Still Around

Not a lot of major things have been happening with our family...thus the lack of posts. We're still doing well and just trying to keep up with life. Adam's Grandfather passed away a couple of days ago, so now we're planning a trip to Utah for the funeral. Other than this, life is pretty much the same. Just wanted everyone to know that we're still around. And, as a bonus, here are a couple old pictures that I saw the other day that just made me smile.

Update

Well, things around here have been busy/crazy. After Malcolm passed away, Stacy and her girls decided to move in with my parents. That makes 9 of us living in their house. It's been adjustment, but so far has been working out better than I would have thought.Adam and I are planning on staying with my parents as well, as long as things continue to work well. We're able to move out, but right now we need everyone here to keep things moving. Lauren and Caity started school down here and seem to be handling everything very well and getting into school. Samantha and Paul LOVE having them here all the time but I'm waiting to see how long they all get along. Things are changing since now they're in more of a brother/sisters roll than cousins.

As if that wasn't enough, we all got sick...with the swine flu. Gross. Luckily, that's over and we're all (almost) back to normal. Hopefully we'll be able to settle into a rhythm and things will feel less hectic soon.

Anyway, that's what has been going on in our lives. We have realized how grateful we are for all of the blessings we continue to receive and all the support we've been given over the last few weeks.

2009 Reunion

I am finally getting around to posting pictures from the 3 weeks my sister spent out here. We had SUCH a fun time with her and her kids...Sammi was in seventh heaven with all the friends. She and Grant got along really well and it was fun to watch them play together. We did a lot of fun things like going to Santa's Workshop, Prospect Lake, the park, hiking, Mr. Biggs, Pirate's Cove (a water park), and probably more that I'm leaving out. I took SO many pictures, so here are a few (and by a few, I mean a lot) from this summer.

For Lauren and Caitlin

For those of you who are not aware, my brother-in-law, Malcolm, passed away Sunday afternoon. He is leaving his wife and two daughters, Lauren (11) and Caitlin (8). I am not sure who reads this that wouldn't get an e-mail, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

For those friends and family wishing to make a contribution in memoriam of Malcolm, a trust has been set up for Lauren and Caity. To make a donation, go to any Wells Fargo Bank and give to account number 6453471267.

Thanks.

A conversation between two 3 year olds...

This is what I heard the other night while Samantha and her cousin Grant were having a sleepover. It only lasted until 9:00 and we had to send Grant upstairs or they would NEVER have gone to sleep.

Sammi - "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Grant - "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Sammi - (while laughing hysterically) "No, no, yes, yes...GO!"
Grant - "Hey, where's my soldier guy?"
Sammi - "I don't know, I will go ask my Mommy"
Me- (from the other room) -"Stay on your bed!"
Sammi - "My Mommy said stay on my bed."
Grant - "Okay"
Sammi - "Hey I'm sayin somthin. Hey Grant! Hey! Take your thumb out of your mouth so we can talk."
Grant - "Okay"

*and now my favorite part*

Sammi - "Hey Grant, do you pick your nose?"
Grant - (while laughing) - "Yeah."
Sammi - (while laughing REALLY hard) "Are you picking it right now!?!"

Ahh...so that's what goes on when I'm not around

The Fourth

It stunk. Really. It was rainy most of the day and the kids and I were all sick. The kids had a pretty good time at the parade in Monument until the rain came and we had to leave. Other than that we just ate, went to get ice cream, and went to bed. It was too rainy and wet to have fireworks so I was glad my kids are still little enough that they didn't miss them. I wouldn't have blogged about it except for the one bright spot...Samantha had a darling little dress to wear. YEAH! Too bad she ruined it with watermelon juice. :)

The watermelon on the right is actually jello, cool uh?

I sure did take a lot of pictures of a not so fabulous day!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Life never seems to slow down, but these last few weeks have been even busier than normal. The kids and I went on a quick trip to Utah to check on our rentals. They did great, but I was still wiped out by the time we got home. It didn't help that we all ended up with colds. In July? Seriously? The drive out went fine, but our way home took almost 9 1/2 hours (versus 8 on the way out) because of accidents, rain, and rush hour traffic. The kids hardly cried, but I still about lost it. Thank goodness we live in the age of DVD players. We had a great time seeing friends and staying with Kim and Brad. I brought my camera but only remembered to take pictures on our last night there (after Adam gave me a hard time) so I only have pictures of Sammi, Paul, and Talmage. Samantha had SO much fun and keeps telling me we need to move back to "Moo-tah" I am not sure that she understands that means she wouldn't see her cousins, grandparents, etc that live in Colorado.

I also decided it was finally time to potty train Samantha. She still wasn't crazy about the idea, but quickly got on board when my mom told her it would be great (luckily my mom is still cool and can influence her. I clearly am already a total loser and have no idea what I'm talking about). One nice thing is that it only took 3 accidents and 2 days (really 1 1/2) to have her done. She still wears a diaper at night, but I'm okay with that for awhile.

The biggest news is probably that Paul started walking...YEAH! He's still a little unsteady and will usually take 5-6 steps, fall, and then crawl the rest of the way. It's fun to see him on his fat little legs wobble around. He is definitely seeming more like a toddler than a baby to me. Sad.

These last pictures are probably my favorite. We go down to my grandfather's house once a week so I can write down his history and eat lunch (it's taking awhile because my kids don't always cooperate). When he and I aren't talking, he's playing with the kids. The last time we were down there Samantha conned him into playing "night night" on the porch. It was funny/cute to see him lying on the ground covered with a chair cushion. What a great guy!

Yes, her blanket is a place mat, and his is a chair cushion