Herbst Family Happenings....

Ariel Takes on Count Dukoo

2012-01-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

The kids had fun with various toys from Christmas and came up with some creative playtime. Maybe Obi Wan will help rescue sleeping beauty next?

Number 3

2011-11-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

We are expecting baby number three, a girl, into our family in mid April. The kids are excited to be big brother and big sister. (Yes Ian's shirt is a sign as his "real one" is somehow MIA). And now that we know gender we are figuring out rooming strategies :) Any ideas/tips on having a baby in room with a bigger sibling?

Happy Halloween

2011-10-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Halloween is just one night away and already the kids are on a sugar high from all the school candy, trunk or treat at the church last night, and a few snitches from our own treats to give out tomorrow. I can't wait to help them sort all the candy they get into the different types as that was always one of my favorite things to do.

Here are some of our picture highlights for my brave knight and fair princess this Halloween season 2011. Happy and Safe Halloween!!

Happy Third Birthday

2011-10-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Livia's third birthday today! Hard to believe our big girl is three. She had a balloon door, got to choose all the food today, opened presents, had lots of family call for birthday songs and wishes, and was thrilled with her lady bug cake. Celebrations!

Camp Second Chance

2011-09-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our family went to Rutledge, GA to go to Camp Second Chance. It is a special weekend camp for transplant kids and their families. It was a great experience and the place is amazing!!! Ian will have the opportunity to go for a week in the summer to "Camp Independence" when his is older and we definitely plan on sending him.

Beach Party was the theme this year and they had a big beach party set up for the kids with tons of jump castles. That event lasted two hours until 9:45 at night and the kids slept really well after all that jumping! Our family had fun going on a paddle boat, fishing, mini golfing, and going to the group drumming circle. The closing event was a butterfly release where each of the transplant kids got to make a wish and release a butterfly (fitting as the entire transplant wing at CHOA is all butterfly themed!) Ian's butterfly didn't want to leave and spent some time on his shoe, or Brett's thumb.

A great weekend and we are ready to come home and rest now! Here are some picture highlights.

Beads and Teeth not Teeth Beads :)

2011-09-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Livy and I have been enjoying some one on one time since Ian has returned to school. We made the ever class straw bead necklaces yesterday. I think we have a future in jewlery :)

Ian lost yet another tooth tonight which brings his total up to 5. His other upper front tooth is also very wobbly and it won't be long to join the ranks with the collection of the tooth fairy. I love his jack-o-lantern grin!

Good-bye Summer Vacation, Hello School

2011-08-16T16:47:00.001-07:00

We said good-bye to summer vacation and days filled with sleeping in, lazy mornings in PJs and afternoons at the pool yesterday. School started today. In customary celebration we did a "favorite" things that Ian wanted to do so we went to the sprinklers, ate a picnic lunch and went to the playground in the morning. That afternoon we did light saber battles, Mario Kart Wii and some crafts.

Ian got his hair cut on Friday in prepartion for school starting and the stylist convinced him that spiking it with gel would look so handsome and I couldn't agree more. I love this hairstyle because Ian can do it himself and it doesn't have to be "perfect". He got lots of great comments from the teachers today so he may be slowly convinced to keep it up--I sure hope so. Hard to believe that he started First Grade today. Based on last year's experience with the drop off chaos, we parked at a local store and walked across the street over to his school and it was a brainy idea to do this. I think we're going to have a great year ahead!!!

Berry Shortcakes

2011-07-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

I've always seen the pound cake dessert made to look like a flag for the Fourth and have wanted to do that forever. I am proud to say that this year I made a variation of that flag cake for our family by creating individual berry shortcakes with REAL whipping cream in festive bowls. Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy Birthday Six Year Old Ian

2011-06-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ian turned six on Monday. The day was filled with all sorts of things he wanted to do like walking through a balloon door, going to a park, playing star wars light sabers, painting, playdoh, a pizza dinner, and cake and ice cream. The cake turned out to be a volcano cake based on what it looked like coming out of the oven. A pirate themed party with friends is in the works for Saturday.

disney

2011-06-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Orlando to Disney World and while there celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.

We went to Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom (for two days) and Hollywood studios and built in two rest days and were very glad to have done so. We used one to take me to an urgent care place to get antibiotics and the other for the boys to golf and the girls to shop. The heat wasn't so bad; I think living in Charleston, SC for three years helped with that and the crowds/lines weren't as bad as I had feared. We didn't wait more than 20 minutes for anything and used the fastpass system as much as we could. The kids didn't go to bed before 10pm any of the nights we were there and ALL of us napped during our rest period when we would leave the parks each day. I had lots of great tips before we left and one of the best was to use a crockpot to have nice hot meals ready for when we returned each day. I would highly recommend this to anyone going. I researched A TON of what do to, what to see, the best times for each ride, etc. and I think (and hope) that it paid off calling our vacation a success.

This was Brett's first time ever going to Disney and he enjoyed it just like the kids. Rockin' Rollercoaster at Hollywood studios was probably his favorite because it was a) a big roller coaster and b) set to one if his favorite bands, Areosmith. Ian would say his favorite things of the trip were the Toy Story Mania game, Star Tours, Big Thunder Mountain, Expedition Everest and Jedi Training. Livia's top requests were the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Nemo, seeing Tinkerbell, and the Honeypot ride. I think some of my favorites were eating a dole pineapple whip (nostalgia from my trips to Disney as a kid) and watching the kids faces during the parades and shows.

We have over 450 photos of the trip so I'm posting only a few here and a few more on facebook.

Having Fun at the Beach

2011-05-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

We went to our ward activity at IOP Beach and had a great time. It was our first trip this year where it was warm enough to get into the water. Great day and can't recommend swim shirts enough!

History repeating itself

2011-05-19T17:43:00.001-07:00

Here is history repeating itself.

This is me and my siblings in an old "wash tub" outside circa 1981.

This is Ian and Livy outside in South Carolina in 2011.

I hadn't planned for them to actually get into the tub or even be in their swimsuits. I filled it only a little bit full for them to play with NOT in but livy had other ideas and after she stepped into it with her clothes on and sat down I caved and let them get in their swim gear.

Oompa Loompa

2011-05-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

Ian did great in his part as an Oompa Loompa and it made me want to cry when he first came out. We even ordered the cast T-Shirt that has his name on the back of it. I embarassed myself and crawled on my hands and knees on the school floor as close as I could to get a picture of him. Here are some of the better pictures.

Lots of pictures for Easter time happenings

2011-05-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

We've had lots of fun this Easter season with celebrations and visits to and from family. Here are some of our highlights.

Livy and Ian in their Easter outfits. Livy's hair actually was curled for Easter sunday.

Counting out the eggs to make sure everything was equal and that we had found all the eggs!

Easter loot with big grins!

Brett's brother, Sean, and his girlfriend, Erin joined us for some of the Easter week. This fountain is by the Aquarium.

Kids trying to move the cannon balls at the Battery park.

Kids at a cannon window at Fort Sumter.

Visiting Fort Sumter, SC for the 150th anniversary. One hour at the site was not enough for us but plenty for the kiddos.

Rachel and Rebecca Caylor's baptism day, April 30th.

The girls waiting before their baptism to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was able to give a talk at their baptism.

Up next is Ian's school play, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory so look for a post about our favorite Oompa Loompa coming soon.

A Year

2011-04-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Livy, Ian and I recently travelled to Atlanta for Ian's clinic visit, Transplant night at the Braves, and some time with the Caylors (my sister and her family). The kiddos were the best they have ever been in the car (both to and from) and we made excellent time (both to and from).

Livy spent more time at Caylors than Ian and got to experience a sit and spin and their trampoline. I am hopeful that Santa will bring us one for Christmas.

Ian and had labs and clinic on Wednesday and in between we took advantage of the time by going to the Atlanta LDS temple open house. We were able to tour inside the temple and it was pretty special being able to talk to Ian about the sealing room where he will be married one day.

Wednesday at clinic we got the best news! Ian doesn't have to come back for clinic for a whole year!!!!! This is the longest we have ever been able to go even pre-transplant. We also have our lab schedule at every four weeks. We feel truly blessed. Doctor Romero (Ian's favorite and the doctor that has been seeing Ian the longest and is in the picture below) was the one to deliver the news to us and gave me a fist pump as congrats for getting to this milestone. Way to go Ian!

Thursday we went to the annual transplant night at the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Transplant kids get to walk the bases, have dinner at the stadium and get pictures with a few of the players all complements of the Braves organization. Two thumbs way up for the Braves for their philanthropy. Ian loved seeing a homerun, a few fireworks, and doing the usual fan "cheers" in the stands but had had enough by the third inning so we left.

We had a great trip to Atlanta and I am glad that I won't be writing about it again for a year!

A new phase

2011-04-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

Life for us has entered a new phase. It is called "life-with-a-child-involved-in-a-rec-league-sport". Who knew all the things that would be involved when your kid joined a sport? Ian has his first game tomorrow night and I am responsible for getting him dressed in T-Ball uniform, etc. Please let me get the socks on correctly! I'd also love any ideas on how those of you seasoned moms have done this dinner on the go motif without doing fast food and what you serve for snack when it is your rotation. Livy isn't allowed to join dance (or anything else) until we are no longer novices at these extra curriculars :)

Not a quite a Harley

2011-03-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

As the title says, not quite a Harley but I still love my bike (and the trailer for the kiddos!)

It's Off

2011-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

Livia is offically in a transition bed with the crib rail coming off on Saturday. She did much better this round then when we tried about two weeks ago. She is able to climb into (and we fear out of) her crib so we decided to take off the rail and start transitioning her to a big girl bed.

I anticipated her being out a million times and into things in the night and after nap and so far, she hasn't even so much as tried to get out; except when she rolled out in the middle of the night and woke up crying.

February Events

2011-02-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the things that show what we've been up to in February for those keeping tabs on us...

Brett celebrated his birthday

Livy got into a box of captain crunch and dumped it all over our bed (ask how we slept that night!)

Valentines were made and distributed both at home and school

And I celebrated my birthday (no pictures for this one but hopefully a later post will show off our family on a bike ride--that's a hint for what I got!)

Hiding out

2011-01-31T18:36:00.001-08:00

Livy is full of spunk and spirit. Today we spent all day playing at home. Hide and seek is one of our favorite games and this is where she was at one point

and in case you couldn't figure exactly where she was peering out from I took a bigger picture to verify that it was indeed the toy box.

Ian and I had just finish reading Junie B. Jones and the Sneeky Peeky Spying book and maybe Livy was listening in.

Livy and I also did some great coloring in a Little Ensteins coloring book. She was excited to find each color page had rocket on it but was frustrated that it was not red like rocket. She loves to pretend to blast off!

And we also built a jumbo tower of blocks which we named the leaning tower of livia. It tumbled seconds after I took the picture. Never a dull moment with this girl!

Better Late Than Never

2011-01-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

The kids finally managed to break the wishbone from our turkey at Thanksgiving. I've had the bone out for almost a month now and we've talked about it plenty of times but never had the camera at hand to document it. Finally on Saturday, the stars were properly aligned apparently as the kiddos grabbed hold (with Brett acting as the wishbone breaking guru) and snap!

Snow Day

2011-01-12T18:23:00.001-08:00

Things get really crazy in the south when we get ice or snow. This past Monday it took Brett 3.5 hours to get to work because of the ice on the bridges. They actually shut all the bridges down to Charleston for a time on Monday (shortly after Brett was across) and we thought he was going to be stranded at his work by Mt. Pleasant. This is what some of our trees looked like. (And did you know that those things hanging off the ends are called 'tricycles' and not icicles? :)

School was at first a 3 hour delay and then closed on Monday and a 3 hour delay on Tuesday. With all that time, the kids and I created our own snow day with paper snowflakes. I threaded a few to hang on Ian's fan and turned it on for a snowfall. Here's the final product.And with all that chilliness outside, we spent some time snuggled under blankets and drinking hot chocolate.

What We've Been Up To....

2011-01-04T17:54:00.001-08:00

So since my last post we've been keeping busy by:

Going to the James Island County light show. It was great and we even did the train ride (aka golf cart decorated like a train) which Ian loved. This is us by a giant sand sculpture.

Celebrating Christmas. Our kids were amazing and didn't "wake" until 8am when I went in to get them. We got dressed and ate sweet rolls (tradition) before going downstairs to see what Santa brought. Ian's big present was a bike which isn't in this picture and Livy's was a kitchen set. They both were giddy with joy.

Cooking my first turkey in 10.5 years of marriage I managed to escape this. I read up on "how to" on line and found a herb roasted recipe which turned out to be a keeper. My worries about whether the bird would fit my roaster, it would be raw when it was mealtime, too dry, were unfounded as it was OK.

Eating way too many treats. This only shows part of the treats that we had/received for Christmas. (We are still working on Halloween candy!). We finally finished the last Christmas cookie tonight for treat and Ian asked when I would be making more and my answer was, "next Christmas!

Happy 2nd Liver Day

2010-12-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

Today is Ian's two year anniversary for his Liver Transplant. We have come so far in two years and are profoundly grateful to so many people. Ian only has labs once a month now, is only on one medication (which he will be for life) and sees the transplant team in Atlanta every six months. He is thriving in Kindergarten and life in general. This is a picture of him prentending to be Santa driving the sleigh with reindeer.

We'll be doing a liver day cake (complete with two candles) tomorrow when Grandma and Grandpa are here. We hope that we have lots more liver days to celebrate!

band date night

2010-12-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

If anyone saw me out tonight, yes I was out on a date with a younger man.....Ian! Brett and I routinely do dates with the kiddos, and family dates, and on the then rare occasion a couple date. Tonight I took Ian on a date to the local high school winter band concert as he talks about musical instruments so much. I kept it suprise until we were in the car.

It was wonderful. He asked all sorts of questions about where the conductor was going to stand, if he (it turned out to be a she) would have a baton (she did), and where the tubas were. Ian is fascinated by tuabs and drums and guitars and thankfully, tonight all three were highlighted in some fashion.

I am very hopeful that his love of music and band will continue until he can select his own instrument to play and I am hoping of his three short listed instruments thus far that it is the tuba that wins out.

Not that type of turkey

2010-11-30T17:55:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone as have the family that came to celebrate with us. We had a great time and the kiddos especially liked having some of their cousins here.

As is usual for our family we had a grown up table and a kid table for Thanksgiving dinner. Livia managed to hold her spot at the adult table probably because she bribed Brett with giving him her piece of pie :)

I also did my usual Black Friday shopping but Wal-Mart was sneaky this year and did it at 12:01 instead of crazy early in the morning. I actually liked the late night start. My sister and mom didn't believe me that you had to be there when the pallets were sliced open to get some of the deals and they were both amazed at what Black Friday was like. For me I thought it was really good with people actually helping get things for others like a special size and type of PJ, etc. I won't post what I got as one thing is the major Christmas present for Ian.

In the afternoon on Friday, all of us took the five kids bowling. This was a first for Ian and Livia and they LOVED it. Livy was so tiny she didn't have to wear bowling shoes even. We had a ramp and bumper pads. No one had a strike so we didn't have any of that type of turkey over Thanksgiving.

Trial and Error

2010-11-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

This year for our family Christmas pictures we opted not to have them professionally taken but rather used our backyard scenery (not the usual fake Christmas backdrop) and the timer mode on our camera. And to really change it up, we opted for very simple attire this year for our family photo. While I am not posting the finalists that may make it into our Christmas Card yet, here are some of the out takes.

The blowing raspberries pose....

Help me I'm falling pose....

And my personal favorite...the choking pose. I was trying to get Ian to rest his hands on her shoulders. Apparently we need to sing head shoulders, knees and toes more often in family home evening to review exactly where our shoulders are.

Harry Potter Complete

2010-11-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

I finished the Harry Potter Series yesterday and it was a wonderful read. So good that I am now looking to buy the books (in hardback) and I never buy books. Brett and I have been discussing things from the books as he read them when they were coming out but somehow I thought they would be too dark for me and not want to read them. I guess my Twilight and Hunger Wars reads in recent years has softened me.

I kept hoping that Harry Potter would not die and Brett wouldn't tell me yes or no which I didn't really want him to tell me.

We watched the first movie last night and as is almost always the case, the book was definitely better than the movie. I am hoping to watch all teh movies in time for the first half of Hallows later this month in theatres--yes another gasp that we would go and pay to see it in the theatre.

No Tricks

2010-10-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

This year I could not find the box of costumes that I had packed away so for Halloween we had to make do with what I had hanging up in the spare closet and the dressup bag. A trial run of their costumes this year. Ian was a lion (and a zebra later on) and Livia a witch. I discovered thankfully early on that Livia's costume was a bit on the short side.

We decorated cupcakes with the neighbors this year. And no suprise that 5 year old boys would put way to many sprinkles on their cupcakes. Is there any cake underneath there?

Livia really wanted to just eat the frosting and she managed to swipe a spoon from the table.

On Friday we went to the ward Trunk or Treat party. Where the kids went car to car around the loop twice for treats. I gave out over 100 pieces of candy.

And look at all those treats...well don't look if you are a dentist. We'll be sure to brush extra carefully.

Happy Halloween!

some kind of crazy

2010-10-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

At of the beginning of September a literary bug must have bitten me because I have been reading non-stop. All sorts of books. I chug through a book every two days almost and it is great. I am watching almost no TV (only watching the results shows of Dancing with the Stars and Criminal Minds). Of the 30 or so books that I have read recently here are my favorites and recommendations

Hunger Games Trilogy
Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mocking Jay (just to finish the series. I didn't like this third book at all)

DairyQueen Trilogy
Dairy Queen
The Off Season
Front and Center

Princess Ben
The Amaranth Enchantment
The Help
Book of A Thousand Days
Ever
Ketchura and Lord Death
Harry Potter Sorcer's Stone (almost done)

I haven't read like this in so long and it is delicious to put the kids down for bed and just curl up and read. What is cute is Ian now carries around what he calls "journal books" to pretend to read like he sees me doing.

Happy Second Birthday

2010-10-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Livia turned 2 today!

I did a trial run of curlers in her hair two days ago to see if it was worth it for the big day (no second attempt). She held very still letting me put each one in as she was looking at books. Out of the 9 in her hair, 4 made it through the night until the morning. As a nostolgic note, these are the very same curlers that my mother used on my hair when I was Livia's age.

To celebrate Liv's special day, we went to the SC Aquarium for the first time in over a year. The kids loved seeing the albino alligator, the turtles, and of course the sharks.

After lunch and nap (for all of us but Ian), Liv opened presents and played with the new toys. Her big gift was a fisher price dollhouse and it was a hit! I love how the people and things from different sets are interchangable. Livy wanted to drive a car through the door of the house to make it a garage--which was cute but frustrating to her when it wouldn't fit. She also got some books, clothes, craft stuff and was generally spoiled but her extended family (thanks for the awesome stuff family!) She gushed over the Dora things.

I made (or tried to at least) a Dora Explorer backpack cake. When I showed it to her she said "my cake" and "treat" because she could see the M&Ms on it. She got the piece of cake with map and initally tried to eat it with a fork

but then decided that it was much better going face first.

Happy second birthday sweet Livia!

In a Tent

2010-10-05T04:51:00.000-07:00

We tried to be clever and make a conference tent just like in the days of King Benjamin and we tried to have snacks set up for each time a speaker said a special word like Jesus or temple and we tried to church games for the kiddos to play but we still missed a lot of this past General Conference. I am so grateful for the Ensign that prints the messages.

I do however think that the kiddos liked the tent and the treats.

Camp Second Chance

2010-09-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ian and Brett went to Camp Second Chance (in Rutledge, GA) this weekend. This is a camp set up just for transplant kids and their families through CHOA. The theme was Under the Big Top and Ian had a wonderful time. I think the highlight for him was fishing and catching a catfish (about 2lbs) on his first fishing attempt.

There was a carnival, arts and crafts, and other activities lined up. The volunteers there were wonderful and we are hoping that our family will be able to volunteer when Ian is no longer a pediatric patient to pay it forward so to speak. It was a great experience and I feel fairly certain that we'll be going back next year.

Observant

2010-09-11T16:57:00.001-07:00

Apparently, Livy has spent a lot of time watching me get ready in the morning as I found her doing the following things.

(She takes after one of her aunts in being fastidious with ear wax removal.) I was not able to get on camera the chapstick application (which said chapstick is now mangled and in the trash) or the toothpaste squeezing (which said toothpaste tube is now 1/4 emptied). I am going to start locking the bathroom when I shower but then I fear what she will find when she is left "alone".....

Sand

2010-09-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Sad to say that we had not been to the beach all summer until yesterday, Labor Day. It wasn't because we didn't try but the weather or illness kept thwarting our plans.

We had great weather yesterday so we decided to brave the crowds and go to IOP beach. The water was arm, sand great for digging, not overly crowded and both kiddos loved the waves and even giggled when they wiped out. We stayed long enough that the incoming tide got our blanket just a bit wet.

No Tears

2010-08-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ian started Kindergarten today! He did great and no one shed tears today at the drop off; speaking of drop off. It was absolute insanity at the school area today. Cars parked on the road (not kidding) cars parked on the grass, etc. It was worse than the aftermath of 4th of July Fireworks. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Ian will be dropped off in the AM b/c of his prograf medication. Here is Ian outside his school.

Ian placed his things in his cubby and then found his desk. After getting some crayons, he told us that we could go. Alrighty then! And that was that. Ian was in Kindergarten.

The bus was 30 minutes late dropping off this afternoon which wouldn't have been too bad except for the fact it was a downpour for 15 of those minutes and I was trying to keep livy entertained and hold the umbrella. Ian is showing his name tag for a bus rider after he got off the bus today.

The best part of the day Ian told me was "the mouse hunt" which was where they had to act quiet like mice around the school. And then when they got back to their room, a mouse had a left a note and cookies. The teacher, Mrs. Slusser, did a If you Give a Mouse a Cookie story activity. Ian was thrilled to find not one but two (as he excitedly told me), Chicka Chicka Boom Boom books in the reading center of his class room but sad that he has not unearthed a Thomas the Train book. We may be gifting the class a Thomas book or two.

His homework tonight was to draw a picture of his favorite part of the day. Tomorrow's homework is to write his name 2 times, and then Thursday's homework is to sing the ABC's twice. I have to sign his school folder each night. This is good stuff!

To keep Livia and I occupied this morning so we didn't get too sad, we went shopping at Harris Teeter for Super Double Coupons. We did the most awesome I have ever done on couponing! We scored as shown below:

6 Danimals drinking yogurt packs

5 Danino's yogurt packs

3 Activia packs

3 Peter Pan peanut butters

All for the low price of....................

GETTING MONEY BACK!!!!! Harris Teeter PAID ME $0.35 for the above groceries! A very good sort of retail therapy if I do say so.

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga

2010-08-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

We bought tickets to take the kids to see the Wiggles in Jacksonville, FL (closest venue to Charleston) as a last summer hurrah before school starts on Tuesday. The concert was Friday.

The concert was wonderful. It lasted over 1.5 hours and the kids were thrilled. I had made headbands of foam in wiggles colors for hte kdis but those only lasted about 5 minutes before being ripped off. The kids had Wiggles T-shirts on too (thanks Lela!) Brett convinced me to spend the extra money to get tickets on the floor rather than the balcony. Livia loved the Ring Master from the start with his hat falling off trick gigling each time he did it. Both kids danced and sang to the songs. We had a sign that said Ian and Livia love the Wiggles and Murrary read it out loud from the stage which was particularly great for Ian. It was a wonderful show and I would recommend it.

We stayed the night in a hotel (this was what Ian said the highlight was but then changed his mind to seeing the Big Red Car up close). We saw a bit of Fernadina Beach/Amelia Island where there is a Kinder Morgan terminal that Brett has been to several times. And then headed home on Saturday afternoon--of course after a stop for chicken nuggets!

Great trip and a wonderful way to say farewell to summer!

Annual Homecoming

2010-08-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Our annual trip to Virginia the first week of August was great! The kids were decent travelers there and back except that on the way home both kiddos were up the entire ride home until 10:30pm!

We had fun with Grandma and Grandpa. Some of the things we did this round were:

"Hampster wheel"

Bouncing balls

Water table

Digging in the garden

Watercolor painting

Golfing

Visiting Friends

The magic drawer (Only Grandpa has the magic words to open the drawer that contains treats inside)

I got to sleep in a few days and get a few naps. As Ian starts school this year, that was our last trip to Virginia for a while and I'm glad we did it even with the wide awake kiddos on the drive home to South Carolina.

Mixed Emotions

2010-07-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

This summer Livy has started repeating us and therefore talking in general much more. Her favorite phrase is "oh no, what happened" and I know that when she says that I need to look for a) a container of something small and delicate tipped over b) a page of a book ripped out c) crayon, pen, glue on her or some part of the house. It is great. She also likes to say "Need to go potty? all right". It is very cute that she answers herself.

She is also very clever and resourceful using things to get what she wants, like treats. Another one of her favorite phrases is "I need treat" and then proceeds to try to open the pantry door which now has a childproof handle on it. She likes to climb and below she is using a #10 can to peek into the sink.

Ian started the pool season this summer mostly in the kiddie pool playing with Livia and I. Then we discovered one of hte community pools was almost entirely three feet in depth. He is by no means what I would call a swimmer but his growth has been tremendous. He now can "swim" (aka kick feet and doggie paddle) from one side to the other and he can put his whole face in the water with his goggles on. This is huge! I really want him to jump in by the end of the summer.

We are in our last few weeks of summer before school starts on August 17th. We are going through all the role playing things as our final preparation. This week I am packing his lunch in his lunch sack. We talk about what he should eat first, what to do with food that isn't eaten, and practice eating in 15-20 minutes. Ian has been thrilled with the lunch sack exercise and asks me first thing every morning if I packed his lunch. He'll be helping me pack it once school starts but for now I am keeping it a suprise for him as to what is inside :) This picture is also the last "month day" picture for Ian as nonce he starts school, I'll do his book with his yearly school picture.

I'm proud of all the things the kids have been able to do this summer even with all my mixed emotions.

Summer

2010-07-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

Our summer is about a month left in duration and it is going to be busy. We've got a trip to CHOA, a trip to Virginia, and school preprations in that time frame not to mention our desire to finally get to the beach this year, more time at the pool, and the sprinklers for the kids.

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

My third fourth

2010-07-05T18:59:00.001-07:00

This is my 3rd Fourth of July as a US Citizen. It is great to live in a country of freedom and I hope I never take that for granted.

We did the usual 4th of July things including grilling out except this time we grilled out for three days straight. Our dinner menus were:

Day one was Ribeye (gasp! Yes, I splurged and bought some and it was so heavenly!) with grilled garden veggies with RBFs for dessert (root beer floats)
Day Two was burgers and dogs (the kids favorite) and foil potatoes and fruit salad with smores as dessert (a first for both kiddos and after Livy realized there was chocolate involved she was fine)
Day Three was BBQ chicken with grilled corn on the cob with RBF's for dessert

We went to see fireworks. We tried to put the kids down before going thinking that we would wake them up and go--alas who were we kidding. We got to the place a little late and ended up parking about a 1/2 mile away and then trekking in carrying our kids, blankets, and snacks. (Good thing for Wii Active helping to keep me in shape!) This was Livia's first time seeing any type of fireworks and she loved them. Ian thought they were noisy and wanted to go home before anything got started.

The kids loved the sparklers we attempted today. I thought I had more but there were only three left in the last package from our wedding reception favors. They fizzled pretty quickly but what can you expect after 10 years of sitting around?

Ian had the cutest comment on the 4th as we had talked about it being the USA's birthday and he asked "who will blow out the candles?" Not sure buddy but I'm glad to celebrate America's special day with some extra time as a family!

Happy Birthday Ian

2010-06-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

Ian turned 5 today! He got a set of real golf clubs (7 clubs total) that go with his golf bag that he got for Christmas. He is on cloud 9--using a 9 iron probably :) We had a sprinkles cake and he wanted us to sing to him multiple times so we did. Can't believe my Ian is 5 and will head to kindergarten this fall. HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN!

Food Storage

2010-06-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

So we did this project awhile ago (memorial day) but I thought I would post it now because I keep adding to our food storage now that we actually have one thanks to couponing! (http://www.southernsavers.com/ is awesome!)

I've rearranged things about a dozen times trying to get things to fit and we still have #10 cans under beds and various other stashes around the house. (Brett has told me to stop buying toothpaste as we have about 12 tubes or so in our toiletries pantry that is close to overflowing). The kids got into it sorting all the cake mixes, rice mixes, etc. Ian was thrilled to see the cookie mixes and promptly asked when we were going to make some. We have a bamboo cover over it now so it isn't as tempting to see the stuff.

And the finished shelving unit is.....

My next purchase is going to be wheat as I recently acquired a wheat grinder. Why didn't anyone tell me how heavy these beasties are????? Any suggestions on storing wheat or what type to buy as a novice would be welcome.

Anniversary Vacation

2010-06-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Brett and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this past Thursday. In celebration we went to Williamsburg, VA by ourselves for a few days and then with the kiddos for a few days (my parents watched them--thank you Mom and Dad!)

We rode all the roller coasters several times when it was just the two of us and went to Colonial Williamsburg as well as we knew the kiddos would not do well with either of those things. We had a great time but missed the kids.

The kids loved the rides and going to Water Country and seeing various family while we were there (some from my side and some from Brett's met up with us!) The kids made it until the park closed at 10pm largely because we took a midday break for naps. The trip home was much better than we expected given the long stretch of I-95 in North Carolina. I will never travel without the DVD player again!

I'll be posting some more pictures on Facebook (hopefully) but here are some of my favorites.

The last ride the kiddos went on together was the Balloon ride in Italy and it was after 9pm so they were both tired.

Me on the ferris wheel type ride with the kiddos pre-Livy meltdown on the ride that had the ride operator shut it down for her to get off!

Ian and Livia in Sesame Forest with the characters that Livia was fascinated by and Ian was a bit scared of.

Me on the Elephant Ride (one of the few Brett does not do) and we are pretending it is a roller coaster with our hands in the air.

Palace Green in Colonial Williamsburg pre-kid visit.

Ian on his first ride ever, the Log Flume.

My favorite roller coaster at the park--Griffon was great but too short!

My favorite ride of all time--the scrambler!!!!!!!

Checklist

2010-05-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today was Ian's last day of preschool which was sad and exciting all at the same time. Thank you Miss Sandy. We will miss Bright Beginnings!

So in honor of the last day of "school" we joined the pools and went. Here is our checklist...

Swimsuits

Towels (I bought extra at the end of the season last year based on experience at the pool)

Floats (Ian wanted to drive with his on)

Sunscreen (love the kids faces!)

I also had lots of pool toys, germ-x, extra swim diapers, that didn't make the camera reel. So who's ready to come and help me with the kiddos in the water???

Coming down the home stretch....

2010-05-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my personal progress as a leader for Young Women's in church (see http://www.lds.org/ for more info) and I am coming down the home stretch to finishing up. This will be my third time through the program (one as a girl, two as a YW leader a few years ago and now again as a leader). Leaders have to:

Complete 24 value experiences

Complete 4 Value Projects including virtue's which is reading the Book of Mormon

Serve as a leader for 1 year

I have completed everything except writing my testimony in my journal about the program and what I have learned. My stake here in February challenged all girls and leaders to finish virtue before Girls Camp in June and I have been reading like crazy to get that one done. I put a kid show on for the kiddos and read on the couch next to them. I kept a Book of Mormon in my diaper bag to read in all those fractionary spare moments. And so forth to get it completed and I am proud to say I did it!

It has been amazing and I love the scripture in Alma 37:6

"...by small and simple things are great things be brought to pass..."

Flowers and Sprinkler

2010-05-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

We captured these photos of the flowers blooming in our yard on Friday. So beautiful.

Earlier that day, we had a great time at the Sprinkler (Wannamaker Park) on Friday! It was a littler cooler for Livia so we left a bit earlier than we expected to but it was still a very fun morning.

Catch Up or Ketchup?

2010-05-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've been slow to post some new random things that have happened lately so here they are....

The dying heron on our driveway experience (found out that animal control here does not deal with birds and got hte run around from various agencies trying to find someone to help)

Livia's fixation with ketchup (she will just eat it plain and tries to lick it off her tray.)

Selling Brett's work truck (the transmission went out and it was going to cost almost as much as we paid for the truck to fix it). Ian is saying goodbye to "butch".

Livy discovering she can open doors and climb on beds...nothing is safe!

Ian's delight in tape measures

How Much?

2010-05-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

My new hobby is couponing (see http://www.southernsavers.com/ for how to start couponing). I went sans children (thanks Brett!) on Saturday after a fabulous Stake Women's conference to the local Harris Teeter that was having triple coupons and this is what I got:

2 cans of refried beans
2 cans of green chilies
1 box of motz sticks
4 cartons of yoplait kid yogurt
2 boxes gogurt
2 cartons trix yogurt
2 cartons light and fit yogurt
1 carton breyers yogurt
1 package turkey bacon
1 box country crock marg
1 package sargento cheese
2 packages mahatma rice mix
2 rolls viva paper towels

And for all this I paid.......
$6.70!!!! I saved over $48. It was worth getting lost on the way home! And yes, the cashier asked me how many children I had buying that much yogurt :)

Month Day

2010-04-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have been faithful in taking "month day" pictures of the kiddos since birth as a means to do baby books for them. These are pictures each month of the number of their birthday along with highlights from the month.

Yesterday was Ian's month day (one of his last as when they start kindergarten I will just use the school pictures) and it coincided with Kindergarten Open House night. I still can't believe that this fall he will start Kindergarten! Here he is fishing for letters, his favorite activity of the evening.

Ruby Slippers

2010-04-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

I donned a pair of ruby red slippers and clicked my heels three times as there is no place like home and that is Virginia to me. The kids and I loaded ourselves and the DVD player for the journey (they did great actually!)

The kids got to:

help grandma and grandpa plant potatoes

play in the water table

eat lunch with grandpa at the vet college and feed the ducks

and indulge in the family favorite....STICKY POPCORN! This was Liv's first taste of the good stuff!

I got to nap, sleep in, and go out with friends for some catching up! Truly there is no place like home!

Anticipation

2010-04-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Livy is offically 18 months and so that means....that she started nursery today!!! I put her in a new dress and everything and tried very much to get a nice picture of her before we left but this is the best one I got.

Oh the anticipation for her starting; not on her part but on ours :) She did fabulous with not a tear, not a glance back at me or anything. I was amazed. She did managed to climb onto her chair and flip over it bumping her head (need to remind the leaders to watch her closely as she is a climber). It was so heavenly to actually listen to a gospel doctrine lesson as I haven't had that in well 18 months really!

Easter Preparations

2010-04-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

Livy has enough hair for pigtails (kind of). They lasted about as long as the picture session and then one side was pulled out. We'll have to figure a way to make them last :)

We have had great fun hiding and finding eggs in practice and even had a yard egg hunt with friends recently which the kids loved.

Ian's preschool had a yard party with an egg hunt that we went to and it was great--including all the sand that we found in our shoes, hair, etc. afterwards. After Livy went splat twice on the hardtop, I put her in her stroller. (Note the scraped knee in the picture of the three of us.)

Outside

2010-03-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed some time outside doing bubbles, chalk, a walk and bikes. It was great to get out and enjoy the fresh air (even if we did the bubbles in the garage!).

Be Gone Germs

2010-03-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

Our family has had our fair share of germs these last three weeks. We seem to like sharing them a little too much.

I'm glad it is Spring so we can open the windows wide and say, BE GONE GERMS!

Big Shoes to Fill

2010-03-10T20:33:00.001-08:00

Livy has discovered the joys of trying on shoes. Each member of the family has been honored by a Livy walkabout but she seems to love Brett's best.

I feel a clown costume for Halloween in the works.

Leftover

2010-03-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

The youth group here did a glow in the dark sports night with necklaces in green and yellow for teams on Tuesday. I ended up with some of them after the evening and the kids went nuts! I've kept them in the freezer and they are still glowing. The only space in the house without windows is the downstairs bathroom so we went in and closed the door and it was magic!

Here is a picture with and without the flash for our "leftover" fun!

Kindergarten Countdown

2010-02-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

Ian will be entering Kindergarten this fall and is so excited about it. The tri-county area here does a celebration called Countdown to Kindergarten and we attended the first event yesterday. It was a mommy-son only date and was great. We learned lots of stuff and even got a free back pack but the highlight for Ian was the BUS RIDE!! They had buses running short trips around the block and he thought it was the coolest but was bummed that it didn't take us all the way home. I guess he didn't factor in how we would get our car home, etc. August can't come soon enough for Ian!

Familiar

2010-02-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

So this is a picture of me when I was about 1.5 years old.....

And I recently saw Livy doing this....

and had to take a picture. Eerie that her age is....anyone? yes, just under 1.5 years old. De ja vu?

Who would have guessed?

2010-02-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

It snowed here in Charleston on Friday night. We got about 3 inches and it was AWESOME!!!! Since moving here two years ago, I had given up all hopes of seeing snow again but it was a great early birthday present to get some snow. The last time it snowed in Charleston was 10 years ago according to the news and people here reacted that way; schools closed early, stores were in panic mode and the interstate was a mess--and all of this before the first flake even thought about falling!

As soon as Ian knew it was snowing all he could think about (and ask about) was going to play in it. He checked the window every five minutes I think. Here is one of those periodic check ins with the snow just starting to pileup on the trashcan outside.
When we woke up, the kids raced to the window to see......

We bundled in our best 'make do' snow clothes (not having such things in South Carolina) and went and played in it. Ian loved it and Livy thought it was just cold. We could hear people all over our neighborhood outside in the snow. It was great fun!!!! We had hot chocolate afterwards. And after quiet time that afternoon, I caved and took the kids out again into what was left of the snow that had basically already melted. Ian is already asking when it will snow again.

Travel, coupons, and snow

2010-02-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

This last week we were in Atlanta for Ian's labs and clinic at CHOA. All results were good (no EBV!!!!) and so we are back home. My mom came with us and drove for a portion of the way while I rode in the back of the corolla squished between two car seats--yipes! I think next time we have to take the Explorer.

My sister (that we stayed with in the metro Atlanta area) showed me her coupon system and I am in awe!!!! My binder pales in comparison! We both love http://www.southernsavers.com/ except she has Kroger and I do not and I have Bi-Lo and she does not. Long live couponing!

Livy had her month day while we were at Aunt Bean's house. She is getting some of her molars and is wearing clips more (see in the picture). Her vocabulary is also getting bigger with diaper, bubble, and ball adding to it recently. She didn't nap on the trip home yesterday which made for a LONG drive but a quick trip to the crib when we arrived at the house.

When we got home, we found out that Charleston is expecting SNOW--1 to 2 inches. I'm anxious to see if it happens and if it does, we are taking tons of pictures!

Birthday Memories

2010-02-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

Brett celebrated his birthday yesterday by having all of us home from the hospital (see Ian's blog for info on that one).

I had done a bit of shopping but not finished before said hospital visit so again Brett kind of got the birthday shaft as last year the kids and I were at CHOA for our first post discharge clinic visit. I did manage to make his requested cake after we arrived home....German Chocolate with the traditional frosting that Livy is very much wanting but can't have b/c of the pecans.

My goal next year is to have a REAL birthday dinner, presents for Brett.

Pigtails

2010-01-31T17:31:00.001-08:00

Livy has pigtails.....if you can even call the two millimeters of hair I managed to gather together to form these for the brief photo shoot. I think she is going to have my very fine thin hair when her hair finally starts to really grow. It doesn't matter; for now, I'm calling it and she has PIGTAILS!

Goats and Turkeys

2010-01-25T06:08:00.000-08:00

Magnolia Gardens was our visit for this Saturday's Tourist pass. The camelias were to be in bloom (obviously not full bloom) and we managed to see a few that were just beautiful.

The petting zoo area was by far the highlight. The turkeys gobbled once and scared Ian and the goats well livy found her kindred spirit. We suspect that the goat could still smell the goldfish on livy making her the favorite :) She was delighted as was the goat who followed us around. Ian did like the maze garden as it was "like Peach Gardens (on Mario Kart Wii) but without the chompers. He verified several times that there would be no chompers in the garden. We did make it to the statue on our second attempt. Very muddy that day.

We also attempted to eat out on Saturday as part of our pass. Things could have been worse but they could have been better too. Livy just wants to run around and play peekaboo with the other patrons most are willing to oblige but there are some who give us "the look".

This Saturday is the final day for our pass and it is a good thing as we are all tired of our nonstop Saturdays as tourists.

Stairs and Trees

2010-01-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

We bought a "Be a Tourist in Your Own Town" pass this year which has allowed us to go to lots of the historical sites in the area. This past weekend we went to Patriots Point to the USS Yorktown and then on Monday to Middleton Place. Both were fairly good for the kids compared to the museum of the week before.

I had been to the Yorktown before about 20 years ago but now with two small children things were different considering the lure of the stairs for our resident "mountain goat" aka Livy. She loved the stairs but Ian was a bit hesitant. The submarine was even better having to pass the kids through the openings!

Middleton Place, to the kids, was just a big open park for running and jumping. We did what we could to contain them in a historic location. I just love the big oak trees and told Brett I felt I should be in a hoop skirt.

Cold Weather

2010-01-10T11:57:00.000-08:00

South Carolina is supposed to be warm...average temps right now should be in teh 50's and 60's but alas we have been like in teh 20's and 30's at best. So with not being able to get outside, I have (gasp) let the kids do playdough time and painting (all in the same day but of course in the kitchen). I am proud to say that Livy didn't even try to eat any. And yes, that is a flower making basket you see from my own childhood days.

Holiday Tins and Games

2010-01-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite memories of Christmas time as a kid growing up are the Christmas Tins. The tins would be brought out (from that cabinet above the fridge that isn't good for storing much else due to the location) at the beginning of December and filled with all sorts of things that were made only at Christmas time. My all time favorite has to be shortbread cookies but close runner ups are 7-layer bars and homemade oreos. After eating a meal or when company came, my mom would always load a plate of goodies from each tin to be passed around for dessert.

Another of my favorites about Christmas was playing games with my family--card games especially like Oh Heck and Rook. We also had an amazing board game called Stock Ticker that we would start playing at the beginning of break and play each day never taking it down until the end of the school break. Go bonds and oil!!!

The other types of games my family would be into are the football bowl games! Not until I was in college with a team of "my own" did I fully appreciate college bowl season. My parents were here with us along with our longtime family friend for this New Years Eve and the VT Hokies game was that night. Our family dressed in Hokie gear, we taped the game, and put the kids to bed and then watched the game (without commercials!) It was fabulous!

So in tradition of my favorites here are two pictures of the current "traditions". Long live the holiday tins, games, and the college bowls!!!!

Off to the races

2009-12-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

Santa brought our family two more Wii controllers and wheels so that we can do what Ian likes to do best for family time and that is.....Mario Kart Wii.

Here is our first ever 4 person race.....quickly changed to 3 person after we had humored Livy. She does like to hold the wheel, drive, and shake it but that is about all.

Messy Messy

2009-12-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

Livy has decided it is time to start learning to feed herself. I'll be glad to be able to eat a meal and taste my food again instead of merely inhaling it so for now, we only do meal time near a source of running water :)

Liver Day Celebration

2009-12-18T05:18:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Ian's first liver day yesterday with green cupcakes topped with green frosting and sprinkles and for dinner we had what else but pizza our usual celebration dinner. We made it a year without a rejection episode and that has been a wonderful miracle for our family. I am filled with all sorts of joy!

Ian also had his preschool program on his Liver Day and I had to choke back tears while at the program thinking how different things were a year ago. He did a great job with his part. Livy however was mostly a wiggle worm through the entire thing so my pictures are somewhat blurring because of her jostling the camera.

It is hard to believe that we are already at the year mark for his transplant. Our hearts are full of gratitude for the family, friends, donor family, medical staff, and Heavenly Father who made this possible.

Finally Done

2009-12-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

I finished my Christmas shopping late last night. I think this is a record for me to be so late into the month. I still have a ton of wrapping to do and will try to tackle that this weekend. I so love the wrapping part....in fact Brett often puts my stuff in boxes for me to wrap as he doesn't like doing it and I do :)

Livy has successfully managed to pull (and mangle) a few ornaments off the tree but honestly has done a lot better with it than I thought.

And if anyone has ideas as to how to fend off the question of if it is Christmas yet, please share. We have two advent calendars we are using plus a countdown chain with an activity for each day and yet somehow I still get asked almost daily if Santa will be making his visit tonight. This same questioner is very anxious for Frosty to come on TV and I keep checking listing for this.....please let me not miss setting the DVR!

I am reading a collection of Christmas stories and have found joy in hearing the tale of the shoemaker again this year as I have not read it for a long time now. I love how Christmas is a Holiday for young and old to enjoy!

Family Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T17:51:00.001-08:00

This year my family got together at Hilton Head (less my brother and his family--we missed you!) It was a wonderful week. The weather wasn't overly great but that was ok b/c we had tons of stuff to keep us occupied like craft projects,
walking the beach (livy did better at not eating as much sand),
making christmas goodies to share (love the faces here),
ladies going to see New Moon
and of course eating thanksgiving dinner.

We had so much fun and much to be grateful for. On to Christmas :)

Similiarities

2009-11-15T07:28:00.000-08:00

So this is me as a one year old........

And this is L as a one year old.....

Any similarities?

Guess How Much?

2009-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

I know that lots of people out there can score big with bargains and couponing--I am trying. This is my small victory today at Publix which I am really starting to like not only because they have great deals but also because they are so customer centric--loading my groceries, helping unbuckle the kids, etc.

So this is what I bought today....

Four boxes of Chex cereal

Three boxes of Special K cereal

One box Honey Maid Grahams

Two boxes Betty Crocker Potatoes

One package Nestle Toll House Morsels

Three packages Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough

Three cans of Hunts Tomatoes

Two jars Ragu Pasta Sauce

Here is my picture of my purchases (for less than $15) that made me have to finagle again with where to store everything.

Halloween

2009-11-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

Our brainy idea of the wagon

on Halloween was thwarted a bit by the in and out motif...something that we had not planned on. So after about 3 houses on our street we traded the wagon in for a stroller. Livy came home before Ian and was thrilled with the treats that came out of her sack.Ians sack was filled with lots of stuff including some full size candy bars. They had a great time out and about in 70 degree weather!

Halloween Preparations

2009-10-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

So at our house we have been busy getting ready for Halloween or at least trying to get ready for Halloween. We did a trial run of the costumes....please let me know if you think Livy should be the pumpkin or the lady bug. I am torn.

We went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkin (complete with Ian falling on a pumpkin stem and scraping his face and getting a bruise)

We made the treat for Ian's preschool class.....a baby food jar with spray painted lid filled with regular and chocolate goldfish for the "orange and black" colors of Halloween--we opted for the non-candy route this year.

Holiday Busy Already

2009-10-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

So I am a planner by nature and with the Holidays coming up in the next months I want to "plan my work and then work my plan". I love this time of year....good treats, good food, family time, and good fun!!! My family is getting together at Thanksgiving so I need to have a lot of Christmas stuff done by then which is why I started early. I have seen Holiday Books to help keep one organized and decided to just create one of my own. It will help keep things like important dates, gift lists, traditions, menus, recipes in one quick spot. Both kids have "helped" me color things. So here is my creation :)

Turning One

2009-10-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIVIA!!!

Ian and I made some party hats today for the festivities and guess who wore hers the least????? I took countless pictures trying to get one with her wearing the hat in it.

We opened presents....fisher price talking purse and the upgraded model of the old school record player (now a CD player).

And of course had some cake smashing too....I made a flower cake and a tiny one for Livy to have all to herself. Oh the goo but so worth the joy!

Preparations

2009-10-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that Livy is coming up on her first birthday! So in preparation for the princess' day we have....

Painted toenails in princess pink (in a quick dry formula of course) for the first time

Stamped wrapping paper

Tried on the dress for the one year picture

Experimented with the tiniest barretts I have ever seen

What will Friday ever bring???

Sore Muscles

2009-09-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

We mulched our front flower beds this past weekend and prior to that Brett laid nice brick edging around them to keep the mulch in place as every time it rained we would watch our mulch wash away.

To showcase our efforts here is a before picture.....

And here is the after picture--please ooh and ahh :)

All about food

2009-09-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Other than our recent trip to the ER, we've been up to a lot of activies that involve food so here is our post.

We got all decked out in Hokie wear to get the free chicken sandwhich at Chick-Fil-A on labor day. The sandwhiches were great but the wait of 20+ minutes in a very crowded and tiny area with two hungry and wiggly kids, was so not worth it. I have told Brett to remind me of that experience when I tell him about another freebie. (Please disgregard the awful photo attempt in the mirror and the messy bathroom counter.)

We discovered that we had an apple tree in our backyard....well a very tiny one that produced 3 apples. We picked them as Ian needed one for preschool this past week (letter A day). The branches were suprisingly sharp so Ian was a bit hestitant about getting poked.

And Livy who is 11 months old found a box of Cheerios (and shocking did not dump them everywhere). She sure wanted what was inside though. Brand imprinting at its best. She is our mountain goat already climbing to pursue things.

She also got her first corn on the cob on her month day in celebration of her fourth tooth (two on top and two on the bottom). And as we suspected, she LOVED it.

First Day

2009-09-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today was Ian's first day of preschool and he had an awesome time! No tears, loved every minute of it and basically the picture of what I was hoping it would be for him. We got there early, just like most of the class so we had to wait around for a few for the class to open. Every mom there had a camera with her to document the all important "first day" moments. When I returned to pick Ian up and asked him about his day he told me all about who was naughty; hopefully, he won't ever need to include himself in that list.

We opted to park instead of doing the "drive through" lane today. Ian had his special Thomas backpack ready to go.

The teacher put name tags on everyone's back so she could tell who was who.

And of course Livy thought it was all for her and couldn't resist playing with the toys and kids.

He is already looking forward to preschool tomorrow.

Sprinkler

2009-08-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

We went to playgroup today at the Sprinkler. It was a great day for the sprinkler as there were hardly any other kids (school starting again is great for that) and it wasn't baking hot sunshine. Today was especially nice also because L could stand and walk so I didn't have to carry her and hold her the whole time--it was delightful!

I captured some great moments (in my humble mommy opinion) at with the kiddos having fun in the water. I will miss you Sprinkler when you close for the year in a few weeks.

our vacation

2009-08-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

I've not updated our blog for a while as we've been in Virginia visiting family and friends. It was a great trip--just not the getting there part. Our DVD player stopped working on our return journey at around Charlotte.

We also were racing to come back to make a 4pm doctor appointment for both kids that I set up that morning begging for the latest appointment as we would be coming from VA. BOTH kids turned out to have pretty gnarly ear infections and are now on antibiotics. I'm glad to know that at least there was some reason for the rotten sleep all of us got the last few nights.

So here are some of our highlights of our trip (in no particular order)

Canning beans (twice--I think the count was something like 88 pints)

Visiting the caboose park (Ian wouldn't climb on it once we got there)

Awesome haircut

Dinner with old High School band friends atMacado's

Lots of great afternoon naps for me while Grandma watched the kiddos (why can't you store sleep?)

Shopping with my Mom (great deals on capri's!)

Picking corn from the garden

Playing in the Virginia Room

Ian digging trenches in the garden (so that he could be "just like scoop" from bob the builder)

Playing with the water table

Shopping without the kiddos

Swimming with friends (sorry we were late)

Boucing balls with Ian (what a thigh workout!)

Twisty string cheese (I've told Ian that orange string cheese is only at Grandma's)

Playing $100,000 Pyramid game show with Mom late at night

Shopping at Kroger (sadness that they no longer sell hulless popcorn)

Watching the neighbors cat "Leroid" (real name is Elroy)

Girls night out (wonderful ginger cookies and conversation and stamping cards)

Hamster Wheel (termed the "Tramster wheel" by Ian)

Bubbles in the VA room

Die cutting foam and felt at Pulaski Library (the alphabet I started two years ago is complete)

Visiting Thrift stores for books (got a Eric Carle and Sandra Boynton for kids Christmas)

Here are some pictures from our journey and more are on my facebook page if you want to see them!

I hear a symphony

2009-08-08T05:03:00.000-07:00

The sound of the garage door opening signaling Brett returning from work is just music to my ears, like a symphony. The kids tackle daddy and I well I want to run and lock myself in the bedroom for a few minutes of peace. Nothing like getting tackled!

the kids artistic sides

2009-07-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

The kids are showing their artistic sides. Not only the artist sides but their wild sides as both recently got inked. Yes, Livy found markers (I was clueless she could get the lids off) and chewed one. Any guesses for the color???

and Ian a pen (again).
The pictures don't do justice to the true art expressed. To this point in my life with kids, neither have drawn on the walls but I am not holding my breath.

Missy Prissy

2009-07-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

So I feel that in order to balance the posting about I. here are some of L.'s moments.

She is a climber monkey and it seems she is attracted to the most unstable of things--a laundry basket, a trash can, etc. to try to pull herself to stand. And who needs alphabetized movies?

She is already a girl loving mommy's shoes, makeup and concerned about her weight as she does her weigh in like the rest of the family.

And she likes to taste test things in the kitchen. I gave her the spoon after I mixed up some rice krispie treats and she thought she was in heaven.

Tired but worth it

2009-07-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Columbia so that I could go to the temple to do some work for a relative. It was a sweet experience. We all made the journey with Brett watching the kids while I was at the temple.

After that we went to a suprise visit to the zoo something we had planned but kept secret from Ian. He loved it. The giraffes were his favorite. He loved the penguins also and Livy giggled at them swimming by her each time. Despite the hot temperatures it was great.

We even stopped at Macaroni Grill for me on the way home! Yum. Great trip to Columbia!

Fabulous Fourth

2009-07-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Our fourth of July was great despite me striking out for a third time on trying to find a holiday related activity for our family. Christmas was not so great at our City's celebration at the municipal building, Easter was disappointing as the egg hunt we went to had not one piece of candy in the eggs but only a tiny single sticker in each egg, and the fourth of july parade that we had wanted to see at 4pm didn't start until 7pm and didn't even have a band. Here we are en route to the parade.So Brett is choosing for us the next holiday.

Truly though, we were able to buy a new bed (whoowho!) for us, grill out (complete with Brett's "fire shirt" aka grill apron,

and Ian got to see fireworks with Brett while I stayed home with with wee one. We managed to do a few sparklers in celebration at home too!

Little Girls

2009-07-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

So exciting to have a little girl because today she got her first ever ponytail. It lasted for about 2 minutes. I'm honestly not sure if you can even count this as a ponytail because it is about as long as a fingernail; but to me, it counts and therefore she is about to enter the realm of hair do-dads. Pretty exciting stuff. On to painted toenails...in about a year :)

We've Been Here a year....

2009-07-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

So we have been in South Carolina for a year now in our home. That's Brett opening up our front door for the first time a year ago after we closed.

And in honor of our new state SC, here are some S.C. things associated with our new area.

1. Southern Cooking- Fried doesn't just apply to chicken any more and gravy doesn't just belong on mashed potatoes solely either.

2. Sandy Cars - Refer to early post about our beach outing with children but it's just not the beach outing that we seem to attract sand it is anywhere.

3. Slow Commuters - Particularly in rain or when merging onto the interstate

4. Snakes & Critters - I won't share the details of all that we have seen up close and personal to spare the faint of heart

5. Sandals or Crocs - The shoes of choice for every outing. My crocs have great jibbitz thanks to my oldest sister and those jibbitz are quite the thing at playgroup.

And last but certainly not least....

6. Sweaty Climate or Sweltering Conditions or Sticky Clothing....they all mean the same thing and that is it is HOT AND HUMID!!!

Happy Birthday Ian

2009-06-28T05:19:00.001-07:00

Ian turned 4 yesterday! We had a Thomas the Train party with some friends and I would call it a success. He got all of his favorites to eat yesterday...donuts for breakfast, corndogs for lunch and pizza for dinner. I made a train cake (well attempted) to make it for him. The best part of the train cake to Ian--the tootsie roll smokestack. If I had only known that the tootsie roll would have been the biggest hit I would have just unwrapped a bunch and put them on the cake. Happy Birthday Ian!!!

What we learned...

2009-06-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

So we went to the beach on Saturday and discovered some important points about beach going with two kids.....

Put sunscreen on at the car (I know I know. It should have been a no brainer but for whatever reason we failed to do it).
Pack a sturdy trowel or mallet to pound in the beach umbrella. (It toppled over so many times it was useless not to mention me getting hit in the head by it).
If Ian gets saltwater in mouth, plan for day to be done.
Kids bring home more sand to create our own private beach. (Livy was better than Ian)

It was a good outing and we have definitely will apply our new found knowledge!

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

2009-06-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

What do you do in the summertime? So far we....

1. Signed up for the summer reading program (and are already done as you only need to read 15 books)

2. Attended the Regal Free Family Movies twice (and haven't made it through either movie yet)

3. Go to the pool almost everyday (often being chased out by an afternoon thunderstorm making it's rude and noisy appearance)

4. Go to the Spinkler park (where I get just as wet as the kids)

5. Play some Wii games (Ian can still beat me at bowling)

6. Watch some movies together (with popcorn and a treat. So far Monsters, Inc and Emperor's New Groove have recieved marginal reviews at best by our local house critic. We are opting for Cars this weekend)

7. Have friends over for BBQ or playdates complete with visits from our animal life of the wetlands

8. Do arts and crafts projects (like painting or stamping our handprints to make our Father's Day wrapping paper)

9. Watch the thunderstorms turn our backyard into a big puddle

10. Love every minute we have of our baking hot summer in SC.

Hymnal Fishing

2009-06-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

So who says you can't fish on Sunday's? Apparently we haven't gotten that part of Sabbath day activities disscussion in Family Home Evening. This is his story.

We're sitting in the pew ready to sing the opening hymn in sacrament meeting on Sunday. Ian is fascinated by my mini blue hymnal and likes to find the hymn and have it open to the right page. After situating him I focused on getting a toy out for Livy to keep her quiet while in Brett's arms. When I turn back to look at Ian he has the ribbon spot marker out holding the book that is dangling over the edge of the seat and is pretending to pull the hymnal up slowly as if reeling in a big catch. I didn't get it at first and I asked him what he was doing. He then pretends to cast the hymn book back and says "I'm fishing mom". I stifled my giggles knowing this was clearly bad but so cute and very inventive. Since he has never gone fishing or anything like it I can only guess that it is Mickey Mouse Club House that is to "blame" with the handy helper fishing rod with the red gooey fish episode we recently watched. So now we keep the ribbon spot marker tucked away and keep an eye on any brewing episodes to fish in sacrament meeting.

What ever will Livy do when she is old enough? We just can't wait.

Happily Ever After...for 9 years

2009-06-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

9 years ago Brett and I were married in the Washington DC LDS temple. It seems so short at some points and very long at others (usually after we have a discussion about the mechanics of squeezing a toothpaste tube--I am a 'squeeze it anywhere' and Brett is of the camp that toothpaste should only be squeezed from the end) but regardless of

We've had happy times and sad ones just like everyone else in a marriage. Some of our highlights are:

2 wonderful children (especially when they are asleep or eating treats)
5 jobs (some tedious) for Brett and 2 for Elaine
2 apartments (both sketchy) and 2 homes (both excellent)
3 international trips (all with great memories) and tons of other trips
2 graduations (both for Brett)

And some of my most favorite points of laughter that we have shared:

Being a lobster and a zebra
Trying to move Brett's bachelor chair
Dropping batteries over feet
The evil glare of the Czech man over our Samonsite suitcase
Ian and Livy's kid antics

It's been a great 9 years and next year we're going to add to the number of international trips as we head to the Carribean for our 10 year anniversary so bring on the sunscreen!

Magicians or MacGyver???

2009-06-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

So I've decided in my almost four years as a mommy that mom's are definitely magicians or MacGyvers source for how to's. For example, ask a mom how to entertain children using only a paperclip, a stick of gum, and a straw wrapper found from the depths of her purse/diaper bag, and you will see the most eleborate craft day project appear. And speaking of the purse/diaper bag, I would LOVE to go on the old TV game show Let's Make A Deal because I would be walking away as a winner because I tell Brett the diaper bag is like a 72 hour kit that I keep with me at all times. It does have the advantage of giving my arms a nice work out hefting it around.

No one ever told me that mom's had this "magic" knack or where it is gleened from but I think all mom's have the ability. No other job I have had prepared me for the amount of multi-tasking and improvisonal problem solving that I would encounter as a mom. So I ask you fellow moms--why didn't anyone speak up?

Personally, my favorite is being the magician while at the doctors office. We spend ample amount of time at a doctor's office not only for Ian but also for Livy. (We were there today for an ear infection and what might be strep. )

The last time Ian had a CHOA appointment only Brett and Ian went to give Livy and I a break. After triage while waiting in the room for the doctors to start rounds, Ian looks at Brett and asks "So where are my Thomas Books?" to which Brett was like...um buddy I don't have anything. Ian tries a different route...so do you have some crayons....to which Brett again said, I have nothing nothing at all. Ahh....yes the mommy in me smiled when I heard this and thought of how buff I am becoming toting my magicians magic bag (aka diaper bag or 72 hour kit) whereever I go. (As a side note...I have since prepared brett with an emergency thomas the train paper that he now carries in his wallet).

Eating our words......

2009-05-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

So we caved and actually purchased a pool membership here in SC this year. I know I know. Brett pitched it to me as a sanity saver; a place where I could take the kids during the day to get out, relax and do something instead of staying home all the time going crazy. I bought it and am now wondering what type of crack he slipped me that day to make me believe that it would be relaxing.

Normally when I am going out with the kids solo (sans Brett) I give myself a 30 minute load time. With swimming it almost doubles. Getting into the swimsuits motif is hilarious and it would be great to tape except for the very important point of child nudety.

Today's adventure to the pool went something like this...gear up to go and pray it doesn't start a freak thunderstorm as happened yesterday, get dressed again praying that the suits are dry as wet suits just adds a whole other layer of fun, load up making sure there are: snacks, extra diapers, water, sunscreen, cell phone, three floatie toys, beach ball (you get the idea), arrive at pool, unload to stroller and find a spot at pool. Put on sunscreen (who ever invented the spray type is my new hero!!!) and get into the pool. Ian immediately requests a bathroom break--oy! Get out of pool, load livy to stroller, put on shoes. Wrestle getting Ian's wet suit off enough so that a bathroom fiasco doesn't ensue. Wrestle to get suit back on. Get back into pool. Take livy out so she doesn't become a baby popsicle. When taking off livy's swim outfit, realize she has peed in her swim diaper. Load to stroller immediately and call it nice RELAXING day :)

The Chompers are here

2009-05-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Livy has her bottom two teeth (and has for about two weeks now). I must say that who ever invented teething biscuits didn't have to clean up after the gooey mess that is left behind; and we are talking some serious goo. Other teeth are not far behind. She is also scooting and getting ready to crawl soon. We just bought another baby gate tonight to partition off the stairs. She is so interested in Ian's train table and I know the battle is brewing for when she takes and engine off of it and starts chewing on it.

Ian is doing well and full of energy and spunk. He can repeat back what you say so we are finding ourselves being even more careful with what is said when. We started a new workbook today and he was super excited.

As a parting thought...why does it seem like time can move so slowly and so quickly at the same time?

Home

2009-05-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Virginia complete with making goodies with Grandma, garden planting with grandpa, sticky popcorn with grandpa, going to a park for the first time post transplant, livy getting her first tooth, and a suprise visit from cousins coming down from PA. It was a great visit and I got to go out and about shopping, seeing a few friends, and getting some much needed naps. It was great to go home! (Having trouble with picture posting here so check out facebook for some photo op shots.)