All Aboard

Last night we took a ride on the Polar Express. This was a wonderful family outing. We boarded the train in Heber and rode to the North pole where we were able to see Santa Clause. Along the way we enjoyed hot cocoa and cookies, a reading of the book The Polar Express, singing and entertainment by elves. When Santa boarded the train he gave each of the children a bell. This was one of the best Christmas activities we have ever done as a family. My girls loved the whole experience and had lots of fun. A huge THANK YOU!!!!! to Grandma and Grandpa for taking all of us on an unforgettable trip. We had lots of fun watching the kids along the way, we especially loved watching Evan show off his tummy and taking his own picture. The kids had a great time dancing with the elves, even Parker danced with them. After the train ride, we had some great Mexican food at Don Pedro's. Parker and Ben had a contest to see who could eat the most, Ben won, but don't tell Parker. Thanks again Mom and Dad for a wonderful night!!!

Twilight the Movie

I read all of the Twilight series this year, not knowing what I was getting into. I am not what you would call a twilighter, but I did enjoy the books. Last Saturday I went with some girl friends to see the movie. I was a little apprehensive about seeing the movie just because the Edward in my imagination was much better looking than the one in the movie. I went with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. It certainly wasn't as good as the book, but what movie is? I enjoyed the movie, there were scenes that made me laugh out loud and some that were kind of cheesy, but overall I am going to give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Company Christmas Party

Last night was Ben's company Christmas party. Since I really don't know the people he works with, it really isn't my favorite place to go. Ben and I have both been sick this week, Ben with a sinus infection and I have had a stomach bug. After a hike from the parking lot across the UVU campus to the party and some cold, bland food, we were able to stay for the best part of the party, heck any of the parties we have been to. They booked Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band to come and play. They are one of my favorite groups. It was awesome to see them so up close and personal. They played for an hour and a half. If you have ever seen them in concert you know how much fun they are to watch. Afterward Ben bought me their newest CD and I got it autographed by the whole band, I even got to hug Ryan Shupe! It was awesome! Although we didn't win any prizes this year, the concert was worth it.

I am Thankful

Thank goodness last week has passed. All went well this weekend with our extra child and today I am back to just my extra screaming baby who thankfully is asleep. Yea!!! We have talked about Thanksgiving at our house a lot the last few weeks, we have paper turkeys everywhere and we have played the glad game many times. Yesterday in church the relief society presidency spoke about gratitude. My mom did a wonderful job, as well as the others. The president, Sister Dibb talked about being thankful to parents for our lives. She said that her son sends her flowers on his birthday to thank her for giving him life. I thought this was very sweet, even Addy payed close attention to all of the talks. Just a few minutes ago Addy came and brought me a picture that she drew of the two of us on the first day of fall. Addy is just learning to read and spell, so in her best spelling she wrote on the back "Mom I luv you you doo a lot for me you doo a lot for r family love Addy." This brought tears to my eyes. What a sweet child. I am so grateful for my two girls. Some times I wake up and can't believe all the things that I am blessed with. I have a nice warm home, food to eat, a great husband and two wonderful kids. I am also grateful for flush toilets, hot showers, my washer and dryer even though I hate laundry. I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and that I can repent when I screw up. I am grateful for my family and Ben's family. I am grateful for gluten-free pie, chocolate and egg nog. I am grateful for my health, my life and my freedom. I am thankful for my friends, I love all of you and I have learned many things from you. Thank You! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

SERENITY NOW

Warning:My blog is my journal and I am about to vent, so continue reading at your own discretion.
I wasn't a fan of Seinfeld until I married Ben. My favorite episode is the one where Mr. Costanza is diagnosed with high blood pressure and so he uses a relaxation tape to help him learn how to well, relax. The voice on the tape tells him to say "serenity now" whenever he is getting tense. Throughout the episode he gets stressed and starts yelling "Serenity Now", then his wife says to him,"I don't think you're supposed to yell it." I love this episode. "Serenity Now" has been my mantra for quite some time now. I even have a big sign by my bedroom that says serenity now. When I get stressed or frustrated I yell (not too loud) SERENITY NOW! Addy and Sydnee laugh at me when I do this which then helps me to laugh too.
Here comes the venting.
I watch a 6 month old baby in my home five days a week. I swear he is a devil child, all he does is scream all day long. The kid never sleeps, and unless I am holding him and playing with him, he screams. Serenity Now. In the last 11 days I have had close to 20 extra children in and out of my home while parents worked, played or what not. Granted I don't mind helping people out, but this is getting ridiculous. Yesterday I told Ben if I have to wipe one more bottom or nose that doesn't belong to me I'm gonna scream. I had to scrub urine out of my carpet yesterday and today vomit. I am getting frustrated because I haven't had time with my own children or even time to myself(what's that?) Today I had my two plus Addy's friend who is staying with us for a few days, devil child and an 11 month old. My house is suffering, my kids are suffering and well, I am suffering. Right now instead of doing my hair or putting my makeup on I am blogging and hoping that by venting I will feel better. Serenity now! I think I need to learn how to say "no". First I need some chocolate and maybe a nap. HaHa!

Picture Tag

I've been tagged!
Here are the instructions.
1.Go to your pictures
2.Upload the fourth picture in the fourth file.
3.Post
4. Tag 4 friends.

This is Addy hamming it up with her otter pop wrapper. During the summer Ben's dad inflates their big raft and fills it with water for the grandkids to swim in. Grandma always breaks out the otter pops for her girls.
I tag Lisa, Laura, Jamie and Kristie.

Family Home Evening

Last night for family home evening we talked about being thankful. We started with the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers and only one said "thank you". We talked about how we can say thank you to Heavenly Father and Jesus. After our lesson, we made turkeys out of paper and wrote some of the things we are grateful for on the feathers. Ben helped Sydnee glue her turkey together. After all of the feathers were glued on, Ben glued a piece of paper on to hold the feathers down. Ben told the girls that it was the turkeys hind end. Addy grabbed a pen and drew a line down the middle to make it look like a hind end. She is truly her father's daughter.

Buddies

Sydnee is my buddy. We spend lots of time together which I love. I had all of last week off from babysitting,so, Sydnee and I had lots of one on one time together which was great. On Wednesday we played in the snow after we dropped Addy off at school. We then had hot chocolate and curled our hair. Having two girls has certainly brought out my girlie side.

Crystal's New Church Calling

Yesterday I was called to be the first counselor in the young women's presidency. I am so excited to be back in young women's again. I have had the opportunity to be the assistant camp director for the past 2 years. I am thrilled that I get to work with the young women every week now!
I am so grateful for the previous leaders, I have learned many things from them, and I am so excited to learn from the new presidency.

Look Dignified

Ben and I were a little punch drunk after our big date on Friday. Ben's sister had brought us a bag of hand-me-down clothes for Sydnee. We have to inspect and sort through the clothes first to avoid modesty issues. Ben and I sorted through the clothes after the kids were in bed. Here are some pictures of the clothes that were discarded. Ben kept telling me to look dignified, but it's really hard to when you're wearing a skort on your head.
P.S. I know we're dorks, but we had fun!

Playing in the Leaves

My mom invited the girls to come over and play in the leaves Saturday. They had lots of fun even though the leaves were wet.

Halloween 2008

I really don't like Halloween that much. I was always sick as a kid and had to miss out on the trick-or-treating. Now that I have kids, I figure I will have to at least have some fun with this crazy holiday. This year I decided that since I missed out on lots of Halloween costumes during my childhood, I would dress up. My kids thought this was great. We actually strayed from our usual princess theme this year. Addy wanted to be Snoopy. I realize most kids her age don't even know who Snoopy is, but Ben and Addy love to watch Charlie Brown movies together. Ben wanted to dress up this year too. He dressed up as Charlie Brown. He and Snoopy looked great! Sydnee changed her mind every hour, but finally dressed as Tinkerbell. We started our day by going to the grade school for their Halloween parade. After school, it was time for our annual trip to Ben's office for lots of candy and spooky cubicles. The kids love to go to dad's office and get candy. I hope they continue to like it because that means fewer houses to go to. The girls had lots of fun walking through the haunted conference rooms and the fun house. We stopped at Aunt Camille's house and made trips to both of the grandparent's houses. After the paying of parent taxes, we had pizza for dinner and Addy had lots of fun handing out the candy. I have to admit that I enjoyed Halloween a lot more this year. If you are wondering what costume I wore, well, I went as my alter ego, a witch.

A day late and a dollar short

I'm always behind these days. I can't seem to get my laundry done or balance my checkbook. So, here are just a few of the things that have happened in our family lately.
My nephew Tyson was baptized!
Addy is learning how to read
We carve pumpkins with power tools.
Halloween...Candy and costumes, thank goodness it's over
More home improvement projects completed, only 5 more to go, hehe.
Ben and I go on a date, alone. This is the first time in months!
Fun with hand-me-down clothes.
Ben and I both join Facebook, what a time waster, but it's fun.
I'm getting a new church calling (more details to come)
Girls night out with Aunt Camille. Fabric stores and Thai food, yum!
Finally got my housework done for the week, we won't discuss the laundry though.

Road Trip Part 2: Musical Beds

Ben thought I should add this. He thought it was funny.After reading this you will understand why I don't allow my children to sleep with me at home. While on our road trip, the girls were too excited to sleep. First we started with the bedtime routine. I even let the kids stay up and watch a Halloween cartoon before bed. At 9:00 it was lights out. Addy and I were in one bed and Sydnee and Camille were in the other. The beds were terribly uncomfortable. Addy kept cuddling up to me, except she would climb up on me. I like my personal space. Sydnee kept putting her feet on Camille. Both girls were giggling and being very silly. Sydnee came over to my bed and laid down with me and Addy. Then Addy got up and climbed in bed with Camille. Next thing I know, Addy is making herself a bed on the floor,Sydnee follows and does the same. Addy then climbs back in with me and Sydnee takes over Addy's floor bed. Sydnee got back in bed with Camille. Sydnee wanted more pillows and Camille told her she could only have one. A minute later Sydnee started to cry. She came to me and told me she wanted more pillows. At this point both girls are exhausted. I rock Sydnee and she rubs her woobie until she falls asleep. I then place Sydnee in bed with me. At 3:30 a.m. I woke up and couldn't find Sydnee, she had gotten back in bed with Camille. I couldn't go back to sleep. At 5:30 Sydnee climbed back in bed with me and Addy. Addy then tells me she's hungry. I tell her it's too early,go back to sleep. I now get shoved to the edge of the bed, the bed is so broken down that it slopes. To keep myself from falling off the edge, I have to put one leg down and brace myself against the nightstand with a pillow. Finally, I have to get up and go to the bathroom. I lost my spot. I finally give up and lay across the foot of the bed. I get kicked and squished. Then Addy snuggles up again. By now it's 7:30 a.m. and time to get going. I have decided that the next time I travel with the girls, I am going to give them Benadryl and I am going to get a roll away bed just for me, the girls can fight over the big bed.

Road Trip

Road Trip

Our family is known for taking interesting road trips, like the time we went to Mt. Topaz to look for Topaz, or the trip to who knows where to find obsidian so dad could make arrowheads, and the list continues. This road trip can be added to the list. Don't get me wrong it was a lot of fun, but our purpose for the trip was not that normal. My sister Camille, was given a very old watch that belonged to one of our ancestors. Camille researched and found that she was buried in the Wilford cemetery in St. Anthony, Idaho. UEA finally came and we set off on our cemetery tour. We first stopped in Ogden at the Ogden city cemetery to find some of our ancestors, then it was off to Brigham City cemetery for some more searching. Thank goodness for the Sexton's of these cemeteries or we might still be looking. After searching we found a park that looked like a great place for a picnic. We fueled up on lunch and hit the playground. The girls were able to get some of their wiggles out. Back on the road again, we took our time making many rest stops along the way. We finally arrived in Rexburg and our hotel. After a short rest we went back out for a tour of the town and lots of reminiscing by Camille. She went to Rick's college, just a few years ago;) We drove up to the temple and walked around. It is a beautiful temple. It was really cold, so we didn't spend too much time on the temple grounds.
The next morning we headed to St. Anthony to find the Wilford Cemetery. It was out in the middle of nowhere, but it was gorgeous. This well kept, very small cemetery sat in the middle of several fields. You could see the Teton mountains in the distance. After searching some more, we finally found the headstones we were looking for. Yea!! It was neat to learn more about my ancestors and to go pay respect to them. They were awesome people and I am grateful to them for their sacrifices.
While driving through St. Anthony on our way back to Rexburg, we saw a park that looked really old and cool. We stopped for a snack and some fun. We played on the playground for a long time. We all had lots of fun on the merry-go-round. Then it was off to Bear World. Bear world was lots of fun. We drove through the park and saw elk, deer and buffalo. We then entered the bear part of the park. It was amazing. We drove in and instantly there were bears everywhere. I could have reached out the car window and touched them, but I didn't. We were behind the tour truck for a little while and could watch people feeding the bears. Wow! It was awesome! After snapping lots of pictures of bears, we headed to the petting zoo, where we all petted and fed deer. After washing our hands, we went to the kiddie rides. Sydnee and Addy had a blast riding all of the rides. We finished up by walking around the gift shop and then having a picnic lunch. Then it was back on the road to go home. We drove and drove for what seemed like forever. We made frequent stops for the kiddos to get out and run around. The girls did really well,thank goodness for portable DVD players. We finally made it home just in time for the girls to go to bed. Ben was waiting for us when we got home (he was in Alabama on business all week). We had a great time, but we were all very glad to be home.

Top Ten for the week of October 13th-18th

1. Happy Birthday Mom and Tyson! We celebrated with a family dinner on Sunday.
2. My sister Camille won a major award the ACTE teacher of the year award! Congratulations sis.!
3. Addy fell on the playground and got a huge fat lip. She put her teeth through her lip in two places. Hey, I didn't say all of these things were good, just the ten things from last week:)
4. I won a major award too. I received a 10 year service award from the ambulance. Too bad it came after I quit.
5. I am now babysitting again. I watch a little boy named Alexander who is 6 months old and cute as can be.
6. Ben went to Huntsville, Alabama for business. He was able to visit the space museum while he was there and said it was awesome.
7. Road trip with Aunt Camille!
8. Visited the Rexburg, Idaho temple. It is gorgeous.
9. Bear World
10. Friday night, we're all back home together again.
    

Keeping Busy

After walking Addy to school on Tuesday, I was so cold that I crawled in bed under the covers and then fell asleep. Poor Sydnee, she just laid next to me and watched Dora. The next morning after walking Addy to school, I decided to get busy with a project so I wouldn't waste my time napping. I decided to paint my two front doors blue. I bought the paint over a year ago before we even moved in. I got busy and after a few hours, I now have two beautiful blue doors. I think they look great with my yellow house. The only bad thing is that my neighbor liked it so much, that she painted her front door and shutters the same color. So much for being unique. The next task is to paint the shutters. I will post a picture of my cute house, when the shutters are back up.

The Bedtime Game

Every night at our house, we go through our same bedtime routine. Jammies, brush teeth, lotion, say prayers. Then we go through our second routine, does anyone need to go potty? Does anyone need a drink? After a trip to the potty and drinks. Ben and I sigh....they're finally in bed. Then the third routine begins. The bedtime game. The girls see how many times they can come out of their room. We have tried everything from threats to hall passes to try and eliminate this game. Last nights rendition was one of the most entertaining we have had in a while. Here are some of the reasons for the girls getting out of bed.

• I'm thirsty
• I'm really, really thirsty
• I have to go potty
• My tummy hurts
• My tummy hurts real bad
• My cold hurts (runny nose)

And here are my favorites from last night

• Daddy, can I have some bacon salt?
• My feet are too hot, I can't sleep

My little angels. It's hard not to laugh sometimes, but then they win the game and we don't.

Sweet Sydnee

My mom watched the girls a few days ago so I could have lunch with a friend. Sydnee went to grandma's wearing not one, but two ballerina outfits. When my mom took Sydnee to the bathroom and helped her get her dress-ups down, Sydnee told my mom,"this is who I am today. Today I am a ballerina, yesterday I was a cowgirl." You just have to love kids and their wisdom. Wouldn't it be great to decide who you're going to be today? Today, I am a mom in black sweats and tinkerbell socks. But tomorrow, I might be a princess or a ballerina.

Elegy for a Potato Bug

Addy was so proud of herself, she caught a potato bug and put it in a jar with dirt and leaves. She named it Annie Mariah. Addy took great care of her pet potato bug. She made sure she had leaves to eat and lots of play time. The next afternoon, Addy came running to me and crying. She said she was trying to be careful with Annie and open her up, but she broke. After some hugs and kisses and stifled laughter, Addy told me that she put Annie in the fountain. I guess burial at sea is the way to go for a potato bug. Poor Annie Mariah. May she rest in peace.

Crazy Hair

Addy's Spike

Sydnee trying to have crazy hair too

I think I have calmed down enough that I can tell the story of Addy's crazy hair. Last Friday, Addy had asked me to put little braids in her hair. While she ate her breakfast I made two tiny braids, one on each side of her part. Sunday morning just before general conference started, I tried to get her to take them out so her hair would be frizzy. She would not give in and let me take them out. Ben started teasing her about cutting the braid out and putting it in her baby book. The teasing continued and instead of Addy saying "no" she said "ok." So what does Ben do? He gets the scissors and cuts the braid off. My jaw hit the floor and my temper flared. I couldn't believe that he would do that. Now Addy has a spike coming out of her head, or maybe it's a horn. To say the least I was furious. Ben just kept saying, "but she wanted me to." My argument was that she's only five. How often do we give her what she wants? Well, it got ugly from there and We watched conference in different rooms. Thankfully I have been able to hide her spike fairly well. Ben and I are speaking to each other once again. The moral of the story is, don't give in to a dad's teasing or a five year old's begging.

I Love Fall

Every year I drag the family up the canyon to drive the Alpine loop and look at the fall leaves. This year we stopped at Cascade springs and walked around. The leaves were absolutely gorgeous. The girls had a great time walking around picking up leaves and acorns and looking for fish. We reminded the girls that everything was created by Heavenly Father. I am so glad that Heavenly Father created this beautiful world and the different seasons for us to enjoy.
After our trip to Cascade springs, we drove up over the mountain into Heber. It was starting to rain and there was a rainbow in the distance. Once again what a beautiful world.
The day was completed with dinner at Granny's. Sadly, Granny's just isn't as good as it used to be. We still had a great time.

Carpool cuties

Things I've heard while driving kids home from school.
"I'm glad Timothy goes home first so he won't bother us anymore."
"You can do it,(buckle seatbelt) you're in kindergarten. You can do everything because you're in kindergarten."
I love kids!

Pure evil

My friend Laura had a link on her blog stating that evil is real. I agree with her. Want to find out for yourself click here.
Mmmmmm, yummy!

Highlights from the week of September 22-28

• We get a visit from Buddy Bear. A homework assignment for kindergarten. Addy brought home a teddy bear and played with it, then we had to write in Buddy Bear's journal what things we did with Buddy.
• Ben and I got to watch a movie without children. The Spiderwick Chronicles, excellent movie. We love netflix!
• I learned that we have 28 light switches in our house (more kindergarten homework)
• Addy tells me that I am really old and that when she has kids I will be a grandma and then I will be even older. Aren't kids great for self-esteem.
• Babysat neighbors baby who had a cold.
• Tri-ward preparedness fair: It's the end of the world as we know it.
  
• Primary activity(no kids for 2 hours). The kids learned all about missionaries.
• Ben and I get the garage cleaned. We now have room for 2 cars in our garage, too bad we have a wall instead of a garage door.
• I actually went to the R.S. general broadcast and got to see the whole thing. It was awesome.
  
• Ran into a good friend, Andrea. I didn't even hurt her(that's for you Ben)
  
• Both girls have colds, left church early and watched ratatouille instead of going to primary.
• Both girls sick= more cuddle time for mom.
• Addy is well enough or drugged up enough to go to school, I get to see Mitchell (granola bar boy). He's a cutie!
  

T.V.P.

With the bad economy and all of the other unrest in the world, I thought hey, I'm gonna learn how to use my food storage. We have lots of wheat and spaghetti which don't work with my celiac disease. We also have lots of beans. On the back of one shelf, I found a can of textured vegetable protein. I thought hey, we're poor and we're out of chicken. I'll try it. I made a vegetable stir fry and after reconstituting the TVP, threw it in and added lots of soy sauce and served it over rice noodles. It wasn't too terrible, but I think we will save it for an emergency.

I'm not quite ready for all of this

It all started with a granola bar. Addy came home from school with a granola bar in her backpack. So I asked her where it came from and our conversation went something like this:

Me: Where did you get the granola bar?
Addy:Mitchell gave it to me.
Me:Why did he give it to you?
Addy: because he likes me and I helped him at school.
Me: Do you like him?
Addy: yes.
Me: Did he give one to anyone else?
Addy: no, just me.
Me: Is he your boyfriend?
Addy: Yes!

Okay, I know she's only in kindergarten, and it was only a granola bar, but I'm not ready for this.

Do I know how to have fun or what?

Last Thursday, I finally had my knee surgery. After a year of making snap, crackle and pop noises every time I moved, I decided it was time. After a long stressful day of waiting and wearing a lovely gown and paper shorts, the nice OR nurses came and gave me the good drugs. The next thing I remember was waking up with a tube in my throat. After the tube was removed and I woke up a little more, I was taken to the recovery area. After a dose of Percocet, I was allowed to get dressed which was oh so fun, and go home. Getting in the house was a joke. I couldn't quite get the hang of the crutches. I finally made it to bed and Ben helped get me all set up. Now that it's five days later and I am no longer on pain meds, things are okay. I get to start physical therapy tomorrow which really excites me. If you get bored and need a laugh, come watch me try to walk around the house or get up off the couch.

Rendezvous

Back in July Ben said that he thought it would be fun to go to a mountain man rendezvous. I used to go every year with my parents when I was a kid so I thought it would be fun. So, we loaded up the car and took off to lovely Evanston, Wyoming. We stayed at the motel 6, I would not recommend staying there. It was kind of a dive, but then we decided that everything in Wyoming is a dive. Saturday morning came and we drove to Fort Bridger. Wow! I was amazed at how big this event was. When I was a kid and went with my parents, there wasn't much at the rendezvous. This time, there was tons of tents and teepees, food and entertainment. The girls eyes were huge. I just hope they didn't notice all of the men walking around in their loin cloths. The girls had a great time watching people making candles and bullets and planing boards by hand. After a few hours, we had all had our fill of mountain men. We found a few little trinkets to bring home and found our way out of the maze. We then headed for our next destination, the booming metropolis of Rawlins, Wyoming. We wanted to extend our vacation and decided that Yellowstone was too far away, so we thought we would check out Martins Cove. My fourth great grandmother came across the plains with the handcart pioneers and I thought it would be really cool to see some of the historical places along the trail. This time we stayed at the Best Western, which was not a dive. The girls had fun swimming at the pool and we ordered Kung Fu Panda and watched it on our huge comfy beds. Sunday morning we headed to Martins Cove. We drove through some of the finer parts of Wyoming and wandered through a canyon. It was great, the road would go from paved to unpaved and back again several times. We saw lots of antelope and pretty scenery. When we reached the end of the line, we pulled into this little tiny city called Alcova. They had one tiny little convenience store and a few trailers. After looking at the map again, we finally figured out how to get to Martins Cove. We finally made it. The visitors center was very nice, but I don't think they get a ton of visitors. We were swarmed by the couple missionaries who were happy to have us there. We pulled a handcart around the gardens, watched a movie and wandered through the visitors center and grounds. We decided to hike out to the actual cove. We got to the fork in the trail and decided that we had gone far enough. We sat and rested and the girls found some rabbits that kept them entertained for quite some time. We made our way back to the car and hit the road again. After a nice dinner in Rawlins, Ben decided he wanted to go home. We drove through a horrible rainstorm and finally made it home at about 1:30 am. We had a lot of fun as a family, we haven't been on a family vacation in a long time.

It's finally here

It's finally here, the first day of kindergarten. I still am having a hard time believing that I am old enough to have a child in kindergarten. Addy was so excited this morning. At 7:20 this morning Addy climbed in my bed and asked "mommy, is it time to get ready for school yet?" It only took Addy about five minutes to get dressed since she had chosen her clothes several days ago. When we reached the school the kids lined up at the door and waited for their teacher Mrs. Durrant to come and get them. The principal had the kids wave and blow their parents a kiss as they walked into the school. And then she was gone. I have to admit I actually teared up for just a minute. I am so happy for Addy and I know she will love school. Meanwhile, Sydnee and I are having a blast playing together. Sydnee is all decked out in her Snow White outfit playing with the dollhouse. She ditched me a few minutes ago to play on her own. I love being a mom and I love both of my girls. It's always fun to turn the page and start another chapter in life.

What? From Ben.

Addy starts kinder garden tomorrow. She is very excited. I am excited too. I can be a home work helper and have one more person that is smarter then me. That is to say that everyone is smarter then mommy and daddy, even the 7 year old neighbor kid. Addy, this is it, from now on you work just like the rest of us. You need to like it or learn to like it. It will be great.

I had Peruvian food yesterday. It was quite good. I never would have suspected that one could serve a onion, tomato, zucchini and shrimp stir fry over limp french fries with rice on the side and have it be eatable. In truth it was actually VERY good. The kids actually ate there food so it must have had kid appeal too. Wow.

At work I took some time to work on a nifty little program call PRTG. It does easy SNMP monitoring not as flexible as cacti but easier to configure and has remote probes that allow easy monitoring of remote sites. It will also do WMI monitoring so I can get exchange metrics too. It saves me time. For $500 that is not to bad. Any one that needs SNMP monitoring should look at it.

Check out this video it is the best I have seen in quite some time:

What a week...

What a crazy week we have had. Monday, Addy went in for her kindergarten assessment test and to meet with her teacher. Addy was so excited that she was up, dressed and ready to go at 7:30 a.m. which was great except we didn't have to be at the school until 9:00 a.m. I can't complain because Addy is like a teenager in the sleep department, she doesn't like to be woke up and she complains and asks for five more minutes. Like I said before she's 5 going on 15.
The other exciting thing for Addy was that for the second time in her life she got something stuck up her nose. I couldn't believe it. Two years ago Addy stuck a bead up her nose and cried "get it out, get it out!" This time she came running upstairs crying and saying "my nose hurts." When I asked why, she told me she had a little bead up her nose. Sure enough there was a little rhinestone bead thing up her nose. Mom to the rescue, again. Now, here is my mommy tip. If your child ever does this you can usually save a trip to the doctor by pushing on the other nostril and blowing in your kid's mouth. Thank goodness it worked , yet again. The best part is that when asked why she had a bead in her nose. Addy's story and she is sticking to it, is that she was sniffing the floor for garbage and she accidentally sniffed the bead and it got stuck. Whatever!
Sydnee is my early riser, she loves to come in my room and crawl in bed with me. The other morning she climbed in and crawled over my legs. She then told me that my legs were scratchy like daddy's face. I guess it's time to shave.
Last night we went to a Salt Lake Bees game. We had awesome seats, free food and a great time. Sydnee had to wear her black ballet skirt over orange shorts with a gray shirt, yellow socks and these huge purple sunglasses. She has quite the fashion sense, or maybe not. Sydnee acted like she does at church, checking out what's on the floor, shopping for laps to sit on and asking for a drink. I am not sure the kids enjoyed it, but Addy and Sydnee swear they had a great time.

From 5 to 15

Addy is five years old going on fifteen. Some days I have to remind her that I am the mom and that she's the kid. Addy has been reminding me for some time that she needs new shoes and a backpack for school. Finally the day arrived that we could go shopping. The kids had to clean their play room before we could leave, I don't think they have ever cleaned so fast. Our shopping spree started at Payless shoes where Addy was very opinionated about the shoes she chose. She finally decided that she could get the Tinkerbell tennis shoes and some brown Mary Jane's. Addy reminded me again that she needed a backpack so we headed to the Walmart. After looking at every single backpack in the store she finally decided on a red backpack with pink flowers. I think we're finally ready for Kindergarten. Every day Addy asks if she can do homework, weird child. I am glad she is so excited for school. I am looking forward to it as well. Addy is full of additude (Addytude) I hope she outgrows it before she is a teenager.

Sydnee is still my totally laid back angel child. She is so easy going and funny. She and Addy are total opposites. It's amazing how different two children from the same family can be.

They grow up too fast

I can't believe it. My girls are growing up way too fast. It seems like only yesterday that they were wee little babies who were totally dependent on me. Now, they are both so independent that some days I feel totally unimportant.
Sydnee is now potty trained. Yea!!! For months I tried everything to bribe/encourage her to lose the diapers and be a big girl. Princess panties and M&M's just didn't do anything for her. One day Sydnee spotted a Snow White Barbie doll at the store and asked if she could have it. I told her that if she would go potty and keep her panties dry all day then she could have it. two days later she was wearing those cute little princess panties and playing with her new Barbie doll. As fabulous as it is to no longer have to buy or change diapers it's kind of sad at the same time. I am slowly dealing with the fact that I may never change a diaper again and that my babies are all grown up(sigh).
Addy is way too grown up too. She starts kindergarten in just a few short weeks. While at the store the other day, Addy informed me that she needed some school clothes and a new backpack. I just about fell over. My child is going to start school soon. Wow! We are now going to be part of the public school system, crazy. Getting used to being 30 has been hard enough, but having a child in school is making me feel really old. Addy is so excited and so am I, but once again it's kind of sad to see one phase end and another begin. Wow! That was like really deep and sappy. I think I'm suffering from the baby hungries something awful!

Girls Camp

I think I am almost recovered from girls camp. We spent four days at Camp Hunt which is a boy scout camp at Bear Lake. The lake is gorgeous, the camp not so much. After a three hour drive we set up our tents in a swamp like area with mosquitoes the size of humming birds (I have 60 bites to prove it). Going to the bathroom was quite an adventure, they were one step above an outhouse. You had to drop your drawers before backing into the stall. Then you had to hold the plywood door closed and pray for the best. Later I was told about the Adults only toilet. There was certainly more room and the door locked, but it was still a little awkward staring at the birds nest in the ceiling. The food was pretty horrible as well. I took my own bread and peanut butter thank goodness. Those are my two main complaints with lovely Camp Hunt. Now for the positive. I had wonderful girls and leaders to work with. I had ten first year girls who were very sweet and two leaders that I worked with that were lots of fun. The girls were able to swim, canoe, shoot rifles and try archery. We also made some crafty stuff. The highlight of the whole camp experience came on the last full day of camp. We participated in a trust walk. Each girl/leader was blindfolded and led to a ropes course. After receiving instructions we were given an egg to represent the most precious thing we have (mine was my family). As we felt our way along the rope blindly, holding this egg, people would try to take our egg. Others would whisper and try to get us to let go of the rope. When running into obstacles we could raise our hand and someone would come and whisper to us to help us know where to go. I raised my hand a lot. As I felt the end of the rope I stopped and held up my hand. I was given a hug and told "welcome home". What an awesome experience. Raising our hand was to symbolize prayer and the help was the still small voice. I don't think that I or any of the girls in the stake will ever forget this awesome lesson. If that is the only memory I have, then that will be enough for me.

Getting on the blog train

Alright everyone, here it is the Yancey family blog. Are you impressed, I finally got with the times so all of you can know just what is up with the Yancey's

Getting ready

Isn't it crazy how much extra work it takes to leave your home and children for four days? Ben and I are getting ready to leave for girls camp at Bear Lake. Addy and Sydnee ask every day (at least ten times) how many days until we leave. After buying them new princess pajamas and a few other special things for staying at Grandma's I think that Addy is actually looking forward to our leaving. Crazy kids!!! I think we are almost ready. We have one more trip to make to the Walmart for what Ben calls the important stuff, junkfood! I went and had cortizone shots in my knees today, that was exciting. I'm hoping that my knees will make it through camp. Wish us luck as we spend four days with 300 teenagers and leaders, while staying in tents. I love Camp!