Busy Bees...Bzzz

We have been so busy the past couple weeks. But this busy is the best kind of busy you can be. Our time, over the past couple weeks, has been nearly completely filled with friends and family - so wonderful! First, we had my brother and his wife - Josh and Amanda - come stay several days with us (March 17th-22nd). This was their first visit up and so we spent time catching up and even went bowling and to a movie (that's about all there is to do around here as far as entertainment goes).

Cash couldn't get enough of Josh and Amanda - in fact, I think a little crush even developed for Amanda. It was quite cute!

Josh and Amanda quickly became the kids' playmates. And they were such good sports to entertain their demands. They were probably glad to head home to finally get some rest. We spent lots of time visiting and whether it was about eachother's goals/ideas/testimonies it was just good to catch up. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit and have them again soon.

The day that Josh and Amanda headed home, we had our long lost friends come visit us for a couple days (March 22nd - March 23rd). By long lost, I mean, our close friends who lived here in Payette with us for a year and a half before recently moving back to Pocatello. My friend - Ann - was back to testify in Court regarding a young lady she had performed an exam on while working here at the hospital's ER. I got to watch her kids while she was at Court and boy was it good to see those kids playing together again. It was almost as if they never left, the kids just picked up where they left off. I was so happy to see their relationships had stuck even after not seeing eachother for months. After Ann finished up at Court, we made/ate dinner and had a little FHE with the whole clan. The following day we went to their Hotel to swim with them and soak in the hot tub - nice :). They left later that day. Again, it was so nice to catch up and revitalize friendships. Thanks for coming Wilcox family!

Vanna and Lizzy sporting sunglasses while going for a walk. We actually got caught in the rain while walking - great memory!

THEN, (you thought I was done didn't you?) the following day we headed down to spend several days with my family (March 24th - 28th). We actually met my mom and step-dad in Arco where we ate and then sent Ty and Tab off toward Salmon where they planned on spending a few days steelhead fishing, while my mom, myself, and the kids headed back to Lava. Our days were spent visiting my brother (same one as mentioned above - we just had to see his house that him and his wife bought), going to wrestling matches to watch cousin Dawson, stopping in Pocatello to see cousins Avery and Sophia, shopping in Pocatello, sewing, driving to Logan for more shopping and cousin visits (we even got to see the newest member of Ty's family - Sicaly).

Cash, Vanna, and Blyss while visiting Marcy and their family. Marcy just had a new baby the week prior - their third beautiful girl.

And on Saturday my oldest brother and my older sister and their families came to my mom's. The kids completely wore themselves out with more cousin play which included...

...duck, duck, goose (this is one of my kids' favorite games and they couldn't wait to play with ALL the cousins too)...

...cars (I thought this was a cute picture - all the boy cousins huddled around Grandma's toy cars ooing and ahhing)...

...movies (Vanna mimics much of what she sees so when she saw Jenna and Cash on their bellies watching a movie, she just had to join them)...

...puzzles (another thing my kids love - they're both getting quite good at them, even Vanna, especially with Jenna's help)...

...card games (it is so crazy that my little neices and nephews are all the sudden grown up enough to know and understand and play card games - it was so fun to see how big they're all getting)...

...and other things fun and crazy. It was such a good day.

Ty and Tab returned from their fishing trip Saturday evening with large fish in tow. They weren't skunked but as every fishing story goes - the big ones got away :). This was Ty's first steelhead experience and he really enjoyed it (when I get pictures, we'll have to post about it in more detail). He kept saying it was just so nice to get away (from work, stress, probably even us too:)) and enjoy the outdoors. Thanks to my step-dad for putting so much planning into it and taking Ty for the ride. We all enjoyed Sunday together and left soon after church and lunch to make it back home in good time - BUT not before stopping in Pocatello on our way home to visit our friends (same ones as mentioned before - we just had to see the house they moved into). That visit was short but swell.

Whew - I'm tired just jotting all this down. You can imagine, it might very well take all this week to get back into a routine and feel caught up physically. But what a wonderful time we had. We got to see so many family members - the kids got to see almost every single cousin they have - I just feel so fulfilled when we get to do that. I love being busy with family and friends and can't wait to do it again!

A Girl Who Knows...

...how to play. Vanna is very good at entertaining herself and is mostly a very independent little girl. She loves to read books - which usually must be done by plopping down in the middle of Mommy's lap and reading the books all by herself. She also likes to dress up, dance (she loves If You're Happy And You Know It and Shake My Sillies Out), run around (loves Duck Duck Goose), etc. Vanna's play life would also not be complete without the occasional bubble bath. She adores them.

...how to scream. She's very good at the bloody murder scream and can produce it at any given moment - immediately. There's no leading up to it.

...how to pucker up. Vanna demands that she gives every family member a kiss before she goes to bed. She simply puckers up to the closest person and says "mmmm" when Mommy catches her and explains it's time for bed. She's also very good at blowing kisses - especially to her Dad when he leaves for work in the morning.

...her blankee is her most cherished possession. She totes her blanket most everywhere she goes and simply MUST have it to go to sleep. She gets very upset when it comes time to wash it.

...a good snack when she sees, or rather, tastes one. Cheese is Vanna's favorite snack as of late. Although she loves any kind of cheese, Kraft Singles are specifically her favorite. She will eat 4-5 in one snack-sitting. When offered two at a time, Vanna is quick to stuff the first offered in her dainty little mouth(whole) and snatch the second out of my hand as fast as possible - it's pretty funny. Vanna is also very good at picking at her cereal to find the best tasting pieces; Lucky Charms - she always picks out the marshmallows, Apple Jacks - she eats the green ones first, Captn Cruch w/berries - she always eats the berries first.

...pain. Monday night (Feb. 15th, 2010) Cash accidentally shut the door (completely tight) on Vanna's fingers. He had shut the door to prevent her from coming into the bathroom (kind of mean but definitely not intending to cause injury). I was near trembling and screaming when I saw her tiny smashed fingers. We rushed her to the ER, afraid that she'd broken at least two fingers that looked just terrible. I couldn't help but weep with her as she cried the whole ride there. Yet, as if on cue, she stopped crying upon entering the hospital and acted perfectly fine the whole time there. By then her fingers (middle finger, ring finger and pinky finger) were very swollen and hard to lay flat for the X-rays - BUT - no broken bones! Yeah! She was so strong and brave at the hospital and has been such a trooper since. Vanna has also had two black eyes this month. One to compliment each big beautiful eye. Both incidents included Cash's bed (jumping on his bed and bonking the headboard and climbing on a chair to get on his bed - both are no-no's and she knows it darn it). To say the least - February was a little rough for baby Vanna.

...how to say: thank you, please, juice, water (wa, wa), bye-bye, no, stinky, poopy, cracker (ca, ca), Mommy, Da-Da, blankee (bankee), here ya' go, puppy, out, cow, meow, baby, bow-bow (for her hair bows), nose, eye, teeth, and has her own sound for hair, ear, cheek, chin, neck, elbow, and knee. And probably more that just don't come to mind right now.

...what she wants:
-Vanna always wants to flush the toilet for everyone.

-Vanna doesn't like a dirty bum and wants changed right away. She pats her bum and says "poopy". Then while we're changing her, she plugs her nose and says "stinky, stinky" while shaking her head. She also knows that she always wants me to put baby powder on her bum - I guess she just likes how it smells or something, I don't know, it's so funny though because she never lets you forget.

-Vanna likes bows in her hair. But not clips so much, she'll tear them right out (we've been trying clips a lot lately because the ponies and bows seem to be pulling out some of her hair - in fact, she's a little thin on top now poor thing) but if she has bows in and one falls out, she quickly carries it to me and says "bow-bow" meaning, please put my bow back in.

-Vanna is fascinated with zippers and not only wants to take her own jacket/coat off by un-zipping it, but always tries to help Cash with his jacket/coat's zipper too.

-Speaking of zippers, Cash and Vanna often play with their life-jackets around the house and Vanna knows that she wants the zipper AND the buckles done up anytime she puts the life-jacket on.

-Basically, Vanna is a girl who knows what she wants...period.

...she is loved. We hope, above all else, that our little girl KNOWS that she is loved. She is such a blessing and sweet part of our family that we just don't know how we ever did without. It is so fun to reflect upon how she has grown and the things she is currently doing, learning, and enjoying. As always there is so much more to add about little Vanna - just not enough time to do it right now so until next time...