lynnie's first day...

i did not journal about how i cried while driving away after i dropped her off...
(sniff-sniff...)

nighttime...

this is how i know when peyton is sleepy...
hand down the front of my shirt and time to snuggle, chest to chest...
too bad she's not in the mood now... or for the past hour or two... i want to shower and go to bed!!!
i had one of "those" days. i told my s.i.l i would help her, but was not in the mood when it came down to it. i wanted to stay at home for many reasons. peyton doesn't nap well in her car seat... when i am gone all day long, the evening is crazy, goes by too fast... the girls don't always get along with her boys... they are away from their stuff and then i have to deal with their whining and that they want to go home... i don't mind helping others, when they are willing to help themselves, and i hoped she had made some progress without me...
i knew, the moment i complained to myself about it, that i would regret it.
and sure enough, i did.
she needed more than just some help painting, she needed someone to talk to. her chrones has been acting up, she is hormonal, and i would hate living married life if my husband worked graveyards and i had his help for maybe two hours out of the day...
so now i feel bad for having a bad attitude.
it was red paint, and three coats later, we are finished!
mom did help, she took peyton to her house to nap, and brought her back over when she was hungry, took her back to sleep, etc....
i did simplify my day by making dinner ahead and setting the oven to a delayed time bake, so din-din was ready when we got home.
so i have a lot to be thankful for:
- red paint is done.
- i enjoyed my evening.
- mom helped me.
- my life could be more challenging.

Lynnie-Lou...

I was tagged by Jaclyn...
5 things to know about Lynn Marie Pitcher:
#1- She is my first, oldest, sassiest, sweetest little girl... born on November 24th, 2002, weighing in at 7 pounds 12 ounces... I loved being pregnant with her! Until she found my ribs and wouldn't leave them alone... just kidding, I enjoyed that too, and missed it once she was here... She was born with dark dark hair and looked just like her dad, and her sisters arrived just the same way...
#2- She was the chubbiest (i.e cutest) baby ever! Peyton is trying to beat her in the chubby department... now at 5, she is so stinkin' skinny! We love Old Navy shorts and jeans with their adjustable waists! If there isn't an adjustable waist, safety pins become our best friends. Just another way she is just like her dad... and she wants to wear skirts all the time that is the skinny part, not the skirt part;).
#3- If she is given the opportunity to choose a treat, she'll first ask if it is a "prize treat", like lipstick. If not, just a "treat-treat", she'll go for gum, lots of gum. She loves bubble tape.
#4- She loves her family, all of them... sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents... she is very sweet. Always coloring pictures or telling me to buy their favorite treats when she sees them at the store. She prays for them all the time... she is so kind to Ashley and very generous when she is scared at night. She has been sleeping with Ash in her bed because Ashley has been nervous. Lynn tells her when she acts up, "I'll give you five chances, and then I will go back to my own bed." She loves to help me with Peyton and is always making-up songs to sing to her to make her happy.
#5- She loves her long hair... will not let us cut it! We did once, because she started to cut it herself, needless to say, she hasn't played with scissors like that ever again...
I tag:
- Alana K.
- Ella A.
- Alec G.
- Tyler J.
- Brookie L.

it MUST be spring now...

i noticed this in my yard last night...
lynn sniffed a...
...dandelion!
she also had a field trip today... it sucks that my schedule (or shall i say peyton's schedule), makes it kind of impossible for me to go... they went to the nursery and learned about all different kinds of plants and trees, how to plant them and how they grow. she got her own little flower to plant at home.

the rest...

so here's the rest of my day (i am typing this one handed because the other one is busy holding my 12+ pound night owl...):
6 am... peyton is still asleep, go for a run. good timing when i get home, peyton had just woken up! love it when things work out so well.
did laundry most of the day.
waited on pins and needles to hear if mikell made cheerleader...
and she did (i knew she would...)
we went and ate at chili's for dinner with most of the fam. (love you katie!)
we sat at what mer calls "the kids table". we missed out on most of the adult conversation. mer was bummed cause he was looking forward to having austio there to yuk it up with him again... those kids are funny though, that sophie... hallie said, as if we didn't know, "i have a weirdo for a sister." sophie was especially giggly and silly.
ash jumped on my back when we were getting out of the car (lynn and mer drove in the truck after we picked it up from the warehouse...) and had me carry her in. i told her i had a lot of other stuff to carry in too, i.e. my purse, the box of leftovers, peyton... she said, "you can do it mom! you are tuff!" i did it, although i nearly passed-out from her choking me... i don't know which was more exerting, running, or that feat!
peyton is pooping on me now, i guess that's why she didn't want to sleep...

magnetic monday

a craft i have been enjoying lately...
i have many magnets, but i found these (1 3/4 inch) at super wal-mart in the office supplies, right next to the post-it note assortment. i found the giant page pebbles at joann's, they come in a pack with two different sizes. i printed the circle outline and names off on some of my favorite "my mind's eye" papers. i punched them out with a large circle punch and then stuck the page pebbles on top. after i did that, i held them face down and filed off the little edge of the paper that was hanging off the pebble. then i glued them on the magnets with my favorite craft glue: e 6000 (robert's). i've done smaller ones too, with seasonal rub ons...
the girls know which one is for their art work... they each have their own color.
fun and useful too!

my sandman...

need to get your baby to sleep?
usually the trick is to vacuum, but my chunker of a little girl makes my arm get tired faster than it used to... so as i needed to spruce-up the do (i was vacuuming...) the blow dryer/bouncy seat combo knocked her out... well at least until ash came running inside screaming... bugs, again.
more about the day to come later... there's still more to happen!

let me explain...

so let me try to explain why there is a new appendage to my original blog...
don't you hate when you think you have that awesome recipe, or that your mom has it, only to discover that neither one of you have it, or your mom has it memorized but with her "mom measurements"...
example of "mom measurements":
me: "mom, what's your recipe for cheesy potatoes?"
mom: "oh, enough simply shreds to fill your pan, cheese, maybe two bags, some cream of chicken soup, some cream of mushroom soup, some cream of celery soup, a spoonful of mayo..."
me: "what kind of spoon?"
mom: "you know, a wooden one."
me: "your wooden one or mine? is it about a cup of mayo???"
mom: "(laughing) oh, i don't know, i used to have it written down, but i just make it so much that i just know it..."
see...
or like that crochet pattern i thought my grandma might still have, somewhere...
or that craft pattern i thought i had...
if i document these things, i'll always have the recipe, the pattern, the directions... and if you like the end result, you'll have them too! and so will my girls :)
so this blog's purpose is not cause i wanna be braggy...

and here's a page for peyton's book, minus the pic...
my inspiration:
thanks darlene for the darling outfits!

girls, girls, girls...

ashley was trying to cheer-up peyton with a story this morning...
funny thing is that lynn used to do the same thing with ash!
funny goings-on of the day:
lynn's skirt kept falling down, we needed a quick repair before church.
ash replies, "i know", when you tell her that she is cute.
merrill got peyton to laugh for the first time! we keep trying everything we can to get her to do it again... she must think we are such dorks...
within two minutes, ashley has cried about:
a shirt
a skirt
a drawer
and cake...
oh boy... can't wait till puberty sets in!
oh, and don't let me forget to not leave my church bag down again so the girls can steal my pack of orbit gum and eat the entire thing...
*a new page is here...

first post... woo-hoo!!!

so here is the beginning of the separation...
crafts, projects, accomplishments here...
family goings-on there...
this set of three all began when i wanted a new pincushion. it snowballed into a grocery sack holder (long skinny tubey-thing...), and covering a boring old bum wipe container. i cannot scrapbook or paint without bum wipes...
jaclyn made me a travel sized wipe container when i had peyton, so there was my idea. i "googled" to find inspiration for the larger size and found misspriss... cute stuff...
fabric from gardiner's sew and save
pattern for the pincushion:
(shrink or enlarge for ideal size and cut six. two circles close top and bottom.)

new look...

i've wanted to do this for so long!!! i finally had the guts, although i have to admit i almost chickened-out more than once before hitting that "confirm" button. i had a few contenders for possible templates... pyzam is awesome! i do get to re-do my sidebar (i.e. pics and slide shows, countdowns, etc.) but those were becoming old, so i guess a little house-cleaning is in order...
don't be offended if your name is missing from the "awesome moms" link list... i still have some remaining "placenta effect" going on... i don't know if i have everyone!
so i forgot three major fun things from wednesday and thursday...
wednesday, brooke and i dragged our bums out of bed at 6 am to try an early morning run... we ran... i don't even know how much, a lot. friday's run did not happen, peyton was eating. i want to get into my track days shape, when i was more flexible and had some endurance...
that night, i invited myself (and my entourage) to tag along with the other pitcher entourage, and went to the "texas roadhouse" for the first time... (us the first time, not them.) can i say that i have been dreaming about cherry limeade and pulled pork ever since? i let myself have the best of everything... loaded baked potato, steak, bbq chicken, that cherry limeade... yum! and even apple pie, not just any apple pie, mind you. apple pie loaded with carmel and vanilla ice cream... i did run a lot that morning.... i deserved it!
thursday, kaitlyn babysat, or "kidsat", as lynn would say... while i had my meeting. we don't have babysitters too often, we don't want to wear out our welcome with our favs (love you katie/kelly!). so i put off telling the girls until the night before (we go through the run-down of the next day before family prayer...) and the girls couldn't wait, they were so excited... "when is katie coming? when will katie get here?" all before breakfast.... they are still going on about how much fun they had...
peyton is rolling from her tummy to her back, so tummy time is growing shorter, as she dictates when she is off her tummy now!
lynn and ash went on a delivery with mer today. they went to layton to deliver a tumble-track. they had so much fun. he took them to arctic circle after for ice cream. lynn was saying something very intelligent and mer called her a "smarty-pants". she quickly corrected him:
"i am a "smarty-skirt", dad. i am a girl. boys are "smarty-pants", boys wear pants.
ash is feeling the smartness too.
they drove past a cemetery and ash asked if that was where grandma wallace was buried. mer answered: "no, grandma is in roy."
ash: "no dad, grandma is in heaven."
look soon for a second blog by me... dedicated to hobbies... those templates were too cute! it got my mind a-thinkin'...

a day at a time...

run down of what's been going on here...
saturday:
had on my calendar to clean the church, but someone else's schedule supersedes mine (love you mer!), so in the hectic life we live, i innocently forgot... ash broke the finger off of my Christus statue, she ran into it. her head got the worst of it... anyone know of some awesome glue?
sunday:
another awesome day (sike). our family's schedule did not match up to what we were supposed to do that day, stake conference... it was 15 past noon, we were supposed to be at the tabernacle at noon, and I still wasn't ready... wet hair, no make-up... lynn and peyton were the only decent ones in the house... we missed it.
monday:
kev and randee found out they are preggers!!! they have been trying for almost 2 years now.
tuesday:
went over to grandpa's while mom and peg cleaned out some rooms. got some fun stuff...
wednesday:
tried to play catch up...
thursday:
celebrated brookers b-day...
so, here's been the reason why my week hasn't been too crazy:
chrisite's kittens...
one needs to be bottle fed, he can't nurse. there is nothing funner than bottle feeding a little kitten!

my eye swelled up like crazy thought the other night, that helps me to remember why we do not have any kittens... well that and punk kitty kind of ruined it for us...
the girls were having so much fun with the balloons from the birthday celebration... lynn decided to let ashley's go OUTSIDE!!! she wanted clint to see it. so nice that she is willing to sacrifice someone else's. even nicer that ash doesn't go ballistic...
tonight after dinner and before checking on kitty, we went to see the progress on the hotel...
this is where the entrance will be...


lynn and i both got stuck in the mud :) guess who didn't cry about it...


funny right now to me is that i am watching "the goonies" with the girls, late friday night kicks and giggles... what's funnier than that is that josh brolin is in it... i have watched him in "into the blue", "no country for old men", and "american gangster" just during the past two weeks... talk about growing up!

flashback friday...

jacks posted a funny story about sophs and it got me thinking about how she and lynn would play together...
this is when they finally got to the same level, were able to communicate with each other and really play together. they were so funny...
look for more later... life has been, well, i have taken it as it comes. if it is on my calendar, it is really optional most of the time. spring is officially here, whether the weather knows it or not. mer has been so busy at work, i ma not complaining, mind you, having work is good... but when his life and work is so busy, i am the single one-handed mother, and some things just don't get done... i did have to go to my meeting last night, and he had a concert he was going to go to, but didn't. he was at work until after 9... 9 am to 9 pm... what a guy! he has such a strong work ethic. i am so thankful that he is proud of what will one day be his, and that he takes such good care of our little family...
i am hoping to have a good friday.

happy birthday brookers!!!

we had a fun lunch here today! just us girls! love you guys....
so i know that i haven't posted... i almost forgot how!
i've been busy with so much, but not much to show for it...
here's one project...

the girl loves her nighttime baths! she talks to me sooo much and she is still on the verge of a giggle... trying to find what will get it to come out...

here's my pincushion... i changed the fabric... the paisley was much cuter than the polka dot. i finished the grocery sack holder today. show that one later!

these are things from grandma...

knitting needles, crochet hooks, an old canning jar, her quilting kit complete with band aids, her thimbles, and needles :), the little pillow is made from my great-great grandma's wedding dress, and i got one of her watches... all priceless!
i had a leadership meeting tonight that was really nice. hope to squeeze in an early morning run tomorrow, i am trying to be good ;) mer has been so busy... but i am not complaining... it is a blessing to have business!

Can anything else break?!?

Yesterday was... interesting... I had the impulse to go to the mall... my crafts are not done.

I did buy some things I have been needing for a while now. New under-tanks, some new tops, (I don't have enough for warm weather that cover these nursing G's and that are nice enough for church...) and some tees for the girls to help me finish a project that I started a month ago, and the most exciting: NEW SHOES!

My old Candies... I had to throw them out. They don't look good enough for Sundays and they are falling apart... I found these a couple of weeks ago, couldn't stop thinking about them, went to get them... 40% off!!! Glad I waited!

Peyton did two major barfs yesterday... that Rota-Teq is vicious... hopefully it will all be worth it in the end... one of those barfs was in American Eagle. I am so glad I am prepared with a fully stocked diaper bag... new outfit, clean blanket, etc... But those barfs = laundry. When I got home, the washing machine wouldn't work. Not good. I troubleshot it, nothing helped. It wouldn't fill, well at least for a new cycle. It would fill just fine if I started it mid cycle. Weird.

Got dinner done, would worry about the washer later. Brooke called, and then my cell phone rang, it was Mer. He was wondering why we had a busy signal on the land-line if we have call waiting... another thing broken??? I try to call on my cell and I hear the call-waiting beep. Brooke figures it out, they must have called at the exact same time...

Eat dindin, feed kitty, kinda, he really wasn't into eating when I tried. Come home, call dad to have him troubleshoot it before I call GE for another service call... he has me try clicking the start knob in and out a bunch of times fast. It worked!!! It is apparently a connection problem.

But then FireFox is being weird... fix the washer and now the computer is fussy, and so was Peyton... those shots. That's why no post last night!!! But I did squeeze in a Root Beer Float!

Here I am today, trying to play catch up for everything I want to do and have to do... hopefully I can post some finished crafts and a newly cleaned and organized craft room by the end of the day! Peyton is sleeping so why shouldn't I be able to? And the girls are playing outside... love the slightly warmer weather...

potential and the "round-up"

What do all of these things have in common? What will they have in common? Stay tuned to find out! Hopefully I'll get them completed tomorrow, three projects....

Lynn and I went to the Kindergarten "Round-Up" today. It was quite exciting. We have some preparation to do... I get to go shopping for school supplies! I love that isle...
Not much else is going on.
We checked on Christie's kitties... Her mama cat had 5 little kittens... they are so dang cute! Their little cries make me want one, until I think of how our punk kitty would scratch our couches and claw my curtains... I am glad he ran away... feel the love? Maybe these kitties will be more homey and lovey cause their mama loves them... our kitten was from a ferrel mama... I think.
But then there's poop to deal with too... bleh!

3 shots + 2 bandaids = 1 unhappy girl...

Yeah, I never was one for math... but that's how it adds up!
Peyton had her 2 month check-up and immunizations yesterday...
A pic from before:
and after...
She had the Rhototec immunization too. What with Lynn taking her trips out of our nest and exposing us more and more to the outside world, we thought we ought to. It does save us a two week hospital stay if she were to get the Rhotovirus. Nasty!
The good Doc. (although Mer doesn't like him...) was surprised at her strength. She holds her head and torso up really well. He commented that most babies aren't that strong till they are 4 or 5 months old. Everything else was right on!
11 pounds 14 ounces
23 inches long now
Now if we could only get her to want a bink instead of me!
She had a rough day yesterday, even before the appointment. She wouldn't take a good nap. She seriously slept a total of maybe an hour yesterday! Forget the idea of a nap after the appointment unless I was constantly holding her... I got her to sleep around 11 and then she woke up a little after midnight. We were snuggling and so comfy, she was nursing and sleeping, then around 3:30 am (that has always been "our time" even before she was born...) she was grunting, fussing a little. She was warm so I took her temp., 102.5... I gave her meds and we went downstairs to snuggle more, I needed some TV to get me out again. To my pleasure, "Yentl" was in the free movie section. I love the music, mom used to listen to it when I was little.
Now Pey sleeps... going since nearly 10 now...
I am thankful to a mother-in-law who brought Lynn home from pre-school so I wouldn't have to disturb Peyton's wonderful nap... thanks Darlene!
The weather was so nice yesterday... our house got to 72... we walked to check on the Kitties... no kittens...
And now there are flurries! Weird...

It's OVER!!!

My most dreaded day is finally over and done!
Peyton didn't get in very solid naps, never more than one hour at a time... but she didn't want to eat when I couldn't give it to her! That was my main worry.
Lynn came home from church, found a good Shel Silverstein read, kicked-back and relaxed.
She is getting so big...
Today, while we were making some M&M cookie bars, we listened to the Eagles. The Christmas song they sing came on, and Mer said "Lynn, you should recognize this song... Where's it from?"
Then Lynn said something that sounded too mature for my little five year old... "I'm not familiar with it..." Where did she get that? I only wish that you could have seen the look on her face when she said it... that kid...
Went out to mom and dad's for a visit. Got to see Grandpa too. He was in heaven holding Peyton. Since mom took him to the Doc. and they cleaned-out his ears, he can hear much better. He was so cute!
He didn't want to leave, and left at the last possible minute, like when it was getting dark. Mom says she thinks he waits until he thinks it's late enough for him to go to bed so he won't have to be alone and awake for too long.
Mom got to talk to me a little more about the little things that have been happening. One of the sweetest things that I heard her tell me, was when the mortuary came to get Grandma after she passed. The guys asked Grandpa how long they had been married, he answered, "67 years, and we were just getting started."
It breaks my heart to think of him being all alone now. I just pray that he won't be so lonely.

I really did have plans today...

Yesterday, after I posted, I found out that s.i.l., Kaitlyn made Lakette! Congratulations Katie!!!!
Next week, Mikell tries out for Cheerleader... Good Luck Kitty-Cat!!!
So today... I really did have plans, but sometimes things just don't go as planned. I had errands to run, a baptism to get ready for, a sharing time to prepare, and an meeting to gather information for, the meeting is tomorrow... and now I just realized that I forgot to call Jen...
So, I got a shower, to everyone else's pleasure so I wouldn't smell :)... I got to the baptism. I got some laundry done. Only one errand run. Checked on a friend's cats (they are great by the way...). My sharing time is in my head, I have to make sure that I have everything ready for it. The info... I'll do that too.
Lynn almost fell off the bed today. Fell off with excitement, that is.
Every day we have to do the daily run-down, the events that are to take place that day. I told the girls that dad was going to take them down to the store to play while I went to the baptism. Pey got to hang out with me... Lynn complained that that would be "weeks away", what would they do until then?
Me- "I thought you guys could get ready and go play outside, you know, in your playhouse, jump on the trampoline..."
Lynn- "But there is snow on the ground out there. We can't play."
Me- "The snow is all gone."
Lynn- An excited look on her face which quickly vanishes, "Then it will be too cold."
Me- "Nope... It's supposed to be really warm today. If you want a jacket..."
Lynn- Excited look reappears, she almost falls backwards off the bed, until she catches the covers.
Let's just say she was excited.
I made them so me little lunches in lunch sacks to have a picnic outside. It was a good day.
Ash is still so concerned about Grandma. She thinks that some one will take her. We are going to go and check on her tomorrow, and Grandpa too.
Mom asked me what sentimental thing I would like to have of Grandma's... all I could think of was a crochet hook, after all, that is how I learned! She said there were plenty of those and some knitting needles. I will gladly take a pair of those too. She asked if there was anything else that I could think of. Right off the top of my head, nothing. Except for the bread box... but that is really Grandpa's too. I told her. She said that it just sits in the sewing room, Grandpa wouldn't mind if I had it. I am so excited! That's where they used to keep candy for us grand kids, instead of bread. One of those memories...
Now I get to go and get all of that stuff ready... I am not looking forward to tomorrow... My first Sunday doing sharing time since I've had Peyton. I also have a correlation meeting, need to come home and feed the fam, finish getting them ready, get to church early, set-up sharing time, and make sure, somehow, that Peyton will be settled until I have a break when I can actually nurse her... and Christie is gone. I shouldn't feel this way about Sunday, stress is no good. The only positive so far, is that it is Fast Sunday... well, and Lake Powell is on for September!!! WooHoo!

Flashback Friday...

I found this page while searching for pics of Grandma... I must have done it in Junior High... pretty corny, eh?
We would go (still do...) camping every year to our Stake Camp. We always looked forward to our trip. All the traditional campfire fare, Wranglers, marshmallows, tin foil dinners, dutch oven cooking, especially Coke chicken and Sprite potatoes... yummm... That was one of the only times we ever got to have boxed cereal, we still have that big cooked-over-the-campfire breakfast too... Wheat Thins and Easy Cheese were another camping staple.
One year, after the little grocery store opened near the dam we went back and forth so much, (when there is convenience, it is amazing what you think you need...) we would get pop and more cereal. Dad woke up one morning, apparently unaware of how many times we'd gone back and bought more cereal, and said that the cereal must be having sex in the night because it was multiplying in the cupboards... hahaha... oh, dad!
So here's my fam on this ghetto page... Dad, a.k.a, "Mulitiman", at the campfire ("Mulitiman" because he knows how to do EVERYTHING...), Kevin and me together... I was a little tom-boy... still kinda am I guess... Ken in the backwards hat probably telling me not to take a pic of him... Mom sitting... I think we were going to the dam that day... and Joe in the stripes, probably the ONLY pic I have of him NOT giving me "the bird"... Oh how I have advanced in my scrapping skills! And product has come a long way too...
I am so thankful for such good, caring friends...
Last week, I got a surprise in my door... thanks Brooke... There is a poem at the bottom:
"This is a very special gift
That you can never see.
The reason it's so special is
It's just for you from me.
Whenever you are lonely
Or even feeling blue,
You only have to hold this gift
And know I think of you.
You never can unwrap it.
Please keep the ribbon tied.
Just hold the box close to your heart
It's filled with love inside."
And I came home yesterday to find this card from Ally in Georgia...
I am so thankful for people who care about me and let me know! I have gotten so many nice phone calls and comments left too... Thanks Everybody!!!
Grandpa is so sad though... I pray for him every night.
A funny from our drive home yesterday... we helped Promise get the rest of the tan paint up so her dad can hang cabinets today... We are on I-84 and Ash is kind of paniky...
Ash- "Mom, dribe baster!" (that is "drive faster", in Ash speak...)
Me- "What's the matter? Do you have to go potty?"
Ash- "No... I have to scratch something."
Me- "Do you need to scratch your butt, your elbow?" Teasing her...
Ash- "No, I need to scratch a part of my ASS..."
I was laughing so hard, inside of course but my face was showing it, that I had to chill out before I could tell her that is a bad word... if you could only hear how she says it... you'd know why I laugh...
Both of those days coming home from Roy, where it had only rained, I found SNOW on my grass... Where is Spring?!?
And now, we relish the first day we've had to just be home this week... Aaahhhhhh....

an old friend...

I found an old friend last night when I was packing my things back into my cedar chest... isn't he cute?! I love Elvis!!! I always have. I think that I turned Lynn into an Elvis junkie too... You might be shocked at all of the Elvis stuff I have... his hips go back and forth with every tick and tock...
We went and helped Promise paint her very bare and stripped kitchen. Her dad is giving her and Ken a new custom kitchen, so she gets to paint in colors that will compliment the new cabintery. That is her dad's profession. What a lucky girl! We got priming done... more work for tomorrow! James won't complain, he loves us, especially Peyton. He cried when we left!
I've been watching "Mythbusters" with Mer. It sucks that his theories always pan out... I was never any good at science...
It did get Peyton to sleep. She has had this "keep mom up while I fuss till 1 am" thing going on the past few nights... it sucks that she doesn't like binkys... I've bought three different kinds... I just don't want her to find her thumb... I was a thumb-sucker... can anyone say, "orthodontist"? Yes, I should have seen one. As soon as I heard "headgear", I said, no thanks...
Ashley's been on a funny kick. Besides thinking that someone came and took Grandma, which Grandpa got a kick out of... she has also had these few funnies:
Referring to her new haircut: "Mom, I lub my new hair that we bought at the store..."
After eating an apple and seeing the seeds: "Mom, apples have apple peanuts in them..."
Remember that Ash cannot say "f", "p", or "v"... they watch PBS kids, with a show called, "Fetch with Ruff Ruffman"... she came to me when it started: "Mom! BETCH is on!" Now what do you think that sounded like to me?

P.S. I got tagged too... sorry Jacks, almost forgot!

Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog
5. Tag 5 people

Hmmm... nearest book...
Closet at my left...
"The Simpson's"...
"Bart goes to the Kwik-E-Mart to buy ice for Homer's injuries."

- Brooke, Em, Christie, Ally :), &.... Ashley.

a celebration

grandma with all my girls...
the last couple of days have been difficult, but happy too. and yesterday was grandma's viewing. i got to see a lot of people and relatives that i haven't seen for a while. it was amazing to have all of mom's brothers and sisters there. not all cousins... joan and lerry, who have been feuding for years, were actually in the same room! i don't know if they even spoke. it's so sad that people can't put the past, past offenses there, in the past... brodie put together a dvd of all our pics of grandma, i can't wait to get a copy! it was so nice. the funeral was so good. all of the great-grandkids sang, "i am a child of God". i had to go up there with ash, she was nervous. brandy read a poem that she wrote about our childhood with grandma. a flood of memories came rushing at me. "the blue" room that we were sure was haunted. we did not want to sleep in there! grandma and her "tab" drinking habit... rick spoke of his memories. he also spoke of how important it is to grandma that all of her posterity have testimonies, and have the blessings of the temple. he got quite emotional as he told us that it is our responsibility to get one another "home". that was grandma's legacy to us. she did so much family history work. she did just as much temple work. mom spoke too. i love her! she isn't afraid to get into her scriptures even though there were others there who probably didn't want to hear what they used to know and understand. that was the sad part about today, how many were grieving... they have forgotten what they have been taught. that's why i am so thankful for these opportunities to teach the girls, to bear my testimony to them. the past couple of weeks and just having had conference weekend has been awesome. i am thankful to be a mother and to have the knowledge to teach my kids. dad gave the dedicatory prayer at the graveside... and to think that when mom dear-johned her missionary to marry dad, grandma told her dad was going to take her "to hell in a hand basket"... and here he is. a worthy member of the church, blessing her grave with the power of the priesthood! we got to sit with grandpa at the luncheon afterward. ash was so cute winking at him and giving him her thumbs up. we'll have to make it a more regular thing to visit him. i fell sad thinking of him all alone in that house. loneliness... bryson's wife sang, "oh my father", everything she sings is beautiful! she and bry sang, "let me call you sweetheart", friday before grandma passed. mom veiled grandma before they closed the casket. she said that she felt so blessed, she didn't understand why, out of the seven kids, four of which daughters, the funeral director handed it to her and asked her if she would like to do it. what a bittersweet moment. it was harder watching grandpa say goodbye... the girls wanted to go see her grave before we made the drive home, so we stopped. i had explained to them at the graveside earlier, about the vault and how they would lower her casket into the ground, so ash must have forgotten... when we got there, grandma's casket was gone, they had buried her, but ash thought some one took her! she was so worried. i had to re-explain... then she wanted me to lift up the sod so ash could see her, what a little literal mind she has! when all is said and done, the girls and i each got a flower from her spray that i will press, mom got her engagement ring, i will get a pair of earrings, and that book i have... it was hers from when she was young, still "Maxine Gunnell", her name in her own hand, the book printed in 1933... i didn't realize it was that old... and memories... what a celebration of her life!

weekend in pics...

we've had an interesting weekend... conference and all... we have also had "freddy the frog" in our midst.
saturday, the guys had priesthood meeting... us girls went out, after lynn ran into the bathroom door, literally... you can see the bruise on her cheek.after eating at sandy's, we took off to the mall. i knew i wanted to cut ashley's hair, well, ash really wanted to...but brooke and i ended up cutting ours too...mikell handled all four kids at one point... what a champ! i hope that our prize was enough for her labor!
we found these crocs for pey... couln't pass them up!here it is all styled...mer likes us both :)...
silly pics...
i hunted through my cedar chest to find stuff grandma made me for the display for the viewing...dolls she made for me... i also found a doll blanket she made for my cabbage patch doll, a t-shirt from one of our family reunions when i was little, and some books that she gave me, old books...
i found other things too!
remember these guys?
my corsage from joe &jackie's wedding...
august 1998 calendar... the wedding day is crossed-out... hmmmm...
last but not least... here's why we don't have boys... i jinxed us. i bought these before we even got pregnant with lynn...