Priceful Memories

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter: Hunting in the DARK

HAPPY EASTER!!!

This picture was taken a few weeks later after most of the tulips were up - and I LOVE it!

It was pretty cold outside on the day of our Easter Egg Hunt so my aunt decided to do a hunt in the dark! We went to their church, had a little KFC together, hid the eggs in the gym and gave the kids flashlights. It was a blast! They LOVED it. However, it was hard to see them to take pictures of them. My camera did NOT like focusing in the dark!

The Easter bunny was very good to the kids this year: CANDY, an outfit each, sandals for Hawaii (Aiden HATES his thongs - does anyone want some DARLING Reef sandals, toddler 5/6?), books, a little bunny beanie baby, a board game. I didn't do sand toys b/c we have a bunch in our would-be sandbox (I refuse to put sand in it - I fill it with water in the Summer, I know, I'm a mean mom).

I laid out the kids outfits the night before...

SUNDAY MORNING

I got my Easter wish...when I woke up Sunday morning and looked out the window, TWO of my tulips in front had bloomed and my LONE tulip in the back bloomed too. Seriously, it was my little gift. I can't wait for the rest of them to bloom. They are one of my favorite things about this house.

Aiden wasn't as thrilled with the bunny as Kelsey.

Chutes and Ladders!

New sandals for Hawaii!!

Aiden taking his candy and RUNNING!

The kids in their Easter outfits right before church. We were running late and I just had my P&S. They looked SO cute (IMHO) - I'll do a REAL photo shoot once the weather warms up a bit and more of my tulips bloom!

Oma, Opa, Camie, Ryan, Colton, Carter, Spencer & Jackson came over for Easter dinner.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Attempting to Settle - One Year in the SLC

A year ago yesterday the kids and I moved into our house in SLC. Tally was still in Switzerland wrapping things up and luckily the company paid for us to have movers. I remember feeling overwhelmed but excited to figure out where to put all our things and to SEE them again (okay, maybe there were a few things I wished had gotten lost along the way)! We could NEVER fill all the space...or so I thought. At the rate we're going, we'll be full-blown hoarders by 2015.

It's finally time we learn how to be settled. We are SLOWLY figuring it out and you'll know when it finally happens when you see pictures hung on our walls.

The tulips are just about to bloom and things are coming full circle. Our little family is a whole YEAR older, we have a whole year's worth of memories, traditions and pictures in this house. Our routines are in full swing, and we are excited for spring to REALLY spring.

Welcome year TWO in our little brick sugar palace.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Swedes and Cousins

On Friday night, we had the great pleasure of having our Swedish friends, the Malms in town. They were our good friends in Switzerland. Our mutual friends the Tomlinsons also came for dinner and brought the yummiest dessert - Belgium waffles that are to die for. Daniel Malm's dad was just made a church leader - he's in the 2nd Quorom of the 70's. So now his parents live in Salt lake and they got to visit with them and go on some neat church history tours. Eva & Daniel are having a baby girl in a few months (they have 2 boys who are featured on the blog many times during our Swiss days). We are so excited for them.

On Saturday, we got to see baby Jackson for the first time! Tal's sister Camie had Jackson a week ago. I mentioned to Tal that I was going to go down to Springville to see him and he said he wanted to go too. So we waited until Saturday and went down as a family.

Of course Kelsey wanted to hold him and didn't want to let go! She's also wearing her Easter dress. Some battles aren't worth fighting.

I love this one. She's such a little mommy.

Aiden really liked him too and kept trying to touch and kiss his face.

Baby and mommy - we'll do some real pictures next week.

Then we hurried to Capitol Theatre to see Lily's dance performance in "Alice in Wonderland." It was SO fun to watch and Lily did an amazing job! Kels didn't recognize her at first with her make-up on!

Edie came over afterwards and we played dress up. They got to wear make-up and paint their finger nails. They LOVED it!

On Sunday, we received some terrible news about our bishop's daughter. She and her husband were back country skiing when he (Garrett Smith) was buried by an avalanche. They got him out 20 minutes later, revived him, but in the end he passed away. It was a very sad day in our ward. The two had been married only 8 months!

That night, were invited for dinner at the Creamer's house and we had a great time. We're so lucky to live in a great neighborhood with so many wonderful people. Our kids had a blast playing together which meant we stayed talking way too long! It was a late night for the kids, but oh well. Better luck next week.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Family Zoo

My dad came into town Wednesday night for the annual skiing trip/March Madness/guys trip. Tal joined them at my uncle's cabin in Eden on Thursday night. They skied and watched basketball and then came down to our house on Friday night. Meanwhile, my mom flew in on Friday at noon and she helped me run some errands with the kids until Tally and my dad came home. On Saturday, we went to the zoo. It looked like it was going to be warm but it ended up being REALLY cold and I was so glad I grabbed hats and mittens on my way out the door. One kid was there in shorts and a t-shirt!

It was pretty exciting to see chickens, turkeys and peacocks roaming around.

The peacock finally decided to turn around and pose for us. It went to one side of the crowd and then the other, as if it knew exactly what it was doing!

The kids loved these little monkeys who came right up to the glass.

So did my dad after he reading this sign. It says that the male monkey's baldnes is a sign that he is a good father. That made my dad feel a sense of kinship with the Golden Lion Tamarins...he says that must be why he's bald. Now Tally WANTS to be bald! Or not.

Family photo op in front of the elephants. Aiden is the only one looking, though he's not happy about it!

OH! Look at the elephants!

The elephants were pretty entertaining for a long time

Especially 1.5 year old baby Zuri, who can do more tricks than Aiden

Mama doing tricks! They do this while feeding the elephants and checking their feet, teeth, etc.

My kids LOVE the book Good Night Gorilla, but were a bit more intimidated seeing a gorilla up close.

Our family isn't too much different from our primate friends

The kids are almost exactly the same size as a juvenile and infant gorilla!

Aiden is TRYING to see the hawk from under his beanie

Kelsey LOVED the carousel and immediately picked the polar bear.

I got to go too

A heart to heart with the rattlesnake

A BIG iguana

Could ALMOST reach the giraffe to feed him

After 2 hours of freezing our tails off, we decided to leave and get lunch. We stopped at Corner Bakery and got some yummy sandwiches and soup. The kids were so worn out they fell asleep in the car on the short ride home. That night, we watched the Cougs beat Gonzaga and took my dad to the airport. We got Cafe Rio for dinner on our way home. Sunday we went to church and hung out around the house. Monday, Kels went to preschool, my mom and I watched a few old family videos and went to Nordstrom Rack for a bit of shopping. Once Kels got back, we met Tal for lunch at Zupas and ran into Steve Carlson of all people. We went to Pottery Barn kids (b/c my kids love playing there and we were close). We went home for Aiden to take a nap. Allison Cirac came over with Kaitlyn and we had hot chocolate and chatted with my mom. Then it was already time to take her to the airport - so sad! It was really great to see both of them. When my dad was here, he read Kelsey about 10 books. My mom also read to Kelsey and let her sleep in her bed. I'm not sure she got a good night's rest that way! She kept waking up to put the sheets back on Kels. We loved having them here and can't wait until the next time we see them - HAWAII!!!

Kelsey Speaks

April 14: Advertising works, even for kids. Kels just came up to me with my iPhone and the app "Team Umizoomi" ready to purchase. I asked her how she knew about it and she said, "this mom put team umizoomi on for her kids and it teached her kids and he did it all by himself!" I've seen that commercial too, but never realized how much she soaked in! I'm a sucker, I downloaded it.

March 14:

We were having a new babysitter come and Kelsey wanted her to play a game but wasn't sure she'd know how. "What language does she speak?" I said, "English." Kels said, "Oh no!" I said, "Kelsey, did you know that YOU speak English?" She looked surprised, "I do!?"

October 17:

We had our carpet pad replaced today and the carpet guy was using a heavy duty iron that smelled like burning. Kelsey came in and said, "Mom, is that dinner I smell?" Thanks Kels, thanks. Says a lot about my cooking!

October 11:

So I'm on the phone and the Kelsey does soemthing that makes Aiden cry. I tell Kelsey, PLEASE make it better, say your sorry and make him stop crying. She starts singing, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine..." I started cracking up. I think she's a little too obsessed with Tangled.

February 19:
Family prayer
"Thank you that Aiden is incredible and that he could watch Incredibles with me. And thank you that mommy can change things."

February 9:
Family prayer tonight by Kelsey: "Thank you that mommy could be a good listener (?), thank you that mommy can be so stretchable...in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." I laughed and asked her what stretchable meant. She said it meant that I can read Aiden books and change his diaper, put us to bed, play with us, and wiggle us and throw us, stuff like that. Does that mean she's grateful I can do mommy stuff?

January 5:
While at my mom's house in California, she said, "I want to stay at Mimi's forever!" I asked, what about your toys and our home in Utah?" She replied, "I like Mimi's toys downstairs." "But what about your friends back in Utah?" She replied, "they can get in the car and drive really, really far and come see me!" She has it all figured out.

January 4, 2011:
Tally read aloud a sign as we passed a church, "Jesus is making a list." She said, "No, Santa is making a list, and checking it twice."

December 20:
She was sad after I scolded her for taking her brother's food. I asked her why she was sad and she said, "My life hurts right now."
"With Christmas just a few days away?" I said. She perked right up.

December 13:
Tal was going to bed early and we all jumped in bed to give him hugs and say goodnight. Kelsey said, "I like it when our whole family is in bed together. Dad, you're hot. But I like it hot. You're the hottest."

December 9:
I had made a big effort to go to the gym and literally had 30 minutes to work out and then be back before everyone came over for play group. I get Kelsey out of the car and walk around to get Aiden. Kelsey says, "Mom, you can't wear THOSE shoes to the gym!" I looked down and sure enough, I was wearing my Crocs. I'm so glad she saw it before I'd gotten Aiden out of his car seat, gotten the kids checked into day care, and stepped on the treadmill. 10 points for trying, right?

October 22:
"Mom, I don't wanna have a baby in my tummy. I don't want to have a baby doggy come out."

October 3:
"Mom, you shut up and I'll shut down." (playing around with the word shut up to get a reaction from me).

September 30:
"Aiden, you have pretty eyebrows."
August 15
While sitting in our master bathroom, Kelsey said, "You guys have two sinks."
Us: "Yes, we have two sinks, isn't that nice?"
K: "No, I don't like it, you need to take one out. I need more room to sit."
Tal: "When you get married, you can have one sink in your bathroom."
K: "When I marry Aiden?" (who she said she wanted to marry when we were talking about weddings the day before).
Tal: "You can't marry Aiden, he's your brother."
K: "I want to marry DADDY!"
Jess: "He's mine, darlin. Daddy is already married to mommy."
K: "My cousins?"
Us: (Laugh, gave up...we'll have this talk one day when she's ready) She is constantly playing with my bouquet of silk flowers in my room and saying, "I'm getting married mom." I guess she picked that up on her own...I don't think I've ever talked about the flowers with her!

August 11:
As I'm putting her to bed I said, "Kelsey, your little body is so tired because you didn't take a nap today and little bodies need naps."
"And sometimes big bodies do too?" she said.
After the gym today, we caught her doing her hand clasp thing. Tally said, "Don't do that, you're doing it so hard you're getting sweaty."
She replied, firmly, "Well I just back from the gym." (which is true, but she was at the play place at the gym)
May
(While shutting herself inside the kitchen pantry)
K: Alright Aiden, I'm going bye-bye to Lily's house, 2 seconds, and when I come back, I'm going to Zoe's house. Okay? Okay, see ya later.
(about 2 seconds later, she opens the door)
K: Oh, hi Zoe's house!
She has been cracking me up (mixed with a little worry) with her imagination. If you ask her what she did today, she'll say she played with her cousins. We don't play with cousins everyday, but she does, in her imaginary play. She'll tell Libby and Zoe to come downstairs to the playroom or come outside with her. Then I'll hear her telling one of them to go hide or that this doll is for them or that they are nice. She will also throw in Lily and Edie, and an occasional Colton, Carter or Spencer. But that's more rare. Maybe because she sees them the most? Or because they are boys.
She also loves to pretend she's mommy and I'm Kelsey. She'll ask me, "is your pee-pees coming, mommy?" (No, is yours?) She'll also say, "you want a treat Kelsey? Okay. " Or my favorite, "You go in time out mommy, no-no." When I ask what I did wrong she'll say it's because I hit Aiden. Shocking.
She is also such a good sister. When I was reading my friend Mary's blog today who just lost her baby girl and bawling, she came over and gave me a big hug and said, "it's okay mommy." Then, because I wasn't paying attention to the fact that Aiden had run out of Cheerios and was "asking" for more, she fed him her Cheerios. Then she came up to me and said, "mommy, Aiden wants more Cheerios." She's a great little mommy.
5/?- (while Tal is at work)
K: Mom, I want to tell dad I had fun at the doctor today - daddy, I had fun at the doctor today - oh you did - yeah, dr. M was really nice. Yeah? Yeah.
She has little conversations with herself as she imagines the conversation she had or will have. These crack me up. She does it all the time, I just need to remember to write them down.
5/29 -
K: Mom, don't let Swiper come swipe our new house, okay?
M: Okay, I will. I'll tell him, Swiper no swiping, okay?
K: Yeah!
She's on this kick where she says "everytime" or "everday" with almost every sentence. I guess she's learning how to tell time/days?
She also sings all the time, usually "I am a Child of God." How can I ever get mad at that sweet little thing?
February 1, 2010
J: "Kelsey, get up on the stool so we can wash your hands."
K: "Mommy, you need to pull my pants up first."
J: "Okay, sorry"
K: "You don't need to say sorry mami."
She's been saying sorry to EVERYTHING and so I think she's heard that a lot lately from me. It's funny to hear your own words come from the mouths of your little ones.
January 28, 2010
K: "I want to be baptized."
J: "You do? How old are you?"
K: "TWO! Aiden wants to be baptized too."
J: "You have to be 8 to be baptized."
K: "Oh, I EIGHT!"
A little boy was baptized last Sunday and she started noticing it more in her books about Jesus and we talked about it a few times this week. But the subject hadn't come up this day - she said it out of the blue.