80's Skating Party

Ok I know this is a scary picture---but it sure was fun to dress up for our friend's 80's rollerskating party. What a great idea! Thank goodness for Goodwill and Target who cheaply dressed us up. Mike's rad tights and wig were supplied by our good friends who always seem to have everything you need! It was so much fun to get back on skates. It has probably been at least 10 years since I have been on skates. I used to be good back in the day because my home town had its own skating rink. Every summer we would go skating at that rink, eat cotton candy, buy red licorice, get stickers from the sticker machine, and buy ice-cream. I remember the games they would play and how much fun we had. I was surprised at how fast it all came back. Now I am hooked again and as soon as we can we will be taking our kids to go skating with us.

Who would have thought...

None of my children have ever been the type to pull everything out of the cupboards and drawers and not once have I ever caught any of them pulling ALL the toilet paper off the roll. Of course what child doesn't do that?? Well, today was our first and with our third child of all things. Now that Emma is very good at using the toilet, she wants the freedom to use the toilet paper when she is done. She was in the bathroom for literally 2 minutes and this is what happened. Of course I grabbed my camera and laughed a little as I made her roll the paper back up. I'm sure there will be many more sneaky moments coming from this one. Oh the JOYS!

Back into Running

FINALLY! I guess life has slowed down enough for me to get back into running. Seriously I don't know why it has taken me this long. Abigail is three months old and I finally feel comfortable putting her in the jogger. The biggest change for me this year other than having a new baby is Peter's afternoon Kindergarten. I am more of a morning person and prefer to exercise in the morning. Running after we drop Peter off to school will be something that I will have to get used to.

Today was one of those running days to document. It was a blue sky day with big white puffy clouds, a bit breezy, but lots of sun shining down to warm us up. I thought I might be a bit cold but as I started to run I could feel the sun warming my legs and my back. I LOVE THAT! Who said that Washington doesn't get sun! I ran 2.5 miles in about 24 minutes...not bad to start I guess. As we were turning to head home down our street I could hear Emma say, "I want one of those puffy heads." WHAT? I had to stop the jogger to look to see what she was looking at. She saw the fluffy dandelions and wanted to blow them. What a funny girl. It's fun to see how she views the world. To an adult they are just ugly dandelions, but to a little girl they are so much more....they are puffy heads that you can pick apart and blow away. Oh to be a child again.

Of course there is always a reward for being so good. Emma loves fruit snacks and waited patiently for them until we were done with our run.

Rainy Conference Sunday

We had the most relaxing and enjoyable Sunday watching General Conference on TV. Our only sadness was that Mike could not be with us because he was on call up in Seattle. We stayed in our pajamas for most of the day until I decided that we just must get out of the house and go for a walk. It was sprinkling but no one really cared about that. One of my favorite talks from General Conference was from our Prophet President Monson. He talked about having JOY in the journey of life and not letting important things (family) pass us by. My children and husband bring me such great JOY and I am so glad that I have them. I am going to make an extra effort to truly not waste any moments that I have in being with and loving them.

I am so glad that my children don't mind the rain. I personally love it! Of course no one likes a down pour but when does that ever happen around here?? We are trying to soak up as much outside time as we can before the weather turns too cold.

P is for Potty

If this doesn't just make you laugh...well it should! Emma is finally potty trained and many thanks must go out to my mom in helping. Before leaving for Chicago Emma was showing more interest and motivation to use her little potty. While I was in Chicago my mom really helped her. By the time I got home she hadn't had an accident in three days. Go Grandma!!! We continued and by the weekend she was out of diapers and in big girl underwear. Her favorites are definitely her princess ones. So what did the trick?? CHOCOLATE! She is a girl after my own heart. Everytime she goes on the toilet she gets a couple of chocolate chips. She has a memory like no other because she will not let you forget her chocolate chips. Whatever it takes! I can't believe how fast it all went. The boys seemed to take forever to finally figure it all out. Now that we have mastered this milestone we are on to the next one...a big girl bed. Tonight will be her first time sleeping on her mattress on the floor. We still have to purchase her bed. After leaving her room and saying goodnight she fell asleep and I didn't hear a peep from her room. She is a real dream. I am so excited for the morning when she can get out of her bed all by herself and go to the bathroom. Lately I have been hearing her call for me to get her out of the crib because she has to use the bathroom. I can't believe she is my big girl now!