Success

I potty trained Elsie with last week, actually she potty trained herself. She has been wanting to use the toilet and she would take her diaper off all the time but I wasn’t really sure she was ready but I realized that Siesa was this young and she never had any accidents so I decided to give it a try. My approach to potty training is all or nothing. Thursday I put her in underwear and asked her a lot if she needed to go. Siesa has been a big help and she claims she potty trained Elsie(really she helps so she can get a candy too but she has been really helpful) Over the last week she had had only 3 accidents. I am always a little nervous taking a newly potty trained child out but she really has done great even at church, shopping and when we went tubing at Solider Hollow (she had to hold it for an hour). It has only been a week but I don’t even ask her anymore because she just goes when she needs too. Elsie is a little child but without a diaper on she looks even more petite. My kids make potty training to easy.

80's Night

We had our annual glow in the dark dodge ball party this weekend. We had a most excellent time and costumes!


Siesa loved my clothing and wants some pink stirrup pants just like mine. 80's fashion is right up her alley.

Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!

Christmas 2011

Christmas eve Derek’s parents came over and we did our traditional crepe breakfast (normally that is Christmas breakfast but since we had church in the morning we didn’t think we would have time so we ate them the night before). We then acted out the nativity and read the scriptures, sang some songs and opened a few presents.

The kids all got their ornaments and they exchanged gifts they made for each other. Jensen made Elsie 2 skirts, Seisa made Jensen a Lego bag and Elsie made Siesa some scarves. Everyone was very excited about their gifts.


Christmas morning

Christmas was busy and started bright and early here. I put a clock in Jensen’s room and told him he could not get up until 6:00 at 5:00am he came up stairs and said he just couldn’t wait anymore. Of course we sent him back to bed. By 5:50 he just couldn’t stand it any more and he and Siesa came up. They climbed into bed with us and played with Derek’s phone until Elsie woke up. And the fun began.

Jensen’s favorite gift was his MP3 player. We have downloaded a lot of songs and books on to it that he has been listening to it all the time. I put a bunch of songs that I thought Jensen would like and he keeps coming up and telling me that I snuck a lot of songs on the MP3 player but that he likes them. Jensen also got a lot more legos.

Siesa’s favorite gift was her cheetos and her scarves that Elsie made. Both the girls got a play kitchen that they have played with a lot and Siesa got some stuffed animals that she likes as well.

Elsie’s favorite part was the candy. She caught on so fast that Santa was going to come and bring her new toys and candy. She was very excited when she got up to find stuff for her. She got a bike, a kitchen and books. In her stocking was some tic-tacs, cheetos, chocolate and an orange. When she saw those things nothing else mattered. It was cute she was sitting on the floor sampling everything at once.

Derek's wish came true and we got a BBQ grill. We love it and use it all the time rain or snow or shine. Yeah for Christmas!

Christmas Card

Derek – “I love my bike and my commute” He loves the change in commuting time which was about an hour, one-way in Atlanta and is now about 15 minutes by bike! He has successfully adjusted to working in Salt Lake City. One thing is for certain though; public accounting is just plain busy, whether you are in a big city or a smaller one.

Sidsie- “Moving is a lot of work Where did all this stuff come from” We moved twice during 2011. The first move, in April, was from Atlanta, Georgia to Salt Lake City, Utah a distance of about 2,000 miles. This was because Derek transferred with PwC to the Salt Lake office. The second move, in December, was a distance of less than half a mile. This was because we found a home that fits our family’s needs better.

Jensen- “I go to school a LONG time. How much longer will I have to go when I am in 2^nd grade?” He was thankful to find out six hours was it. Jensen finished kindergarten and has successfully completed almost half of first grade. He enjoyed playing soccer again and has also found a new love - Karate.

Siesa- “I will not forget to draw on the paper only” Siesa is our budding little artist and author. She draws and writes letters everyday most of the time on paper but often the wall, couch, books, mail, clothes, herself, her sister… you get the idea. She has also enjoyed her preschool class and learning all about writing and letters.

Elsie- “Elsie not done screaming yet” Elsie is full of energy. She is our boisterous little two-year old. She is always right in the middle of the action and is so concerned about what everyone else is doing at all times.

Family photo 2011

There were so many that I loved. I just had to include them all. Thank you Liybie!

All I want for Christmas in my two front teeth

According to Jensen "you couldn't actually give me my teeth if you wanted to because you are not a dentist"

My adventure with out kids

I went to Boston for a long weekend to visit my sister and her husband. I had a fabulous time!

I watched the sun set by the river and then Teppo took me on a tour of MIT. All I have to say is there are some pretty crazy buildings there.

Thursday Maria and I rented a car and drove to Concord and Lexington. We went to the Alcott home where Louisa May Alcott wrote “Little Women.” We also went to a museum about the area and all the people from there, visited the bridge where the revolutionary war started and the spot about the famous quote “the shot heard around the world” . We also visited Walden pond (much bigger than I envisioned, it really should be called Walden lake) and the sleepy hollow cemetery.
That night we went to the Union Oyster house which is the oldest restaurant in the United States. The building has been around since the seventeen hundreds and it became a restaurant in 1826. We feasted on sea food and Boston cream pie Yum.

Friday we walked the Freedom trail. It started at Boston common (a big park) and is a 2 ½ mile walk through Boston and ends at Bunker Hill. There were lots of things to see along the way like Paul Revere's house, the old north church (where the lanterns were hung to single if the British were coming by land or by sea and then started his famous ride) the USS constitution (one of the first battle ships built by the united states), and much more. It was very interesting to see all the historical places and understand the timing of everything that happened. I have a much better appreciation for our founding fathers and for our great country.

Sunday we went to church and then walked around Boston and looked at old churches and the Boston library. My flight home was very uneventful which is always nice. I came home to sleeping children and a very clean house. I am so blessed to have a husband that is such a good father and housekeeper.