October Already!!?

Wow time flies...I have been avoiding posting, knowing I will undoubtedly forget to post something. Now I know I will, as I am going way back....lets review.

In May, Mark and I worked our little tails off, incorporating 20 yards of rock in our backyard landscaping. Mark also made me a few extra garden boxes, and I weasled some more land area out of him. I have had the biggest garden harvest yet....however, we just planted a dwarf apple tree and a grape vine in May, and the peach tree we planted last year only produced one peach this year. So, in a couple years we will be living off the land!

June 8th was Macy's last day of kindergarten. We miss Mrs Holland and kindergarten days.

In June two big things happened with Jensen....he took his first poop in the toilet (hasn't happened since...not interested at all). And, we taped up his thumbs......it was so easy....three weeks and he was done sucking. What a big boy.



Macy turned SIX!!!! We had a party July 7th with her friends, then Mark took the next week off of work, so we could have a "staycation". We went to Sandy Point on Macy's b-day, and did other fun things around town together.





That's my BOY! Always finding new hats around the house...he's big on AIRPLANES, cars, wearing hats, and brushing his teeth. He's combining words to make phrases, surprising us all the time. My favorite word is still belbow (elbow), with bice (for ice) in a close second. He scared me on Friday when he said elbow instead of belbow, but alas, he has said belbow ever since. He is particular about certain things...it's hilarious....since I introduced him to ice, he won't drink water without "bice" in it. He always insisted on sleeping with a stuffed dog and a fan on, until the weather started cooling off and I took the fan out..he had a huge tantrum. Now he insists the blanked cover all body parts and touches his chin and covers his dog....he asks about body parts to make sure they're covered....feet, arms, belbows, neck, chin. He reminds us about family prayer before we tuck him in, and prays aloud even if someone else is giving the prayer....he murmurs, "food, water, Blake, Kim, Allie, Max...."(our neighbors and their cat). We have two kids with big personalities.






Macy lost one top tooth in June, and one in July. What a sweetheart. She is always talking about "baby Raegan"...worried that when she lives with us again, we won't have enough room in the car for her. I love how she always talks about her and helps me remember her little sister. She is very helpful (when she wants to be), and a good organizer. She still has a spitfire personality that is both very fun, and very challenging. June we had a ball together, July was ok, and August...we'll, I wouldn't want to repeat August...maybe she was acting out because she got bored? Recently she has been helping me make tags for the boutique I'm going to be in...she has worked hard and made some money...now the money is burning a hole in her pocket...always asking what she can afford to buy with what she made, and spending it right away. She was upset when she had to pay tithing on it, but she did tell me she gave a quarter to her friend for the quarter sale...





August 10th, Jensen turned 2!!!! Here he is eating one of many of the cupcakes he feasted on that day, and his new BYU cougars shirt.

He wasn't very helpful with taking b-day pictures.

August 30th, Macy started 1st grade. When I asked her how it went, she said it was "boring". That is her new word now, boring. Everything is boring.

May

Beginning of May, Jaren was baptized. Grandma and Grandpa came out, as did the Giles. All the cousins had fun afterwards with a dessert bar at the Palmers.

May 21st we took off to Utah to see Opa. We stayed with the Giles that night, then headed down and saw G & G Smith & Opa. We stayed with Grandma Rawlings Saturday night and saw the rest of Mark's family. The next day we saw Opa again...we were going to go to church with him, but he had a really rough night. So we visited with him a little more, and went back to stay with the Giles one more night before heading home. I am glad I insisted on going that weekend, as Mark was pushing for Memorial weekend. Sunday night at the Giles we got a call that Opa took a turn for the worst, and was out of it on morphine. His body started shutting down, and he died on Wednesday morning. We drove down again Memorial weekend Sunday....went to his viewing on Monday night and the funeral/grave dedication/luncheon on Tuesday, and drove back home Tuesday night. How blessed we were to be able to say goodpbye.

I am so grateful for my German heritage. My Grandpa was always strong in the gospel, and served 4 or 5 missions during his lifetime. When we saw him on Sunday, he told Macy how important it is to be on time to church....I think he was talking to me too. My Opa was a great example of a hard worker. I have so many good memories of visiting my grandparents, especially up on "K" street. He is in a better place with my grandma. Auf wiedersehen Opa.

Easter

Egg-hunting at Anne Morrison Park---not sure why the picture is sideways, as I flipped it.

Easter 2010

This was my one Easter picture with both kiddos...they didn't want to pose that day....I couldn't get Jensen to take off his "necklace" for the picture either....I will miss it when he decides to stop wearing Macy's headbands around his neck...he's been doing it since he could walk to the bathroom and get them. I made Macy's dress, and Jensen wore something he already had. This picture, however, doesn't do them justice...they were adorable!

The Hansen's Cabin

Ok, so I almost forgot to post cabin pictures. Abouta month ago the Hansen's invited us to their cabin, and we had a blast...snowmobiling, sledding, relaxing in the hot springs...it was just what the doctor ordered.

Mark pulling Allie, Macy,and Blake

It was snowing on us while we were toasty in the hot springs

March Already....Time Flies

Jensen loves to help around the house...using the swivel sweeper and pretending to vacuum, holding the vacuum cord behind me, etc. A few weeks ago I was cleaning the sliding glass door, and he came behind me to clean too. What a CUTE boy.

Ok, so I haven't been as good at posting as I would like, but it's better than nothing. What's new....Macy finished basketball for the season a week ago. I've been pushing Mark to finish my garden boxes. Although he built one, he said we had to dig up more sprinklers before we could add the mix and actually use it, so more waiting....

We had one warm day last week and playing outside has really gotten in Macy and Jensen's head (mine too, but not when it's freezing). Macy has decided riding her bike is her new favorite thing, and insists on going every day when it's still COLD...I've tried to be a good sport a couple of times. This week is suppose to be warmer, so she'll be in heaven. Jensen's new favorite thing is to explore outside. He thinks he's such a big boy. He grabs his shoes and says Ahhhh, which means hat. Then he's off. Macy and Jensen have bundled up and played really well a couple times outside this week, which has been great. Only thing is, I worry because he always climbs to the top of the playset by himself. He's big on climbing on things lately...the kitchen table, the barstool chairs...he fell off one of those Friday and broke it. My mom stayed with us for a day or two in February after she flew in to watch the Palmer kids, so I'm including a picture....maybe when it's warmer outside I'll get out there to take some pictures of the kids outdoors!

January

January has been a great month. A couple weeks ago Heather flew into town for a few days. Heath, Barn, and I used one to have a girls day out---went swimsuit shopping, to Zumba, and then got facials. Most fun I've had in a long time. What a great day. Last Sunday Jensen finally decided that walking truly IS better than the bear crawl and is now spending most of his time upright. It's been over 2 months since he took his first steps so we're excited. Also, I didn't want him to get run over in nursery! Macy is playing YMCA basketball, and had her second game yesterday. She not only made her first game basket yesterday (she's gotten baskets in practice), but she also made 2 baskets for the team. Final score 2-2. GO MACY!

Christmas

Christmas was fabulous. I had the same two weeks off at SHC that Macy had from school. I spent the first week staying up late and making gifts---capes for the kids and pajama bottoms for the family. The second week I cleaned house, getting ready to go back to work. It was a very productive and very fun time off. As a family we were able to drive around and see Chrismas lights, make sugar cookies for Santa, and put together a gingerbread house. We went over to the Kiehls Christmas day and had a Wii tournament. Macy beat EVERYONE in bowling.

Thanksgiving

Ok, today I have vowed to post pics for Thanksgiving and Christmas so I can be in present time. For Thanksgiving, I woke early and went to BFE (Caldwell I think) to do a Zumba class with Kim and Katie. Then I came home and prepared food to take over to the Kiehls. We had a great dinner together. Then Barn and I scanned the ads for hours trying to figure out a game plan. We ended up being poopers---didn't start until like 5 on Black Friday, and hit the huge rush of Walmart. Not smart. We stood in line for over an hour, I think, and missed out on much at other stores. Next year, maybe I'll do my usual 3 am again. It's all all or nothing day.

November---Finally

Well, I think I may finally committed to this blog thing---we'll see. I am not good at keeping a journal, and I hate to forget all the fun stages the kids go through and all the fun things we've been up to. Right now Macy is in kindergarten with Mrs Holland and LOVING it. She is very creative, quick witted, and has mounds of energy unless you want her to do something to help out. She loves pink and purple, playing outside, and most of all COLORING. Jensen has been walking small distances for a while now, but still prefers the bear crawl, and BOY CAN HE GO FAST. He says mama if he needs someone to get him something/help him, but calls me mommy, Mark daddy or addy, his bottle bawble, and Macy Maymay. Ball will sometimes be ball and sometimes something similar. His favorite things are ANIMALS (he squeals when he sees them---even if it's just on tv), and cars and balls---he's loved those from almost day one. They both love each other, and play well together often, although they have rough days too.

One of my very first pics with Mark studying my camera accessories---Mark hates it

Right before Thanksgiving I got my new SLR camera. Mark said I could get one when I started working (in May), and it finally seemed doable. I took a TON of pictures in Novemeber, but have toned it down a bit. It's super fun, but here it is January, and I still haven't figured the ins and outs of it. Here are a few of my favorites. It's quick and clear, which has been great for taking pictures of the kiddos.