HAPPY EARLY CHRISTMAS TO ME

So I'm one of those people who doesn't care for surprises. I like a few here and there... but I guess I'm kind of a control freak and like to know when, where, and what. So this year for Christmas I asked for 2 things. A new camera and a GPS because if it ain't in Raleigh... I'm LOST. Christian is THE BEST deal finder I know. Seriously, when he grocery shops he spends like $30 and saves like $75. It's nuts! So he's been searching high and low for good deals on a camera and on GPS's. Normally the best deals are on Black Friday's so I thought he'd just wait and see what came out. Oh no! Not this guy... he finds something and attacks! So I'm super excited about my new Christmas Presents. Obviously, I don't get to use either until Christmas... but at least I don't have to unwrap the corner, catch a peak, and then try and put the tape back perfectly where it lift the color from the wrapping paper. Oh, and PS... he did get me one surprise for Christmas. I think I can handle that... or can I?

I GOT JOKES

So the other night Mia asked me to tell her a story. Here's a little background... this is a stalling tactic. After reading scriptures, saying prayers, brushing teeth, going potty, getting her pajamas on... blah blah blah... she will find 100 different reasons why she can't go to bed. By this time I've lost most of my patience and am just looking forward to peace and quiet. So this particular night she asked for a story. So here was my story: "Once upon a time there was a princess and a frog the princess kissed the frog and she turned into a frog too then an evil witch came and saw the frogs and ate them. the end." Mia just glared at me and said, "Mommy, that's not a story! That's a Joke!!" She was ticked.

FACEBOOK

Oh... some of you may have noticed that my facebook account is no longer active. I decided that it was time for me and facebook to take a break. Basically it's become more of distraction then I need. So if you need to reach me try email or the phone but facebook and I have broken up and I'm not sure when we're getting back together :)

LIFE ISN’T REALLY THAT BUSY, I’M JUST LAZY

So apparently it’s November now… I was unaware that time flew this fast. But October came and went and here we are… at November. So I’m just gonna blog a bit and let everyone know that YES we are still alive. I’m almost 99% sure that nobody was devastated by my lack of motivation to blog recently, but to those of you who give a dang… here we go!…

Christian is BUSY… and his latest project has been his grass. He seeded our lawn and whoa! I’m not sure if he pumped it full of steroids but our grass is GREEEEN. Crazy huh! Anyways… It’s been his baby, his pet project, his greatest accomplishment. Ok.. not really, but he is really proud of his lawn :) He also has 2 interviews for Med School lined up with ECU and UNC. This is very exciting and I'm sure a little nerve racking. Christian has been preparing by going over Interview Practice Questions. Some of the questions are: "Tell me about a time you failed." or "If you were a cookie, what cookie would you be?" Whaaaat? Seriously? Ok, so the questions are a bit broad and cover many different topics. So please keep him in your prayers so that he may know what kind of cookie he would be.

Kalea is excelling in school. Not that we had any doubt. Just kidding. She is loving learning and does get a little frustrated that she can’t read yet, but she is definitely getting there. She sounds out the letters and can form words. She of course is the little peace maker in her class. When they have quiet time she is gets a bit irritated when others aren’t quite as “reverent” as her. She does tend to watch the wilder kids in her class with wide eyes. Not sure what’s running thru her head when she see’s them exercising their free will, but I’m pretty sure she is in awe.

Mia continues to be a challenge to say the least. She was found escaping Nursery this week so she stayed with me for the most part of church. She also likes to challenge EVERY THING I TELL HER. Not quite sure where she gets this from. *ahem* Lately,her favorite phrase is to tell me that I am a bad mommy, or that Santa is not going to bring me presents for Christmas if I’m not a good Mommy. awwww…. dear sweet Mia. Her words touch the heart :)

Landen has decided that he wants to climb on EVERYTHING. He even pushes things up to the couch so he can get up. I’ve found him on numerous times ontop of the girl’s Princess table. He’s learned how to wave hi and say hi at the same time. He’s been practicing when I come home from work and at church. He is probably the most social, friendly little boy. He will continue to go up to anyone (Sorry Christy S.) and if he’s walking he doesn’t look back to see if we’re following. I told Christian when Landen turns 2 that I’m buying one of these: Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. It’s not like I’d be putting him on a choke chain around the neck. I’d just be giving him a false sense of freedom. You’re welcome, Future Landen.

So Christian and I took a trip to Asheville for my friend Stephanie’s wedding. We also went to Biltmore. Christian has been a few times but I had never been and really wanted to go. So I dragged Christian kicking and screaming thru Biltmore. I thoroughly enjoyed it thru Christian’s bored sighs and his sarcastic remarks.

Then we went to the Fair the following week. One year Christian and I went as a date and we ate so many things we nearly puked… seriously. We had to toss our fried pickles out the window of our car on the freeway or we were gonna hurl deep fried goodness all over our car. So this year, we brought the kids with us. We felt a little outnumbered (as usual) but we really had a good time. The girls had fun on the rides and enjoyed the food. We had a deep fried Snickers, Oreos, and Reese’s Cup, a Funnel Cake, Cotton Candy, and some Hush Puppies. Landen really liked looking at the crazy carnies and really behaved himself.

Ok so last year we all dressed up for Halloween and we had such a great time we decided to do it again this year. Christian was Jack the Ripper (or as Christian was calling himself, Jack the Stripper), I was a Senorita (Zorro style – eat your heart our Catherine Zeta-Jones), Kalea wanted to be a Skeleton which was out of her regular norm of being something girly, Mia was a Ladybug, and Landen was the Incredible Hulk which was really appropriate cause we definitely DON’T like him when he’s angry.

THIS GUY…

Landen has turned into quite a character. He loves to hide things including pacifiers, toys, cooking utensils, etc. He also loves to empty every single kitchen towel and bib we own out of their drawers. What a funny little guy. He has also started saying more words which is fun to hear. He says mama, dada, oh, this, and hi. He also is the king of tantrums… already! There are days when I’m pretty sure he and Mia are the same person, different gender. He’s sooo funny though. Whenever I watch So You Think You Can Dance… he watches the entire show with me and dances his little booty off. He loves it. That goes with any show though, he loves to dance. He also loves to just sit on my lap and snuggle with me. He’ll stay there for over 20 minutes just chillin with Mommy. What a sweet boy. This is where I found him the other day. Just sitting in the toy bin happy as a clam. He struggled a little to get out… dumping everything as he tumbled… completely unphased. Did I mention that this kid also LOVES HIS DADDY! Which is nice for me cause the girls have always been so clingy since being in my womb. He loves to be outside with Christian while he does yard work. When Christian gets home from work he screams and yells at Christian until he picks Landen up.

An update on Kalea and Mia. Kalea is really enjoying school. She is making some great friends and I enjoy listening to hear her stories about her friends when she gets home. When asked what she learned at school today her response is always, “I’m too tired to tell you. I’ll tell you later.” Grrreeeatt… not even a teenager and already doesn’t want to communicate with me. Kalea is a “people pleaser” though and I think her teachers are realizing this. She is a very good listener and is very attentive in her class.

Mia has adjusted well to Kalea being gone most of the day and week. I think she really likes that she doesn’t have to share me, her toys, and the t.v. Her new favorite show is Strawberry Shortcake which we started recording for her Saturday mornings. She loves it. She still pays very little attention to Landen unless he’s aggrivating her. But I’m sure as they both get a little older that will change.

Christian has received his MCAT score. He scored a 31 which is in the 80-85th percentile. We were very excited to hear he did so well. He’s still waiting on Carolina and Wake Forest to hear if they’ll send him his secondary application. Each school does it a little differently. Apparently Carolina only sends you your secondary application if you’ve also been accepted for an interview. However, Christian has already finished his secondary application for ECU. Still waiting on Wake Forest though. Keep your fingers crossed!

Oh.. me? I’m doing well. Not pregnant, thank goodness! Just kidding folks. I’m busy with work and the 3 kids and 1 grown up kid. :) I think I have a harder time waking up in the morning to get Kalea ready for school then she does. It’s been an adjustment. My allergies hate me… I LOVE FALL but it does not love me. My throat swells and my nose is gross. But other then that I’m healthy and well.

WORN OUT

So life has been VERY exhausting in the month of August.  Ok wait… let me back up… for those of you who don’t know, Christian has been studying for the MCAT (Medical School Test) since June.  So any free moment that he’s had has been dedicated to that.  It was VERY tiring for him, but also for me.  I had to pretty much take care of the kids on my own every Saturday and most days after work.  Christian took the test on August 21st.  It was such a WONDERFUL day!  Christian was scoring very high on his practice tests but if you ask him how he did on the MCAT… he has no idea. I think he doesn’t want to get his hopes up. We’ll fine out in about 2 weeks what he scored.  He’s also applied to 4 colleges with Medical Schools, UNC, ECU, Wake Forest, and Mizzou (University of Missouri – Columbia).  It will be a long process between now and next year.  We’re hoping he’ll be accepted into UNC.  But I guess we’ll see!

Kalea started School!!!  She loves it.  The Elementary School she attends is a traditional school and so she started with “staggered entry”.  So she went for one full day and then she had a long weekend until her first full week.  That full week she absolutely loved.  Well, it actually turned into 4 full days instead of 5.  On the 5th day she ate a pretty big breakfast before school and rode the bus.  Well, apparently she got carsick and barfed as soon as she got off the bus.  So the school called me and asked me to pick her up.  Anyways, so instead of a 3 day Labor day weekend she had a 4 day weekend.  Lucky Girl!  Mia is adjusting well to Kalea being gone.  I’ve kept her pretty busy with play dates and puzzles.  Landen also seems to notice that Kalea is gone. When he see’s her back from school he loves to play with her and dive for her.

Poor Kristy had a birthday this month… Booooo! I used to love my birthday.  It’s not like I’m getting super old. But I guess it just don’t feel the need to celebrate like I used to.  I welcomed the other side of my 20’s and hit the bit 26.  No biggy.

The best thing that’s happened is Lane has returned from his mission in Argentina! My parents, my family, and Luke were all able to meet him at the airport.  We went out for a yummy lunch at Ruddino’s.  And then we stayed up forever talking.  Kalea remembered her Uncle Lane but was sad that he didn’t look the same.  Mia had no memories of Lane.  And Landen had absolutely no clue who he was.  But they have all warmed up a ton and have realized how hilarious and fun Uncle Lane is. Having Luke home for the weekend was an extra bonus. I haven’t been around both my brothers in YEARS. It was so great and really wish that both of them lived closer. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANDEN

Landen turned one!! Yay!!  I love that little man.  He has added so much joy and TONS of laughter into our lives.  We are so blessed as a family to have Landen (and all of our children).  He is really all boy.  He really loves balls and making messes.  

He’s changed so much since we first brought him home.

Aww… his thumb sucking phase

His Fat Phase

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE LOVE U!

 

WE LOVE SUMMER!

Except when it gets hot and sticky. We don’t like the bugs or mosquitoes... and haven’t been doing much actually. Lately we’ve done a lot of Library reading times though. The kids really like it. They do 2 songs, 2 books and then a craft. And their not those crappy crafts either…. their really creative. I’ve learned to take advantage of the Public Library system online too. You can request certain books and have them ready to pick up for you. I love it. I’ve been requesting tons of books and been reading in my free time. Well…. it usually takes me about 2 weeks to finish though since my free time is pretty much zilch.

A few weeks back we went to Pullen Park. We have a play group that consists mostly of girls. It’s not like we planned it like that… Heavenly Father just decided to give us all girls. But what’s even more hilarious is how many babies we all have in tow.

So since it’s obvious that we’ve been staying home so much…. here is what we’ve been doing. Landen’s been practicing walking and that’s all he does now. He loves to stand in the middle of the isles at church and greet everyone. And by the way… this kid has NEVER met a stranger. So if he goes up to you and puts his arms out… please don’t feel special cause you’re not the first. The kid’s a womanizer (he mostly does it to women.)

What a Stud!

COUSIN'S CAMP

This June we did a Cousin's Camp. It's a really fun time where we plan activities for all of the kids at Grandmother and Grandpa Simpson's home. The kids all really enjoy it.

Here is a picture with the grandchildren (minus Sada and Kipling). Can you tell the Grandparents are in heaven?

One of the kids favorite pastimes is to take a "hay ride" with Grandpa Simpson. All the cousins climb into the trailer and Grandpa pulls them around in his tractor. They love it!

This year we had water squirters and the kids got to shoot *cold* water at each other. Mia didn't care for this part at all! However, little Helena (Cerah's youngest) absolutely loved it and loved being in the middle of everything.

Helena and Spencer- at one point Spencer picked a flower and gave it to Helena. But then changed his mind, and took it back. :)

Tug-O-War: The girls won the first round... the boys weren't too thrilled with that. But with the assistance of an Uncle... the boys won the second round. Then it was time for the adults to take a turn. The Aunts won over the Uncles. I'm not sure if they let us win or not....

EVERY WEEK THERE'S SOMETHING NEW

Ok... so life has been BUSY! Every week there has been something new and fun. My Grandparent's came in town, Kalea did little summer day camps for a week, and of course our favorite... a visit from Aunt Cerah and her munchkins! We love it when Cerah comes in town. Not only do we get to fun stuff with William, Hannah, and Helena... but Cerah got to meet Landen. Oh... sweet Auntie decided to paint Landen's toenails, put hair bows on him, and dress him up in a number of ways. Including the crown below and a feather indian hat.

*These pictures are from our trip to Marbles Museum*

*Sorry Cherre... I HAD to!*

After Cerah left to go back to Utah, my cousin Kahea came in town with her 3 kids. Sadly, no pictures were taken, but the kids had a blast playing and driving their parents crazy.

Ok... so Kalea goes back to Virginia and we start a-packin for the beach! This is our first year taking our own little family vacation by ourselves. We rented out a condo at Tiffany's and stayed there for 4 nights, 5 days. They were doing a special where you pay for 3 nights and get the 4th night free. But for some reason they didn't book us for the 4th night and had reserved our room for someone else. So naturally, they upgraded us to a King Suite and it was AWESOME! (minus our neighbors who thought partying late into the night was "cool". Of course I knocked on their door and told them to keep it down. )

This little boy LOVED the sand and the water. We would look over at him and he had handfuls of sand in his hands just eating away. He really loved going out into the waves with Christian. Which makes me nervous. FYI: I'm VERY VERY paranoid when it comes to the ocean. It could be because I got caught in an under toe as a kid, it could be because I have this unnatural fear that my sea is going to take my children from me. I'm not quite sure. But I never go past my waist. And when the girls aren't really paying attention to what they're doing... my anxiety level goes WAAAAAY up.

So here was our first place...

Here is the view from our new room. It was beautiful and very peaceful.

...And this is our upgrade :)

We spent most of our days at the pool or the beach. I bought Kalea and Mia some water-wings so they swim and kick all by themselves. It's really nice I cause I don't have to worry about them. And Landen just loves to float along on his lily pad. The last day we went for a walk on the pier. It was fun to watch all the surfers up close. They were even more impressed that their daddy knows how to surf too!

So straight from the Topsail Island we drove to Wilmington to the Aquarium. Ok... in case you didn't know... it takes awhile to get to the Aquarium. We thought it might take maybe 30 minutes. It was over an hour! Once we got there we went in and saw a few things. But not long after Mia starting complaining about being hungry and thirsty. So we walked back to the car and went looking for picnic benches to eat on. Um... we must have parked in a mosquito's nest because we were ATTACKED! I'm talking in the car, all over us... it was crazy. So we decided to go to McDonald's instead. And instead of going back to the Aquarium we just decided to drive home. It was way too much excitement and craziness for the end of the trip. We were ready to go home and relax.

It was a fun trip but exhausting. When we got home and Christian and I were laying around, I looked at him and said, "I need a vacation." It's a lot of work when there are 3 small children involved. Lots of melt downs and naps. But also lots of early bed times, Popsicles, laughs, and memories.