In The Spotlight

Enough time has passed that I need to update my records on Vanna - it's now her turn to be in the spotlight.


-Vanna is very independent. Her most common phrase is: "No me do it!" She wants to open all the doors and close them too, she wants to do up her own car-seat (although she can only do up the top portion of it), she wants to fill her own cup with water, brush her own teeth, get dressed and change her own clothes. She basically just wants to do EVERYTHING by herself and when you attempt to help her we are reprimanded with a vibrant "No me do it!". This is a bit different than Cash - he would still let me dress him and brush his teeth everyday if I let him. This shouldn't surprise me, however, because these kids are the opposite from one another in nearly every way. And while we're discussing her independence, I must mention that she is in the process of being potty-trained which, of course, was her idea and which, of course, she is pretty much tackling all by herself. I am beside myself with excitment - no more diapers!

-Vanna loves to swing, ride her bike (which she can now pedal all by herself of course), run around with little or no clothing on, chew gum, and snack rather than eat a decent meal (we're working on that!).

-We've converted Vanna's crib to a toddler bed (a few months ago actually) which is just another reminder of how "big girl" she is - as if her telling me several times a day isn't reminder enough :).

Talk about bling-bling!

-As you know, Vanna is all girl. Some of her favorite things include getting into ALL of Mommy's jewelry as well as getting into Mommy's expensive smell good lotions. The other day I found her lotion application to be about 1 inch thick on her face (which the picture can't accurately explain). What do you do?

-Vanna is even getting the jist of duck duck goose and hide and seek these days (although she always gives away Cash's secret hiding places away by pointing him out since she was peeking while I was counting).

-Vanna loves to copy whatever Cash is doing - which testifies to me that deep down she really does adore him (although their behavior toward each other doesn't always shout that out to you:)). In addition, I have to add that whenever she gets a treat or such thing she ALWAYS has to get an extra one to give to Cash. She's always thinking of her big brother. So sweet.

-Vanna loves reading stories and is usually found carrying books around or sleeping with them.

-Vanna thoroughly enjoys riding in the car. She is most commonly found singing to herself in the backseat (she loves to dance and sing, period) and shouts, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy (at least that many times:)-puppy" OR "Uck" whenever we pass a truck OR "ivr" for whenever we cross a river.

-We've discovered many similarities between Mother and Daughter that are almost scary. For example: when things aren't going just right or running in a smooth manner - she is easily flustered or upset, she loves to help Mommy clean, and enjoys reading, singing, and dancing-just to name a few.

-Vanna can pucker so largly that she will completely block off her nostrils. She has figured out how comical this trick is by sniffing in at the same time to cause a funny sucking sound. Weird, I know! But lo and behold we found this in an inherited ability as Ty is quite capable of the same thing :)!


-Vanna has a bed-time ritual that seems to be getting longer and longer which includes: a drink of water, a race to her bed, sitting on her chair to count to three before jumping into bed, kissing Mommy and Daddy to sleep (one on the lips, one on each cheek, one on each hand and elbow, one on the chin, the head, the neck....), piling four blankets on her and finally pushing her musical toy that sings her to sleep. Try explaining all that to the babysitter!!

-Vanna is actually starting to fill out a bit, at least in our book. However, often others still think she's only a year rather than her 2 1/2+years. We get comments like, "I can't believe how well she's running already" but when I explain how old she really is they're no longer surprised at her mobile skills but rather how tiny she is for her age. And while upon the subject of mobility, I jsut have to add that Vanna is a very happy little girl and loves to skip around all over. We call her "skippy" and in light of th holidays, lately we've been calling her "prancer". She's a hoot!

-Vanna is becomming quite the jabber box and is very vocal and loud at home but very soft-spoken around others. She will point to each member of the family and say, "Mommy", "Daddy", "Dash (for Cash)" and "me" for herself. We'll say, "No - you're Vanna and she'll respond with, "No, I me". She won't say her own name yet. She often says something while shaking her head in the negative to mean the opposite of what she's actually saying, such as "I cyin" while shaking her head which means -Look at me, I'm not crying. Some of our favorite new phrases are "big girl me", "beat you" (she likes to race) and finally, "la you" (for love you).

We love you too pumpkin!!!

A Winter Wonderland

Well, we've been busy these past couple weeks - either visiting family or shoveling snow - whichever the case, the statement is true!

For Thanksgiving we headed down to Rigbyand ran into frightful weather. Cars were running off the road right behind us and right in front of us but thankfully (sometimes situations like that put in your mind all you're most grateful for) we made it to his family's safely. And we had such an enjoyable meal and holiday with them. The kids couldn't have been happier than to play with their cousins. And we had a great time visiting, watching movies, and playing games with everyone.

We went bowling with Ty's family. The kids mostly payed around the alley except for Vanna. She rather enjoyed barely tapping the ball enough to make it roll down the ramp and lane toward the pins.

Vanna with a cheesy smile wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

That same weekend my dad and his wife got baptized so we again braved the roads to Lava in order to be there for support. What a special occasion that was. I'm so glad we could be there - the roads were all cleared off which made me feel much better about making the extra trip there.

Dad and Jannie in their white outfits - looking happy as can be.

All the grandkids checking out the font. They were so excited to be all together and to be seeing baptisms too.

The grandkids singing primary songs as they waited for Dad and Jannie to change. Vanna was so cute mimicking the pianist and moving her dainty little fingers along the piano keys as if she was the one playing.

All of us kids were there with our families. It was wonderful! It's an occasion we've all been waiting for for a long time.

However, the roads on the return home were worse than ever. We saw 20-25 run-offs and a couple very serious accidents among them. OOO it was just terrifying (coming from someone who had a somewhat traumatic experience in totaling a car on icy roads). Yet again, our prayers were answered and we returned to our house safely, finding all well. Huge sigh of relief!

What is this picture of you say? My neighbor's car - buried in all the snow!

Within the next couple days following our return home, it began to snow. It seemed to just keep going and going and going. We figure we got 10-12 inches. What a lot of work to shovel all that away. One day I had been out shoveling for about 2 hours (only getting about 1/4 of the driveway done in that time) when our thoughtful neighbors asked if they could plow out the rest with their fourwheeler (as they were out doing the same to their own driveway while I plugged along). I could have sung praises to them and was very grateful.

The snow has made for lots of fun play-time for the kids though.

Cash "chillin" with his snowman - Daddy was helping him with the project and Frosty turned out to be even taller than Daddy!

A couple trouble makers if you ask me!

They love it when I have to shovel. They get all dressed up and have a ball making snow angles, throwing snowballs, etc. I love the snow for the holidays (however after that it certainly has my permission to leave) and am enjoying the winter wonderland it is here!

Going Dark

So I thought I'd share my newest adventure and that is...

...going dark. The picture (which Cash took actually and I think he did a pretty good job) doesn't do it justice. I love the color. I've done it once before but it's been quite a while (since before Vanna was born) and I thought - what the heck. It's kind of fun to go darker in the winter and I needed a change. Ty is trying to get me to grow out my hair and it was currently in the icky "in-between" stage I can't stand, so I thought maybe a change of color might pacify me.

On a similar note (and yet not really), the time change has really thrown me for a look - now that it's going dark so early in the evening. I've gotten used to the idea that once it gets dark, it's time to slow down and relax a bit, put Vanna to bed, etc. But when it's going dark at 5:30, it's impossible to be lazy for 4 hours or so before climbing in bed. I'm having to re-train my mind/body into realizing that I still have lots of day time left, even if it is dark. Just another reason I love summer - such long, fun-filled days! Thank goodness there is at least the holidays to look forward to in the winter right?! The kids don't seem to mind, as long as those short days result in fun filled activity such as:

We got our first snow on Sunday and the kids enjoyed playing in it for a bit. Of course it was all gone by the next day so I'm glad they got the chance to have their fun. We're going back down to Southeast Idaho for Thanksgiving where I'm sure they'll find much more of that cold white stuff to play with. We can't wait to see family again. Wish us luck on the roads!

Fall/Halloween 2010

Our traditional trip to the pumpkin patch. We got lots this year: some to decorate with, some to carve. Cash also went on a pumpkin patch field trip with his pre-school where both he and Vanna were able to pick one of their own size to carry out for free - so we had pumkins galore at our house this year.

Cash always likes to pick out the white ones. His dad helped him with his carving - Ty goes for the scary ones if you can't tell. I helped Vanna with her "kitty".

So I really wanted to find coordinating costumes for the kids this year for Halloween but Cash insisted on being a boxer and I was at a loss for finding an outfit to coordinate with that (I'm usually not very imaginative when it comes to things like that). So we got Cash the boxer outfit and I picked out an adorable bee costume for Vanna - just because I thought it would be darling on her. After receiving their costumes in the mail and watching them trapse around in them for several days (because one day of dress up in your Halloween costume just is NOT enough when you're a child of course)-I discovered a rather clever way of connecting the two:

Float like a butterfly...

Sting like a bee...

What do you think? Yeah, it was the best I could come up with. Anyway, we had a great Halloween holiday and can' t wait for the next ones coming up soon!

A Boy At Heart

Ty had his 32nd birthday this week. But he's still such a boy at heart. To prove it:

-we went to a movie for his birthday and he chose Legend of the Guardians (this is an animated movie that really, he thought the kids would sit through best, but I kept telling him this was his birthday and his choice - this is what he stuck with)

-with a gift card he got for his birthday, he bought a remote control helicopter (after getting home and playing with it for a bit he said, and I quote, "This is like the very coolest toy I've ever had!")

It was all just too cute.

AND I actually threw Ty a surprise birthday party this year. Obviously it's not the big #30 or #40 or anything. It was just something I wanted to do and it worked out perfectly. Ty's birthday was on Monday (which is when we did all our fun family play - movie, dinner, presents) and then he went to work on Tuesday. I had it all planned for some of his friends to come over that night to watch the BSU game, for food and for just plain fun. He was taken completely off guard when he got home from work. I was so proud of myself for being able to keep the secret so well. And we had such a good time. I'm tempted to do it every year. But then it wouldn't be so surprising then would it?

Happy Birthday Ty!!!

Jumping On The Bandwagon

The majority of folks up here are Broncos fans and upon moving to Payette, we quickly became converted. It's been so fun to watch them succeed, these past couple years, into a force to be reckoned with. My favorite kind of team is the under-dog, and that is what the Broncos were (and what many still consider them to be even though they're unstoppable right now). They rose up out of nowhere and now everyone knows who they are. That's the kind of team I like to cheer for.

Just before the team took the field. I think Ty was embarrassed by my

taking so many pictures but he eventually came around :)

So we decided to go cheer for them up close and personal this weekend. You never know when you'll get to see one of the best teams in the nation - and they're only an hour away! We went to their homecoming game against Toledo and it was a blast. My parents met us up there at the stadium and we had a party cheering for the Broncos - who ended up just crushing the Rockets (57-14 to be exact).

The mighty Broncos taking the field.

Although watching the game from the big screen is nice (expecially with the commentary and the re-plays), it's so fun to be there in person and "feel" the excitment in the air - to see everything so up close!

This is a pix of Coach Peterson entering the stadium after half-time. I had to get a picture of him mainly just because of the type of man I believe him to be. I continue to be impressed with him as he displays encouragable characteristics. He seems humble and is full of talent and sportsmanship (jsut to name a few). Again, that is the kind of guy/coach/team I like to cheer for.

The Broncos going in for yet another one of their many touchdowns that night. We were in what was considered the "cheap seats" although they didn't seem cheap to me. And besides, it was thrilling seeing the funnest of the action in the endzone.

This win put the Broncos back up to #3 in the nation. We are so excited for them. We keep hoping they'll bounce to #1 or #2 by the end of the season for a chance at the Chamionship game. We know they can do it! Go Broncos! Do I sound like a cheerleader yet?:)

Yep we officially consider ourselves a part of Bronco Nation!

FISH ON!

One of Cash's favorite things to do is go fishing and it is becoming quite the family past time. When we have a few hours to ourselves you will often find us fishing along the Payette River where we've found a place that is good for the kids and fairly easy to hook a fish.

It's so fun to watch Cash fish. He is constantly saying his line is wiggling or that he thinks he's got somping and reels in often. We cast out for him over and over and over... But nothing beats the look on his face when he catches one. He reels the fighters in all by himself and holds his catch up so proud.

Then he throws them back into the water like you would a baseball

(and he's got quite an arm) - poor things. :)

This past week however, we went fishing with Grandma and Grandpa (who came up to visit for a few days and help me do some canning as well - more to post on that later) at Mann's Creek. About a week before they came up Cash was talking to Grandpa on the phone - making certain Grandpa was prepared to come fishing. He said, "You got a fishing pole Grandpa?" "You got hooks?" "You got worms Grandpa?" It was so funny!

Ty caught a wide mouthed bass nearly as soon as they got all set up at Mann's Creek - which is the one Cash is posing with below. After that though, no one caught a thing - at least they didn't get completely skunked.

The three fishermen calling it quits. I wish the picture was better but up close you can see they all have their poles in hand. It was cute to see these guys all talking about fishing and for them to actually get together sharing in one of their favorite activities. We had such a good visit with my parents - we always hate to see them go and look forward to seeing them again here soon.

My Words...And Cash

I've heard many phrases similar to: "Your words will come back to haunt you" over the years and I am seeing proof of it more and more often. The most recent:

Cash always gets excited for pre-school and usually starts toting his back pack around at least a half hour before it's actually time to get in the car. One morning last week I was finishing up with Vanna's hair as Cash repeated his plea to go to school. He kept telling me "it's time to go", that "we're going to be late Mom", "we got to get going". I finally replied with, "Cash, for the last time, we are not going to be late. After I get done with Vanna's hair we can get in the car and go to pre-school - just not right now." To which he responded by stomping his foot to the ground, throwing fisted hands down his sides and exclaiming, "Ugggh, I'm tired of this. If you keep acting like this, I'll just ride my bike all by myself to my school." I just looked at him and laughed.

Too often I make comments such as: "I'm tired of the way you two are fighting...., my ears are tired of all that whining....etc. He often throws the same phrase back at me. But the new phrase in this situation was, "if you keep acting like this". Again, apparently too often words such as: "if you keep that act up then...." come out of my mouth and brilliant Cash has found a way to use them against me. :)

I just find it comical when these kind of things come up. It truly brings the realization home that you really have to be careful in the things you say and the way you say them around your children.

If the above isn't proof enough, it must be said that Cash is growing up way too fast. He's constantly saying, "You want to see how big I are?" And then he'll lay down on our large ottoman for us to measure him. It's been a while so I thought I'd better write down a few things things about our little man for my own records.

If you've ever read the Color Code book (if not, I highly recommend it), then you'll understand when I say that Cash is a definite YELLOW - through and through. A yellow is primarily motivated by fun - that's Cash. He will completely wear you out inviting you and demanding that you play with him all day long. Cash's favorite things to do include: fishing, playing Go Fish, Duck Duck Goose, Hide & Seek, and Tag; working out with dad; riding his bike; going to pre-school; swinging (which he can do all by himself now by pumping - yeah!); saying the prayer over the food; pestering the cat; the list goes on and on.

Other characteristics of a yellow are:

-that they are people oriented - Cash is not shy and makes friends very easily. Usually within five minutes of arriving at a park he is leading all the other children that were already there in games and laughter. Sometimes this doesn't always turn out to be a good thing, for example:

After we've done Sharing/Singing Time with the Jr. Primary, they go to their class rooms while the Sr. Primary comes into Primary for their Sharing/Singing Time. We eventually had to ask the Sr. Primary to wait at the other end of the hallway until the Jr. Primary (namely Cash) could get to their classes because they kept encouraging high fives and knuckle bumps from Cash as the little sunbeams would walk by them. And I find it a struggle to keep the kid reverent at the conclusion of Church because the Young Men of our ward are fighting over him and parading him around the halls. Ahhh. While there are things I definitely have to be cautious about in regard to this characteristic - it's somewhat comforting as well to see his natural ability to make friends quickly/easily shine through.

-they are pretty open and share their feelings - Cash is not embarrassed to always give his mom a hug and kiss - at any place or time of day. And in fact he demands it as part of his nightly routine to give both Mom and Dad hugs and kisses with an "I love you" each night. Love it Love it Love it !!

-they're pack rats and don't need to be neat - Someday this will start eating at me I'm sure because I like to be organized, neat and clean. Cash could care less. We are making progress though with Cash's ability to keep things picked up. I generally let him get whatever he wants out but before it gets too out of control (and before naps and bedtime) he is good to help me get it all picked back up. Although he places much of it on his bed and explains just how important it is that he sleeps with each item - along with his two favorite blankets. He is such a little pack rat.

-they are optimistic - In general Cash is a very happy-go-lucky kid. In fact, when he can see that I'm getting frustrated or if I'm upset about something, he'll grab my face and look into my eyes and say, "Mommy just be happy". Of course this melts my heart and I'm immediately in a much better place. Arent' kids great at putting things in perspective for us and bringing us perfect joy/love?!

-they can have trouble staying focused - This is yet another characteristic of yellows that hits the nail right on the head with Cash. I tried to keep him entertained with "school" at home but he usually lasted maybe two minutes before declaring he was bored and suggested we go play baseball or something else - more FUN right? I was hoping that pre-school away from home - where he knew that's just what they did there - would work and so far it has worked marvelously. I'm sure it helps that the teacher was simply much more creative than I was and could make learning much more FUN than I could. :)

Cash's favorite things to eat:

mac & cheese, popsicles, spaghetti, pizza, steak (and most any meat actually - both my kids are little carnivors), licorious & swedish fish (most anything sweet really, just like his dad) and most any fruit. He's especially loving cantaloupe and peaches right now.

Other funny things Cash says to me:

"Thank you breakfast Mommy. You the best cooker in the whode world."

"I got-for it". - for some reason he's switching the word forgot around and saying got-for instead as of late.

"Mommy, Jesus make cars? Mommy, Jesus make trees? Mommy, Jesus make.... - Everyday he asks me about the things that Jesus made. You can just see the wheels turning in his mind I swear.

"I go to Primary, and school and I'm super busy playing with my toys." - The other night when talking to Grandma and Grandpa on the phone they must have asked something like what he's been doing lately and this was his response. I love that he's so SUPER busy PLAYING.

I absolutley love to hear Cash sing and luckily he likes to do it. His favorites are Ba Ba Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Row Row Row Your Boat, Popcorn Popping, Follow The Prophet and the ABC's.

Cash is a good little dancer and one of his favorite things to do is boogy to the songs that accompany the credits at the end of any given movie he's watched with us. He is so consistent with doing it and it's completely comical to watch him.

Boy, do we love the character that Cash is. He keeps us on our toes and running constantly but he is truly such a joy in our lives. We couldn't be happier in our family than we are with our little ones. What a blessing it is to have such sweet spirits in our home.