It's fixed, I think?

My computer had been having a lot of issues for the past few months. Finally, it stopped working completely, and I had to take it in to be fixed. The bad new is that we needed a new hard drive. The only good thing is that it was covered under our apple care warranty. It is nice that it will be fixed, but I'm sad to loose everything on my computer. Luckily, I had at least backed up my pictures. Hopefully I will be able to blog more now that it doesn't take me 5 minutes to type a sentence. It is still doing a few weird things, but I think it is better. I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season. We are!

Expensive Lesson

I went to turn the heater on the other morning, and it wouldn't work. After adam and I both tinkering with it for a day, and consulting my dad, we diceided to call for a repair man, This is what he found.

These 6 rocks cost me $91. Over the summer, Blake has been putting rocks into the intake vale for the heater. What a stinker. I couldn't help but laugh. At least it wasn't something more expensive, right? Oh what I could have done with that extra hundred dollars. We will have to keep a closer watch on him next summer. Today it was in the 20's when I woke up. We really need the heat here in Minnesnowta.

What is wrong with my blog?

I'm trying to change some of the side things on my blog. But it won't save them, after I type them in. Any suggestions?

Hi There

We are still alive, and we are all feeling much, much better. I just feel like we have been nonstop busy lately. I just downloaded a bunch of pictures from my camera. Now I will have something to blog about. Isn't this a cute picture of Kayleigh. She woke up from a nap, and had some serious bed head. Speaking of bed. I'm headed there right now. I'm hopeful that I can post more, tomorrow, maybe. Love you all, and thank you for checking up on me.

Sick again

I haven't forgotten about blogging, the kids and I all have colds. I am to busy cleaning up after everyone, wiping noses, and feeling sick myself to sit down at the write. Hopefully I will feel better in a few days.

So, what has been going on...

Have you ever just sat down to blog and felt like you have NOTHING to blog about. I have felt like that for months. Then it had been so long it is just really hard to get back into it. But for YOU, the one person that still checks, I will rededicate myself to blogging.

The summer past by way to quickly here. Since it has been so long, I will give individual updates.

Blake- is defiantly not a little baby anymore. His new favorite work is MINE, and he yells it all the time. I think he just likes his sister’s reaction. He has had a rough summer of teething. His molars are finally almost all in. I thought he would only have 8 teeth forever. He loves: slides, babies, his blanky, the lawn mower, home improvement shows on TV, and his dad.

Kayleigh- finally turned 5 on August 22. We decided that we would wait one more year for her to start kindergarten, so I get to enjoy one more year of my little girl home with me. She loves: drawing pictures, play Barbie’s, my little pony, and her favorite movie is Spirit. She quotes lines from it all the time. She is very excited for Christmas time and snowy weather.

Adam is very busy with work. He is gone by 5:30, and usually not home until way after the ids are in bed. He also almost never has a weekend off. He really likes the surgeries that he is doing, and his having fun. We just really wish that he could see the kids al little more often.

Me- I’m all right. I am not looking forward to another long winter, but I am excited to have another year of residency over. I was called into the Young Women’s presidency over the summer and it is lots of fun. I love being with the girls, and I get to work with some really great women. It also gives me something else to do besides the house and the kids. I really need that.

I will try to blog ever day this week if I can to post events that have been happening. Stay tuned…

Seriously So Blessed!

HI Everyone!

It is starting to cool down again here. Hopefully I will be better at blogging, now that I will be spending less time outside with the kids. My friend Summer had told me about this blog, but I hadn't actually looked at it until recently. Have you seen it? It is hilarious. I thought I would pass it on to you.

http://www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

Ta Da

We spent a Saturday putting in some plants in our very naked yard. Plants are really expensive, at least for us they are. It will be worth it in a few years when they actually grow in.

Before




After


Now we just have to remove the astroturf from the front porch.



This is the spot that my dad fixed for me. Now I don't have water running into my laundry room when it rains really hard.


Of course Kayleigh wanted her picture taken. She loves to pose.

Whitewater State Park

We took the kids hiking at a state park near here. Luckily, I had packed the kids swimsuits "just in case" . Because the beach that was destroyed by a flood last summer was reopened.


Here we are at the beginning of the trail. We borrowed the cool baby carrier from our friends. Blake really thought that was cool.



Kayleigh and I in the chimney of chimney rock


Here we are with the view. Isn't it pretty! This is as close to mountains as Minnesota gets.

Here we are on the way down


Blake at the beach

This is seriously the best picture that I got of K. She was so excited to swim, she wouldn't sit still.

Ouch!

Kayleigh fell out of her bed and scraped her nose on the nightstand. Poor girl it really looks like it hurts.


This is a picture of K and her "sister". She really, really, really wants a sister. She talks about it all the time. Now she pretend plays that her dolls are her sisters. Last night she made her a bed, so her "sister" could share her room. She read her a story and tucked her in. Whenever we have another baby, she will be so disappointed if it is another brother.

July

My parents and grandmother came to visit for the first part of July. It was so nice to have them. We spent a lot of time in the backyard, and on projects around the house. My dad fixed some of the drainage issues in the lawn, and installed a water softener. We went to see the Rochester Honkers game. They are the local baseball team, which is made up of college players in their summer break. They were here for the 4th, we had a barbque, and walked down to the elementary school to watch the fireworks. It was really nice to have so much company for so long. Frankly, its lonely around here now.

Pictures of the Honkers game






My dad and Blake at the fireworks, boy was he sqwirmy!


Fixing the landscaping. I'll post the after pictures later


This is my Grandmother, Billie, reading Kayleigh a story before bedtime. So cute

June

So the month got away from us, without blogging. I decided to do a month recap in one post.

Adam’s parents, brother and sister came to visit us. It was really fun to see them. We had lots of fun with them. We went to the park, The National Eagle Center

the zoo,

the SPAM museum. We also roasted hot dogs, made smores in the back yard, and played guitar hero. Adam’s brother Phil plays on expert. I aspire to be like him some day. I'll post some pictures of the SPAM museum, if Liz sends them to me.

Kayleigh really liked to crawl in bed with her Aunt Liz. Here is a picture of them together.


Blake also turned 18 months and started attending the nursery class at school. This is very exciting for me

Adam completed his intern year, and is on to his second year of residency. It doesn't mean much to the kids or me. He still has to work to hard, sleep to little, and defiantly not see us enough. But, at least now he has started in his own program and he likes what he is doing. That really makes it more bearable.

Its going to be a good week

The Consultant that Adam is working with right now is out of town. Yippie!! His days should be a lot sorter since he obviously can't do surgery by himself. This means that he will at least be home by bed time, if not in time for dinner. I am so excited. Hopefully, I will get a lot of catch up blogs posted, as well as a lot of good family time. More to come.....

So you think you can dance

is Kayleigh and my favorite show in the summer time. We watch it together and she loves to dance around the room , while pretending to be a dancer. I thought I would post some of the pictures of her from her last day of dance class. We put her in a class this spring at the community center. She loved it so much we think we will enroll her in a studio for lessons in the fall.


This is her favorite dance move


We thought that this was so funny. When they stretch she tells them that they are talking on a phone. She does this all the time at home now.


Kayleigh with one of her dance friends

blogger's block

Its been forever since I have blogged anything. I'll try to play catch up. Here are a few pictures from the day when we planted our garden.


Blake holding a worm. Isn't he cute? :)



This is the area of our yard that we are making into our garden. It needs a LOT of work. Previous owners dumbed a bunch of rock here and we have been trying to dig it out, it just takes forever!

30

Happy Birthday to me! Today was my 30th birthday. I always thought it would feel a lot older than it does. I definitely don’t feel much wiser. Some of my friends had a surprise dinner party for me on Saturday night. It was really sweet of them, and I have to say it was the first time I think I had ever been “surprised” at a surprise party. Today was a relatively good day. Kayleigh was on her best behavior, and was trying to be extra good for me. She picked out a birthday outfit for me to wear, and even took me on a morning walk. Adam ordered a cake and we had a little family party here when he got home from work. My big present from the family was Guitar Hero. We are all pretty excited about it. I have wanted it since we got the Wii for Christmas. I really stink at it, but I know I will get better with lots of practice. I did get a few "YOU ROCK"'s tonight.


30 is a whole lot of candles

K and I rocking out on Guitar Hero

Milo

Our dog Milo is a very good dog. He is mostly obedient. Never has potty issues in my house, and is really good with the kids. He just likes to run away, A LOT. It gets to be very annoying. Yesterday, I was having a really bad day. Blake has figured out how to open the oven. I have to gate him out of the kitchen while I am cooking, until I buy a lock. He was screaming because he wants to be in there with me. Kayleigh is crabby and hungry, and Milo chooses to escape. He has figured out that he can jump over the back deck in to the garden. So I spent some time outside trying to get him to come home, but he just runs farther. Finally I just give up and come inside. He usually just comes to the door and barks when he is done. After about an hour, I see some neighborhood kids trying to bring him to my door. I had to go outside and help catch him. I have to say that I was really disappointed. He had never been gone for that long and I was hoping that he was gone for good. I was hoping that he had found another family, or had even been hit by a car. Isn’t that so wrong of me? I am just so tired of him. He is just so much extra work for me. I really feel like it is like having an extra kid around. The only reasons I keep him are: guilt, worry that I will regret it later, and Kayleigh and Blake really love him. After all, “Milo” was Blake’s first word. So my question is, what the heck do I do about this dog?

Blake and Kayleigh

We took a few pictures of the kids this weekend. Blake doesn't sit for them very well. He loves to sit in baskets, so we just put him in one, and they turned out really well. I wanted to post some, and I will try and write more later.

Essex Park

Today we really wanted to go to a small local zoo for a grand finale for spring break. But, little Blake would not comply with his nap schedule. So we ended up going to a local park late this afternoon with my friend Maryn and her kids. It was our first trip to the park since the fall, and the kids had lots of fun. It was a brand new experience for Blake. It was cute to see him try and climb all of the play equipment. There is nothing like a few hours at the park to wear them out. Hopefully all will sleep well tonight.

p.s. this is my favorite park because their are no swings! I get so tired of the pushing...



Kayleigh on the slide



Blake was so dirty. He kept falling in the mulch. It looks like he must have ate some. oops! Isn't this park pretty? I love all the trees in the summer time, they look so green. I'm so excited for spring.




Kayleigh is 4 and she is already very boy crazy. She loves to chase and to be chased by them. She especially love to be caught. When she and Evan play, she is often the damsel in distress, and he is the knight that needs to rescue her. Luckly for her he is all for it. Today, she was pretending to be tied to a pole, but he came and set her free. It was so funny.

Where is spring?

I have had the hardest time trying to think of what to post for the last few days. So I will try to give a general recap on the goings on of everyone. I did want to mention that is snowing outside. It is April and its still winter. When will it ever end?

Adam-Finished all of his general surgery rotations and took Step 3 for his medical licensing exam last week! So essentially he is finished with our general surgery year. He is very excited to have started on Urology now. He was going to assist on a surgery today using a surgical robot and was pretty pumped about it.



Kayleigh-Almost fully recovered from her surgery. She feels fine, but she is not supposed to lift things. The problem is I can’t get her to stop picking up her brother. She is on spring break from school, and we are trying to think of fun things to do, but it is hard because it is STILL SNOWING outside. We hard a play date yesterday, and we have one for tomorrow. I was also thinking of taking her to the pottery place to paint something. She is starting a dance class on Monday and is really looking forward to it. She keeps getting dressed up and telling me that she is practicing. She loves playing on the Wii with her dad. She asks to play every night. It's super cute.


Blake- He is such a little stinker, but he is so cute. He just gets into EVERYTHING. He loves to push cars around these days, and he makes the little car noises. It’s very cute. He does love to be with his dad whenever he is around. Adam couldn’t even take a nap on Sunday because Blake just wanted to be with him. I thought it was very funny. He left the chapel for a moment during sacrament meeting, and Blake flipped out. Adam had to come back in and get him. We have a very quiet ward, so it was really embarrassing.

Me- Not much is happening. I am just busy with the kiddos. I just got a new hair cut last weekend. I really love it. I have a goal of losing my last final 10 lbs of baby weight before I turn 30 (in one month). But, I am sitting here drinking a coke with my breakfast. Now how sick is that. I better get on it, because I am running out of time. I am looking for a good book to read if anyone is still reading this and has any suggestions. I have to run. I hope everyone is well.

Hoppy Keaster!

Our Easter morning started out with a traditional hunt for our Easter baskets and the eggs that the Easter bunny had hidden. Hen we had to hurry up and get ready for our 9:00 church. The kids of course had a blast, and they loved the things that the Easter bunny brought. I had a nice Sunday nap thanks to the fact that my husband actually had the day off, yippee! We made a yummy dinner of Cornish game hens, and all of the usual holiday sides. The best part of the day was our dinner conversation. Kayleigh started telling us everything that she knows about the resurrection. Which I thought was quite a lot for a 4 year old. Then, she wanted to know why the guards didn’t see Jesus leave. She waned to know if they were sleeping, and how exactly did Jesus get out of the tomb. I was shocked. The only question she usually has during our family lessons is, “Is it time for our snack yet”. We talked about the story in Matthew, were an angel came from Heaven to let Jesus out of his tomb. She was really interested. It just reminded me of what a big girl she is becoming, and how much she really listens to us. That was defniantly the best part of my Easter day.



I'll post a few Easter Egg hunt photo's in the morning. Right now, I am warn out and I am going to bed.

Surgery Day

I started to write a long detailed post about how hard yesterday was, but I decided that I doubt everyone really wants to hear me whine that much. I just will give you the bare basics. Just know that Adam couldn’t come, and it was really hard. But, I better just get use to it. We were to be at the hospital at 6:45. So, we dropped Blake off at a friend’s house, and off we went. Of course, after taking all of her stats (blood pressure, height, weight, etc.), they gave her a medicine that makes the kids very happy and I carried her into the operating room at 7:50. The surgery took a bout an hour. I was in the recovery room with her by 9:15, and we were home again by 1:00. It just took forever for her to wake up, and the anesthesia made her sick. She has about 5 stitches on her tummy and she is pretty sore, but she is a lot better today. She keeps saying things like, “don’t hurt my button”. She did get a pretty cool bandage that she gets to wear for 5 days. She can’t play rough or lift any thing for two weeks, and can’t take a bath for a week. It’s going to be hard on her and me. She was a brave girl and I am really proud of her.




Kayleigh before surgery, getting her blood pressure taken.



Kayleigh after surgery, doesn't she look so sad.



Here is her cool kitty bandage

Cookie Monster

Blake stealing cookies


He loves jumping onto the couch from here


Trying to steal a bite of his sister's cereal

Busy Nothings

This week has been pretty busy. Adam has been gone A LOT like usual and I have been trying to get lots of errands done. Tonight, I have to make decorations for enrichment night on Thursday night. I also am suppose to be making a multicultural costume for K's school. Apparently, no one else sews. Not that I do, but I at least own a sewing machine and can read a pattern. I will post pictures of that when I start the sewing. I bet it will be funny.

Blake has become quite the climber lately, and boy has he been keeping me busy. I often find him on top of the kitchen table, or with a chair pushed up to the kitchen counter. Yesterday he was on the table trying to steal his sister's breakfast when I came into the room. It is cute, but scary. I know he is going to fall soon. I will add some pictures later.

Kayleigh is having her umbilical hernia fixed on Friday. It is really simple to fix. It is just a small incision through the belly button. I am still worried for her. She isn't that concerned yet. She is excited about the mask that smells like berries, and getting to ride on the bed.



Other than that we are just prepping for Easter, and getting excited that we can finally see our grass for the first time since November. It is so nice that warmer temps are finally here.

Shampoo

Does anyone have a shampoo from the grocery store that they really like. I have been using the professional kind for way to long, and I have decided that I just don't want to pay for it anymore. Any suggestions?

My Friends

I add some links to the side of my blog. Please do not be offended if you are not listed over there. I know a lot of people like to keep their blogs a bit more private. I just added those who have me linked on their pages. Just because you are not listed, doesn't mean that you are not my friend. If you would like your link added or removed let me know. Also, K wanted me to add this picture from yesterday. She thinks it is really funny. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

New Look.

Kayleigh decided it was time to give herself a hair cut yesterday. I new the day would come. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. She took a few snips from all over, not a big chunk from one spot. Luckily, it was pulled half way up and the short chunks in the back are covered up by the top layer. So, yesterday we took her in and had them blend what was needed and cut the rest shorter. I think the final hair cut is pretty cute. I am still finding chunks of hair hidden around the house.