Playing Dress Up

What would we do without our princess dress-ups?? Not a day goes by without Emma digging in her dress-up box for a pretty dress to wear. She usually will pick her Cinderalla dress because it is her favorite. She used to come to me for help to get it on but not anymore...she can do it all by herself. When Uncle Greg came for Thanksgiving he brought her a set of four princess shoes. We are so glad that the set came with Cinderall shoes because her other light up Cinderalla shoes are almost too small. I love watching her pretend to be a princess. However, if you ask her if she is a princess she will undoubtably respond, "I am not a Princess, I am Emma." She is as cute as she is strong willed.

Thanksgiving Festivites

Now that we all feel totally full and fat from our fabulous Thanksgiving dinner, we can start to think about this upcoming Christmas season. This year my younger brother Greg came from BYU to spend Thanksgiving with us. He has always been the funnest uncle to my kids. He gets down and plays with them and truly has fun doing it. We had a week of relaxation and late nights catching up on old shows and movies we used to watch growing up.




On Saturday we drove up to Seattle to spend part of the day with Mike because he was stuck being on call that day. We went to an Asian Japanese grocery store called Uwajimaya and got all of our favorite treats and drinks from when we were kids in Japan. YUM YUM! My favorite Japanese candies have to be hi-chews, pocky's, chocolate filled koala bear crackers, Ramune soda drinks, and chocolate horns (bread filled with chocolate creme). Of course Greg and I also love Pizza-mans which are these soft pita like rolls with pizza stuff inside. They didn't have them...so sad. I remember getting off the bus from school while living in Japan and going to the 7-eleven which was right where our bus dropped us off. My best friend Beth and I would either get pizza-mans, Japanese version of chips ahoy cookies, or a scoop of chocolate mint ice-cream. Oh the memories.





After we packed our car with our yummy treats we headed over to eat Japanese food at a Restaurant near the Harbor Steps in Seattle. We always get a kick out of the plastic Japanese food they display in their window.

Can you tell I miss living in Japan?? Hopefully we will be able to visit or possibly live there some day. I still consider Tokyo my home even though my family doesn't live there anymore. I have such great memories growing up there. It was fun to reminisce with Greg about the good old days back in Japan. Thanks for coming to see us Greg!

Fall Fun

When it's not raining and not freezing cold we gear up to go outside and play. We know that there will not be too many of these days left and pretty soon all the leaves will be gone until the spring. I have really grown to love the falls out here in the Northwest. In years past I have really missed the beautiful East Coast falls with all the beautiful changing leaves. This year our fall was amazing with many beautiful vibrant leaves. It was really a sight to behold. I am not really looking forward to cold days and no color on the trees, but then again, snow can be kind of fun. It has snowed every year we have been here. I'm sure we will be so lucky to get at least one snow fall.

The kids, minus Andrew because he was in school, enjoyed playing at our incredible park. Peter brought his scooter and he and Emma were having fun zooming down a hill near the playground. No one else was there which I was surprised to see because it was pretty mild today. It was nice to just get out and play. Oh what a Fantastic Fall Day!





*to see more pictures from our day, click here*

a boys love

Just when I thought that my 7 year old wasn't listening to anything I was telling him, he opened up to his good ole mom and I had the best time just listening to everything he had to say. Andrew came home from church all excited about serving because that is what they were taught that day in class. He was asking left and right what he could do to help me...wow...where did this come from? After I got the girls in bed I went back downstairs to finish cleaning the kitchen. I always have to clean up my kitchen before I go to bed. Andrew was eager to help me out and actually told me, "I really like cleaning...I think I like it more than playing with my toys. It is so cool because you get to use these cool wipes." That's my boy! If there is anything I can teach my boys it will be to be organized and clean! Their wives someday will be so happy. I told him that he could stay up a little longer if he wanted to help me out. He was beyond excited about that. So we went upstairs and said goodnight to Peter and Dad and then ventured back downstairs to finish picking up. We turned on some good Sunday music and then the most amazing thing happened...we both just sat on the floor in front of the couch and started talking about spiritual things and I didn't realize how touched Andrew is by the spirit already. I also didn't know how much he loved me. When you witness one of your children getting emotional about their feelings about you and about the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is just heart warming. We sat and cried tears of joy with each other as we were touched by the spirit. I wish I could have just bottled up that night so I could open it up anytime and relive it. I have the most amazing 7 year old and although I always knew that, last night the spirit confirmed to me how truly special he is and how I have a great responsibility to always be a good example for him. All I did was listen to him and let him know how I truly loved him. Sometimes that is all a child needs...someone to take the time to listen to them and love them!

Reflections

As I was getting ready in my bathroom today Emma wanted to sit up on the counter. I lifted her up knowing that she would be asking me lots of questions about my make-up. She is always so curious about what I am putting on my face. Today she was interested in my eye-brow pencil and brush. Very slowly I could see her make her way to the medicine cabinet mirror to check things out. As I was drying my hair I could see that she had finally discovered her many reflections as she sat in the corner and opened the medicine cabinet so that its mirror was close to the other mirror behind the sink. Immediately fond memories came rushing back as I remember doing this same thing as a child. I remember thinking how cool it was to be able to see many of me and I don't think I ever grew bored of doing it. I had totally forgotten that I used to do it until I saw her do it. It's amazing how little moments like this can help you remember little glimpses into your past. Like MOTHER like DAUGHTER!

The YMCA

I have been struggling trying to get out the door to go running after dropping off Peter from school. I am just too tired after lunch to get the girls all bundled up and push the double jogger. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE running outside. Well, the YMCA is having a military promotion right now. Membership for the entire family is FREE for six months. This also includes free daycare! It really doesn't get any better than that. I know that they will be capping it but as of now they are still open to more applicants. The only stipulation is that you have to go atleast 8 times per month which is only twice a week. Today was my first day back at the gym and I loved every minute of it. I was a little nervous to leave Abby for the first time. I have always felt comfortable with the daycare there and I knew that I woulnd't be too far away. Today I swam 700m in the pool and did a hill workout on the treadmill. With only five minutes left in my workout I got paged to the nursery. Abby was pretty upset and since I was pretty much done it was no big deal to end my workout early. It will just take a while to get adjusted I'm sure. SO, if there are any military ladies who feel the need to shed a few pounds as we enter the months of lots of eating and such, come to the YMCA and join for FREE. I will be swimming and running MWF and doing a spinning class on T TH if anyone is interested in joining me. The spinning class starts at 9:00am. Wish me luck as I get my body back into shape and shed those last couple of baby pounds.

Why I LOVE my KIDS

I can't believe that in the past four months I haven't been able to get a picture of ALL of my kids. Today was my first attempt. Today's bribe was a quarter and a piece of candy. OK I know I am pathetic but it is really important for me to have all of them in at least one picture. I'm sure there will be many more attempts because I am a perfectionist.

ABBY - I love Abby because of her sweet nature and her little smiles and giggles. She just loves to be around everyone and see what everyone is doing. She puts up with the constant kisses from Peter and the pokes from Emma and Andrew as he has finally figured out how to hold her while standing up (with close supervision of course). I am so excited to see more of her personality as she grows up.

EMMA - I love Emma because of her spunky nature and sweet personality. She is definitely a drama queen sometimes but then the next moment she is the sweetest little girl. She is always willing to help and share as long as you ask her nicely. I wonder when the boys will figure that one out!! She is such a joy to be around. I love watching her as she starts to become creative in playing with her dolls and stuffed animals. I love my Emma because she is sensitive to others. She can sense when I am having a hard time. She will ask me, "Are you happy mommy?" I try and always answer "yes" even when I am not totally happy because when I am happy she is happy. I don't know what I would do without her. Oh, and she lets me do her hair. THANK YOU dear Emma.

PETER - I love Peter because he is just the sweetest boy I know. He will always give me hugs and kisses and isn't afraid to show his affection. If anything he gives too many kisses - is that possible?? His smile warms my heart. He is such a good listener and I just love that. Peter is a great story teller even though half the time I don't understand what he is saying. He is so animated in everything he says. Everyone is always saying how hilarious they think he is.

ANDREW - I love Andrew because of his silliness and his tender heart. I love how smart he is and how he can figure out anything. I love how talented he is already. I love that he loves is daddy so much. I love that he loves to play games with me - especially Yahtzee. Andrew is the kid that will stand by your side no matter what. I am thankful to have him to stand beside me as we live, learn, and grow together!



I love ALL of my kids equally but for different reasons. I feel so blessed to have them. At times it is not easy to be the Maid, Cook, Driver, Negotiator, Disciplinarian, Nurse, and Referee. But I am a mom and this is my life and I LOVE IT!