Kailyn eating fondue
Kailyn testing out her new bike. She loves it!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Christmas
Christmas Eve we went over to the Wahlquist's house and went caroling and then ate chocolate fondue. It was a lot of fun. We also got together with Thomases on Christmas day for games and food. I'm so thankful we have a lot of great friends here to share the holiday season with.
Kailyn eating fondue
Kailyn testing out her new bike. She loves it!
Kailyn eating fondue
Kailyn testing out her new bike. She loves it!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
The Year in Review
Wow! This has been quite the year. A very busy year with lots of changes. Really it was a year of firsts.
Caden's first steps
Our first paycheck in a really long time
First time Ken has been called Dr. Bassett (so weird! Sometimes I still can't believe he is a doctor)
We bought our first home.
Kailyn had her first day of preschool.
First time Jordan is truly potty trained.
First time living in Ohio.
First time we didn't go home to Montana for Christmas.
First time in awhile we didn't spend all summer in the pool.
First time our yard has been weeded and cared for in years.
First time I have ever been so thankful to be able to butter a piece of bread and hug and hold my kids and hope to be able to do it for years to come. (I had a scare early this year. I had some weird pain/stiffness/swelling/weakness that all pointed to Rhumatiod Arthritis or other chronic condition. To the surprise of us and the doctor it ended up being related to strep. We truly feel so blessed that it turned out to be nothing serious.)
First time I have gone a whole year without seeing anyone from my side of the family.
First time I have flown with all 3 kids alone. (it really was quite the adventure but it was better than driving all day in the car for 3 days straight.)
We definitely had a lot of change this year but we have also been greatly blessed. Here are some of the things we are thankful for.
Our health. That we are physically able to do the day to day things in life.
A great neighbor. He has helped us out so much. He has let us borrow his lawn mower when we first moved in, let us borrow his hedge clippers, given advice, and recently surprised me by cleaning up a massive pile of wood that the previous owners created (it was filled with branches and old christmas trees. I had been working at it but it was slow going with such a big pile and three little kids).
A great ward. They have been so great. I was really nervous to move from Arizona (I loved our old ward) but they have made it easier with walking group, book club, cooking group, and playgroup.
For people that have given us so much. We have been truly blessed by people's generosity (our couches, tv stand, dining room table, the girls' day bed, christmas tree...to name a few).
For every moment we get with Ken.
No longer living off of loans. It is so nice to actually have an income.
We have missed all of our family and friends very much but as you can tell we have been very blessed to move to such a great area where we have been able to make new friends and hope to continue to do so.
Caden's first steps
Our first paycheck in a really long time
First time Ken has been called Dr. Bassett (so weird! Sometimes I still can't believe he is a doctor)
We bought our first home.
Kailyn had her first day of preschool.
First time Jordan is truly potty trained.
First time living in Ohio.
First time we didn't go home to Montana for Christmas.
First time in awhile we didn't spend all summer in the pool.
First time our yard has been weeded and cared for in years.
First time I have ever been so thankful to be able to butter a piece of bread and hug and hold my kids and hope to be able to do it for years to come. (I had a scare early this year. I had some weird pain/stiffness/swelling/weakness that all pointed to Rhumatiod Arthritis or other chronic condition. To the surprise of us and the doctor it ended up being related to strep. We truly feel so blessed that it turned out to be nothing serious.)
First time I have gone a whole year without seeing anyone from my side of the family.
First time I have flown with all 3 kids alone. (it really was quite the adventure but it was better than driving all day in the car for 3 days straight.)
We definitely had a lot of change this year but we have also been greatly blessed. Here are some of the things we are thankful for.
Our health. That we are physically able to do the day to day things in life.
A great neighbor. He has helped us out so much. He has let us borrow his lawn mower when we first moved in, let us borrow his hedge clippers, given advice, and recently surprised me by cleaning up a massive pile of wood that the previous owners created (it was filled with branches and old christmas trees. I had been working at it but it was slow going with such a big pile and three little kids).
A great ward. They have been so great. I was really nervous to move from Arizona (I loved our old ward) but they have made it easier with walking group, book club, cooking group, and playgroup.
For people that have given us so much. We have been truly blessed by people's generosity (our couches, tv stand, dining room table, the girls' day bed, christmas tree...to name a few).
For every moment we get with Ken.
No longer living off of loans. It is so nice to actually have an income.
We have missed all of our family and friends very much but as you can tell we have been very blessed to move to such a great area where we have been able to make new friends and hope to continue to do so.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas! Today is Christmas--well, for us, that is. Ken has to work all of next week so today was the only day we could celebrate. But first let me tell you about our Christmas Eve. Kailyn had a sing along at her preschool. I was impressed with how well the kids learned all of the Christmas songs. That night, per Kailyn's express request, we made cookies for Santa and put out "reindeer food" for Rudolph so he could find our house (it was a mix of puffed cereal, oats and glitter Kailyn got from preschool). We also read a book "The BEST thing about Christmas," watched the Luke II video, and sang Christmas carols around the tree. Finally, we put up our stockings for Santa. It was a really fun night.
Scattering the reindeer food.
Making cookies for Santa
Sing-a-long at Kailyn's Preschool
Scattering the reindeer food.
Making cookies for Santa
Christmas Day
Kailyn woke up this morning at 4 am and came into our room to say she was hungry (Ken, of course, slept through it all). I told her it wasn't morning time yet, to turn off the hall light and to back go to bed. After saying she was hungry again she went to bed. (We found out the next morning that she had peeked in her stocking, too).
After a yummy breakfast we opened presents. It was so fun watching the kids open their presents. They of course loved everything! Caden's favorite was a flashlight from Grandma and Grandpa J. He would turn it on and shine it in his eyes or mouth and say "cheese." He also loved a book he got from Aunt Sandy and Uncle Dave. Ken tried to take it from him at one point (so he could open another present) and Caden let it be known that he did not like having his book taken from him. I think Jordan would have been happy with just her stocking. It was hard to get her away from her chocolate so that she could open presents. Kailyn was very excited to give me the present she made at preschool. It was a hand print in some plaster with a little poem on the back. She was so proud of it, it was very cute and precious.
So this was our first Christmas all on our own, in years past we have gone home for Christmas. It was a lot of fun starting some of our own traditions. I must admit though, it feels a bit weird not to not be around a lot of the people we love.
So this was our first Christmas all on our own, in years past we have gone home for Christmas. It was a lot of fun starting some of our own traditions. I must admit though, it feels a bit weird not to not be around a lot of the people we love.Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Let it snow! Let it snow!
So Saturday night a huge storm came through Toledo. We got about 10" of snow in a 12 hour period. Church was canceled and so was preschool on Monday. Kailyn has been loving the snow. Anytime we go anywhere she feels the need to fall into the snow and make a snow angel...in her jeans and no gloves. She's also learned the wonders of snowballs. I've learned not to hold the door open for her when we get home because she is impossible to get in, which is actually ok with me (fresh air and exercise).
Today Ken was post call. So after a nap we went out and made some snowmen/women. Kailyn was thrilled to have someone out helping her make snowpersons and to have a snowball fight with. Being the fair-minded lady she is, she insisted on making a snowperson representing each person in our family (Dad, Mom, Kailyn, Jordan, and Caden snowmen). Jordan is not so keen on the cold and outdoors right now, which is a bit weird because she is normally the one begging to go outside. Caden had fun stomping around in the snow and even helped roll a couple of snow balls.
Here is one Kailyn's many snow angels.
Today Ken was post call. So after a nap we went out and made some snowmen/women. Kailyn was thrilled to have someone out helping her make snowpersons and to have a snowball fight with. Being the fair-minded lady she is, she insisted on making a snowperson representing each person in our family (Dad, Mom, Kailyn, Jordan, and Caden snowmen). Jordan is not so keen on the cold and outdoors right now, which is a bit weird because she is normally the one begging to go outside. Caden had fun stomping around in the snow and even helped roll a couple of snow balls.
Santa Claus is coming to town
Saturday, we had our ward Christmas party. It was a really good turn out. There were a lot of people and a lot of food. Ken was on call but was able to join us for part of the celebration (a wonderful/pleasant surprise). They had a little reenactment of the nativity, put on by the primary kids. It was very cute. Kailyn was one of many shepherds. (Pictured above in the yellow with dark blue head cover)The big guy in red also stopped by. The girls were very excited to see him. When asked what she wanted
for Christmas, Kailyn responded "presents." I think I can handle that one.Jordan was acting a bit shy and refused to even look at Santa.
I was a bit nervous for Caden. He sat on Santa's lap and gave a look of question. I held my breath and waited for the freak out--you know the crying, squirming and look of "please save me! Get me off this strange guy's lap!" But he didn't cry, in fact he got a huge grin on his face and seemed quite happy to have met the guy (especially since he got a candy cane out of it).
Going Bananas
Ok, so last Saturday I needed to make a quick run to the store. When I got to Meijer's (it's similar to a Super Walmart for you Western people) it was crazy. Not only was it the last weekend to shop for things that needed to be mailed, but it was also the day before a major storm was predicted to hit (everyone was stocking up). Well, we got our few items and then got into the lines. They were very long even though every single one of the checkout lines were open. After being in line for awhile I realized I wanted some bananas. So I sent the two girls (We were right next to the produce) "Go and get a bunch of bananas--just one bunch of bananas, OK?" Well, they were gone for awhile and I was really not wanting to get out of the line I had waited in forever. Just when I was about to get out of line and go on the missing children search they suddenly appeared--each carrying as many bananas as their little arms could hold. I couldn't hold it in--I busted out laughing while everyone in surrounding lines started stepping back and reaching for cell phones to call the nut house (they couldn't see the girls--it must have appeared that I was going "bananas" and laughing at, well, nothing). Yeah, I should have seen that coming...they did get a bunch of bananas. Luckily, I was able to talk Kailyn into taking some of them back. I wasn't as successful with Jordan, so we were left with a whole "bunch" of bananas. Kailyn's response, "It's ok mom. Now we have some to eat and some to use for banana bread."
Friday, December 14, 2007
Tagged
Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I posted last. Sorry. So Ken (my most wonderful, amazing husband) finally got it so I could download pics again. Three cheers for Ken. So I thought it would be fun to tag my kids. Here are a few things you may not know about them. Like I said Ken just got the program up and running today so I only have pics from the last couple of days. Now that I know I can download again hopefully I will be better about taking pictures. So here it goes....
Caden
1. He loves water. He gets so excited about water, drinking it that is. He is constantly asking for a drink (using sign language).
2. He does not like milk or juice. He is to the point where he won't even look at them, let alone try them.
3. He has a reflex that makes him cough when you put something in his ear (ie, when the doctor is looking in his ear or his ears are getting cleaned out)
4. Loves toast but refuses to eat anything else bread-related. He won't even eat the bread for sacrament. Totally opposite from our girls who love bread.
5. Has just recently, in the last few months, started sleeping past 5:30am. It is not unusual for him to wake up during the night, sometimes he asks for a drink but most of the time we have no idea why he is awake.
6. He is a drooler. The front of his short is constantly wet.
Jordan
1. Whenever she has to use the restroom and she is in the kitchen, she says, "Mommy, mommy I have to go potty!" She then proceeds to run the long way to the bathroom. She does this everytime. Even Kailyn has noticed. One time Jordan took the short way and Kailyn asked, "Why did she go that way?"
2. She is an insomniac. If she gets up during the night to go to the restroom it is guaranteed that she will be up at least 3 times after that just coming into our room and waking me up. She also sometimes just gets up during the night for no known reason, except to disrupt my sleep I'm sure.
3. Loves cereal. She is overjoyed when I let her eat cereal instead of the pancakes, waffles, etc. that I normally make.
4. Does not like eggs. She will sometimes ask for it because Kailyn asks for them (Kailyn loves eggs in any form), but then she won't eat them.
5. Will often carry around food forever. For example, the other day she was at a friend's house and she got some marshmallows. Well, when I came to get her an hour later she was still holding it. it is funny cause she will want something so bad but then will just hold it in her hand and it is not unusual that she will never eat it.
6. Loves to dress up and dance in this blue little outfit I got for free from somewhere. She is constantly coming up to me and asking me to turn on music so she can dance. I try to have her wear her clothes underneath the blue outfit because our house is a bit cold but she refuses. I don't know how she can stand to wear so little when it is so cold.
Kailyn
1. Is a rule follower. She is very literal. If it says do it this way that is the way we better do it.
2. Has no knee reflex. Ok so Ken says she has a little one (he can actually get it). Last time we were at the doctor there was a medical student there and the poor guy tried so hard to get her knee to jerk. Poor guy was probably thinking he was doing something wrong since he had just started Peds and this was one of his first rotations. The doctor then came in and checked her and she too tried and tried to get her knee to jerk. I had totally forgotten about her little quirk until after the doctor was struggling too.
3. Can be so hot and cold. It is great when she is in a good mood and wants to help and be a little mommy, but bad when she is stubborn and refuses to do anything. She is normally stubborn when she has not gotten enough sleep.
4. Kind of going along with the above, she gets so excited about things. Like when packages come for her, she gets so excited! Right now she is SO excited for Christmas. She loves counting down everyday with her advent calendar (She loves it, Mom, thanks). Every morning, "Mom how many days till Christmas?" She then spends the rest of the day telling people how many days are left.
5. Can be so brave. She bore her testimony at church even though no other kids in our ward were. Gave a talk in primary with minimal help (I had to prompt her in the beginning but she did the rest). She is always surprising me with things she will/can do. She has never been very afraid of strangers (except when she is being stubborn). She went to nursery without a problem when she was little. She often jumps off/into things I never thought she would.
6. She is deathly afraid of needles. She can't even watch others get poked. She always asks to leave the room when Caden or Jordan are getting their shots. Kailyn got a sliver once and it was awful trying to get that thing out. You would have thought we were torturing her the way she yelled/panicked/freaked out/kicked/thrashed about. I was so glad this year when they offered the nose spray version for her flu shot.
Caden
1. He loves water. He gets so excited about water, drinking it that is. He is constantly asking for a drink (using sign language).
2. He does not like milk or juice. He is to the point where he won't even look at them, let alone try them.
3. He has a reflex that makes him cough when you put something in his ear (ie, when the doctor is looking in his ear or his ears are getting cleaned out)
4. Loves toast but refuses to eat anything else bread-related. He won't even eat the bread for sacrament. Totally opposite from our girls who love bread.
5. Has just recently, in the last few months, started sleeping past 5:30am. It is not unusual for him to wake up during the night, sometimes he asks for a drink but most of the time we have no idea why he is awake.
6. He is a drooler. The front of his short is constantly wet.
Jordan
1. Whenever she has to use the restroom and she is in the kitchen, she says, "Mommy, mommy I have to go potty!" She then proceeds to run the long way to the bathroom. She does this everytime. Even Kailyn has noticed. One time Jordan took the short way and Kailyn asked, "Why did she go that way?"
2. She is an insomniac. If she gets up during the night to go to the restroom it is guaranteed that she will be up at least 3 times after that just coming into our room and waking me up. She also sometimes just gets up during the night for no known reason, except to disrupt my sleep I'm sure.
3. Loves cereal. She is overjoyed when I let her eat cereal instead of the pancakes, waffles, etc. that I normally make.
4. Does not like eggs. She will sometimes ask for it because Kailyn asks for them (Kailyn loves eggs in any form), but then she won't eat them.
5. Will often carry around food forever. For example, the other day she was at a friend's house and she got some marshmallows. Well, when I came to get her an hour later she was still holding it. it is funny cause she will want something so bad but then will just hold it in her hand and it is not unusual that she will never eat it.
6. Loves to dress up and dance in this blue little outfit I got for free from somewhere. She is constantly coming up to me and asking me to turn on music so she can dance. I try to have her wear her clothes underneath the blue outfit because our house is a bit cold but she refuses. I don't know how she can stand to wear so little when it is so cold.
Kailyn
1. Is a rule follower. She is very literal. If it says do it this way that is the way we better do it.
2. Has no knee reflex. Ok so Ken says she has a little one (he can actually get it). Last time we were at the doctor there was a medical student there and the poor guy tried so hard to get her knee to jerk. Poor guy was probably thinking he was doing something wrong since he had just started Peds and this was one of his first rotations. The doctor then came in and checked her and she too tried and tried to get her knee to jerk. I had totally forgotten about her little quirk until after the doctor was struggling too.
3. Can be so hot and cold. It is great when she is in a good mood and wants to help and be a little mommy, but bad when she is stubborn and refuses to do anything. She is normally stubborn when she has not gotten enough sleep.
4. Kind of going along with the above, she gets so excited about things. Like when packages come for her, she gets so excited! Right now she is SO excited for Christmas. She loves counting down everyday with her advent calendar (She loves it, Mom, thanks). Every morning, "Mom how many days till Christmas?" She then spends the rest of the day telling people how many days are left.
5. Can be so brave. She bore her testimony at church even though no other kids in our ward were. Gave a talk in primary with minimal help (I had to prompt her in the beginning but she did the rest). She is always surprising me with things she will/can do. She has never been very afraid of strangers (except when she is being stubborn). She went to nursery without a problem when she was little. She often jumps off/into things I never thought she would.
6. She is deathly afraid of needles. She can't even watch others get poked. She always asks to leave the room when Caden or Jordan are getting their shots. Kailyn got a sliver once and it was awful trying to get that thing out. You would have thought we were torturing her the way she yelled/panicked/freaked out/kicked/thrashed about. I was so glad this year when they offered the nose spray version for her flu shot.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Love/Hate
I have a love, hate relationship with a lot of things this week. Here are a few:
LOVE having a dishwasher. Washing dishes by hand in our last apartment was not fun (tiny single-bin sink, no counter space).
HATE that ours broke down a couple weeks ago. Back to washing by hand...
Solution We finally bought a new dishwasher last night! Yeah! Hopefully we can get it hooked up today.
LOVE having a van. I dragged my feet about getting one but I love the extra space and not having to bend over to buckle kids.
HATE when said van has problems.
Solution I took our car in (apparently the belt falling off is a common problem with this make/model/year). The permanent repair is pricey but after some research on the net I think it is the best option. Also, we are lucky cuz this solution came out early this year (not sure why it took so long to get one)
LOVE the computer.
HATE that our power cord has issues. This means I can't access or download any pictures right now, thus the reason I haven't posted in awhile and there are no pics today.
Solution I think it is time to say bye to the computer (hopefully we can get it up and running long enough to get all of our stuff off of it)
LOVE that people have been complementing Jordan lately. Here are some of the comments I have gotten from people at the YMCA "She should get the sister of the year award." (apparently she was sharing her snack with Caden, making sure he got his share even if she had to hunt him down to give it to him). "Is she this quiet at home?" "Does she normally get along so well with her brother? (at which I thought, "Oh no, what did she do?) She was so sweet to him, giving him hugs and kisses and helping him."
HATE that she is not always this sweet. I laughed when the lady asked if Jordan was always so quiet. We often comment that Jordan needs a volume control. "Jordan remember to use your inside voice."
Solution OK so she isn't always perfect but I can be thankful that she is at least good a lot of the time.
LOVE the beautiful fall colors.
HATE that these leaves fall into my yard.
Solution I spend all day Saturday raking the leaves off our yard (it seriously took most of the day. One person+huge yard=lots of time). I was so tired that night.
LOVE that Jordan and Kailyn played together so well and helped keep Caden happy while I raked.
HATE ...what is there to hate? Did you read what I wrote? Kailyn and Jordan get along and make Caden happy, what is there to hate about that?
Solution actually more of a question than a solution. How do I get them to always be so helpful?
LOVE having a more normal-sized oven. I can actually fit my pizza pan in (it is bigger than our previous oven, but it is still smaller than most)
HATE that it seems to be having issues. We knew when we bought the house that the temp was off but I can't figure out by how much. (it seems like it has gotten worse since we moved in).
Solution I need to get something that will read the internal temp of the oven.
LOVE that we got our first snow storm. The kids were so excited. I loved watching them get so excited.
HATE the constant cold. It is actually not so bad right now but I know I am going to be so sick of it by the time winter is over.
Solution bring on the layers. Socks and slippers indoors are a must.
LOVE having a dishwasher. Washing dishes by hand in our last apartment was not fun (tiny single-bin sink, no counter space).
HATE that ours broke down a couple weeks ago. Back to washing by hand...
Solution We finally bought a new dishwasher last night! Yeah! Hopefully we can get it hooked up today.
LOVE having a van. I dragged my feet about getting one but I love the extra space and not having to bend over to buckle kids.
HATE when said van has problems.
Solution I took our car in (apparently the belt falling off is a common problem with this make/model/year). The permanent repair is pricey but after some research on the net I think it is the best option. Also, we are lucky cuz this solution came out early this year (not sure why it took so long to get one)
LOVE the computer.
HATE that our power cord has issues. This means I can't access or download any pictures right now, thus the reason I haven't posted in awhile and there are no pics today.
Solution I think it is time to say bye to the computer (hopefully we can get it up and running long enough to get all of our stuff off of it)
LOVE that people have been complementing Jordan lately. Here are some of the comments I have gotten from people at the YMCA "She should get the sister of the year award." (apparently she was sharing her snack with Caden, making sure he got his share even if she had to hunt him down to give it to him). "Is she this quiet at home?" "Does she normally get along so well with her brother? (at which I thought, "Oh no, what did she do?) She was so sweet to him, giving him hugs and kisses and helping him."
HATE that she is not always this sweet. I laughed when the lady asked if Jordan was always so quiet. We often comment that Jordan needs a volume control. "Jordan remember to use your inside voice."
Solution OK so she isn't always perfect but I can be thankful that she is at least good a lot of the time.
LOVE the beautiful fall colors.
HATE that these leaves fall into my yard.
Solution I spend all day Saturday raking the leaves off our yard (it seriously took most of the day. One person+huge yard=lots of time). I was so tired that night.
LOVE that Jordan and Kailyn played together so well and helped keep Caden happy while I raked.
HATE ...what is there to hate? Did you read what I wrote? Kailyn and Jordan get along and make Caden happy, what is there to hate about that?
Solution actually more of a question than a solution. How do I get them to always be so helpful?
LOVE having a more normal-sized oven. I can actually fit my pizza pan in (it is bigger than our previous oven, but it is still smaller than most)
HATE that it seems to be having issues. We knew when we bought the house that the temp was off but I can't figure out by how much. (it seems like it has gotten worse since we moved in).
Solution I need to get something that will read the internal temp of the oven.
LOVE that we got our first snow storm. The kids were so excited. I loved watching them get so excited.
HATE the constant cold. It is actually not so bad right now but I know I am going to be so sick of it by the time winter is over.
Solution bring on the layers. Socks and slippers indoors are a must.
Love/Hate
I have a love, hate relationship with a lot of things this week. Here are a few:
LOVE having a dishwasher. Washing dishes by hand in our last apartment was not fun (tiny single-bin sink, no counter space).
HATE that ours broke down a couple weeks ago. Back to washing by hand...
Solution We finally bought a new dishwasher last night! Yeah! Hopefully we can get it hooked up today.
LOVE having a van. I dragged my feet about getting one but I love the extra space and not having to bend over to buckle kids.
HATE when said van has problems.
Solution I took our car in (apparently the belt falling off is a common problem with this make/model/year). The permanent repair is pricey but after some research on the net I think it is the best option. Also, we are lucky cuz this solution came out early this year (not sure why it took so long to get one)
LOVE the computer.
HATE that our power cord has issues. This means I can't access or download any pictures right now, thus the reason I haven't posted in awhile and there are no pics today.
Solution I think it is time to say bye to the computer (hopefully we can get it up and running long enough to get all of our stuff off of it)
LOVE that people have been complementing Jordan lately. Here are some of the comments I have gotten from people at the YMCA "She should get the sister of the year award." (apparently she was sharing her snack with Caden, making sure he got his share even if she had to hunt him down to give it to him). "Is she this quiet at home?" "Does she normally get along so well with her brother? (at which I thought, "Oh no, what did she do?) She was so sweet to him, giving him hugs and kisses and helping him."
HATE that she is not always this sweet. I laughed when the lady asked if Jordan was always so quiet. We often comment that Jordan needs a volume control. "Jordan remember to use your inside voice."
Solution OK so she isn't always perfect but I can be thankful that she is at least good a lot of the time.
LOVE the beautiful fall colors.
HATE that these leaves fall off into my yard.
Solution I spend all day Saturday racking the leaves off our yard (it was seriously most the day. One person+huge yard=lots of time). I was so tired that night.
LOVE that Jordan and Kailyn played together so well and helped keep Caden happy while I racked.
HATE ...what is there to hate? Did you read what I wrote? Kailyn and Jordan get along and make Caden happy, what is there to hate about that?
Solution actually more of a question than a solution. How do I get them to always be so helpful?
LOVE having a more normal sized stove, I can actually fit my pizza pan in (it is bigger than our last one but it is still smaller than most)
HATE that it seems to be having issues. We knew when we bought the house that the temp was off but I can't figure out by how much. (it seems like it has gotten worse since we moved in)
Solution I need to get something that will read the internal temp of the oven.
LOVE that we got our first snow storm. The kids were so excited. I loved watching them get so excited.
HATE the constant cold. It is actually not so bad right now but I know I am going to be so sick of it by the time winter is over.
Solution bring on the layers. Socks are a must.
LOVE having a dishwasher. Washing dishes by hand in our last apartment was not fun (tiny single-bin sink, no counter space).
HATE that ours broke down a couple weeks ago. Back to washing by hand...
Solution We finally bought a new dishwasher last night! Yeah! Hopefully we can get it hooked up today.
LOVE having a van. I dragged my feet about getting one but I love the extra space and not having to bend over to buckle kids.
HATE when said van has problems.
Solution I took our car in (apparently the belt falling off is a common problem with this make/model/year). The permanent repair is pricey but after some research on the net I think it is the best option. Also, we are lucky cuz this solution came out early this year (not sure why it took so long to get one)
LOVE the computer.
HATE that our power cord has issues. This means I can't access or download any pictures right now, thus the reason I haven't posted in awhile and there are no pics today.
Solution I think it is time to say bye to the computer (hopefully we can get it up and running long enough to get all of our stuff off of it)
LOVE that people have been complementing Jordan lately. Here are some of the comments I have gotten from people at the YMCA "She should get the sister of the year award." (apparently she was sharing her snack with Caden, making sure he got his share even if she had to hunt him down to give it to him). "Is she this quiet at home?" "Does she normally get along so well with her brother? (at which I thought, "Oh no, what did she do?) She was so sweet to him, giving him hugs and kisses and helping him."
HATE that she is not always this sweet. I laughed when the lady asked if Jordan was always so quiet. We often comment that Jordan needs a volume control. "Jordan remember to use your inside voice."
Solution OK so she isn't always perfect but I can be thankful that she is at least good a lot of the time.
LOVE the beautiful fall colors.
HATE that these leaves fall off into my yard.
Solution I spend all day Saturday racking the leaves off our yard (it was seriously most the day. One person+huge yard=lots of time). I was so tired that night.
LOVE that Jordan and Kailyn played together so well and helped keep Caden happy while I racked.
HATE ...what is there to hate? Did you read what I wrote? Kailyn and Jordan get along and make Caden happy, what is there to hate about that?
Solution actually more of a question than a solution. How do I get them to always be so helpful?
LOVE having a more normal sized stove, I can actually fit my pizza pan in (it is bigger than our last one but it is still smaller than most)
HATE that it seems to be having issues. We knew when we bought the house that the temp was off but I can't figure out by how much. (it seems like it has gotten worse since we moved in)
Solution I need to get something that will read the internal temp of the oven.
LOVE that we got our first snow storm. The kids were so excited. I loved watching them get so excited.
HATE the constant cold. It is actually not so bad right now but I know I am going to be so sick of it by the time winter is over.
Solution bring on the layers. Socks are a must.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Zoo Lights
So we went to the Zoo Lights last night. Ken's Aunt Sandy and Uncle Dave took us. It was so much fun. The kids loved it. They had this really cool display that had the lights flash/dance to the music being played. It was really amazing. They also had this HUGE tree all light up with lights (it is the tree behind us in the group pictures). I don't know how they got all of those lights on it. It looked spectacular though. Ironically, one of the kids favorite place to go was to see the bugs in the "Crawlspace." They had tarantulas, cockroaches (one thing I definitely don't miss about Arizona), and all other creepy crawlies you can thing of. We kept trying to leave but the kids wanted to look at just one more bug.
Afterwards we came to our house to dry off (it was snowing/raining most of the time we were there) and have hot chocolate and cookies. I will not be giving the girls liquids before bed ever again. Jordan got up 3 times to use the bathroom and Kailyn didn't quite make it when she made a mad dash to the toilet around 1am.
It was a wonderful evening, the only bad part of the night is I left the stroller in Ken's car (read my little adventure and you will know why we took Ken's car) and thus missed walking group today. I really wanted to go but I guess its probably good I didn't since our dishwasher started over flowing this morning when I started it. There was so much water on the floor. I can't imagine the mess it would have made had it gone through a full cycle.
Group picture with huge tree
(this picture doesn't do it justice)
Jordan all bundled up and watching the toy train
Running through a tunnel of lights
Caden mezmorized by the dancing lights
Jordan and Ken dancing to the music for the lights
Afterwards we came to our house to dry off (it was snowing/raining most of the time we were there) and have hot chocolate and cookies. I will not be giving the girls liquids before bed ever again. Jordan got up 3 times to use the bathroom and Kailyn didn't quite make it when she made a mad dash to the toilet around 1am.
It was a wonderful evening, the only bad part of the night is I left the stroller in Ken's car (read my little adventure and you will know why we took Ken's car) and thus missed walking group today. I really wanted to go but I guess its probably good I didn't since our dishwasher started over flowing this morning when I started it. There was so much water on the floor. I can't imagine the mess it would have made had it gone through a full cycle.
Group picture with huge tree
(this picture doesn't do it justice)
Jordan all bundled up and watching the toy train
Running through a tunnel of lights
Caden mezmorized by the dancing lights
Jordan and Ken dancing to the music for the lights
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Kailyn's Projects
So Kailyn has been busy at preschool making lots of crafts. It has been great to have decorations for the holidays. Here are a couple of pictures of her Halloween stuff (I forgot to post it way back when). The first picture is actually a 'homework' project they had to do. They were to decorate this house anyway they wanted. Here is Kailyn's creation. I gave her ideas but she had the finally say. She did all of the cutting and pasting, she even wrote Bassett on it by herself.I'm not a keeper so thought this would be a good way to remember all the fun things she has created.
PS I put up 3 new posts today, sorry I got a little behind.
Little Adventure
So Wednesday after play group it was pouring rain. I quickly loaded up the kids and headed home making a pit stop at Monnette's ("the fruit and vegetable store" as the girls call it) I realized I didn't have my wallet in my purse, luckily I had some cash to pay. I figured I must have left my wallet at the YMCA when I had worked out that morning so I decided I might as well check while I'm out. Well, as I am driving into the Y's parking lot I hit a puddle (totally unavoidable). Very bad for our car which loses the engine belt anytime water gets up in the engine. I park the car and decide to call home (Ken was possibly getting home early from work). No luck. I don't know anyone else's number and I am not going to walk all the way home with 3 kids in the pouring rain. So I say a prayer and start the ride home. Here is where the fun begins. Caden suddenly decides to get upset and starts crying at the top of his lungs, Kailyn begins her why questions ("Mommy, why isn't the car working?" "Why did we say a prayer?" "Why is it raining?" "Why is the car beeping?"etc) in the mean time the car battery light is on, the power steering is gone and then the car begins to over heat which causes the car to start peeping at me. I decide I don't want to ruin the engine and pullover to begin the trek home. Let me tell you it was a fun walk home. I had to walk over a mile in the rain with 3 wet, cold kids (and I really had to pee). I'm sure I looked like a crazy lady walking in the rain with my three kids (really I wouldn't be doing this by choice). Luckily, the rain did let up about half way into our walk home. We got home cold and wet. It was not a fun day.
What I have taken from this experience...
- Maybe it is time to get a cellphone (that way I would have a list of phone numbers in the phone and a phone to use to call) or keep a list of phone numbers in my purse for emergency.
- Get the car fix (I never think about it until there is a problem and then it is normally a bad time, ie Thanksgiving weekend) or not drive the car when it is raining.
-Get rid of my wallet or just have it super glued to my arm so I won't lose it again.
-Slow kids and having to use the bathroom are not a good mix (although I could have told you that before).
The worst part was that Ken was home but had not heard the phone ring cause he was sleeping (he had just gotten off a 30 hour shift--he tends to sleep through things after those shifts). I am just glad we got home safely, and that car at least functioned enough to get us part of the way.
So that was my little adventure of the week.
Oh, yeah, my wallet was not at the Y after all. I found it later in a bag in the car that I keep diaper and wipes in.
Thanksgiving
I know this post is way over due. Please forgive me. Well, we had our first Thanksgiving here in Toledo and it was wonderful. We ate dinner at the Jeppesen's house (friends from our ward). There were a lot of people there, which I loved. The best part about there being so many people is that I only had to prepare a small part of the feast. Here is a picture of the amazing food that we ate. Yum! Yum!
Another great thing about there being so many people is that the girls were entertained the whole time. Kailyn spent most of her time in the toy room with Rachel Weber. And Jordan spent a lot of her time outside on the trampoline. It was pretty cold out (30 degrees) but Jordan didn't seem to notice, even removing her coat for a while (crazy girl).
It was a fun day, as is evident by the pictures of the car ride home.
The thing I was most thankful for was that Ken didn't get called into work. He did unfortunately, have to go in Saturday and Sunday (leaving right after he gave a talk in sacrament).
Another great thing about there being so many people is that the girls were entertained the whole time. Kailyn spent most of her time in the toy room with Rachel Weber. And Jordan spent a lot of her time outside on the trampoline. It was pretty cold out (30 degrees) but Jordan didn't seem to notice, even removing her coat for a while (crazy girl).
It was a fun day, as is evident by the pictures of the car ride home.
The thing I was most thankful for was that Ken didn't get called into work. He did unfortunately, have to go in Saturday and Sunday (leaving right after he gave a talk in sacrament).
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thankful
So Monday night Jordan gave a great lesson on the pilgrims, Thanksgiving, and being thankful. We then made a turkey thats feathers were made out of the things we are thankful for. I wish the picture turned out better so you could see what the kids wrote/drew.
So here is what we are thankful for....
Jordan is thankful for:
Macaroni and Cheese
Grandma and Grandpa
Mom and Dad
Kailyn is thankful for:
Her brother (which she sounded out and spelled 'bthr', oops she forgot the vowels. Pretty good though)
Her sister (according to her she wrote "I am thankful for my sister, Jordan." She wasn't as close with that one)
Mom
I am thankful for:
Eyes to see the beautiful fall
Laughter
Hugs and Kisses from my kids
Ken is thankful for:
A wonderful wife who makes us dinner and does our laundry and cleans our house and yard and raises our kids and does our shopping and takes care of others' kids and loves me (I swear that is what he wrote I'm not making it up)
3 beautiful children who are learning to obey and do their chores
Post-Call Days and Moonlighting days (I would definitely have to agree)
Final Day
So this post is a little late. But here is the fun we had the final day the Wells were here. The highlight of the day was the fact that Ken got the day off. Hip hooray!!! He was actually suppose to work but things just worked out.
We started out the day by going to a holiday parade in Bowling Green (about 25 min drive from Toledo). It was a little cold but the kids enjoyed it...especially all of the candy they got (just what we need more candy!).
The spot we choose to stand was good/bad. It was were the parade stopped to perform (there was a TV crew recording nearby) so we got to see all the dancers and stuff. Well, it also meant that this is where they had a firing squad and then the cannon. picture below, shot off. It was very loud (my ears were ringing afterwards). The kids didn't appreciate the loud noise that much.
The kids were getting pretty cold and the parade looked like it was still going to be quite awhile so we decided to take off. Jordan and Mimi both crashed on the way home. They of course woke up when we got home but I'm glad they at least got that much of a nap (more than I can say for the other days).
Some other fun things we did was paint our toe nails.
They also color, cut and painted. The kids found some paint brushes and were dying to paint. I told them we were out of paint but they decided that water would suffice. Hey that works for me, a lot less messier.
So I was really impressed with how well all of the kids did. I really thought that by Saturday they would be so sick of each other that it would be total chaos. Although, we definitely had our moments the kids all really seemed to enjoy being together. As proof here are Mimi and Jordan playing that night (yes that is the fabulous $1 toy). Even though they had spent the last 4 days together my girls were still SO excited to see Olivia and Mimi on Sunday, I guess that is a testament that things went pretty well.
We started out the day by going to a holiday parade in Bowling Green (about 25 min drive from Toledo). It was a little cold but the kids enjoyed it...especially all of the candy they got (just what we need more candy!).
The spot we choose to stand was good/bad. It was were the parade stopped to perform (there was a TV crew recording nearby) so we got to see all the dancers and stuff. Well, it also meant that this is where they had a firing squad and then the cannon. picture below, shot off. It was very loud (my ears were ringing afterwards). The kids didn't appreciate the loud noise that much.
The kids were getting pretty cold and the parade looked like it was still going to be quite awhile so we decided to take off. Jordan and Mimi both crashed on the way home. They of course woke up when we got home but I'm glad they at least got that much of a nap (more than I can say for the other days).
Some other fun things we did was paint our toe nails.
They also color, cut and painted. The kids found some paint brushes and were dying to paint. I told them we were out of paint but they decided that water would suffice. Hey that works for me, a lot less messier.
So I was really impressed with how well all of the kids did. I really thought that by Saturday they would be so sick of each other that it would be total chaos. Although, we definitely had our moments the kids all really seemed to enjoy being together. As proof here are Mimi and Jordan playing that night (yes that is the fabulous $1 toy). Even though they had spent the last 4 days together my girls were still SO excited to see Olivia and Mimi on Sunday, I guess that is a testament that things went pretty well.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Day 3
(Warning: As you can probable tell this post has a lot of pictures. Sorry they are not formated better, they are just one long stream.)
Well, the girls had another fun day. We started out the day with Kailyn and Olivia going to preschool. It was technically my day to drive but thank goodness Kenna W offered to drive. Here they are ready to go.
While the 2 older kids were at school the rest of us went to 'Playground World.' It is a store that sells playground equipment and other misc. items. Every Friday from 10-11am they open up their store for kids to play. Here are pictures of the things the kids did.Mimi jumping on the trampoline
On the teeter-tooter.
Jordan playing 'house.'
Caden's favorite thing to do...play basketball. He loves it! He will go and get a ball come to me and then walk towards the hoop. I lift him up, he shoots the ball (they have a couple hoops that are really low), he laughs and smiles, I put him down, he goes and gets the ball....etc.
Jordan and Mimi swinging.
The girls do really well all playing together. Some of the things the girls love to do, play house and make believe. One of the make believe games they were playing today was dentist. Here is Kailyn checking out Jordan's teeth.
They also love to dance. I think Kailyn and Jordan loved having some new dancing partners. They were having so much fun. They were laughing and giggling so much. I had fun watching them.
We also went outside and played for a little bit. The girls had fun in the leaves, but it didn't last long, they all got pretty cold.
Ken got home this afternoon after being on call yesterday (one of his 30 hour shifts). After a nap Ken joined us for a trip to the library. The kids had fun playing with the puppets, watching the fish, putting together puzzles and pushing each other around in a stroller library lends out (we had gotten it for Caden to ride in but he had no desire to stay in it).
We were on our way back to the children's section after a potty break when Mimi stopped and asked for me to take her picture with this star. Pretty cute.
The poor kids were all so tired tonight. Not a single peep after they were in bed.PS Emilee, sorry we keep missing you when you call. Just want you to know your girls are doing great.
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