Happy Birthday Goose!

Wow, was it really just Goose's 2nd birthday?!  I can't believe she's 2!  And yet, of course I can.  This child is a dream.  An absolute dream.  We all adore her and love her smiles, her funnies, her happiness, her cuddles, her loves, and her friendship.  She is learning so much and makes us all so happy. 

A few things about Avery:

She loves books, puzzles, dolls, and her blanket. 
She can count to six without help and then counts "nine, twelve, thirteen, six, nine...there's nine!"
She knows all her letters in the alphabet, some also with their sounds and others with associated words, like A for Avery!
She could spend all day outside just enjoying being outside. 
She loves playing with her sisters and has recently developed a sweet friendship with Taryn.
She sleeps great, doesn't like lunch, and loves oatmeal.
She loves to say the prayer and at every meal the conflict arises "No, Avery pray."  "No, Avery, it's Keara's turn."  "Avery pray lunch."  "Okay, you can say it for lunch."  And then she reminds us all day that she'll say it at lunch.

Though her prayers have recently turned to "Dear Heavenly Father, Amen" "No, Avery, thank thee for this day" "Amen."  "Say day"  "Day.  Amen"  "No, thank you for our food."  "Amen."  "No, say food."  "Food, Amen."  You get the idea.

She loves her mommy...much to daddy's chagrin.  She is a cuddler, which I love!

She is seriously the sweetest, cutest thing we've ever met and I can't even begin to tell you all about her.  She is just so fun! 

When we'd say "Happy birthday Avery", she'd reply with "Mmm-hmmm."  You had to be there.  She's working so hard on getting her little fingers to cooperate and show that she's two years old.  But apparently, she understands how many fingers she's holding up because this morning, she held up three instead of two and when Braden asked how old she was, she looked at her hand and said "Three!"  This afternoon, when I asked, she held up four fingers and said "Four!"  I didn't realize she knew that.

Anyway, here are some pics from her birthday celebrations.  Braden had class basically from 9-9 on her actual birthday, so we had some minor celebrations that day and then had her real celebration tonight with my brother's family.  I know these are a lot of pics, but there are a few in her you HAVE to see, so at least scroll thru them, even if you don't read about them.


Her birthday began with opening "presents" that Keara had wrapped...library books, some of Avery's books, a play phone we have, and a baggie of animal crackers.  She wrapped them all in different colored construction paper, wrote "Avery, Lov Keara" on all of them, and then beamed for 24 hours waiting to give them to her.  It was so tender and Avery absolutely loved every one.

 This girl is not only beautiful, but she is also a complete HAM!  She is so funny and she knows it.

 I cannot believe how grown up she is!  Look at her!  Wasn't it just yesterday...??

 After naps, the girls and I headed over to these beautiful (free) gardens that are just 5 minutes from our house.  The gardens are H.U.G.E.  And stunning.  We loved this particular pathway lined with pink, Pink, PINK!

 Taryn loved this flower "as big as my head!"  I learned tonight it is called the "Dinner Plate" something...

 I love these three girls!  What a treasure to have daughters and for these girls to have sisters.  I know how much I adore my sisters and I am grateful these girls have each other.

 When we got home, we had ice cream with sprinkles and practiced blowing out candles. 

Tonight, we opened her real presents with my brother's family.  She was so excited!  She definitely figured out this whole unwrapping thing by the end of the night.

When we were in my brother's ward (church congregation), Avery would always ask to play with his watch.  Actually, she would do that any time she was with him.  He always graciously let her.  A few weeks ago, he got a new watch but didn't throw away his old one.  Instead, he wrapped it for her and gave it to her tonight.  When she opened it, she immediately hopped up and went over to put it on his arm.  Finding another one there, she was very confused!  But then she was very excited to have one for herself.  It is definitely going in the church bag.

Avery's favorite present was this baby doll and doll stroller.  She was then doubly excited to open her next present from Grandma...another doll!!  Tonight, she is happily sleeping with her own two babies.  It is adorable.  And she is thrilled to have her own stroller.  No more sisters being left out!

Okay, get ready for this.  Braden had this great idea to make a 3-D cake, ever since we saw some episodes from "Ace of Cakes" on the cooking channel.  He got inspired, had ideas flowing, and insisted that he get to make her cake this year.  I haven't let him make a cake for our children since his last two ideas bombed MISERABLY.  But I decided to back off, though I still had serious doubts when he told me his ideas.  He has GREAT ideas, but the execution always seems to lack.  I was truly worried we wouldn't have a cake at the end of it.

But not only did we have a cake, we had the most AWESOME cake I have ever seen in real life.  It comes in close with my brother's toilet cake he made my nephew 14 years ago, though he insists this is actually cooler.  I may have to agree.  It was incredible.  I was so proud of Braden sticking with his ideas, taking advice when necessary, and just going with the creative juices that were flowing.  And we were all blown away by the result. 

Isn't it incredible!?!?!

You may be asking, why a pig?  Because pigs are Avery's favorite farm animal.  She loves them and does a perfect pig impression.  I'll try to get that video uploaded...

Oh, and of course, pigs are pink.  Braden graciously wore a pink shirt today, much to his daughters' delight.

I know there are a lot of pics of it and you're probably thinking, "why are there so many pictures?" Because I couldn't choose just one and I can't believe how amazing it is so I just look at picture after picture and think "Oh my goodness! That is crazy amazing!" Braden, I concede. You can make the cakes from now on.

This cracked us all up.  Avery reached up and broke off the curly tail and just popped it right in her mouth. 
 

Avery loved her cake, especially the marshmallow fondant. 

 Avery cake and presents, we ran back over to the gardens to show my brother's family how beautiful they are right now.  They LOVED them and I hope they'll come back while they're still beautiful. 

Happy birthday baby girl.  I guess you're not a baby anymore.  But we adore you and love you and can't get enough of you.  You light up our lives and our home and our hearts every single day.  You are such a joy and a total blessing to us.  Before you were born, I had a strong, distinct impression that you would be an angel to our family.  And you are.

Well, This is New

We moved.  Braden started school.  We're in a new city.  We have no friends here.  We have no family here.  And we have no income...yet, hopefully.

As if all that change weren't enough (plus the upcoming start of kindergarten and then the arrival of our baby), I've decided to add something totally new, unexpected, and unchartered to our family.

On our drive up here, I suddenly had the thought that I should cloth diaper our next baby.  WHAT?!  Cloth diaper?!  I have NEVER wanted to cloth diaper.  I like the advancements of diapering, namely being able to toss the mess in the trash and not worry about it.  I like not having to do the laundry more often than absolutely necessary.  I like that my skinny children have skinny buns.  While I admire those who do cloth diaper, it has never interested me.  In fact, I have had a few prejudices against it.  But the inspiration came and wouldn't leave. 

Flashing into my mind was exactly how to make my own cloth diapers in a way that I would like.  I helped my friend a few years ago in her cloth diapering business, but I knew those types of diapers were not what I was looking for.  I had a very specific criteria in my mind and suddenly I could literally see the pattern in my mind of what to do and how to do it.  It was an incredible experience.

Still, I delayed a few days before bringing it up to Braden.  Surprisingly, he was pretty supportive.  We decided we needed to get the hang of it with Avery first and I needed to actually make the pattern I saw in my mind.  So I got the fabric I wanted and started to sew.  My first few attempts were unsuccessful, but every time I laid down to sleep, the thoughts of what to do kept flowing.  Needless to say, I haven't slept well in over a week (well, more like 7 months, but who's counting?).  This afternoon, I finally got it.  I think.  And I love them. 

I have such a sense of satisfaction when I put one of these diapers on Avery.  I don't know what it is.  Is it creating something?  Following clear inspiration?  Saving the planet?  I don't know.  But I know that it makes me happy...which I never thought cloth diapering would do. 

Tonight, I'm making mini diapers for the baby.  Since I have no child to model for me, I'm guessing here, but I'm hoping the inspiration is still flowing so I'm not wasting fabric. 

Why cloth diapering?  Not because I have a moral issue against disposables, believe me.  Not because I'm trying to be green.  Not because I think cloth is better, or whatever other argument could be made.  I am cloth diapering right now (besides the inspiration part) because of the financial savings.  I buy diapers for $40 every other month per kid.  That's about $250 a year per kid.  For three years of diapering, that's $750.  Or $3000 to diaper all my kids. 

Plus, the amount of diapers we go thru is astounding.  I calculated something like Avery has gone thru well over 4000 diapers in her short 2 years.  Average out 3 years per kid of diaper wearing and that's over 6500 diapers per kid...or 26,000 diapers for our 4 children alone.  Wow.

Anyway, I like that these are slim fitting on Avery.  She's so slender and I can usually not tell that she's wearing one.  But I know I haven't figured out the washing part well.  I don't really know the whole routine or how to make this simple.  It isn't that big of a deal, but those poopy diapers...whew.  Any advice? 

This is a new and very unexpected road we're on, but for now, I'm grateful to be on it.

Freezer Meals

The other day, instead of packing, I spent a good 4 hours making meals for next week and beyond that can be put in the freezer and pulled out when we need them.  I've been thinking about doing something like this every month which would provide about 10 meals or so that we could have on hand thru the month.  With our upcoming move and then the pending arrival of our baby, I thought now would be a good time to at least get something prepared for the many days ahead where I won't have time to cook. 

Thankfully, I already had a lot in the freezer that was done or easy to make into something else.  But by the end of my 4 hours, here's my list of what I have ready to go:

Sloppy Joes (enough for 2 meals)

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas (2 dishes)
BBQ Chicken
Salsa Peach Pork
Chicago Chicken (2 dishes)
Cheese Lasagna (2 dishes)
White Chicken Chili (enough for 2 meals)
Pepperoni Pizza (2 trays)
Chalupa (2 bags)
Navajo Tacos (enough for 2 meals)
Chimichanga Chicken (enough for 2 meals)
Italian Chicken
Green Chile Egg and Sausage Casserole
Meatballs (enough for 2 meals)

That's 24 dinners.  Not only does this mean I can now pack most of my dishes, but it also means I have plenty of extra meals we won't eat next week that I can save for when the baby is born. 
 
I'm really excited about that.

May I Suggest...

My sister's father-in-law always provides a "baby moon" for her and my brother-in-law before the birth of their babies.  I've always thought that was a great idea--a chance for mom and dad to get away and have one-on-one time before adding another child to the family. 

However, I now have another suggestion.  My definition of a baby moon is to have your older children taken for a couple/few days so you are left with only your youngest...your baby.  It has been incredible having these past few days with Avery.  And these will likely be our only days just us before she is no longer our baby.  She has loved it, Braden has loved it, I have loved it.  It has been so rewarding.

So if you have a chance to spend some quality one-on-one time with your baby before your next baby is born, take it!  It is SO worth it!

(I wouldn't, however, recommend coinciding this baby moon with packing to move.  It definitely cuts into the "quality" time.)

So...

My Totally Awesome and Amazing sister (she told me to write that) kidnapped my kids on Sunday (legally, no charges pressed) for a week-long adventure in Chicago (with her, anything's possible).

It's been over a day and a half, and reportedly, things are going AMAZING! The girls are having the time of their lives, but of course, if I was there, I would be too!

Aside from a super fun road trip with their cousins,

ever-entertaining Uncle Steve and Aunt Kerri,

they have lived it up...in only one day so far:

Yesterday, they went to the Children's Museum in the morning

a super cool park in the afternoon

and roasted marshmallows before bed.

They called a left me a message before bedtime that was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. Lots of "I Love You, Mom's". Ad.or.ab.le. Will be saving that message for a while. Though--what is it about hearing your kids' voices on the phone that makes them sound so much younger?

And all of this is AFTER a weekend of hot hot camping in Nauvoo where we were the mosquitos' Thanksgiving Feast...oh I didn't mention that?

There is too much.  Let me sum up. 

My friend got married this weekend in Nauvoo (a very special place in our church's history).  It worked out that my sister and brother's families were both there too!  It was so fun, besides being hot, humid, and full of mosquitos.  AND...we were camping.  Yes, that was my idea.  No, it was not my brightest. 

Now I'm back, I have 10 days to pack and get us moved to a new city.  WAHOO!  So, with that in mind, I need to go...

Too Busy to Update

Hello?  Is this thing on?  Is anyone still out there?  I'm sure you've all given up on me and my blog.  We're boring, I know.  It's not that we're boring and have nothing to write about, we're just too busy to write anything.  So here's the reader's digest update:

*Braden is looking to go back to school for a second Bachelor's degree, this time in accounting.  He applied to a university here in MN and was accepted.  As long as the classes can work out, he will begin classes there at the end of August and should be done with his degree within 18 months.
*Because this university is 1 1/2 hours away from where we currently live, that also means we'll be moving!  At this moment, I am organizing our yard sale which has been planned and scheduled for about 3 months, and conveniently will be perfect just in time to move.  After the yard sale, I will devote all my time to packing and getting ready to move.  We are excited for a new adventure.
*Keara will be starting kindergarten in the fall and a move means finding ANOTHER school to enroll her into.  But thankfully, the area we'll be moving to has a spanish immersion program!  Yeah!  I would have been VERY sad to give that up for her.
*Taryn is loving summer time and the lake.  If it were up to her, we'd be there every day.  Unfortunately, this summer has been "weird"...just like every where else in the country and just like every year is "unusal".  But there's been a lot of ups and downs in the temperatures as well as a lot of rain, so we haven't been to the lake as much as we'd like.  We went last night and today and we may go again tomorrow, but we'll have to see.  Taryn hates having her hair washed with shampoo, but after a while, she either smells like a dog or fish, so shampoo is very necessary, much to her chagrin.
*Avery is very nearly two, and you can tell.  She is the sweetest angel and is so delightful, but then all of the sudden she'll whack her sister in the head or pull their hair or, like last night during dinner, stab them in the head with her fork.  She's testing her limits, but thankfully, she's doing it with absolute cuteness, so we can't be too upset.  She doesn't throw fits or anything...yet.  She's just an angel baby, with a two-year-old mean streak.  This too shall pass, I'm sure.
*Baby Girl #4 is growing and moving around.  I'm 25 weeks along and I'm grateful I still have 15 weeks to go!  Sometimes I think I'd take another 25 weeks, knowing how much needs to get done between now and then.  But I'm sure that the time will fly by faster than I want it too.  I am a little (or a lot) sad about moving right before having a baby and not having all my dear friends around when she's born.  I appreciate all the support and help my friends give me.  I really do love all the people I've met here. 
*Next week, we're going to Nauvoo for my friend's wedding.  I am very excited to take the girls there, but particularly Keara.  It's been fun to talk about church history a little with her.  I'm also excited because my sister and brother's families will both be in Nauvoo that same weekend, by coincidence, so we'll have a little family reunion too. 
*After Nauvoo, I'm planning on taking the girls down to Chicago for one last visit before who knows when.  I just can't imagine that we'll really be going down there within the next 9-12 months, and perhaps 18 or more.  We'll see.  But I haven't been to Chicago in the summer for an extended period of time in over 8 years, so I'm looking forward to spending time at the lake and doing the summer things we used to do.  I'm especially looking forward to being at my parents' house.  I love it there...so edifying.
*We'll get back from Chicago one week before our projected move (as long as everything sifts out right for his schooling).  It'll be a crazy time.

So there you have it. That's what we're up to. Here are some pictures to prove that we're still alive.

The REVEAL!

Check out this video to find out the answer to the big question...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUm9bHDpilY

Let's Try This Again

Presentation.  It's all in the presentation.  Let's try this again.

WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT.

Check out this AWESOME video...and you have to watch all the way to the end.  This was sent in preparation for our family reunion, in case some of the text doesn't make sense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Wmz-RplSg

The Silent Killer

A few years ago, my mother in law and I were having a discussion about what natural disaster was the most deadly.  I thought earthquakes would be pretty horrible whereas she thought tornadoes were much worse.  Interestingly enough, I grew up where there were tornadoes and she grew up with earthquakes.  At the time, we both lived in Arizona.  Imagine the humor we discovered when we learned what the true most dangerous natural disaster was?

HEAT

Check out this article on weather.com to learn more--very interesting
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/us-weather-deaths-perspective_2011-06-15

Remind me again, why are we visiting Arizona next week?  Yeah...me neither...

(besides, of course, our WONDERFUL family that we'll spend 10 days with!  Can't wait!!)

Check out this AWESOME youtube video

I love practical jokes.  And this one was funny to me!  Turn up the volume and watch the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Wmz-RplSg

Popcorn Balls That Smell {and Taste} So Sweet

Braden needed to take a treat to a youth activity...but we didn't remember until 1 hr before he had to leave.  Thank goodness for popcorn balls!  We used a great recipe with a couple modifications and we LOVED it!  And of course, we just had to share it too...

AWESOME POPCORN BALLS


¾ cup corn syrup
¼ cup butter
2 tsp cold water
2 ½ + 1/8 cup powdered sugar
1 cup mini marshmallows
½ Tbs vanilla
20 cups popped popcorn
1 cup mini marshmallows

Pour popcorn into very large bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine corn syrup, butter, water, powdered sugar, and marshmallows until melted and bubbly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir well. Pour sugar mixture over popcorn. Stir well, making sure to coat all pieces, including bottom of the bowl. Add remaining cup of marshmallows and stir to evenly distribute. Form into balls by pressing into lightly greased measuring cup, removing, and placing on piece of waxed paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Sorry there are no pictures...he had to run out the door!

We Love Family Visits!

My brother's family drove out here from Colorado for the week before Memorial day and we LOVED having them! They have 3 teenage sons and 2 younger daughters (6 and 3). Keara and Taryn were in heaven, both with the girls AND with the big boys. They love their cousins. And I absolutely love how my teenage nephews play with their little cousins. They are great guys.

We took them to the lake on a very windy and not so warm day (too bad the gorgeous weather came the day before they left).  My brother brought his human rubberband to play with.  It is SO fun!  Kai got the girls together to play with them after the adults had their fun.

Such great girls and fun cousins!  We definitely miss them!

On Memorial Day, we ran over to the splash park between the rain episodes for some water fun.  I was surprised that the big boys wanted to come along, but we all had a GREAT time.

Of course, the big boys enjoyed the water gun sprayers...even if their opponent was 1/3 their age and 1/2 their size.

They also tried to see how they could affect the water pressure in different spots by covering up holes.  Hours of endless entertainment.

Can I jsut say how much I love ruffle bums!  That, and curly hair!

Keara loved splashing around in her rainboots at the splash park and thought it was hilarious when they filled up all the way.  What fun sounds and feelings that made!

Keara and I found a dead baby painted turtle at the beach.  She thought it was awesome (and it was).  Too bad it was dead.

Talon kept Keara entertained by doing that silly hand game with her.  You know the one, where you cut off the blood supply to the hand, squeeze it, rub it, and then "pull" something out of the middle of it?  She loved it.

Avery loves everyone and sure thought it was great to have a playmate who didn't beat her up!  Lily is 3, but Avery didn't care!

Memorial Day means making ice cream!  So Braden and I stayed up way late on Sunday night making pistacho, rocky road, and white chocolate oreo.  Delicious!

Avery definitely agreed.

And so did Lily...who is just too cute!

It was a busy, crazy, fun week and it went by WAY too fast!  We miss you guys and can't wait to see you next summer!  Thank goodness for family reunions!