Delicious

The other day, when we were driving home, we saw a couple calves close to the fence by the road we were driving on. I pointed them out to the kids and pulled over so we could see them up close. McKinley said, "Oh! They're so delicious!" She has probably heard people say that to describe something cute or say that a baby (like Canyon) was so cute they could eat him up. She was obviously not really talking about eating them, but I had to keep myself from laughing since we actually do eat cows.

Time with Daddy

Yesterday, as we sat down to eat breakfast as a family, Sage said excitedly, "Yeah! It's Mother's Day, so we get to spend time with Daddy!" I guess she was just evening out the score.;)

"I Love Mommy!"

It's Saturday, so Roy is home and was playing with River. He picked him up by his feet and was tickling him. River was laughing and having a great time. Roy said, "I love River!" as he set him down and River said, "I love Mommy!"

Professional Haircuts

I took the kids to get their hair cut at a real salon on Thursday. I have been the only one to cut their hair up to this point, but we had a coupon for a free kid's cut, so I decided to make it a special outing for all.

The man who owns the salon was super nice to the kids. He even washed the girls' hair! The girls felt like little princesses I think with all the special attention. River stayed pretty still for his cut and then wanted to play in the hair that was on the floor while the girls got their hair cut. It's pretty gross to think about, but I guess if you're a kid, it may seem like a soft sand box.

The Little Ski Instructor

McKinley is skiing right now with her Grandma Spaulding and two of her cousins (Sara, 10 and Heather, 6 1/2). This is their second trip up the mountain together since Sara and Heather have been here. When they went on Friday, Heather was skiing for her first time. According to Grandma, McKinley did all the teaching. She taught her the wedge (pizza) to slow herself down and straight (french fries) for going faster. Apparently, she covered everything from arm positions to wide turns and cutting across the mountain so they wouldn't go so fast. McKinley was skiing in front and having Heather follow her tracks just like we've done with her. It made me so proud to think of her as a little ski instructor. I wish I could've seen it!

Sage and River were very disappointed that they didn't get to go, but it would've been too much for Jeanne to take Sage with the other three. I could've gone to help, but since we only have one set of skis and boots for River and Sage to share, I would've been stuck with one of the kids at the bottom of the slopes anyway. It would've been a lot of work for not much play. Since the ski season is about over, they may have to wait until next year.

Wow! It's Been Forever!

I have been neglecting my blog for so long that everything has changed. Our family picture was taken in the hospital less than 24 hours after having River. Now we're going to have another boy in about 2 months. I guess it's time for some updates.

Roy has gone full time in his private practice and is the best MFT and Play Therapist around if you ask me. ;) He's currently serving as the Treasurer for the ID Association for MFTs and is one of 2 reps from our state at a training conference in Washington DC. He's having a great time there and learning some valuable things to help his pracice as well as the association.

McKinley is a great reader! She's one of the youngest in her 1st grade class (since she doesn't turn 7 until July), but she's the fastest reader. She loves to read and is disappointed several nights to have to interrupt a chapter book to go to bed. She loves riding her bike and rollerblading and loves to be with her younger siblings. She'll be a big help I'm sure when we have our baby.

Sage, age 4, is starting to read as well and loves preschool. She is quite the independent girl -- hardly ever letting me do her hair or help with anything. She loves to surprise family members by making their beds, cleaning a floor, or putting laundry away. She's a real sweetheart and wants to be just like her big sister. Anything McKinley does, Sage does too for the most part. They love to be together . . . I hope that continues. She also loves to dance and is very graceful; we need to get her into a class.

River, 2, is growing in his independence as well. He no longer wants my help in getting dressed in the morning, but wants to be with me and help me a lot still. Yesterday, when I asked who his best friend is (expecting him to say Jake), he said, "Mommy". He loves cars, trains, and sports. He often throws things to make a basket -- toys into their bins, food or washcloths in the sink, clothes into the washer or dryer, etc. -- and says, "Nice throw." He has a fun personality.

The night before St. Patrick's Day, McKinley was choosing her clothes for the holiday and was explaining the rules of the day to Sage (you have to wear green or you get pinched and if you wear red, you get kissed). McKinley was not content wearing a shirt with green on it, but wanted it to be all green. Sage on the other hand wanted to wear no green and wear red because she wanted to be "pinched and kissed". Boy are we in trouble!

I love being a mom! It's always something new . . . except of course the laundry, dishes, and other chores that I can never seem to get caught up with. Life on the whole is good.

Free Photo Books

I have gotten into making photo books since there have been a few free offers lately on different sites. I made one through Snapfish and just finished one through artscow.com. I loved artscow! There were so many options. Of course, with any new site, it takes a little experimenting to figure out how to do everything, but I think it's worth it to get such great deals.

Happy Birthday Sage!

Sage turned 3 years old yesterday! I can hardly believe how fast those years have gone! She just wrote her name really well today on a picture she drew of herself. The S is backward, but other than that, it looked really good. I was totally impressed.
I took the kids to my parents house for a few hours yesterday while I went into Roy's office to learn how to bill insurance companies since I'll be doing his billing for his private practice. The girls always have fun at their grandparents' homes. It was fun to see them interact with my parents when I came back. At their request, my dad was telling sillly stories of when the girls were born and all the funny made-up names that he said we were going to name them. He had them giggling like crazy! It was so cute!
We had chocolate chip pumpkin bread and ice cream to celebrate her birthday, but we're having her real family party on Sunday.
The day before her birthday, Grandma Jeanne took the girls to Build-a-Bear since she and Al left town yesterday morning. She chose a pink teddy bear, which she named Sunshine. I have cute pictures to post, but I'll have to post them later.
We're so lucky to have both sets of grandparents so close! They're great!!!

Cleaning Party

I told the girls they needed to clean their room before getting anything else out to play. McKinley decided to have a cleaning party and invited me to come. When I went to the door, she told me I couldn't come in . . . I had to pay first! That is one smart girl if you ask me. She earns a little money while getting help cleaning!

The Little Grown-up

The Sunday after McKinley's birthday, we took a little stroll to deliver cookies to some of our friends and neighbors. I had been roller blading most mornings at that time, pushing the kids in the jogger (McKinley would usually ride her bike). She got roller blades for her birthday --(Thanks Trina and Gary:) -- and loves to practice, so she decided she would push her doll in her stroller while I pushed the younger two kids in mine. She looked so cute and acted so grown up! When we got to one of the houses, I told her I was just going to go up to the door since the driveway was a hill and I'd be right back. She said, "Okay Mom; I'll just stay here and watch the kids." I thought it was so cute that she said that and wanted to share the adorable comment, but she got embarassed and didn't even want me to tell her daddy. I debated writing about it on the blog, since she wouldn't want anyone to hear the story. I almost didn't blog about it, but I am afraid I will forget about it before I get it written in her private journal. She is growing up so fast and is so nurturing and loving toward her brother and sister (most of the time). She'll make a great mom someday! By the end of our jaunt, all three of them were exhausted!
Also, soon after her birthday, Sage opened the front door and almost went out. McKinley stopped her and said, "No Sage. You have to have a grown-up. You need to wait for Mom or me to go with you." A few minutes later, I heard her singing, "I'm five. I'm a grown-up now." over and over again. I'm pretty sure she was thinking of a song her great Uncle Michael sang to her when he was in town recently, which says, "I'm five, I'm five; I'm a big girl now I'm five."

When I Was Four

McKinley turned five years old on Monday! It was a fun and busy day since several of Roy's family members were in town. In the evening, McKinley sat on a little baby push-along bike/walker and said, "I'm kinda too big for this. When I was four, I used to sit on this and scoot around sometimes." I thought it was hillarious. It took effort to keep from laughing out loud. :)

Little Puzzler

Sage is following in her big sister's footsteps. They both love puzzles and do very well with them, but Sage amazed me today when she put a 25-piece puzzle together all by herself! She's 2 1/2 and this was a box with pieces in it and no outline on a board to help. It took her a while, but she patiently turned pieces around and tried them in a few places until she found the right spot. I was so proud of her! I would post a picture, but I didn't have the digital camera. I did however take a picture with a film camera, but it will take a while to get them developed.

Roley Poley River

For those of you who were around when McKinley was a baby . . . Do you think River is on his way to her chunk statis?

It seems to me that no baby could be quite as chubby as McKinley was. He seems so much more solid, but River does have about three chins and some rubber band lines on his arms and legs. He's just so cute if you ask me.

Cute McKinley Stories

McKinley and Sage say and do cute things all the time. Unfortunately, I haven't been the best at recording them. There were a few days in February that I wrote down some cute things that McKinley said to or about River. These stories are kind of old now, but I wanted to record these before they get lost. I wrote on the back of a pad of construction paper that was handy at the time.

2/6/08
McKinley was holding River in her lap on the floor, singing a made-up tune:
I love your legs cuz they kick, kick, kick.
I love your arms cuz they move up and down.

I love your (?) cuz they don't do anything.

I love your ears cuz they hear.
I love your eyes cuz they see.
I love your teeth -- you don't have any teeth.
I love your whole body cuz it can rock.
Cuz everything can matter -- like dancing!
I love you!

2/9/08
McKinley to River: "So . . . What are we going to do together -- just you and me? Play a game?

2/11/08
McKinley picked River up when he started crying and I was in the middle of trying to make dinner or something in the kitchen.
Me: "Thank you for calming River down."
McKinley: "No problem. It's just a little stand up and rockin. I could do this all the time when he cries . . .(a few seconds later) . . . That's enough holding for now." (River is pretty heavy)

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

A few weeks ago on a Wednesday (when Roy doesn't have to work during the day), we went to the park down the street to take advantage of the perfect kite-flying conditions. We had been busy doing other things during the day so we didn't leave ourselves as much time as we would've liked. We were having such a good time, we stayed a little longer than we should've. Roy tends to time things extremely close and had to rush to work without eating, but amazingly made it there in time. It was a fun family activity.

Preparing Our Garden

Last year, we tried planting a garden and put a lot into it (we even brought in more soil) but it didn't do well at all. This year, Roy set it up a little differently and it has already been doing much better.


Roy tilled the ground and made it really soft and rich. The kids love playing in the parts we haven't planted yet. Roy is really determined to make it work this year.

You've all heard of making snow angels. Well, this is a dirtier version -- dirt angels.

River is getting so big and has a smile on his face most of the time.

Thanks Erin!

Well, it's been over a month since I last posted and I miss sharing events with everyone! Since I haven't been blogging, I haven't been on the computer much and therefore haven't been checking everyone else's blogs. Thanks to Erin and her suggestion to try Photobucket, I'm ready to start again. I need to figure out how to do slide shows and everything since there will be a ton of pics I want to share. :) We'll see how I do. I don't have a lot of time right now, but I'll post soon. Thanks a bunch Erin!

Hot Dog

After church today, the girls wanted hot dogs for lunch. I always cut the hot dogs in half lengthwise before placing them on the buns. Since Sage never eats a whole one, I cut hers in fourths (once crosswise and once lengthwise). I asked her if I could have one. She told me I could, so I ate one of the fourths. As I put the last little bite in my mouth and started chewing, she scouled and said, "hey". McKinley responded, "Well, you can't have it now." (pause) Actually you could, but you'd have to wait for her to poop -- but you wouldn't want it then."

River's Blessing

Roy blessed River in church this past Sunday. He did a great job and we were grateful for the support of both of our families! We had a great weekend for the most part. The only negative was a result of Teton's disappearance. Luckily, we found him today at the nearest animal shelter, about 20 minutes or so from our house. I can't upload any pictures as I've already exceeded my photo upload quota. I'll post pictures again when I figure out how to archive my blog thus far.

Temple and Valentines

River had a doctor's appointment in Boise Thursday, so we took advantage of the day in Boise. We visited my Grandma, my parents, and stopped and walked around the Boise Temple. It was a beautiful day, so we just couldn't pass by without stopping. River was asleep and had sore legs from the three immunization shots he'd recieved at his appointment. I just let him stay asleep, but I got some cute pictures of the girls.

Valentine's Day came too quickly for us this year and we didn't get the kids' presents made in time for their daddy. I bought the stuff to do it in January, but planned on doing the project early February. Time flew and we just gave it to him this morning. It was not just a one day project since we had to let the molds dry and then paint them, but it was fun. The girls were so excited to give them to Daddy, we wrapped them last night while they were still damp from the paint.