The Waite Family

Chaos Coming

2012-02-03T22:46:00.003-05:00

I've been such a blogger dud lately, but Danny insists that I blog this most recent excitement in our lives.

We are expecting twins girls, and I am due June 16th! Crazy right? I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of going from five to seven in the family. Thankfully all of the worries that I have had concerning these little ones have been put to rest. Both babies are healthy and developing as expected, with no sad complications or such. Such a relief and a blessing! The ultrasound today was amazing and so neat to watch. It's pretty near the top of my awesome/memorable events list to see my two new babies kicking and jabbing one another. When we went in today, we had been told that one of the babies was a girl from a previous ultrasound, but we didn't know the gender of number two. Now that we know, Mary is THRILLED to have two sisters on the way. We are all excited for this new phase of chaos and craziness that these girls will surely bring into our lives. Grandparents are also super crazy excited, especially considering that we are in Utah and not Ohio for these births.

So, all of you out there that have friends, family or acquaintances with advice about twins or whatnot, send them my way. I need all the help I can get :)

I'm Sorry Mary

2011-11-05T23:26:00.003-04:00

I have allowed my blogging laziness to expand to unacceptable proportions. I not only forgot to blog about Mary's fifth birthday, but I have been putting it off ever since. So, I'm wanting to jot down a few things about Mary that I don't want to forget about her, and the little individual she is right now. Her most favorite things to do are ride her bike (which she taught herself to do this summer after Danny took off her training wheels), read, play with her baby dolls, color and watch a movie with her family. Mary is a wonderful helper to me and to her brothers. She is so responsible for a five year old, and is continuing to accept more responsibilities and earn the trust and privileges that come with them. She constantly wishes that she could be in school this year, and I wonder at times if we should have started her in a private school. However, I am happy with the time she has been able to spend with me and her brothers doing "School Time" as we call it. Since, we have become more settled in our home, Mary has become a social butterfly. She has many friends and likes to play with them all. I am proud to see her include everyone in play (her brothers too). Most of all, I am happiest to see her testimony of Christ and His love for her develop into true knowledge. She chooses to pray about anything and everything that is going on in her life or bugging/bothering/scaring her. Her faith is amazing, and she is such an example to me. I am grateful everyday that she was born into our family, and that she is the spunky little girl that she is.

I think that sums up some of the thoughts I have had going through my head lately. I want to post some pictures from her birthday, too. We'll see if the happens. :)

For Kari

2011-10-06T14:27:00.002-04:00

And anyone else out there that needs a pick me up. These cookies will do the trick :)

Halloween Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

1 C butter
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
3 C flour
3 oz (squares) melted, unsweetened chocolate

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in melted chocolate. Mix in baking powder and flour. Blend in last of the flour by hand. The dough will be very stiff. Do not chill. Divide dough in to two portions. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a circle approx. 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 thick. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet 6-7 minutes.

I like to make my cookies thicker, and I don't cook them quite as long either. It makes for softer cookies. These cookies hold their shape very well, so you can cram a ton of them together for faster baking too.

Sorry, I has taken me so long to get these cookies posted. Hope they help you feel better, Kari!

Happy Anniversary!

2011-08-09T11:58:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was our eight year anniversary. We were planning on just seeing Harry Potter, but my mother-in-law was kind and came over early enough to watch the kids so we could go to dinner too. Dinner was great a had this tie pepper dipping sauce that was to die for! I am glad we got to go to dinner, because when we got to the theater we were told the projector was malfunctioning. Our options were to see the 10:30 showing or get a refund with a couple of freebie tickets. We had to do the refund, grandma couldn't stay that late. I was bummed that we couldn't see the movie like planned. I was really looking forward to it, since I have heard from so many that it is the best of them all, and has been done really well. At least we got a couple extra movie passes. The thing is we have free movies coming out of our ears. Not that I'm complaining, it just that we are not huge movie buffs. Typically if we have enough time to see a movie without the kids, we usually need to go to the temple more.

Another Running Ooops

2011-08-07T00:11:00.002-04:00

Tonight, while running my typical route on a park path, I noticed some guys loitering at the far side of my loop. I didn't feel good about running by them. I decided to turn off the path sooner and run through a neighborhood that I haven't been through before, but knew it opened out onto a main road, so I could get back to my home that way. Anyway, the neighborhood ended up taking me WAY further south than I expected. Furthermore, when I got back to the main road there wasn't a sidewalk and it was getting dark. I didn't want to run in the road at that time of night so I got to walk through the weeds until the sidewalk returned. My typical twenty minute run turning into more than an hour and a half, which I haven't done before. Also, by the time I got back it was completely dark and had been for quite some time. Oops. Sorry, Danny to make you worry.

Derrick's Three!

2011-08-06T00:47:00.002-04:00

I can't believe my Derrick dude is three. Where has the time gone? Well, I figured that since I've been trying to catch up on things I had better get Derrick's birthday posted before I get lazy again. This is a great picture of Derrick with his "dump dozer" cake. When I was asking Derrick what kind of cake he wanted it was always a dump truck or a bull dozer. However, when we originally were planning on having both sides of the family come over to celebrate, I figured I could make both cakes. Then I had to go and ruin everything with a migraine the morning of the celebration, and we had to cancel the whole thing. Fortunately, everyone (except Uncle Tim and Aunt Jenelle, with a darn good reason to excuse them) was pretty flexible. So we had Danny's family over the following night, after I was feeling much better, and I made this dump truck cake. But because I had already told Derrick that we were having both cakes, he kept asking about the bull dozer cake and eventually just ran everything together, thus the "dump dozer" cake. If you look carefully enough you can see Derrick's fat lip and huge bruised forehead. I won't tell you how he did it yet, because it happened over the 24th of July Pioneer Day celebration weekend that I also want to post about.Derrick got a sandbox from mom and dad. The two boys in the picture are next door neighbors Kyler and Josh, and Derrick was constantly over in their backyard playing in their sandbox. I think that it is fitting that they were around to watch Derrick get his sandbox. Sadly, I had no clue how to wrap or even hide this from Derrick, so we just had Derrick open the trunk. He didn't know what it was until Kyler helped him out by saying, "It's a sandbox!"At this point I think Derrick finally figured out what it was that we gave him, and he seems pretty happy about it too.Such fun in the new sandbox! Thanks Uncle Tim for the insider tip about the "sand".After playing in the sand for a little bit, Grandma and Grandpa Waite convinced Derrick that he wanted to open his present from them. It was pretty big, and Derrick was super excited just by the size of this gift. He figured out what this gift was a whole lot faster than the sandbox. Grandma and Grandpa Waite have two red ones of their own. It's a wiggle car for those of you who can't tell what it is. Derrick loves wiggle cars just about as much as playing in the sand.The Sunday after Derrick's birthday we were able to celebrate with Grandma George, Uncle Trevor, Aunt Natalie and Uncle Tyson, but I completely forgot my camera. I am still kicking myself over it. Grandma George took lots of pictures but I don't have them yet. At this second celebration we made Derrick's bull dozer cake, which turned out just as cute as the dump truck cake (thanks for your help mom). Derrick was in birthday bliss for more than a week, because after celebrating on Sunday with my family, Aunt Carrie visited with her boys the next week to give Derrick's his gift. I think the wrapping job is just about my all time favorite. Not only did Carrie use Christmas wrapping paper, but she also used stickers to tape it up because she couldn't find her tape! Oh, the ingenuity of mothers. Overall, I think Derrick had a great birthday, especially in the way it seemed to last forever. I'm just hoping that for Mary's birthday we can actually plan and have one big party with family. That much birthday just makes me eat too much cake and ice cream.

The Fourth Continued

2011-08-05T17:36:00.002-04:00

I was WAY to tired last night to be blogging, yet alone trying to do two posts at once. After finishing I realised that I left out all of the fireworks fun. Uncle Tyson and Aunt Natalie brought up tanks to light. Of course, the only way to light tanks is to have them fight. As you can tell Derrick was still quite apprehensive about fireworks. Thankfully, by the end of the night they didn't bother him so much.Something that I didn't know about tanks is after you light them and they have duked it out, you stack them all together and light them on fire - or at least this is what Uncle Tyson decided to do :)

Sparklers were another fun part of the evening. Mary enjoyed doing them ALL. Derrick wouldn't touch them, and I didn't want to let Allen even get near them. Mary enjoyed spelling out her name, once I showed her how. Then she wanted to spell out all of the other words she knows, and was sad when we ran out of sparklers.

Allen decided to go to bed at his typical time, but not before he had fun playing with several glow sticks all connected together. I think this was his favorite part of the day. When the other kids were playing with the glow sticks earlier, he didn't get a chance to have more than one. At this point in the night, however, everyone else is outside and he got to have as many glow sticks as he wanted.

The Fourth Of July

2011-08-05T00:19:00.008-04:00

I am obviously too tired to be trying to compose multiple posts at once. These pictures belong with the previous post, and I don't really want to fix it at the moment. Sorry:)

P.s. I know it is sad to say this but, don't you just love my new carpet!?! I know I do!

We had a blast with my family this Fourth of July! Grandma George, Aunt Natalie and Uncle Tyson we all able to come up and spend the weekend with us. (It is so nice to have enough space to do this comfortably.) I don't think that my kids have had so much fun with family sleeping over! We decided to try out the North Ogden parade, and it was perfect for the kids and adults. Aunt Carrie, Kambrya, Caleb, Ryan and A.J. also drove down from Brigham City, that morning to come to the parade. Mary and Derrick would have had fun at the parade no matter what, but having grandma, aunts,uncles, and cousins made it SO much better! The cookies that Derrick is munching and Allen has all over his shirt are all because of the generosity of Smith's employee's and my crazy sister Carrie. Smith's was handing out cookies, and the employee's doing so were telling everyone to take as many as they want and if they want more just ask. So, Carrie pipes up and asks for more, like in a sealed box, so she can take them home for another Fourth of July party. The employee's were all smiles and said no problem. The next thing we know we are being handed a huge box full of cookies, with a question "Is this enough?" There were well over a hundred cookies in this box, and they wouldn't take them back once they had given them to us. So needless to say, Mary, Derrick and Allen ate WAY too many cookies at this parade. At least one child had a cookie in hand the entire parade! On top of the cookies all of the floats were tossing out candy to the kids, which we knew was going to happen, but again I didn't realize the massive quantities of candy my kids would be getting. They all had so much fun picking it up.

All Things Crafy

2011-08-05T00:10:00.005-04:00

Once again, I'm playing catch up on my blog and the oldest pictures that I want to post are all of the crafty things I made for my sister-in-laws baby shower, and other things. Since then I have slowed down with the crocheting, but I am planning on making a baby blanket for my other sister-in-law who is having a girl and due in November.

I made the monkey and the parrot for my sister, because she was throwing a baby shower for a best friend from high school and wanted to do a diaper cake with animals too. All of the others are for our toy room which I am still meaning to hang up from the ceiling. I will post pictures when I get it all done, hopefully it looks as cute as I think it will be:) These fish also have other friends now, I think I have fifteen or so aquatic items to hang up.
Sorry, I didn't have the eyes stitched on the elephant and the hippo when I took the picture. Eyes made them even cuter!

Chicken Salad Recipe?

2011-07-20T01:05:00.003-04:00

Does anyone have a tried and true, yummy chicken salad recipe? I have tried several over the years and I still haven't found "the one" that is what I like for chicken salad. You know you want to help me out and post your recipe to our buckeye friends blog or leave a comment.

P.s. This would be something that would be easier posted on a Facebook account. Sorry. I still haven't talked myself into one yet:)

The Magic Circle and Invisible Decrease

2011-06-09T00:18:00.024-04:00

No I am not blogging about kama sutra (although that might be a fun way to get a response from my readers:), these are two amazingly awesome crochet techniques I am learning! These techniques allow you to crochet amigurumi without holes and gaps in your crocheting. I have recently picked up my crochet hook, after years of neglect, and had forgotten how much I enjoy crocheting! My most recent projects were for my sister-in-laws baby shower. The shower was a jungle theme and I found TONS of cute and free patterns online. I just couldn't stop myself from making a baby elephant, giraffe and hippo. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of my finished products - yet. I need to get the pics from my mother-in-law. But they are just as cute at you can imagine. Now, that I have found these extra neat techniques, I'm sure another crochet project is going to be in the works soon. I think I am going to make several under the sea themed items and hang them up in our toy room. I just can't decide which items to make. What are your favorites?

mary.

2011-05-31T17:31:00.001-04:00

mary christine waite 1234

at cat bat pat
nap

Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-31T17:02:00.007-04:00

It was a happy Memorial Day weekend even though it was kind of weird and bittersweet to have a grave to visit now. In the past Danny and I have just tagged along for the ride to visit graves of people I didn't have the chance of meeting before they passed away. This year my family all got together to visit my dad's grave. It was a good experience for me and for the kids. We got the kids pinwheels to place on Grandpa George's grave. They liked being apart of the Memorial Day remembering. The cemetery looked amazing with all of the flags placed upon all of the veterans graves. It reminded my how blessed we are to live in a country with the freedoms to live and worship the way we choose. It also helped me be that much more appreciative of all of those who die for our country.

I still feel incredibly sad when I think that my children will most likely not remember their grandpa George when they are older - especially Allen, since his name is my father's middle name. However, I find immense peace in knowing that we are an eternal family and eternal families can be together forever.

Our family with Grandma George at Grandpa George's grave. We love you and miss you Grandpa!

P.s. It was my birthday too, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend it. The entire weekend full of good BBQ food, and I didn't have to prepare a single meal.

Chalk It Up To Experience

2011-05-25T23:34:00.003-04:00

I will spare you the details. Don't run with a full bladder.

Why Oh Why . . .

2011-05-10T01:52:00.002-04:00

Why in the world can I never get my picture labels to work out properly? I have tried and tried and now I just don't care as much. O.k. that's not true, it actually drives me nuts, but I don't know what else to try. Oh well, maybe next time.

Allen's Birthday and Mother's Day

2011-05-10T00:28:00.007-04:00

Unfortunately for Allen his birthday will always be linked with Mother's Day. There is just no way around it when you are born on the day. So this year even though his birthday didn't fall on the same day as Mother's Day we still celebrated both together- with both families too. Everyone was spoiled, especially Allen. On Sunday, Grandma George, Uncle Trevor, Aunt Carrie and Kambrya all came over for dinner and to celebrate. Danny was going to use all of his dutch ovens and make a magnificent meal for us. One the I wouldn't have to cook too. Well, the weather had other ideas, and it rained all day long. So, scratch that idea. We had lasagna, rolls and a fruit salad instead. For dessert Aunt Carrie made an awesome birthday cake for Allen, which looked and tasted amazing! After dinner we opened presents for all mom's and for Allen.

Grandma George opening her Cricut. Yea for being able to use/borrow your mom's things!
Allen "opening" his present.
Discovering his cake.

Enjoying his cake. Enjoying the cake on his truck :)

Today, on Allen's actual birthday, we got together with Grandpa and Grandma Waite, Uncle Tim and Aunt Jenelle and celebrated Mother's Day, Allen's birthday and Jenelle's birthday. We first had a yummy dinner of pizza - which I think Allen might have eaten more of than his cake. Then we opened Mother's Day gifts, and then Allen's presents and then Jenelle's. Then we ate cake and ice cream. We have lots of cake leftover. I wish that I knew more people around here so that I could give it away, or better yet invite them over to share. I made Allen a train cake. Which was a lot of fun making and putting together. Either the cake was just real easy to do this time, or I am getting better at making birthday cakes. Hopefully, a little of both. Anyway, on to the pictures.

Grandma Waite opening her Mother's Day gifts. Daddy helping Allen with his presents.

Allen getting help with presents from Grandpa Waite and Derrick too.

Allen after he has completely enjoyed and demolished his portion of cake.

Highlights Of The Past Few Months

2011-05-09T23:28:00.006-04:00

With moving, and then not having Internet access for a few weeks I have gotten even more behind on blogging than usual. I even have several posts that I really want to do, instead of just squashing it all together. But before those, I am going to highlight a few things.

Tent time - Mary and Derrick made the tent, but Allen enjoyed playing in it the most.Danny's Birthday - the kids loved looking in and banging on Danny's newest dutch oven. Fish Farm Preschool Field trip - Mary caught the fish by herself, and then I took the hook out by myself. It was the first time I have touched a live fish in a VERY long time.St. Patrick's Day - in all it's green breakfast glory.
Pi Day - I don't remember exactly what kind of pie this was, but it had a cheesecake layer, two chocolate layers,and crushed Snickers in it. It was a slice of heaven :)Mary's bird's nest - she made it out of branches pruned from the apricot tree. Enjoying the weather after Aunt Natalie's Graduation ceremony.

We Are In

2011-04-17T18:40:00.004-04:00

We have moved in. Walls painted and cleaned. Yucky carpet ripped out and new lovely and wonderful carpet in (can you tell that I like our carpet a lot?). The boxes are almost all unpacked. The kitchen is organized, and oh how nice it is to have SO much space to work with. We just have pictures to put up on the walls and books to unpack. All of the books that are still packed are mostly Danny's chemistry things, and they can stay in boxes as long as Danny wants.

Our house is truly beginning to feel like home. The more money we use to fix things the more grateful I am to patient in-laws that let us live with them for such an extended period of time to save and find the perfect home. It has made all of the difference unpacking, knowing that I will not need to pack everything up again in a few years. We even threw away all of the boxes that we have been holding on to for who knows how many years and moves.

I know that I heard and learned about all of the "little expenses" from various people, and thought I was prepared. But these things add up so quickly. I never would have thought that I would need to purchase new shower curtain rods, because the rods left behind don't let our shower curtains hang down far enough. Or purchase new toilet seats, because the ones left behind we too gross to even want to clean, and I just threw them out.

Anyway, it is fun and so good to be done with all of this extended move. Sorry, to all of you out there that want to know my new phone number and address. We still don't have our Internet services figured out. So, I am posting this from my in-laws, and hopefully I can shoot you all a quick e-mail with all of the info. Thanks for all of your support and interest.

Swinging

2011-04-01T23:30:00.002-04:00

It seems like all of my posts have been home themed lately. Thankfully, Allen has helped me mix things up a bit. Then I remembered that I had this video of all of the kids together swinging. It is just too cute to not post, so here is another video. This time of my adorable kids swinging together :)

Allen Is Walking

2011-04-01T23:15:00.002-04:00

Just in the last week something clicked in Allen's head and he figured out how to go from cruising around the furniture to walking. I haven't been helping him with figuring out walking because I am still not quite ready for another kid to chase around. But he decided to do it all on his own. Even though he is already causing difficulties with his new found ability, he sure is cute to watch toddle around. Where has the time gone? Where is my little baby? Anyway, this is a video of him when he was first starting to figure things out last week. He is much better now and can walk across a room if he wants to.

The Pink Room

2011-03-27T22:58:00.004-04:00

After some persuasion I am posting pictures of the hideously ugly room that we are repainting in our home. Unfortunately - or maybe it is fortunate - the pictures do not do the room full justice. The paint is so bright that you can see a pink glow reflecting in the hallway before you even enter the room. Furthermore, the neon green diamonds are sparkly. How many coats of primer and paint do you think it will take to cover up this sight-blinding room?

FINALLY

2011-03-25T00:20:00.003-04:00

We finally closed on our home today. I can truthfully state "our home", because it really is now :) So, now I get to dive head first into picking paint colors, unpacking (another FINALLY), settling in, getting to know a new ward and planting a real garden! I can taste the fresh tomatoes already. Yum!

Our Soon To Be Home

2011-03-10T10:57:00.004-05:00

So, I realized (thanks Sarah) that I still haven't posted anything about the home we are trying to purchase. We have just two weeks until we close on "our" home. So, I think I am safe posting a picture of the home and giving a little more information about it. This home fits all of our requirements that we decided we didn't want to budge on, except it is not a rambler. It has four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. The upper level of the home is actually two levels, because the master suite is on a level all of it's own. It has an unfinished basement, which we like because it gives us room to grow. It has a fenced in backyard and plenty of space for a garden and play area for the kids. It is on a very quite street, which is awesome, because one of the homes that fell through was on a busier road and I was never quite comfortable with that. Much to Mary's delight, it has a bright pink bedroom with neon green diamonds that sparkle (I wish I had a picture, it is one of a kind). Unfortunately for Mary, we are going to paint over it before we move in. The bright pink and green are just a little to much for me to handle :) I can't think of anything else I want to say about it right now, and since the kids are calling . . . I will call it good for now.

Valentine's Day For Me

2011-02-20T23:52:00.003-05:00

The first part of my Valentine's Day awesomeness started back in December with me receiving a new Miche diaper bag for Christmas. For those of you foreign to Miche, of which I am now surprisingly a big fan of, it is a purse company which make bags with outer exchangeable shells. I received the base bag and a diaper bag shell for Christmas (the super trendy green one if you actually look at the site) and Danny got me a new superfabatasic shell for Valentine's Day.All of you out there who know me, know that I am not a bag/purse person. I am satisfied carrying the diaper bag that you get for free from the hospital when you have a child. However, these shells make it SO fun to carry a purse. There is a huge variety of shells, and there are several that actually fit my personality and style. Furthermore, they release new shells every month, thus retiring older ones at big discounts :) which takes a way the guilt/qualms I have about spending money on a purse.

O.k. I have rambled enough about the fantastic Miche Bag Co. On to part two. What part two, you might ask, Danny really when above and beyond this year! We acquired an old oak gliding rocking chair awhile back when some neighbors up the street moved out. It was beat up and ready for the Salvation Army as far as I was concerned, but Danny saw potential and decided to fix it up and refinish it. Well, that was months ago and I had forgotten all about the rocker. So, when I got to see it all spruced up and refinished, it just made me deeply thrilled. I have wanted a gliding chair for awhile, and even more since Sarah got one way back when in Ohio. So, this just really made me happy. I don't have any pictures of it yet because I keep forgetting to take some. It is currently in the garage because there is no room in Danny's parents home for it, but soon we will have a home of our own and there will be plenty of space to fill in our new home.

Which, leads me to part three! Not completely related to Valentine's Day, but still has made me recently ecstatic. After months of looking and walking through what seems like hundreds homes - we have finally finished all paper work, loan stuff, grant stuff, home inspections (yada, yada, yada) on our end of everything and are closing on our very first home on March 24! In just a little over a month we will be moving out of Danny's parents house! Even though it has been a great experience and we are grateful and deeply indebted to them, we are so excited to be out on our own again. So, that is the excitement that has been our life for the last little bit. I will post more about this home in the future as things become more solidified. Sometimes, these things can just not work out in weird ways. Right now we feel good about everything so we don't see that happening, but no use getting your hopes up as well as mine if things don't work out :)

Valentine's Day Sugar High

2011-02-16T12:42:00.003-05:00

This year making gigantic Valentine cookies for the kids was almost a flop. I had forgotten how much dough it takes to make one and didn't quite have enough for three. I just made them thinner than usual and it finally worked out. Which I am a happy about because this picture of Allen looks exactly like me and my first huge Valentine cookie. I wish I had a copy of that picture to post. Allen liked banging and smacking his hands on the cookie. He didn't get any frosting to his mouth, which I am kind of grateful for because it was homemade cream cheese frosting and I haven't introduced dairy products yet. He sure had fun just playing with it though. All in all we had a happy Valentine's Day. Hopefully, more to come about the fantastic gift Danny gave me, but Mary will be home from preschool soon, so I must stop now.

Such a cute smile, with two bottom teeth.
Derrick looks a little dazed about how big his cookie is.

Mary posing with her Valentine cookie. By the way, the roses aren't mine they are my mother-in-law's. Danny did get me an awesome gift, but long stem roses were not apart of it :)

Allen's Army Crawl

2011-02-07T23:09:00.003-05:00

I have been meaning to post these videos of Allen for awhile. He has been army crawling everywhere for awhile and is now on the verge of walking. Yup, you read that right - walking. It might take longer than I think for him to really take off. But then again he is pulling himself up on everything, walking along furniture and continually trying to walk to someone. Be it me, Danny, Mary or grandparents. He has no fear, and wants to follow us around. Particularly Mary and Derrick. So, he might just be walking sooner than I would like.

P.s. Please ignore how silly I sound. Allen brings out the worst (or maybe the best) in me :)

What Do These 23 Items Have in Common?

2011-02-05T00:48:00.003-05:00

18 toy cars
rubber duck
bouncy ball
wooden pickle
sock
crayon

These are the items that Danny extracted from the inside of my in-laws surround sound sub-woofer! I don't know whether to laugh or give Derrick a BIG talking to tomorrow when he wakes up. I think I am doing both. To Derrick's credit the sub does make a pretty neat tunnel for his cars. One thing is for certain, I now know where to look for small toys that are lost in the future :)

Mary Post

2011-01-18T11:31:00.005-05:00

kjdlf kkffnfkd,dkje ek;ejekyeiewuuttuhyughg hrhthtj thhtjlthgtgteghgtgjuriu8jrh grbhghthr rhrh rhrejhe /hdfgfgh/fbnbfvhgeghrv rrrrrhgrewggehegjtuu6uuujhrrhjytjbfhjjkofhfgvedvc nm yryrytryyryewywwueyetetyewteyvtyryttegrheejh3jy3yyy7bhfdhhjfjfjdjf fhjfkkfkfhbfvfhhfgghjjghjjjfhgnvbfjgjfjtuitugthtttttroip

Mary caught me blogging during the day (I try to blog after they are in bed) and asked to do her own post :)

Homemade Nativity

2011-01-18T11:18:00.002-05:00

Mary asked a few days before Christmas why she hasn't been able to dress up like Mary yet? She was the angel for her preschool nativity, so she actually hadn't acted like Mary yet. Of course as soon as I started getting Mary dressed up Derrick wanted in on the fun too, and we just couldn't leave out Allen - so, this is what we pulled together - so cute! As we were doing this Mary was narrating the entire nativity story herself, and a little disappointed that we didn't at least have another child for a wise man or shepherd. All in good time munchkin :)

Behind Again

2011-01-18T11:08:00.003-05:00

Once again I have allowed too much time to pass without posting anything. Now I am going to try to play catch up . . . again. Be prepared for a slew of new posts from the holiday's. Beginning with this picture of Uncle Nick. Mary thinks this picture is so funny that it deserves it's own post :) I might add that Nick is serving a mission in Russia right now, so these totally cool hats fit right in with the local styles.

Down To One Again!

2010-11-16T23:35:00.003-05:00

Only one in diapers now. Well, almost. I started toilet training Derrick this last weekend and he is doing awesome! He still needs a diaper for nap time and through the night, but with the progress he has made in just a few days, hopefully we can eliminate those too. I just had to share my excitement and Derrick's progress.

Mary Playing With Allen

2010-11-11T21:53:00.002-05:00

Mary was so cute with Allen today (she is actually good with him all of the time) that I couldn't resist taking a video of them. She made up all of the words to the song she is singing :) Allen loved it!

Housing Vent

2010-11-04T16:01:00.002-04:00

I remember when Mike and Kari were looking to purchase a home and all of the stress and headache they had. Why should we be so lucky to circumvent these problems? Well, we're not. However, my major qualm right now is not with the home purchasing loops, but the Weber Housing Down payment Grant. It has taken a great deal to pull all of the paperwork needed for this silly grant together. Then yesterday I got a call from the Weber Housing Office telling me that I forgot to sign something. First thought was - Impossible. I went through this application several times. Well they were insistent, that I come sign something. I didn't have a car yesterday so I couldn't anyway. Today, I called back and begged the representative to please just double check the application to make sure it really needs to be signed. I wouldn't make such fuss over it, but this place is twenty minutes away, and I'd have to take the kids, so I wanted to make sure the trip wasn't going to be a waste. Well, he looked at the application again and . . . it doesn't have to be signed. Sigh of relief, right? WRONG. My name isn't printed next to the signature. First thought - you have got to be kidding me? Then I realize that they want me to come down and print in my own name. They can't print it in for me, even if I tell them that it is o.k. AGGGHHHH!!! Does anyone out there know if it is illegal or not to print a name. Signing I can understand - but printing, seems a little silly. Anyhow, this is my current housing frustration. But I guess it will be worth it if we get the grant.

One Big Fall . . .

2010-11-01T00:42:00.007-04:00

Post. I should break this post into a few, but then I run the risk of just not posting anything at all, so it is going to be everything together again. First is Black Island Farm. Mary's preschool group went to "the pumpkin patch" as Mary called it. Similar to Circle S farm, for all of you Ohio buddies. They had fun, but of course the weather didn't cooperate, and it was COLD. Mary's winter coat is still in storage so she had on three long-sleeved shirts, a fleece sweater and her jacket. Plus her tights, and two pairs of pants. She didn't complain about being cold though.

Mary riding the cow train. Derrick didn't want to - he still hasn't gotten over the merry-go-round at the county fair.
Mary all bundled up.

Derrick all bundled up. He didn't want to let go of his pumpkin after he picked it :)

Mary pointing to which pumpkin she wanted. They were still attached to the vine, so a worker had to come cut it for her.

Mary holding one of the carrots they passed around and learned about.

Second, is Aunt Ara coming to visit. Ara loves Halloween and called one night to see if she could come visit. She wanted the kids to open the door. Which ended up not being the best idea. I wish this picture was clearer, but we didn't have the opportunity to take more because we were comforting Derrick who was hysterical and inconsolable over the witch. Mary was pretty scared too until I took her outside and showed her Ara's big red truck (which she is famous for). Then Mary wasn't so apprehensive. Ara gave them Halloween pencils, and Mary told Derrick that Ara was a good witch because she gave them a pencil. Derrick didn't calm down until after Ara left. Poor Derrick.

Third, carving pumpkins for various family nights. We ended up with eleven pumpkins this year. Grandma George grew her own, Grandpa Waite came home with some and we got more at the Black Island Farm - so we carved lots of pumpkins. Above is Danny's first - for Derrick.

This is the first pumpkin I carved for Mary. She wanted a frowny face. She wasn't in the best of moods, and tired too. I think it turned out more scary than frowny.

This is my pumpkin that I decided to try after I saw how Danny's pumpkin turned out using the stencil.

This is Grandpa Waite's pumpkin. It has a uvula - hahaha.

Danny's stencil pumpkin - Mary wanted him to do the cat. I did the happy pumpkin, hoping to balance out the sinister one :)

A close up of Danny's cat pumpkin.

Lastly, Mary's preschool group also had a Halloween party. Which was fun and adorable! All of the preschool kids displaying their skeletons, which they make from their own traced hands and feet.

Reading Halloween stories.

Hanging out in front of the treat table. Also, shows how cute Derrick was as a bee :) I could post a lot more preschool pictures now - but I am getting tired and Danny is waiting to go to bed, so this is good enough for now! Enjoy.

Summer Fun

2010-10-26T14:36:00.005-04:00

I have been meaning to do a catch-up post for awhile, but still haven't. I just keep getting further behind. Time to just do it and stay on top of everything. Here are some of the things we did this summer, that I didn't post but I wanted to.

Mary and Derrick playing in the rain. I didn't know they were playing outside until I was finished with Allen. They had lots of fun.
Family day with Great-grandma Fuller.
Great-grandma Waite's 82nd birthday.

Mary and Derrick looking down from Inspiration Point.

The hot air balloon festive at Antelope Island.

Trying to get us to all look at the camera :)

Mary wearing Aunt Carrie's sunglasses and Derrick wearing Grandpa George's hat.
Mary, Derrick and Allen with Kailani, their second cousin.
Danny tossing a cow pie at the Railroaders Convention at the Golden Spike National Park. He got the longest distance on his cow pie :)
All of us in front of engine 119 at Golden Spike.
Danny, Derrick, Allen and I on the speeder. That was fun but kind of scary.

County Fair

2010-10-20T21:31:00.027-04:00

Since Darcie has been very busy lately with the kids, I thought that I would put together some of the posts that she wishes that she had done. This is from when we went with my parents to the Box Elder County Fair. For those who don't know Utah geography, Box Elder county is a mostly rural country in the northwest corner of Utah. This makes the county fair a big deal.

Derrick didn't quite know what to think of the chickens that were in the cages (I think they made too much noise for his liking), but he was much more excited to see the bunnies.

Mary also liked the rabbits much better than the chickens and even went so far as to pet this one. I also think that the rabbits were much more familiar to them thanks to Killer and her gentle ways.

They also had cows that you could walk right in between and pigs in cages. Mary was really frightened when the pigs started fighting over their food. Pigs definitely deserve their reputation when it comes to food. I have heard that if you want to have a fat pig you need to have two of them so that they fight over the food and eat more than they would otherwise. Well these pigs definitely liked to fight over their food.

Mary also got to go on the rides for the first time. When she first saw the rides and heard that she would be able to ride them, she was very excited. She had seen Lagoon amusement park often on our rides between the two grand- parents and would always ask if she could ride the Ferris Wheel. Well, when she got close to the rides she was scared of all their noise. She also commented that the Ferris Wheel was too tall for her. After much persuasion, she took a ride on a train. After that, it was all we could do to keep her off of the rides. She can't wait until she gets another chance to go on rides.

Derrick on the other hand was terrified. We managed to get him on the train and he immediately jumped off, before it even started moving, screaming for mommy. We finally were able to get him on the merry-go-round and it almost looks like he is enjoying.

Marker Mischief

2010-09-10T00:04:00.003-04:00

The title of the post says it all . . .

What? A New Post???

2010-09-09T01:04:00.001-04:00

I figured I had better post about Mary's fourth birthday, or else one day she would ask me why I didn't. I don't have a good excuse. So without further ado . . .

Happy Fourth Birthday Mary!

2010-09-09T00:27:00.004-04:00

Mary is four and once again I am wondering how in the world did time go by so quickly? Mary is so big, and is such a wonderful helper with her younger brothers. I just can't imagine our lives without her. For her birthday we had a big combined family party/bbq on Labor Day, instead of celebrating on Sunday. She had a blast and loved being in the limelight.

This was taken on her birthday (I don't know how the dates on our camera got messed up, but I just noticed. Oops:) She is wearing her new church dress. So grown-up and adorable!This is her helping me make the frosting for her birthday cake. She loves helping me in the kitchen.This is her birthday cake. She wanted a smiley face cake with flowers on it. So we searched for pics of smiley cakes and found and M&M cake. She LOVED it so we made it, with a few additions - the flowers.By the time I was done frosting the cake Mary had lost interest in helping me, so I did the M&M's myself. She, however, insisted on adding her own, it was after all her cake and she is a "big girl four-year-old" as she told me. Can you spot them?Mary opening her my little ponies. She made Aunt Janelle jealous :)Her bike helmet that she picked out herself. She didn't care what it looked like, she just wanted the one with the loud and obnoxious horn.
Mary's birthday bike.
The birthday chaos. Such fun!Mary riding her bike. She is so proud to be able to ride a bike like Grandpa Waite. Mary insists that she is going to accompany him on one of his bike rides and make her cheeks all drippy just like grandpa.

Mary also wanted to put her own candles in her cake, so she did ;) Happy Birthday Mary! We love you!

A good and sad week

2010-08-06T17:55:00.002-04:00

This week has been a tough one. Late Tuesday, we received word that Darcie's dad had died. She has been busy helping with the funeral plans since then. A bit of good news is that I have one job offer on the table and had a really good interview as well.

Darcie will fill in more when things calm down a bit more. The funeral will be on Monday.

Silly Derrick

2010-07-28T02:18:00.003-04:00

I have been meaning to post these pics for awhile. Since we just celebrated Derrick's birthday I felt it would be good to show how much laughter and joy he brings into our lives. We love our Derrick dude!

Those are carrots in his ears, if you can't tell.No, those aren't Mary's sandals. They are Build-a-Bear shoes for grandma's bear :)

Derrick's Two!

2010-07-27T01:08:00.007-04:00

Happy birthday Derrick! I can't believe that you are two already. This is the first birthday that grandparents have been able to celebrate with us, so we had two separate parties for our families. Derrick understood the whole present thing a ton better this year, and was enthusiastic about all of his gifts. Grandparents spoiled him above and beyond what they have done in the past, and he enjoyed every minute of his time in the limelight. Without further ado here are some of the pictures and video taken of the celebrating. These are just a small portion of all of the pictures and video. After all was said and done, we took pictures, Uncle Tim and Aunt Jenelle took pictures, all grandparents took pictures, and Grandma Waite took actual video with a camcorder. So everything is documented extremely well :)

The presents at Grandpa and Grandpa George'sThe presents at Grandpa and Grandma Waite's.The cakes. Yummy!

Playing with presents.

Parade "Flutes"

2010-07-20T00:21:00.005-04:00

Tonight for FHE we went to look at the 24th of July parade floats or 'flutes' as Mary was calling them. There were over 75 floats all displayed indoor in an expo center, which was wonderful and made even better because of the air conditioning. The theme for all of the floats had to do with "Now and Then". My personal favorite was labeled "Turning Trials Into Treats: Now and Then". I can't explain it very well, so I will let the pictures I took do the talking. Other floats of interest were the BSA 100th anniversary float and a hilarious "Trekking: Now and Then" float, depicting and family in a minivan driving to Nauvoo for a family trip, and a pioneer family in a covered wagon headed to Salt Lake. It was neat to see the floats up close and personal. I hope we can turn this into a family tradition, if we are still in the area in the future.

Turning Trials Into Treats.

Seagulls collecting crickets to make cricket cookies.The cricket cookies. It has eyes and bits of cricket in it. Haha!

All of the crickets being chased by a seagull with a net.

This picture explains itself. How funny!
Danny and Derrick next to the BSA 100 years of scouting float.
1960's scouting uniform.

One of the very first scouting uniforms.
Closeup of the 100 and first scouting uniform.

Trout Farm Fishing

2010-07-16T14:12:00.005-04:00

We went to the local trout farm last night and let Mary and Derrick go fishing. It was amusing. Mary didn't want to get close to the fish when they were caught and flailing around. She did think it was funny the way the fish jumped for food. Derrick liked holding the fishing rod and looking at the fish in the bucket. Both liked throwing the fish food. Allen just sat in his car seat the entire time and slept. The best part of the entire activity was eating the fish, of course. YUM!

Derrick caught a fish!
Mary taking a peak at the fish. Derrick looking and talking to the fish.
Grandpa, Mary and Daddy fishing.

Mary catching her first fish with Grandpa. Listen carefully, and at the end you will hear Mary exclaim EWE!

Allen's Baby Blessing

2010-07-08T15:52:00.003-04:00

This last Sunday, the 4th of July, we blessed Allen. It was enjoyable to have family around to be able to participate and witness the blessing. After church was over we all met back at Danny's parents for delicious food and mingling. We were also took current pictures of the family, and the family with extended family. The only way it could have been better was if all of our family members and good friends could have been there. We miss you Chris, Alicia, Nick, Carrie and Kambrya! Everyone is doing what they need to be doing, so I can't complain :) Anyhow, here are pics of everyone. Enjoy!Darcie's family from left to right: Uncle Trevor, Grandpa George, Grandma George, Me, Allen, Danny, Derrick, Uncle Tyson, Mary and Aunt Natalie.Danny's family from left to right: Me, Mary, Danny, Allen, Grandpa Waite, Derrick, Grandma Waite, Uncle Tim, Aunt Jenelle.

Silly Mary and Derrick under the picnic tables.

Random Mary Quote

2010-07-08T01:10:00.003-04:00

Sarah, you inspired me. Telling all of the funny things Ian says, made me think about Mary. Furthermore, I also have been a blogging slacker. I have a ton of things I could blog, even with pictures and all, but haven't. So, I'm just quickly writing about what Mary asked me tonight.

Me: "Mary hand me those books so I can put them on the shelf."
Mary: "I tooted. Can you smell my stinky stink?"

Adorable Allen

2010-06-23T23:54:00.002-04:00

We caught some of Allen's smiles and giggles with the camera today. He has been smiling and laughing like this for at least two weeks, I just haven't had a camera on hand when he is being adorable. He is such a happy little guy, and we are so glad to have him in our family!

Nauvoo and Carthage

2010-06-21T23:35:00.004-04:00

To say the least, visiting Nauvoo and Carthage was an amazing experience. Heidi and Kari, you are right - you need more than a day to do everything. However, a day was all the time we had, so we made the most of it. I was most grateful that Danny and I were able to attend a session at the Nauvoo Temple. Again, it was amazing and I won't forget the feelings felt. Well, because I'm being lazy all of the pictures we took are out of order and kind of hodge-podged together, but I want to post them - so here are a few.This is a silly picture of Mary looking down the well at the Lucy Mack-Smith House. When the house was being restored, the addition that was on the back of the house was demolished. This original well and pathway was found.All of us standing next to a replica of a river barge, which would have transported the covered wagons across the Mississippi River.Mary loved petting the horses. Derrick was a little more apprehensive. Not surprising, considering the horses head is about as big as Derrick's entire body.Derrick and an original sun stone from the first Nauvoo Temple. Danny and I outside the temple. Standing for this picture brought back happy memories of our wedding day at the Logan Temple.

This is such a cheesy picture of Mary, that I just couldn't resist posting it. In the background it a map of Nauvoo, and how it once was.

Mary asked me to take this pictures of her "trying to be like Jesus".

Two very important men (at least to me ;) and one cute little girl.

Danny, Allen and I standing outside the window Joseph Smith fell from when he was martyred.
Last but not least, this adorable picture of Derrick asleep in the car while driving to Nauvoo. He fell asleep clutching the pieces of his new puzzle book grandma and grandpa gave him. So cute!

You Might Think

2010-05-31T23:04:00.003-04:00

Danny and the kids gave me Wii Fit Plus for my birthday, and you might think that I would be offended or something for giving me a game to help me loose weight. However, I think it was just about the perfect gift for me this year. Just having Allen, and feeling the desire to be more active again, but not really being able to do anything super intensive is why Wii Fit Plus is perfect for me now. Anyway, we opened it up and tried all of the new games with the kids. I just laughed and laughed. Hopefully, the pictures and video explain why.

The video is of Danny flying, if you couldn't tell. He is playing a game where you are trying to fly from pillar to pillar. Of course the only way you can fly is by flapping your arms, hence the hilarity - at least to me :)

Mary is skateboarding. She really got into this game and was leaning from side to side and moving her hips to weave through the obstacle course. Again, it was so funny. I wish I would have taken another video. Maybe next time.

Last of Preschool

2010-05-28T23:34:00.003-04:00

Since Mary's preschool group started she has insisted that we tape all of her projects and crafts to her bedroom door. As you can imagine the door was quite full, and made an interesting collage. Mary hasn't wanted to take any of it down, and now that we are packing to move, it has become necessary. The only way I could convince her was to tell her I would take pictures of everything, and put them on the computer so that her grandparents and friends could see them. So here they are. Mary had a great time taking everything down at arranging it on the floor so we could take pictures. She then wanted to take a picture of everything by herself. :)

To Miss Or Not To Miss

2010-05-27T13:57:00.004-04:00

As the time draws closer to the day we are moving from Ohio, I have been thinking specifically about all of the things I will miss and not miss so much from Columbus. So, without further ado, here are my lists in no particular order.

I will miss . . .
the Westland Ward.
the wonderful friends I have made here.
the metro parks.
the humidity.
the wind and constant breezes.
how green everything is during the spring and summer months.
how vibrant and colorful the leaves are in the fall.
how the ice storms make everything look so sparkly.
the football - Go Buckeyes!
the lightening storms (even though they used to freak me out :)
the plethora of snow days.
the zoo.
Jazz and Rib Fest (Soooo yummy!)
Thanksgivings at the church.
4th of July's on top of 9th Ave parking garage.
book club.
Bob Evan's
Raising Cane's
Chipotle (there are a few locations in Utah, but not close enough to make it worth the drive)
Anthony Thomas Chocolate Factory, and the free tours.

I won't miss so much . . .
the weave lanes on the freeways (Yes, this is number one on my not miss list.)
the train tracks behind our apartment (this is a close second.)
the ice storms.

Well, I need to be doing other things now, so I will stop with these lists like this. I am planning on adding more as I think of them so stay tuned. Furthermore, I know lots of people also moving, so what would you add to either list? Just curious.

The Kids

2010-05-26T13:08:00.003-04:00

I finally was able to take pictures of all of the kids together. I have been trying/wanting to for awhile now, but Allen was either asleep or eating when Mary and Derrick were awake, dressed and ready to have pictures taken.

This is the only picture where both Mary and Derrick were looking at the camera. I wish Allen would have too. I have learned that trying to get my kids to look at the camera at the same time is next to impossible. I though this was funny. I can't decide if Allen is trying to scream in terror or bite of Derrick's nose.Allen is finally looking at the camera! I only had to blink the flash at him about a million times to get his attention :)I can't believe how much he has changed already - and he is only just over two weeks old.

More About Mother's Day

2010-05-14T13:48:00.008-04:00

After a much anticipated leave of absence, I'm happy to be feeling well enough and alert enough to post a few more things about Allen and his entrance into the world.

I started having contractions around 7:00 when I woke up Sunday morning. The contractions were actually strong enough for me to know that it was time to wake up the kids, feed them breakfast and take them to the Patterson's. (Thanks again Fran and Henry and sorry for making your Mother's Day chaotic.) We arrived at the hospital around 8:30 and was told I was dilated 6 cm. It took about a half hour or so to check-in and for them to call my doctor. They broke my water right after I got to a delivery room, around 9:00. My doctor arrived around 9:30 and checked me again, I was expecting to be 7 maybe 8 cm dilated, but I was so happy and surprised to be told I was a 9 and let my doctor know when I felt the urge to push. Waited through a few more contractions, decided it was time and told my doctor, pushed and Allen was here. As soon as I held him I knew his name was Allen, or at least I couldn't think of calling him by any other name. All in all I couldn't have asked for a better labor and delivery.
After all of the pictures Danny posted of me and Allen I feel obligated to post at least one of him. (: This was taken right after Allen had his first bath, and before Danny went home to get Mary and Derrick. Later that day, Danny brought Mary and Derrick to the hospital to introduce Allen to them. Mary was all smiles and just wanted to hold, hug and kiss Allen. Derrick wanted to be helpful right from the start by trying to feed Allen a pretzel.

What a proud big sister!Excuse my cheesy grin. Sometimes you just can't help it.

Derrick pointing out that Allen has a nose. Something he did at least ten times.

He's finally here!

2010-05-09T15:40:00.003-04:00

Today just before 10 am, Darcie recieved her greatest (and most desired this year), Mother's Day gift as we welcomed Allen James Waite into the world. Both mother and baby are doing great.

This is one happy mom on Mother's Day

Here he is all cleaned up. He has the same blond hair as his siblings.

Still Waite - ing . .

2010-05-05T22:49:00.003-04:00

Ha ha ha! Pathetic pun, I know. But yes, for all of you that I haven't talked to with in the last 24 hours, we are still waiting for the baby to arrive. Just thought everyone might like to know :)

Balcony Bird Watcing

2010-05-01T20:21:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in what seems like forever. Furthermore, I was sort of thinking that I'd be posting about our newborn, who hasn't arrived. So what have we been doing for the last week or so, at home, because I really don't want to go anywhere or travel too far? Bird watching from our balcony. Which has actually turned into a new family hobby.

It started with Mary telling me that she HAS to show me something. She promptly led me to our back balcony and pointed out a rather large bird walking around in the water in the pond by our apartment. I thought it was a crane, so that's what I told her it was. Well, the crane has come and gone several times over the last week, and so Danny eventually saw it as well and informed us it is a heron, not a crane. Then he promptly looked up what type of a heron online (great blue heron), as well as the sound it makes. Mary thought this was fantastic!Well, as the week has progressed Mary has watched for the heron. This morning, imagine her excitement, when she came to tell me (actually all of us) there was another bird outside in the water. There was another bird, an egret, and I'm totally impressed that Danny knew what it was. Once again we got out the laptop and looked up exactly what kind of egret (great egret).So, even though we have been home-bodies for the last week, I feel like we have accomplished something. O.k. at least Danny has accomplished something. Because of his efforts, Mary can tell the difference between a heron and egret, and has a new found interest in birds. Something she can watch for from the comfort of our balcony. Which is a HUGE plus for me right now. Hooray for bird watching!

ABC's & 123's

2010-04-22T22:34:00.005-04:00

Today the preschool group that Mary has been in for the past several months had "graduation". It was cute and adorable and the kids (or maybe just Mary) kind of had no clue what all of the hubbub was about. The kids all dressed up in dad's Sunday shirt, backwards, and had a cap to go with the ensemble. Then they paraded down the stairs to Pomp and Circumstance, received a diploma, and performed the ABC's. We read Dr. Seuss's, Oh The Places You Can Go, and reviewed some of the concepts learned by showing crafts we had made throughout the months. To top it all off we made hand print shirts, because all of us are moving within the next few weeks/months. All-in-all it was a fun and festive finalization to the little group that has had such good times together.

Mary all dressed up. Super cute!All of the graduates. Can you think of anything more adorable?
Mary being handed her diploma, and all of the others anxiously awaiting theirs.
Mary proudly displaying her diploma.
Mary eating her personal trophy cookie.

All of the graduate's parading down the stairs, to line up and get their diplomas. I'm glad no one tripped or fell. :) There were plenty of opportunities to do so, with the outfits being so long.

Lions and Baby Names

2010-04-06T21:50:00.005-04:00

Once again I have a picture of Mary from preschool. Her group learned about circus animals today and had a blast making lion masks! So cute - and the ears aren't even straight.

Part Two: Names???

As many of you know we are having issues coming up with ANY feasible names for this next little boy, and we are running out of time - fast. We feel strongly about using family names, and I'm also quirky about a few other things. We've looked at the genealogy on both sides of the family and nothing feels right. I'm kind of beginning to worry because we "knew" that Mary was supposed to be Mary and the same with Derrick. I'm thinking (not really) that maybe it might just be time to branch from family names and pick something we like out of the book. However, that doesn't feel right either. Mary and Derrick's names are both very family oriented. Mary being Danny's great grandmother and Derrick is my mother's maiden name. Even their middle names come from family. Mary's middle name is my mom's first name and Derrick's middle name is also Danny's middle name. So, I truly feel like a family name is waiting out there for this little guy. I just don't know what it is yet. Furthermore, I think that if I didn't use a family name this child would feel left out. I fully intend to discuss my children's name sakes with them. I already do with Mary. She knows that the "colorful" quilt we have on our bed at times was made by Mary Waite, grandpa's grandma. So, I guess the point of this long post about names is, do you think we should wait for the "right" name to come along? Or should I seriously start combing through the name book? Thanks for any opinions or advice.

Conference Mischief and Easter

2010-04-04T20:50:00.006-04:00

I've thoroughly enjoyed general conference this weekend, and I should have guessed things with the kids were running a little too smoothly for the Waite family. The last half hour of conference Mary and Derrick didn't bother us once, and there were no tantrums. Too good to be true - right? Right. We walked out to our back balcony and found this . . . Can't tell what all of the white stuff is? Mary and Derrick took all of the tissues off our bedroom dressers and threw them over the balcony. After smiling and realizing this was why they didn't bug us for so long, Danny took them downstairs around to the back of our building and had them pick them all up. Then when they all got back we sat down with Mary (and Derrick, sort of) and used some of our newly inspired conference ideas. We talked about our tissue shortage, and what Mary and Derrick could do about it. So, Mary and Derrick are now performing extra chores to earn money for tissues. Thank you Elder Bednar for your inspired talk to parents.

On to Easter. We waited until after the morning session of conference and nap time to celebrate Easter with all of the candy and such. Which ended up being a very good thing because both kids got way jazzed up on sugar, and wouldn't have listened to a lick of conference today if we had done the candy stuff this morning. Mary woke up from naps first and was super excited to see all of the items from grandparents set out. I wanted her to wait for Derrick to wake up before she started going through everything. Yeah right.

Mary giving Derrick his Nephi book. She wanted to look at it herself, but I told her to wait until Derrick woke up. So she was just itching with anticipation wanting him to look at it first.

When I asked Derrick where his bunny was this was his response.

Derrick enjoying his candy. A little too much, if you ask me.

Derrick enjoying his peeps.

Mary sort of enjoying her peeps. She takes after her mom and doesn't really like them.

P.s. Happy 30th Birthday - for real - Danny!

Grandparent Packages

2010-04-03T20:58:00.005-04:00

The kids are always excited when we receive packages from grandparents - especially Mary. So, whenever we open packages I tend to get out the camera and snap a few pictures. I just love and am so grateful that my children have such wonderful grandparents that are willing to spoil them from across the country. Thanks to all grandma's and grandpa's that love and care about us. We love you too!

Mary decorating the package with stickers from Grandma and Grandpa Waite. So silly!

Danny opening birthday presents from his mom and dad.

Mary and Derrick playing with toys received from Grandma and Grandpa George. So giggly and cute!

Obsession With The Toilet

2010-04-02T21:33:00.003-04:00

Derrick has a small problem with the toilet. Thankfully, he doesn't play in the water. However, he likes to see various items swim in the toilet. You name the item and lately Derrick has figured out a way to put it in the toilet. Books, toys, make-up, shampoo and conditioner bottles have all been for a swim at our home. Unfortunately friends have also experienced the mishap. Derrick has sent friends toys and a VHS tape of Aladdin for a dunk during our baby-sitting group. This week it was Mary's hair spray, and since I have been in the blogging mood so much lately I snapped a picture to tell the story on its own.

April Fool's!

2010-04-01T12:21:00.003-04:00

I short-sheeted Mary's bed while she was at preschool this morning. When she went to get in bed for nap time she couldn't figure out what in the world was going on. Finally, she declared that her bed was being tricky and that it needed to be untucked. Then she pulled everything off the bed - sheet, comforter and all. I wish I could/would have snapped a picture or something. It was quite amusing to watch. At least she didn't freak out like I did when my mom did the same thing to me as a kid.

Where I Got My Party Ideas

2010-03-31T20:56:00.007-04:00

I promised several friends that I would post where I got all of my ideas for Danny's 30th b-day party. But before I start I must thank Heidi for helping me with all of the planning and putting together etc. Without her keeping me on track, and helping me with decorations and the cake (ESPECIALLY the cake) I'm sure this party wouldn't have been as great at it was. Thanks again Heidi!!!

Anyway, I got most of my ideas from Kara's Party Ideas. She put together a similar party for her husband, and I just loved it. The ideas for the invites, food, cassette tapes, color schemes, candy, games, and 80's souvenirs (bracelets and glasses) all came from her. Could have done a whole lot more, as you will see if you visit her site. But working within a budget didn't allow everything - which was fine. The bracelets and glasses were purchase from Oriental Trading Company with a deal that they had for first time online purchases. That worked out nicely:o)

As for the 3D shapes I found a site that would allow you to print templates of polyhedra. So I printed tons of smaller cubes and pyramids to cutout and tape together then strung them up with fishing line. I also made several larger scale 3D shapes by tracing them off of my laptop. It was the perfect decoration for the party, because it looked great and was inexpensive.

While searching for pacman decorations I came across this paper mobile that didn't look to hard to make, so I tried it and gratefully it turned out much better than I could have hoped.

I think that the last big part of the decorations was the 80's slang words put up everywhere. I just did that on my own, again by tracing large letters from my laptop screen and cutting them out. Super easy and again inexpensive.

As for games, it made sense to guess 80's TV intros and sounded fun, so that was a no brainer. I used a TV tunes site to download all of the intros, and boy did it bring back the memories. Such fun! Also, I wanted something where kids could participate, so the guessing game of how many licks to the center of a tootsie pop fit too.

I got a lot of the music that was playing from the library. All of the 80's mix cd's were pathetic or expensive, so the library was an excellent resource too. I can't think of anything else that people specifically asked about, so I'm going to call this info good, and if you have any other requests let me know ;)

Bodacious 30th Birthday!

2010-03-30T21:19:00.017-04:00

Happy 3-0 Danny! We celebrated Danny's 30th birthday last night by having a totally tubular 80's themed party. It was radical, and everyone had a gnarly great time! Alright enough with the 80's slang for now ;)

Honestly though it was an awesome party and it was fun to put Danny in the lime-light for the night. Something I haven't done for him - practically ever. I'm happy that he had a good time and I hope that he knows how much I love him and want him to have a fantastic 30th.

We ate pizza, downed kool-aid and soda in massive amounts and also had rubik's cube birthday cake and pacman cupcakes, with strawberry revel ice cream on the side. We had 80's tunes playing and guessed 80's TV sitcom and cartoon show intros for prizes - 80's candy. You could guess how many licks it would take to reach the center of a mini tootsie pop. (257 if you were wondering, I did all of the licking myself ;) There were slap bracelets, friendship bracelets, jelly bracelets and sunglasses for all to wear. Which made for some fantastic pictures - kids and adults alike. To top it all off, what 80's party would be complete without playing pacman on the big screen?

Again it was a great time, and made even better by all of Danny's (and my) friends that showed up to help us celebrate. Happy 30th birthday Danny! Enjoy the pictures and video's - I know I had a fun time taking them.

The birthday boy. (Of course I snapped the picture while he was eating :) Don't you love his 80's attire? Gotta love the electric blue polo with the fuchsia suit coat! The guests. Fran's outfit was superfabatastic! I wish I had a better pic.The rubik's cube cake and pacman cupcakes.

More guests and food.

The drinks - Derrick couldn't get enough of the koolaid squeeze-it's.

The candy. See Deva and Sophia diggin' in the 80's candy jar? How perfect ;)
Avery enjoying her Now and Later.

The totally radical women! The bodacious men - of course playing pacman.

The gals. Gotta love the 80's glasses!

Lexie and her sunglasses and bracelets. You go girl!

The kids and bracelets.Brooklyn and all of her bracelets - she has them all the way up her arm. Way to be an 80's material girl Brooklyn!

Evie and the 3D decorations. So cute! The singing and cutting the cake.

The music and the dancin'! Go Mary! Go Sara! Go Deva! Go Blake!

The end of the night loopyness. So funny!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T22:55:00.004-04:00

It has been a fun St. Patrick's day. Mary learned in preschool that wearing green prevents you from being pinched. So she insisted that everyone in the family wear the most green possible, to cover all of our bases. Thankfully, we only have green shirts so we didn't look ridiculous. She came home with a homemade leprechaun and hat, exclaiming that she found a pot of gold. Derrick loved the fake gold coins, and lined them up over and over again.

Today, I made a green breakfast for us. Mary thought that was super neat. She didn't know that milk could be green and actually consumed more green eggs than she does normally. Derrick wasn't too certain what to think about the green cream cheese on his pancake.

Tonight we had corned beef and cabbage with the Water's who started the Irish dinner tradition last year. Which we all enjoyed while listening to Irish folk music. An all around good old Irish time was had by all. Especially Sophia and Derrick, who enjoyed dancing to the music.

Addicted - and Surprised to Be

2010-03-16T00:22:00.006-04:00

It's official. Actually, it's been official for awhile. I am now just realizing the extent of my addiction. I'm not ashamed to admit to it, however I am surprised at how easily I became ensnared. No, I'm not talking about the Twilight books. I'm referring to blogging.

I have taken to checking my "family" blog at least once a day - typically while the kids are napping, or after they are in bed for the night. Something I didn't expect to do, or even want to do. I now also have a new reason to take pictures of my kids. I look forward to snapping pictures of Mary and Derrick doing something silly just so I can blog about them, and of course brag.

As many of you know, I have an extremely tough time keeping in contact with people. I am always intending to make that phone call or write that note to someone, but it rarely happens. Therefore, I truly started my blog for the purpose of staying in contact with family and friends better. Which I do - or at least I try to do. I just didn't expect the process to be quite so enjoyable.

I also have rediscovered my joy of journaling. I once up on a time was an avid journal writer. Since kids, not so much, and I regret it - a lot. Blogging has helped alleviate the regret of not writing everything down. Once again a pleasant surprise of jumping on the blog band wagon.

I'm so grateful that I live now, in this day and age, where technology helps me keep in touch and put down in prose, pictures and video the happenings of everyday life. So, I know I've said this before, but thank you again to all of my friends who helped me see past my prejudices of blogging. I couldn't be more satisfied with the outcome.

π Day

2010-03-14T21:33:00.009-04:00

We were invited to celebrate pi day this evening. I think it is one of the neatest and tastiest traditions I have been introduced too. I'm convinced and determined to continue the tradition with our family. Every year on March 14th (3.14) the Sorenson family makes a ton of pies to share with family and friends. This year they went above and beyond my expectations. There were over 30 pies, all looking divine and simply scrumptious. To give you a small insight into the heaven on earth I was admitted too, here is a list of pies that were available to sample. In no particular order:

Hershey Bar, Triple Berry, Chocolate Silk, Berry Blast, Key Lime, Snickers, Pumpkin, Sugar Cream, Lemon Supreme, Cherry, Pecan, Apple, Lemon, Orange Chiffon, Coconut Cream, Banana Cream, Strawberry Rhubarb, Pomegranate Cream, Carmel Apple.

I can't state too many times how enjoyable it was to sample as many pies as my heart desired. Thankfully, I didn't make myself sick, but there is always next year ;o)

Interestingly enough you would think that Mary and Derrick had eaten enough pie to last them at least a month, but no. When we arrived home Mary was adamant that she have a slice of the pineapple pie I made. She was upset that she didn't get any at the "pie party" as she called it. So, this picture is of Mary eating mommy's pineapple pie.

Twirling

2010-03-13T22:07:00.003-05:00

Mary has always enjoyed spinning in circles. It most likely stems from daddy spinning her around super fast, in his arms, and then setting her down to walk. Which she finds hilarious. Lately, her spinning has been an everyday occurance, so I caught it on video. When I started taping she was already so dizzy that she couldn't stand up and walk in a straight line. Maybe you had to be there to think that it was funny, but I still can't watch without chuckling to myself. We've got one quirky Mary muchkin on our hands.

Grilling, Slush, and Derrick

2010-03-13T21:49:00.005-05:00

So, it warmed up here about a week ago and all of the snow turned to slush. Danny, being the wonderful husband he is, decided to grill hamburgers and sausages for us. Can you say delish! The first grilling opportunity of many this season. While grilling, we let the kids out. Mary immediately took to her tricycle. No surprise there. Derrick on the other hand, started digging in the slush. He had a great time, and just impressed upon me a little bit more that he is a fair-weather-friend. Meaning he loves the warm weather so much more than the cold. Yay for spring, which is around the corner!

Requested Recipes

2010-03-05T14:05:00.004-05:00

So, I have had recipe requests frequently over the past few months and so I decided to post them. If you have any other recipe requests let me know and I will see what I can do. Furthermore, I'm currently compiling a list of recipes I want to request - so be ready. ;)

Easy Pie Crust

2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 C. buttermilk*
2/3 C. vegetable oil

Measure flour and salt into medium bowl. Add milk and oil. Let everything sit for a minute to settle in, then stir only until dry ingredients are blended enough to pull together with hands to form a ball. Divide dough in half. Roll each portion between two pieces of wax paper. Remove top piece of wax paper. Ease dough into pie plate and remove other piece of wax paper. To conserve wax paper, I use the opposite sides to roll out the other half.

* I substitute 1 tbs lemon juice + enough milk to make 1 C. for the buttermilk. Obviously I don't use the entire cup, but it is easier than keeping buttermilk on hand.

Butterhorn Rolls - a recipe from Connie Schreiner

1 tbs yeast
1/4 C. warm water
1/2 C. butter
3/4 C. milk
1/2 C. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 tsp salt
4 - 41/2 C flour
1/2 C. butter

Combine yeast and water. Melt 1/2 C. butter in large microwave safe bowl. Add milk immediately. Blend in sugar, eggs, salt, and yeast. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough (I typically add 4 C. flour all at once. Then add the remaining 1/2 C. gradually to get to the "soft dough" stage). Cover and let rise 2-4 hours (2 hours has always been enough for me).

Punch down dough. Divide in half. Roll half of dough out into a 12-14 inch circle. Spread with some of the second 1/2 C. melted butter. Cut pie fashion into 12 pieces. Roll into crescent shape, place on cookie sheet, spread with more melted butter and let rise for another 2 -4 hours (again, 2 hours is usually sufficient).

Bake at 375 for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly browned.

Bon Appetite!

Dinosaurs and Fossils

2010-03-04T10:57:00.007-05:00

This week in preschool Mary learned about dinosaurs. I haven't seen her this excited about learning something new in awhile. I bet we check out a lot of dinosaur books the next time we go to the library. She came home on Tuesday, telling me about how dinosaurs with sharp teeth eat meat and dinosaurs that don't have sharp teeth eat vegetables. They got to sample meat and vegetables - beef jerky and celery. Much to our downstairs neighbors dismay, I'm sure, she stomped around the house like a dinosaur practically all day. Today she was beside herself when she showed me the fossils they made. She informed me that they are baby dinosaur feet because they are so small. Well, she had to have me take pictures of her fossils. Then she wanted to take a picture of the Stegosaurus she colored. Which she did, surprisingly well, without my assistance.

More Than Two Months Later

2010-03-04T10:30:00.006-05:00

I decided back in November that I wanted to focus on the nativity story more than anything else over the holiday season. We sang all of the nativity primary songs every night before bed. I think we watched, at Mary's request "the special Christmas movie" (what Mary called the nativity movie) at least once a week. Furthermore, we acted out the nativity on Christmas Eve with friends. So should I be surprised that months later Mary is still pretending to be Mary, with Derrick as Joseph and her doll as baby Jesus? She still turns our love seat into a stable, something she has done since December. She takes the back cushions down, piles blankets all around and calls this the stable. Her creativity never ceases to amaze me. I'm ultimately quite happy, (o.k. brag happy) that of all of the things/ideas she could have had stuck with her about Christmas, that the nativity and the birth of Christ is what stuck the most. Helps me feel like I'm doing something right. Now if I could only figure out how to get her and Derrick to put the couch cushions back when they are done, that would really be something! ;)

I Can Sing a Rainbow Too

2010-02-25T12:19:00.003-05:00

As I was preparing last night to teach for Mary's preschool group, I came across a song that brought back old school memories. Of sitting in crowed hot classrooms learning and practicing songs for a school program. Today we focused on the letter R, and we learned about the color wheel, primary colors, secondary colors and of course rainbows. Which brings me back to the song. Way back in kindergarten or 1st grade I learned a song called, I Can Sing a Rainbow. We all had assigned colors that we were to wear on the day of the performance, and we had batons with streamers attached to wave around. I was assigned to wear purple, which I remember I didn't like, because my dad doesn't like the color purple. Last night as I was searching for rainbow songs and finger plays to do with the kids I came across that song. I just knew I had to teach it to Mary and her friends for preschool. I also made paper wands that they could wave around. It was adorable, and again I just can't believe all of the memories that came rushing back. Well, they all had such a good time "performing" with the music, that I got out the camera and got it all on video. Again, so cute and so fun to see the individual personalities of all of the kids come though. Good times. Enjoy!

Wahoo! Ten Weeks Left!

2010-02-19T12:04:00.003-05:00

So, I had a doctors appointment this morning. When she said, "You are almost there. Only ten weeks left." I had one of those double-take moments. What? Did I hear that correctly? Just a fourth left to go? YAHOO!!! I cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy had passed. It has been so nice to be pregnant during the winter months. I think I owe the quick passage of time to the holidays. Furthermore, it feels good to have a real excuse to tell Mary why we are not going outside today. Much too cold. Much easier to explain then Mommy doesn't feel up to it. There is, however, one big down-side to this whole winter prego thing. I ate way too much over the holidays (and I'm not just talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas) justified in the name of pregnancy. Now with ten weeks to go, I'm already as big as I was at 40 weeks with Mary and Derrick. Yikes! Well, here's to the warm weather that is on it's way, and hoping that I can motivate myself to get out and exercise after the baby is born.

Sledding

2010-02-15T18:46:00.008-05:00

So, we wanted to take advantage of Danny's day off and go sledding with the kids. However, by the time we seriously were able to consider the option it had been snowing for four hours straight and we didn't want to risk the roads. We did the next best thing. Danny piled more snow on the already big pile outside our apartment, and made it into a sledding hill. Mary loved it. I hoped that Derrick would be used to the whole snow thing by now, but no. He didn't have much fun sledding. Watching, yes. But he just didn't want to be included in the "in the snow" activities. Oh yes, Mary also discovered icicles.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T20:59:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite family traditions growing up was the gargantuan heart shaped sugar cookies my mom would make for us as kids. I decided I wanted to make these cookie Valentine's for Mary and Derrick. The first attempt was mischievously foiled by Derrick. The second turned out much better, and made for adorable pictures. Mary, as usual, attacked the cookie with gusto. Derrick looked at his for a little bit and then started eating the frosting.

The finished product of Mary's Valentine cookie.

The finished product of Derrick's Valentine cookie.

The second set of pictures are the kids opening the Valentine's package that grandma George sent. Both were tired, and hyped up on sugar -thanks to me - so everything made them a tad more excitable than usual. Grandma sent Mary a toy iron, that I think was suppose to come at Christmas but didn't make the package. Mary immediately started ironing her clothes, with water from the squirt bottle, I might add. Derrick loved the flashing ring, and the toy bank filled with candy. He was rather upset when we had to take them away for bed.

The third set of pictures are the Valentine's Mary and Derrick made for grandma's and grandpa's. I am sorry that pictures of the Valentine's are all grandparent's will receive. I realized too late that we don't have stamps, and I am sure by the time I remember to get them it will be Easter. :) Thanks to all the grandparents who made this Valentine's special! We love you!

Pleasantly Playing Together

2010-02-12T12:08:00.006-05:00

Mary asked to "do her letters" yesterday after nap time. When she asks this she wants to go to starfall.com and have me help her click on all of the different links of the letters. I couldn't help her yesterday, I was getting ready for the missionaries to come to dinner. I was going to respond not today, but then thought, why not teach her to do it herself. If it doesn't work, no biggie I can pull out her Valentine's stickers, and if it does then she can entertain herself for the next little bit while I get ready for dinner. I showed her how the mouse moved, and how when she moved the mouse she moved the arrow on the screen. Then I showed her how to move the arrow where she needed to, and click on the links. She was excited and enthusiastic to do it herself, so I let her try while I watched. Well, needless to say, I am pleasantly happy and surprised at how well she used the mouse and computer by herself. Furthermore, she was having so much fun that Derrick wanted to come see too. So, I slid a chair over for him, and he watched her. She entertained herself for at least 45 minutes and Derrick was interested for about a half an hour. It was so nice to see them enjoying themselves together without any mishaps or fights. I was able to accomplish a lot, without constant questions and fight intervention. I just had to snap a picture of them being so good together, Mary's new computer skills and Derrick being so excited about what was on the screen.

Let it Snow!

2010-02-10T22:51:00.004-05:00

As a reward for not needing to move in February, it has decided to snow in massive amounts - at least for Columbus. So, once again we bundled up the kids and set them outside to play in the new fluffy, white stuff. Mary again loved climbing to the top of the piles. But this time Dad made a slide to the bottom, with steps up to the top. Which she thought was just about the most fun you could have in the snow. Maybe sledding will be our next snow day activity, if the snow sticks around. Derrick did much better this time with being out in the cold. He actually pawed at the snow from the side walk, and laughed and giggled and thought it was great. Still didn't like being set in the snow. Maybe next time? So, here's to burning off extra energy and fighting cabin fever by playing in the snow!

Spiders and Broken Valentines

2010-02-09T11:26:00.005-05:00

Today was a fun day in preschool for Mary, and Derrick had his fun too. Mary learned about spiders in preschool today. They made spider hats and treats. Plus did spiderweb rubbings. But our big surprise of the day, was when I walked upstairs after picking up Mary from preschool across the street. Derrick had snagged our big Valentine's Day heart cookies from off the counter, and was eating and demolishing them on the love seat. I was planning on frosting these giant heart cookies and giving them to Mary and Derrick for Valentine's Day. I had them on the counter covered with aluminum foil. I figured, out of sight - out of mind, right? Well, never underestimate the power of an 18 month-old using a step stool. I guess we get to make more cookies!

Job Found

2010-02-04T23:05:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers offered on our behalf the last few months. We have appreciated the love and support as Danny has searched for work. Thankfully and gratefully, this afternoon Danny had an interview and this evening he was offered the position. He begins training on Tuesday. Hooray! We once again have an income! Again thankfully, we didn't have to dip into savings at all. Oh yes, perhaps even more importantly, we will be remaining in Columbus for the time being. Danny's new position is in Dublin about 15 minutes away. This means no moving in February's cold weather. Yea! It also means we will be able to continue to attend the Westland Ward, which we love. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again to all who have helped us figure things out and endure these last few months! We love you!

Hair Cut

2010-01-26T22:12:00.006-05:00

When I titled this post I was thinking, "everyone is going to think it is about Mary taking a pair of scissors to her hair." However, no, this post is not about Mary giving herself a haircut, it is about my new fetching style. I decided to go short. Several friends have adorable short hair, and I finally summed up the courage and took a page from their books. This is the shortest my hair has been since second grade, when my short hair earned me the nickname "poodle" until I moved in sixth grade. I love it, and it is super easy! Need I say more?

Fun in the Long Gone Snow

2010-01-23T21:30:00.010-05:00

So, since these pictures were taken Columbus has had zero snow and lots of rain. Correction, since I started this post a few days ago we didn't have snow. Now we have snow again. However, it is just a dusting with lots of cold wind. So, good thing we took advantage of the last storm when it was around.

Derrick didn't enjoy the snow much. Actually, he didn't enjoy the snow at all. It was rather amusing and sad at the same time. Especially, after Danny picked him up and plopped him on top of a snow pile. Derrick just cringed and whined until we took him off. The storm made for lots of fun pictures and video. Enjoy! (Video is at the bottom of the post, please ignore my horribly cheesy mommy commentary)
Mary loved playing in the snow, and made many snow angels with reckless abandon.

The only time we got a semblance of a smile from Derrick was when he was on the shoveled sidewalk, and Danny was walking toward him to pick him up.Yes, to those of you asking, those are socks on Derricks hands. If I remember correctly I layered five pairs to ensure his fingers would stay warm. I couldn't find the mittens that Mary wore her first year in the snow. Actually, I think they are attached to her coat - so socks were the solution either way.

Mary also loved playing "Queen of the Snow Hill". She climbed all of the piles near our apartment and had me take pictures.

Mary decided she would help daddy by shoveling too. Then she realized it's tough work shoveling snow, so she took take a break.

Bloggers of My World Unite

2010-01-22T00:08:00.003-05:00

So, this is going to sound completely selfish and stupid at the same time. Almost a record for me. Ha ha. How in the world can I tell if my blog is allowing others to make comments or not? When I view my posts it does not show the "0 comments" link at the bottom that allows others to comment, as I have viewed on other blogs. Is this normal? Or have I messed up some comment setting somewhere? A lot of the fun of blogging is the comments, so I want to ensure others are able to do so. See, how selfish ;o) Another question. Is there any way to add more than five pictures to a post at a time? As you can see by my last post, the blog is going to be used to post pictures often. If I have to add all of my pics in five picture chunks, it is going to get ANNOYING quite fast. Again a purely selfish question, but if anyone out there has the answers it would be marvelous!

Long Awaited Christmas Pictures!

2010-01-21T22:01:00.016-05:00

As per grandparents request, here are the best of the Christmas pictures taken of Mary and Derrick. Sorry there are so late in coming. Hopefully, none of these are duplicate from when we announced my pregnancy. Oh yes, if grandparents would still like pictures sent separately through e-mail, let me know - I can arrange that. However, this is where I will be posting all pictures first from now on - so stay tuned.

These first pictures are from Christmas Eve and the nativity we performed with friends. Mary was a wise man and Derrick was a shepherd.

These are pictures I took of the kids with their Christmas Sunday clothes on. Not as good as professional pictures, but they will have to do this year.

Christmas morning in all of its crazy glory. Mary couldn't wait to get into her stocking. Mary and Derrick both got toy cell phones from Santa in their stockings. Both lost all interest in the other presents while they played with their phones.

Now they are finally beginning to open presents from mom and dad, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.

New Years Resolution One - Check

2010-01-20T00:46:00.003-05:00

I will be realistic with myself and actually admit to not making any actual New Year's Resolutions. I have, however, been debating for quite some time about joining the blogging world. As you can see the time-wasting part of me finally won out. No offense to those of you who blog seriously. I can just see myself blogging away hours of time without realizing it. As I have just done, I might add. Well I will sign off for tonight, as my eyes are growing tired and I really don't have much to say at the moment. Just thought I would let family and friends know I have made myself apart of the in-crowd. P.s. - Pictures are forthcoming. Too tired tonight.