The Talent Show

So Kaydra came home from school about two weeks ago and announced that her school is having a talent show. She wanted to perform for the show. It happened to be a night that Len and I were both home so we signed her up. She practiced and practiced the piece that she would play. I encouraged her to memorize it. She wasn't sure about that but I knew that she had played it so much that she probably had it memorized and didn't know it. She played it for her teacher this week in lessons and her teacher said, "You should try it without the book" and to her surprise -- she had it memorized! She did very well and we are very proud of her. It takes a lot of courage to play in front of a gym full of people. She told my mom that her hands were shaking. You couldn't tell though - she did great! See for yourself.

More Birthday Fun

For those that didn't get enough of Miranda eating cake I thought I would post a few videos. She is SO CUTE! I love that little girl!




I took Miranda to the doctor yesterday for her year check-up and shots. For some reason I thought she was only getting one shot but she got FOUR! Poor baby. She is doing pretty well with them though. For the record she was 19lbs 15oz (30%) and 31 inches long (95%). Yes, she is a skinny bean pole! The doctor says everything looks great and he'll see her at 15 mos. I feel so blessed to have happy healthy children. I definately do not take this for granted.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRANDA!

Yes, it's true! My little baby is one year old today! I can't believe how fast the past year has gone. I totally remember bloggin about the day she was born. This weekend for the President's Day holiday we went to Heber City, Utah and stayed at Jana's parents cabin/house. It was so much fun. They have a beautiful log house with TONS of snow. The kids played and played. We had such a good time there.

On Friday we drove and got to the cabin and got there about 7:30 p.m. or so. Dinner was already prepared by my parents and others that arrived earlier that evening. Saturday we woke up and played in the snow after breakfast. Mom and Dad rented four snowmobiles and so there was lots of riding. Dan built a cool sledding hill that included a tunnel and a "drop" off a rock wall. The kids had a great time walking up and sledding down.

On Sunday we celebrated Miranda's birthday. Here are all the pretty decorations thanks to Jana :)I am ready ... Where is everyone?

We had a yummy steak dinner and then opened presents. We sang Happy Birthday and let Miranda have her first taste of chocolate cake! To no one's surprise, she loved it. If nothing else, that girl loves food. She was totally double fisting it by the end and she would have finished the entire cake if I would have let her. I know that it ended up lob-sided but it still turned out pretty cute. I never claim to be a professional cake maker! It was fun to celebrate with many family members and I am thankful that they were there. Miranda had no clue what was going on but she made no objections and seemed to enjoy the attention.

I love this picture with the reflection in the fridge!Are they seriously going to let me eat this?

Hurry before they change their minds!

On Monday we packed up and went home. It was a great vacation.

Of note, however, is that Miranda did not sleep very well the first night we were there. She didn't go to sleep until about midnight and she was up again at 3:00 a.m. She didn't fall back to sleep until 5:30 in the morning and then she was up and ready to go at 7:00. We were all very tired the first day but a nap later in the morning seemed to do the trick and the next night she slept from 7:30 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. Much better for us all. She was very happy to see our house when we got home yesterday. Even though she can't talk, we could all tell that she was happy to be back home in her own room.

Thank you so much to the Blickenstaffs, we couldn't have asked for better hosts. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Cute giveaway!

I couldn't resist - I think these are so cute. You can win one if you go here. I think it would look cute on Mandy!

Busy little Bees

We have been busy working around the house lately. I have been put on call so much at work. The hospital here is REALLY slow right now and so I have actually only worked two shifts this entire year! I am supposed to work once per week. Some time off is appreciated but this is starting to really stink! I would like to make a little money at least! Hopefully it will pick up soon or I may have to look for a new job. In the mean time, we have been updating our bathroom. It needed it so bad. Len took up the carpet and it was SO GROSS! We painted the room a more neutral color (Kanyon helped!) and painted all the trim. Then we layed tile and put up a new shower door (the old one should be decontaminated!) and new baseboards. The shower door was a little more complicated than I thought it would be but Len was not intimidated and got it done! It was also Len's first time installing trim. He borrowed a saw from a guy at work. It took a little trial and error but he did a GREAT job. I am always amazed at the things he is able to do. I finished painting the new baseboards today so the bathroom is now finished! It looks SO much better -- what do you think?

BEFORE

(I almost forgot to take "Before" pics. Sorry about the paiting tape in all the pictures - and the big mess - embarassing!)

WHILE WE WERE WORKING - isn't he cute?

After

I love my new bathroom! I also took the wallpaper cutouts off Kanyon's wall and repainted his room. It's the same color but it looks so much cleaner and no torn wallpaper! He wants the bear, moose, and trees back on the wall - we'll see. It took forever to take them all down so I don't know if I want to put them back up!

Leonard also fixed the garage door today - YEAH! We thought we were going to have to get a new one but my smart husband figured out a way to fix it. It is working great and only cost about 10 dollars to fix instead of a 700 dollar replacement!

On a completely different and more interesting note to some of you ;) I french braided Miranda's hair today! It looked so cute I couldn't resist taking pictures. Today marks the first day her hair was french braided - If that isn't blog worthy - I don't know what is!

We were also happy to have Michelle come and visit us for the weekend. Len went snowboarding with the scouts in Montana and Michelle's sister had her baby so she came and stayed with me and kept me company. I was so happy to have her here. We even managed to fit in a cute craft making hair accessories for our girls. Miranda wore hers to church yesterday with a cute dress but I forgot to take a picture. I will have to recreate it sometime! Thanks, Michelle for the much needed company!

A Miranda Fix

I know that you are surprised that I have written three days in a row. My kids are all sick so we have been confined to our house for the past three days. This gives me plenty of time to blog. I was looking over recent entries and realized that I haven't posted about Miranda for a little while and she is changing so fast! I thought I would try my hand at digital scrapbooking and post a few pages of her. It's definitely nothing fancy but it's my first try! I am also throwing in a few random pictures that I have taken the past week. She is still a great baby. She can crawl up the stairs but hasn't even attempted to come down. I will occasionally catch her at the top of the stairs looking over them and crying because she wants to go down but doesn't know how. I have tried to teach her but she isn't really interested yet. She also isn't really interested in walking - which is fine by me. I have encouraged her a little bit by helping her stand in place but she thinks this is a game where I stand her up and then she falls into my arms -- laughing! We do this over and over -- I stand her, she falls into my arms. Occasionally she will surprise me by standing for a few seconds by herself but then she falls - as though she has played a little trick on me. It is so funny how they develop a sense of humor so early on. Her hair is at that terrible wispy, crazy stage. I really want to take her to get it cut but Len won't let me. I have been able to pull it up in pigtails which are really cute and show off her eyes. It does look kinda funny because her pigtails are so LONG and the rest of her hair is so short - I know this will change soon. She loves it when I shake my head at her - I think she likes how my hair covers my face. She also likes to play with my hair. She will grab a piece and then run her fingers through it - she is usually really soft which also surprises me. She loves to talk. She is always jabbering away about something. Kanyon and Kaydra try to understand her and make up words that they are sure that Miranda is "saying". They will say, "Miranda said, 'I am almost one' " when they catch her holding up one finger and talking.

She loves bath time and loves to watch the water fill up the tub. In fact, last night she cried when I turned off the water because the tub was full. She likes to lay on her back in the water and kick and splash. She's getting quite good at it too. We usually both end up wet when I give her one. I am so glad that she is part of our family and I can't believe that she will be one in only a couple of weeks. She is growing so fast. We love you Mandy! On a completely different note I want to congratulate my sister on her new baby. She had the baby on January 27th. She had a little girl and they named her Dreyken Jade. She was 8lbs 1 oz and you can see more pictures of her at Courtney's blog HERE. We are so glad that she is here safe and sound. Now if only my kids would get better so that we can see her more!

The New Job

So Leonard started a new job yesterday... I know, some of you are surprised. We haven't been announcing it very well, mostly because we weren't sure if he was going to get it and if he would take it if it was offered. Well, it was and he did. He is still working at the Behavioral Health Center but his new official title is Assistant House Supervisor and it included a pay raise! He is basically the person in charge of all the units during the shift, in charge of staffing the units, and in charge of admits and discharges on the Adult unit. Another HUGE change is that it is a DAY SHIFT position! He has been working 12 hour night shifts for the past 20 months and now he will work 12 hour days. I have mixed feelings about it but for the most part it seems to be a good change. I am happy to have him at home with me at night now , although I sometimes enjoyed having the bed to myself! I love that I don't have to keep the kids quiet while he sleeps during the day and that he can get his circadian rhythm back in sync with ours.

Yesterday was his first shift - I am not going to lie, it seemed to go on forever. I am used to him sleeping in the morning and then waking up about 3:00 and we spend some time together. It also gave me a chance to run some errands without the kids. Now he leaves at 6:30 a.m. and he gets home at 7:30 p.m. Yesterday, Miranda was alseep when he left and I layed her down minutes before he got home. I tried to keep her up but he was running late and she was SO tired. She was still awake in her crib when he got home but being quiet - he went in and held her for a few minutes. She layed her head on his shoulder but kept looking up at him just to make sure it was him. So cute.

We'll see how it goes but I am so proud of him - I know he will do well at this job. Congratulations, babe! I Love You!

Skiing

Yup, we took the kids skiing for the first time last night! The elementary school had discounted tickets and so we thought we would give it a try. Kanyon was free so he came along too. I called a good friend from work and asked if she and her husband would come and help us out. He teaches skiing at Kelly's and they graciously said yes. THANK YOU CHRIS AND RYAN.Ryan did so awesome with the kids. I told my mom that I was so glad that they were there because otherwise ,we surely would have lost our patience with the kids very early on. It is sure tough the first few times. They really enjoyed it though and Kanyon can't wait to go back. Kaydra had an earache that started about half-way through the night and didn't get better. She toughed it out though and kept on going - even with occasional tears. When we got home I gave her some ibuprofen and she woke up this morning feeling fine. They both say that they are sore but seem to keep going as good as ever.

I was able to try out my new board that I got for my birthday last year. It was AMAZING! I loved it. The bindings took a little getting used to but they will be awesome. There were so many times that I was bracing myself for a fall and I didn't fall! I know that I would have on my old board. It was awesome! The snow was great, they had about 5 inches of fresh powder and most of the night we were floating on it! SO FUN! I want to go again soon.

My mom watched Miranda - THANK YOU - it was nice not to have to worry about her. She was awake and happy when we got home at 9:30. Crazy -- if I let her stay up that late she would be a MONSTER! Anyway we had a great time and I even shot a little video, although I have to learn not to yell so close to the mike! - ENJOY!

Oh, Children

The kids are always entertaining us - usually they don't mean to:

Kanyon: Please can we go out to eat for lunch?
Me: Okay, but we are going to Taco Time - not Artic Circle (with the kids playland)
Kanyon: I like Taco Time better because there are not a lot of kids - it's like peace.

After a discussion about how we weren't going to rent a movie last Friday (it was late) but we would pick one up the next day, Kaydra freaked out! She was so upset that she spent about 1/2 hour in her room crying. When she came out she said she was sorry and that she had a headache - I know the feeling. As they were heading off to bed I found two notes. One said, "read the note". The other note said, "I am sorry that I got mad. I still love you, Do you love me?" The back of the note said, "Check yes or no" but that part was crossed out. Underneath it said, "Just say it to me."

The last speaker in sacrament meeting was speaking and had about five minutes left. Kanyon was restless and wanted to get a drink. "I can't wait" he said. I told him that he would wait and that this was the last speaker. About five minutes later the bishop got up to close the meeting and announce the closing song and prayer. Kanyon didn't like that. From the second row he loudly said, "You said that was the last guy!"

As a side note, I am pretty sure that I had to tell Kanyon about 40 times that he needed to stop making noise in church on Sunday. I am not exaggerating. He couldn't stop humming, singing, laughing loudly at Miranda, talking to Miranda or Kaydra. 40 times. Someday, I am gonna miss this?

Dancing and Dolls and Other Kid Things

I guess it's time to start writing. Last year I wrote at least once per week (on average) and this year is starting off slow; better catch up. Things are going pretty well around here. Our garage door is broken. It still works but not well and we are not sure how long it will last. We've been looking at getting a new one - they're kinda expensive - figures. We are getting ready to tile the bathroom - this means painting first. Len's been fixing the drywall that needed repaired where the shower head continuously sprayed the wall when we rented the house. I should have taken the repair out of their deposit - I am way too nice a person to be a landlord. Anyway, I used some English oil on my bathroom cabinets and the mirrors - which are framed in wood - and they look fantastic! I should have tried that long ago - they look almost new again.

Sunday was ward conference in our ward so the Stake Primary Presidency was visiting. Of course the kids were CRAZY! We have a couple of new sunbeams that cannot sit still for even one minute. They are all over the primary room wandering wherever they want to. They are so stinkin' cute though so we can't get upset with them. We are going to try more classtime and less sharing time with them for a few weeks and see how it goes. Sunday started off crazy because I had a scout meeting that I had to go to before church. Len had worked the night before so he was trying to get some sleep before he came to church with us. I bathed all the kids, laid Miranda down for her nap and told Kaydra and Kanyon to try to be quiet so dad could sleep while I was gone. I also told Kaydra to go get Miranda when she woke up. I thought I had managed everything so well and that when I got back from the meeting I would do Kaydra's hair and we would head to church. The kids were supposed to be there 15 minutes early to sing as prelude to the meeting (the whole primary was singing, not just my kids!) When I got back home Miranda was in her crib, screaming and she was undressed and soaking wet. Kanyon was holding a bloody paper towel on his arm where a scab had come off and was bleeding all over his white shirt. Kaydra said Miranda never went to sleep so she brought her downstairs with them. Then they continued to watch t.v. while Miranda roamed the house. She climbed back up the stairs (she can go up but not down) and found the dog's water dish and spilled it all over the kitchen floor then went to my bedroom and cried until Len came out, took off her dress and put it in the dryer and then put her in her crib - where I found her. Kaydra said she was busy helping Kanyon with his bleeding arm. I was only gone about 30 minutes. Seriously! I redressed and fed Miranda, did Kaydra's hair, helped Kanyon find a bandaid and a new shirt, tore Kanyon's room apart looking for his other church shoe with no luck. I was only able to find one shoe of every pair that he owned except his crocs - so that's what he wore. Needless to say, we were late for church.

In other news, my dad went to his parents house to visit about a week ago. My grandpa had heart surgery and Dad went to see how he was recovering. While there my Grandma gave him two dolls, one for Kaydra and one for Kalli. They are so pretty and look very much like each girl. Kaydra was SO excited. The dress that she wore for Scott and Traci's wedding came with a dress for a doll and she didn't have a doll that would fit the dress. Well, it fits the new porcelain doll perfectly. We kept the clothes that the doll came in too. Kaydra couldn't be happier and the doll stands above her bed. I know that my Grandma's computer is down so she may not see these pictures. I am sticking them in the mail to her - but if she does see them -- THANK YOU! Kaydra loves the doll.

Miranda has become quite the dancer? I am not sure she's actually got rhythm but she is so funny to watch. I made a little video of some clips of her dancing. She is dancing to some music that is playing from Len's phone. It is her favorite toy lately. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009!

I am excited for a new year to begin. We have many plans for this year and hope to be able to accomplish all of them. Some of my resolutions:

Eat less, Exercise more - lose the baby weight!

Save more money

Fix up the house - finally tile the bathroom floor with the tile that has been in the garage since LAST year!

Those are the big ones. I know there are many more!
Last night we celebrated at my parents house with my dad and brothers and sisters. Jackson was at a friends house, Jake and Jana were in Utah, and mom had to work but everyone else was there. We played games and watched television until about 11:00 when we couldn't stand that Miranda was still awake and wouldn't sleep at their house. We packed everyone up and went home with all the kids crying in the backseat. Miranda was crying because she was so dang tired and couldn't figure out why her crazy parents hadn't taken her home earlier; Kanyon was crying because I wouldn't let him have one more snack before we left (they had eaten TONS already); Kaydra was crying because she didn't get an Egg Nog Milkshake. Traci made them and they were delish. She would have made Kaydra one but I didn't want her to have one because we were ready to leave when she was asking for one and I didn't want to give them any more sugar! (I know, I am a mean mom). The crying car ride was very short (thankfully!) and then the kids got their pjs on and brushed their teeth. I was tucking Kanyon in and had a very cute conversation with him before he went to sleep:
Me: I am glad you had fun at the party
Kanyon: It was a party?
Me: Yup, it was a New Year's Party.
Kanyon: How come we didn't have any dancing?
Me: I don't know, maybe next year we can have dancing....
Kanyon: I don't really like dancing..

Oh, well then, I guess no dancing! They all went right to sleep. Even Miranda. I didn't even feed her. I just changed her diaper and put her in the crib. She turned over to her tummy and snuggled into her blanket and didn't make a sound until 7:00 this morning. Good thing because I was tired too!

Hope you all have a wonderful year!

New Sleds!

Well we were able to find the last two sleds for sale in Idaho Falls just before Christmas so the kids were so excited to try them out. We took them to Freeman Park near the airport and let them have at it. It was SO cold but there were lots of people there.

Jake and Riley Leonard and Miranda Grandpa and Kaydra Kanyon walking up the hill Brooke and Kaydra Riley all bundled up Brooke with Kaydra and Kanyon

I managed to try out my new video camera and made a short movie about the event that I am hoping will upload -- we'll see.

It has been fun using it for the short time that I have been able to. I took it to the cabin with full intention of using it there but we were outside most of the day and I never managed to pull it out. There was so much snow up there and we were just having too much fun to take pictures! I did manage to leave my video camera and digital camera in the diaper bag which I left on the fireplace. Ron was gracious enough to bring it to Idaho Falls with him on his way back but he got in a car accident (I am told that everyone is fine) and he forgot to leave it a Grandma's so my camera took a trip to Utah and then back to me via UPS! THANKS RON!! Really, you didn't have to do that and I am SO glad that you are okay. Thanks for mailing it back to me.

We have had a good break so far. Mostly playing in the snow. Len has had a few days off now so we have played several new games together as a family. The kids have LOVED it. This may very well be my last post of the year. It seems that I have averaged about 6 posts per month. A little better than once per week. Hopefully I will do better next year but I must say that this is the most journal-writing that I have ever done in one year in my entire life. Thank you for sharing it with me and encouraging me with your comments. The comments really keep you writing sometimes. And to those of you who just read and never comment - I know you are out there! - Send me a comment! It's easy and it really makes my day! See you next year!

Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas to Everyone! We had a great day. I am really tired and can't believe what a disaster my house is. I thought we were doing so well throwing away stuff as we opened but the packaging with all the gifts is extensive! We had a good year. The kids (Kaydra and Kanyon) both got sleds from us and they put them to good use today in Mom's backyard sledding down the huge fort that Uncle Dan made. It is so fun to have uncles that like to build in the snow. I kid you not -- they were in the snow for three plus hours today. It was snowing nearly the entire time they were outside and they came in SOAKING wet. BUT SO HAPPY!! I think it truly was the best part of their day.

They were a fun group to have this morning around the tree. Miranda was unfazed by everything going on around her. She just jumped right in ripping paper and showing us the gifts. The first present she opened (with help from Kaydra) was a set of p.j.'s on Christmas Eve. She pulled them out of the wrapping and held the shirt in one hand, the pants in the other and showed them to me with a big smile on her face. Like she'd opened presents a thousand times before -- Crazy! Kaydra was really happy with her new jewlery set from Santa until she realized that she lost the WHITE watch with the WHITE face somewhere in the 2 feet of snow in Grandma's backyard. There were many tears shed but she seems to have come to terms with it now. Kanyon played the most with a Lego police car that he got in his stocking that I put together with him. He drove that thing all over the house this morning! I was extremely pleased with all of my new Christmas dishes which I think completes my set. They are perfect!

Leonard got a new memory card for his phone so he can put something like 500 songs on it and use it as an Mp3 player. I know that we are behind the times in this area but he has never had one and is excited to be able to use it when he runs.

We also got a new little video camera from my parents. It is called a Flip Video and is super tiny. It records about an hour of video and then uploads right to your computer which in my mind is absolutely perfect -- especially for blogging. It is a much better picture then our "still" camera that I have been using to take video. I am uploading our first video that I took which was of Miranda. She has learned to "dance" and I was surprised that I caught her in action with the first try -- maybe it means the camera is good luck!

Thank you to all of our friends and family. We loved and appreciated all of the gifts and cards that everyone sent. We love all of you and hope you all had a magical Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!