Adventures In Motherhood

Lily and Eva had a sleepover

2012-01-13T10:00:00.002-05:00

I finally let Lily and Eva have a sleepover. We live next door to 2 girls who are the same age and none of them have ever had a sleepover outside of visiting relatives. So, after lots of "please, Mom, please, Mom, please, Mom" We invited them over. The girls came up with their own agenda that they posted on the white board and strictly maintained the schedule. A timer was actually used. Here is the schedule:
1. Dance party
2. Witchcraft
3. Eat dinner
4. Make awesome beds
5. Watch movie
6. Go to sleep
7. Dream
8. First girl to wake up, wakes up all the girls!!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-05T11:22:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love it because it all about family, friends and food. Oh, and Giving Thanks..don't want to forget that. This year we had 27 friends over for dinner. I like to refer to our circle of friends as the orphanage. We have met so many great people without family around.

We are have been very blessed this year with health, happiness and love. I am so grateful for the beauty and freedom this country has to offer. I am grateful for my membership in the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the peace and purpose it gives to me.

We don't have enough pictures to adequately show you the holiday...I must have been busy in the kitchen. You can hop on over to Natalie's blog to see better documentation. My biggest regret is not taking a picture of all 7 pies! I told you that you should have come. I still have some openings for next year. Let me know when you would like to arrive.

Best moment of the dinner is when Eva requested the leg and ate almost all of it on her own. That girl is a carnivore.

Scouts and Senate offices

2011-11-13T19:30:00.003-05:00

It is good to be friends with one of the most powerful men in Washington! We know a certain someone who works for a certain Senator. Jack and friends had a requirement to meet with a government official and learn what their Constitutional responsibilities are. So, we loaded up some cars (thanks Kara) and took a seat in the office of Senator Lee. Here are the boys sitting around his office and at his desk discussing matters of importance (where to eat lunch and who saw the latest episode of Psych). We then took a tour of the Capital building.

Now that you know I have some major connections in this town you should come and visit.

Cox Farm

2011-11-13T19:24:00.004-05:00

Cox Farm is an institution around here. It is not really Fall until you have posed with one of the cutouts, sat on burlap and zipped down a slide or taken a ride on the random hayride. It is great fun and Eva asks me every week as we drive past the farm if it is open yet.

Eva expresses herself artistically

2011-09-09T10:00:00.002-04:00

Eva draws on anything and everything. Don't leave your homework lying around...you will find hearts doodled in the margin. She loves to draw and each picture is a mini snap-shot of what Eva is thinking about. If you do something nice for her she will draw the two of you together with hearts and flowers. If Eva doesn't like her dinner she will sneak off and draw a picture of her food with a self-portrait and a broken heart. (I have the paper to prove it, she can really replicate a southwest burrito) The other morning she was scolded for something and I found her later outside with chalk in her hands. Here is my little Picasso.

First Day of School.

2011-09-09T09:54:00.003-04:00

The first day of school is always exciting. This year we have two milestones. Jack is now an official middle schooler and Eva started Kindergarten. Lily is holding her own in third grade. I think this year is going to be great. Here are our first day pics. (Jack was a bit nervous about 6th grade but when he came home his first day he said, "Mom, you were right I think it is going to be fun")

My mud room went from this to this and we almost cried

2011-09-09T09:52:00.002-04:00

Myrtle Beach, SC

2011-09-09T09:34:00.004-04:00

We decided to do a little exploring of the East Coast Beaches this summer. Myrtle Beach is a bit of a hike for us but sounded like a fun adventure. The water was crazy warm, we saw a guy catch a baby shark, sea snail and sting ray off the pier in front of out hotel.

What does one do when hanging out in Myrtle Beach..... in general we swam all day in the waves then went to the 9th floor of out hotel and swam in the rooftop lazy river then collapsed on our hotel couch until morning and started all over again. But here is the rundown of who did what in our family..... If you were Jack you boogie boarded till you couldn't feel your arms. If you were Lily you caught your body weight in sand crabs. If you were Eva you flirted with college boys and even a cajun guy. Eva also did some waves and LOVED the lazy river. Paul and I made sure no one drowned. We all love to go to the beach.

Aligator Adventure, SC

2011-09-09T09:27:00.005-04:00

We also spent one day wondering around Alligator Adventure, Paul almost cried. Jack, Lily and Eva held baby crocs I just didn't find the picture of Jack (got to give the boy his props). We saw the worlds largest gator in captivity! It was super hot and scary and cool.

Oh, what do you do in the summertime when all the world is green?

2011-07-24T19:49:00.006-04:00

Do you swim in a pool to keep yourself cool?
Is that what you do? So do I!

Did you happen to see me on PBS?

2011-07-09T13:07:00.005-04:00

Yes, that's right we are famous. We were featured on the PBS 4th of July Celebration. Okay, so by featured I mean we kept running in front of the camera and throwing up our kids so they could be on TV. But still we made it on the air. You can see it on the PBS website. The program was fun, the humidity was high, and the fireworks went on forever. The best part of the night was the company; my Dad and our friends.

Family Beach Trip

2011-07-09T12:57:00.005-04:00

We went to Virginia Beach with my Dad this summer. My Mom was in California helping out Lance and Jennefer and their new baby girl. So, we convinced my Dad to come out solo and enjoy some fun in the sun. We stopped by Williamsburg for a bit to see if we would want to come back and we all voted yes. (Well, Lily didn't but she is not into museums and so we never count her vote).

Jack and Eva graduated!

2011-07-09T12:44:00.004-04:00

Eva and Jack both had graduation ceremonies this spring. Jack graduated from Elementary school and Eva from Preschool. But more importantly to Paul, Jack started mowing our lawn. I think Paul got more emotional when Jack finished the lawn than he did at the school ceremony. Jack's school celebrated the end of the year with a trip to Baltimore. We toured Camden Yard, went to the Science Center and a boat tour of the inner harbor.

Life around here feels like a race...literally

2011-07-09T12:17:00.003-04:00

We are all racers around here. Eva is our ever present cheerleader at all track and field events. Paul was Jack and Lily's coach this year. And I ran the Great Urban Race with some friends. We were Team Trophy Wife. Great fun was had by all the racers in our family. You should come and cheer us on sometime. Next year I want to do the Great Urban Race in Boston! Anybody want to join my team?

Lily's birthday and crazy hair day at school

2011-07-09T08:21:00.008-04:00

Lily turned nine years old with a breakfast party. These are my all time favorite birthdays to throw. Everybody comes in their PJ's and you make a huge stack of pancakes. We jumped on our ghetto trampoline (man that thing gets mileage) and danced with the Wii. I included a picture of crazy hair day because well....Lily and I were quite pleased with our creation.
Things I love about Lily:
She is the most giving person I know. She loves to make gifts for any occasion or just for no reason at all. We never know what will be in the gift bag but we do know that Lily made it with love.
Lily is a fantastic piano player. I never have to force her to practice. Her music class at school will sometimes let the kids perform and Lily's classmates will chant, "LILY, LILY,LILY" until she plays for them.
Lily tried out some new sports this year. She participated in track and field and is currently on the swim team. She would get really nervous for the gun start with track and field. The first few times she ran a sprint the gun would go off and it would scare her and her nerves kicked in and she cried as she ran. But she wanted to stick with it and was much better by the end of the season.
Lily is a fabulous big sister. Eva adores her! She has even moved into Lily's bedroom even though she has her own. They both just want to share. I love it.
Lily made the Lego happy birthday sign for me but I added it in here just for fun.

It's not everday a young man turns eleven!!

2011-07-09T08:08:00.006-04:00

Jack's Birthday was great. He invited over a couple of friends for a morning of laser tag and then came home for pizza and banana splits. I even made the fudge and strawberry sauce from scratch. (You should really come over and have one of my banana splits). After lunch the boys wanted to extend the party so they went fishing, jumped on the trampoline and shot cans of soda with Jack's bow and arrows. The party was planned for 3 hours but ended up being 8 hours. It was by far our longest party to date.
Things I love about Jack:
Jack is so quick witted. He has all these funny insights. My mom called the other day asked to talk to Lily and Jack told her she wasn't around and that she had dual citizenship with our neighbors.
Jack is still very tenderhearted (don't tell any other boys I said that).
Jack loves track and field and swimming.
Jack's new talent is piano. He had his first recital and did great. The funny thing was his teacher had flowers for all of them to wear. The girls had pink and the boys red. Jack did not want to wear a flower. I know Paul has told me that when he was younger he did not want anyone to think he was girly because he only had sisters. So, he avoided anything associated with girls even GI Joe. Well, Jack had his mini-Paul moment and panicked about the flower. When he walked into the recital he had his hand over his flower like he was saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Super funny kid.
He is getting really good at rolling his eyes at me. I hear this is a developmental stage for all 11 year old boys.

EVa turns five...YEEEHAW!

2011-03-06T19:27:00.007-05:00

The cowboy themed Blue and Gold cake inspired a great birthday for Eva. We decided to have a cowgirl party!! We have been to so many princess, fairy, ballerina parties that we thought it would be fun to shake things up. Eva was excited because her favorite shoes this year have been her pink and white cowgirl boots. (Does this remind anyone of Jack's cowboy phase where he only wore wrangler jeans, cowboy shirts and boots for about 2 1/2 years. He went through about 4 pairs of boots before it was all said and done. And these were genuine boots from Murdocks the cowboy accessory and feed store.)

At the party we had sheriff badges to color and glue onto party bags, several games: lasso the tiger (we don't have a horse), rattlesnake (jump over wiggly rope), shoot range (inspired by Cabelas made by Jack in our basement), I spy the cowboy guy (I spy with my little eye) and a pinata. Eva said it was the best party ever.

Eva is still a mommy's girl. She loves to draw and does on any paper in our house. She loves to watch her "kid shows" and play outside. Her favorite time of year is summer because she loves to swim. She looks outside everyday to check if the umbrellas are open at the neighborhood pool. Because when they are open the pool is open. She loves to go shopping with me and informs me when we get to the store that I can buy whatever I want and she can buy whatever she wants. She makes us laugh everyday with her funny faces and jokes. She is a blessing in our home.

When I took her birthday picture I told her how to stand and after she wanted to do her own photo shoot Eva style see if you can guess which was her own style.

Blue and Gold Cowboy Style or Cow patty Style

2011-02-26T17:10:00.007-05:00

So....we had the Blue and Gold Banquet last night. The theme was Turn Back the Clock: Wild West. The Pack supplied the dinner and the cubs made cakes. Jack and I did some research on western cakes and found there are a lot of very talented cake artists out there. We knew we were not up for a 3 tiered fondant covered cake but we were pretty sure we could create a cow patty cake. I must say we were very pleased with our results. Eva and I did the prep work then Paul, Jack and I put on the finishing touches. Oh, by the way it tasted even better than it looks!

Who needs snow...We have ICE

2011-01-20T09:01:00.002-05:00

Eva has been desperate to go sledding. She loves to slide on anything. She keeps saying "We did not have all of Christmas, we didn't go sledding". So, with our latest ice storm we just decided to make our driveway the slickest in town by sledding on it.

Beauty School 101

2011-01-20T08:56:00.003-05:00

My Dad is a very particular about his hair. So it always surprises us when he lets the girls give him a make-over. He just sits there and lets them put in ponytails and bows. This trip they found a way to attach a plastic frog toy to his head. I didn't post the really good pictures out of fear he would never come back to visit. But I wanted to show at least one of sessions.

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit

2011-01-20T08:47:00.004-05:00

My parents came to celebrate New Years with us. We had some fun and made some traditional Haight family gingerbread houses. This year I had enough adults to veto Paul's tradition of putting dinosaurs on the house and arming the gingerbread people for a fight. He even had injuries displayed on the gingerbread freedom fighters. OH, don't believe me....I think I can dig up an old post to prove it.

This year we have lovely houses with candy cane hearts and spice drop landscaping. Thank you to Grandma Ruth for getting frosting all over her.

Through the eyes of Eva

2011-01-20T08:39:00.005-05:00

I had a minute this morning to download my pictures and I only had about a dozen. And then I noticed it said I have more like 75. Eva had taken my camera and had a photo shoot of her own. Here is a look at her portfolio. ENJOY!

Lily's Native American Project.

2010-12-03T08:39:00.002-05:00

While I was on my sisters reunion (see previous post) Lily had a project due. I told Paul about it before I left and he was not too excited about doing it solo. But when I told him she could build a weapon then he was totally on board. I must thank Paul's Mom, Diane, for not only taking care of my family while I was away but for also assisting in the production of the weapon. And I am pretty sure helped with the rest of the project as well.

Christmas pictures but not our Christmas card picture

2010-12-03T08:32:00.005-05:00

Okay, that title might turn into a lie. If it does become the picture just pretend like you have not seen it before.
Lily and Eva wanted to take some pictures with our tree last Sunday. Jack was kind of forced into it. Hopefully we can get our act together for a card this year. Cross your fingers. But if not we love you all and hope you have a great year.

(A note to Tracy: We didn't receive your card yet and it is really hard to copy you when we don't have enough notice :0)

Sisters trip (one brother in law included)

2010-12-03T08:00:00.007-05:00

Note of disclaimer: all the pictures are in reverse order of the story, sorry.
My sister and I decided this was our year for a sisters reunion. It only seemed logical that passports should be involved. It is really the only way I like to travel. So, we hired a guide (my brother-in-law, Marco) and headed to Peru. We had a great time in Lima, on a Harry Potter bus ride, beach town named...oh, who am I kidding I can't spell it, stayed at my sister's new house in San Pedro de LLoc (10 miles from beach town) and Marcos' hometown.
In Lima we went to some ruins that dates from 200 to 600 a.d., strolled through Mira Flores, ate dinner in China Town, and got on the Harry Potter bus ride. These are the buses that serve dinner at 10:00pm and then your seat reclines into your bed and you ride all night. About 7am they turn on some rocking 80's music really loud and serve you breakfast.
The beach town and San Pedro are very small. It was great to just see how and where the people of Peru live. We rode in lots of bike taxis and shopped everyday in the local market. The bakery is pretty lively around 7pm as it is the only thing open in the whole town. We went almost every day for fresh bread and a cookie. We were able to go to church and my Relief Society did a serve project and made scripture bags for the Primary and Youth. We also donated library supplies. It was a blessing for me to see the faces of Heavenly Fathers children. They were thrilled!
In Marco's hometown we went to the orphanage to donate some supplies as well. I could have brought home a few of those babies for sure. And we were able to find Eva and Lily traditional Peruvian dresses. I have Eva's picture (she tries to wear it daily) and will get Lily's on Sunday.
We worked on my Amy and Marco's new home I will try to down load those pics later. But I do have some of the banana trees in the backyard. We ate those everyday as well. I met Marco's family but got to know Tia Violetta better since she lives in the house. She has been in the jungle for 10 years living without electricity or hot water. She was a farmer and the local crop is mostly cocaine (not illegal to grow in Peru and never used by the farmers. Just an export for the "gringos who smoke a lot of cigars") Fascinating.
We ended the trip with a session in the Lima Temple. This time I was the one with a headset on! We tried to go to a dinner and traditional dancing show but got there and found out it started at 10pm and ended at 3am. This is why Marco thinks Americans don't know how to party. In Peru night life is serious business.
All in all great trip.

Vacation part 1 : going back to Roxborough

2010-09-19T21:41:00.006-04:00

It has been 2 years since we have been back to Roxborough and we loved every minute we were there. We could have spent twice the time there and still felt like we were rushed. It was great to be back in the old neighborhood and my kids didn't miss a beat with their old friends. My Mom hosted dinner almost every night to the entire neighborhood. (or it just felt that way.) We hiked Devil's Head, Jack roamed the hills with Zak and Sam, went to the best Zoo with Patrick and Kelan, splashed at the waterpark, sewed aprons with Grandma, had dinner with family, sleepover with Aunt Amy and Uncle Marco, dinner at Uncle Reed's and Aunt Chelsea's new house, a big BBQ for the one night Paul was in town. The list goes on and on. Did I not tell you we were busy? I think we will definitely stay longer next time. And should have taken more pics. Like I said it was a whirlwind.

Vacation part 2: Lake Powell

2010-09-19T21:23:00.006-04:00

The second half of our trip was on the waters of Lake Powell. We partied with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Jessica, Uncle John and lots of cousins. It was a great trip filled with sun, warm water, fishing (Jessica caught her first) and riding on all kinds of water toys. We jumped off cliffs (Jack jumped off one that was 32 feet high, who is that kid's Mom?), washed hair in the lake, and everyone got up on the wake board! (Thank you Uncle John).

A fashion query

2010-09-09T07:56:00.005-04:00

Let me begin by stating.....I do not claim to be a fashionista. I do like to have at least my big toe in the door of what is trendy. But I am not typically the first and foremost trendsetter on the block. With that foundation I would like to present a valid fashion question to the masses.

Is there an age appropriate limit for wearing leggings?

I will admit that when I first noticed leggings appearing on the isles of Target (this probably explains why I am not a fashionista. Target is my cool factor barometer) I had feelings of "been there, done that". And a slight grin that a whole new generation of teens would have to face those embarrassing photos referred as the "legging phase".

I at that time had strong feelings that leggings definitely had a shelf life that ended with your college years. But now I notice that what I thought was going to be a quick legging fashion flashback has turned into a multi-season staple. These leggings are everywhere. And the shirts on the racks are long and designed to be paired with these pants from my past.

So, after a long rant I ask the question again. Is there an age limit for leggings? And if yes, what are you all wearing with the long tunics?

P.S.
For anyone who is wondering what started this panic attack in the first place I send you to the Coldwater Creek fall catalog page #53. I flipping through, saw the add and thought maybe I should dive into the deep end of leggings 2010. Kind of cute, right?

We have a summer goal.

2010-07-20T12:48:00.004-04:00

This summer our goal is to get our year supply of food storage in order. At family night we talked about why this is important and then set up a summer schedule for what we like to call Kids at the Cannery Work Camp. Yes, you heard me we go to the cannery once a week and Jack, Lily and Eva are my work crew. I was a bit nervous at first but things have been working out great. Here are the pictures to prove it. Eva is our label girl and box decorator. She is dedicated at her post but we did find her sleeping on the job once. Lily and Jack rotate shifts as can filler and can weight management. I run the machine and try to keep up with my crew. I can honestly say that we have had a great time doing it. We are half way done and are anxious to fill up all those shelves in the basement.

Paul turned 35!!!

2010-07-20T12:44:00.002-04:00

It is official..... I am married to a middle aged man! Yikes. (This is where I pretend like I didn't turn 35 a month before he did). I wanted to show you what 35 sparklers look like on a cake. My camera is not blurry it was just a lot of smoke.

The South Will Rise Again....

2010-07-20T12:32:00.005-04:00

We had the opportunity to go to a living history day at our local Civil War park. It was the 149th anniversary of the Battle of Bull Run. This is the battle where General Jackson got his nickname Stonewall Jackson. We walked around the camp, watched the cannon and guns fire and learned about what life was like for these soldiers. It was a beautiful day and the park is really lovely. It was hard to imagine all the fighting and amazed us how close the battle lines were. Brothers really were fighting brothers.
The pictures show:
Lily hanging out around the Civil War medicines.
Statue of Jackson
Eva at the settlers store that would follow the soldiers and sell them goods
The bedroll and typical items a soldier carried
The tent they slept in. Remember that this is the South and it is hot, humid and buggy. I said a prayer of gratitude for my air conditioned car.
And me at the general store.

Eva is so Entertaining

2010-06-16T19:35:00.002-04:00

Lily's baptism continues

2010-06-16T19:08:00.004-04:00

Lily requested that Grandma Ruth make her baptism dress. And my Mom graciously accepted and even surprised Eva with a similar version. We had a little photo shoot in our backyard and thought you might want to take a peek.

Thanks to my Mom for the lovely dresses. I like the pattern so much I asked for a dress in my size.

Just trying to catch you up on life

2010-06-04T13:17:00.003-04:00

Here is a quick snapshot of our spring...
We hear toads every night from the pond across the street. One ventured into our backyard.
Lily and Eva celebrate summer in true girly fashion.
Two girls who love to be together. I love this picture!
Jack ran track. Those longs legs came in handy. He is the 2nd from left in blue. He ran hurdles, sprints, distance, long jump and relays.

Eva's first talk in Primary....well, solo.

2010-06-04T13:02:00.003-04:00

Eva was given the assignment to give an Article of Faith in Primary a few weeks ago. We thought it would be easiest for her to remember if we just taught her the song. So, we sang it every chance we had. In the car, at family night, while cooking dinner, during bathtime, you name it we sang to it. By Sunday she was singing up a storm. I can't find the video but check back later and see if I added it.

Lily's baptism

2010-06-04T08:48:00.003-04:00

Lily's baptism was a great day. We had lots of family sleeping under one roof. Grandpa Sorensen, Uncle Lance, Aunt Jennefer, Sophie, Avery, Uncle Reed, Aunt Chelsea, Patrick, Grandma Ruth, Grandpa Jack and my family were tucked away in almost every corner of our place. I apologize for those who got stuck with the floor. Lily was super excited and had some specific instructions. She wanted family to be in program and a brunch after to celebrate. Here are the highlights. The day was so busy we did not take as many pictures as we should have.

A funny moment with Lily 2 days after her baptism....
Lily asked, "Mom, do you think I have sinned yet?"
I said, " I don't think so"
Lily said, "Me neither. I have made it 2 days without sinning and I am pretty sure I can make it a 3rd."
I have noticed in these last couple of months that Lily has really been trying to make better decisions. She has been more responsible with her chores and just more helpful in general. We have been talking about getting ready to be 8 for a while and I think she really was trying. So, all in all for Lily it has been great to be eight.

Master Lance

2010-06-04T08:28:00.006-04:00

My older brother Lance earned his Masters and came to DC for his graduation. We did a few sight seeing trips together and to celebrate his accomplishment we put on quite a dinner for him. It was formal, elegant, and traditional. Okay, the formal and elegant part is a complete exaggeration. But it was traditional. And by traditional I mean an Idaho Friday family dinner. Chili dogs and 16 tator tots each (we used to count them)!

So, now you are judging my hostess skills.... it is what Lance ordered.

Here is what our week was all about.....
Story time with Grandpa, best dinner ever, playing on the playground, Lance is wearing his custom made shirt from Paul, riding a vintage train through Amish country. I could go on and on about the nightly treats, girly bonding with cousins, but not enough space on one blog to describe all the fun. It was great to have Lance, Jennefer and girls.

Jack is 10. A decade old.

2010-03-29T08:45:00.003-04:00

Jack is ten years old. It is official he is totally old. Practically middle-age (oh, wait that is my birthday coming up).
Here is the list of things we love about Jack.

He has a good heart.
He has a strong sense of right and wrong
He loves a good joke
He is inquisitive
He loves to be outdoors and explore
He made his own fishing pole out of a broom handle, string and a hook and has caught 5 fish with it in our neighborhood pond.
He really watches out for Lily when they are at school (he saves all his teasing for home)
He loves to read.
He is very witty and has funny insights into life
He remembers everything
He loves a good bet (I had to make his bed for a week for losing a bet)
He is a talented whistler. He can whistle any song he wants to.
He likes to sing. Just don't tell anyone.
He will tea party with Eva. That is a huge sacrifice for a 10 year old boy.
He is a fast runner, starts track next week
He is a really nice kid

AHHHH, First day of Spring

2010-03-29T08:30:00.003-04:00

Winter in DC has been an adventure. You many have heard of our record snowfall and school being canceled forever. Well, the first day of spring was a welcome sight on our calendar. I thought long and hard about how we should welcome this season. Should we picnic, do yard work, an outing to the beach? The answer came to me and was a must do for the first day of spring...... PROTEST!!!!!
I ended up on Capitol Hill standing with 20,000 (or more) of my new friends letting congress know what we thought of the Healthcare Bill. Even though the bill passed I am glad I went.

Who knew moving to DC would have such perks? I am now an official protester and look forward to making signs and getting involved in the politics of this country.

Eva turns FOUR

2010-03-09T21:58:00.005-05:00

Eva had her first official Birthday party with invitations, friends, the works. Here is a quick look at the festivities..
Paul leads a rousing game of shark under the parachute
Jack and Lily are official servers at the Little Ladies Tea Party
Bunny cake ordered by Eva, baked by Mom, and decorated by entire Sorensen clan.

All things Eva

2010-03-09T21:33:00.003-05:00

Things we love about Eva...

She has a very sweet personality
She has a great laugh
She loves to dance and has mad skills on the dance floor
She makes funny faces whenever you want to take her picture
She loves to lead the music during Family Night
She tells me every night as she falls asleep "I love you, Mom" and holds my hand
She loves anything chocolate
She thinks she has a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and will spar with you to prove it
She is scared of dogs but loves them at the same time
She loves to go to Primary
She loves all things girly, except having any kind of hair accessory.
She loves to go camping and collects sticks and rocks so she can be ready for our next trip
She is our baby, but don't call her that. She will inform you that she is BIG girl
She loves to watch "oovies." I did not misspell; that is her word for it.
She sneaks into bed with Jack most nights and follows Lily around all day long
Honestly we love every inch, every giggle, every bit of our Eva.

2010-03-09T21:32:00.000-05:00

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime....

2010-03-09T21:26:00.003-05:00

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime
when they cancel school for 10 days
you watch the snow fall
try to ski in your yard
you pretend its warm and BBQ
build funny things with Legos
and watch more TV than medically advised

Is that what you do? So do I!

Good times.....

2010-01-06T21:41:00.003-05:00

Here are some things we did over the Holiday break:

Went bowling, Jack and Lily both scored better than their Mom and Dad.
Built an ingloo in the backyard. Still standing by the way.
Jack's class performed at the National Christmas Tree in DC
And of course hid from Santa
We also worked in the movies and Chuck E Cheese but who wants to see pictures of that?

Christmas Confession

2009-12-18T08:09:00.004-05:00

For those of you that know me well you already know that I am not a multi-tasker. I know all women are supposed to be. But I am an exception to that rule. I can't talk on the phone and surf the net at the same time, I listen to classical music because lyrics and conversations drive me crazy, I clean one floor of my house at a time, etc. I am a one focus kind of girl. With that said our new home has been our focus for the past couple of months.

So.........

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

That is the lamest holiday card you ever received, right? I just don't know if I can get it all done this year and I didn't want you to think I had forgotten just your family. So, to calm all those troubled hearts out there I am putting out a disclaimer that I didn't forget you. I think you might be getting a lovely Valentine Day card from us.....or maybe May Day.

Have a lovely holiday, gain a few pounds, be merry, enjoy the season and remember that we love you (we are just total slackers this year).

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2009-12-06T19:22:00.003-05:00

Paul was happy to leave the snowy winters of Colorado but I really like snow. Especially December snow. We had our first snow storm of the season this weekend. (Paul was not able to escape completely; we get a few snow storms in the winter)
So, here is what happened....

hot chocolate consumed
sledding occurred
movie watching commenced
and dancing around the Christmas tree ensued

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T18:34:00.004-05:00

Fall has come and gone. I can't believe it is Thanksgiving already. We have a lot to be thankful for around here. We are very blessed and are grateful for all of our family and friends this time of year. If you notice in my post below the dining room is ready for guests....who wants to eat turkey with us next year?

The picture is from the fall foliage in my backyard.

Other things my peeps have been up to

2009-11-25T18:27:00.003-05:00

We have stopped unpacking for a couple of special occasions..... Take a look.
And yes, those are power tools that Jack and Lily use to carve pumpkins. We did find that toad in our front yard. High brown belts were awarded!

Moving in update....

2009-11-25T18:14:00.002-05:00

You probably thought that we had disappeared in the sea of boxes in our garage. But not to worry! We have conquered and the garage is now ready for parking. We are still in the process of getting settled but since I posted the before pictures quite some time ago I thought I would post some almost after pictures. A BIG thanks to Paul's parents who thought they were coming to vacation and ended up participating in our work-camp. And you thought I was joking when I asked for volunteers.

A moving update for anyone wishing they could move and wants to live vicariously through me

2009-10-20T08:36:00.004-04:00

We unloaded on Sat. night and after our last box was out of truck all we had to do was go back to our rental to pick up Paul's truck. We picked up a pizza along the way and headed over. Much to our dismay my car died while backing out of the driveway. And when I say died I mean dead!! So, we were stuck in the car for 2 hours waiting for a tow. Luckily we had some pizza or it could have been mutiny from our kids.

We unpacked the kitchen first to get ready for our new appliances. We were so excited to get back to normal eating. Jack was begging me for a casserole after weeks of sandwiches. Well, the oven has a defective part and will take a week to get it fixed. But everything else works so life in the kitchen is getting normal.

The main floor of the house was painted on Sat. and the rest will be done next Sat. The colors came out great. But the carpet will not arrive until Oct. 30th so we have not brought in the majority of our furniture yet. Just bare bones around here.

Here are some promised pics of the BEFORE condition of the house. Just try to see potential....
I will post some more when we have some progress.

Jack and Lily seem to be adjusting well to their new school. Jack is in a class with 14 boys and 7 girls so he is fitting in just fine. Lily's complaint the first day was that the girls were fighting over who could be her best friend. They have early morning clubs at school: jogging, jumping rope and cup stacking. So, they are out the door by 7:10 a.m. That has been an adjustment for me! I am used to school starting at 9:00.

All in all we are very blessed.

We are in.

2009-10-14T13:29:00.001-04:00

We moved in on Friday. We have enlisted the kids in a kiddie work camp washing down doors, baseboards and cupboards. We have some work ahead of us but it is feeling more like home all the time. I am in love with the lot and the woods in the back yard. If I can find the camera in the sea of boxes I will definitely post some.
If anybody has the itch to paint rooms, pull up carpet, organize storage give me a call. You are more than welcome around here.

Ladies and Gentlemen..... we have a winner!

2009-09-22T08:46:00.004-04:00

So, after many months of looking we have found a house. We are just waiting on a couple of paperwork issues and then we will close.
It has been a long process that has reminded me a lot of dating. We have gone on more first dates than I can count (showings), kissed a couple (put in contracts), had a crush that never went anywhere (short sale), a little heartache over a break-up (lost a bidding war) but in the end I hope we have found our prince. This particular prince still needs some TLC so I will post some before and after pics later. Wish us luck.

Jack has been a great big brother lately

2009-08-14T22:55:00.004-04:00

Jack has been taking the title of big brother seriously lately. Whether it is sticking up for Lily at the pool or watching out for Eva he has got it covered.

Photo documentation by Lily

2009-08-14T22:37:00.002-04:00

When Tracy came to visit Lily wanted to be our photographer. Here is her version of the trip... (she did get some help so she could be in a few but all photo's were taken with her vision in mind)

More of Lily's pics when Tracy came to town

2009-08-14T22:30:00.004-04:00

I guess to Lily its all about the company.

P.S.
Tracy,
We miss you already. Come back soon.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Eva!

2009-08-14T22:24:00.003-04:00

Eva (with a little help from Lily) dressed herself and was ready to get outside and play. We didn't realize that her idea of fun was to chase down crime on her bike. She is getting to be quite a spunky kid.

Funny, funny girl....

2009-08-14T10:54:00.003-04:00

Last night for dinner we had some pasta with a vinaigrette dressing. I happened to mention to Paul that I really liked the vinegar. Upon hearing the word vinegar used to describe dinner Lily informed us that she did not eat vinegar. She exclaimed that she was a vinegeratarian! Jack being the realist that he is then informed her that vinegaratarian meant that she only eats vinegar and that she was actually a non-vinegaratarian! To this Paul exclaimed that he was a meatatarian.

What did your family talk about???

Extra pics that didn't fit in last post

2009-07-03T12:49:00.002-04:00

I ran away from home....

2009-07-03T12:03:00.004-04:00

(I guess that is a bit of an exaggeration because Paul knew I was going, I have been planning it for a year now and I have saved every penny of my mad money to go. But running away makes the title catchy and makes the trip seem even more adventurous than it already was.)
So, back to my story....
I ran away from home last Friday. My co-conspirator was my friend Jenny who doubled as a tour guide. We had planned this trip last summer and we were so proud of ourselves for pulling it all together. It involves more planning than it used to... babysitters were called, husbands left work, metros and buses.
But we did it! We snuck off in the night to New York City. Jenny has lived there before and she is an old pro. We got off the Chinatown bus at about 11:00 p.m. and the first thing she told me was, "don't look in the trash, you might see a rat". So, keeping my eyes up we caught our first look at NYC. We walked to Times Square found our hotel and ordered a pizza. Who knew riding the bus could work up such an appetite?
The next morning we headed out early-ish and went straight for Jenny's favorite bagel shop on the Upper West Side. And coincidentally her favorite cream puff place was right around the corner. So, with breakfast and dessert taken care of we headed off to Central Park. Loved the park. We wandered around and made our way down to Fifth Avenue. Tiffany sparkles, the Plaze is lovely, Empire State building is tall. We took a rest in Washington park listened to some jazz and then headed off for lunch. My theory is as long as it is Magnolia Bakery and you have more than one cupcake it technically can be called lunch. One cupcake is only a snack kind of like a power bar. But two cakes that gets you going! Shopping commenced in Greenwich Village and Soho. Then dinner (this meal actually had some protein) in Grand Central Station. Later that night we went to Wicked on Broadway.
Are you getting tired yet? Do you need a cupcake?
The next morning we wandered back up to the bagel store (this time we grabbed a dozen for Jenny's husband) and had a mid-morning snack at Greys Papaya. We then went down to the Statton Island Ferry, saw the Statue of Libery, Ellis Island and Battery Park. We walked through the Financial District, saw Ground Zero and several churches along the way.
Back to Chinatown and the trip was complete.

I dedicate this post to Jenny who is now added to my BFF list and was a joy to spend the weekend with.

Marine One

2009-06-11T23:13:00.003-04:00

On our picnic we had several fly overs with Marine One. We realized later that it was probably the day that the President was returning from France. Here are pics of Jack and Lily and the Helicopter. It did come much closer to us a few times but we didn't get the picture fast enough. I added a couple of random shots 'cause I am the boss of this blog and I wanted to.

Picnic on the Potomac

2009-06-11T23:07:00.002-04:00

We had a lovely picnic the other day in DC. We even came across a kite flying club that was fun to watch. The flyers had a good sense of humor and kept flying the kites closer and closer to Jack and Lily. At one point the kite was inches from Jack's nose. The owner of the large blue kite you can see in the picture even let Jack, Lily and Eva each take turns flying the kite.

Jack's mud monster

2009-06-10T15:18:00.004-04:00

Jack had a birthday and took some friends to Monsters Vs. Aliens. Paul and I decided a monster cake was the way to go. We took some artistic liberty and did not make a movie monster but a mud monster. The cake was 100% homemade (no cake boxes on this job), had three layers and had cookies and cream filling. I can actually see the extra 3lbs it added to my hips. By the way it was so good even Paul had more than one serving.

Lily and her hair

2009-06-10T15:11:00.002-04:00

Lily finally grew her hair long enough to donate. The idea came to us one night in the bath tub when she said she wanted her hair long enough to sit on. We agreed that she could grow it long enough to donate. We have had fun braiding, curling and ponytailing. But we were both relieved when the tangles were a bit more easier to handle. She looks super cute! The question is will she grow it out again?? She says "yes, but only just past her shoulders." She misses her ringlets at church.

Some early summer fun

2009-06-10T14:54:00.003-04:00

We decided to take an early summer vacation and went camping! Virginia is a lovely state and it was fun to get out of the city and explore a bit. We camped on the Shanendoah River, caught 15 fish, ate too many smores, and explored over 1 mile of underground caverns. We will definitely be back. The only upsetting thing was Eva had 4 ticks on her our last morning. Two just crawling and two had bitten. Paul took some pics of the ticks but I thought I would save you the trama.

Adult Session of Stake Conference

2009-06-08T11:39:00.003-04:00

I love the Saturday night session of Stake Conference. And I thought that I might share my reasons why just in case yours is coming up and you need some inspiration to put on a skirt on a Saturday.

Here are the top ten reasons I like to go the Adult Session of Stake Conference:
10. Paul takes me out to dinner before. Sometimes with friends, sometimes solo.
9. We leave early and even got in some shopping before dinner.
8. My kids (who I love dearly) stay home.
7. I get to sit next to Paul. Usually we have to spread out to maintain order in the troops.
6. I don't have to remind anyone that we are in Heavenly Father's house and not to tap dance on the seat back in front of us.
5. I can hear what the speakers are saying. Seriously, every word. I don't have to pretend that I heard the witty comment and can laugh with the rest of them.
4. In my stake they serve treats after. Who doesn't like chocolate and strawberries?
3. It is quiet in the chapel because just like me everybody else left their kiddos at home.
2. I don't have a cheerio stuck in my bra at the end of the meeting.

And the number 1 reason I like to go to the Adult Session is.......
1. My fingers don't smell like crayons.

Oh, by the way to speaker are really good too. But that is a given right?

No, we did not fall off the earth. Just busy.

2009-05-28T09:07:00.003-04:00

Just in case you thought we had dissappeared I am going to give you a QUICK update. I will try to post some pictures later. We have had loads of fun around here.
1. Lily cut her hair and is donating it. She is adorable.
2. Jack finished off his basketball season with 5 baskets in one game.
3. Eva is still not potty trained, she thinks it is "TOO SCARY!"
4. Paul is working on negotiating our dream house purchase. Keep your fingers crossed.
5. Stacy is trying to sleep 8 hours a night. And it is harder than you might think.
6. We had my Mom and Dad (Jack and Ruth), sister and brother in law (Amy and Marco) visit for spring break. Fun was had by all. We are currently taking reservations for late summer or fall.
7. We went camping along the Shanendoah River. Saw Luray Caverns and caught 14 fish.
8. Saw the panda bears at the Zoo
9. We are counting the days until school is out. 17 more to go.
I am sure I am missing something..... Oh, I turned 34. Officially mid-thirties baby! I am excited for the mid-life crisis to set in.

Eva turned THREE!

2009-03-31T08:40:00.003-04:00

Eva turned three on March 6th. She is a big kid now even though Paul told me the other day he thought she had just entered the toddler phase. She is our baby and it is hard not to see her that way. Eva loves to talk and most of the time we can interpret she has such a little voice that it is hard to hear. She learned her first joke it goes like this... knock, knock.....Who's there? Boo Hoo...... Boo Hoo Hoo? Are you an owl? She is very proud of it. Eva has started riding her tricycle, is keeping up on the trampoline and rope swing. And is enjoying playing a bigger part in the big kid fun. We had a hard time in getting her but feel like she was worth the wait. Happy Birthday Eva!

Jack's NINE years old

2009-03-31T08:28:00.003-04:00

Jack turned nine years old on March 26th. He told me for months that he thought nine sounded really old. He is my favorite son and is a great kid. He started a lot of things this year Cub Scouts, a new school, basketball, new time zone. He has always been kind and thoughtful, intelligent and funny, he loves his sisters and is a great big brother. Paul and I are blessed to have him in our home. Happy Birthday Jack!

What happens in Vegas.....

2009-01-30T21:12:00.003-05:00

I took a very last minute trip to Las Vegas on Friday. I got a call Friday around 10:00 a.m. from a ghost from my babysitting past. The ever lovely Freeman ladies, Kathy, Heidi and Hayley had put together a little reunion. I was on a plane by 7:00 p.m. and had a great weekend. We ate a lot of carbs, did a personality test, lounged around, hot tub included and loved every minute of catching up. The moral to this story is.....if ever the name Freeman comes up on caller ID, PICK UP THE PHONE. You never know where you might end up next.

P.S.
I am up for our ladies retreat whenever.

Eva really loves "Annie"

2009-01-30T20:52:00.003-05:00

So, Eva loves the movie "Annie". Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Jack gave it to her for Christmas and she sings and dances along. We caught her singing the other night and grabbed the camera; sorry about the lighting it was a spur of the moment movie. So, Grandma grab some tissues 'cause your going to LOVE this.

Holiday fieldtrip recap

2009-01-30T20:40:00.004-05:00

Park, Museum, Downtown DC, Lily made a pie, Jack played some b-ball.
Good times had by all.

Santa came to town

2008-12-25T20:34:00.004-05:00

Here is a quick look at our Christmas morning. Paul stayed up all night to watch for Santa and we were lucky enough to hide in our family room and watch him deliver our toys. Jack and Lily had a great hiding spot and Eva peeked a couple of times. We had a great day, lots of fun toys and I even took a 3 hour nap!

Update on Holiday Season

2008-12-17T10:50:00.002-05:00

We have had a great start to our Holiday Season. Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Jack came to visit for almost 2 weeks. We saw some sights, cooked up our usual fantastic Thanksgiving Feast and just hung out together. We were sad to see them go and look forward to their next visit soon.

This winter has been colder than normal (just my luck) but I am told that the Dogwoods and Cherry trees bloom by March so I just need to hang on.

We are solo for Christmas this year and it has been fun coming up with a new holiday schedule of events. Here is what we have so far..
1. Party at our house the first night of Christmas break
2. See lights at the DC temple
3. Visit the National Christmas Tree
4. Enjoy a couple of Smithsonian's over break

My number one goal this year is to not stay up late on Christmas Eve with last minute prep. So, wish me luck (or just proper planning).
I hope you are all busy wrapping and sneaking around planning surprises for people you love. Have a great Holiday.

The Fabulous Life of Me

2008-11-09T13:15:00.002-05:00

I am going to admit that sometimes I don't blog because I am waiting for something FABULOUS to happen. I surf around other sites and see your fab parties, fab haircuts, fab whatever and I wait for something worthy to post. But last night I had a thought that just like Phoebe on "Friends" I would just blog the truth. (Who didn't love that episode where Pheobe sang the truth to the children's group?)

My fabulous experience at the Gym... We joined the YMCA. I have always liked going to the Gym but I have not ventured into the classes since ohhhhhh the early 90's. Well, a friend of mine asked me to be her gym partner in this new boot camp class. I, being new girl in town and looking for friends, said yes. Well, off to boot camp I go. Then I come to realize that my partner played college volleyball, the guy next to me runs marathons, and the women behind is a yoga girl. I am not athletic, gracefull or strong. The first class is on the fit ball; I manage to hang on for dear life (just barely). 2nd class is running with 15 lb weight bar then playing head shoulders knees and toes while jumping from side to side with Doug the prior military instructor yelling "faster, faster, faster" Long story short I got dizzy! Which meant Doug stops the whole class, makes me put me head between my knees, and take deep breaths while counting to 10. Now, I don't think I would have passed out but since I have now been humiliated I was on the brink. What is a girl to do? All I wanted was to slip out and get a drink of water, but now a medical assesment has been made. If you are wondering I did finish the class after all. But I am wondering after all that do you go back?
My fabulous fight with the ants. My kitchen is being invaded. It is a life and death struggle (for the ants). I keep killing them, they keep surviving. All the while I am hearing Julia Robert's voice in my head calling me an ant bully. But my kitchen, my rules.
My fabulous binge on fun size candy bars. I don't know what it is about the fun size bar. I can't seem to get enough. Full size candy bars are no temptation for me. I never even look at them in the checkout. I just know instictively that the Snickers bar will end up in my back pocket (literallly, straight to my butt) and I walk away. But I have eaten more fun size bars than I care to admit. Why does that fun size seem so fun?

Honestly, this is the fabulous life of me. It is fabulously embarrasing, fabulously frustrating, fabulously funny, and fabulously all mine. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Hope you have a fabulous week!

Eva update......

2008-11-01T20:27:00.003-04:00

Here is an update on Eva Nicole. She got a new haircut, speaks fluent Eva-nese, loves nursery, has a new friend named Henry and jumps off the trampoline. She keeps us busy. She and Lily have become great friends and sleep in the same bed most every night (even though they have bunk beds, Lily says Eva makes her). Eva knows how to get things done around here, she goes straight to big brother Jack. He turns on the TV for her, opens doors for her, gets her treats and lets her drive his remote control cars.

I love to see the temple

2008-11-01T19:45:00.002-04:00

We had an afternoon at the temple. Jack wasn't feeling great and didn't want to be part of the photo shoot. The DC temple is beautiful and has a large visitor center with lots of activities. It has been fun living so close to another temple.

Our rope swing is better than your rope swing

2008-11-01T19:38:00.002-04:00

Paul and I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. weaving this bad boy. But it has been worth the effort. It has been a major addition to our new house. So, buy your plane tickets now and we will save you a spot in line for the rope.

Breakin' boards and takin' names

2008-11-01T19:34:00.002-04:00

Jack and Lily had their first belt testing! They both broke boards! Paul is having a great time watching their lessons and practicing at home. So, now we have 2 yellow belts and 1 black belt under this roof. Eva even likes to get into the action and practices her kicks.

Pumpkin patch fun

2008-11-01T19:21:00.003-04:00

A fall tradition in this area is Cox Farms. So, for Family Night we had an outing. It is acres and acres of slides, hayrides, mazes, and lots of pumpkins. We had a great time.

Fall in Virginia

2008-11-01T19:17:00.001-04:00

Went on a walk the other day and this is what we saw.....

Halloween

2008-11-01T19:05:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics of our Halloween. It was the nicest Halloween night I have ever spent trick or treating. We didn't need to cover up the costumes with coats, hats and snow boots. What a difference moving a couple of times zones makes.
Jack was G.I. Jack, Lily was Bubbles the Clown ( a BIG thanks to Grandma Ruth and Aunt Amy who made and shipped the costume), and Eva was Raggedy Ann. We went to a pre-trick or treat pizza party and then roamed the neighborhood for 2 hours. You would assume that meant Jack and Lily went out for 2 hours but Eva was right beside them. She just would not stop. She was a rag doll on a mission. Eva even had rules for all of us to follow: never walk on the lawn, get right up to the door, say trick or treat and thank you at every stop, and NO MOMS allowed any farther than the driveway. That's right she would not let me go to the door, she would say "stop Mom". And then tell Jack to "wait for me, Jack". She walked the entire time and carried her own candy bag. Like I said a rag doll on a mission.

Corporate Christmas parties

2008-10-09T18:12:00.003-04:00

Around Christmas time every year Corporate America likes to pretend that they are in high school again and throw a holiday prom party. Everybody gets dressed up, hair is sprayed, nails painted and you go for dinner, dancing and drinks. ( My usual is a Shirley Temple) Well, I am bored with my current Holiday party dresses and I am looking for something new. Any ideas?? Do you have a favorite store? Seen a great dress in a window? Everything I see is strapless. I DO NOT want a prom dress( I went to prom when I was 18 and that was enough for me) just something appropriate for a night out. I would like to say that there will be a winner for the favorite dress competition.... but it would be a lie. So, if you have some time to kill or you just want an excuse to surf the net keep my Holiday party dress in mind. Happy Hunting!

Mysteries of the universe

2008-09-23T08:28:00.004-04:00

I have been noticing some things lately and they are such a mystery to me. For example.....

1. How do people afford all these big houses around here?
I am talking HUGE! And they are everywhere even on busy streets. I just don't get it. I mean there has to be a limit to the number of CEO's of large corporations in the world. But it seems like they all live around DC.

2. How do the skinny women who shop at Costco eat the food in their cart?
Seriously people. I never buy anything fun at Costco. Chicken, hamburger, cold cereal (high fiber to be exact). But when I look into the carts of skinny women(who all seem to be wearing high heals) their carts are full of lasagna, mandarin chicken and those huge chocolate cakes. My theory on this one is that they feed this to their kids and then go sit on the couch and drink vodka because it is low carb.

3. What kind of shoes are fashionable to wear in the winter?
It is cold here. Have you heard of ice storms before? But yet I see all these adorable flats for fall. I am thinking that socks are a no go. So, what is a girl to do who wants cute feet and warm feet at the same time?

4. Do women really not notice when their butt cracks are hanging out of their jeans?
My niece swears her butt crack never shows but we see it all the time. Do thongs cut off circulation so they can't feel their butt crack? Or do thongs cut off circulation to their brain so they just don't know they should be mortified?

Just some things to ponder throughout you day. Let me know if you see any more mysteries around you. And if you have a good idea about footwear.

The haps around here

2008-09-23T08:15:00.002-04:00

I know, I know, I know. I don't have any new pictures. They are coming, I promise. We are just getting the computer desk up and running. The movers broke our other one and we bought a new desk and need to get all the right cords in all the right places in order for me (the not so computer savy girl) get pictures loaded.

But here are some funny stuff you have missed....
Jack, " Lily how do you like having a desk at school?"
Lily, "It is the worst thing in my life."
Jack, "What?"
Lily, "I have to be there seven hours a day. I would like it more if it was like kindergarten"

Lily, "Do you know what is the best kind of sick? Pink eye. You just get a pink eye. You're not really sick but you still get to stay home from school. It is the best kind of sick."
(the really funny part of the story is she likes school. I am not just saying that she really does.)

Jack stuff:
Everybody makes a big deal about Fairfax County Schools, "they are the best in the nation".
But Jack tells his teacher everyday that his math assignment is a review for him he simply tells her, "I did all this in the FIRST grade".

Jack and Lily got their white belts last week and Master Tak told them to practice everyday and he would watch next Monday to see if they could test for yellow belt. All I can say is, "IIIIIIIYAAAAA"

Eva is started to speak a laguage other than Evanese. She loves to sing "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam" I will try to get it on tape.

Paul and Stacy are doing just fine.

Catchin' Up on Good Times...

2008-08-13T16:28:00.002-04:00

Here is some oldies but goodies of our spring and summer. When I update the blog I really update.

Lily's Birthday

2008-08-13T16:02:00.005-04:00

Lily turned 6 years old. She is a lovely girl who can paint your fingers and toes like a pro, climbs a tree like a monkey and makes me laugh everyday. She had a Tea Party and all the girls made hats to wear. They even planted candies in a magic pot to see what would "grow". They were shocked when giant lollipops sprouted. Undle Adam was in town and made flower balloons for everyone. Wish he was at every party. We love that Lily.

We had our first baptism

2008-08-13T15:47:00.002-04:00

Jack Ramiro Sorensen turned 8 years old and had his baptism. He had many guests come to his baptism including Paul's parents and our nephew Jacob from Utah. Jack asked his Grandpa Jack and Grandma D to speak. When he asked Grandpa Jack to speak he told him it should be longer than 5 minutes but not longer than 15. I think he has heard Paul on the phone asking people to talk in Sacrament. Lily and 2 friends sang a song. His Aunt Amy and Uncle Dane said the prayers. It was a family packed program and we felt it was a blessing that it could be that way. We don't have any pictures from that day. It was one of those stories where you are trying to do something of a spiritual nature and everything goes wrong. But we have some from Sunday morning.

Eva turned 2

2008-08-13T15:37:00.003-04:00

Eva Nicole Sorensen is 2 years old. She has a lot to say about this world we live in. It is too bad that we can only understand about 15% of it. She loves to be outside and watch movies (I know I am the best Mom ever). She loves chocolate! Eva has been our easiest baby to send to nursery and is not as shy as her older sister. She has adjusted to being an East Coast kid and even recognizes her new street. She has started sharing a room with Lily (we call our new house our East Coast Bungalow because of its cozy floor plan)and every night she pulls Lily out of bed and into hers. We love her to pieces.

The Wedding!!!

2008-08-13T15:20:00.003-04:00

I told you this was oldies but goodies from our Spring and Summer. My sister Amy got married this spring. She and Marco are living their happily ever after and here is the day that started it all...

Amy wanted everyone in suits and hats. She wanted the reception to look like we had all just gone to church in the south. I think we succeeded. She had an outdoor brunch on a lake. It was a lovely day and that is saying something because April in Denver can go either way. I think heaven was smiling for us and the weather reflected that.

A couple of funny stories...

Marco asked my son, Jack to be his best man. Jack even gave the toast at the reception; this is what he said."A few years ago in Primary I said a prayer that my Aunt could lose some weight and get married. I guess it came true. Congratulations!"

We had ordered quiche from a local bakery for the brunch. These were amazing quiche and so we ordered extra. Well, we ran out. It was towards the end of the morning but my Mom was just so shocked because we over ordered. Well, I assured her that it was not poor planning but people going back and back and back for more. My sister-in-law Kelli fessed up to eating six pieces! Note in pictures she is the one who is a size 4. Whatever.

Making Friends with the President

2008-07-21T07:40:00.002-04:00

The President of The United States of America waved at Eva and me. On Sunday evening we went to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The evening had a bit of a breeze and after spending all day in our "cozy" apartment we needed some fresh air. We headed over to DC to see the monuments lit up at night. Eva and I were standing outside of the monument looking out over the Potomac River watching the Washington monument light up when I hear a helicopter approaching. I was surprised at how low it was flying this close to the White House. It flew right in front of us and I recognized it as Marine One the President's helicopter. I was pointing it out to Eva and she was waving at it when we saw an arm, in a suit coat, wave back. The helicopter then flew past the Lincoln Memorial and turned in the direction of the White House and disappeared below the tree line. Paul, Jack and Lily missed the whole thing.

New time zone, new town, new blog background

2008-07-14T13:30:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the Blogger Fairy we can all enjoy a new background on this site. I feel like a new blog. I loved the old look (thanks Tracy) love the new look (thanks Wendy). Now I just need a makeover for myself and the world would be a better place.

Updates from the East

2008-07-09T07:57:00.002-04:00

We have a contract! It is not the same house as previous post but this house is even better. The whole process was stressful and I hope that the inspections go smoothly and we can move in on closing date of July 30. Say a little prayer for us.

Fourth of July in the Nation's Capital.
We decided not to go into DC this year. I have heard it is a must do but not with little kids. You have to stake out your spot early in the morning, stay all day, and expect 3-4 hours to get home. (We live about 30 min from the Mall). With Eva being 2 we decided to wait for another year or two before we attempt that one.

We did however drive to Great Falls park for a day of hiking (really walking on dirt path), picnic and looking at the Potomac River crash over big boulders, we even waved at the sightseers in Maryland. It is a fun park with beautiful walk paths we walked up to Matildaville where there are ruins of an old town and Paul being the Eagle Scout that he is found some wild raspberry bushes for a snack. At the visitor center Paul, Jack and Lily all held a baby corn snake and an adult corn snake. Eva and I watched from a safe distance. I had that sick feeling I get around snakes and Eva kept saying "nice snake, hissssss".
After the park we came home for a swim and dinner then headed for the local firework show. When we pulled into the park it started to rain. But this did not stop the firework fans, I think they just are used to it raining a lot, the water slides next to the park didn't even close. The kids just kept on swimming and tubing in the rain. Well, as respectable Westerners we stayed in the car (okay, I packed all our rain gear so we were stuck in the car) and Eva got so fed up with it and was so tired that we just had to leave. Jack and Lily were good sports about it and we set off some of our own in the parking lot.
It was a fun day and I hope next year we make it to the fireworks. Anybody want to join us?

An offer is in!!!!!

2008-06-30T07:43:00.002-04:00

We are in the process of submitting an offer on a house. I would send you a link to see pictures but the property has only been on the market for 3 days and they haven't posted any yet.
But it is a great house. It is about the same size as my old house but the floor plan is really different and it has a 4th bedroom. The house sits on a wooded 1/2 acre and has wooded open space behind it. I am not exaggerating when I say that we could camp in our yard. Paul and I were undecided on a property and decided to drive by them one more time last night. When we stopped at the house on Short Ridge Rd the man across the street came out to talk to us. They have 2 kids, boy 9 and girl 7 (sounds great to me), he teaches at the neighborhood elementary and says it is great (sounds great to me), then another neighbor comes over to introduce himself and tells us which houses have stay at home Moms (about 1/2 on the cul de sac), they tell us about the fourth of July party, the trick or treating, the cul de sac leaf raking fun, etc. Oh, and I saw lightning bugs for the first time in my life (all over our the yard of the house we want). I got back into the car and told Paul I was sold. I have been praying that we could find a house that we could afford and that we could find a neighborhood that Jack, Lily and Eva could love. The neighbors addressed all my concerns. They even told us the woman was the original owner and would probably take a lower offer. So, we did!!! I will keep you posted as to what comes next.

First week in Virginia (still no camera)

2008-06-26T20:06:00.003-04:00

Well, we have been here for one week And here is our update...

Paul goes to work each day, brings home the bacon and is happy to not be eating his own cooking.
(he thinks he gained about 10 pounds eating pasta from a box)

Stacy is managing living in an apartment and has spent loads of time at the pool (see Lily's update). My car is still in transit so we have explored all the shops in walking distance. We even found a pet store with puppies. But unfortunately we realized that after holding the puppies we would come home and Paul would suddenly have red eyes and sneezing. Now I know what you are all thinking....but he didn't even know about the puppies. After about 3 sepperate incidents we realized that the puppies must be the problem. I guess his allergy really does exist.

Jack spent the week at Cub Scout day camp, loved every minute of it, and made friends with all 7 boys in his group. I guess the move transition has been easy on him. He really wants to buy a house in the ward, but that remains to be seen.

Lily has fallen in love!!!! Not with Virginia but with the apartment pool. She loves it and puts on her suit as soon as she wakes up. We go to the pool as soon as it opens, eat lunch poolside, stay until Eva is exhausted, go home just for a nap and swim again when Dad gets home. She is a little frog in the water and has a tan to prove her devotion.

Eva loves having Daddy around. She enjoys the pool. And has started sleeping in a real bed. She sleeps with Lily and wakes her up every morning with a big hug. Lily does not love the early morning wake up call but has done better since we told her she doesn't actually have to get out of bed. So now Eva gets the boot and Lily sleeps in.

Well, we will let you know when we find a house.

WE ARE HERE

2008-06-24T09:26:00.003-04:00

We survived the move to DC or atleast we have managed fairly well. It has been 5 days and we have seen some houses (not bought one yet), made use of the pool (every day), and seen some monuments (Washington, World War II, and Lincoln). So, far things have been fun. But I think we just feel like we are on vacation still.

Hopefully, we will find a house this week. Everyone is missing the backyard, cul-de-sac, but most of all family.

We loved every minute of every day in Colorado. We are all missing living 2 doors down from Grandma and Grandpa. Lily asked the other night when we were going to visit. I told her we just left but she still feels like she should get her promised one month a summer at Grandma's house. We loved living so close and miss and love you. I know that we will not be able to re-create that here. But just like I tell Jack and Lily, "it won't be the same here, but it will still be great." Wish us all luck on the house hunt.

Sorry, I have no pictures. I used the camera in Utah and the battery is so dead I can't even get the lens to close. And the charger is in storage (I am so mad).

I will try to give you better updates in the next few days.

Paul and I in Boston for 5 days and no kids

2008-05-26T11:12:00.001-04:00

All I can say is........
What happens in Boston...........stays in Boston.

D.C. or BUST!!

2008-04-29T23:55:00.000-04:00

Well, it is offiicial Paul has moved to Reston, Virginia. He has started work on....well...whatever it is that he does all day. The rest of us will follow him when the house sells or I have a nervous breakdown.
So, hopefully you have all had a desire to one day see the Nation's capital. We would love to have guests.

Sorry, we have been so slow posting stuff. But with 3 birthdays, my sister's wedding, putting the house on the market, and now having sore throats, coughs, and pink eye all at once it just has not been at the top of the list. I will try to get some pictures up soon.
Love to you all.

Okay, we are blogging losers! So, here is an update on our lives...Aquarium trip

2008-03-01T11:49:00.001-05:00

It was a cold day here and we were longing for summer so we went to the Aquarium. Fun was had by all!! We touched sting rays, saw sharks, climbed coconut trees and find Nemo for Eva.

update on Eva....

2008-03-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

Eva and I are best friends! She is going through the stage where she only likes me. It is sweet but really other people should be able to touch her. I even started a play group with kids from her nursery and she still plays with me the first 30 minutes and then mingles with the kiddies for last 30 minutes. I love every inch of her so this phase is okay. I won't mind though when she will start to let Paul feed her breakfast.

Update on Jack...

2008-03-01T11:35:00.000-05:00

Jack is turning 8 on March 26! He is excited to become a scout and get baptized. He turns 8 on a the same day as Cub Scouts so his first Den Meeting will be on his birthday. Then the Pinewood Derby is on the same day as his baptism! I thought about rescheduling the baptism but he thinks it sounds like the best itinerary ever. So, Derby and Baptism on same day. Any and all are welcome to attend, March 29th 4:30 p.m.