring set on clearance and gleaned some great ideas to create a Captain America costume (among other things.)

Captain America Costume created from old t-shirts, heat transfer vinyl, a $1 frisbee and more vinyl. Green Lantern costume created also from an old t-shirt and heat-transfer vinyl and fabric paint.

Faster than a speeding bullet! (Hence the blurry picture.) The boys already had Superman pj's.

Clayton modeling the new Superman Cape from the dress-up box. Connor is sporting the reversible one I made for Clayton when he was almost 2 years old.)

The cake. This was my first attempt at carving a cake. It didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned, and I clearly have loads of practice if I want to really do this (Ha!) but the boys LOVED it! (And hopefully it made up for Clayton's birthday 2 years before when he got this cake for his birthday (right after my emergency C-section with Connor) and then Caroline got this one a month later.)

Connor's 2!!!

2011-10-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

The boys have birthdays exactly one day apart in August. Connor's is first, and we let him open his presents that evening. I can't believe this baby is already 2!

He was pretty excited about recieving "Woody & Bullseye" from Clayton.

He opened this and yelled "Cowboy shut (shirt)!!!" It was from his Aunt Cindy and is his absolute favorite color.

Caroline bought him a pack of his very own crayons with her own money. I wish you could see the huge smile hiding behind the box!

Also from Clayton: his old Batman figurine (one that Clayton actually recieved for his 2nd birthday, that he is now passing down so that Connor doesn't can have his very own action figures to play with!)

My Apologies

2011-10-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

If you are here because you thought that there was something new. There's not. I had to delete the last post about our summer because some bad HTML that I couldn't seem to fix was interfering with the way the rest of the blog was appearing. I'm working on some updates - just bear with me!

Mr. Muscles

2011-07-13T14:57:00.001-07:00

After showing Natalia our scrapbooks the other day, Clayton kept commenting on how "fat" he was as a baby (his birth page includes a picture of his 9 lb. 9 oz. self being held up by the nurse next to the 5 lb. baby across the hall,) and that he's still fat. We've been talking a lot about how he's not fat, but is strong and has big muscles. A few nights ago at dinner, Connor suddenly flexed his arms and announced, "Muscles. Big Muscles." We tried to recreate it with this video, but it's never as cute as the original!

Clayton Caught a Clam!

2011-07-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

I thought you were supposed to dig for these things on the beach. Clayton actually hooked one while we were fishing. While I was helping Caroline un-snag her line, Clayton announced that he'd caught something. It looked like he was snagged, too, but I told him to keep reeling while I finished getting Caroline's loose. Clayton reeled that heavy mollusk right up out of the water. After a few seconds, we watched it let go ever so slightly and drop to the ground. Who knew clams ate corn? It's been interesting to watch it filter dirt, sand and other lake gunk in it's cozy bowl of water in the refrigerator. We're working up the guts to steam and eat it with some butter, olive oil & garlic!

Natalia!

2011-07-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

We are hosting an exchange student from Spain for 2 1/2 weeks. We have just 5 days left with her (sadly) and have just been having a blast! Caroline loves having a "big sister" and Connor walks around the house calling for "Tah-ee!" to come and play. Clayton likes her, but doesn't seem as attached as the other two. But she won his shy little self over pretty quickly the first day (not an easy task with that boy!) I must say, I was a little nervous about how an only child from another country would handle being in a home with three small children, but she has jumped in like it's the most natural thing in the world.

She has more experience with horses than I do, and we took her for a ride in the forest near our home. Partway through the ride, she ended up on my very spirited Paso Fino (with me on her very gentle quarter horse), demonstrated some amazing horsewomanship and very calmy & comfortable finished the ride with that horse doing exactly what he was supposed to. I guess I need more practice!!!

Part of me is really sad we didn't opt for the 5 week gig. But, in all fairness to Natalia, she probably will enjoy being in town with other kids her own age - not so secluded in the country! Here's a peek at some of the fun we've had with her here!

Connor and "Tah-ee" playing with the Playmobil.

Natalia is so patient and takes the time to play with the kids. She is becoming more and more comfortable around them, and they love her to bits!

Caroline, enjoying some quality girl time with her "big sister".

We took Natalia to the rodeo on Independance Day. Lucky her, she got to sit next to a real rodeo princess during the entire rodeo! She also snuggled with a little cowboy for part of the time.

The kids ages 5-10 were invited into the arena to chase calves and try to get a ribbon tied to their tail to exchange for a prize. After the run, Caroline ended up exiting on the wrong side of the arena. After I was unable to find her, I flagged down the bull fighter, who notified the announcer. Natalia said that she was very embarrased to hear her "sister's" name called over the loudspeaker in an attempt to locate her and get us back together. It made me laugh that she had a reaction that typical of a teenager in response to the antics of a younger sibling.

As you can see, there were three very sleepy children by the time the rodeo ended. Natalia was wide awake and loved it! She thinks it's more fun to watch than a bull fight.

Watching the 4th of July Parade in Crawford, NE. We busted out the Cricut machine a couple of days before the 4th, and I let Natalia design herself a shirt for the holiday. She loves horses, and I think she did a marvelous job creating a cute shirt to wear! Unfortunately, it doesn't show up in the photos!

Ace

2011-06-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

We had two foals this year. The kids love to visit them, and Connor always points to the mares and says "Mama" and then points to the foals and says "baby!" After preparing lunch for our farrier students last Thursday, we went to the barn to let the class know dinner was ready. While we waited for them to find a good stopping place, we decided to hang out with "Ace" the younger of our foals. He has a "1" shaped blaze on his face - hence the name.

Meet Miss Mittens

2011-06-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

I guess the previous post could've been titled, "While the Cat's Away...We get another cat!" But we really are happy to have Jake home. He's pretty irreplaceable. But, we DID get a kitten while he was gone. Hopefully, she'll help keep the rodents down out here in the country. The kids can't get enough of her. She has no tail, but has two cute white "mittens" on her front paws. She puts up with a lot from these munchkins, and I worry that maybe she won't be such a friendly cat if she gets too much from them. Connor especially has a hard time being gentle. He just wants to love her constantly (we've nicknamed him "Elmira").

I'm definitely ready for her to be an outside kitty, but I'm not sure she's made herself at home enough yet to stick around. I hope she figures out that she lives here soon. Sadly, I'm suspecting that I've developed an allergy to cats. Something I never had to deal with before, and quite frankly, something that really stinks for an animal lover like myself.

While the Cat's Away...

2011-06-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

...We will play! Jake, Pete and their dad were away this last weekend at a horseshoeing contest. Their mom flew to Utah to help her daughter. Sarah and I were left here to hold down the fort. We decided the fort could hold itself down and took the kids to Riverside Zoo in Scottsbluff, NE. It is a teeny tiny zoo, which is perfect for teeny tiny kids. And, after 60something degree days, it happened to be near 100 that particular afternoon. Fortunately, walking around to see all the critters didn't take long, and the wonderful water feature at the end of the tour kept us all from melting! *Note to self: Next trip to the zoo, wear swimsuits!!!

This poor tiger was pacing and salivating. Slightly creepy.

Slightly creepier was this snoozing lion who kept opening his orange eye to stare at us as we stared at him through the glass window. (And then Sarah and I noticed the electric wiring just in front of each window to keep the big cats from lunging. Creepiest of all!!!)

My little monkey.

Beverage break!

Caroline, Sophie & Clayton!

We loved feeding the geese & ducks. Caroline especially enjoyed it - until the mama goose took a nip at her toes.

Connor couldn't get enough of the water fowl either, but particularly liked feeding the fish that swam in a huge school right beneath the surface.

I love this little diapered bum! It took Connor a while to get comfortable with the water shooting everywhere, but he warmed up to the idea.

Clayton couldn't get enough of it!

And Caroline was just thrilled to not be roasting - of all of the kiddos, she was the one complaining the most about the heat at the end of our visit.

Hello, Clayton's tummy!

Poor Sophie. The second my kids were stripped out of their wet clothes and in the warm car, they both crashed. On her. I think the look on her face says it all!

12 reasons...

2011-06-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

...asking your 5 1/2 year old to, "please keep an eye on your little brother while I take a 5 minute shower" is not a great strategy.

You're A Peach!

2011-05-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

We've been working hard to show our appreciation for Caroline's Kindergarten teacher, the para in her class who is so sweet and our fantastic bus driver! For the para and the driver, this is what we came up with:

In August I bought 2 boxes of Utah peaches (I try to buy locally, but as a Utah girl, this is my once-a-year splurge that I treat myself to. (Along with the Cache Valley cheese curds that some locals here bring back with the fruit from the orchard near Logan, Utah that they have shares in.)

I bottled half the peaches and turned the other half in to peach jam and peach salsa. It turned out fabulous! It is delicious with grilled chicken or pork chops and I usually serve it with a side of cilantro rice on a bed of lettuce or spinach.

For the Thank-You gifts, I created a tag that gives suggestions for using the salsa. I glued it to the top of the lid and just screwed the ring down around the top of it.

I wrapped some cute scrapbook paper around the jar and glued it in place.

Then I made the "You're A Peach" tag, added a metal rivet for stability and tied it to the jar neck.

Voila! Instant thank-you for the peachy-keen ladies in our life! If you're lucky enough to find some juicy peaches this summer for salsa, and are interested in printing labels to go with them, you can find them here!

You're A Peach Tag

PeachSalsaLabel

An extremely belated Easter post. Or in other words, I'm useless at documenting holidays.

2011-05-14T14:15:00.001-07:00

It's always fun when the baby figures out what's going on. I think he ate twice as many jelly beans as ended up in his basket. Oh, well. Breakfast of champions, right?

I didn't take many pictures of our Easter celebrations this year. We had a ball! Saturday morning started us off with the early visit from the Easter Bunny (he likes to visit us on Saturday, because he knows we focus our Sunday on Jesus Christ - the REAL reason we celebrate Easter!) When the bunny comes to our house, he leaves a trail of jelly beans on all furniture surfaces. Clayton described it to his Primary teacher as "the Easter Bunny came to our house and left a big mess!"

The kids wore the cute T-shirts (uh, no pictures) they found in their baskets and loved the books they each got to read, as well as coloring and activity books!

We had a wonderful brunch with the whole Nebraska Butler bunch - including Aunt Sue, Uncle Josh, H & E who were visiting from Washington State! Following was a rousing Easter Egg hunt outside the barn. Again, useless and forgot the camera (Sue and Sarah, if you're reading this, I'd love some pictures!)

Sunday was very sweet and relaxed. Caroline was quick to remember to thank Heavenly Father for the gift of His son's atonement and resurrection when she said the Family Prayer before we left for church. It brought tears to her momma's eyes.

The boys looked darling in matching ties. Caroline's dress (an upcycled find from a rummage sale) turned out perfect. Alas. No photos. Maybe I'll try to recreate some Easter morning shots.

We enjoyed our farm-raised ham for dinner. And a pie buffet later with the whole crew. It was a pretty perfect weekend.

Like Mother, Like Daughter...

2011-05-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

I don't think I even attempted creative lettering until I hit Jr. High. Caroline is already practicing her bubble letters! I guess the little notes I write for her lunchbox, labels I make for the treats she's taken to share with her class, and other writing I've done has made an impression

Caroline's Spring Music Concert

2011-05-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

She just looked so cute with her long, curled hair and pretty outfit! We were proud of how well she did. It has been so much fun to watch her learn, grow & progress this year. I can't believe she's almost done with Kindergarten!

We Love Our Little Lady!

2011-03-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

I'm missing Caroline today. I miss her everyday. You'd think after nearly a year of all-day Kindergarten I'd be used to it. Nah. I miss her amazing imagination during the day. She dreams up the most fun things and I love watching her play with Clayton in the little pretend worlds they create. Yesterday they spent the entire afternoon outside after school. They were picking as many little green grass shoots as they could find, pretending they were radishes. They put them all in a huge planter to make "radish stew". It kept them busy for 2 whole hours. Other things I love about my girlie: 1. She's a fantastic little horsewoman. Her favorite pony right now is "Bart", a very gentle, broke Shetland that she loves to ride. The other day, while she was practicing in the barn, someone came in the side door and the sound startled Bart a little. He jumped and crow-hopped a little, but our little cowgirl held on and rode it out despite being a little scared herself. She's very determined when it comes to being involved with the horses and is convinced she's going to train and ride every foal we have. She loves being in the barn and is quite helpful when it's feeding time. Mucking out stalls is one of her favorite activities right now. Let's hope she continues to like it - I'm not seeing that chore being something that changes on her job list for the next 13 years. 2. Caroline loves all things pink and pretty. She is content playing Barbies, baby dolls, and My Little Ponies. She loves to dress up and will wear anything from princess dresses to her Batgirl cape. She has a little vanity that she sits at to make herself pretty with lip gloss and pretend makeup. Makeovers are her specialty! I frequently visit Caroline's salon where I get gorgeous hairdo's, manis and pedis. 3. She loves to dance, and though she isn't currently taking lessons, she will often come home from school and immediately change into a leotard and her dance shoes and dance around the house for the entire afternoon, practicing all the dance steps she remembers from her class last year. She keeps asking when she gets to take lessons again. 4. She's a fantastic sous-chef and I love cooking and baking with her! 5. She is amazingly creative and though I'm her mama and may be a little biased, I think she shows some talent in art. She draws the most amazing things! Subjects of her artwork include horses, unicorns, pegasus' and dragons. Sometimes people. 6. She loves veggies and her top favorites include: kale, spinach, broccoli, asparagus and avocados. 7. She hates onions but will sprinkle onion salt on almost anything. She loves it on popcorn. 8. Like her mother, she prefers the darkest chocolate she can get her hands (and mouth) on. 9. Reading has come so easily to her and one of my favorite things to do is sit and be read to by her and then take my turn to read to her. 10. She is super excited to be a 4-H Cloverbud and thinks she is going to do projects in almost every category: poultry, sewing, gardening and cooking. 11. She desperately wants a little sister and loves it when her cousin Sophie comes over to play. 12. She is an incredible big sister to her little brothers and is such a sweet helper around the house! I love this little gal with all my heart and am so glad she's the big girl in our family! Caroline recently lost her first tooth. She was super excited about it, and about the tooth fairy's visit! Jake and Clayton got these awesome hats for Christmas. Unfortunately Jake's was too small, and Clayton refuses to wear his. That's okay, because I think Caroline and I wear them quite well!

I Made the Top Ten!!!

2011-03-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Head over to Crystal's Craft Spot to see the Top Ten in the Craft Spot Challenge and vote for your favorite! I'm in love with the burlap lamp and think I'll be recreating one of those for my bedroom soon! Go check out the crafty talent!

Upcycled Cupboard to Jewelry Box!

2011-03-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

A while back, Caroline & I found a little chipped cupboard at a rummage sale for 50cents. It wouldn't open, but I loved the way it looked - the aqua blue color peeking through the white is exactly the color I have popping up in various spots in our house. It's been hanging in my room with a wreath hanging from it for a couple months, and I got brave this week and pried it open.

First of all, I discovered that the door (hinge-less and knob-less) was actually in backwards and that on the other side was an old mirror. There were shelves and the faint odor of denture cream. I'm assuming it was an old bathroom cabinet. After giving it a good scrub, I got to work transforming it into something really useful!
I attached new hinges and a knob I bought at the local hardware store (can't wait to go to Hobby Lobby to look at other possibilities!)

I cut scrapbook paper to line the back walls and glued it in using my trusty tacky glue. I screwed in cup hooks for necklaces and bracelets. Then I cut some plastic canvas to fit the two top shelves. I wanted to attach them to hold my earrings, but I wanted to do it in a way that I could pull it out to remove the earrings with backs. While rummaging around in the craft room, I happened upon a package of those report covers with the spines that slide on and off. I decided to try those out. I hot glued one to the top of each shelf opening and slid my plastic canvas right in. It is perfect!

It's now hanging in the same place, with the same wreath, but with the mirror facing out and filled with my jewelry - all together in one place, and freeing up lots of space where everything else used to be. I love it!

Craft Spot Challenge

2011-03-09T07:57:00.001-08:00

So I got brave and submitted my Kiddie Card Table Makeover project to the Craft Spot Challenge over at Crystal's Craft Spot. The theme this month was fabric. I'm already blown away by the other talented crafters' submissions! I'm excited to see what else gets entered! You should head over and check out the fun projects!

Boy Joy

2011-03-07T12:11:00.001-08:00

I miss my little Caroline during the day. A lot. But while she's off at school, I have the whole day (minus nap/quiet time) with these two guys. We have so much fun, and mostly, I just like to watch them play together. I grew up with 6 little sisters and no brothers, so having two rough and tumble boys is a whole new world for me. They chase each other, wrestle, and generally make mischief. Jake assures me it is all normal.

Clayton dresses up all day. He is really into superheroes and changes identity frequently. Connor has been watching him closely, and Clayton often will call him "Superbaby" or "Superboy" and make sure he's wearing one of the extra capes we have around. Today, for the first time, Connor initiated the costume wearing and brought me the Spidey suit for help. I was lucky enough that when I found the suit, there were actually two in different sizes(at a rummage sale - there were also 2 pairs of Spiderman slippers which I snatched up Too!) Anticipating a day when both boys might want to dress up as Spiderman, I bought them both. The day has arrived.

Connor wants to do whatever Clayton is doing. When we have school in the morning, Connor insists on sitting up to the table and coloring like his big brother.

Connor the crooner. He carries this little two string ukelele around constantly, plucking and singing with a serious look on his little face. It just tickles me that he is so into music. He alos likes to climb up on the piano bench and offer his musical stylings. But the most amazing thing to me is that he can tell the difference between a music book and a storybook. He'll look at pictues and "read" books, but if he opens one up with music bars, he instantly starts singing little tunes. I love it! I think I'm going to have to make one of these little guitars I found at Make it and Love it!

Between the wailing from being squished in front of the rocking horse and the giggles from both boys rocking together, this made for a loud, but super fun morning. I could barely stop laughing long enough to take a picture!

Clayton doesn't really love sweets. He will NOT eat candy, unless it is in chocolate chip form. But he loves cookies. He loves to be in the kitchen making them with Jake or myself (we have developed a Sunday afternoon tradition where Jake makes cookies with the kids while I nap. We get home from church and Clayton orders me to bed so he can have his cookie time with Daddy!) He was super excited to help decorate these Valentine cookies for our horseshoeing students!

Things I love about Clayton:

He's my gentle giant. He's a sweetheart who loves to snuggle and give big "super smooches". He frequently saves the day. He has a very tender heart and discipline doesn't have to be severe to get a response. He compliments me all the time - I often hear "Mom, you make delicious food!" He also is very good at "Mom, thank you for making this yummy dinner!" while we're sitting down to eat at the table. He always remembers to put his dishes in the sink. He loves his fruit and veggies! He's a self starter - he gets up in the morning, and gets himself dressed. At around 6 p.m. (or earlier, depending on the time of year and when it starts to get dark outside) he'll disappear for a few minutes and then emerge from his room with his pj's on because it's night time.

Things I love about Connor:

His funny facial expressions. He practices the "stink eye" and other funny faces because he knows it will make us laugh. He loves music and will help "lead" the signing in church. He climbs everything - sometimes it's good, sometimes not. He loves sign language and can currently sign: thank you, please, milk, water, drink, cookie, cracker, food/eat, horse, cow, bird, fish, bug, bear, cat, dog, ball, train and snail. He watches my sister-in-law sign every Sunday for my nephew who is deaf and has gotten to where he associates her with the movement of her hands. When he sees her, his little hands just start moving! He thinks he's sneaky and will push a stool up to the kitchen counter and feel around on top to find anything he can to put in his mouth. I've found candy wrapper trails through the house on more than one occasion. He is also a little tech geek and can push buttons and figure things out on the the camera, phone or computer faster than I can. And as busy as this boy is, he will sit contentedly for hours to be read to, book after book after book.

St. Patrick's Day Stuff

2011-03-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

I've recently discovered the wonderful world of printables. I stumbled upon a couple of St. Patrick's Day printables the other day and couldn't resist printing them off. But I've never really decorated for the holiday before so I had no other decorations to use with them. I used my Cricut Expression to help me out there and am loving my new stuff!

St. Patrick's Subway Art at Eighteen25.

Lucky In Love printable at Agape Love.

Shamrock vinyl decal using my Cricut Expression and the Sure Cuts a Lot 2 program.

My own design using vinyl cut on the Cricut using the "Storybook" cartridge and a font from my computer using Sure Cuts a Lot 2. I painted a piece of scrap wood green, sanded the edges to distress them a bit and added the shamrock which I made by glueing together 4 little wooden hearts with paper modge podged over it. After applying my vinyl, I put a layer of modge podge over everything.

I'm linked up to the "Pity Party" at 30 Handmade Days!

Today's Thrifty Find!

2011-02-19T16:12:00.000-08:00

As Caroline and I walked into one of the rummage rooms in Chadron today, ready to find some treasures, a woman asked if I knew where a particular street was located, because she said there was a moving sale being held there. Out of curiosity, we headed that same direction when we were finished with our treasure hunt. It was basically a walk through the house where pretty much everything left inside was for sale. Nothing we saw seemed that desirable, until we walked into the last room. There was an oak cabinet sitting there marked $10. It is actually a computer cabinet, which isn't something we need, but I knew exactly where a nice cabinet with shelves would be useful in our house. After a little tweaking, it now holds cookbooks, the drawer inside contains my kitchen towels, and all the home-canned fruits, veggies, salsas & jams that I worked so hard to put up this summer have a nice, discreet home. I love it!

Again, please pardon my lack of computer skills and the sideways pictures. I will hopefully eventually figure this out!

Before:

After:

$0 Kiddie Card Table Makeover

2011-02-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, my mom gave us a little card table and chairs set for the kids. We use it all the time, and during the summer, it is outside almost every night for dinner because we spend a lot of time grilling and eating out on our deck. One night last summer, we forgot to bring it in, and it hailed. The poor table was wrecked - holes in the vinyl (not to mention that it was just ugly and faded from the sunshine from its constant use outdoors.)

I've been looking for oilcloth or laminated cotton so that I could recover it, but everything I found (though absolutely gorgeous!) was a bit out of the budget right now. But then I had a stroke of genius! I decided to use cotton fabric I already had and cover it with clear vinyl I had from this project 2 years ago. I spray painted the frames with paint I had on hand and viola! New card table set!

Sorry about the sideways picture. Still haven't figured out how to flip it on Jake's laptop. The wizard says I can't flip this photo and I'm too tech-challenged to figure it out.

Eternal Ride, Side by Side

2011-02-14T09:31:00.001-08:00

When we were married 8 years ago, I had Jake's ring inscribed with the words, "Eternal Ride, Side by Side." He makes every day Valentine's Day with his thoughtfulness. He goes above and beyond typical Hubby duty whether it is vaccuming, doing dishes, folding laundry, changing diapers, giving backrubs, or getting up with kids and letting me get a couple extra winks. I'm so grateful for our ride together for life, and eternity. He is my Valentine and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather do all of this with! I love you, Jake!

Camera Woes and other Random Bits of Life

2011-02-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

Connor found my camera. Every picture I have from August until just last week - gone. Including all of the Christmas and Caroline's Mini Cheer Clinic photos from Friday. I could just cry - especially since my computer is so low on virtual memory that I wasn't able to upload them to the computer and back them up. So I'm taking big deep breaths and making sure that ANYTHING that could possibly be ruined, deleted, etc... is at least 10 feet off the ground and away from anything climbable. Oh, the joys of a busy 18-month old! But I can't be mad at him. He's just too stinkin' cute! I love that he is so smart and inquisitive. So, I guess I'll take the deleted photos and messes with the learning and growing just so I can watch the amazing process of toddler development. In some ways, I feel like I missed this stage with the other two, since at this point with both of them I was so nauseated in the early stages of pregnancy that I just laid on the couch. Anything that I was paying attention to I think was lost in the sea of hormones. It's been fun to be so aware of everything Connor does and notice things that either he does differently or I just have forgotten about.

And... my New Year's Resolution to blog at least once a week has gotten lost in the other Resolution of brightening up the house - starting with the kitchen. I love my red walls, but the size of the house + the placement of the windows = cave-like feeling with the dark wall color. I'm sad to see my favorite color slowly leaving the walls, but am loving the brightness and airy feeling that white cupboards and pale yellow (my paint color is called Lemon Chiffon - I LOVE IT!) is bringing to our home. Hopefully pictures will be available soon, if I remember to snap them in the process of tackling bits at a time during naps.

Top 20 Reasons This Birthday was Probably the BEST One Ever!!!!

2011-01-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

Good morning, everyone! This is how I look first thing in the morning! With my breakfast in bed, cute girlie and wonderful birthday book!

20. Pre-birthday dinner at the local Chinese Buffet. I. Love. Honey Crystal Chicken and Salt & Pepper Pork!

19. I turned 33 on January 22 in the year 2011.

18. Snuggling in bed with Caroline, looking at my birthday present - new book, "Women of the Old Testament"

17. Breakfast in bed consisting of a Blueberry cereal bar, served by my 3-year old Clayton.

16. An AMAZING back massage by my hubby...

15. ...followed by an AMAZING uninterrupted 2 hour nap.

14. Baking chocolate cupcakes with Caroline

13. Birthday texts and calls.

12. Voicemail from my Dad including him singing the birthday song to me and wishing me a great day!

11. Cute birthday cards from my sister, sister-in-law and good friend!

10. Block Calendar that I coveted so much at my other sister-in-law's house that she found another one for me and sent it! Thanks Christina!

9. Darling wall hanging from Sarah that says "Mothers of little boys work from son up to son down." (story of my life.)

8. List from my sister Marilyn of things she remembers most about me. Serious tear-jerker. One of the best gifts anyone has ever given me!

7. Filet Mignon, bacon potatoes and salad cooked by my fabulous hubby.

6. Post-birthday dinner consisting of blueberry pancakes, amazing eggs and bacon cooked by my sweet sis-in-law Sarah.

5. Eating Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake (Yum! Thanks Sarah!)

4. Eating Chocolate Cupcakes (Yum! Thanks Caroline!)

3. Eating Chocolate Chip Cookies (Yum! Thanks Clayton & Jake!)

2. Little helpers "helping" me blow out my candles.

1. Snuggling with Jake on the couch watching our babies play contentedly with each other.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

We spent the holidays in Utah with family. Christmas was in Monticello. Christmas Eve was full of last minute preparation, including dipping various salty and sweet goodies in Chocolate (we love our adopted Aunt Christen!!!) We went to the annual Live Nativity - a tradition in Monticello that brings the community together in the true spirit of Christmas. We loved catching up with old friends.

After celebrating Christmas morning with presents and a very moving gift from Caroline to her Daddy (she's in the process of memorizing "The Living Christ" and recited the first paragraph to him), we spent the day in Dry Valley - the location of our family's cattle ranch. We hiked on the rocks, had a close call with a rattler (seriously, in DECEMBER!)

Our first stop was "Jail Rock". Caroline had no desire to climb up with everyone else because of her fear of heights. So we walked along the base of the rock until we were stopped short by the buzzing sound this guy made. Suddenly, Caroline's fear of venemous reptiles trumped fear of heights and we made it up to the top with everyone else in record time

While the rest of the family rapelled, the kids and I were lowered into one of the holes-in-the-rock and enjoyed playing and running around down there (Connor was at home with Mona. I put him down for a nap and he slept for the entire 4 hours we were gone - didn't wake up until after we had arrived home!)

Jake's shadow taking pictures of us in the hole.

We made s'mores in "the cave" and had our own fireworks display that consisted of lighting tiny pieces of rocket fuel that my dad found years ago when a jet crashed in the Canyonlands area. That night, we made delicious Pot Stickers with Aunt Nanny's friend Andrew.

Catherine and Lucinda on the pot sticker assembly line.

It was such a fun day!

All she wanted was a pillow pet. She LOVES it has has named "her" "Rainbow Sparkle". Sorry about the sideways picture. My computer is dying a slow and painful death. I'm trying to learn my way around Jake's laptop and don't have the same photo editing program here.

He kept telling us he wanted a "Batwing" for Christmas. We couldn't tell if he really liked it (insert extreme sarcasm while reading the previous sentence.) He only took it EVERYWHERE with him for the first week he had it and plays with it all day now that we're home.

It seems our parental instincts were right on when we told Santa to bring our musical/rhythmic kid a drum full of little percussive musical instruments. We are treated to frequent jam sessions. It is so awesome to see his little body rock out to music of his own making!

Most of the rest of our visit consisted of laying around the house and taking sick kids to the hospital. It was great.

No trip to Monticello with the family is complete without an impromptu after-church family photo shoot!

My poor super-sickies. Daddy stayed home with them so Caroline and I could attend church with the rest of the family.

We did have one day where Caroline and I (the least sick of the bunch) went on an afternoon drive down to Canyonlands and the Falls with the other girls. It was so relaxing and fun!

We then took our germs to Jake's brother's house (who said he didn't care that we were sick) and spent an awesome 4 days hanging out with them! It was so fun to see the cousins play. And miraculously, nobody ended up sick. Christina and I did some shopping and had a fun girls day out with Caroline and Abbie.

Yummy treats the girls picked out on our Mommy/Daughter date!

The boys took in a movie and Jake and I celebrated our 8th anniversary while Jared and Christina watched our kiddos so we could eat at Famous Dave's and see "True Grit". Loved it! We even got to spend an afternoon with Jake's other brother, Jim and his fantastic family, eating fresh cookies, visiting to our hearts content, watching the original "True Grit" and playing legos. Such good times!

Mostly, it was just fun to be with the ones we love and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Family Photo Shoot`

2010-11-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

Our friend, Tena, does magic with a camera. Here's a sampling of some of the great work she did Saturday when we told her we needed an updated family portrait (our last one was done when Clayton was 3 months old. We were in desperate need of a new one!)

I can't decide which is my favorite out of these two. I love how they both show our kids' personalities:

Caroline is contemplative but full of joy and content to be in the moment.

Clayton is calm but such a happy kid who seems always to be looking just beyond right now, excited for the next moment life has to bring.

Connor is just plain cute and you can tell from the slight movement that he is super busy and just loves every minute of his little life! I love his smile in the second one the most - but it covers Jake's face ever so slightly which I'm having a hard time getting past.

First Day of Kindergarten!!!

2010-10-08T10:41:00.001-07:00

With her buddies on the bus!

On August 19th, our girl started Kindergarten! We let Caroline ride the bus on her first day, but drove in to go with her to class and deliver the classroom supplies and other important things that were on her back-to-school list. She loves her teacher, Mrs. Folkerts and though it's a long day with that bus ride, she loves school and is learning so much! She is already reading high-frequency sight-words (she gets lots of practice during family scripture study every night) and loves music class and P.E. where she has already run the mile for a fitness test. Her time was 21:28 - pretty good for such a little girl- looks like I'll have me a running partner in a couple of years!

At her seat in her classroom.

More than a little apprehensive when it was time for me to go. It didn't help that one little boy had a full on sobbing fit when his mom walked out the door. And I'm so proud of me - I didn't cry once! But gosh, I miss that girlie during the day!

Marvelous Minneapolis!

2010-08-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

After our trip to Colorado, the kids & I packed up and headed to Minnesota with my Mom & sister, Catherine, to visit another sister, Lucinda. We had such a fun time - Aunt Cindy had all sorts of fun activities planned for us! On Day 1, we visited the UofM campus where Lucinda is working towards her Master's in Education, and afterwards she treated us to a tour of the Target Headquarters where she works. It was pretty cool. We came away with more Target "Bullseye" dogs than we need. Day 2, we hit Como Zoo which was crazy busy and loads of fun! Day 3 was a visit to the Mall of America - and for the second time that I've been there I walked out not having spent a red cent, except on lunch at the food court. We played on all the rides at the midway courtesy of free tickets that Aunt Cindy scored from a friend at a neighborhood BBQ. We visited an Art Fair right down the street from Lucinda's condo and had a great time at the beach - on a lake down the street the other direction. We had such a fantastic time and miss our Aunties and Mona! And since I'm playing catch-up, these photos are in no particular order and some may be a bit skeewampus. Sorry.

Lovin' the lake.

The Carousel at MOA. Clayton loved riding the "wagon" with Aunt Cindy.

Caroline, of course, went for the fancy horses with Aunt Kitty.

Our favorites! We love the Backyardigans!!!

On the train caboose at the 1800's authentic pioneer village we stopped at on our way home.

Saloon girl.

We found Jake the Horse Thief's final resting place.

This little town was one of the best parts of the trip. Caroline & I had spent the summer reading "Little House on the Prairie", "Little House in the Big Woods", and were actually halfway through "Little House & the Long Winter". We didn't visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead (it was a couple hours out of our way) but when we stopped at this little village, we identified a ton of things that we had read about that made them real to Caroline. My favorite find was in a barn of old farm equipment and wagons. We had read about a "Horsepower Machine" that used horses to generate power to a machine that threshed grain. We tried to imagine it as we read, but there in the barn was an actual original implement that had an illustration next to it showing how it worked. It was amazing! The other thing we had read about was the muskrat homes that by looking at, Charles Ingalls could tell that a hard winter was expected. I'd never seen a muskrat mound before. But it dawned on me as we drove past the marshy land of Eastern South Dakota (which is actually where "The Long Winter" took place that the mounds I could see were exactly that! I was so excited. Unfortunately, that is the part of the trip that Caroline slept through.

Our balloon parrot from the Rainforest Cafe. Connor was giving it kisses.

Excited about the "Thunderstorm" in the cafe - with real rain! What a refreshing way to end a long day at the Mall!

Aunt Cindy teaching Clayton bad habits - water fights in restaurants are not good behavior!

The Lego Store & Woody!

The Balloon Ride!

More Carousel!

Painting a piano at the art fair.

A sunny day at Como Zoo with Aunt Cindy.

All super excited to be at the Como Zoo carousel. Obviously. (Actually, it was just really bright out.)

Clearly, we have a thing for carousels.

Making new friends while waiting in line.

Awestruck.

The butterfly pavillian. At some point during our walk through, each of them had a butterfly land on their head. Clayton was a little freaked out by it.

Butler Family Reunion

2010-08-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

Our family rotates our reunions every year. This year was an adults-only getaway (with the exception of two little ones). Last year was the whole family together and the year before that was girls weekend.

With my hottie at the top of the mountain. What a view! (Oh, and the trees and mountains are nice, too.)

We got together at Estes park in Colorado. I've never been before and was pretty amazed at how tourist-y it was. But it was fun. I loved being with the other adult family members. I love and appreciate them so much! I'm grateful for my own sisters and the relationships I have with them, but there is something so different about having brothers that I never experienced growing up. And I really enjoy having sisters-in-law who are in the same place I am in life as far as being wives and mothers. I don't get that from all my sisters. Yet. (Don't ask me why this is all underlined. I can't turn it off. No, it doesn't link to anything.)

We rode the tram to the top of the mountain, where the chipmunks are so tame they'll eat out of your hand. I think that was one of the highlights for me - feeding the rodents.

Jared, Christina & Porter on the tram. I miss this woman (okay, and her hubby and baby, too - but mostly her!) We had so much fun - we sortof did everything together since we both had babies on board. But, she is moving to Utah this week, which is much closer than Michigan, where they've been for the last few years.

Jake & Connor on the tram.

Cutie Cousins after the tram.

Jared feeding the chipmunks.

My hand and a chipmunk. I haven't gotten pics yet from the other family members' cameras that actually show me feeding the little guys.

We wandered around downtown and visited the shops. But there's only so much that is different in each t-shirt, candy and rustic decor place you walk into.

Mr. Cool chilling out with a refreshing drink.

We ate at the Grumpy Gringo. And now we know why it is called that.

And we visited "Fun City" - with go karts and a huge slide. I think that was another highlight for me. My competetive side came out a little bit and I figured out why I'm not usually that eager to get in there and try to win. I usually get thrashed.

Jake racing around the track - I promise, I wasn't far behind.

This just made me mad. I was in the lead - in front of the WHOLE family, and just before the last bump I slowed down and ended up last.

Things I Love

2010-07-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this man. And this girl. And when this man hangs out in her room to tell stories to this girl before she snuggles down for the night.

I LOVE it when this hunky man takes these beautiful babies for rides on their sweet pony past our gorgeous fields.

I LOVE this baby's big brown eyes - especially when he's up to no good and I'm trying hard to be stern even when he's so stinkin' adorable.

I LOVE this bird. He is beautiful. He perches here every day in the tree by my kitchen window and watches over my little ones at play, sings and talks to me while I'm in the garden and is generally just a fun addition to our yard.

I LOVE my life!

Dana MADE My Day!!!!!

2010-07-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

I think of Dana from MADE as something of a celebrity. At least in my little blog/crafty world, she rocks. When I shared my version of her Warhol Dress, here, I also uploaded it to her "you MADE it" Flickr group. She put it in her latest roundup post showcasing the work of her fans!!!! Go here to see my cutie on her site! (I was very surprised - I didn't love how the photo turned out. I took it at noon and the shadows were so harsh. But Dana liked it!)

Milestones

2010-07-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

At our house, it's a big day when a baby discovers the "snack cupboard". Oh, the joys of finding the crackers or applesauce cups and helping yourself to something to tide you over until the next meal.

For some reason, this is the only one of 10 darling pictures of Connor raiding the cupboard that would transfer from the camera to the computer. I've got a great one of him dumping crackers out of the box.

Oh, and Connor walked 4 feet from the sofa to the coffee table yesterday!

I Did It!!!

2010-07-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

Sporting my 5K t-shirt. There wasn't anyone to take a picture of me at the actual race. But the shirt proves I did it! I'm not sure what's up with the weird line through the photo.

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to run a 5K. Today I completed my goal. I participated in the Chadron Colter Run this morning. Being my first time, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect and didn't realize I needed to listen for my time to be called out as I crossed the finish line. I was so focused on getting there that I didn't hear. It was a bit disheartening to finish and not see my little family there cheering me on - a mental image that I kept in my head while I was training. But with Connor being sick, Jake stayed home with the little ones so I could achieve what I set out to do at the beginning of the year. I'm so grateful for his support, even from home. I did better than I thought I would in the race, considering the last 3 nights have been rather sleepless with Connor. We're still not sure what he has, but are just waiting it out and hope the little guy is on the mend soon. His fever seems to have broken finally so maybe we're in the clear.

All I Wanna Do...

2010-06-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

...is sleep or sew all day. Seriously. Since we returned from our Utah trip almost 2 weeks ago, I can't seem to get into my groove. Oh, I've got my creative groove on (I think it got stuck in hyper-create while I was making bows like a crazy woman on my vacation) but the house? Yuck. The carpet needs vaccumed. And deep cleaned. The craft room is a little scary from all this sewing and the kitchen, well...

Partly I think I've got the blah's from all the overcast weather and rain around here. It has been pretty much nonstop for a week and a half. All my outdoor projects are on hold and my garden starts and all the raspberry, blackberry & blueberry bushes I ordered have been living in pots in the kitchen - mostly on the chest freezer. I feel like I can't move in there for the living greenery. And today's nice but I am still not feeling any oomph. Except in front of my beautiful sewing machine.

I've been sewing dresses out of old t-shirts. Comfy, cute, wonderful summer dresses (that I can't wait to wear when it gets warm!) I got the idea from MADE and tweaked it for an adult's dress (it was originally a child's dress and I never actually looked at the pattern, I just grabbed my elastic thread and got shirring! I promise I'll post pictures eventually. I'm just not great at the whole take-photos-of-myself gig.)

Dana from MADE inspires me (never been there? you should go!) She has so many fun projects that up until now I haven't felt like I could tackle with 3 little ones underfoot. But lately, now that Connor is on the move and can entertain himself a bit better around my feet while I'm working, I've found the freedom to sew more. Yay! I saw Dana's "Warhol Dress" last week and wanted to make it for Caroline. I found two thrifted T-shirts just hours after viewing Dana's post and KNEW they would be perfect for this particular project.

It's been hard for our little country girl to understand that while we live in the STATE of Nebraska, we don't live in any particular town (though we do have the address of a nearby town.) So I figured this shirt presented the perfect opportunity for a geography lesson. I cut it so the area where we live is right up front and placed a little red freezer-paper-stenciled heart RIGHT where our ranch/horseshoeing school is located. It just happened to be right above her own sweet little beating heart. Caroline LOVES it! I love the polka dot ruffle and tie a the top.

Monticello Trip 2010!

2010-05-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Crazy- hair Connor & Cindy at The Falls

So my baby sister graduated from High School on Wednesday. To celebrate, my sis Lucinda flew to Nebraska from Minneapolis and made the 13 hour drive to Utah with the kids and me (since Jake is stuck at work) to surprise Catherine and my parents. They had no idea we were coming. I wish I hadn't left my camera bag sitting on the high chair at my house, because my mom's face upon opening the door and seeing 3 small vagabond-looking-due-to-being-stuck-in-the-car-all-day-children gazing up at her was priceless. I also wish I had my camera to take pictures of the bows I spent most of my time making since I had multiple sisters to look after my brood (I filled a rather large order for my good friend's pharmacy/gift shop here in town. They turned out amazing!)

Luckily, my sisters have cameras and snapped a few photos of some of the more memorable moments of our visit. Highlights included: the graduation (of course!), a trip to The Falls in Canyonlands, the baby fox the family dog Sam caught (that Dad introduced to us during breakfast one morning), and the after-church photo shoot in front of the temple.

We head home tomorrow morning. Not really looking forward to the drive, but desperately looking forward to seeing my sweetie!

(Sorry. These photos are in somewhat random order. I started to organize them chronologically and then gave up. It was taking too long and I wanted to go play.)

Swimming Superman style.

Catherine & Connor

Loves from my boy.

Caroline & Papa

Connor, the purple flower & the purple shoes.

Ladies in red. And white. And black. Aren't my sisters gorgeous????

Caroline & Catherine

What a charmer.

Nanny & Connor

Mar & Mil

Catherine & the waterfall.

Clayton & the sand.

Caroline & Nan

Yoga above the falls.

Mama & Caroline

The family and the graduate.

Catherine and Lucinda at The Falls

Walking above The Falls

Marilyn & Clayton

Breakfast with "Vixey" the baby fox.

Dad & Vixey

Reading to herself. She loves Mona's library.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

To all the beautiful, amazing women in my life, my mother, mother-in-law, sisters and sisters-in-law and friends who are mothers or will be someday, I hope your day is wonderful and blessed with love and happiness.

To my amazing husband, without whom I wouldn't have each of our precious gems, thank you for celebrating Mother's Day with me, and making everyday mother's day with your thoughtfulness and love.

And to my sweet, sweet babies. I love you so much! Thank you for making me a Mommy and being patient with me everyday while I learn to nurture, teach and do this fantastic job better. You make it all worth it!!!

"L" is For the Way You Look at Me!

2010-05-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

Friday night was our church talent show. Caroline and I decided to do a tap dance duet. Jake suggested the song, since it is currently her favorite from a mixed CD my sister Julianna gave me several years ago (which Caroline has stolen and listens to day and night). We signed up to perform last Sunday, which only gave us 5 days to practice. We did great Monday morning, but things got pretty hectic and it wasn't until Friday that we managed to meet up in the kitchen with our tap shoes again. For such last-minute learning, I think my little girl did pretty amazing (once she got over the slight stage fright at the beginning!)

After our performance, some of the kids began performing the piano solos they had signed up for. Before we knew it, Caroline had run up to the front and asked loudly if she could play, too. She performed "Birthday Party" from the John Thompson "Teaching Little Fingers to Play" book. We were so surprised and proud! She's been taking lessons from me and practicing, but we were sure not prepared for her impromptu recital. Just as I was snapping this picture, she looked up as if to have some reassurance that she could do it. So sweet. I love this girl!

Ouch.

2010-04-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

Jake came in from the chicken coop this morning and handed me the eggs.

All he said was, "That poor chicken."

On the right, your average Large-sized chicken egg. On the left, well...

Having given birth to a 9 lb. 9 oz. baby myself almost 3 years ago, I empathize.

Clayton (in the bassinet) and the 5 lb. baby across the hall from us in the hospital.

I feel ya, momma chicken. At least you didn't have to have an episiotomy. I hope.

In a Tight Spot

2010-04-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Connor scoots. He's getting close to crawling, but for now, if he wants to get somewhere, he scoots on his bum. Sometimes, he scoots himself into cramped quarters. We try really hard not to laugh when he gets stuck. But sometimes that's impossible.

See the Good

2010-04-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

If you watch BYU TV, you know that this year, they are encouraging their viewers to "See the Good in the World." Both of our older children ended up in our bed during the wee hours of the morning the other day. Jake and I started our morning, and when he went in later to wake Caroline for school, this is what he found:

What more "Good" can you find than the sweet innocence of sleeping children finding comfort in being together - even in an unconscious state?

When We're Helping We're Happy!

2010-04-15T14:44:00.001-07:00

Monday afternoon I was bustling around the kitchen trying to get dinner ready. Connor was fussin because he was hungry and I was trying to get some visual aids for Family Home Evening printed, cut out and ready for our lesson and activity. Between spooning food into Connor's mouth and checking to see if the print job was done, I was running back to the kitchen to stir dinner. I came around the corner to feed Connor and I found this. At the same moment, Caroline was asking me, "Mom, what can I do to help you?" So I put her to work cutting out FHE stuff. I'm so grateful for such sweet little ones who show so much perfect love and teach me daily how to serve by their examples.

I'll take THAT, thank you!

Heaven help us if we've already hit the "do it myself" stage with Connor.

My happy little helpers.

I wish I'd taken a good picture of her outfit. She'd worn a skirt I made her to school with her "I'm the Big Sister" shirt I also made. Because the skirt was black & white polka dots with fuschia trim, she chose black & white striped tights. When she got home, she changed into a pair of long knit, fuschia pink shorts but refused to take off her tights. To complete the ensemble she put on a pair of fluffy boot-like slippers. She looked so stinkin' girly and cute!

My Hunny Bunnies

2010-04-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny stuck these cute bunny ears in the kids baskets. They love to put them on and hop around the house, and on this day, insisted that Connor wear his. I think it's a little big for his head, though!

April Fools!

2010-04-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

I sortof forgot what day it was last Thursday, until about two hours before dinnertime. While I was scrambling for a quick, fun dinner to fool my family, my sister Marilyn called with some information for me. She's in pharmacy school and recently studied contraceptives. While she was here visiting, we were discussing them and she went back with questions for her professer. She called to tell me that the type I'm on may not be as effective as I thought. So after our conversation, the wheels began turning. I grabbed one of the pregnancy tests I always keep under the bathroom sink, took it apart, drew two blue lines on it, put it back together and dipped it in water to give it an authentic somewhat smeared look. When Jake came home, I launched into the, "So Marilyn called today.... and I've been not feeling well...and so...."

I had him pretty convinced for about 5 minutes.

Then I called Marilyn and pulled it on her. She believed me too. It was a good night for pranks.

Then we served dinner

Caroline helped make mini "hamburgers" to play a joke on Daddy.

We used Nilla Wafers, Thin Mint Cookies, a strawberry slice and green-dyed coconut.

Whispers, "$2.99"

The kids thought the mini burgers were a great dinner!

Then I pulled out dessert. I'd made a meatloaf cake with pink mashed potato frosting. It looked pretty convincing, but one whiff and Clayton was NOT going to eat THAT.

Photo courtesy of Family Fun. I forgot to take a picture, but this is where I got the idea!

Easter

2010-04-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun dyeing our eggs!

Connor stayed entertained with a biter biscuit while we decorated eggs.

The Easter Bunny knows that at our house, we like to focus our Easter Sunday on the real reason we celebrate, so he always comes on Saturday. On Friday night, the kids put out their slippers (when I was little, the Easter Bunny always left a treat in our slippers) and then snuggled down next to each other on the floor in Caroline's room for an Easter sleepover. Even though they knew that the bunny wouldn't come if they didn't go to sleep, they kept getting up and coming into the living room. After the 5th time, a very frustrated Daddy said, "If you come out again, the Easter Bunny won't come tonight." When Caroline peeked her head around the sofa 5 minutes later, all he said was "Bring me your slippers." Saturday morning was a little sad when Caroline woke up and made a beeline for the slippers. There was nothing inside and no sign of the Easter Bunny anywhere.

Poor kids.

But later, in between Conference sessions after we'd had lunch, Daddy suggested that he and the kids go check on the little birds we're chicken-sitting for a friend. With a wink, he suggested that Mommy have "a nap". Which I gladly did, for about 2 minutes when I saw the van pulling into the drive. It was fun to lay there and listen to the surprise & excitement when they saw that the Easter Bunny had come after all. Clayton was the first to discover the visit. He ran into the living room, where the Easter Bunny had painstakingly "hidden" and arranged jellybeans and plastic eggs full of treats around the living room. I heard, "Dad, there's BEANS!!!!" and Caroline's delighted squeal soon followed. They ran in to "wake me up" and I loved every minute of it.

Mama, MAMA, WAKE UP!! The EASTER BUNNY CAME! And he was SNEAKY!

Amazed at the Easter Bunny's sneakiness.

Look! I found my basket!

Is that basket down there mine??? Nope...

...HERE's my basket!

General Conference Weekend

2010-04-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Connor familiarizing himself with the leadership of the church. :)

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have the wonderful opportunity twice a year to listen to the leaders of the church speak to us, give us counsel, teach and inspire us, guide us and bring us comfort. It is broadcast from Salt Lake City to our local church buildings and if you're lucky like us, to BYUTV available by satelite.

I always look forward to Conference, for the rejuvination that I feel and the renewed determination to do better. I usually prepare in advance by praying about something I've been struggling with or something I need help with, such as a decision or just an everyday issue I want to handle better. Always, more than one talk is an answer to my prayers and direct inspiration from Heavenly Father to help me. This year was no different - in fact, it seemed every talk offered insight into my particular problem - and I'm so grateful for a loving Father that is intimately aware of me, my needs and desires and who is so willing to bless me with the grace & help I need to do better.

I want our children to develop their own testimonies of the reality of our Heavenly Father as our literal father. I want them to know, as I do, that Jesus Christ lives and is our Savior and Redeemer. I want them also to love and look forward to hearing a living prophet and apostles speak to us. Caroline was already pretty excited when I mentioned the upcoming conference last week (she couldn't wait to play bingo!) But for such little children, four 2-hour sessions spread over 2 days is a little bit much. For the last couple of years, I've had friends and family members forward me different "General Conference Packets" full of activities and ideas to help children get the most out of conference.

Connor "helping" me with the packets.

This year, I took several of those as well as some ideas from online to create a "Conference Zone" for Caroline & Clayton. I made them each a General Conference Folder, which I laminated (er, covered with Clear Contact paper, since that's what I had). I also made 2 activity packets that were stapled together - one for Saturday and one for Sunday- that had a little more age-appropriate activities for a 2 and 4 year old than some of the other packets I've seen had.

Caroline working on her activity packet during one of the Saturday sessions.

I saw another idea we also tried. We set up a "reverence tent" and talked about the story of King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon. For those unfamiliar with him, King Benjamin was a very good, wise king and prophet who worked hard alongside his people and taught them to serve one another. Near the end of his life, he wanted to speak to all of the people, so he had a tower constructed near the temple that he could stand on to speak so his words would reach as far as possible. The people pitched their tents all around the tower, facing the temple, to listen to the prophet speak. We likened that to General Conference and faced our tent toward the prophet.

At the blog "Love Hugs & Giggles" I saw a "Conference Wall" which we also made a with pictures of each of the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They listened to the speakers and then put their pictures next to a word that described what the address was about, such as "Faith, Love, Family, Jesus Christ, Atonement, etc..."

The "Reverence Tent"

Our "Conference Wall"

Saturday morning, even though I told them they only had to listen to one talk, they were so into listening and playing "Conference Bingo" in their folders that they sat quietly through the entire 2 hour session. Towards the end, Clayton decided to play with his little Superman action figure, but he was still very quiet and whispered until the session ended - without being prompted!

Clayton playing quietly during the first session of Conference.

Preparing a way for our children to enjoy conference took some planning and work, but after seeing how excited Caroline already was and how much both she and Clayton got out of conference, as small as they are, made it all worth it.

Caroline helping prepare our "Conference Wall"

For ideas to make Conference wonderful for your whole family, visit The Idea Door, Sugardoodle, and the church's official website.

I know this picture is random, but it's a shot of our traditional "Conference Bread" that I make every year!

Caroline's Dance Recital

2010-03-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile. And for those anxiously awaiting the other 13 reasons I love Jake, I promise someday I'll get to them! Who knew adding a third kid to the mix could throw such a wrench in the everyday normal things I used to be able to accomplish without a hitch? But I'm loving every minute of it and have had to re-evaluate what is really important in my life. Obviously, blogging isn't one of them, though I have missed the journaling that gets done on here that doesn't happen in my er, journal.

Anyhoo - here's some of Caroline's dance recital. We were so proud of her and she was so excited to dance "on stage" again this year! She was very lucky to have two of her visiting Aunties there to watch, in addition to our Nebraska bunch! Unfortunately I hadn't quite figured my new camera out, so I'm waiting for some pictures taken by another mom. But these are the ones we got of our darling dancer! Also, a good friend of mine got this short clip on video and poted it to YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34f6GvrZyw

The Tap Dance "We Love To ABC"

My favorite shot!

onnor loved watching the dancers! He'd fuss in between numbers and then get all quiet and attentive while the dancers performed.

The Ballet Number "I'm Special"

Little buddies - the only three in their class.

How Do I Love Thee... 2010 Edition - Day One

2010-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

Your Patience. I love that you hardly ever get riled up about things. Your layed-back personality helps keep me calm & grounded and creates such a peaceful feeling in our little home. It helps so much to have your perspective & relaxed attitude when it comes to teaching our little ones and dealing with the *occasional* tantrum as well (especially on the days when those tantrums are well, NOT occasional.)

Visit to Bluff Fort

2010-01-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun exploring the fort - Connor stayed warm and snuggly in the van with Mona!

To celebrate our seventh anniversary, and to enjoy time with the whole family, we made the 50 minute drive South of Monticello to the little town of Bluff, Utah to visit the Bluff Fort. It's a historical site dedicated to the memory of the brave pioneer men & women who created a trail through some of the most harsh country in Utah. Once they drove their wagons down through an unbelievably steep and seemingly impossible crevice in a sheer rock face that is now known as "The Hole In The Rock", they then had to pull the same wagons up a hill known as "Cottonwood Canyon." Once they reached their destination, there was more trial and difficulty as their crops were devastated again and again by the harsh, hot, dry conditions and river flooding in the summertime, not to mention the difficulties they had with the Native Americans they were called there to maintain peace with and be missionaries to. But we are so grateful for the example of their faith & fortitude. Our ancestors (both Jake's and mine) were among those who stuck it out. It was a very humbling experience to visit the recently reconstructed cabins and to stand in the place where these remarkable men & women once stood. Near the visitor's center, there is actually one of the original wagons that made that harrowing journey. I recently have been reading both the historical accounts my relatives left of the journey as well as recent works of historical fiction (which I've enjoyed as it has brought these people to life even more for me.) As I stood there with my hand on that worn, aged wood of that wagon and looked at those wheels I was moved to tears by the spirit of those wonderful people. What a wonderful way to spend our seventh anniversary, with our family members who are still striving to live with the same conviction today as our forbears did! I am particularly grateful for a husband who strives daily to live up to the example they set. I only hope I can continue to nourish my testimony so that it is as strong and steadfast as was the fire of testimony burning in the hearts of those gallant pioneers.

Our first stop was the "Twin Rocks Cafe". Named for, you guessed it - the Twin Rocks. We enjoyed an amazing lunch of Navajo Tacos. A San Juan County treat. Seriously, if you're ever there, you MUST eat one. Either at the cafe in Bluff or on the 24th of July (Pioneer Day!) at the carnival. Yummy!

On the steps of the cafe.

The kids (particularly Clayton) were enamored with this gigantic stuffed bear in the cafe's gift shop.

Caroline pointing out the names of our Ancestors!

President John Taylor - Prophet and 3rd president of the church. He called these pioneers on a mission to settle this part of Utah.

Exploring the first rock home build at Bluff Fort.

An original Hole-in-the-Rock wagon.

There were both a teepee and a hogan on site. The kids loved the teepee!

Daddy taking the kids for a ride in the mini handcart.

Covered Wagons are Fun! (when you don't have to live in, sleep in with all your siblings & parents or drive one down a precariously steep trail.)

The Redd Family Cabin!

The beautiful Redd Family home.

Peeking around a tree in the backyard.

To read an account of Stanford & Belle Smith's (not my ancestors, but I still admire their spirit and dedication!) descent throught the Hole-in-the-Rock, go here.

If you'd like to read more about the Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers, I recommend:

The Undaunted by Gerald N. Lund - masterfully written and a very enjoyable read with some romance and fun mixed in.

And

Hearts Afire by Blaine M. Yorgason - a 3 book series that I personally enjoyed even more than the book by Gerald Lund. I felt there was more detail and there was a lot of my own ancestors woven into the story. It was exciting for me to read about the personality of Lemuel Hardison Redd Sr. and his son Lem (Lemuel Hardison Redd Jr.) and I was able to see some definite family resemblences in personality as Yorgason took actual quotes and experiences from family histories to build the characters in the story. My father is Lemuel Hardison Redd IV, and I could see how some of the personality characteristics were inherited!

Christmas Day (in no particular order)

2010-01-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

I feel like my photos are a little Caroline-heavy. I seriously thought I took as many pictures of the boys - but maybe since Clayton did pretty much the same thing the rest of the day I figured I had enough pictures of him. Anyhoo - here's Christmas (only what, 3 1/2 weeks after the fact???)

Chillin' with Papa.

Mar and the boys p;aying with new Christmas toys.

Clayton's awesome Batmobile from Santa. When the key on the back is turned, the engine revs and then the car takes off and will go up to 20 feet. It came with a little Batman figure to go inside. He was lost before we came home.

Jake hiding at the top of the stairs and the rest of us posing by the stockings. We had

'little kid" Christmas fitst, and then while they played we raided our stockings.

Goin' fishing!

More of the Batmobile. It's all he wanted to play with.

Caroline & Aunt Cindy. I think someone was caught by surprise by the camera.

Nanny and Cath. Aren't they gorgeous???

Nan and Cindy. Breathtaking. Really.

Nanny, Cindy, Mar & Cath. Seriously. Beautiful women. Gives me a complex every time I go home. :)

Rodeo princess Caroline. Notice Clayton in the background gleefully chasing his batmobile.

Checkin' out the goods.

Cindy and Clayton on the new ATV. Even after they'd been out for awhile and were both turning into ice cubes, he didn't want to come in. He wanted to "go faster!!!"

Connor modeling his new hat & booties - handmade by Marilyn. I don't think we've gone a single day since Christmas that he hasn't worn the hat or booties or both.

More Mar & Connor.

Knight figurine (that came with a dragon from Caroline) and the now MIA Batman.

Pretty excited about the Tinkerbell toothbrush in her stocking. Clayton was stoked about the Spiderman toothbrush - he immediately unwrapped it - and then went back to playing with the Batmobile. I swear, I did try to take pictures of him doing other things.

She liked the Belle Pez dispenser too. And again, Clayton was pretty excited about the Batman one in his stocking. But it still didn't tear him away from his favorite toy for very long.

Mini Whinnies!!!

Not actually Christmas Day - but this is Caroline's Christmas dress. I made it and the matching one for her doll.

Added today to my list of, "Things I Never Thought I'd Say"...

2010-01-10T14:29:00.001-08:00

"NO SWORD FIGHTING IN SACRAMENT MEETING!!!!!"

Helping at Papa's Ranch

2010-01-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, Aunties Marilyn and Cindy took Caroline & Clayton with them and Papa to "help" feed the cows and horses. The kids loved being in the mangers, helping to toss hay to the animals and trying to get as close as they could to them. On the rock face behind one of the mangers, they discovered some numbers carved into the sandstone. They figure some sheepherder was wintered here on Christmas eve 72 years ago and marked the night's passing with 12-24-37. Clayton tuckered out near lunchtime, and despite Cindy's best efforts to keep him awake, he was zonked by the time they reached the "cave" to eat the sandwiches they'd packed. Caroline remembered earlier visits and begged Papa to make a fire in the firepit to warm herself up. He also found some marshmallows which they roasted, resulting in a completely happy Caroline. Too bad Clayton slept through all the fun - I don't think he even woke up until they were almost home!

Future Cattleman - Clayton likes the horses, but always tries to get in on the bovine action when he's helping Papa. Maybe because they're such a novelty right now. Someday when we have our own, he can get his fill daily!

A shepherd's Christmas Eve celebration.

This is how we entertain ourselves in the cab of the truck while Papa feeds the cows - playing with Papa's goggles and sunglasses. Such cuties!

We love Sammy - Aunt Catherine's doggy!

Christmas Eve in the cave - roasting marshmallows with Aunt Mar. Yum!

We survived...

2010-01-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

...our first day of preschool! Both Caroline AND Mama. Turns out sausage gravy and bisquits aren't as yummy from the school cafeteria as they sound. But butterscotch pudding is delicious. She didn't know the drill for recess and didn't hear the bell - got left outside swinging with the big kids and an aide had to come in search of her. And she has a new friend - I have no idea how to spell his name - but he's a cutie and was very sweet with her. She loved learning that calico cats have 3 different colors and she thought practicing writing her name on the little chalkboard at her desk was cool. Circle time on the rug was "short", but she enjoyed centers (though I'm not sure what exactly she was trying to explain to me that she did there.) Whew! What a big day for us! She crashed in her carseat on the way home, after her detailed tale of her day, but now she's awake and enjoying a donut with her little brother.

My Baby's On the School Bus!

2010-01-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

Yay! Seatbelts on our little "schoolbus"!!!

I called my sister 30 seconds after the bus pulled away from the stop to tell her in a somewhat panicked voice that "My baby's on the school bus!" I guess the tone of my voice registered before the words did because I caused her a minute of concern until it all came together in her brain. Surprisingly though, I did not cry. I'm not sure how I'm feeling about the first day of preschool for Caroline. Excited for her. A little anxious. She's still so small! But last night as she got ready for bed, she decided that she wanted to sleep on the top bunk for the first time. I wonder if in her little head, "big girl going to school" equates "big girl sleeping in the top bunk"?

She boarded the bus (Ford Explorer - our school district is very small and there aren't many kids out this way right now so I suppose this is definitely better mileage-wise! Plus there are seatbelts!) this morning without any problem and was excited to learn from the bus driver and the little girl next to her that she's allowed to bring her new V-Smile gamer that she got from Santa on the bus to keep her entertained during the commute. I wonder how she's doing, and hope that our big-girl neighbor friend Annie helps her get to her classroom okay. She's excited for school lunch today - sausage gravy on a bisquit.

Waiting for the bus to meet us at the stop.

Sorry this post is so random. I needed to get my jumbled thoughts down NOW.

All ready to go!

I think I need to go breathe into a paper bag.

Teaser...

2010-01-02T11:11:00.001-08:00

...of fun posts to come. But right now I need to finish unpacking and putting away Christmas. We had such a blast in Utah, a LONG drive home, and now we need to recuperate. But the fun stuff is coming soon - promise!

The BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!!!!

2009-12-13T20:20:00.000-08:00

So, Wednesday after his nap & diaper change, I felt impressed to put a pair of undies on Clayton. We'd tried this before, and after discussing with my cousin (mother of 4 boys) and being encouraged to wait until he was at least 3, I hadn't thought much about it. So when the thought struck this week, I tried to talk myself out of the idea. But I couldn't shake it. So I forged ahead. Clayton went potty, recieved a Lifesaver & Spiderman sticker and was hooked. For the next 2 hours or so, he told me he needed to go every 3 minutes or so and was in control enough to squeeze out of few drops so he could get a treat. He never had an accident. Thursday was the same. And Friday was also a success with the exception of a little accident due to my holding a crying baby and not making it to help him in time. He remains dry at night and I've discovered that if he cries out or moans in his sleep, it's because he needs to "go", so we get him up, no matter the hour, take care of business and then he goes right back to sleep. Today at church was AWESOME! He even told Grandma he needed to go while I was at choir practice.

I can't even describe how thrilled I am to not have to change big boy diapers anymore. And I am so thankful for the little prompting and have to say that I totally believe my mom now - she always told me the Spirit would guide me in raising kids - even in things as seemingly insignificant as knowing when they would be ready to potty train. I always sort of laughed when she'd add that part. But I'm a believer, now!

Not Quite...

2009-12-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

...as big as his brother. Good thing I looked in my planner. Connor's well-baby check was today. NOT tomorrow. He's 26 inches long (just and inch shorter than Clayton was at this age) and just shy of 16 lbs. So our bathroom scale is a little off. 16 pounds is still large for a 3 1/2 month old - 90% percentile for weight. and Clayton DID have a bit of a head start - 9 lbs 9 oz at birth! Anyhoo - just an update for those who are curious.

Just for the Cuteness of It!

2009-12-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

I should be finishing up the preparation of my Relief Society lesson right now. And cleaning up the rest of the house. And completing the craft room makeover/last minute-find-homes-for-everything-so-it's-tidy-for-Sunday blitz. But nah, I'd rather be looking at this:

And this:

(Tonight was haircut night for the Butler Boys. Connor doesn't get a haircut, yet. But that doesn't stop me from playing with it! Clayton had no hair in front at this age. Both he & Caroline were born with darker hair that all fell out and came back in blonde. Connor's doesn't seem to be doing that. Yet. Hopefully it won't. I'm loving what he's got.)

And then, remember this???

That is now this:

(Have I mentioned lately how much I love those chubby thighs???)

Again, skinny little 22 inch newborn:

Even longer chubby 3 1/2 month old:

Incidentally, I was reading through our Christmas letter from two years ago today (amazing what you find when you go through the piles of junk in your craft room to make room for everything in a smaller space.) In it, it mentioned Clayton's length & weight at this time 2 years ago. Since their birthdays are only 2 days apart, it makes it easy & fun to see where each one is/was at the same time. Apparently, Clayton was 27 inches long (sheesh!) and 17 lbs.! I'm not sure on Connor's length right now, but Jake was holding him the other day and stepped on the bathroom scale. Then he handed me the baby and it went down 17 lbs. Craziness. I'll be interested to see what the measurements are on Tuesday when we head in for our well baby check.

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do or Do Without - $7 Room Makeover (Or, what I've been doing the last month besides taking care of three munchkins!)

2009-12-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

The nightly ritual: Put on jammies, brush teeth & wash face & hands, read scriptures, say prayers, sing two songs, have kisses & hugs, turn on the nightlight and lullabies. Say goodnight, close door. Settle onto couch for some down time with Jake. Hear door open and...

Caroline: "Mom, Clayton keeps bothering me."

Mom: "Ignore him. Listen to your music and go to sleep."

Caroline: "Okay."

10 minutes later:

Caroline: "Mom, Clayton won't let me sleep. I'm really tired and he keeps poking me."

No amount of threats or punishments could keep this kid from pestering his sleepy sister. So we did it. We moved all of my craft & sewing stuff from the back room and proceeded to turn it into a quiet haven for a sleepy little girl. And man, it is beautiful to not have her complaining every 10 minutes that her brother is bothering her. Clayton, on the other hand, is not adjusting well to the change in roommates. But, he knows he'll be in BIG trouble if he wakes up the new roomie, who amazingly sleeps through even the loudest cries of a lonely 2 year old.

So, on to the room makeover! This took FOREVER because it was a naptime project. I rarely worked on it at night because I did so much while the kids were napping that I was pooped by the time bedtime rolled around. The only money I spent on this project was $7 on two cans of paint (purple & green) from the mis-tint shelf at WalMart. Everything else we already had! I love giving tired old things new life, and this whole room was just the creative outlet I needed. The yellow paint is the same shade as in my kitchen because 1) I was too cheap to buy a different shade and 2) it matched Caroline's bedding perfectly. The pink was my attempt at mixing paint out of the red & white I already had. It didn't look the way I envisioned it in my mind, but I like it better now. I think the pink I pictured would have been a little too bright. This is just toned down enough that it's not overwhelming but still looks feminine and goes with the decor okay.

Sorry, there are no "before" pictures. My craft room was too scary to ever take pictures of, so you just get the glorious "after's".

General view of the room. We put the loft bed in there (which I someday want to stain a dark espresso color - along with the toybox.) but Caroline still sleeps in the toddler bed underneath. She's not feeling very confident about sleeping way up there yet. But that's okay. She can stay little. I'm not ready for her to get too big yet.

Caroline's bed & nightstand with a view of the gigantic flowers painted on one wall. She calls it her "magic garden" and says her favorite blooms are the big, wonky, red ones, because they look funny. It made me feel better about them.

Caroline's book/toy shelf. It used to be a putrid, peeling aqua color. I had originally planned to paint it the same green as the leaves on the wall. Caroline insisted upon red. I like it, though I think I'm going to paint the back green for some contrast.

This turned out awful because of the light pouring through the window - but the valance is made from the old bedskirt that goes with Caroline's comforter set. No need for a bedskirt on a loft bed! Reuse and repurpose! The curtain is actually an old eyelet shower curtain from our home in Tucumcari. I made a sash to hold the curtain back out of the bedskirt fabric, as well as piping for the cushion on the toy box. Caroline loves her little "window seat" to read in.

A view of the wall with handpainted border. I love the sunny yellow! The hooks are from the old room, just repainted to match the flowers all over the new room.

I'm still putting a few finishing touches in, and working on the boys' room as well (it's been painted since we moved in 3 years ago - just finishing touches there too.) Next big project: Clear the piles of piles of craft & sewing junk and make a new, organized, inspiring home for it and for me to work! I'll let ya know how that one goes!

Thumbody is So Cute!!!

2009-11-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

What is it about babies finding their thumbs and sucking away noisily that is so charming? I mean, they turn into big 2 year old thumb suckers that have callous-ey blisters on their digits and perpetual drool. Okay, so the 2 year old sucking his thumb is still cute. Especially when he is dragging his blankie AND sucking away. (I wish I had a picture!)

I love to squeeze these thighs! I do it frequently. They're just so squishy and inviting. It disrupts much of my day and important things I probably should be doing instead of loving those delectable rolls of chub.

Completely kissable.

Our Halloween at Home!

2009-10-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Snowed in.

This was actually the first night of snow (Wednesday). The drifts were up to 4 feet by the time the storm ended Friday.

No chance of getting out Friday night for the church Halloween party and the community's Moonlight Madness (which was postponed until next week! Yay!) So this is how we celebrated our Halloween at Home!

Before the storm hit, and before Daddy left us in the middle of the storm with no power so he could beat the weather to Missouri to take a farrier exam, we colored pumpkins! (It's just easier for us right now, AND then I can use them later to make yummy pumpkin treats!)

Friday's Frightful Fare:

Potion Punch (pink lemonade Koolaid with green food coloring. Looks gross. Tastes great!)

Batty toast. (Spread with nutella with white chocolate swirled holiday baking morsels for eyes.)

Monster fingers (coctail weinies wrapped in tortilla strips with ketchup nails.) and Eyeballs (mushroom caps with mozzerella cheese, black olive slices & a tiny piece of cherry pepper in the middle - my kids actually liked these better than the monster fingers. Weird kids.)

Pear ghost with chocolate chip facial features.

Pumpkin pizza.

What we did to cure the cabin fever on Saturday afternoon:

This is gonna be awesome....

here I go!!!

Climbing Everest.

Wheeeeeeeeee!

Who needs sleds when you have slick snowpant hineys???

Yummy snow.

More yummy snow. The kid couldn't get enough and found it was easier to just stick his face in it for a mouthful. Crazy boy!

Aaaaaaaaahhhh!

Our snowman.

Saturday's Spooky Supper:

The Pear Witch Project (Pear, pomegranate seeds, craisin, shredded carrot, tortilla & Nutella. The cat is a tuna sandwich with cream cheese we colored with black food coloring.)

Black food coloring is awesome. *EXTREME SARCASM*

All dressed up, and nowhere to go! Batman & Batgirl. Total for both costumes: $9.00 (would've been $4, except Clayton HAD to have the Batman snowmask, and I caved so I wouldn't have to engineer the construction of one myself. Plus, it perfectly matched the onesie I freezer paper stenciled myself.)

Pin-the-tail-on-the-black-cat. Clayton didn't want to play, so Caroline commandeered all the tails.

Chunky Monkey

2009-10-09T10:13:00.001-07:00

Connor & I had our 6-week checkup on Wednesday. It was actually 7 weeks because that was when they could fit us in the schedule.

The doctor had us go in at 1 week instead of two and Connor weighed 8 lbs at that point (he'd gained 8 oz in the 4 days since we'd taken him home from the hospital. So here we are 6 weeks later with a 12.6 lb baby boy. He may not have started life out as heavy as his big brother, but he sure seems eager to catch up! I just want him to stay little a bit longer. But I have to admit, those chubby thighs and kissable cheeks are definitely an adorable bonus to the weight gain!

Autumn Harvest

2009-10-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Back in June, when the hail hit and I lamented to my mother that all my hard work in the garden was for naught, she encouraged me to keep taking care of the garden and pray that our efforts to follow the counsel of latter-day prophets would be blessed. I'm so grateful I listened to and followed her advice!

In addition to the hundred or so jalepenos and bushels of tomatoes (some of which we picked while still green and are ripening in a box) that are slowly being made into salsa a batch at a time; we have loads of beets, 5 huge heads of cabbage, 5 acorn squash, 3 big white pumpkins, 6 baby boo pumpkins and 3 lovely large broccoli crowns. We had fresh corn on the cob with a few meals and we've also enjoyed fresh cucumbers and had zucchini and crookneck squash coming out of our ears!

A few days after I returned from the hospital with Connor, I walked through the garden and couldn't help but offer a silent prayer of thanks for the hail. Not only had I learned to have more faith in the Lord and exercise it when following his commandments, but also to trust in him to know me and what I need at a certain time. Had the garden not been pulverized and survived to be in the condition I originally planned, I would have had tons of vegetables to can and not been able to do it as I recuperated from the C-section. Heavenly Father knew this back when I planned & planted the garden.

I'm still able to provide for our little family with the bountiful harvest we've had, but not over do it. "I know my Father Lives, and loves me too. The Spirit whispers this to me, and tells me it is true. And tells me it is true." How thankful I am for these little "tender mercies" that teach me to trust more fully in Him, and help my testimony to grow stronger each day!

Love Bug's Birthday!

2009-09-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

When asked this morning what she wanted to wear to church on her birthday, she replied that she needed to wear a pink princess dress with a pink bow. Here she is all beautiful (after church, since I forgot to take a picture before) with her sparkly birthday crown compliments of her dance teacher!

Four years ago today, Jake & I became parents when Caroline Anne joined our family. We are so grateful for the sweet little girl Heavenly Father entrusted to us to love & care for here on earth. I still can't believe she's 4 - and she's already asking us when she'll be 20 and go to "college school". (NEVER!) She requested Macaroni & Cheese, Peas and Orange Fluff salad for her Birthday meal today and we enjoyed celebrating with some of the family.

Here is a glimpse back on the last 4 years!

One of my favorite pictures - Jake cradling our firstborn.

Just a few days old.

Two months old.

5 months old.

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday (We celebrated the day before we blessed Clayton. She was just getting used to a new baby brother and needed some TLC from her aunties!)

3rd Birthday.

Today! She COULD NOT WAIT to open presents! And she had lots of help from her brother.

Checking out the new DVD from Uncle Pete & Aunt Sarah together.

THE birthday present she wanted - Bendaroos, from Clayton!!! (DON'T buy these. They're a waste of money. Complete junk.)

Before Connor was born, the kids & I went to Safeway to look at the cake book in their bakery. I thought that since I'd have a new baby, I'd make it easier on myself by just ordering cakes. Clayton chose Batman and Caroline surprised me by selecting a "Hello Kitty" cake. But I just couldn't justify $20 for a cake when I could do it myself for under $5. So here's my version of a "Hello Kitty" cake. There are a few less than perfect spots, but Caroline & I had fun doing it together. We rolled out Starbursts and used a cookie cutter to make flowers.

The rainbow cake inside. I got the idea here.

Caroline and her new Meadowlark bird from Grandpa & Grandma Butler, that actually sings the Meadowlark's distinctive melody (ONE noise making toy that I will NEVER tire of - especially in the winter when the Meadowlarks fly south!); her new doll with the same color eyes & hair as Caroline and sporting PINK! COWGIRL! BOOTS! And the new Little Pony nightgown from Uncle Pete & Aunt Sarah. And a unicorn sticker. On her cheek. Also from Pete & Sarah. They know what she likes!

Cuddle Monkey

2009-09-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

One of the cutest things Connor does, that I absolutely love, is hold on for dear life by grabbing hold of my shirt or finger while I'm holding him. He's got quite the grip and we were noticing last night that he was squeezing so tight that his little knuckles were turning white. There is something so snuggly & sweet about feeling his little grasp on my shirt or hand, as if he is saying, "Mom, I trust you to not let go or let me fall. But just in case, I'm holding on as tight as I can." I think it reminds me of a little monkey clinging to its mother - and that may explain why every time he does it, I start humming "You'll Be In My Heart" from Disney's "Tarzan"!

I know it appears as if he is looking for dinner in this photo, but he had actually just nursed and was fast asleep - slipping down the front of me slowly while gripping my shirt.

Baa Baa, BAD Sheep!

2009-09-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, the kids and I enjoyed picking some of the fresh produce that made a comeback after the hail storm that pulverized the garden in June. We picked a basketful of small tomatoes, about 25 jalepenos (in addition to the 50 or so we picked the week before!) several carrots (the only ones there were) and 3 beets (out of the huge row that survived!) I set the basket on the steps and ran into the house to grab a camera to take a picture of the kids with their bounty. As I was reaching the door to head back out, I hear panicked, sobbing, screaming. I open the door to "Blackie's eating our VEGETABLES!" Caroline was truly concerned, and Blackie was enjoying a deluxe salad! We managed to get them all picked up and the lamb shooed away which resulted in a much calmer little girl.

One Month Old!

2009-09-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it was a month ago today that Connor arrived! The time has really flown and he seems so big already sometimes. I just want it all to slow down! He is such a good baby - he rarely cries and mostly just fusses when he's got a little bubble or gas. He's smiled at different family members several times in the last week (but I was first!) Around the time he turned 2 weeks old, he decided he'd try out sleeping through the night. We enjoyed 3 or 4 nights of bliss and then he discovered that wasn't for him. But he usually only gets up once, around 2 or 3, for which I am very grateful, though still tired! And just for kicks & giggles, I pulled out my measuring tape today, and near as I can tell, he's added another inch to his length for a total of 23 inches. He's recently discovered his voice and I love to hear his little coos. What a sweet baby he is and how grateful I am everyday for his presence in our home and the spirit he brings, so fresh from heaven.

My boys. I love saying that! (being from a family of 7 girls).

Connor was smiling at Clayton but everytime I tried to snap a picture, he'd throw his arm up, sortof like he was trying to wave "hello" to the camera.

It's Always Fun When Family Comes, When Family Comes, Hooray!

2009-09-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Photos of our family visiting, in random order because I'm trying to do this all before Connor & Clayton wake up from their naps and also because Caroline wants to play and I don't get a lot of one-on-one with her these days...

Caroline cried when Mona & Papa left on Friday. She took her time enjoying them and giving them lots of loves before they pulled out of the driveway.

Laying a big surprise smooch on Mona!

Clayton was not to be outdone by Caroline and had to copy her.

Giving Papa a goodbye hug.

Caroline & Clayton enjoyed "helping" Papa with all the projects he found around our house. I have lots of new places for storage thanks to Dad!

Mona & Connor enjoying some cuddle time!

Dad Butler & Dad Redd putting up a very nice new railing for the stairs up to the deck. It was so fun to watch them together!

Papa enjoying his new grandson.

I went to check on Connor and he had pulled the flap of his blanket over his head. It was so cute!

Connor found his thumb. With Mona's help.

I didn't have to change many diapers while the family was here. I had lots of help. Particularly from Marilyn & Nanny. Nan just didn't want to chance getting anything on her clothes, so she always covered up with my old housecoat.

Papa took Caroline & Clayton on a walk his first morning here. They had a blast! It was so cute to watch them walk past the house in the morning mist. Notice the leash Caroline has attached to Papa's belt loop. She wanted to make sure he wouldn't get lost.

Mar sharing Tic-tacs with Clayton. (How to win friends and influence nephews...)

Clayton & Cindy (He was very happy because she kept giving him Tic-tacs, too!)

Caroline loves her Aunt Cindy!

Cindy & Caroline

Marilyn, Connor & Nanny

Connor & Nanny - I LOVE this photo!

Cindy & Connor

Marilyn & Connor

Marilyn made a birthday cake with 6 candles - 4 for Caroline who will celebrate her birthday later this month and 2 for Clayton who celebrated his in August. We had a little party for both of them where they were showered with gifts from their aunties, Papa & Mona.

Connor's Blessing Day

2009-09-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

We blessed Connor in Sacrament Meeting last week (September 6), and were so lucky to have both sets of Grandparents there that day as well as 3 visiting aunties in addition to our regular Butler crew here. I didn't get a close up picture of just Connor in his blessing outfit, and am missing photos of the Butler bunch (they all skedaddled so fast after dinner that we didn't get any.) But since the Redd family members were all staying at our house, we managed a couple of shots with them right after we got home from church. Thanks to Adam (a friend of one of my sisters who made it possible for her to come!!!) we were able to get everyone in that was there.

Marilyn, Caroline, Millie, Connor, Jake, Clayton, Papa Redd, Mona Redd, Lucinda & Nannette

Clayton "petting" Connor - he was doing it in the family photo, too and Adam got some great shots. Don't mind my retarded looking hair - the wind was insane!

Connor's blessing outfit was one that I actually made for Clayton. But then when Clayton arrived and was 9 lbs. 9 oz., my sister Cindy who was staying with me at the time held it up next to him and just shook her head. There was no way he'd fit into it as a newborn, let alone 7 weeks later when we blessed him. So I ended up making him a new one and just held onto the original. Since Connor was much smaller than we anticipated and we blessed him when he was 2 weeks old verses seven, it was a perfect fit!

Connor's blessing outfit.

Connor & Clayton's outfits side by side.

Deep Thoughts, by Connor Butler

2009-09-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

Just Too Cute!

2009-09-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

In the craziness of adjusting to life with 3 kids, I've found it a little hard to find time to post. But I've taken lots of pictures of our busyButler babies. Mostly because, well, they're just so cute! So here's a sample of things that have been happening around here:

Clayton really loves his baby brother and asks frequently if he can "pet" him. He lovingly strokes his little head, arms, hands & legs. So sweet!

Connor loves to stretch out when I lay him in the sunshine.

Er, naptime with Daddy. Jake offered to lay down with the kids so I could have a break. I heard giggling about 10 minutes later and went to see what was up. Well, the kids were. Up climbing the bed. Clayton looked like a litte monkey and was so proud of himself that he was hanging from the top bunk. Check out Daddy, zonked out on Caroline's bed in the background.

Connor is pretty smiley in his sleep. I love it and could watch and snap pictures all day!

Caroline & Clayton have recently decided that they need to sleep in the same bed (I think it's because they shared the big bed at Uncle Pete & Aunt Sarah's the two nights that Jake & I were at the hospital.)

A little down time with Daddy, watching the tube. I was supposedly making dinner.

Caroline, all ready for church on Sunday. It was pretty chilly, so she's all bundled up and looked so pretty with all those bright flowers in the garden!

He's a Long, Tall Texan!

2009-08-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, but not with the Texan part. When they measured Connor at the hospital, the number they gave us was 20 inches. People kept telling me they thought he looked long, and I thought he did, too. Turns out we were right. When the nurse measured him yesterday at our one week checkup, she got 22 inches. She measured twice and I watched very carefully. Now, he DID gain 8 oz in 4 days (he came in at an even 8 lbs yesterday - up 8 oz from when we left the hospital), but I'm pretty sure that doesn't translate into 2 inches of growth in the same amount of time!

Holy Second Birthday, Batman!!!

2009-08-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Since I was in the hospital for Clayton's actual birthday, it's pretty obvious that there wasn't a party. Jake recognized that morning that our middle child was another year older & wiser too, by singing to him with Caroline and talking to him about being two. Clayton, I don't think, knew the significance of the day. Caroline, however, has been quite concerned since then that her brother did not receive the proper birthday party. She tried to rally everyone to the cause Sunday night while we had family visiting but other than her cousins Abbie & Leah shouting with her at the top of their lungs, "It's Clayton's Birthday!", she didn't get much response.

So tonight, she took matters into her own hands. We had wrapped all the gifts earlier so that we'd be prepared to celebrate without a lot of effort after the baby came. She gathered all of the gifts that we had and set them on and by a chair in the living room and then informed us that there would be a birthday party for Clayton. My sister-in-law Sarah had come over to cook us tacos, so after that was done, she made a pan of brownies and I made a quick batch of icing. It wasn't the most effort I've ever put forth on a cake, but I figured Clayton wouldn't care. He loved every bit of his little last minute party, but I think Caroline felt the most satisfaction that her brother had his special day!

Clayton opening his first present of the evening - a Batmobile Hotwheels car from Caroline. I'm not sure who was more excited that he was opening presents - him or Caroline. She kept dancing around singing, "Open it, open it!"

Clayton with his new Batman action figures from Aunties Cindy & Nanny. He was so excited when he opened it and was yelling "Batman! Batman!" at the top of his lungs. Seriously, I've never heard him yell with more enthusiasm in his short life. Then he told me that Batman was going to fight the bad guy (I don't remember the bad guy's name - he just came in the same package.)

A gift from Daddy & Mama (picked out by Daddy and SUCH a good choice!) A tool kit complete wtih tool belt & hardhat. Clayton already has tools, but what guy doesn't need more? We thought he was excited about the Batman loot - but he kept yelling "TOOLS! TOOLS! Help Open!!!" Serious heaven for our little builder.

Clayton with his hardhat & drill. I was amazed that he knew how to change out the drill bits. He figured it out on his own with NO help from anyone. At all.

Who knew a pair of pliers could be the cause of so much joy???

Yum! Batman brownies!

The birthday boy, ready for bed in his new Batman P.J.'s. Also a gift from Aunties Nanny & Cindy.

Home, Home at Last!

2009-08-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to be discharged - finally!

Connor and I are so happy to finally be home after our lengthy stay in the hospital! We were admitted on Monday night to begin an induction, but after 24 hours of labor, hadn't gotten very far. That's when things went south, the doctor realized that I had a placenta abruption, the baby's heart rate dropped and I was quickly prepped and sent to the O.R. How grateful I am that I was in the hospital, not at home 30 minutes away when the abruption happened, and how thankful I am for a sweet doctor with a steady hand and clear mind who was able to make sure that despite the somewhat scary and less than ideal circumstances, Connor & I are both fine and healthy and that I'm on the mend more quickly than I thought I would be. That is also largely in part to an amazing staff of nurses and CNAs at the hospital who are nothing short of angels. Oh how I loved all the nurses who took care of us!

My dear friend Jenni - who also happens to be an RN. She had my room ready Monday night before we arrived for our scheduled induction. And by ready, I don't mean just with the basic hospital stuff. She had it decorated with streamers & flowers, gifts for Caroline, Clayton & Connor, and treats for Jake to munch on while I labored away. What a sweetheart to be so thoughtful of us!

And then there's the sweet friends and family that dropped by with little treats and thoughts and made each day special and a little more bearable, being stuck there - from contraband bean burritos and sopaipillas to good books & magazines to read, journals to write in - to beautiful baby gifts for Connor to use and wear, everyone has been so amazing! What a blessing to have you in our life!

Caroline hanging out with her baby brother in the sunny patch on the floor. He's a bit jaundiced, but not so bad that he has to go back for the bili-light!

Our first day at home has been wondefully relaxing, thanks to my amazing, thoughtful and wonderful best friend and husband (and substitute blog editor!) and also thanks to a very considerate and sweet sister in law who cleaned my house and made sure everything was perfect for our arrival. Thank you Sarah!

Caroline & Clayton are loving their new brother, though Clayton is much more clingy to Daddy and hasn't made himself available for many pictures. Caroline can't get enough of Connor and is so excited to do everything she can to help.

And now, seeing that it is after midnight, Connor is now fed, swaddled and ready to go to bed, I'm going to turn in, too!

Connor Douglas Butler!

2009-08-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

Caroline holding her new little brother Connor.

Caroline and Clayton excited to have a new member of the family.

Caroline and Clayton wearing their big sister and brother T-shirts.

Connor Douglas Butler. He was born at 1:20 am. He weighs 7 lbs. 14 oz. He is 20 inches long.

Caroline, Millie, and Connor.

There will be more details to come as our usual editor (Millie) returns.

Yup, I'm Still 'Round!

2009-08-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken the morning I was induced - the day before I was due with Clayton...

...and here we are two weeks out with ginormo baby Butler.

Still around and still round, that is. And okay with it now. That, in large part, has to do with my sweet sister Nan, who flew in for a visit yesterday. I've been hoping this little guy would make his appearance while she's here. But the first thing she said yesterday when she hopped in
the van was "Millie, I don't want you to feel pressured to have a baby just because I'm here." I can't even tell you the relief that simple statement gave me. It's like a huge weight disappeared. We went to the doctor after we picked Nanny up, and the news was the same as it has been - no progress (the baby is still very high up and as a result, nothing else is happening.) I think otherwise it would have been a very disappointing visit, but I'm reconciled to whatever happens, whenever it happens now. So we have a fun visit planned with Nan - hoping to go to a ranch rodeo tonight (YeeHaw!), making applesauce from apples we picked yesterday at a friends house, and some other projects and just visiting. I'm happy Nan took time out of her busy, wonderful life to just be with us. The kids are loving having their aunt "Nanny" here, and I'm glad for another full 6 days of nothin' but Nan.

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better...

2009-08-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

We went to see "Annie Get Your Gun" at the Post Playhouse at Ft. Robinson last week. We took the kids because, well, it had a western theme and they would be shooting blanks out of real guns. And for our kids, that's just plain cool. Before the show, we hit the restaurant at the fort for some tasty vittles. I had a proud mama moment when, after we finished our meal and got up to pay and leave, Caroline gathered her plate, silverware & cup and began looking for the "kitchen" so she could clear her things from the table like she's expected to do at home. Such a sweet, good, helpful girl! Both kids loved the show, and Caroline had a hard time sitting still during the song & dance numbers. She wanted to turn & dance along. I hope the people sitting behind us didn't mind her hoe-downing periodically during the show. We covered both of their ears during the shooting parts of the show - it was pretty loud! - but Clayton thought it was awesome anyway! The most fun, though, has been since we've been home. I'll occasionally break into singing "Anything You Can Do..." and Clayton will join in with "No, can't!" at the appropriate part of the song. So stinkin' cute. Too bad I didn't get any pictures!

Sew Busy!

2009-07-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer - this represents weeks and sometimes months of work on days that I haven't just wanted to lay my pregnant self on the sofa and watch old episodes of "The Lone Ranger" or whatever happened to be on Nick Jr., with my kids. I'm not really as busy as I make myself out to be. But I have worked on a few things and had a blast doing them. So I wanted to share!

Back in May, two of my darling nieces celebrated their 1st & 2nd birthdays. I made them reversible aprons. They turned out SO CUTE!

I hit the nesting stage about a month earlier in this pregnancy than with the others. Besides doing other home dec projects, I've been sewing, daily sewing... throw pillows for my bed & a pillow case for my body pillow;

A cover for my boppy pillow - I think I'm going to take it apart & lose the bow, though. Too froofy, I decided;

Bedding for the moses basket the baby will sleep in;

Bedding for Caroline & Clayton's new (as of mid-May) toddler beds under the loft bed we scored.

This last week, Caroline & Clayton have discovered the 1966 classic, "Batman: the Movie" starring Adam West. Clayton runs around the house yelling, "I Batman! I Batman!" and Caroline is quite content to play the sidekick. So I created some reversible super hero capes for both of them, with masks & belts. On one side is Batman/Robin. On the other side is Captain Clayton/Super Caroline. Definitely time well spent at the sewing machine!

'Till We Meet Again...I Love You, Grandma!

2009-07-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

My mom called this morning to tell me that our pioneer, Pearl Naegle Redd, returned home to Heavenly Father...this morning as Pioneer Day dawned beautiful and bright. I feel so blessed to have grown up with my grandparents literally in our backyard (our yards bordered on each other and I just had to skip through the gate to be at Grandma's house.

I don't ever remember Grandma ever being too busy for me. It seemed to me that we played endless games of "I Spy", "Who Has the Thimble" and our made up game, "Itchy Blanket". Even when Grandma had things to do, she always had old catalogs and scissors ready for us to cut out paperdolls. I'm sure we left huge messes, but I don't ever remember hearing her complain. Sleepovers at Grandma's were frequent, but still a treat. She always let us use her water pik after we brushed our teeth - we thought that was so cool! But mornings were the best! We got to eat "Grandpa's cereal" (quaker instant oatmeal packets) and then have our hair braided in a beautiful crown around our head complete with a big bow to hold it in place.

Grandma's cooking was a favorite: homemade bread & rolls, stuffed bell peppers, raspberry freezer jam, pumpkin, cherry & apple pie (all from scratch!), vanilla ice cream and homemade macaroni & cheese are just a few favorites that I remember. In fact, I can still smell them as I think about it. Being in the kitchen with Grandma was so sweet. One of my favorite memories is of pulling honey candy with her - something we did at least once a year!

I'm so grateful for Grandma's example of hard work. She was up at the crack of dawn, working in the garden & yard. When we drove cows, she was always in on the action, driving pilot truck and making sure we all had something to eat on the long, hot rides along the highway pushing cattle.

Grandma made holidays special for us grandkids. I loved trick or treating at her house because she didn't just dump a handful of candy in our bags, she invited us in, ooed and ahhhed over our costumes and then pulled out the special treat that she had just for us! Thanksgiving was always delicious with those pies and Christmas, in addition to always getting us some darling outfit or fun toy, there was always one of those awesome plastic candy canes full of M&M's. She knew what we liked! And it was like having two Christmases - one at our house and then one in Grandma's beautiful living room too! Easter was perhaps one of my favorite holidays to celebrate with Grandma at our annual family picnic in Dry Valley. She always decorated eggs (if we were lucky enough to make it over while she was doing it, she ALWAYS had those cool plastic shrinky things to put on them!!!) Then she would take ALL of those eggs and let us roll them down the red rock hills over & over again. I don't know why that tradition was so fun, but it was. And those plastic wrappers kept the eggs from coming apart too fast so we could roll them again and again! I loved celebrating Pioneer Day (a Utah State holiday on July 24th, commemorating the first pioneers to enter the Salt Lake Valley) with Grandma & Grandpa. They always came over to our house that night to watch the fireworks with us. It was a treat to sit in our nightgowns and eat Grandma's hot, buttery popcorn. It was so fun to have grandparents close on our birthdays, too. I don't remember too many when she & Grandpa didn't walk through the backyard to be with us. Our Eighth birthdays she made especially sweet for us girls... always reminding us each what precious "pearls" we were to her, by presenting us with a real pearl necklace (Her name is Pearl, which gives so much more meaning to that gift!)

Mostly, I'm grateful for Grandma's testimony of the gospel, which I saw in action as a young child. She was always caring for someone or taking a meal to a family in need. And she and Grandpa were workers in the Manti temple for many years. As a young child, I didn't always understand why my grandparents were away so much, but now I know and am so thankful for the great work they did and their example of sacrifice to serve the Lord.

Grandma, I miss you and can't wait to see you again! I'm glad you've been released from pain in this life to be with Grandpa and wish I could've seen that reunion! I love you so much! I think I'm going to make me some popcorn now and think about fireworks and you!

Potato Painting!

2009-07-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a window of opportunity to complete a couple of projects I've been wanting to do. Clayton was still napping and Caroline had just woken up. To entertain her, I cut two potatoes in half and carved some basic shapes in them, poured her some craft paint and let her go to town. She was seriously busy for an hour, stamping and painting. A couple of her works of art turned out so cute that I think we'll use them for wrapping paper!