Corn Maize

We went to the corn maize this past Tuesday. It was way fun. We met up with some people in our ward and had a great time. The atmosphere was perfect and the girls had a blast. At first it was a little cold and Mylee wouldn't properly pose for a picture because she kept saying she was " 'old" (cold). Eventually the sun came up though and it was nice. They had lots of pumpkins, farm animals, a lake, windmill, a cow train pulled by a tractor, a hay ride, a corn maize of course and food we opted not to purchase. Kelsey was particularly thrilled by the donkey and commented "Mom I have never seen one of these in real life before!" That donkey must get fed really well because the kids couldn't stop feeding it--Kelsey included. Mylee was particularly interested in the chickens and would laugh when they walked around and made sounds. The pig scared her. I have to say I don't blame her. It was funny though because this particular pig was huge and it kept oinking at us. I can't say I remember a pig oinking at me.

The cow train

Mylee admiring the lake and windmill.


Kelsey and her donkey

They also had a mini corn maize for the kids. Kelsey and Mylee had a great time cruising around, trying to find their way through. Mylee is the one in the white sweatshirt. We opted not to do the big corn maize. I thought that was being a little ambitious with two little girls, one of which that just likes to run away (Mylee). I could just see myself with two wild kids, lost in the maize (no thanks!).

Conference Weekend and a Birthday

Conference Reverence Tent

Conference weekend was wonderful as always. I look forward to conference like I do Christmas. I anticipate what counsel I will hear and I look forward to learning new ways that I can improve. I was touched by President Monson's talk when he shared all the precious things children around the world had done for others as a birthday present to him. I cried through the whole thing and had a greater appreciation for my calling as a mother because I get to witness these child-like acts every day in my home with my own children. Children truly are precious and perfect. Mine are a constant example to me of what I should be. I was also impacted by Elder Holland's talk on the Book of Mormon. This past summer our stake challenged us to read the Book of Mormon before school started. I took on the challenge and finished it. Let me tell you that that book has POWER! I have felt more energy and desire to take on the daily and often menial tasks of daily life and I have found the courage to do things that before I was too reluctant or lazy to do or try.

I am also lucky because conference weekend in October always happens around my birthday. This year my birthday was on Sunday. So I got to sit home and relax on the couch and listen to the words of the prophets and spend time with my family. It was a very nice day. Well okay, it was really nice until Mylee had an incident with her diaper that left me cleaning up my living room carpet and a trail through my kitchen--but hey, at least this time I was able to laugh about it and Blake was home to help me. Thank you to those who thought of me on my special day, I appreciate it! It's weird getting older. I was visiting teaching and one of the sisters I visit teach started college after I graduated and now she is a 3rd year student in medical school. That made me feel old! But hey, I'm 27 with a wonderful husband, 2 beautiful daughters, and another one on the way. Really I couldn't wish myself in any other circumstance at this age. Blake made me pancakes and would have made me a cake, but I wanted a homemade German Chocolate Cake, so I took on that task.

Kelsey's Dance Lessons

Kelsey started dance lessons this fall with a couple of her friends. She LOVES it!! She is taking a little ballerina class and it lasts 10 weeks. She loves learning the ballet positions and moves and is doing very well. It's bittersweet as a mother to see your daughter grow up. Kelsey's little body in her leotard is about as precious as you can get. Kelsey and I have become pals. I'm not looking forward to her having to go to school next year. What will I do without her?

Stretching

Just finishing across the floor

Kelsey and one of her little friends

Kelsey's Sleeping Quarters

Last night before I headed to bed I went to check on the girls. This is what I found when I went into Kelsey's room.

Mylee's 2 years of life

Mylee's 2nd Birthday

Mylee turned 2 yesterday!! I can't believe it has been two years since she joined our family. What a joy she is!! I can't imagine life without her. She definitely has our own personality and we have loved watching her lately as she uses more words and tries to communitcate with us. Me and the girls were surprised to hear the garage door open yesterday morning and see Blake!! He had been working too many hours at work, so he was able to come home and take pages from home. So Mylee even got her Daddy home on her birthday.

She opened her presents in the morning per Daddy's request. Blake and Kelsey had gone to the store and picked out a pretty pink basketball. Kelsey found the pink ball. Mylee loves it!! She loves playing with balls. When she opened it she said, "Ball!! Wow!!" I made her a pretty pink and green tutu that she LOVES. Aunt Megan got her some cute puppies that came in a purse. Grandmas and Grandpas gave her some money to go buy something. We feel very blessed!

Mylee in her tutu

Later that evening we went to go get pizza and went to one of my friend's home to get some pumpkins. Her husband is a food scientist and brings home loads of food often. We got lots of watermellon a little over a month ago. The girls thought it was pretty cool to get some pumpkins. Mylee is my little doll. She and Blake have an especially close relationship. Every time he gets home, she is super excited to see him. Mylee is also loves having routines. She says her prayers every night. She doesn't get many words out, but she has Amen down. Then she gives us all big hugs and then says, "Night night" and goes to bed. I of course end up having to take her. We love you Mylee!!

My Girls

First there is Kelsey

My Little Model

Photogenic

Cheeser

Little Poser

Then There is Mylee with her Many Expressions:

Inquisitive

Cheeser

Genuine Smile


Grumpy

Fake Smile

Small Cheeser

Then There is Both of Them:

My Mom Says I'm Mischievous

(Don't worry, this is chocolate pudding)

I don't know why exactly. Maybe it's because she doesn't like my new trick. Did you hear about it? I can climb out of my crib all by myself!! It's so cool. My mommy puts me to bed and I can climb out and still play. Today I climbed out of my crib during my nap time. I looked all over for mommy and finally found her sleeping in her bed. Silly mommy!! What was she doing in bed? She even got Kelsey to lay down in her bed too, only she wasn't sleeping. My mommy wasn't too happy to see me. She took me back to my bed again and told me I needed to go night night. I stayed in my bed for a while, but then got out again--I wasn't tired. Only this time I stayed in my room. My diaper was feeling like it needed a change, so I took it off. Today it had stinkys in it. My mommy usually changes these diapers, but she was sleeping, so I thought I would try to change it myself. I never realized how fun stinky is to play with. I took my diaper off and sat down by my door on the carpet and painted my walls and my door. It was sooo cool, it made brown marks all over the place, even on the carpet. It was really cool to feel in my hands too. After playing for a while, I thought I better call mommy because I needed her help. Changing stinkys was harder then I thought it would be. It took her a while to come, but when she finally did come, she wasn't happy to see me again. She put me in the tubby and washed off all the stinkys. Mommy said I had to soak in the tub for a while so the stinkys would come out of my fingernails. That was fine with me, I love the tub. Mommy got me dressed and told me to go play with Kelsey and watch a movie while she cleaned up the mess. She told daddy later on the phone that it took her 2 hours to clean it up. What is 2 hours? Daddy won't be home until I wake up in the morning. He has a funny job!! Working when it is night!! Daddy says he is saving lives, what's that? I will try to make mommy happier with me tomorrow. Maybe next time I will stay in my bed and let her change my stinky diaper.

Go Cougars!!

This past weekend we went to Arlington, Texas to see the BYU Cougars play!!! Blake was able to get work off early on Friday. Once he arrived home around 12 PM, we left about an hour later for our 6 hour drive. Blake's Uncle Bob and Aunt Kathy Clifton live in Plano, so we stayed with them. We had such a GREAT time. Uncle Bob and Aunt Kathy have their 3 grandkids living with them and they are all close to our girl's ages, so our girls were in heaven. Blake's brother flew in for the event, so we met up with him and Uncle Bob, Aunt Kathy, the grandkids and Douglas (Blake's cousin) and his fiance for dinner at Scottie P's--a hamburger joint. It was Delicious!

Blake and I had stopped for gas on the way home and told them we would meet up with them at their house. When we arrived at their house, no one was home. We just figured that they had stopped somewhere. So we unloaded our things on their steps and waited... and waited. After a while I insisted that Blake call them. After some proding he called, and sure enough--there was a problem. We had been waiting at the WRONG house!!

Once we arrived at the right house, we got the girls down to bed and then talked into the wee hours of the night. The next day Blake and Trevor used their handy skills to help around the house. Blake fixed their broken mailbox and Trevor fixed some cabinets and did some repair work in the bathrooms. I got to go to the store with Aunt Kathy and the three girls.

Saturday night, we left our girls with the Clifton's and went to the game located at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium (SO Cool!!). Aparently Kelsey taught all the kids to dance while we were gone. Mylee did acrobatics in the port-a-crib by climbing out onto the nightstand and dancing around when she should have been going to sleep. Kelsey also showed off her swimming skills in the bathtub, showing Uncle Bob that she could blow bubbles underneath the water and so forth. As for Blake, Trevor, and I. Well, what can I say!! We were in one of the coolest stadiums ever--indoor, air-conditioned (whew!!), with the biggest television screen I had ever seen--AND our BYU Cougars beat the #3 Oklahoma Sooners! Let me tell you, we were proud to be cougar fans.

Our seats were in the middle of a sea of Sooner fans, but we didn't let our voices go unheard. Luckily there was a couple that were BYU fans that sat next to us. So there were us 5 cheering for the Cougars in the midst of a bunch of frustrated Sooner fans. Sam Bradford's injury was unfortnate of course. Blake was already diagnosing his problem before they pulled him off the field. He examined the way the team doctors were holding his arm and how they treated it when they put him on the table to be examined. He even called one of his chiefs (another BYU fan, watching from home) to discuss the diagnosis. Their diagnosis matched what reports have been confirming--go Dr. Blake!

Overall the Oklahoma fans were very nice as we walked out of the stadium. One man sitting next to us that had had a few too many drinks was a little upset with us, but his family was quick to apologize for his comments. After the win, the side of the stadium where most of the BYU fans were, stayed and cheered with their team. The players were living up the moment and boy did they deserve it.

It took us 2 hours to get out of the stadium and game traffic before we were on our way. There was even a wreck that happened right in front of us in the stadium parking lot! When we got home, the Clifton's filled us in on the night and we stayed up until 1:30 A.M. talking.

The next morning we went to a local ward and then the Clifton's fixed us a yummy lunch before we dropped Trevor off at the airport. It was a great weekend!

We're number 1!!
Blake and his brother Trevor, the stadium lit up in the background
Mylee (2), Cassidy(5), Kelsey(4.5), Cassandra(2.5), Denny(4)

New Calling

Today I was called and sustained to serve in the Stake Young Women's Presidency as Secretary. I am very excited about serving in young women's again. Blake and I have been serving as primary teachers in the CTR 6 class, but we will be released next Sunday. I've never served in the stake before so I am excited to learn about how that works and hope that I can be an influence for good in the lives of the young women in our stake.

Did We Mention That....

We're Expecting!!!

Baby's Face

Baby's foot and face (unfocused)

Position of the baby, leg up by the face

And....that we're having a GIRL?

We are super excited!! I am 20 weeks and due January 9, 2010. I've been really healthy and have been feeling great. The baby looked good in the ultrasound. I took Kelsey with me and Blake was able to come to part of it--yeah! Kelsey is super excited!!! Blake and I told the girls the other day.

Back to School Fair

Some friends invited us to a back to school fair over the weekend. We had a blast and best of all, it was all FREE. We love things that are free. Kelsey got to ride a horse--she thought she was in heaven! When I asked Mylee if she wanted to ride she said, "Uh, uh, uh, uh" (meaning NO!). They had a fun play gym to bounce in, a train to ride around in and free snow cones and hotdogs, drinks and chips! Wha--hoo!!

Nadia (3), Anya (5), Kelsey (4), Mylee (almost 2)

We got all our ages covered here :)

Mylee a little unsure

The highlight for Mylee

That's Mylee for you

Today me and the girls went over to a friends house for lunch. We had a great time and it was fun to visit and let our kids play with one another. At one point during our visit I noticed Mylee was nowhere to be found. Well.... I wish I had my camera. She was in my friend's master bathroom and had taken off her diaper, put it in the trash actually and then found some pads underneath her sink and was opening them and taking the stickers off trying to put them on herself. Thankfully I know this friend really well and we do a lot together, so I wasn't too embarressed, but we sure did have a good laugh. What do I do with that girl? She is always getting into mischief! But man, she just melts my heart--how can I do anything but just LOVE her?

Last Day of Swim Lessons

Kelsey had her last day of swim lessons this past Friday. She absolutely loved it! I'm so glad we signed her up. She finally overcame her fear of putting her face in the water. It took a lot of prying and bribing one night in the bathtub for her to put her face in the water and then once she did it, she was so proud of herself and would do it over and over again and was so proud and excited to show her teacher. She also became brave and jumped off the diving board, but the little pickle had to have the lifeguard drop her off because she wouldn't jump off herself. She's not quite like her daddy who was doing flips off the diving board around her age, but we are so proud of the progress she made. She is our sweet little Kelsey and she is such a joy to have around the house!! It's my guess that she is going to be an artist one day because she will spend hours and hours coloring and drawing. One of the first things she asks for in the morning are her crayons and markers and off she goes. I'll often have to pry her away to get her to eat her breakfast.

Kelsey hanging out in the lazy river.

Mylee's designated spot during swim. Why? Because if she wasn't strapped in, she would be in swimming with Kelsey.

Sprinkler System

A little over a week ago Blake put in a sprinkler system at our house. It is SOOO wonderful!! We got all the pipe laid and trenches dug one day, but it took us the remaining week to finish with his work schedule. My job was to fill in all the trenches. It really wouldn't have been that bad except it poured rain on us the day after we dug them so it was a big muddy mess and the dirt was very heavy and hard to work with. It got better as the days went by and it dried up a bit. I was also the messenger that went to and from Lowes way too many times. The sprinkling system passed inspection with flying colors. It was funny actually, the first guy that came to inspect one part of the system said, "Wow, we don't get too many medical people putting sprinkling systems in!" Blake had just gotten home from work and was still wearing his scrubs. But O, that guy doesn't know just how handy my husband is!! Then the other guy that came to inspect the last part of the system said, "Wow, it looks really good! Have you done this before?" He then told us about this guy down the street who was putting one in and he had to walk through mud and all sorts of mess. Like I said, my husband is amazing! The picture is the system getting put in. I didn't get one of the finished product, I should do that.