Fire Station and Awards Ceremony

Claire is really loving preschool. I am so proud of her for making new friends and being a happy girl in class, she just seems so grown up! Her class recently took a field trip to the fire station and my friend Brittany snapped a few shots of the kids.

One of Claire's best buds is Samuel, from church. I'm not quite sure if she just really likes him as a friend or if she has a small crush on him. Surely she is too young!

Last week Greathouse Elementary had its first awards ceremony. Lydia got a "Triple-A" award for Attitude, Academics, and Attendance. She wasn't overly excited about her award, but sure was happy to see her mom in the audience!

The Pumpkin Patch

On Wednesdays we have playdates with friends from church, and last Wednesday we met at the pumpkin patch! There were hundreds of pumpkins on a very tiny plot of land.. but at least I didn't have to chase the kids very far. We sat for some songs, then walked around taking pictures and finding the perfect little pumpkins for the girls to take home.

 

 

 

 

 

Claire took this picture while I held Scarlett... not too bad :)

These are the good years

When Lydia first started school, Josh and I were kinda feeling sorry for her because, honestly, we'd hate to be in her shoes. She has a lot of schooling and difficult years ahead of her. One night we were talking about what school was like for us growing up, and college, and Josh looked at me and said "You know...these are the good years".  I realized that yes, they are! Better than high school, better than college, in my 30 years on this earth I'm learning that the 30's are the good years.

For me, these are the mommy years. Sure, I'll always be a mommy, but these are the years where I have babies and toddlers at home and not in school. These are the years where I've embraced motherhood and my minivan and comfortable clothes,  and no longer pretend I'm a twenty-something. These are the years that my children think I am a queen.

For Josh, the 30's are the power years (according to Papa Jon, but still very true). Now he is defining himself in the workplace and setting his own path to success. He's in more control of his environment.

For both of us, we are having the time of our lives.
These are the good years.

And here's the 3 main reasons life is so awesome right now. I live with 3 girls who make me smile *almost* all day long.

Lydia makes me so proud. Everything she does is to make me proud, and I love her so much for that. Each day she tells me how many stickers are on her chart at school and shows me every paper in her backpack so that I can ooh and ahh over it. Earlier this month we had to go in for a round of vaccinations, and I encouraged her to be brave like a big girl and not cry... and mommy would be so proud. She laid on her back, held my hands and looked me right in the eye and tensed up, fighting the urge to cry while the nurse pricked her 3 or 4 times...and when it was all over we both screamed together "You did it!!!". That was awesome.


Claire makes me laugh just with her presence. She walks funny. She talks funny. She still can't pronounce her "R's" and I blame it on the fact she was born in Britain. She is a picky eater unless it is macaroni, or anything that resembles macaroni. The other night we had penne alfredo, and told her it was macaroni, and she inhaled a whole bowlful. She takes bites that are too big for her little mouth, and we get a kick out of just watching her.

Claire really looks up to her daddy as her protector. Claire will sometimes wake up from a bad dream, and Josh goes in to comfort her, and whatever it was that scared her, he assures her that "daddy can beat up that bear"..or spider...or monster...or whatever she's afraid of. But one night she was afraid of a ghost, and when Josh said he'd beat up that ghost, she sleepily replied "No daddy, you will just punch right through him" then went back to sleep. When Josh was out of town recently, Claire said to me, worriedly "But who is going to protect us?!" When I told her I could, she replied "No mommy, you don't have big muscles." SO true. But I can kick ;)

Scarlett is at a fun age where she is trying to interact and communicate with us more. The first thing Josh taught her how to do was give a kiss, and now all you have to say is "gimme a kiss" and she will sprint right to you with her mouth wide open for a great slobbery kiss.
Scarlett likes to wrestle. In our home, if you lie on your back that means it's wrestle time. Scarlett will toddle over and jump on Josh or Lydia or anyone who is on the floor. Unfortunately she also tries to "wrestle" younger babies who can't walk yet. She's a bully in that way.
Scarlett loves to communicate by blowing raspberries. One time we had a whole raspberry conversation during the drive home from the grocery store.
Scarlett's favorite place in the house is the top of the ladder of the girls' bunk bed. I have to keep the bedroom door shut most of the day, and when it is left open I usually hear a loud "Ehhh" which means "mommy I'm stuck at the top of the ladder again." If she's not there, she's usually stuck up on the stepstool trying to brush her teeth like her sisters.

General Conference

I love General Conference. I love getting to hear from our prophet and apostles, who share such inspiring messages. I had an experience this week that would have really broken me, had it not been for the messages I heard a week ago. Here's some quotes from my favorite talks.

“Charity is resisting the impulse to become offended. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they are, and loving them"- President Monson

" If we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us. Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life." - Elder Uchtdorf

“Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for." -Anderson

"When we have charity, we are willing to serve and help others when it is inconvenient and with no thought of recognition or reciprocation." -Allred  

"Experience has taught me that if we exercise our faith and look to God for help, we will not be overwhelmed with the burdens of life. We will not feel incapable of doing what we are called to do or need to do. We will be strengthened, and our lives will be filled with peace and joy" - Cook

"The most important thing a father can do for his daughter is to love her mother.”- Dalton

  "It is not expected that you go through life without making mistakes, but you will not make a major mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the Spirit." – Packer

"Compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God." - Uchtdorf

Saturday afternoons often look like this

Lydia has soccer in the morning, then we get home and the girls find a way to make a mess outside while dad does yardwork. It usually involves water.

 

Then they are freezing cold, so they then decide to either change into swimsuits, or just get naked.
 
When they're ready to warm up, they get their camping chairs out in the sun to relax.
 
Claire was quite the nudist at age 2, but now at age 3, she has progressed to wearing at least panties. And a headband.


Saturday is also the day for family bike rides. My bike has a seat for Scarlett, Josh's bike has a seat for Claire, and Lydia leads the way on her own. Usually it's just to grandma's house or the duck pond.

The Viets have a piano!

I knew someday when my kids were older we would get a piano and begin lessons. I didn't think it would happen so soon, but when I mentioned this to my friend Shauna, BAM she was on a mission to find me the deal of a century on a piano. For a couple weeks she was hitting estate sales, checking Craigslist, looking online, etc. THEN, the timing was so perfect, my mom happened to be working an estate sale with this beautiful black piano. The three of us teamed up to check out the piano and bargain with the seller. I am very grateful to my mom and Shauna for getting this for our family.

So now, we have a piano. Everytime I sit down to try to play, there are at least 4 other hands banging the keys with me. It makes me smile. And it makes me grateful there's a lock on this thing!

My lessons begin next month!

I love you MOST

The people that I love most in this world:

our family at Pismo Beach this summer

One of the favorite movies in our home is Tangled. There are so many things I love about this movie - including my new theme song "Mother Knows Best" - but I especially love that my girls say this every night:
I love you
I love you more
I love you ...Most

Thanks Rapunzel.

This is why I blog

It is FINISHED! I have finally gone to blurb.com and published my blog for the years we were living in Scotland. There it is - nearly 200 pages of our adventure abroad.
 
This is why I blog. Someday my girls will forget all the adventures we had as a family, and we will all forget many of the things we experienced living overseas. Now these memories are printed.
Admittedly, when we got the book in the mail and looked through it, both Josh and I got a little emotional. It's hard to stomach that we will likely never go back. We'll never go back to that beautiful country that taught us so much about being parents, friends, disciples, and better people. The Scottish really know how to Find Joy in the Journey. They put their families first, and have fun in rubbish weather. Sometimes...but only sometimes... I really miss that rubbish weather :)

Scarlett's birthday and photo shoot

This year we kept it simple for Scarlett's birthday. Each of the girls went to Toys R Us with me to pick out a toy they would give to Scarlett, and mommy & daddy got her clothes! Yay for new clothes and not 5-yr-old hand-me-downs.
The best part of her birthday was having Mimi & Papa and Uncle Jake here for the weekend. AND making pink cupcakes.

She didn't want to blow out the candle... she kept trying to grab it!!

She is so thrilled that mommy let her have something so messy!

mmm... more please!

Grandma got her some great "Scarlett" outfits for her birthday, so we then had a little photo shoot. I just love this little lady so much!!

 

12 months of Scarlett

I have thoroughly enjoyed every single month with this little lady. She is my angel.

 

Happy Birthday Scarlett!

Septemeber 15th, 2010

The summer of 2011 - hot & dry

The summer is "over" because school has started, but today it was 100 degrees outside.

The summer of 2011 will be known as the hottest and driest ever in Midland.

Midland had a record-breaking 54 days of 100-degree temperatures, and that number is still climbing.

The state of Texas has the record for the hottest summer in all of the United States, with an average temperature near 87.

Every county in Texas is in a drought. And 80% of Texas is in exceptional drought.. the worst rating.  Some small cities in west Texas have to truck in their water, because the lakes are dry. Crops and cattle are dying, and wildfires are burning acres of land. 

Fortunately through all of this, our family has been absolutely fine. Of course there was that one weekend when our A/C quit, and the temperature inside the house got up to 91.. so we had to move in with my parents for a few days. And unfortunately it's been too hot to go on bike rides or play at the park. Most of our time outside was spent in a swimming pool.

I am very thankful for swimming pools and air conditioning. And a water well.

The summer of 2011 will also be known as the summer of the rafting trip. Josh went on a high adventure trip to Colorado with some of the young men from church. They did whitewater rafting, four-wheeling, and hiking. They had a traumatic experience their first day on the river (of which I am in no way qualified to write about), but they are a remarkable group of young men who were able to find strength in eachother, and enjoy the rest of their trip in the mountains. Josh had lots of crazy and funny stories to tell, and I kept thinking "man, we never did stuff like that at girls camp!"

Here's a few pics of their trip.

The boys after their four-wheeling trip in the mountains

At the beginning of their wilderness hike

Snow.. in June

Beautiful hike... but they were really looking for some mountain lakes to fish in

They never found the lake... but instead played in the snow

Boys...