My kind of holiday entertainment!

For those of you who know me, you know this is the ultimate kind of holiday entertainment for me! I hope you all enjoy this awesome talent!

Looking forward to a holiday break

Last Saturday we put our house on the market and yesterday we had our first showing. We haven't heard feedback about that yet but we're crossing our fingers that somebody will love our home enough to buy it very soon! I've been busy all week with errands and getting things wrapped and replacing the lights that had already gone out on our tree and making food for the church Christmas party and then... I got sick. Imagine that!

N has had something going on where she is happy all day and then won't go to sleep at night and then is grumpy the next day or two after that. It's been hard to not get enough sleep AND deal with my doll N being miserable for some reason. I'm assuming it's teething. Yesterday she was PERFECT again all day long! And went right to bed at bedtime. I hope she's back to her normal self for a LONG time! But now I have a cold and I'm sitting here with Natalie while the rest of my family is at church. I hate missing but I doubt anybody wants me spreading my germs around right now.

I am planning on going to A-town to house hunt next week. Anyone want to come with me??? :) B is busy finishing stuff up at work and doesn't seem to think he can take time off right now, so I'll have to go by myself I suppose. I'm anxious to get out there and see everything!

I'm going to miss my friends around here like crazy but I'm also anxious to just move on and start this next chapter in my life. Should be exciting!!! :)

I feel like I'm just waiting all the time for something to happen. I need to remember to live my life one day at a time! I'm so ready for a vacation to think about nothing but holidays, family, and fun!!!

Stressed out!

Man, this week has been nuts. We've been working like crazy to get our house ready to sell and we've accomplished a TON since we had my mom and Ben's parents come over to help but I am still stressed about when it will sell, of course. I have lots of holiday-related things to do, I'm still babysitting another little girl for 8 more days this month and then I'm done forever (hooray!), and today on my way home from picking up J from pre-school, I was rear-ended! With all of my little darlings in the car, plus J's classmate who lives in our neighborhood. It was stressful and I feel achey but I'm pretty positive that it's because I was scared and tensed up when we got hit, not like I'm actually injured. Ugh. I so don't need this. At least everyone is ok. The kids just kept watching their movie like nothing happened, while we exchanged insurance info. N actually slept through the whole thing! My bumper is cracked and has indentions from his license plate. It doesn't seem like a big deal but it felt like we got hit hard so I figured we better check it out. When will my life be peaceful once again? Yeah, never is probably right.

Moving, Zoo, First Step, Birthday

Well, it happened. B got offered a great position with a new city... wonderful opportunity for his career, better benefits, a little bit more money, and a move to a bigger home is imminent! But it's to... Abilene, Texas! We had been applying all over the DFW Metroplex and then someone from Abilene saw his resume at a Planner's Conference in October. He called him, set up an interview (we said why not?), and two weeks later.... we're moving to Abilene! (2 1/2 hours West of Fort Worth for those of you who don't know)

We are very excited but also nervous since this will be our first experience selling a home (and in a Buyer's Market no less!) and housing in Abilene is quite a bit more expensive than here. Hopefully we can find something to meet the needs of our family and when B is ready for the next step in his career, hopefully we can step back towards the DFW Metroplex and get our dream house really cheap! :) Or we may end up loving Abilene and staying there forever. Who knows?

It should be exciting and I actually like change. I'll just have anxiety about everything for a while! So what's new? J is excited but doesn't understand why we can't bring our friends with us. But she was relieved to hear we ARE taking her bed! Silly kid. :) I just hope we can sell the house quickly and join B since he has to start in about 30 days!

Today I took the girls, plus the little girl I babysit, plus a friend and her daughter, to the Dallas Zoo today. We had a great time and enjoyed the nice weather. The only downside to the trip was the lock on the stroller not working! I tried to lock the stroller, then stepped in front of it to take a picture of the other girls with a turtle statue, and Jill started to yell. I turned around to see my precious N rolling down the hill! The stroller hit the curb and it flipped over but amazingly... she was fine! Very scared and annoyed at me, I'm sure, but she just got a yucky road rash on her precious cheek. Definitely the dumbest thing I've ever done as a parent. Good to get it out of the way now though, right? And to her credit, she cried for about 1 minute total and then was her regular, happy self! For those of you that know N, I'm sure you can believe that. :) AND... later the same day, she took her first step! So I guess I didn't do too much damage! Or maybe she decided that if she started walking, she wouldn't have to be put in the death trap stroller anymore! :)

Today is B's 33rd birthday. We had a joint party for him a couple weeks ago with Natalie and last night we had dinner and cake here with some friends (one of which was celebrating a birthday a little belatedly), but today he came home and I went to the gym for Yoga class and he put the kids to bed and then worked all evening. Some birthday! Hopefully this new job will not put as much pressure on him and we can enjoy our evenings together more. Abilene doesn't have ANY night meetings -- only afternoons! Love that!

So that's us. I've caught you all up. We are VERY sad to leave our wonderful friends, ward, doctors, community, but we think this is the direction we are supposed to go now. We may still be around for months but when we do leave, I hope everybody will keep in touch!!!

Six Things

I got tagged to do this from Nicole, so here we go... SIX interesting things about me.

1. I love musicals. Pretty much anything from "back in the day" with Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire or Dick Van Dyke and I love the modern stuff too. I have to say I am a MAJOR "High School Musical" fan but it's ok because I have a 5 year old daughter who loves it and so I can say I'm watching it for her sake. :) I would LOVE to see "Phantom of the Opera" or any other Broadway show (that's clean!) someday. I recently rented "Singing in the Rain" and "The Sound of Music" to enjoy with Jill and she has inherited this wonderful quality of loving musicals!!! It's so fun to share that with her.

2. White hair. I started to get white hairs around my sophomore year of college at the ripe old age of 19. I have quite a few now. :( One day I had my hair pulled back (showing all the white) and someone told me they loved what I'd done with my hair (meaning highlights) and I just smiled. I guess I can save a ton on salon appointments!

3. Favorite curse word. No, of course I don't curse! But when I get frustrated, I am known to occasionally yell out the word, "peacock!" Yes, strange. It makes Ben laugh and whoever is around me laughs and then I usually laugh too. Calms down the situation quickly. I have NO idea where I got that.

4. Double anatomy. I was born with 2 uteruses and 2 cervixes. Very exciting. They both work. I have had 2 daughters out of the right uterus and one out of the left. But my cervixes never dilate so I guess they actually don't work. :) Thank goodness for C-sections!

5. News anchor. I have a degree from BYU in Broadcast Communications and wanted to be Katie Couric. But I got burned out on reporting by the time I graduated and realized that might not be the best career for me if I wanted a family. I loved the classes, the major, the anchoring on Community Cable News, being published in the Daily Universe, etc. but I doubt I'll use my degree in the way it was intended.

6. Good memory. One thing that is interesting but might not be as true anymore... I remember names and faces really well. A lot of my friends at BYU were blown away by how I could remember someone's name, where they lived, who their roommate was, who they were dating, what their major was, etc. after meeting them once. After having 3 kids, my brain is no longer what it used to be, but I can still remember quite a lot after meeting someone, as long as I'm not corraling my kids at the same time that I meet them! I can also remember numbers. I still remember pretty much all of my friends' birthdays (if I ever knew it, it's still in my head!) and my locker combinations from middle school and other random, useless stuff! Someone at church recently asked if I was one of those people who could look at something once and have it memorized. Evidently they think my memory is still sharp!

Ok, that's it. Oh so interesting... I tag Amy, Meredith, Cheryl, Angela, and anyone else reading my blog! :)

Happy Birthday Darling!!!

Our precious N turned ONE this past week (how is it possible that a year has passed since I had her?) and we celebrated twice. It was a rough week for her poor mom, so rather than a big cake, she got... A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup! That's what she gets for being born the day after Halloween! :) She didn't complain at all! Then on Saturday we celebrated again with her Bryner grandparents and I actually made a cake!!! Enjoy the pics! Most are from her birthday celebrations but some are of her in the last month or so just being so darn cute!!!

Carnival, parade, and Halloween -- oh my!

We went to my hometown for their annual celebration -- Arkalalah! It's just a bunch of fun stuff -- parades, games, carnival, yummy food booths... the good ol' Small Town Americana at it's best! The girls got to play with their Crain Cousins and then came home in time to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. It's been a busy month but lots of fun and good photo opportunities!!! :)

So behind...

I'm really behind on updating my blog. We've actually been having a lot of fun. I'll try to update you with my slideshows!!! :) Here is our trip to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch in the middle of October!

On a lighter note...

My friend did this husband post on her blog and I thought it was cute, so I'm stealing it from her. Thanks Chelsea! :)

What is his name? goes by Ben

How long have you been married? It will be 9 years next month! We're no longer newlyweds, I guess!

How long did you date? We met August of 1997 and had mutual friends but didn't start dating until June of 1998. We had our first kiss at the beginning of July and were engaged by the end of July! So we didn't seem to date very long but we knew each other well! :)

How old is he? He'll be 33 next month. He robbed the cradle with lil' ol' me.

Who eats more? Definitely him. He eats everything I make and never complains, which is very nice! He'll even "offer" to finish what's on the girls' plates -- sometimes before they're even done! :)

Who said I love you first? Man, I should really know this. I would guess that I said it first because I'm more verbal with my "I love you" but maybe I should ask if he remembers. Yeah right! :)

Who is taller? He is! 6'2". I'm 5'7.5" and I think I'm tall until I give him a hug and he towers over me!

Who sings better? I am a choir/musical/sing-all-the-time kind of girl and he's a "sing along with my 80's hair band or hard rock music" kind of guy. He would say I sing better but I think I just do it more. And in public. :)

Who is smarter? He would say he is. :) He thinks he's right about everything and he usually is but I still try to make him be humble. :) He respects me and thinks I'm brilliant about lots of things. But if we're talking about historical or scientific facts or playing Trivial Pursuit, he is ALWAYS right. Argh!!!

Whose temper is worse? His. It's not as bad as it used to be thankfully (I'm such a good influence!) but he gets really upset about things really fast! But he also calms down quickly too. Anyone who knows him but doesn't know him that well would never believe he isn't always calm and laidback. :)

Who does the laundry? I do. It is very hard to keep it all done all the time in this growing family but he is very sweet about asking if his certain shirt or pants or whatever will be clean for him to wear the next day. I really appreciate that!

Who does the dishes? I do. He can do them and would be fine helping with things but I like stuff done my way, so I kindly ask him to leave it to me. He likes to stack everything on the counter in piles (he's a bit OCD), even though I'm just about to load the dishwasher. Just move outta the way!!! :)

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If we're laying in bed, he is to my right. If you're looking at our bed, I'm on the right. :)

Who pays the bills? I do. And it causes me great anxiety when he says, "What?! I thought we had 'x' number of dollars left?" But whenever I kindly offer to let him take over, he says, "No, I trust you and you're doing a great job." :) I love taking care of the bills when we have enough money to pay them all and save some.

Who mows the lawn? Ben does but he hates it. I actually like planting flowers but it's really hard to do yard work with the kids. I vow to do better next year!

Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time. Sometimes he'll offer to make quesadillas or some other specialty of his and I love that!

Who drives when you are together? He thinks he's the best driver on the road and really can't stand to let me drive. Sometimes I insist though!

Who is more stubborn? Definitely him.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably him. It's hard for both of us! :)

Whose parents do you see the most? Probably his since they are only 1 hour away but my mom visits pretty often, so that might be a tie! :)

Who proposed? Um... we were kind of just discussing marriage and realized we both wanted to marry the other. Then we announced to our friends that we were engaged! But he did get down on one knee to give me my ring a month later on my birthday! :)

Who is more sensitive? Definitely me!

Who has more friends? I do. He doesn't need friends and social interaction the same way that I do!

Who has more siblings? He's one of 5 kids and I have one great brother. Ben wins this one.

Who wears the pants in the family? I think we both do. I kind of just do what needs to be done and take care of a lot, with regard to the family and our home, but I defer to "Dad" in matters that I think he should be involved in and I think he appreciates that. We are a good team.

How to forget yourself

Is my life hard? Sometimes. Am I frustrated by things in my life? Often. Do I like to have a pity party for myself? Every once in a while. But the cure for ALL of that is service. I've been told that before and it is very true. The last few weeks have been so amazing. I've been doing what I can and joining with my friends in trying to raise money for our friend Courtney who is battling leukemia, while her sweet husband is taking care of their crew at home (with some family and friends helping of course). Things have really come together so nicely and in the last week alone, there was a blood drive, garage sale, bake sale, booth at the town's annual celebration selling t-shirts, cookbooks, and tons of other stuff, and the general collection of donations through canisters in businesses throughout the community. The outpouring of love and support for our dear friend is just amazing. I ordered 50 cookbooks to be printed and they are all gone! I'm going to order more tomorrow to be sold at the garage sale coming up on this Saturday. A leader of our church said recently that a ward (our local congregation) should be like a family. "What happens to one, happens to all." I think our ward has truly embodied that statement. I've also decided that life is too short to NOT let your friends know how much you care for them and how grateful you are for them BEFORE they are enduring a scary disease and you have no opportunity to talk to them for over a month! So all of you who are reading this and are my friends, I APPRECIATE YOUR FRIENDSHIP! :)

If anyone out there in blogland would like to help out a truly awesome lady, we are still selling the t-shirts for $15 or the cookbooks for $10. My mom volunteered her time to make the cookbook (type it, format it, etc.) and a local printer gave us a nice discount to show their support for Courtney too. They turned out SO great and there are a lot of great recipes in there! Quick and easy, which I love! Just post a comment or e-mail me if you would like one. They make great Christmas gifts too! :)

As I was helping sell the cookbooks at the booth yesterday, a man came walking by with his family and my friend Amy and I started talking to him and telling him why we were there. He was sympathetic but wasn't interested in buying our things. He offered some money and said he'd just like to donate. That was so nice. But as he was walking away, Courtney's husband, Todd, and her 4 little ones walked up to the booth and I told the man, "Oh, this is actually Courtney's family right here." He walked over to Todd and started talking to him and about 15 minutes later the man came back over to me and with tears in his eyes, he slid me an even larger bill than before and walked away quickly before I could see him cry. I think it hit a little too close to home when he realized this could be his wife and children going through this. There were a lot of extremely generous people that didn't know her and others whose children go to school with Courtney's and they just weren't sure what else to do to help. The PTA also held their own bake sale for her. She has affected a lot of lives.

So anyway, I am grateful for great friends and I am grateful for service!

For anyone that wants to help a friend

Hey all. Here is the official "Courtney's Angels" t-shirt to raise money for my friend Courtney and her family. My friend had the great idea and we brought it to fruition with several people's talents. The silhouette is supposed to be comparable to "Charlie's Angels," only the girls are wielding a baby, a vacuum, and a casserole dish for helping Courtney. :) Click on the pic to see it close up! If you'd like to buy one as a donation for Courtney, the price is $15 and you can contact Amy at amynpennington@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Yet Another High School Musical Fan!

J received a birthday card from her cousins that played a song from High School Musical when you open it. Late at night when the older sisters are in bed, N plays with her favorite toy!!! Check out her music video!

Five is Fabulous!

J turned FIVE last week and her birthday lasted forever! We had a family party with Grandma Crain and the Texas Bryner clan on the Saturday before her birthday and she requested a rainbow birthday cake like M had in May. This one turned out a bit better though. ;) Then she turned 5 on Tuesday and took cupcakes to pre-school. Then she had a friend party on the following Saturday where she was able to be completely fabulous as we danced to High School Musical 2 songs! She's really into HSM 1 & 2 and, to be honest, I am too! It's great fun to dance with the girlies to those songs. J and I have most of the songs memorized and sing them often. Even Miranda starts in with the, "I need, I need," song and we all do "Brrrghh Brrrghh Brrrghh MAH!" to make each other laugh. If you don't know what I'm talking about, find someone with Disney Channel. They play it pretty often. :) Anyway, J wanted a High School Musical party. But a unicorn pinata. O...kay... :) So we got some shimmery, see-through material from Wal-Mart that I cut in 6 inch wide strips to be little scarves, and they had star-shaped sunglasses, and of course MICROPHONES! We did musical chairs, the limbo, pinata (no one seemed to mind that it was a unicorn -- there was chocolate inside!!!), sing along to the last song in High School Musical 2, presents, then cupcakes (with musical notes on top of course!). It was very fun and not that stressful considering a dozen little girls were here. N slept through the whole thing and M was able to sleep through half of it and then enjoy some of it too! Here are pics of our fun time for your viewing pleasure.

Hard to Handle

Sometimes something happens in someone's life and you think, "I can't imagine what they must be going through." Well, this time something happened that hits too close to home. My good friend Courtney Flynn, who is barely older than me and has 3 young girls and a toddler boy, was diagnosed with leukemia last week. Our great group of friends and our church organizations went right to work taking care of everything. I've been helping to organize care packages, benefit garage sales, and bake sales, etc. but still feel so helpless to truly help. She is such a wonderful person that has touched so many people's lives! Even the person who took care of their mortgage loan e-mailed me asking how she could help! I've had dozens of calls and e-mails from people asking how they can serve her family and dozens more informing me of what is already in progress! It's quite inspiring to see the amount of people who love this sweet lady. I hope and pray that this huge bump in the road of her life can be surpassed quickly with modern medicine and all the help from people's prayers all over the world! She's a strong woman and a fine example of a disciple of Christ. If you pray, please pray for her and her cute family. WE LOVE YOU COURTNEY!

At least she's honest...

Lately when I see a mess or something not right around the house, I'll say, "Somebody didn't put this away," or "Somebody got this out without permission," or "Somebody needs to clean this up," and before the words are even totally out of my mouth, I hear, "ME!" M takes blame for pretty much anything around here and for good reason. It really is her I'm usually referring to but it's hilarious that she's quick to point out that it was her fault! She also uses the, "ME!," whenever something good is involved too, like, "Who wants a snack?," or "Who made this bed all by herself?" She's pretty centered on herself most of the time (as any two year old should be) but at least she's honest!

Starting School

Anyone that has talked to me recently probably knows that I was pretty disappointed about J not getting to go to kindergarten this year with most of her friends. She is 17 days too young for Texas schools to let her in, regardless of the fact that she's as tall as some second graders and she's reading as well as a second grader(no lie, she has just taken off in that area and loves it!). So I looked around for a good preschool and they are SO expensive (and I'm sure they're great!) but we decided the budget didn't allow for it. Then a friend told me her friend was going to hold a Pre-K class twice a week in her home for kids that were already 4 or 5 but not going to kindergarten. She's a member of our church, had great references, and a fee within our budget, so I signed J up and she started today! She seemed happy to go but not super excited. She walked right in, put her backpack and lunch down, picked up a new book, and started to read. Never mind that there were 4 kids there playing Legos in front of her! I know she's a bit shy for the first few minutes of any occasion but I'm guessing she'll be her social, talkative self by the next day for sure! Here's a pic of my cutie ready to go this morning!

We are family!!!

We have had a great summer of visiting with family! The Bryners got together in June (all of us together for the first time in a really long time!) and then we visited the Elder Clan & Biesinger Bunch out in Utah in July. We had a great time camping at Yuba State Park even though Jill got heat exhaustion and Natalie wouldn't sleep and Miranda stepped onto the searing hot pavement with no shoes on when it was 105 degrees and I couldn't sleep at all the first night when the temperature dropped about 40 degrees in minutes. No, really, we had fun. :) I enjoyed seeing all of my family members at least! Who would have thought camping with babies would be hard? :) We had so much fun with the Biesingers too. They had a barbecue for us and as many as could come gathered at Uncle Clyde & Aunt Susan's house just to see us! We went to the Hogle Zoo, Temple Square, BYU Creamery (yum!), The Wilkinson Center, a movie at Provo Towne Center, cousin Jace's baptism in Kaysville, and a quick visit with Grandma & Grandpa Elder in Bountiful. We squeezed a lot of fun in to that week! Below are some pictures of trip highlights.

The Best Concert I've Seen In A While!

This is video from the best concert I've seen in a while! Of course, I don't get out of the house much... but it is my cuties singing to their favorite songs. I'm so glad they have great role models like Fergie and Gwen Stefani! Hee hee. Enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/284188

I'm Invisible

A friend shared this with me and I thought it was great. I can totally identify!

I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.

Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going ... she's going ... she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
* The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."
And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want himto want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add,"You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Dinner Time: Pleasure or Panic!

I don't know about all of you but I have a really hard time with deciding what to make for dinner. I try to plan menus and shop according to them but eventually I stop doing that and I spend $125 at the grocery store and still have nothing to make for dinner. We have many (as Ben calls them) "Free For All" nights where we just all pick something out of the pantry or fridge to eat. That's a really good thing to teach my kids, isn't it? So I've been scouring cooking sites, recipes sites, etc., and came across something I really like! This e-mealz.com has an easy to follow menu of stuff that my family will actually eat (some websites have exotic menus that my family, and probably I, would not even try) and a grocery list to help me aisle-by-aisle. Some of you may think, "How lame is she that she has to have someone do that for her!" But this is SO helpful in a time when I'm already pretty busy with other things!!! And the best part is that they are new and different things than the same 20 meals I make over and over! So if you want some help in this area too, this is the cheapest and easiest way I've found, and I thought I'd share!

Before June ends...

Wow, it's been a while. We've been busy around here. In May, we ended the soccer season for Jill.

AND we celebrated the SECOND birthday of Miranda May. She is thrilled to be two and is learning about two new words a day it seems! We had a great little party with our family, plus Grandma Crain and cousin Maren. She had a rainbow cake and had a great time with her new toys. She is such a cutie with her new bangs (that her talented mama cut) and she is loving wearing panties like a big girl.

June has almost passed me by! We started swimming lessons and Jill is almost done but Miranda got a fever over the weekend and is missing her second week, so we'll have to reschedule. I'm guessing her molars are coming in since there are no other symptoms and she's as hyper and scheming as ever!

Natalie is approaching her 8 month mark and is extremely close to crawling! She can scoot or roll anywhere she wants to go and gets up on her knees to rock back and forth. She is growing so fast and may soon overtake her big sister Miranda! She still refuses to hold her own bottle though and that better change soon! Well, she doesn't refuse to hold it but she doesn't get any milk in her mouth when she's holding it! She still smiles almost constantly and we LOVE her two teeth grin!

Ben went to Scout camp for a whole week with the boys from our ward to do a High Adventure trip and he of course had a great time.

Since I didn't want to be left home alone all week, I took the girls on a 5 hour drive to Kansas to see my family. We all had a great time and Jill didn't even want to come home! I asked if she'd miss her room and bed and toys and she didn't see why Dad couldn't just bring up all of her stuff later. Riding a horse, swimming in Grandma's little pool, feeding the animals, and all of the other chores are way more fun than staying inside our house watching it rain out the window!




Texas has had WAY too much rain this year and there's flood watches all the time. We are quite sick of it and now feel for those poor people in the Pacific Northwest who have this kind of weather all the time! :) We're longing for the 100 degree, sunny, June days. Hee hee.

We leave a week from today for our big trip to Utah for a big family reunion for my side of the family and a get together for Ben's side. It will be great to see everyone and I hope the kids enjoy all the effort it will take for us to take them CAMPING for the first time!

Ben is looking around for jobs to move up into and I'm just trying to handle life in my big little family!