Ten days and counting

I can’t believe that Christmas will be here in 10 days. So much to do, so much to do! Here are some of the fun Christmas activities we have been doing.

Thanksgiving Entertainment

We had a few friends over to eat Thanksgiving dinner. When we were eating dinner Derek noticed someone walking around the house behind us with a flash light. No one is living in the house so the boys went to investigate. It looked like they were steeling stuff from the house so we called the cops. We kept peeking out the window to see what would happen. When the Cops showed up we saw them shine their flashlight on the guy in the driveway who was getting in his car to leave. The police man got back in his car without talking to the man and came over to our house. We explained to him our reasons for being concerned. Just then, the car that was in the driveway of the house made a speedy exit. The police officer asked us if that was the guy. When we told him that it was he looked to his partner and said, “Oh, we should probably go ask him some questions.” The police men got back in their car and tried to catch, the man, but by this time he was long gone. I don’t know why they didn’t talk to him the first time. The police officer told us that maybe the guy was just looking to buy the house…on Thanksgiving…in the dark…with no “for sale” sign in the front yard…yeah right. At least we did our part.

Happenings

Here are some of the fun things that we have been up too.

Last Sunday I walked into the living room and Derek was quietly rocking the kids. Too cute



We made a Thanksgiving decoration today.
The finished product! Yes, I know Siesa doesn’t have her pants on. If she could have figured out how to unbutton her sweater she probably would have been naked, keeping her clothes on can sometimes be quite a challenge.

We have already corrupted our kids and shown them how much fun the stairs, a sleeping bag and a mattress can be (thanks Toni).

We went to the High museum of Art. Siesa and Jensen loved playing on this table putting blocks through the holes in the table.

Bug Fun

Here are some pictures of our Halloween costumes. Jensen was a cockroach (yes, a cockroach, that was his request and he would not be talked out of it, it’s a good thing I have some experience in sewing), Siesa was a dragonfly, Derek was a spider and I was a butterfly. We went to a ward Halloween trunk or treat. Jensen was running around the whole night hissing at people being a scary cockroach. He enjoyed the Trunk or treat a lot but about half way through he said “I am done getting candy my bag is getting too heavy” I was thinking, great, less candy I will have to throw away so we stopped. Siesa on the other hand just wanted to eat everything she got as soon as she got it.

I forgot to put on there antenas, oops

Sunshine State

Now that busy season is over, Derek took the whole week off work (last week) and we had a nice long vacation. Sunday, right after church, the car was packed and we set off for the Florida beaches. The kids were superstar travelers and did awesome on the 6 and a half hour drive. They just sang songs and read books, and it was a nice relaxing Sunday drive. When we got to our campsite we realized that it was not exactly the type of camping we were expecting. There were no trees and just one gravel path which you drove your car on and pitched your tent on. We were also only about 200 yards from a major highway which we could hear all night long. The next morning we packed up our things and transferred to another state park with a campsite that was beautiful. The weather was perfect, 80s in the day and down to 70 at night. The kids were so excited to be on vacation, we just hung out and played. The first morning Siesa woke up at 5:30 am and would not go back to sleep so we took a stroll down to the beach to watch the sun rise. She loved the sand but was totally freaked out by the waves. At 6:00 am when Jensen and Derek woke up we packed up our breakfast and had a lovely morning picnic on the beach. Jensen loved everything about the trip. He is a natural born camper and loved sleeping in the tent. We asked him what his favorite part of camping was and he said it was eating the s’mores. He also loved the ocean and enjoyed standing in it and letting the waves “smack” into him. Siesa was not as keen on everything about camping. For a girl that is so messy at home she was sure concerned about everything being “dirty” camping. She also didn’t really like sleeping in the tent. When she realized it was bedtime she just kept standing by the door of the tent saying, “out, out, go, go.” By the last night she was doing much better. She also slowly got used to the water and by the third day she really liked the beach, but her favorite things were to chase the birds and squish the jelly-fish washed on shore. Derek and I didn’t do much swimming because it was jelly-fish season and there were lots of large jelly-fish swimming around. Most of our time at the beach was in the early morning hours because once the weather got a little warmer the dog flies started swarming us. For those who haven’t experienced dog flies, they are biting flies that are very annoying. It was great though, because no one got a speck of sun burn and we didn’t even wear much sun block.

On Wednesday we drove over to Alabama to visit my friend Jill and see her daughter. On the way we stopped at an Air Force museum which was another highlight of the trip for Jensen. They had a ton of planes you could walk right up to and a couple of cockpits they actually let the kids get inside. We ate a picnic outside by the planes and had a great time. We also had a good time hanging out with Jill. We went to a great seafood restaurant which was so fresh and so good because they catch the fish right there below the restaurant every day. There was also a playground underneath the restaurant where the kids got out their energy before we put them in the car for our long drive home.

It was a wonderful vacation!

Look what I can do!

Jensen learned to do a somersault. He was so excited, he wanted to put a video up on the blog to show grandma and grandpa that he can do one all by himself.

A big girl now

I can't believe Siesa is already 18 months old.

I love her blue eyes

Here is a little bit about Siesa.

Words I can say. . . A few of the words Siesa can say. I do, mine, no, goggles, sandal, read, book, animals, car, truck, not me, door, light, up, stuck, go, happy, pool, heavy “heby”, watermelon “wamen”, apple, open, hands, please, eyes, toes, not me, want some, water, cup, play, hurt, light, knee, sorry, flower, puddle, swimming “mimin”, water “wawa”, hands, tiger, night, froggy, hungry “hungy”, okay, and rabbit.

What I’ve learned to run and jump, Siesa is always on the move and is so happy running and jumping even though when she runs she looks like she will fall at any minute, and she often does, but she always gets up smiling.

Favorite food- watermelon, cheese, yogurt, cauliflower, spaghetti, gold fish crackers

Favorite songs If your happy and you know it, row row row your boat, itsy bitsy spider.

I like to . . . play in the water. Siesa love to play in any kind of water: the pool, puddles rain, bathtub, sink, water cup, and basically anything else wet. Anytime it rains she immediately wants to put on her jacket and run outside. This summer we enjoyed many trips to the pool. She had no fear of the deep end. I only had to pull her out of the water a couple of times.

One other thing Siesa likes to do is to take something with her anytime we go anywhere. As soon as we start heading for the door she scurries around the room to find something (or many things) she can pick up and carry with her. She gets very upset when we have to tell her she has to leave something behind.

I don’t like . . .Bugs. Siesa gets very upset when she sees a bug, she constantly points it out and can’t let it go until it is moved or squished. She also does not like sharing or being told what to do. She always has her own plan in mind.

Bug Attack

So, the other morning I was out watering my garden and innocently walked passed my blueberry bush when I got this severe pain in my knee. Shortly after that I had this strange red rash on my skin. Later, I went outside to find what had caused the pain and I discovered the most odd looking bug I have ever seen (actually there were six of them.) I promptly removed them (with a stick of course) from my garden and disposed of them properly. I will never cease to be amazed by the interesting looking insects and bugs I find in my yard and house. Gross.

trip, long hours and promotion.

Things have been eventful these last few weeks. Derek got promoted at work so his new title at work is now Senior Associate, we are very excited about that. This is also the busiest time for Derek at work so he has been working crazy long 15 hour days, not so fun. Because of his long hours we decided that we needed to take a vacation so last Friday Derek got off work early (about 5:30) and we headed for Macon Georgia. We wanted to go camping but the weather didn't cooperate so we stayed in a dumpy hotel. The kids were so excited about staying in a hotel and that it had a swimming pool. It was an out door pool so we didn't get to swim too much because it rained a lot.

In Macon we went to the Georgia music hall of fame. We went there about a year ago and Jensen loved it so much we went back. We didn't see too much in the museum but spent 1 1/2 hours in the children's area. They have instruments you can play. The drums were Jensen's favorite. Siesa mostly enjoyed running around and screaming it's a good thing it was a very rainy Saturday morning and there wasn't anyone else there. After visiting the museum we went to lunch and headed home, it was a little nice trip.

Pigtails

Siesa had a very important day in her life. For the first time we were able to do her hair and put little bows in it. Derek thinks she looks much more mischievous with her pigtails.

Derek’s Fabulous shoes?

When I think of Derek I would have never guessed that he would have won a “fabulous shoes” contest but this week he did. A few weeks ago some of the women he works with decided they wanted to show off all their great shoes and decided to have a contest. One of the partners provided the prize of a $100 gift card to Nordstrom’s for the most fabulous and ugly shoes. Last week was the contest so Derek took some of Siesa’s little black Sunday shoes with her frilly white socks and put them on the end of his crutches. We were shocked that he won because it was a creative idea but not fabulous. Some of the women had some very beautiful and expensive shoes. I have never been so glad to be creative. Derek gave me the gift card and I enjoyed an afternoon shopping on Saturday. Thanks Derek!

Pioneer Pictures

Saturday we had a ward picnic. It was great. Lots of people came and there was lots of food, games and entertainment. Everything was based on pioneers. There had potato sack races, three legged races, we tied a quilt, and we dressed up in old time clothes to get a picture taken.
Here is the results

Fourth of July Fun

Tina, Clint and Xana came to visit for the 4th of July. We wanted to go to Stone Mountain for there big fireworks extravaganza. We heard that it is packed on the 4th but they do the fireworks show three nights in a row to accommodate the crowds, so we decided to go on the 3rd. We are sure glad we went then. There were so many people there and we heard that on the 4th they closed the gates to the park at 5:00 pm and turned people away. It was a good fireworks show. Before the show we barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs and just had a good time seeing the sights of Stone Mountain. The kids did pretty well for being out so late. Xana was awed by the whole fireworks show. Jensen liked part of it, but covered his ears and squinted through half of it. And Siesa slept through the finally. On the 4th we hung out hear and did some of our own very small fireworks which the kids likes. The sparklers weren’t a very big hit, but they sure loved the pops. The kids would stand there watching the fireworks as they were being lit, but as soon as they started to go off, they would turn around and run away screaming.

Fudgesickles

For FHE we made homemade fudgesickles and from the pictures you can tell they were a hit. Yum!

We love daddy

For father’s day I made matching ties for Jensen and Derek that they wore to church today. Jensen was so excited to wear his tie he told Derek about it a few days ago, oh well. Jensen just loves his dad and copies everything he does. Derek has a stress fracture in his heal and is wearing a walking cast so this week Jensen has been wearing one of his rain boots because his foot has a crack in it too. He was riding his bike yesterday and was sitting on it in the middle of the drive way talking I asked what he was doing and he said he was stuck in traffic and was waiting for all the cars to move. He constantly informs me that he needs to go to work today so won’t be able to play with me. It is a good thing that Derek is a good example for our children to follow. I feel so blessed to have Derek as the head of our home.

Yard Sale Treasure

So, the other day I went to the biggest yard sale I have ever seen. It was sponsored by a youth group at a Baptist church. My friend told me that last year they found a piano there for a great price so this year I went to check it out. I got to the yard sale shortly after it started and found this piano for only 100 dollars (after I negotiated with them). IT is a good thing I went early because while I was buying it 3 people came up and wanted to buy it. They actually had 5 pianos and 2 organs for sale (really it was a HUGE sale of a few acres of stuff) but this piano was the only one that played well. It doesn’t have the bottom board and it has scrapes on it but it plays and sounds great! It must weight 500 lbs but with the help of our 3 neighbor boys we were able to get it here. Derek has been playing it every chance he gets. The kids have also enjoyed singing me songs. I even whipped out the old piano books and played jingle bells for Jensen and he was very impressed until he heard Derek play of course. Really Derek is the one who plays I just love to listen. It is so fun to have piano music in our home. I love it when I find a good deal. Now we just need to rearrange our living room

Gardening Help

My kids love to “help” in the garden. Really I am tiring to keep them (especially Siesa) from stepping on or digging up the plants. Today we picked sugar snap peas and green beans. One of the best things about having a garden is that not only does it taste oh so good but my kids love to eat the vegetables. I guess there is just something about being able to pick it by yourself that the kids love. A few Sundays ago Derek and the kids were outside for two hours picking and eating sugar snap peas. Yum Hopefully all the other plants will do as well as the green beans and sugar snap peas have. Time will tell.

Mothers day (a little late)

The best thing about mother’s day this year is that Derek didn’t have any church meetings. Yeah! He and Jensen both cooked me breakfast and they gave me a helping hands plant. They all traced their hands and put things that they were thankful for and things they would do for me like a foot massage, making the bed, taking a nap etc. Jensen told me that “it was my responsibility” to pick one out and give it to them so they could do the things on the hands. What cute kids(and husband)

Field Trip

We went to the Yellow River Ranch last week. It was a one mile walk to look at animals (dear, pigs, goats, ducks, rabbits, etc.) All the animals were very used to people and would come right up to us so we could pet them. Some of the animals were a little aggressive and wanted to be fed but unfortunately we didn’t have any thing to give them.

Jensen’s new phase is to wear “gyubs” or socks on is hands. He likes to pretend to be a garbage man and a few weeks ago he noticed that they were wearing gloves so now he always wants to wear them too. I often wonder what people think is wrong with him when he is at the store or running around the park with socks on this hands. Oh well.