Inter"not"

Strange title, I know, but I just wanted to do a brief post letting everyone know that we are currently looking for a new internet provider (we REALLY dislike Qwest!!!) and so it may be a little while until I can really blog. Someday, if you have an hour to sit and listen, ask me about our fiasco with Qwest and DirectTV... well, I guess it was really all AllConnect's fault (sorry Cort!). Anyway, when I do get the chance to upload photos, etc., you can bet I'll have a few catch up blogs. Until then, ciao!

Jump!

This last weekend I decided to try to find an exersaucer or jumperoo for Avery. To buy one brand new wasn't really in our budget at the time, so I decided to check Craig's List (it's kind of like an online rummage sale, pretty cool). I ended up finding a couple of "maybes," so I talked it over with Aaron and we ended up buying a Jumperoo from a woman in Parker. It was hardly used and only $30, which was well worth the money. We brought it home, cleaned it up, and let Avery give it a test drive. She caught on very quickly and she has since acquired what I call her "jumping scream." Of course Kaitlyn tries to get in on the action by trying to climb in with Avery. It's hard for her to understand that she is too big for the jumperoo. She's gotten better about it. I think it's hard for Aaron not to sing "Jump Jump" (shout out to all you who remember Kriss Kross) when Avery is going full throttle. I hope you enjoy the little video I made... definitely not Oscar-winning material, but my baby sure wins over my heart.

What a 2-Year Old!

So, lately I've been getting easily and frequently frustrated with Kaitlyn. She is constantly harrassing Avery, sometimes to the point of hurting her. She easily breaks down into tears when she doesn't get her way or if she gets into trouble. Along with the tears comes a high pitch wail/scream that lasts forever (and I'm not exaggerating by much). She does not listen to anything Aaron and I ask her to do. She's really been enjoying pestering Laura, and she has learned exactly which buttons of her sister's to push to get the biggest reaction. I feel like all I ever say to Kaitlyn is "no" or "don't do that," etc. Well, while we were at the zoo yesterday, Aaron took this photo of Kaitlyn and I instantly fell in love with it. It reminded me of how beautiful and loving my little Kaitlyn is. I came to the realization that part of the problem may be that she is just as frustrated with me as I am with her. So I decided that I would set aside a time each week to have Mommy and Kaitlyn time. I think it will help us both out tremendously. I've never been the middle child, but I imagine it can be quite difficult to feel like you are seen and heard. I love my Kaitlyn girl and know that she'll grow out of this phase... eventually.

Denver Zoo

Okay, so we realize that today is Sunday, but the Denver Zoo was having it's last free day of the year, so we decided to take advantage and check out it out. The day was absolutely beautiful... about 60 degrees or so with lots of sunshine. There were so many people down there that we had to park about a mile away. Thank goodness for strollers and Daddy's shoulders! The girls were really excited about their surprise. All of the animals were pretty active while we were there, which was great. The girls loved the baby giraffe (who happened to be born on my birthday this year) and all the little primates in the monkey house. Laura absolutely had to see the rhino, and we found a really cool hippo statue to play on. Aaron and I thought the zoo was really nice. We were a little skeptical at first because the closest zoo to us in Keokuk was the St. Louis Zoo, which was totally awesome and ALWAYS free. But, we think the Denver Zoo is a definite contender. We're happy to have so much to do near us. And we feel it's important to teach our children from a young age that the conservation of animals and nature is so integral to the future generations, including theirs. We LOVE the zoo!!!!!

(Oh, sorry some of the photos are hazy... I think it's time for a new camera- it's been having issues.)

I've Been Tagged

The rules are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 things about me... (most will probably seem weird)

1. When I was a kid I had to count every step I took each day and this continued until right before I met Aaron.

2. I dislike fish so much that if Aaron eats it he has to brush his teeth before I'll even consider kissing him (it's the smell... yuk!).

3. I have to have the first drink out of the new gallon of milk (only if I open it).

4. After the girls help me clean up their stuff, I wait until they're in bed and I "re-clean" by putting things in order.

5. I have to have peanut butter on my pancakes (unless we're at a restaurant).

6. I always take a sniff of my food before I eat it.

7. When I write a letter or in my journal, etc., I can't have any mistakes or weird marks or I'll have to start over (I ought to try using pencils).

I tag:

Starla
Lindsey
Melissa
Susan
Rebecca
Melissa West
Brigitte

Mt. Falcon Park

Saturday we went for our first family "hike" since moving here. Aaron found Mt. Falcon Park one Sunday before the girls and I arrived. He really liked the park, so we went to check it out. The trails we took were great for kids... very well maintained and wide enough for the family to walk side by side. There were so many people out there enjoying the beautiful day. Aaron and I can't wait until we can ride our mountain bikes out there. It looks like they have plenty of challenging trails. We took a trail up to a lookout that had a gorgeous view. Aaron, of course, brought his binoculars so he could look for birds. It just so happened that the girls got binoculars while trick or treating, so they brought theirs so they could be like their daddy. They had a lot of fun trying to spot birds to tell their dad about. On the way back Kaitlyn ended up getting tired, so Daddy carried her for a little while. Since he already had Avery on his back in the backpack, he didn't carry her for long. When he put Kaitlyn down she threw the biggest tantrum I have ever seen from her! She was screaming and crying, placing herself right in front of Aaron or me so we couldn't go around her. It was crazy! I felt so bad for the other hikers that got to experience this along with us. I ended up potato-sacking her over my shoulder and walking as fast as I could to the car. I think next time we'll take the trailer.

Zookeepers...

So, for Halloween we ended up dressing all three girls up as jungle animals... Laura was a giraffe, Kaitlyn was an elephant, and Avery was a tiger. It all started with Avery's costume - I found it at a discount store in Keokuk for four dollars (couldn't resist the price!). When we got to Denver I went to Costco (HOORAY for Costco... how I've missed you) and found the giraffe and elephant costumes for ten dollars apiece. Not too bad. So, I bought them and when we got home Ashley and I put them on the girls. The tags said 2-4 years, so I assumed they'd fit Laura and Kaitlyn just fine, especially since they're kinda small girls. Well, I guess one should never assume because the girls' costumes were highwaters. I didn't want to get new costumes, so I ended up getting the girls cute tights to wear underneath. It worked out just fine. We missed the trunk or treats in both Keokuk and our new ward here, so we decided we'd take the girls trick or treating. Where we live in Aurora is a super nice area with this huge, and I mean HUGE, shopping area called Southlands. It's basically an outdoor mall with every store you'd ever need. It was awesome because Southlands offered trick or treating from 4 - 8 on Halloween, which was a safe alternative to regular trick or treating. Aaron and I ended up taking the girls down there around 5:30 and I couldn't believe how many families were down there. It was wonderful! It was neat because they had a horse-drawn carriage, a couple of bouncy houses, face painting and a clown making animal balloons... and it was all free. Needless to say, we had a great time. When we got home Ashley ended up taking the girls trick or treating around our neighborhood for a little while. So, we have enough candy to last a lifetime (if I could quit eating it). I have always loved Halloween. I remember as a kid I loved dressing up, especially as a witch. I'd still dress up, and we're planning on dressing up as a family next year. I know, cheesy, right? I don't care... I have an imagination and I'm going to make sure it gets good use!

We Made It To Colorado!

I finally get to catch up on some blogging. This last week has been a really busy one. We left for Denver on October 25th and arrived the 26th. It was about 900 miles from our house in Keokuk to our house in Aurora. The drive wasn't too bad... Aaron had one girl in the truck with him, Ashley had another, and I had Avery in the Pacifica. It was so nice to listen to whatever I wanted without little girls wanting to listen to "Halloween" (The Nightmare Before Christmas). All vehicles were packed totally full (there was literally no room left in any of them). It was so nice to get here and start to attempt to organize our new home. It's still in chaos, but I suppose that's all right. Dad helped us unload the truck and get most of the furniture where it needed to go. (Thanks Dad!) The weather has been so wonderful! In fact, it's been quite warm (upper 60's to lower 70's). I am incredibly thankful that we were able to come to be with Aaron and begin this new phase of our life. Heavenly Father has truly blessed our family.

"Radda Radda"

Okay, so this is going to seem like one of the most random posts ever, but I just had to do it. The character above is Shnitzel and he's in a Cartoon Network cartoon called Chowder. Chowder is a fat little cat-kid that is a chef's apprentice in a place called Marzipan City. I don't quite know why, but I absolutely LOVE this cartoon!!! For me it's all about Shnitzel. If you've seen the show, you probably can understand this. Shnitzel is a rock monster who does all the heavy lifting, etc., in the kitchen. And "radda radda" is the only thing he says. All the characters understand him as if he's speaking english, but "radda radda" is literally the only phrase he can say. I love the way his tone of voice describes his emotions, and his facial expressions are hilarious. So, I highly recommend Chowder for your entertainment. If you don't have Cartoon Network, go to their website sometime and check it out. (Too bad I can't get paid for this plug, huh?)

Farewell Leighton Street...

The past few weeks have been so busy and stressful that I haven't really thought about the fact that we are leaving the home we have worked so hard on for the past three years. When we first moved to Keokuk we had purchased a house on High Street. Well, after about ten months we ended up buying a different house on Morgan Street. In fact, the new house was literally a block away from the first one. Roughly three months after moving into that house we came across 909 Leighton Street. The neighborhood was wonderful and the house was definitely more of what we had wanted in the first place. We decided to move one more time (at this point I was 7 months pregnant with Kaitlyn). We put in a lot (and I mean A LOT) of hard work scraping wallpaper (8 layers to be exact), painting, putting in new flooring and windows... just making the house more us. We moved in on Halloween in 2005. (At this point I must point out that my husband is a wonderfully loving man to allow me to move us 3 times in a little over a year.) I love my house. It was built in 1908 and it just has a lot of character. I love the big picture window in the living room and the way the sun sets just right within its frame. I love how my kitchen went from having no counter space, a rotted out stove and an icky metal cabinet/sink combo to a kitchen I totally love. I love the way the girls' playroom is surrounded by windows and lets in plenty of good play light, and you can glimpse the Mississippi River from there. There are definitely a few things I won't miss about this house... the basement is at the top of the list. If any of you have experienced a 100 year old basement you'll understand, especially if you had to do laundry down there. Our girls know it as "The Dungeon." I won't miss the winter utility bills since it's almost impossible to well insulate a house this old.

As I think about the past few years of our life, I am reminded of all of the things I have to be thankful for. I am so glad that we have had the opportunity to own a home, especially one that we've loved and learned so much from. We are especially going to miss our wonderful neighbors, who just happened to have children the same ages as ours, and they all got along. I hope that whoever ends up buying our home will be able to feel the love and care that not only went into the house, but was nourished within its walls.

Good-bye Leighton Street... we will miss you.

Comfort Food

What is it about a nice big bowl of warm oatmeal on a chilly morning? Maybe it's the way it makes tummies feel all warm inside. Perhaps it's the combination of the oats, milk and sugar that gives my tastebuds a reason to sing and dance. I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe for me it's about knowing how much my girls love to eat oatmeal, or how fun it is to watch them try to put some on their toast the way that I do. All I really know is that we love our oatmeal!

My Baby

I can't believe how fast time flies... Avery will be 5 months old on Wednesday. She's growing way too fast! I remember when Laura was a baby and we were so excited to see her take each new step. With Kaitlyn it seemed like time went by a little bit faster, plus it seemed she did everything so fast just so she could try to keep up with Laura. Right now I just want Avery to stay where she's at for awhile, like maybe a few more months (or years). She now likes to sit in the highchair and play with her toys. She's actually getting pretty good at it... she was pounding away on the tray with her rattle, and then her little fists. I love to cuddle with her because she's just so soft, plus she can't quite push me away yet or say, "Stop it Mommy!" We were outside the other day so I laid a blanket on the grass and then laid Avery on it. She wasted no time in rolling over so she could get a better view of her sisters and the neighbor kids. She actually rolled onto the grass and she loved it! The first time Laura really sat in the grass she kept trying to hold her feet up so they wouldn't touch the grass. Those were cute photos. But Avery kept grabbing the grass with her little toes (she inherited monkey toes... must be from her dad). I know that in no time she'll be crawling after her big sisters, wanted to be included in the fun. Is it so wrong to wish that day were quite a bit further away? I guess I just need to enjoy each moment of her babyhood and remember not to complain too much about the sleepless nights. And I suppose it'd be okay to look forward to the beautiful young woman she'll one day be. I love you my baby Avery.

Kaitlyn the Crazy Driver

So both our neighbors have Powerwheels for their kids. Aaron and I have always thought it would be fun for our girls to have one of their own, but we have yet to get them one (we've always had a better use for the money). One of our neighbors have two little boys who are Laura and Kaitlyn's ages, and they have a tractor and jeep. Yesterday we were outside with everyone and Kaitlyn decided to hijack the tractor. Please keep in mind that she's only driven it once or twice by herself. It was so much fun to chase her around, helping her steer clear of flower beds and small children, all the while trying to photograph her expedition. I loved the photos I got because I think they truly show how much she enjoyed "driving." Maybe we will have to break down and buy the girls a Powerwheels... perhaps a hot pink Barbie jeep? We shall see...

Our Little Thumb-Sucker

About a week ago my mom pointed out that Avery has become a thumb-sucker. To be perfectly honest I hadn't noticed. I suppose I had seen her do it once or twice, but I didn't think it had become a habit. While we were in Colorado, Aaron ended up pointing it out. Since he used to manage a dental practice, I thought he'd be concerned because of the damage thumb-sucking can do to little teeth (although Avery didn't have any yet). He said he thought it was better she do it at this age instead of discovering it as a toddler. I suppose he's right. When we got home Mom pointed it out again and Ashley pointed it out last night. So, I guess I must admit that yes, I do have a thumb-sucking daughter. Another discovery we made last night was that Avery's first tooth cut through. She had been chewing on everything and it seemed she had a waterfall for a mouth, but she hadn't been fussy or running a temperature, so I thought we had awhile. I was quite surprised to feel the edge of her tooth yesterday. Both Laura and Kaitlyn got their first teeth right after they turned 4 months, and since Avery turns 5 months next week I thought she'd break the trend... but nope. I must say that she is going to look so darn cute with a little toothy grin!

On The Move To Colorado

What an adventure we have had the past five days! First of all I should explain that about ten days ago we had someone call and ask if we'd be interested in renting our house until it sold. What a blessing that was! The family will be moving into our house on the 25th of this month, which means that we need to find a house in Denver ASAP. Last Wednesday I was talking to Aaron on the phone and I was quite stressed over trying to find a house in Denver from Iowa (Aaron wouldn't have much extra time to house hunt). Aaron said, "Why don't you just drive out here today?" Well, I decided to do just that. I packed and loaded the girls up and we left. Since we didn't leave until 2:30 in the afternoon we ended up staying in Lincoln, Nebraska for the night. We got to Denver at about 2 the next afternoon. I can honestly say that driving 850 miles with two toddlers and an infant isn't much fun. Not only do they get incredibly bored, and I'm amazed at how quickly they learned the phrase "are we there yet," but when the toddlers sit next to each other they figure out how much fun it is to poke, pinch, kick, pull hair, etc. Though that isn't much fun for the lone driver. I must add that before the drive home I said a really long, pleading prayer asking for a little bit of peace during the drive. I am pleased to report that it worked until we got about 3 hours from home. While we were in Denver we stayed in a small RV that is parked at Aaron's work. I don't know how many of you have spent much time in a small RV with three children, but I wouldn't put it high on your to-do lists. Needless to say, we spent as much time out and about as possible. The girls and I house hunted part of Thursday and all day Friday. We were so incredibly blessed to find a house Friday afternoon that is absolutely perfect for us. We are a little sad that we will be renting for the next year, but such is life. The house is adorable and has plenty of room for us and Ashley, as she has decided to move with us. We are very happy about this. The neighborhood is wonderful and the school district is one of the best in the area. In fact, Laura's school is one street over from our house. So, we are very excited to say that we will be leaving Friday, October 24th for our new home. Since I accomplished finding a house on Friday, we decided to drive up into the Rocky Mountains on Saturday. It was so incredibly beautiful! I never cease to be amazed by God's talent. The Aspen trees have turned golden and they really stand out against the evergreens. I am so thankful to be moving to a place with so much diversity and things to enjoy.

Talkative Avery

I was playing around with the digital camera and decided to film Avery as she was "talking" to me. When she's in a good mood she tends to start cooing and, for lack of a better term, screeching, at whoever's around. It's quite wonderful. I decided to share it with everyone.

Cozy Chair

A few years ago we bought this chair for the girls. It's always been a part of their reading "nook," wherever it happened to be. I've recently moved the reading nook into the playroom to try to keep the upstairs landing decluttered. Usually the girls are anti-change and do everything they can to put things back to how they were. Well, this time the girls liked the change and Kaitlyn now likes to use the comfy chair as a movie seat. As you can see she definitely sits a little bit close to the television (I've tried MANY times to rememdy this), but I'm so glad to see her enjoying the comfy chair.

What a Pain in My Back... (literally!)

Why the photo of a wood floor? Well, it just so happens that is a picture of my newly sanded dining room floor. It turned out so beautiful! I haven't put the varathane on it yet... I get to do that tonight. I must give most of the credit to my super, wonderfully motivated, all-around awesome mom. Yesterday our house was being shown at 5:30 p.m., so Mom came over the night before to help me do some painting, etc. Well, she looked at my banged up, partly paint covered floor and decided we ought to sand it. I didn't particularly want to start that project quite yet, but I said sure. The next morning (yesterday) Mom shows up at my house at 8:30 a.m. with two sanders that she rented, one a stand up and the other one you'd kneel with. We got started and all I have to say is that the smaller sander kicked my dairy aire! I am so incredibly sore it's not even funny. But I must say that it yielded fantastic results. I love my floor and I'm sure it will be even better after it's sealed. I cannot begin to express how much I love and appreciate my mama. It seems she and I always get the difficult projects, but they always end up being so much fun. Sometime ask me about the wallpaper...

Our Cowgirl

During Laura's first week of preschool they learned all about cowboys. She brought home a hat, vest and chaps that they made. I decided that she needed to model them for us, so I thought I'd share the results. What a goofball!

Hello Denver!

Not too many people knew about this, but Aaron left for Denver this morning to start his new job with a company that Dad and two partners purchased. We are so incredibly excited!!! Aaron is going to be learning pretty much everything and the best part is that he will not be working at Midwest Academy anymore. His hours will be so much better, as will the pay. The only bummer about this is that Aaron left this morning, but the girls and I are still in Iowa. We are doing everything we can to try to get our house sold. We hope that because we prayed about this adventure and received the confirmation to move, the Lord will bless us and help our home sell. We are sad about leaving our friends here, but we are so excited to move on to a new area (in the mountains!!!). I don't think that we will miss Iowa very much... it's been fun here but we are westerners at heart. And it will be so wonderful to live closer to the rest of our family. Laura understands this a little more than Kaitlyn does. She drew her Dad a map of Colorado yesterday and made him "sticky tape" it into his atlas so he won't get lost. I am already missing Aaron so much. I think it's because I know that there's many miles between us right now. I know that we'll be together soon. I just hope I can be patient. Overall we are just excited to get this next phase of our life in motion. So, good-bye Keokuk and hello Denver!

The Nail Polish

Yesterday morning Aaron and I were kind of lazy about getting out of bed. Laura and Kaitlyn usually wake up sometime between 6 and 7, so they go in their playroom and play or watch a movie. Well, after I got up I asked Laura what Kaitlyn was doing. She said, "She's painting her nails." I asked, "Is she pretending to paint her nails?" And Laura replies, "No. She's painting her nails." Of course this makes thousands of alarms go off in my head. (I'm really not exaggerating!) I find Kaitlyn in the bathroom concentrating on painting her toenails with bright red nail polish. My first thought was, "Thank goodness she's in the bathroom and not on the carpet." My second thought was, "She actually did a pretty good job on her finger nails. But oh my look at her feet." When I announced my presence she proudly announced, "I'm painting my nails all by myself Mommy." How could I get mad about that? I didn't even think she could open the bottle, let alone paint her nails. Laughter tried to trickle out at that moment, but I didn't want to laugh at her, so naturally I called for Aaron to observe our daughter. He's always one to enjoy these kinds of situations, so he arrived and immediately got a smile on his face. "Wow Kaitlyn" was about all he could say. I ran to get the camera and had her pose for a few photos. After I began the task of cleaning up her feet with nail polish remover. I left the polish on her nails since she did such a good job. From now on I'm making sure that all polish is higher in the cabinet, out of reach of little girls on step stools or chairs.

Girly Girls

As I mentioned in my blog about Kaitlyn, I recently got the girls a kids' makeup kit. They absolutely love to put it on. The only thing is that they rarely get it in the right spot. It always ends up on their faces... all over their faces as a matter of fact. I don't know if Aaron quite understands their fascination with makeup. I just tell him it's a girl thing. I've never been one to wear much makeup, so I was quite surprised when I found the girls getting into my makeup bag in the bathroom. They had drawn all over their faces with my eyeliner. They looked like they had roadmaps for faces. This led me to get them their own "makeup." I'm glad they enjoy doing the girly things, dress-up, makeup, etc., that make little girls so sweet.

Ciao Bella!

Yes, Avery is sitting in a box. Aaron gets some odd notions sometimes. But, it turned into a cute photo moment. So I got that onesie in LA when Kaitlyn was an infant, I guess back in 2006. I fell in love with it immediately. I absolutely love the Italian language... for a couple of reasons. My dad served his mission there and has shared some awesome stories and experiences with me from that time in his life. Partly because of this I went on to study Italian in college for about a year. I really enjoyed it. And I think my girls are absolutely beautiful, so what better way to show it off than a onesie that says "hello beautiful" in one of the most beautiful languages? Anyway, I can't believe how much my baby has grown. She is now rolling over both ways and she had her first cereal the other night. I love the milestones but sometimes I wish that they were ten-mile stones. I wish she could stay this age just a little bit longer.

My Kaitlyn

Almost everyday Kaitlyn plays dress-up. The girls' Cinderella dress is her favorite. While I was working upstairs yesterday Kaitlyn and Laura got into their dresses, put on some "makeup" and had a Princess Parade. They marched all over the house, upstairs and down. Avery, of course, was quite amused at this spectacle. The day is coming all too soon that there will be three marching princesses. One of the things I enjoy most each day is seeing what kind of outfit Kaitlyn puts together. Sometimes she has three or four layers on. And to see her walk in their "high heels" is the best! She has the perfect girly wiggle. I recently bought them a kids makeup kit, so naturally Kaitlyn's favorite thing to do right now is putting makeup on. I think she gets it everywhere on her face except for the places it's meant to go. I had to run an errand after she and Laura had applied their makeup one day and it was really quite amusing to see the way people looked at them, especially older women. I think they made a lot of people smile that day. Kaitlyn has such a sweet spirit... she's always saying hi to everyone and her big blue eyes make hearts melt. I sure do love my Princess Kaitlyn.

Water Is So Much Fun!

Today we just about finished painting the garage. Since Laura and Kaitlyn love to "help" paint, we decided it would be a great distraction to let them play with a big plastic bin of water and some water balloons. The balloons went incredibly fast, which isn't surprising. They were busy enjoying the tub of water so we continued painting away. All of a sudden we hear Laura yelling (we were right there with them, so the yelling wasn't necessary, just typical 4-year old volume), "Kaitlyn is naked!!!" Sure enough, Kaitlyn has stripped herself of her clothing and diaper. Aaron and I looked at each other and decided, aww, what the heck. Laura, upon seeing that we weren't dragging Kaitlyn inside to redress her, decided that she, too, should be naked. So, we had a couple of nudists "swimming" in our backyard today. And they were so incredibly adorable that we just had to get some photos (I realize that one day my children are going to have the desire to kill me for this impulse I have to capture their naked moments).

Good-bye Sandy... We'll Miss You!

Our hamster, Sandy, died the other night. We've actually been expecting it for awhile now. She was pushing their average lifespan and wasn't looking good for a few weeks now. During her life with our family she had a pretty posh "house" in the girls' playroom. Lots of tubes and space to run around in, etc. When I found that she had died, the girls were already in bed for the night, so Aaron decided to bury her in the backyard. The next day we were outside working on painting our garage (that hadn't seen fresh paint in like, 30 years!). Laura noticed the fresh dirt and asked about it. Aaron decided to explain to her that Sandy had died. Laura thought it meant that she was sleeping under the ground, so she wanted to dig her up and wake her up. We re-explained the death thing and I said that Sandy was in heaven. Laura looked confused and asked if heaven was underground. I asked her where she thought heaven was and she didn't know, so we told her about it. She then asked how Sandy got to heaven and I again asked what she thought. She thought about it for a second then replied, "I think Jesus comes down and holds your hand and takes you to heaven." What an answer! We were so pleased that Laura would think of Christ. Aaron and I were discussing this last night and we both came to the conclusion that we can never underestimate the mind of a four year old. The girls were sad that Sandy is gone, but they seem to understand that she is much better off where she is now.

(I must add that after they discovered that Sandy was buried, Laura and Kaitlyn then proceeded to capture, kill and bury bugs so Sandy would have friends.)

Sunflower

One day Laura brought home a sunflower plant from a Primary activity. It was just a tiny thing, kind of like Laura. She really wanted to plant it out near our backyard, so we went ahead and did it, of course dreading the moment it would die. Well, we planted it and ended up forgetting about it. A few weeks later Laura came running up, super excited because her plant was growing. We went to check it out and sure enough, there was a sunflower (flowerless, of course) about eight inches tall. We thought that was pretty cool and ended up forgetting about it again. After all of our trips this summer, Aaron and I thought that the flower had probably died from neglect. Nope. As of today the sunflower is a little over seven feet tall and has a gigantic, bright yellow flower. Laura is incredibly proud of that flower. As I look out my window at that beautiful plant (sunflowers just happen to be my favorite) I've been thinking about the simple pleasures and beauties I enjoy each day. I've also thought about the similarity between the sunflower and it's planter, Laura. Something that starts out so incredibly tiny grows and develops and becomes this amazing witness of our Heavenly Father's love for us. As I look at Laura I see that He does love me because He entrusted me to care for her and to teach her. I am so thankful for the wonderful blessing in my life named Laura.

Her Ears

I absolutely love the way Avery's ears stick out. I can't help but mention them any time a family member or friend is around. Aaron says I'm teasing Avery, but I don't mean it that way. I just love her ears! I love knowing that her ears are uniquely hers... no one else anywhere has ears just like Avery's. I love how light illuminates them from behind, making them stand out even more. I appreciate how God gives us each our own bodies, each with their own little quirks. Even if we don't necessarily like those quirks, they are OUR quirks, just as Avery's ears are HERS (but I sure do enjoy them!!!).

Laura Begins Preschool

Well, today was Laura's first day of preschool at Hawthorne Elementary. She was so excited! On Saturday we let her help pick out a new outfit to wear... of course she chose a Dora t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Last night we got her clothes set out and ready and wrote her name in her new Princess backpack. It's so cute to see her wear her backpack since it's half her size. The school has a bus that will pick up and drop off the preschoolers right in front of their homes. When Laura discovered that she could possibly ride the bus to and from school she was determined that would be. I, of course, wanted to take and pick her up at least on her first day. This morning we got up and got ready to go. When she found out that I was taking her instead of the bus she was really upset. She did better as we arrived and went to her classroom to drop off her backpack before breakfast (they feed the preschoolers breakfast each morning). I gave her a big hug and kiss and as I looked back at my little girl standing in line with her new classmates, not even missing me, I couldn't help but tear up.

Aaron ended up going to pick Laura up after school. When he arrived she was standing outside with her class near the buses. When she saw her dad she got really mad because she really wanted to ride the bus. Her teacher, Ms. Sandbulte, sternly told her to be nice to her dad and to listen to him. I don't know if that helped much, but it was nice that she tried. Aaron brought her home and she ranted about the bus for quite awhile. Luckily she was done by the time I got home. I asked her all about school and she told me that they learned about cowboys today and made cowboy hats. She gave me her first work of preschool art.

I look back at the past four years and I am so thankful for the blessing of my little girl Laura. She seems so tiny, but is so big at the same time. The Lord has truly blessed me with wonderful, beautiful, smart and healthy daughters. I am so thankful.

Our Own Family Blog!

Well, I've decided to create our own family blog... we shall see how this goes. Aaron and I will be celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary in October and we have three beautiful girls to show for our time together so far. Laura turned four in April and is such a fun girl. She gets to start preschool at the end of this month, so she's getting really excited about that. She is so brave! It scares me because she jumps down from the middle of our staircase. Well, she jumps off of anything and everything now. Laura loves to help with her younger sisters but she absolutely does not like to clean up after herself. That's our biggest struggle with her right now. Kaitlyn turned two in January and she is definitely a joy. I must admit that she seems to be struggling a bit with her little sister lately. I've been trying to make sure I spend some time with just her every few days, but it gets difficult. She loves to play outside and she has to at least try to do everything Laura does. I think she may have a hard time when Laura first starts preschool. But, I imagine she'll get used to it. Avery was born in May and she is such a chunk! It's so amazing to us that we have a little girl that is so pudgy! She is such a wonderful baby and she is so patient with her big sisters. Avery has red hair which is so fun. Aaron's genes have been really strong with the older girls since they both have blonde hair and blue eyes, so hopefully Avery will keep her red hair. Aaron is such a good dad... he loves his daughters so much. It's fun to watch them be goofballs together. We have a lot of fun.