9.26.2008

The Olympics...well almost!

Abby had the Olympics at her preschool. It was so fun to watch and the kids loved it. Audrey wanted to get in on the action too! After it was over they gave each of the kids a GOLD medal and you can't imagine how proud Abby was. She has it hanging in our kitchen and tells everyone that comes over about it.




Posted by Picasa

Ballet Girl


Abby started her Ballet class today. She was so darling and tried really hard to listen, but for some reason when they gave them pink marshmallows she couldn't focus?? Hmmm I wonder why:). For those wondering why they had marshmallows, it's to help them learn to hold their hands the correct way. She had a great time and after class she asked me when she gets to go back...so I guess that's a good sign!
Posted by Picasa

9.22.2008

I'm a BIG GIRL NOW! (almost)

Here is our little (trying to be big) girl. She found Abby's panties and wanted to be just like her big sister. Here is her cute attempt!




Be sure to pause the music so you can hear her cute voice!



9.21.2008

Our Missionary

We flew home this last weekend for Austen's farewell and to take him to the MTC. I am so grateful that we were able to go and support him in his decision to serve the Lord as a Missionary. The farewell was so awesome! Austen did such a great job on his talk and Levi got to share his testimony as well. The meeting was so spiritual and made Levi and I so excited for Austen to start something that is going to change his life forever.


The Gospel is so important to Levi and I. It has honestly brought so much joy and happiness to our lives. Sure there are always hard times and trials to go through, but everything just seems easier with the Gospel and knowing that we have our Savior to guide us through those rough patches. I feel so happy that Austen gets to share the amazing message of the Savior to the people of Cambodia. When we went with him to be set apart as a missionary, he told us that he already felt such a strong bond and a love for the people of Cambodia. I know that there are people there waiting for him to come and teach them. He is going to be such an amazing missionary and have such a great adventure!


A few fun facts about Cambodia:

The people offer you live crickets to eat when you come to visit

Fried tarantulas are a common tasty treat
There are a lot of snakes (which Austen hates)
One of the few places fresh water dolphins are found

Angkor Wat is in Cambodia (click on the link to see what it is)


I set up a blog for everyone to keep up to date on Austen. It will be updated when we get new letters from him:).




Heading to the MTC










Glad I don't have to learn that language!



























Abby was so sad to say goodbye! She had her own tissue and was wiping her eyes saying how sad she was.

Kid Trouble

So here I sit in my basement on the verge of tears trying to figure out what to do (any advise is welcomed) while I listen to my sweet Abby cry. She hasn't been sleeping well for the last couple weeks, well actually she hasn't slept well on and off her whole life. She will get in bed and is good for a few minutes then gets out of bed or starts screaming and crying to the point that I can't even understand what she is saying or what she wants. It's not like we shut the door and turn all the lights off. We leave the door open and a hall light on, and her little sister is in the same room for heaven sakes. So our nightly routine is to go comfort her give her loves and tell her it is time for bed, then we head out for the second time. Again with out fail 5-10 minutes later the crying starts and she gets all worked up, gets out of bed and comes down stairs! This situation is not good for any one, poor Audrey ends up getting woken up like three times a night, (hopefully this won't start any bad habits for her, she has been such a good sleeper) which isn't fair to her. So now after waking her sister twice tonight we decided to let her sleep in the pack and play in the basement so that Aud can sleep. She has been crying for the last hour on and off and asking to get out, needs a drink and on and on and on. I am at the end of my rope, I have no more ideas...I feel like the worst mom! Has anyone else been through this???
Well I have had quite a few people tell me how grateful I will be for her determination when she gets older...but right now I am not so sure. She is such a beautiful girl and is pretty good most of the time with listening and being polite, so I'm just not sure what the problem is. She always apologises and lets me know the next day that she is going to try harder to stay in bed, but it ends up being the same story every night. In the beginning Levi and I thought it was a bit comical, but as it continues the humor is fleeting fast! I have read a bunch of great books on getting your kids to sleep well at night and I feel like I have tried all their ideas over and over. Some of them work for a while but nothing long term. So who knows what will come of this situation...but one thing I have learn from being a mom is that nothing lasts forever!! I have to remind my self of this OFTEN so that I can make it though all the rough stages. Hopefully this is one of those stages. Sorry for the vent session... Abby is asleep now and I feel better. Hope your night was better than mine :).

9.05.2008

Abby's First Day of Preschool








I can't believe that I have a kid old enough to go to preschool!! Well truth is I do and she is so excited to be big enough to go! She had a great time the first day, so hopefully it will continue to go well!



Tired!!

Audrey got a little tuckered out after lunch the other day! It was so funny because Abby and I were just chatting away and I looked over and Audrey was completely out! It was so fast that I didn't really think she was asleep. She has never done that before so we were kind of surprised! All I know is I wish I could be a kid again... eat, sleep and play, what a life!

9.01.2008

Tutu Girls!

Here are the latest pictures of the girls. My cute sister is the photographer...amazing hu!! Check out her blog Over The Moon Bliss Photography . Jen thanks for the darling pictures can't wait to see the rest!



Labor Day Weekend

Saturday:

PIG OUT IN THE PARK!!
YUMMY, GREASY, MASSIVE
Pig out in the park is Spokane's annual food fest. They have all kinds of crazy yummy food!
As seen below...HUGE CHEESE FRIES!!
(can we say heart attack waiting to happen!)





Abby and Audrey enjoying the fries and an ice cream ("bannilla" of course").




Stuffing our faces:)!!



Audrey popped her balloon with her teeth within two minutes of getting it.










Snugglin' with DAD!!




Sunday:

Well the morning started off great... a yummy pancake breakfast! Then I headed to a Bishops interview...a little stressed...Called to First Councilor in the Young Women's:). I am really excited that I don't have to teach every week!!
Headed to church and listened to a great talk by Levi while I was wrestling with my girls.
Abby yelled out "Great Job Dad!" as soon as he finished and had everyone around us laughing!!
Enjoyed a nice evening with the family!


Monday:
Levi got up at 5:15 to go golfing with all his friends. They had a blast, but if you ask me that is way too early to enjoy anything!!

Then we headed to Manito Park...one of our favorite places to go. The girls love to feed the ducks, well I guess we all love to feed them. We saw some crazy looking cat fish, a turtle, ducks and geese.
Finished up the weekend with a fun BBQ with our friends! Good food and great company...can't ask for more!


















GO INDIANS!!

Here we are at the Indians Baseball Game! Anyone who know us knows we are always up for a hot dog, Pepsi and a baseball game. We had a great time enjoying all the food! Some how we chose the right night to go...it was family night and all the food a was a buck! The game wasn't that exciting...but we had some friends come which made for great company. I think the most exciting/scary thing happened at the end of the game. A foul ball came our way and hit a little girl in the head just a few rows in front of us. OK definitely more SCARY than exciting!! I think it really sacred Abby, she kept asking us if we could say a prayer for her. What a sweet girlie!