PROJECTS

The past weeks have been as busy as ever. I think we’re pushing ourselves too hard. Christian has been fighting a cold for 2 weeks but there’s been little rest to help him. I’ve been burning both ends with 3 kids, a husband in night classes and who works full time, and then sleeping children who like to cry in the middle of the night.

Let me tell you about Kalea last night. She woke up crying. So the first thing that entered my mind was a. a nightmare or b. she wet the bed. So I went in there and she is FREAKING out. Not just crying, but seriously upset. She keeps repeating “Peach, I got a 2.” and then she says, “I got a 1”. Makes no sense, right? Well before you think she’s crazy… we play a lot of Mario Party. I mean A LOT of Mario Party and Peach is the Princess. And you roll dice and thus the 1 and 2. So she’s inconsolable. It takes me a few minutes to realize she’s not really awake. She’s still in a dead sleep.  Like sleep walking minus the walking. So what do I do like any good mother? I put her in a cold shower. Don’t judge me. She was acting CRAZY. And they say never to wake a sleep walker, but she’s screaming and crying so much that she woke up the whole house and I couldn’t calm her down. After she’d been in the shower for a few minutes she finally comes to. And then she asks me what happened. I tell her and she finds it hilarious. I’m glad someone does… because Mia’s freaked, Landen is crying, and Christian is exhausted. I get Kalea back to bed, but then Landen is up with me for another hour before he’s calm enough to go back to sleep. There’s no rest for the weary.

In the free time that I have… which isn’t much. I’ve taken crocheting back up. About 2 years ago I tried and failed miserably. I was pregnant with Landen and tried to make a baby blanket. I had this vision of him cuddling up to it as a newborn and feeling so fulfilled by my project and my new son. Didn’t happen. The thing looked like garbage and I threw it away because I was so mad at it. Christian found the whole ordeal hilarious of course. He thinks I don’t have a “homemaking” stitch in my body. Well, let me tell you something…. I proved him WRONG!! I made HATS!! Cute yarn filled, flower doting, winter beanies for the girls and they are sooo cute! Observe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I’m feeling crafty and confident in my abilities! Granted the project is a pretty easy one. I’ve moved on to trying to crochet a scarf/cowl. It has buttons to make it have a more wrapped around look. My sis-in-law found the pattern and we’re both making one. She’s in Utah, so it doesn’t matter if we wear it at the same time (lame joke, i know). Here’s where you can find the pattern Cowl Pattern.


I’m going to do a dark heather grey (the same from Kalea’s hat) but the buttons are going to be a shimmery metallic grey also instead of the red ones. Wish me luck!! Hopefully it works out. Oh, and I’m not going to wear it over my mouth like a bank robber.

I’m feeling super crafty right now. I’m not sure why because I’ve never felt like making this kind of stuff in my LIFE. Maybe my little bit of success is pushing me forward. Either way, it’s really fun and I’m enjoying it. Here are a few other things I have on my TO-DO LIST.

1. Slouchy Hat

This hat is so cute to me! I love the olive green color too. You can find it here.

2. Phannie Hat

I really like this hat too! It’s not so much that my head get’s cold in the winter. But I love hats because you can just throw them on and go. Their both pretty similar. But if I can’t do one pattern, it’s always good to have a back up. I’m also looking for a newsboy style beanie with a brim to work on. Their super cute to me, but I haven’t found a pattern I like yet. Here’s the pattern for this one.

 

3. Scrunchy Scarf

This is Brittney. She is wicked talented. WICKED TALENTED, PEOPLE. She made the scarf which I COVET… which is not good. She was so sweet to post how to make it and it looks so pretty (not to mention how gorgeous she looks already). Perfect for everyday, or to spice up a dress for church. You can check out her other crafts here. ( Don’t worry Brit, my blog is private so you won’t get any creepy weirdo’s stalking you… except for me of course.)

AUTUMN IS ANOTHER WORD FOR FALL

Yea, I’m smart like that. Basically the weather has been so up and down I don’t know if it’s fall or summer still. Some day’s it’s over 80 degrees and some days are in the low 60’s. We’ve enjoyed it either way… I beats 90-100 degree weather any day. We’ve had some exciting things happen around here lately.

Kalea and Mia both got bikes. Not new ones ( we weren’t trying to break the bank) but Craigslist is a great place to get used bikes for them to learn on. Mia’s has training wheels and Kalea’s does not. We are looking for training wheels that will fit. ( We found some at Wal-Mart that didn’t work). They’re pretty exciting and enjoy practicing on Mia’s for now.

Kalea has become quite the artist in the family. She was recently selected to have her art work displayed at our State Fair this year. 6 kids total were chosen and Kalea was one of those talented children. We were so excited for her! So, we attended the Fair as we do every year and made a bee line straight for the Kerr Scott building where her picture was on display. She even received a gold sticker as an honorable mention. They were the ones who showed the most promise artistically.

After basking in Kalea’s glory we headed out to do some rides and eat some food. Kalea was a champ as always. She’s a real dare devil at heart. She likes to try new things and feels excited when she gets on the rides. Mia on the other hand… she is scared of EVERYTHING. I’m serious. She went on the easiest slowest rides possible. Then after she’s say, “That was boring.” We kept trying to get her to try the other more exciting rides, but it didn’t work. Maybe next year. Landen was super excited about the rides also. He’d want to race right onto the ride and then would look a bit worried sitting next to me. By the end, he realized how fun the fair is. We only ate 2 fried foods this year (we’re on a budget, ya know.) So we had a funnel cake to share and a fried Snickers. Two was more then enough. This year they had a fried Krispy Kreme Burger. Sounds gross, if you as me. Some have said it was delicious though.

*LANDEN CHECKING EVERYTHING OUT. OVER STIMULATED. *
*ON THE HELICOPTER RIDE WITH THE KIDS. WE GOT STUCK. CHRISTIAN WAS ON THE GROUND LAUGHING. THEY SAID A HYDROLIC PUMP QUIT WORKING. EXTREMELY COMFORTING.*

*CHRISTIAN’S TURN TO HAVE HIS PRIDE STRIPPED FROM HIM. ON THE KIDDY RIDES.*

*AWAITING THE PIRATE PLAYGROUND. IT WAS REALLY HIGH UP. LOOK HOW NERVOUS MIA LOOKS. SHE NEEDED A LITTLE COAXING FROM KALEA, BUT CAME OUT OF IT ALIVE. (note the sarcasm) *

*LOVING EVERY BITE OF THE FUNNEL CAKE. HE EVEN FIGURED OUT DIPPING IT IN THE POWDERED SUGAR MADE IT EVEN MORE HEAVENLY.*

KALEA WENT ON A ROLLERCOASTER AND SHE LOVED IT!! NOTICE HOW HER FACE CHANGES EACH TIME. WHEN SHE GOT OFF THE RIDE SHE THE FIRST THING SHE SAID WAS, “I MADE A NEW FRIEND!”

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO…

The past couple of weeks we’ve been gearing up for our Anniversary trip to Charleston, SC. I’ve wanted to go for awhile now and Christian planned a surprise trip.Well, sort of a surprise. I found out because he had tickets to museum’s mailed to our house, which I intercepted, thus the surprise was ruined. However, I was still equally excited. Christian and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on September 20th. Which is beyond crazy to think of how much we’ve accomplished, been through, and done in those 7 years. Ups and Downs, Twists and Turns. I’m just glad that he’s my husband and is able to help and love me and be there for me in the most amazing ways. He is truly my best friend and has been such a huge support and a great father to our 3 beautiful children. Here’s a blast from our past…

{ Our Engagement picture from 2003 }

{ Our Wedding Day – September 20, 2003 }
{ The Day we were Sealed as a Family-March 2005 }

{ When Mia joined our Family }

{ When Landen joined our Family }   

{ Our Family Today } 

I am unbelievably blessed and grateful to have such a wonderful family. That I could be a wife and a mother. I’m thankful that Heavenly Father has created such a blessing for us to share and to be sealed as a family forever.

Ok… onto our trip.

We stayed in North Charleston at the Radisson where it was a bit more affordable and were able to come and go but still be nearby. Next time we might stay in the thick of things in Charleston, but it fit our budget and were still able to stay at a nice hotel. So we arrived on Friday after dropping off the kids at Aunt Cherre’s house. Mia saw me that morning packing my flat iron. She knew that Mommy and Daddy were going on a date. But when she asked me why I was packing my straightener, i told her “Just incase I need it.” Then she stopped and I could see her little wheels turning and she said, “Are you going on a SLEEP OVER date??” Which made me crack up and I told her yes. She looked a little weary but soon brushed it off and off we went.

We actually were performing an act of service before heading out the state and from 9-1pm we volunteered at the “me fine” foundation where GSK was raising money by having a yard sale and sold lunch also. The “me fine” foundation helps families who are undergoing trials such as having a child in the hospital undergoing cancer treatments. The founders themselves had a child who had cancer and whenever they asked this precious 2-yr-old how they felt. He responded by saying, “me fine.” Thus the foundation’s name was created. To learn more go here Me Fine Foundation.

So after spending time out in the sweltering hear (95 degrees) we headed south and started our weekend away. We arrived and immediately unloaded and rested, showered and got ready for dinner. We ate at the Harborview above the Holiday Inn. The cool thing about this restaurant was that they had an amazing view of Charleston and the Harbor. Boats, Water, Food… it was relaxing. Christian had a shrimp and pasta dish and I had shrimp, mashed potatoes and veggies. It was good, not the best, but good. We went home watched a little TV and crashed. We were so exhausted from being outside in the heat that we were useless.

Saturday morning: Christian wakes up at 7:30 am. Seriously? Am I on vacation or what? So I wake up at 7:30 am. We get ready and head out. We started our tour of Charleston and had come on the weekend called Museum Mile weekend. We were able to get into all of the old historic houses, museums and walk all over to check each one out. I have to say that my favorite was probably the Old Slave Mart Museum. It was really interesting to learn about that dark part of history in our country. The way the bought and sold slaves like property. It was sad to see the pictures of these old men and women and to just see the sadness in their eyes. I have to admit I got a little teary eyed during it. The thought of being ripped away from your family and friends and having to work such hard laborious work your whole life. I couldn’t imagine the hardships they went through. It was amazing to see that they had such great faith in God though… I guess it was one of the few things that kept them going.

The old houses were absolutely amazing. To walk up and down the streets of Charleston. To roam around their old houses from the 1800’s and see how they lived. I can’t say that I envy them though. As fabulous as their houses are… no AC, outhouses, and that southern humidity. Here are a few pictures we snapped.

{ The entry way to the Joseph Manigault House – snazzy, huh. }
{ The Joseph Manigault House } 
{ One of the many amazing churches }
{ I loved their street lamps. A few were lit with a little flame. Even the houses gas lamps instead of bulbs next to their doorways. classy. }
Let me tell you about this guy…
I don’t know his real name, but for all Office relating purposes, we’ll call him Dwight. He was AMAZING in every sense of the word. Loud talker, superior exterior, unintentionally hilarious. The first words he said to the group were “EXCUSE ME! I am going to have to delay our tour for a few more minutes. I have caught something and NEED TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF FIRST PEOPLE! I have boot camp next week and need to be ready.” 10 minutes later, comes back with a mug of water. Sips loudly. And tells us our group is way too big. Continues on with lame jokes. He pretty much tells us he is going to bust any myths that you have about history. To which I respond “So he’s a Historian and a Navy Seal.” Christian’s response, “No, no he’s not.”  More lame jokes and facts. At one point he got on his soap box and started talking and the lady in the back tried to escape. Didn’t work, we were in a dungeon after all. Needless to say, after this guy, Christian and I were all historied out. But we did take a minute before leaving to take some sweet pictures with a dummy dressed as a Red Coat.

Part of all the fun is the jokes Christian and I make along the way. If you know us well, you know we don’t take much of anything seriously. Unless of course it’s sports for Christian. And well… pretty much nothing for me. It’s a weakness and a strength, if you ask me. We make fun of everything in passing. Not to be mean or rude, but merely for self entertainment. It works for us, and honestly, it brings us close together. I’ll let you in on a few of our inside jokes…

   This well was covered by a gate but Christian made a point in telling me “Try not to fall in the well, baby Jessica.” I’m not sure if he was calling me baby Jessica or if he was just making the terrible yet hilarious reference in general. The things that come out of his mouth amaze me.

This is me pretty much being a supermodel cause we were bored waiting to go into another museum house. Yes, there were other people around, but we decided to have our own little personal photo shoot in the back garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby’s butt… is that ever necessary?

By the end of the day we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel, showered again and got ready for dinner. This was our night to be ~*FANCY*~. So we got all dressed up and headed to a restaurant called Circa. It was located in Downtown Charleston amongst the million dollar houses and was tucked away. Upon arrival I noticed how old the people who were eating here. Which means one of 2 things. It’s wicked expensive, or the food is really intricate. Both of which were true. We had tried to look the food up online but they didn’t have a menu available. And let me tell you why, because everything was made with foi gras (duck liver), antelope, veal, and crazy sauces with ingredients we couldn’t even imagine what the food would taste like. So we were intimidated. We sipped our water, and ordered some fancy cheeses with baguette crackers and a truffle pot… somethin somethin somethin or other and duck. The cheeses were no cheeseball rolled in nuts folks. Nor were the crackers Ritz. The cheeses were super strong and super French and the pot of stuff was good. They also gave us a tiny espresso cup of carrot soup which was really good. Ok… for our main dish we were way over our heads. I wanted steak but alas, there was only a beef tenderloin which was (according to our waiter) very plain. So he recommended the Antelope. Seriously? Uhhhh… So I ordered it and ate it like a Lioness would eat her kill. Christian had Carolina Sea Bass which he really liked. The Antelope, just FYI, tasted just like Filet Mignon. It was AWESOME. No wonder Lions eat them.  Ok ok, so dessert was my FAVORITE. I had a Sweet Potato Crème Brulee with toasted marshmallows on top. It was amazing and tasted just like fall. How does fall taste you ask? Like Sweet Potato Crème Brulee.  Christian had a key lime pie which he also loved. We also got a chocolate flourless torte to go. We were stuffed by the end.

That was pretty much the end of our trip. We woke up on Sunday and headed to a nearby church for Sacrament meeting which turned out to be their Primary Program. We enjoyed that and headed on our way. I tried to sleep on the way home and Christian wasn’t having it. He won’t admit it but he was really homesick and ready to see the kids. I on the other hand enjoyed every last moment til the very end. He doesn’t see the kids as often as I do (which is every minute of my day) b/c he has classes and work. But it was good to be home. I’m going to end with some of my favorite pictures I took of Charleston. They may end up framed in our house someday… we’ll see.

NUTSHELL

I’m not even sure what that means.

So Mia started a one day a week program called Ready To Learn. She had her first day on Monday and she really loved it. She was a little shy at the beginning but once I left she did great. Her teacher said so. So she also had a monster packet of homework. Which is fun and cute and all… but that means I needed to help Kalea and Mia do homework at the same time. With both of them asking questions and  wanting my attention the entire time. I’m pretty sure Mia likes the fact that she can do something “big” like her sister. Landen sometimes comes and sits at the table and colors a picture like it’s his homework. What’s funny is he likes to constantly chatter in his baby talk. So if the girls are talking, he talks louder but incoherently. He’s THE man. The other day he crawled around on the floor and barked like a dog. This particular day I hadn't swept so there were pieces of pretzel laying around and this little doggy got a treat. It was pretty funny yet disgusting at the same time. He also likes to call his car’s his “bye-bye’s”. Makes sense, really.

Incase you didn’t know, I’m an all-or-nothing kind of girl. If I’m into something, nothing can pry me away. If I don’t care… well, then I really don’t care. So I started reading leisurely again. But I’m I like to read things that can keep my attention… like I said, all-or-nothing.  So I started reading Hunger Games.  These books are soooo good. If you’ve never read them, you need to. Don’t let the fact that their in the “Young Adult” section deter you. These books are super awesome and once I dove in I didn’t come back up for a week and a half. I heard they are thinking of making the trilogy into a movie. Which irritates me since most of Hollywood screws up anything it touches, so I’m sure they’ll be terrible. We’ll see.

 

We found a mouse in our house. And I’m not talking a Cinderella, Jack Jack and Gus Gus- help me clean the house and sing about it- kind of mouse. I’m talking squeaked ( yes I said –ed… cause the sucker is gonzo), left pellets in it’s tracks, and found crackers that were in our 72 hour kit and gnawed the heck out of them. It wasn’t the first time that these little “helpers” have made their way into our house. But I SWEAR… AS YOU ALL AS MY WITNESS… It will be the last. I consider us pretty clean people. Sure my kids drop Cheerios on the floor, that I don’t sweep and vacuum everyday, and I don’t have cleaning ladies coming in to do the dirty work. But this ENDS NOW!! On the plus side… We cleaned out behind our refrigerator, behind and under and beside the oven, and our downstairs coat closet (which tends to become the black abyss for 1/2 of the things we own). I feel somewhat accomplished in those areas. Not to mention the kids toy room has become less of a cluster because today we (Mia and I) went and made 3 boxes. Stuff we’re keeping, stuff we’re boxing and putting in the attic, and stuff we’re giving away. We were very accomplished in this area. My cousin, Kahea, gave me the idea a few years ago to box 1/2 the toys and then when they got bored with the ones they had, to switch them out and then it’d feel like they were getting new toys all over again. It’s a good idea.

I got my hair cut today which is an accomplishment in itself since I usually wait every 4 months or so to do it. And by the time I get around to it… it feels like straw on the ends. The funny thing is I have a really good friend I used to work with who does it for free. We usually make an afternoon of it. She cuts my hair and then we chow down at lunch. So I don’t really have an excuse except I have kids which tends to take up my whole life. Anyways, I am proud to say that my hair no longer has an ounce of dye in it. It’s been 11 years. Seriously people, I dyed my hair for 11 years and this is the first time my hair has been it’s natural color. I’m kind of excited and Christian likes it which is even better. I think it might make me look more foreign but hey… that’s not a bad thing.

Please don’t take note at how much older I look. Which brings me to my next point. I just turned 27. My mom asked me if I felt 27 and the answer is YES. I chase kids around all day, I clean my mouse invested house all day, and I sleep like a rock at night. So yes, I feel old. I mean, all of my insides are still working the way they’re supposed to, but I’m not as spunky feeling as I used to be. I asked Christian one day if he thought I was still as pretty as I was when we met. He said yes, I’m just not as “fresh faced”. I tend to focus on the first part. On the YES part.

My mom sent me these pictures that she scanned on the computer. The first is me around Landen’s age. I look so much like my kids, it’s scary. The second are my mom and dad back in the day. They’re gorgeous. How could you go wrong with a gene pool like that…

More Throwbacks…

*The day Lane was born*
*The day we were sealed as a family.
(Kalea wore the same dress when we were sealed to her.)*

Well I better go and pay attention to my kids now. Landen just brought me the movie UP and wants to watch “a dogs”.