Great hometeaching visit!

We have really good hometeachers, Brandon John and Trevor Harris. They come each month and we really enjoy visiting with them. Trevor was telling us last month about his horse. Dave and I are really city people and know next to nothing about horses, but it was interesting to hear about them and what he does with them. He offered to bring our family out for the next hometeaching visit and let the kids ride the horse. So, last night, being the end of the month :), we went to the place where he keeps his horse and we all got to ride.

They have an older horse named Jack that is really gentle with kids. So, he had him all saddled up in the corral and the kids got to get on by themselves and hold the reins and "ride". The kids thought this was great! Paisley was especially chatty and excited about the whole adventure. We put Avery on with Paisley and then again with me and she didn't seem too excited about it. She really loved Trevor's wife, Krista, and chose to go to her over me. She also loved to go to Trevor. Being the mama's girl that she is, I was surprised how quickly she felt comfortable with them!

Then we got to go out to look at the other, not so easy to ride, horses. They gave the kids apples and let them feed them to Tiny and Red. Avery really didn't want to feed her apple to the horses, she wanted to eat it herself! We were in a field that also had a couple cows in it. The cows were friendly and not scared of us. Krista had told us that if you ran at them and waved your arms they would be scared. So, Easton decided to try this out for himself. None of us were really paying attention until all of a sudden he was running away from the cow who was chasing him. Trevor quickly stepped in between and the cow stopped. I will admit that it all scared me a bit. Easton, however, thought it was great and exciting. He thought that was like a rodeo! He kept talking about it for a while afterwards.

Paisley and Easton have horrible allergies and by the time we left they were sneezing and sniffling quite a bit. I gave Easton some allergy medicine before we left because he is usually worse in a farm setting. But, Paisley's eyes were almost swollen shut by the time we got home! We gave her some Benedryl and sent her to bed and she is fine this morning.

That was a really fun time for us and the kids. Thank you, Trevor and Krista, for taking time out of your schedule to do something fun for our kids!!

I've been tagged!

My friend, Jaimee, tagged me tonight. I have never been tagged before, so here goes...

Rules:
1. Link the person(s) who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them

1. A lot of people know this about me but I can't stand it when my kids get dirty. If they are dirty, I change their clothes before we go somewhere. I always try to have their faces washed, hair done, and clothes clean when we are in public. (Now, when we are at home is another story!) I really have tried to not stress so much about it, but it is hard for me!

2. I am a freak about being on time! Not that we are always 100% on time, but I always strive to be. I have told people that if you want to see the worst side of me, come observe me while I am rushing around the house trying to get us all ready to leave and be on time!

3. I am TERRIFIED of bugs! Especially crickets, june bugs, really any kind of beetle. When we first moved in our house we had a lot of crickets. That was a nightmare for me! One day I was vacuuming the floor in the kitchen and a cricket jumped out from under the ledge of my counter. I thought I would die. I wasn't even brave enough to use the vacuum hose and vacuum it up. I dropped the vacuum, still running, and ran to my kids for help. Easton was brave enough to go vacuum it up so that I could go on with my life. I could tell you many more instances where my kids, especially Paisley, (I think I passed on my fear to Easton a bit) had to "save" their poor mom from a bug. Last week it was from a praying mantis while I was mowing the lawn! FREAKY!!!

4. I am also scared of really large birds and really large fish! They freak me out, too! When Dave and I were dating, we were four-wheeling in Island Park. We came around a corner and right in front of us was this HUGE crane. It took off running/flying when it saw us. But, that was so creepy to me!

The summer after I graduated, my family went down to Lake Powell for a week. It was so fun. The water was like bath water. But, when I was swimming in the water, if I made the mistake of letting my mind think about what kind of fish were swimming around me, I would have to get out! Also very, very creepy to me. There is just something unnatural about big birds and big fish!!

5. As I write about being scared of things, ironically another quirk is that I kind of like to be scared. Not by beetles, large birds and fish, but of scary movies, books, and stories. The older I get, I have decided I enjoy it a bit less. But, I still am drawn to scary thriller movies. I always hate being scared when I am in the moment of watching the movie. Dave always laughs at me for watching a scary movie through my fingers while my hand is covering my eyes. But, at the end, when I feel safe again, I think "That was fun!" :)

6. I, along with Jaimee and Megan, have to check on my kids every night before I can go to sleep. It must not be so much of a quirk as it is just a "mom" thing. There have been nights that I get all cozy in bed and remember that I didn't go down and check on Easton or something. I will think, "Oh, I am sure he is fine." But, the thought will nag at me and keep me awake until I get out of bed and go see with my own eyes that he is okay. I also worry that they are going to get cold during the night so I make sure that they are covered up. Like I said, I think it is totally a mom thing!

When I first saw that Jaimee tagged me, I thought, what quirks? How can I come up with 6 of them? But, unfortunately, I realized that I have a lot of weird quirks. I am sure that I could come up with several more. Call me crazy!

I tag: Chelsea, Kori, and Ashley.

Here comes the TOOTH FAIRY!

I can't believe how time is flying by with our kids. Paisley got her first tooth at about 6 months, kind of early. So, I wasn't TOO surprised when she told me a while ago that she had a loose tooth. I didn't think about it much, just when she would mention it every once in a while. Well, Saturday morning we were getting ready to go to Easton's football game and Paisley told me that her tooth was really loose. I looked at it and it was basically laying sideways-it was so loose. So, I grabbed it and barely pulled and out it came! She was soooo very excited. She put it in a plastic baggie and took it with us to the game so that she could show everyone. She kept saying, "Can you believe that I lost my first tooth???" :) It was cute.

Of course the tooth fairy visited that night and left $2. (Is that about the going rate for the tooth fairy? We are still kind of new at this.) She was very excited and has been begging me to take her to the dollar store to spend her money!

Avery is 18 months!

Avery finally turned the glorious age of 18 months!! Hurray, Yippee, Hallelujah!! Some might wonder why 18 months is so glorious, but those who are LDS all understand! She can finally go to nursery during church! The last few months I have been counting down the weeks and watching enviously as people at church dropped their children off and finally we are able to drop our little Avery off. Yea!

Yesterday, Paisley and I took Avery to her 18 month well baby check up. I am always anxious to see how much she weighs, etc. Ever since her two month check up she has been really tall. For a while she was off the charts in her height and then was around 98th percentile. Yesterday she weighed 26lb 14oz (58th percentile) and measured 34 1/2 which is 98th percentile still. I just don't know where she is getting this height! Dave and I are not tall people. Easton and Paisley were usually between the 25th and 50th percentile for height, usually the 25th. So, somehow Avery got the only tall gene. Of course it would be our girl that gets it! :)

The doctor said she looks great. He did say he is a little concerned that she isn't saying much yet. But, he said we won't do anything until her 2 year check up and see how she is then. She says "mama" and "more". That's about it. So, we will see how the next 6 months go. Also, he gave us some bad news. We have to give up the beloved pacifier!!! Dum, dum, dum!!! I am really dreading this. She is way addicted to that thing. She has it all day and absolutely has to have it for naptime and bedtime. I think we will take it slow. I am not going to let her have it during the day anymore, only when she sleeps. Then I think I will take it away at naptime and finally, bedtime.



We sure love our little Avery. Her nickname is the Texas Tornado, cuz that is exactly what she is!! She goes from one thing to another at rapid speed and leaves destruction in her path! But, she also makes us laugh everyday and has the sweetest personality. She loves to hug and kiss, and loves to be kissed on the neck. I will kiss the back of her neck and then she will point to it again and again for more kisses!

I just can't believe it has been a year and a half. It has gone so fast, and we have truly enjoyed having her in our family!

Happy 8th Anniversary to us!

Today is Dave and I's 8th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has been 8 years. A lot has happened, that is for sure!

Dave and I met in 1997, about a month before I graduated from high school and he was in college. My aunt and Dave worked together and she set us up on a blind date. I had a boyfriend at the time, but after a phone call from Dave, I, for some reason, didn't remember the boyfriend! :) We went out to ice cream at Baskin Robbins on our first date. After that we went out pretty regularly. (I broke up with my boyfriend.) He was getting ready to go on his mission in July. We dated up until he left. We hadn't known each other very long and so we agreed that I wouldn't "wait", but that we would write to each other.

We faithfully wrote the whole two years. I dated during that time, and he will never let me live that down! But the important thing is that I was single when he got back. He got back in July 1999. We dated and then broke up over a silly fight in January. It was over, I just knew it. I knew if Dave and I weren't together that it was time to move on. That night I called a good friend of mine and asked her if she wanted to move to Salt Lake with me. So, the next weekend, the two of us went to SLC, found an apartment, found jobs, and then moved two weeks later.

In about the middle of February, Dave and I started talking a bit. One night while we were on the phone, I got a call from a guy in my singles ward on the other line. Dave asked who had called and when I told him it was a guy for me, he said, "We need to talk when you come home." I went home to Idaho Falls for my birthday and that weekend we got back together. This time, we knew this was it! I told Dave that I wasn't going to move back home. So, he quit his job and moved to Salt Lake. I found him a roommate in my ward and he found a job.

We got engaged May 13, 2000 and were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on September 8, 2000. We went on our honeymoon to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico for a week and had a blast!

We have done a lot in the last 8 years. We have had 3 beautiful children. Dave has had 2 jobs. We have moved 4 times and bought 2 houses. We have owned 5 cars and a dog. We have gone on some really fun vacations and had some neat experiences. We have had ups and downs, but the good times have definitely outweighed the bad. I love Dave very much and hope that our future is as bright as the past.

I love you, Dave!

Peaches!

So, here is round two of my canning experience this year. We went to Brigham City this last weekend and bought 2 big baskets of peaches. I canned 14 quarts today and have one basket of peaches left to do that aren't quite ripe. Peaches are quite a bit of work, but, very worth it!

1st day of preschool, yea!

My little girl started her first day of preschool today. When she found out that she didn't start until about 1 1/2 weeks after Easton started school, she was sooo sad. So, we have been counting down the days and it is finally here! She didn't have a nervous or scared bone in her body. (She rarely does.) The teacher wanted us to bring them in on the first day rather than just drop them off. So, I got her out of the car and she just ran off and yelled, "Bye, mom!" I had to yell to her to have her stop and wait for her poor mom. I am not sure that she was very excited that she couldn't go in alone. I am thankful that she is outgoing, it has always been a trait that I am lacking.





So, now I am cleaning house, doing laundry, watching a little T.V...all while my house is quiet with a sleeping baby. It is a good feeling, but I have to admit, it is a little lonely. How I have looked forward to having quiet moments. But, when I get them I just look forward to having noisy moments again. Never happy! :)

Kids are funny!

Easton and Paisley each said funny things tonight. I need to get in the habit of writing them, or typing them, so that I do not forget!

The kids often get dragged around with me when I have errands to run. They have learned to dread the sound of my voice saying, "We are going to run errands! Get your shoes on!" That is usually followed by two loud groans. :) Anyway, today Paisley, Avery, and I ran errands. When we were driving in the car, Paisley said, "When we go places it is like, go to Brandon and Erin's, leave, go to Brandon and Erin's, leave, go to Brandon and Erin's, leave." I was listening and didn't really understand what she was saying. Then I realized that when I say "errands" she thinks I say "Erins". (Dave's brother's wife is named Erin.) So, she just thought we had nicknamed our running around as we are going to Brandon and Erin's! :) So I had to explain the difference between "errand" and "Erin".

We have Easton in flag football this fall. Tonight he had his second practice. As we were walking to the car afterwards he was telling me how one of the kids had accidentally hit him with his elbow and it had really hurt. He said, "But, I didn't cry mom. Cuz there is no crying in football!" :) He said it so proudly, too, like he had fought off the tears! :) I don't know if a coach told him there is no crying in football, or if he just figured that. Cute, anyway!