Naptime?

So I put the girls down for a nap, in their own rooms, in their own beds. Millie was quiet, Rachel was crying. So I went into the computer room to, you know, work on the computer. After a short while, (20 min.) it was quiet. Ahhh, sweet relief. Then, a short while after that, (20 more min) I heard giggling, laughing and bouncy, mattress noises. Not the typical nap-time noises I'm used to hearing. I made my way to Rachel's room and found this...

Needless to say, neither girl had a nap that day and it was an excruciatingly long afternoon until they both basically put themselves to bed at 6:45ish that evening. Phew!

Birthday girl

Happy Birthday Rachel!!!

2 years old!!!

To celebrate, we had a nummy dinner and then we gathered around the tele.

and watched Rachel's birthday year-in-review video.

Then Rachel opened her present from Grandma and Grandpa. A baby and stroller. This baby and stroller then had to be no less than finger's reach from her for the rest of the evening. In the next video, you will notice that the stroller had its own chair at the table because leaving it on the floor was too far away, not an option.

Some of my favorite things about this video:

*Rachel blows out the candles at the beginning of the song, then tries to blow them out again at the end.

* Rachel joins in at the end of the cheer.

* Camille plugging her ears during the singing.

* Rachel says two and shows it with her pinky and ring finger.

2 things about RACHEL:

#1. Rachel has always been a cuddler and I love it! Love Love Love IT!

#2. Rachel loves to read books, or "book-ies" as she calls them. She really gets into them. She points and talks and explores every page, over and over again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY DOLL

ps. I really really really want a new camera. Any suggestions?

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

OUR BASEMENT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

I'm beside myself with excitement. Here is a wall near the bottom of our stairs. (terrible picture because Rach dropped my camera and now it won't focus. bummer)

Here is the same picture - minus the wall - adding a weight bearing beam. The water heater has also been moved. (and I'm using a different camera. Not a new one, just a different one)This is where my washer and dryer used to be.
Soon they will be hooked up right here. See the plumbing, do you see it? Plumbed for a nice big sink too. Yippy!!!

THANKS A MILLION COUSIN JUSTIN!!!!

We are really seeing progress now and I can't wait. I know we still have a long ways to go and lots more pictures to document it all...but we're on our way! We're making it our own. Then we'll have a big party. Karaoke maybe.

Wheeler Farm

Our day at Wheeler Farm

Post-edit:
Um, so that's really like...'my kids' at Wheeler Farm, (not 'our day' at Wheeler Farm). And mostly, it just my kids my kids my kids...cuz they're gorgeous...and they're mine.

McKenna Can Race

The McKenna Can 5K was on Saturday and it was AWESOME! There was such a great turn out and everyone was so excited to be there. I pulled up and could hear music pulsing and people chatting and my spirit was overwhelmed by the feeling of unity and community. It is so amazing to feel part of something that is so much more than yourself. And that's what I felt all morning long.

Here's part of the family at the registration line. (Sarah, Dallin and Mom)

And here we are before the race started. The kids all got their own "McKenna Can" t-shirt. They were pretty excited about that.

Before the race actually started, they gave the mic to Scott, McKenna's dad, who gave a little background, as well as prognosis for treatment and thanked us all for being there. It was touching, not only to hear Scott, who always speaks so purely from the heart. But to see the love and support of the Davies family.

The line stretched back as far as I could see. I'm short so I couldn't see the end of it anyway. And the gun shot and we were off!

I stole this photo from Melanie Norwood. McKenna and her mom, crossing the finish line.


Afterwards we enjoyed some yummy polynesian grilled chicken and rice and lots of goodies from the backsale. Rachel especially enjoyed a particularly yummy donut.

What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday. I just loved it. And I just love the Davies family and wish McKenna the most heart-felt blessings from heaven. She is such a special young lady. I am so grateful the Davies family has let us all be part of their experience and hope they feel our support and love along this tough journey.

BTW- check out McKennaCan.com They have a link for a McKenna store. If you are planning to do on-line shopping, try linking to certain websites through McKenna's website and McKenna will benefit through commission. Start your Christmas shopping now!

AND - if you are interested in 5K results, times and such, you can check out http://www.262running.com/

Gettin' the Halloween Groove On

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Conference Weekend

Sunday morning:

It began with a nice comfy couch in front of the computer so we could all watch conference on-line.

Then the feed wasn't buffering quite right.

Then someone threw a "conference project" across the room.

Then someone stormed out of the room in a fit.

Then someone returned and said she was sorry.

Then someone found all the answers on the wordsearch.

And that was just ME!



It wasn't THAT bad.

By the way, did you enjoy conference? Did you have a favorite talk, like Elder Holland? Bishop Burton? Pres. Monson's comments on his birthday gifts?

By the way, part 2. How do you like my new fall banner? We drove the Alpine Loop on Saturday. There were lots of people and lots of photographers.

It took several tries to get a good picture. Here's the first attempt. No one was serious about it except me.



So we kept driving and then found another great place. We parked the car at a scenic outlook and walked back to this little gem of a spot. But in order to get a great picture, I had to stand in the middle of the road. I told Ster to keep an eye out for cars coming around the bend on either side of me. Most of the pictures turned out not centered or blurry. At least I got some great smiles out of it.

hugs and kisses!

p.s. and we saw some deer on our way out of the canyon.

Nope, we don't

Recent phone-call:

Lady: I'm calling to confirm your order to discontinue your Comcast cable service.

Me: Yes, that's correct.

Lady: Is there a reason you cancelled, such as price or quality of service, that we could help you with. We have a lot of nice promotions right now, if that helps.

Me: No thank you. We just decided to make a life-style change.

Lady: Ya know, a lot of people enjoy having some of the music from the music channels in their home or being able to watch the news. Would you like any of that in your home?

Me: Nope, we don't. But thank you for the call and please cancel our service.

-- These days, we lounge around and listen to books on tape. --