on wednesday i finally went in and checked out our local library. they only do story time tues. and wed...we could never make it on tuesdays because gulianna got out of preschool the same time, and by wednesday i would already forget! we still missed it but next week we will go check that out too.
we might have drove the ladies crazy...anthony kept going up and down the stairs and when he couldn't see me he would yell out "mammy!" over and over!
the chickens got moved into their new house today, levi has been sick of them stinking up the back of his garage!
he built this for them last week and sided it with old barn wood that he's been hanging onto for a couple years. {half our place is still torn up, but the kids love playing in the trenches and the dirt!}
anthony couldn't wait to hop over the chicken wire to see the "deet deets" that's how he says chickens!
it still needs more work, and the boxes built inside, but they are still small for that! too many projects around here! at least they are out of the garage.
i painted the door green. i really wanted all the old paint scraped off, but i didn't have the patience for it anymore and i just wanted to start painting green! so it has an old crocodile look to it. levi needs his sandblaster fixed so i can use it for my projects.
we picked up a bunch of old windows on saturday...as well as ordered me a new phone, actually levi too. anthony was so kind to run mine in the sink so the screen has been broken for almost a week! levi's on/off button has been broken on his too, and when we took it to the store they had him open up the back and take out the battery just to make sure the water sensors weren't damaged...well that was dumb because then he couldn't turn his phone back on! we were cell phone-less for the rest of the evening til we got home and he got it to turn back on. i won't have mine for ten days or so.
this is my next project i'm working on...
i hope i can get it done by the weekend.
we usually make it out to lehi or provo area at least once or twice a month. and it never seems to be leisurely any more! too many places to stop in not enough time. considering 3 hours out of our time is just driving there and back.
we really wanted levi to come with us but he had too much work to do. i was planning on leaving at 9am but then i forgot it was tuesday and gulianna had preschool. so we left after she got out. we dropped off isabella's quilt top to melissa at sew shabby quilting to be quilted...can't wait to get it back!
by the time we got to ikea it was almost 4 we were starving...anthony looks so big now drinking and eating by himself, compared to last years ikea visits! he was just a baby and i fed him mashed potatoes as he sat in a high chair!
i've been desperately wanting to get to ikea for drawer organizer stuff for the two kitchen drawers, they were driving me crazy!
and isa was the perfect height for going into the play area, all last year she was 4 inches too short to go in and play. i didn't like that she couldn't go in just because of her shortness...she can go to the bathroom by herself, but she wasn't not tall enough? she's naturally short! well anyway she sure grew a lot in the seven months that we moved. she was sooo excited to go play with gulianna!
after ikea we went to ross, then costco and then home and we still didn't get home til almost 11pm! and we rushed at every place we stopped! crazy!
so i've been driving with an expired licence for almost a year now... and i did know about it. well really only since last summer before we moved...i was returning something at walmart and they wouldn't let me because my license was expired! hello! i did actually thought i had til 2012...but it was last may of 2011. oops! any way with moving and then not having money, and then when we did have money i just didn't go... blah blah blah... i finally went in today. i missed one, even though i did know the right answer! ugh! well any way, now i'm a legal driver again. ha ha! breakin' the law.
we left the girls with cherrie, anthony was excited to sit in isa's carseat! we really need to find him a bigger car seat poor kid!
"she's a man, baby yeahh..." nice job guys, so i guess i'm a male...
we stopped at walmart, then to ifa to get a bunch of fruit trees and plants...should have brought the trailer! we weren't planning on getting them today but it was the last day of the sale!
anthony...so tired!
we got baby 9 baby chicks and 2 roosters today...every one was excited! colton picked them up and they said all the customers kept wanting the roosters he special ordered...silver laced wyandottes. even when he checked out a lady said to him, "those were special ordered for somebody." ya...hello!
anthony was so excited to see the little chicks...he just wants to squeeze their heads off!
gulianna and isa were not happy about getting a rooster, and before we walked out to the garage to see them they kept saying "no roosters, no roosters!" our neighbor's rooster is kind of mean...hopefully we can train ours to be nice? we'll see!
making progress...or making a mess?
today i started to rake the backyard...it's going to take a while! the grass is so much nicer over by the trees than in the middle.
levi worked on spreading the dirt around for the garden...this used to be grass as well...up to the dirt road all the way to the left. it's going to be huge! lets hope we can grow something!
the root cellar hole...even bigger than before...did i post pictures before? i can't remember... anthony did slide down it last week, he just can't help himself! hopefully he won't try it again. it's deeper than it looks in photos.
it was really nice outside...a little windy, we have a storm coming in for the rest of the week...trying to get stuff done. i should have been outside yesterday instead of cleaning...it was even hotter! still got sunburned today...pretty nice for april!
some shots from instagram...i still need to go through my pictures i took with my camera. i filled the plastic eggs on saturday. we were just about out of money right before easter. i had spent our last $25 dollars on diapers, a few groceries and chocolate for the easter eggs the week before. sometimes i wonder how we even make it, but we always do, we are blessed with all that we have. i told the girls we probably won't have money for new easter dresses, like it matters any way they have a lot of dresses and skirts! we didn't buy anything for them last year either.
so the day that we went to walmart i looked in the little girls section to see if they even had any dresses left, there was 2 that the girls liked. one 5T and one 3T, they were the last ones, but like i said, we had $25 to our name! we got lucky and four days before easter we had our tax returns direct deposited into our account. we weren't expecting them until the week after easter. we went back to walmart to buy more groceries, i checked on the dresses and they were still there. lucky lucky!
we drove to payson that evening to pull out most of it from the bank and then to provo for the mall to see if we could find a new dress shirt for anthony, but i couldn't find anything...and i only had 40 min. to look! much harder to find what you need when you live an hour away from the convenience of shopping! i went home and pulled out his pink striped shirt from last year to see if it would still fit him...it did, minus the sleeves went up to his elbows! so we just rolled them and let him be cool like that :)
here are the girls excited to go to the mall! {we just stopped at the gas station to go to the bathroom...they were in their carseats before.}
no luck at the gap for anthony. i did love this jacket...but i couldn't spend $30 for it. still needed to be clearanced more! i'm very picky on what i spend for clothes!
we always seem to eat at red robin when we make a bank run! gulianna said "take my picture!"
dancing...
you can't tell, but this basket is big! it's the girls' basket for "picking up sticks" in the yard to burn.
my mom is always good about sending packages in the mail...they were excited to see what they got from grandma and grandpa!
i was laughing when i read the presents...mom, you forgot the y on happy! ha ha!
easter coloring books, stickers and socks! they love stickers!
thank you grandma & grandpa!
i can't seem to get with the program today...layed in bed til 10:30, gulianna threw up 4 times last night. isa threw a tantrum in the middle of the night as well! gulianna's stomach was still a little upset this morning so we gathered up some change and went to grab a sprite for her from the soda machine on main street. a dr pepper was also calling to me...i rarely drink soda...once in a GREAT while!
i was going to check the mail while we were out but then i remembered gulianna lost our mail key from last week. she dropped it in between the back seat, but i can't find it. we got back home sat outside and i shared the last of my dr pepper with anthony and he wouldn't give it back to me!
slurpin' it up!
*no chelsey i did NOT go and buy a dr pepper just because it matches his pants...ha ha!
we didn't have breakfast til 2pm...and now i can't believe it's already 5!
*so i realize that gulianna threw up because yesterday we went to walmart to buy diapers and candy for easter eggs, and i wasn't going to open up the "chocolate treats" until sunday but we couldn't help it. we all had a couple pieces. we haven't had any real sugar for a long while...and so when we did we all kind of got sick. guliannna especially, she has a weak stomach. anthony had major crappage down his legs because of it! (ya i'm sure you didn't want to know!) even i don't feel great! then we had to top it off with soda for breakfast! you don't realize how bad sugar is until you haven't had any for a long time!
ok...i better get my chores done...i can't stand it anymore!
levi pruned the trees in the front yard...and took out a couple of them too, his friend steve was here to help too. i raked up the leaves in the front yard. not looking forward to the back. i lost count how many times i raked the leaves last fall...then i said i'll leave the rest for the spring. well...now it's here and i want it cleaned up but i don't want to do it all!
we had lunch outside, i had to bring their little table out, the picnic table is buried in storage.
levi made chicken teriyaki sandwiches for lunch. i mixed two recipes from pinterest to make the potato slices.
anthony loved standing in the holes where the trees used to be! little prairie dog!
this is what happens when i tell levi to take anthony and stand at the back of the church. instead he took him outside, and he fell down the steps and scraped his face up! geez...
still he's pretty handsome...
and now nineteen months old!
more scrapbook pages for jen over at the project girl!
you know that little strip on the bottom of the 12×12 patterned papers that shows the pattern on the back side? well i love to use that on my pages! sometimes if i only have that one sheet, but need another little piece to coordinate, this works perfect! and i added that cute little bicycle stamp, fits perfect in that little collage on the patterned paper.
i found that my butterfly stamp is just about the same size as my butterfly punch…so i layered the punch on top of the stamp! love it!
this "19" sticker worked perfect for my page...isabella and anthony are 19 months apart!
products used: my mind's eye lost & found 2, heidi swapp stamps.
i actually scrapbooked this past week! even though i almost forgot how...i had everything set out and realized i didn't have any adhesives! kind of hard when all my scrapbooking is still packed in boxes.
anyway...i enjoyed scrapbooking again...it's been so long.
this is what i created with the february moments kit from express the moment.
these next couple of pages, i *scraplifted* from amanda, because i just loved them sooo much! you can see her layouts here.
i made a coordinating page for this one...
can't wait for some new photos to print and complete these pages!
{9.25.2011}
these were taken after church, a couple days before we moved last fall. i really wanted family pictures with these outfits...but i can't ever seem to make that happen. timing and money always seems to be the problem. either we have the money, and levi is too busy working. or levi has some time off and we have no money! and it's hard to coordinate and have someone commit to taking our photos for free...so here's where i take my own photos of my kids before more time passes by.
gulianna is always willing to pose for a photo! isa is not. she is stubborn, she doesn't care, especially if she's doing something better...and if she isn't she will find something, like pick the grass and stare at it. really?! then she starts to pout. and then i have to try really hard to make her give me some sort of look at the camera. i want her face in pictures, not her hair! we have plenty of those! anthony is too hard to keep still, always moving. which is why i had to tell gulianna if she could "hold him down" while i hurried to take some pictures. she wasn't torturing him, and he just wanted to get away and play in the bark!
i may never have a perfect shot of all three looking into my lens, but i do have lots of candid photos like these. this is our life, and these are our rugrats! here's to a family picture with me and levi in it...SOMEDAY!
you may remember this one...i used on our christmas card...
gulianna's valentine cookies for her class...we got them at the bakery, she was so excited about her valentine party!
on her way to preschool...with a cough drop in her mouth!
after she got home i gave them their valentine presents from chelsey, thanks! isa...whining...too impatient to give me 5 seconds worth of photos, geeez!
poor anthony...still sick, but slowly getting better!
they loved the little valentine cards and the tiny markers...anthony was wondering where his were! and since the girls have been taking over his sickness, and not playing with their stuff, anthony's been playing with their markers coloring on himself and his clothes.
at least we still managed to have fun with valentine's despite being super sick!
it's times like these that i wish we had health insurance. what would it be like to just go to the doctor without worrying about being billed an outrageous amount?
then again...i hate just wasting money away for premiums...when it could go to something else.
ugh!
anthony has had a high fever since last thursday. he is teething too on top of being sick. we finally saw a few smiles 2 days ago. yesterday he regained some of his energy back enough to want to play instead of laying down. he doesn't have much of an appetite, except he'll gladly eat gulianna's valentine chocolate! stinker! the girls have had coughs and have been slightly sick...they had their share of fevers yesterday and now today.
i've been somewhat sick off and on. i got a sore throat early sunday morning, started to feel like crap...then monday night i was ready to drive myself to the ER with horrible earache pains...i thought my eardrum was going to burst. i had to give in after several hours, and take some ibuprofen to stop the pain. i then woke up yesterday {valentine's} with robot hearing. meaning...everyone including me sounded like a vibrating, echoing robot. it was horrible.
gulianna begged to go to school, she has been looking forward to valentine's for a month now! monday night we did go to buy some cookies for her valentine's, and put them in little heart bags with a heart tag...i told her i would just drop them off and her teacher could pass them out. she got dressed and ready, and we sent her off with a cough drop in her mouth. that was "the deal."
we also had a family valentine's dance at the church that night, that both gulianna and isa have been looking forward too. i told them that since anthony was still sick, dad would be taking them and i would stay home.
levi was already planning on making a trip to payson...{the closest us bank to us} and even though i knew he was just driving there and back, all i wanted for valentine's was my ears to pop, to get out of the house, and some quiet time. the only time all three rugrats are asleep at the same time, other than bedtime, is when we are driving. long distance.
so we made the trek...45 minutes there..
then back on I-15 to nephi. i stopped at a cute store, and found a scrapbook store next to it. then we went to big o tires...for an oil change. we sat and drank water and ate popcorn while we watched some annoying disney show for almost an hour. levi started to get sick. grrrreeaat.
everyone fell asleep on the way home again, and then we were almost home when gulianna woke up and said her stomach was sick. i should have known better.
she started to get a fever and chills. i helped her in the house and she took two steps inside and threw up on the carpet. nooooooooo! not the new carpet! i grabbed her and barely made it to the kitchen sink. it was the popcorn from big o. geeez. i got her cleaned up and changed and she climbed right in bed and went to sleep. we had one hour til the dance that she really wanted to go to. right before she fell asleep i said we won't be able to go, we need to stay home. and she was fine with it.
isa was not. she waited impatiently...actually as soon as she walked in the house she ripped off her jeans and was waiting for me to give her a skirt for the dance. anthony was sleeping, and so was gulianna. i told levi i should just take isa and go and eat and let her dance for a bit, then come home. he insisted that he wanted to go...i had him get colton to watch gulianna and anthony while we went. i told isa to go get her pants on...{not thinking about her "dressups"} and she yelled "no, i can't wear pants to church ONLY A DRESS!" oh yes...sorry i forgot! she was excited that she was going to go and not gulianna, so she went into their room and said "i'm sorry we have to leave you here, i'm going to the dance." and gulianna and her magical ears instantly woke up and said "i'm going, i'm going, don't leave me. i'm better now!" yeah right...but she did fake it pretty good for an hour. they had fun, i'm glad we still got to go. we took home a plate of treats to eat at home, and as soon as we got home they quickly changed and went right to sleep. their sickness kicked back in full gear. 8:20pm...that is unheard of in our household! by 9pm our sickly little family was fast asleep. here's to a miracle to get over this sickness!
we usually only have tv in the winter...to make the time pass by! although we haven't for several years. some times you miss it, and other times you don't because there is nothing on.
i've been getting by with watching biggest loser online. i finished season 12 in a week! it was kind of nice not having to wait each week. now i'm caught up to season 13. last year we signed up for netflix, so i would watch whatever on my computer while i scrapbooked. it would have been better if we had an updated flat screen, or a wii or playstation 3, we are a bit behind on technology. so we only got to watch shows in the living room or in bed when levi got home with his laptop :)
we did finally get our first flat screen 3 months ago...can you believe it!? so now we can hook up the laptop to it and watch netflix on a bigger screen! levi has been wanting one for a long time...but i told him to wait until ours finally gave out. last fall when we moved...kevin thought it would be "easier" to just leave the tv in the armoire while they moved it. uh huh. levi said no, but still did it anyway, and as soon as they lifted the armoire, they forgot the tv was in there and it went flying out and broke. ha ha!
we watched these movies last weekend while we were sick,
and we started watching Jericho,
it's pretty good! one episode left...and then no more, why did the show get cancelled? i'm pretty sure this is the show that caught my eye years ago as they were promoting it on commercials...that's where i got the name Jericho, because it was old and different, you don't hear it anymore. that was the only boy name i had saved...in case we ever had a boy, and when we finally had anthony...it just didn't fit, he was definitely supposed to be an Anthony it only took us ten days to make sure!
i do miss watching american idol...i've missed the last 2 years. but at the same time, i know it's not that great anymore...i do still like to watch it.
the girls have been watching dora and a few girly movies, also blues clues...which i can't stand to hear! they've been getting lazy and not wanting to clean their room now that they know they can watch netflix. gulianna clicks on the mouse to change to the next episode, and makes the screen bigger. they've gone a whole two days of leaving their room filthy. of course i didn't let them watch anything until they finally cleaned it. then i had to take away their lalaloopsy stuff and a few other things. it's hard to get by these months after Christmas, with more toys to pick up. can't wait til the summer where a few of them can mysteriously end up at di. i can't help it. i have too! too much stuff, is just TOO MUCH STUFF! they really don't need it.
any way, what are your favorite shows to watch?
after being sick all week, and stuck in the house, i couldn't take it any more! and i felt bad for anthony too...as soon as i said "anthony do you want to go outside?" he instantly started hyperventilating and walking fast saying "shoes, shoes" as he was looking for his shoes! poor kid! the girls go outside every day, but not him! i was going to have him play in the back, but now we have a huge trench out there along with the huge hole for the root cellar. the toys were all wet, and as soon as he figured that out he went straight for the water that was melting off the roof. that's when i grabbed the wagon.
we went for a walk to get a candy bar at the gas station. "brutus" followed us for about 5 blocks...and then ran off somewhere. i was secretly hoping he found a new place to hang out at, but he found his way back the next day. he's such a mangy cat, and the first time he ran in our house i gave him a good kick off our front porch. the next time he does that, i'll get the gun. the neighbor girl insists that it's "our cat" and we need to feed it. they have a cat, and so the girls like to say this one is their's. levi says "he's not our cat. he's is own cat." ha ha! ya that's right. i'm allergic to cats, so therefore i don't like being around them.
we got our chocolate and then went to cherrie's house for a bit, to warm up and visit. and then headed back home. it's nice to be outside after being cooped up in the house for ever!
anthony fell asleep right before we got home, about a half a block away...his second time doing that!
haven't been feeling so great.
actually i've been sick since last friday.
i blame it on mc donald's. spicy chicken sandwich, then some new chips ahoy cookies, levi's leftover mexican food, and ice cream! too much crap i guess? i would say so!
i haven't really been anywhere other than the post office or church since the new year. and i couldn't take it any longer. plus we were out of bread for sandwiches for lunch, so i decided to have lunch there, and then walmart afterwards. i let the kids play in the play area, anthony crawled all the way up to the top, then couldn't find his way out and started crying, so i went up to get him and down the slide. then he was happy!
but ever since then i've had bad stomach aches, stayed on the couch all day friday, saturday and sunday. i think i feel okay now. i also finally stopped nursing anthony since the 12th, and i was fine until wednesday night and i was hurting so bad. i almost gave in again, i couldn't take it. then i prayed to please let me get over it, i'm tired of nursing it's been four years! so i woke up with the worst stomach ache, dizzyness...etc...that's what i get! geez!
anyway...almost caught up on all the dishes throughout the weekend. i didn't do a single thing. levi did them once yesterday. but i can't complain, because he cooked every meal! ok, i did complain once. then i can start uploading photos from my old scrapbook room...i'll post them tomorrow!
we picked up gulianna from preschool today...she was excited that we were walking home today!
gulianna had her first day of preschool today! she was happy to go. we were lucky to get her in the class, seeing how preschool started last september. of course we didn't move til october. we visited with her teacher ms. laura last night, and luckily they were just getting ready to go back to school after christmas break.
here she is ripping her socks off...seconds after she walked in the door, she does not like socks!
showing us all her fun things she made...
anthony likes to take her hat, silly kid.
today we woke up, heated some water on the wood stove to make some oatmeal for breakfast. went for a walk to jeremy's property. came back, anthony fell asleep on the way home. i always wait for him to take a nap before we go shower at cherrie's house. it is much easier for me to just take the girls, or go by myself than to take all 3 kids. anthony gets into too much stuff or the girls take too long...well isa does. a usual 30-45 min. shower trip turns into almost 2 hours with her. as soon as i got him out of the stroller and into bed, he didn't want to take a nap anymore. change of plans... gave him a bath in the sink, gave him a snack, and then put him back to sleep. left to take showers. came back, went to walmart to go buy a new vacuum! i've been waiting for a stinkin' vacuum. no one carries the belt that we need. i vacuum daily and since ours broke, i've borrowed cherrie's a couple times. the last time i vacuumed was last saturday on new years eve. it was killing me. i hate having unvacuumed floors. anway...bought some groceries. came home. ate lunch. started on dinner.
taco soup:
1 lb. ground beef
1 chopped onion
3 cans {15.5 oz} beans chili, black, kidney {whatever you have}
1 can whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes w/ green chilies {whatever you have}
1 can corn
1 can tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water
cheese, sour cream, fritos
dump everything in a crockpot. sautee onions. brown ground beef and add taco seasoning. add to crockpot. if it cooks down, i'll add a cup more of water.
serve with cheese, sour cream and fritos on top!
i cooked the ground beef on the wood stove...
went outside to load up the wheel barrow full of wood for the night. most days the girls will fill up the wheel barrow, or their wagon {that santa brought them for christmas} and unload it. or levi does it.
i empty it on the porch. the girls carry it into the house and pile it next to the wood stove.
anthony...happy to be outside!
we've had such nice warm, sunny weather all winter...i guess we can't really call it winter then!
we walked to jeremy's property today after breakfast still in our pajamas. anthony loved it, then fell asleep right as we were almost to our driveway.
the boys are making progress over there.
we spent all day outside today, it's been such nice weather all week. i went back to my job of raking leaves. it's been never ending. well actually i never completely finished before it snowed. there's just too many leaves! and plus i didn't wait for all of them to fall off the trees. it happened in two batches. so after the first time, the yard looked fairly clean, and then it looked like i didn't do anything! oh well. and i finally let anthony play outside today, he's been waiting and waiting. i should just find him a snowsuit, so when it does snow again he can go out and play for a bit.
gulianna likes to swing super high!
so i didn't have my camera when i set anthony loose...he was so happy to be outside! he headed for the toys, then the dirt, looked down the hole cautiously, then he ended up in the dirt piles. and before i knew it he was back in the front yard playing right where the water has been melting of the roof, gave himself an ice cold shower...then back to the dirt piles and mud. i went inside to go to the bathroom, came right back out and found him completely muddy with his pants falling off and in the little car.
he threw a fit and didn't want me to put his jeans back on!
after that, i thought since i had my camera out, i better take some photos of the "hole" and just as i grabbed my camera and turned it on, anthony was purposely trying to slide down the hole on his stomach, just like he gets off the bed! so here is where i snapped the photo as i'm running to grab him, i was lucky to barely save him, and get him in the frame without looking into the camera! little dare devil, this hole is pretty deep and rocky! even after that he still wanted down there!
this is the hole they've been digging for our root cellar...lots of huge rocks they've had to dig out.
shortly after that levi set him on the swing, while i went back to raking, and he started to fall asleep...good, after all that running around the property!
i didn't notice his zipper was undone until i took these...oops!
levi wanted to just lay him on the grass for his nap, i knew that wouldn't last that long. he stripped him down and took him inside, he had a l o n g nap!
every year i always take my kids to see santa at the mall, last year i didn't get a picture, but we still went to see him! this year we didn't see him at the mall, instead we visited with him at thanksgiving point. he was the FotoFly Santa! last year we got our family pictures taken at Fotofly in Draper, i don't even think i ever posted them here. anyway...the girls have been so excited to see santa, we almost missed our appointment, i knew i should have booked the very last appt. possible, because of timing. we went to see the lights at temple square and then rushed back to make it late to see santa. so thankful they still took us, yes i did call to tell them we were late! anthony did NOT want to see santa, he threw a tantrum, i thought for sure he wouldn't be in the photos or if he was he'd be crying! but the photographer was trained well...and was sooo good with kids, these are the best ever! they give you the option of having your husband or whoever dress up in the santa outfit or you can use the "real santa" too. levi thought he was too cool, so we used the real santa. it's a great idea though! so it's almost a suprise to your kids if they figure it out, and i like how they don't include his face, because later when your kids compare their santa photos, wondering why santa looks different or has a different beard every year :) {you can have his face in the photos if you want...} i love fotofly...we always the best experience there!
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I love when Christmas falls on a Sunday!
after walking through the Up house, we went to see the lights at Temple Square...we then realized we haven't been there since levi proposed to me eleven years ago...that was my first time! i love all the lights!
poor Anthony! all wrapped up tight in a blanket! he could barely see out, but it was cold! i ordered him a coat online, but a couple days too late for when we actually needed it...it's supposed to be here tomorrow.
as we were leaving, isabella spotted "her santa." she said "mom! their's my santa, i have TWO santas!"
we met my parents in salt lake, they were on their way down to california. we had lunch at rubio's, and then went to see the up house in herriman! it was so cute, reminded me of something at disneyland. gulianna was so excited but she kept saying over and over "where are the balloons, they forgot the balloons!" so other than the balloons it was just about the same as the real thing!
i loved the kitchen appliances...i knew someone had to make retro appliances new. i really really really want them!
and i loved the green cabinets in the small laundry room. perfect size to me.
these turned out blurry but i still love them...anthony and my dad.
the girls loved the princess room!
i loved this idea too, "her royal highness."
freezing outside for one more picture!
captured some photos of my little rascals after church...i could just post the best ones, but all of them are definitely funny to look at!
this skirt finally fits gulianna perfectly! i bought it in 2008, size 12-18 months, she's worn it for three years now. and isa's skirt {that used to be gulianna's} fits her too, i bought it at the di last year? maybe the year before.
isabella grabbing bro...
anthony playing with my lens cap...
gulianna running in front of the camera...
gulianna freaking out because isa is walking in front of her...
anthony eating my lens cap...
girls checking out their skirts...ha ha!
gulianna starting her posing session...
my favorite one...
today's lunch: grilled cheese and soup.
for now this is how we cook, on our wood stove...yes really, see i took a picture just to prove it. we have lots of sandwiches and soups, and use our crockpot.
no stove or oven, no shower...get where i'm going here? life is tough, but still good. doing things as we can afford it. literally. actually we made our last lowes trip a couple weeks ago on the 30th for tile and all the misc. things. now just waiting for levi to get to them.
the day we were going to go buy a used stove, jeremy called seconds before levi was going to make his call, and asked if we wanted to buy his stove/oven. the digital reader went out, so the oven stopped working, but we could order the part. uh huh, heard that one before. anyway we went with a good deal on an expensive stove, and still no part, trying to find someone that can repair it. if not we'll buy another. apparently it's not one of our priorities! no really we can get by, obviously.
my three little rascals eating lunch...i can't believe how big they all are! anthony eats a whole sandwich by himself.
levi bought some paper plates last week...i never use paper plates! decided to use them today. and these are our aqua cups we scored at the DI this summer! before that my kids always drink out of glasses. i'm all about using what i have, i've skipped bottles and sippy cups...not really a fan. unfortunately still nursing though. ha ha! we are working on that...down to 2 times a day.
isa has bangs again...i cut them last week. can't ever figure out her hair. or keep it out of her face for that matter!
today we made it a priority to GO to church. yep, i said go...i didn't say anything about making it on time :) we haven't been in almost 2 1/2 months....eeeek. and feeling it too. it's hard when you don't have your own bathroom/shower to get ready in, and it's at 9am.
i almost thought that we would make it on time, except that levi had to break the tip of his middle finger last night. uh huh. sure, perfect timing. i still made him take the girls to his mom's for a shower that night too.
i had all our clothes ready so we didn't have to decide the morning of. gulianna asked me to button up her dress in the back for her, so by the time i got the last button i noticed she had her shirt on backwards! she's always so good about putting her clothes on. so here i unbutton, then button again...when you give your family one hour to get ready for church that alotted time does not include mishaps! geeez...5 minutes wasted of buttoning up a dress. then there is isa...i know i should know better and plan a whole extra hour for her alone! she has to do everything herself, which is fine with me, but NOT okay that it is on her time! levi bathed anthony in the kitchen sink so that i could continue to curl my hair. forgot to have him grab the shampoo and conditioner at his mom's last night so i'm sure he got bathed with dishsoap. then of course, anthony outgrew his dress clothes! i was debating whether to have him just wear his polo shirt with his khaki pants, but then he doesn't have an actual coat. he has sweaters but camo isn't suitable for church! so we still dressed him in his buttoned up shirt that fits to his elbows now, his vest still did fit, good thing! we just rolled up the cuff, good to go. there was a bunch of mishaps as usual, but now suddenly i have forgotten them.
see his shirt! he has grown so much! just woke up from a nap, early church makes for dark circles...
we made it there at 9:45am i think? sacrament is now last for us. which is new and wierd, but at least we can be on time for that! our church is really really old, actually really cool, just a maze to walk through and get used to. i 'hear' that the older people have 'their seats' and that people with little kids usually sit upstairs. well, i guess if i took someone's spot, i'll hear about later...
after we had our thanksgiving dinner, we went back to the hotel where cherry was staying to let the kids swim! this was their highlight of the day, they've been waiting to "go swimming at the hotel!" or as isa would say "wimming." {she doesn't pronounce her "s" if they are in front of a word.
getting ready!
anthony did not want to be in the water!
levi telling anthony that it's okay...
isa being a little schmuck...
fighting dad...doesn't want a picture.
isa had more fun playing with the towels, she loved the way ronda would wrap her up in a towel...she kept going back!
isa NEVER lets me take photos, or stands still for a second to even snap a few of her, so when she actually did today...i kept shooting away! i love all of these and her cute little face!
levi finally starting putting in the wood stove on wednesday...getting it in place so he can get measurements to build the hearth. we've been waiting for kevin to pick up us some parts in idaho, since it's so much cheaper. he's procrastinated though. that...and levi's been working on cherrie's stuff. and so we've been freezing! actually hasn't been too bad. we've had such nice weather up until the past couple days it just started to get colder. outside temps are much warmer than inside, so we are always outside, until we have to come inside. he got it installed and ready to burn late friday night. 11pm is when we finally were feelin the heat!
no more 50 degrees INSIDE! we've been surviving on a space heater and an oil heater. at night i'd keep the heaters in our bedrooms with the doors shut, and first thing in the morning i would move them to the living room to try and heat it up. it took all day to warm up to 60 degrees, from 50.
so glad we get to have "real heat" now, very grateful! no more freezing! that and we can use our cast iron pan on it too, since we don't have a working stove/oven. i remember saying how i can't wait til it's so hot in here, we get cooked out and i have to stand outside to cool down! yes...we are finally there :) it's much better to say that you are too hot, than freezing.
he also finished up the metal strip on the carpet. his helpers like to be right there to watch every move!
The weather has been really nice all week, compared to a lot of rain last week. Plus all 3 kids were sick, so I just stayed here at Cherrie's house while Levi worked and worked.
But this week we were able to go to the house every day and work on something. Of course Levi and I caught their sickness, I'm fine during the day and then get really sick at night, ugh!
But we are back in business with nice fall weather, it was 80 degrees today!
We picked up our carpet on Wednesday, got the kitchen cabinets out of the storage unit on Thursday, figured out where they would fit, and then I sanded them down. Friday they got primed, and yesterday Levi painted them and got them back on the walls minus the cupboard fronts that I still need to sand, stain, and seal. We don't have a corner cupboard so it looks a bit off but its better than what we have before, lots more cupboards!
Today Levi is finishing up the carpet, he's been working on the pad in between other projects. Then we can set up the living room and bedrooms. And start digging out boxes to actually find what I need! It's so disorganized because they couldn't just unload our boxes into the house, so they went everywhere from the garage to the chicken coop storage, to several storage units. Oh well. If I was actually there to unload it would have been different.
Like I said before we still have the kitchen and bathroom to work on. Kitchen needs countertops, oven, microwave, sink and tile. Bathroom needs everything. we will just use the toilet and sink for now. The rest is just disgusting. We can sleep there, and shower and eat at Cherrie's until its finished!
The girls have been playing with their new neighbor friends Ollie and Ava, they have a trampoline and a swing. And then they come over and play at our house too. Anthony just loves to crawl all over and play in the dirt, he's fine where ever!
I put Anthony down for a nap, went back to check on him and cover him up, because he was fighting it at first...and this is how he ended up!
I never want to forget Anthony and him getting into my purse.
Constantly.
He will grab it from the table, the counter, the doorknob...whereever I happen to leave it.
First he puts the handles around his neck.
Then he empties everything out. Including my wallet.
He'll then move the handles down around his waist, and then speed crawl happily around the house!
Funny boy!
anthony woke up and crawled straight to the kitchen...he remembered about his balloons!
his cheesy grin! always so happy!
i love these colors together! banner printables from house of 3.
birthday presents, one in the tissue paper is from grandma and grandpa.
and time goes by too fast! we love him soooo so much!
it's late, i am done cleaning the house, and i have everything ready for anthony's 1st birthday tomorrow! we are having it at the park close by right after church. i wanted to have it in the backyard, but with all these mosquitos here we would get eaten alive! poor anthony already has! if the girls leave the front door open he sneaks outside and plays in the flower pots and they attack him!
Rene and Anthony were on their way to California, so they stopped in to visit for a couple hours. I almost can't tell them apart when they have sunglasses on and are practically wearing the same thing. Almost.
Isabella loves all the attention she gets from them, being tossed around and thrown up in the air! Gulianna is a bit more shy, she wants it, but then she gets scared!
Anthony always sits like this! Little froggy...
as soon as Levi got home from Idaho, {he's been gone for a while, back and forth helping his dad clean out the shop and moving trailer loads down here} we went to the gardens and had lunch. We haven't seen him much since he hasn't been working at the dealership, a couple hours, to a day here and there when we are lucky...it's hard with him being gone.
This is why I carry my camera every where... so that I can capture THESE moments...
it's not like every day we get to see Isa be nice and loving to her brother!
see...more pouting...
cooling off the kids with water from the fountain...he's telling them how it's done in Italy :)
Today we had lunch by the waterfall. So much more fun that at home! I love coming here to the gardens...I wish this was my personal property...on a smaller scale of course. I love all the space for my kids to run free. We spend a lot of our time here, rather than our boring backyard. I only wish that Levi was home to come along with us.
My girls love to run and roll down this hill, Isabella trips and falls EVERY TIME, right at the beginning! and she gets mad every time too...I can't help but laugh :)
oh...she tripped a second time, going too fast!
as soon as I let Anthony out of the stroller, he heads straight for the water!
Lunch time!
my crappy little umbrella stroller that I need to replace so bad...
the wheels turn and get stuck...but at least I have something! I don't have room for a bigger stroller in the durango anyway...but most days I think it would be nice to have a decent double stroller :)
the pink pouch on the left holds a a couple diapers and wipes, then I have extra water and our lunch in the polka dot bag, and the other pink one holds a bottle of water.
We saw a cute little bunny on the trail...
playing in the water together...
my Gulianna...she loves aqua sooo much!
love these colors together...so inspiring! {and they match Isa's shirt too}
yes...my girls made this water mess by turning the water spouts out of the fountain and onto the pavement! They like to run with their hands cupped with water and spill it onto this bench and pretend they are writing on it with water.
This is my favorite place...the secret garden.
This is Gulianna's favorite spot...she always says "welcome to my princess castle!"
Oh...Gulianna...she's hot and tired here...
And my Isabella, climbing up on every thing!
I love this picture of Gulianna...I know she's day dreaming of a princess castle!
We fed the koi.
I also found a dead bloated frog on the grass, so I went back and threw it to the fish...sure hope one of them didn't choke on it and die! oops!
his little Mowgli walk...
"He's getting away mom!" she's always so protective...
Some body put this huge boy in my bed! When did he grow up???
I took one photo, then he turned around...
Poor kid...it's 1am and he's still not in his pajamas...he went to bed at 10:30pm. Usually I have him ready for bed...today has been one of those days...Lucky for me my girls finally went to bed 5 minutes ago!
Good night!
or good morning...
Today we went to play in the water at the Discovery Gardens...Anthony loves being in the water! He gets so excited and crawls and splashes every where, makes me wish I had a camcorder! The girls had fun too, although they were more preoccupied with drying themselves off in their Tinkerbell and Ariel towels every 5 minutes...whatever makes them happy!
Sunday drives in the Bronco. I love driving through the old part of Lehi...back roads...reminds me of driving to our old home out in Labelle.
We went to a different park today...
Gulianna likes to yell in that little horn thing...she has to announce what she is doing, "I'm going down the swirly slide!" Reminds me of something from Horton Hears a Who.
Playing at the park...this one is are favorite, close by our house, and not very busy. I also like it because it's away from busy roads...lots of grass to run around and play. We always seem to get lucky every time we go to a park, we usually always have it to ourselves, which we like!
Anthony's legs are getting stronger every day, he hasn't stood up by himself just yet, but getting close! He did climb up on that park bench though, I was sitting down while he was standing next to it, and then he put one leg up and pulled himself on...he was so proud of himself.
He could play in this bark ALL DAY LONG!
Anthony FINALLY learned how to suck out of a straw today! I've been teaching him for months...but he just hasn't caught on until now! Before I would have to sip some up through the straw and then pinch it in his mouth! No more, he's all on his own now...and he sure slurped up my oreo shake from Chick-fil-A! Mmmmmm!
And if you've never had an oreo shake from there you are missin' out...or you can get one from Jack in the Fox Box too. Same goodness.
