Birthdays

Having my kid’s birthdays just a day a part is fun but makes for a few busy days.

Siesa also woke up earlier than usual for her birthday. Her cake was a princess crown with candy on it. Siesa got the take a snack for preschool she wanted chocolate covered strawberries. After Jensen left for school she dipped her strawberries which was a fun way to start her birthday. She had so much fun at school getting all the attention. Then she spent the whole afternoon decorating hats for her party. My parents came to dinner to help us celebrate her birthday. She chose Mexican rice and jello salad for her dinner I added a few other things, steak and beans to complete the meal. She got a caboodle, makeup, a stick horse, a princess dress, castle and some more polly pockets. She loved having all the attention. After we had sung to her and had cake and ice cream and it was time for bed she said “but we still need to have my party” What? . . . I told her we did she wasn’t so sure. Silly girl she changes her mind a lot.

Instead of having a party this year our kids picked something fun to do so on Saturday we celebrated with them. Jensen chose to go to the movie the Lorax in the theaters. That was this first time and he loved it. Siesa and I went with her cousin Kate and Aunt Diana to Abravanel Hall for a symphony/dance performance. We got all dressed up for the event and had a great time.

Jensen’s birthday began early at 2:30 am. He was so excited about his birthday he couldn’t sleep and kept coming up and asking if he could get up. I let him look at his presents and his cake but he still wouldn’t go back to bed unfortunately. By 5am I threatened him and he stayed in his bed until 6. He said he didn’t go to sleep at all. He was so excited the whole day. His cake was an ice-cream Lego cake with Lego figures on it. Derek's parents came to dinner and we had Jensen’s favorite foods fish tacos, peas, potatoes. For his birthday he got some playmobile stuff, clothes, his own set of scriptures, star wars action figures a remote control car and a Jedi robe and shoes. He was very excited to show everyone at church his scriptures with is name on them and he was very glad he didn’t have to do chores for the whole day. He kept saying things like “I am the king today and I can do whatever I want.” He is already looking forward to next year when he will turn 8.

Snow Fun

We went to a cabin near Park City for a few days. It was such a blast! We were worried about not having any snow but there ended up being a few feet. We got to build snow forts, snowshoe, and sled.




Elsie didn’t like the snow because it was too deep and she had to wear snowshoes to walk but Jensen and Siesa loved it. Elsie did enjoy eating cheetos with her cousin Sky. It was fun to spend the evenings in the warm cabin, have some good discussions and solve the world’s problems.

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!