Cleaning Day

This morning has gone by pretty quick.  It's 2:11 pm right now and Grace is deep in sleep in her room.  She helped me out so much today with cleaning and organizing!  This morning we got up around 9:00 this morning and Grace got to go in the bathtub with Daddy!  While she was in there I worked on some homework, and after the bath, Grace had a granola bar for breakfast.  She and I did some laundry, cleaned out and organized the linen closet by her bedroom, and she helped me move my bookshelf around.  It was cute to see her helping me push that big 'ol bookshelf around!  I just love how much she wants to help me with so much stuff.  I think she likes showing me that she's a big girl and has big muscles!  After a little while she went off and played on her own, and so I was able to fold some laundry, put away some extra towels and sheets that we never use, and get lunch ready.  She and I had leftover corn chowder with cheese, and she just gobbled it all down!  By around 12:10 pm she was SO tired!  She kept laying her head in her high chair and saying, "nigh nigh."  So of course it was bedtime.  I just love this next part...

I asked her to go to her room and take her shoes off, and off she went!  It took her a long time to learn how to take off the velcro on her shoes, but it was so awesome to see her do it today.  It took her a few minutes for each shoe, but gosh darnit she did it.  After she took her shoes off she laid right down for me to change her diaper, and at that point it was definitely obvious that she was ready for bed.  She laid right down and went to sleep within minutes, and so that's when I got to work with my homework.

Now I'm taking a break from everything that I was doing.  I have Grace's laundry to put away, and some fabric to fold that I washed for quilt making.  I'm watching a movie called, "The Help," and Daddy is downstairs watching a movie after having worked out for so long!  

It's kind of foggy outside but there is still some sunshine peeking through.  I haven't been out completely to know if it's cold, but I did open the door to toss some diapers in the pail out front and I got a chill really quick.

I was hoping to make something yummy for dinner tonight but we have so many leftovers that have to be eaten that I can't make anything.  I'm hoping that I can make something really good for dinner tomorrow, but I'm going to have to look through some recipe books to see what sounds good.  I need to go grocery shopping, but I don't know if I want to go today.

I was thinking about decorating Grace's room, as well as my sewing room.  I'm thinking about doing pink and black in Grace's room.  Black on the trim and pink everywhere else.  I'm only doing this because she has a black zebra picture holder in her room, as well as a black and pink heart corner stuffed animal holder, so I'll see what I can do.  I saw a really cute design with multiple different picture frames, some with pictures in them and some with quotes, and then a G in the middle or to the side for her name.  I'm planning on doing this for her.  Then in the sewing room, I'm thinking about making curtains and putting some shelves up on the wall to hold my supplies.  I'm hoping to move my books down to Ryan's old room and put up a peg board where my sewing table is so that it can hold some buckets.  I'm going to put all sorts of different supplies in the buckets, that way my closest can be cleaned up a bit.  I'm also hoping to put up some cute decorations in there so that it's not so plain.  Then comes the bedroom.  I just can't believe how hard it is to make room look cute and not so plain, and that's not forgetting the living room.  Oh, boy.  But definitely going to take a lot of time and not rush.  

I'm planning on making a list of things that I hope to get done over the months that I'm out of school, and maybe this will help keep me busy while Grace is napping or in bed.  I'm also hoping to get al ot of temple work done, even though I'll still be doing some now.  

Well, that's all for now.  It's 2:30 pm and I'm going to find something to nibble on. 

It's 10 pm now and I figured I'd write about the rest of the day.  Not much happened.  We went to Walmart so we could buy something special for Grandpa Hildreth's birthday, and then Grace and I watched a movie together (The Rainbow Camp), while the guys were upstairs hanging out.  Then Sky and Ryan came down and played Just Dance, Grace went to bed, and then the three guys went to Walmart while I finished this!

Grace was having so much fun dancing with the boys.  She would follow their moves, and then she and I danced together along with their music while Daddy sat on the couch watching.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  SHe absolutely loved dancing together with me.

I love you Grace!

 

Amanda

Date Friday

Today went by really fast!  This morning I was lazy getting up, and so around 9:30 I went in to get Grace out of the crib and then brought her to bed with us.  We played, she jumped on the bed and this and that.  After a while it was breakfast time and while she ate a banana, I whipped us up some oatmeal!  Grace was super hungry and ate the whole banana!  After breakfast we just hung out, played, and I put together dinner to put it in the Wonder Oven.  After this Grace and I hung out in the sewing room for a bit while I wrote down some projects that I hope to get done through the spring and summer, and when she went to take a nap I just messed around, watched a movie, and got some laundry going.  Dad had Garon over so they could work out, and so of course Kenna and Jaric followed.  The rest of the evening we were with them playing and having fun, and then at 7:45 Brad and I went to a "Battle of the Dances."  It was so fun!  A lot of great dances, a huge audience, and lots of excitement!

And now here I am, watching a movie (The Lucky One).  It's a romance movie, which I like to watch!

So, not much happened today.  It was a nice day.  In the beginning of the day it was really cloudy, but it cleared up to a pretty sunny day.  But it's weird because the clouds came back in and and there was a mist in the evening.  

We had sloppy joes for dinner.  Well, actually, Grace and I had homemade macaroni and cheese.  It was the best macaroni and cheese I've had in...like...forever!  Here was my recipe for sloppy joes:

1 can of corn

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of black beans

1 can of sloppy joe sauce

2 tb ketchup

1 package sloppy joe seasoning

1/4 c dehydrated carrots

1 pound ground beef

black pepper

tons of: dehydrated spinach powder, flaxseed, wheat, and barley.

Brown your ground beef, add it to your chili, boil it for 3 minutes, and then put the pot lid on and stick it in your Wonder Oven.  Nice and hot for dinner!  We ate this with wheat rolls as the "buns" since we didn't have any real buns.

Well, that's it for us!  We don't have any plans for tomorrow, so we'll see what the day brings!  Grandpa Hildreth's birthday is on the 10th and so we will be going to Montana next weekend to celebrate!  

Amanda

Shew...Mama's Tired

Wow, what a day.  It's not like we did a lot of extra things, but it was still a tiring day!  This morning was preschool, and we got there late so I got to walk you back to your class.  You wore your pink cheetah footie pajamas since it was pajama day at school, and Miss Brittany said your pajamas were the best.  After class, you stayed a little while behind so you could work on stamping animals on construction paper with Jeff, your OT.  We went home after this and mom had SUCH a hard time deciding whether we would go out to eat, or if we would stay home and eat.  Finally, at 11:30, we went to Pizza Pie Cafe together!  I had a $5 coupon and you were free, so it was a pretty cheap lunch!  It was so fun to go.  There was an older couple in line in front of us and he was talking and saying hi to Grace while his wife was paying.  Grace clicked with them really fast!  Then we got our pizza, and we prayed before we ate :)  You did such a great job eating your pizza all by yourself.  I had to push you away from the table a few times because you kept putting your hand under the tablecloth, and so you were pushed back for 3 minutes each time.  After about 5 times, you understood that if your hands went under the tablecloth, then you would have to lose your chance to eat.  After a while, we both got so full!  Here's what we had:

Pepperoni Pizza (I think 3 pieces between the two of us)

Chicken Alfredo Pizza (2 pieces between the two of us)

Potato Pizza (you, one piece)

Pasta (bowtie and one that I can't say...it looks like little wheels)  This had spicy sausage sauce and red pepper sauce mixed together and it was SO GOOD!  That's the two sauces that Daddy likes to mix together.

Brown sugar and sugar pizza with frosting for dessert.  The pieces we ate were...small!  We were both so full.

Salad for me, and you had: cubed turkey and ham, sliced olives, broccolli (I WAS SO SURPRISED!), goldfish crackers, sliced cheese, and croutons.  

All in all it was a great lunch with mom and daughter.  The couple that I had talked about earlier were getting up to leave and stopped by our table.  He shook Grace's hand and tickled her a bit, and his wife came to ma, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "You are doing so well teaching your daughter."  It was so sweet!  I told her that I try, and then she said, "You teaching her to bless the food, how wonderful."  Then they were leaving after I told them thank you, and he gave Grace a kiss on the back of her hand.  She just loved them so much!  Kept saying "bye bye ga-ma (grandma) gam-pa (grandpa).  They just thought she was so adorable, and I really liked them as well.  

There was also another woman there that really caught Grace's attention.  She was a grandma, with her daughter, and her grand-daughter.  The grandma was obviously special, and grunted continuously all the time.  It really caught Grace's attention, and she kept staring.  After I tried to keep her from watching, I realized that there was no way I was going to stop her, and so I just didn't make a big deal about it.  When the group was leaving, the grandma was grunting as she came towards us (the door was behind us).  She stopped at me, staring as she grunted, and her daughter and granddaughter were trying to usher her on (the daughter was probably 50's and the granddaughter was probably 30's.)  I just looked up, smiled, waved my hand and said, "bye!"  No reason to make the women feel bad or uncomfortable.

After pizza, we rushed home, Grace took a nap, and then we went to therapy.  Kelly, the therapist that usually comes to the house, was there to talk with Sara, the speech therapist, to see what we were working on there.  After 45 minutes there, Kelly met us at Broulims and she and Grace worked on grocery shopping.  Now, I know she's only three and wouldn't be shopping for herself any time soon, but we were really working on staying with the cart, listening to who she was with, and grabbing items that are the same as the pictures on the list.  It was especially fun because the person working with the fried food/chinese food worked with Grace.  I told her Grace would be coming and asking for a potato wedge, and so she was there waiting for Grace.  I didn't hear what Grace said because I was hiding so she wouldn't see me, but I could tell it was cute because the server had the biggest smile on her face while Kelly helped Grace with what to say.  After that I found a sister from the ward and we chatted while Grace was going around with Kelly.  At the end of the shopping experience, Grace got these items in her cart:

Meat spaghetti sauce

Fettuccine noodles 

2 oranges

1 pint of whole milk

Chili with beans

She did so great!  When we went to the checkout stand, I told the woman that Grace was learning how to grocery shop and will give her the debit card even though I know she doesn't slide it on her side.  She was nice and was really cute with Grace, and after I paid, she gave Grace some smarties!  That was a fit because I took them and said, "after dinner."  But on our way out I compromised.  I told Grace, "if you share with Kelly, you can have some right now.  Are you going to share?"  Grace said, "Share 'Telly'."  So we gave Kelly 4, and Grace had two, and then all were happy!

After therapy, we just hung out at home.  Grace played with Skyler and Daddy a lot!  They threw her in the air, twirled her, horse ride for her, and everything else you can think of.  Daddy even did airplane with her!  Held her left arm and left leg and twirled her around!  Crazy Daddy.  Then Kenna came over for a little while while Grace was up because her parents aren't home.  Then Grace was down at 8, and now here I am!

Well, that's all I have for now.  I better get over to my homework and get it done.

Amanda

(Wednesday) Fast Day Today!

I can't believe how fast today went, but it's because I went to the family history center!

Today started out like any other, but I did get up a bit later than normal.  We were up about 9:30 am, and you were such a sweet thing to see this morning!  You had cereal for breakfast today.  3 bowls of it!  I don't usually let you have sugary cereal, but I just had to today.  You had Lucky Charms, but really, you just like to eat the marshmallows in it.  You were sitting next to me eating while I checked out my Facebook and homework.  After this, we played around for a while, and then ran some errands.  You didn't go to bed until about 1:30 pm just because I had gotten you up too late.  I didn't want you to feel like you were in bed the whole day!  I went to the Family History Center to make our family tree more complete, and to find some ancestors and things like that.  I was so consumed with it that I didn't come home until 6 pm!!  You had fun, though.  You played with Daddy and watched your Sesame Street while I was gone.  Daddy had sent me a video of you saying, "hi Mommy.  Where are you?  Come home.  I love you."  It was so sweet!  You and I had leftovers for dinner.  We had some bean soup from yesterday, and some alfredo penne with brocolli.  That was pretty good, but you just weren't too interested in eating!  We had a brownie for dessert!  It was a chocolate brownie with white and brown chocolate chips on it.  You LOVED it!  Well, of course I did as well.  Neither of us could finish it, so it's still sitting in the fridge.  I think that I'm going to eat the rest of it now that I'm thinking about it. :)  You are my sweet pea, but the way!!

It was so cute watching you with Scotty today.  After we got home from our errands, Scotty was playing out front while I was bringing the groceries in.  I called him once, but he didn't come to me, and so you went to the front door and yelled, "Stotty!!!  Tum IN!  NOW!"  It was so darn cute, and he listened, which is a great thing that came of this.  I like that you enjoy helping me with things like this.  Oh, and then you ran around with him for a while while I put the groceries away.  Also, you enjoy putting groceries away.  Last night we had gone to Sams Club in Idaho Falls and whenever I had gotten something off the shelves, you would carry it like such a strong girl to Skyler or Daddy, who would then put it into the cart.  And even when we were just walking around, you were following like a good girl, and didn't grab or pull too many things off the shelf.  I can say that just a few months ago you were touching everything!  But you've gotten so much better.

Today was a nice day.  It was sunny and the snow teased a bit, but it was a sunny day.  It's 12 degrees right now and was probably in the 20's today.  

Tonight I made chicken leg/breasts with a gravy in the crockpot.  It was supposed to be dinner but since I didn't get back from the Family History Center until 6 pm, I made it so that we could eat it tomorrow.  That way, I can use the crock tomorrow for something else!  I'm thinking a bread pudding.  Brad really likes this, and I'm assuming Skyler does to, as will you.

Shew, it's 11:56 pm.  I tried going to bed early last night.  I went to bed at 10:40 pm, and ended up not being able to fall asleep until after 12, and then I was rolling around most of the night.  I woke at 4 am and felt as if I'd slept long enough, but went back to sleep because it was too early.  So then when my alarm went off at 7:30 am, which is when we normally get up, I was SO tired from having woken up at 4!  It messed me all up for sure.  

Today is the day when I found Levi Savage Jr's complete journal.  Levi Savage Jr, who was the co-captain of the Willie Handcart Company, is my 8th cousin, which means he's your 9th cousin.  That means that way down the line, he is a cousin of yours!  

Well, I think that's pretty much it for today.  

I thought I'd list some things that I use during our daily activities so we can look back in the future and see if things have changed.  Here's some:

I use an Ipod to listen to music.  

I use a wonder oven to cook some food.  This has two pillows in it filled with...something like styrofoam, and you boil whatever you are cooking in a pot for about 10 minutes, and then you put it between the two pillows in a tupperware box, and this will cook the food for you.

We use microwaves to cook food.

We have mail still coming in the mail, Monday-Saturday, and our mailbox is one that has a flag on it to put up when we've put something in it.

We have $1,$5,$10,$20,$50,$100, and for change we have: 1,5,10,25,50, and 1 dollar coins.

Our car has a button to push that can unlock, lock, and turn on an alarm.

I use blogspot, facebook, the byu-i homework page, yahoo email, and pinterest.

I use my cell phone as my alarm, and it is a cell phone that you can slide and then there is your keyboard to type with.

Well, that's all for now :)

Amanda/Mommy

Snowy Tuesday!

There was so much snow this morning when we were ready to leave for preschool!  I had to turn the car on early so that the windshield would defrost, and then I tried SO hard to get all the ice out of the wheel wells.  It was so hard in the front left wheel well that I couldn't get it out, so whenever I turned the wheel too much we could hear it "errrrr, errrrr, errrring."  But thankfully, the snow that was frozen on the windows had melted before we had to leave.  It was 23 degrees this morning, so it was super cold!  Grace, you wore your Elmo knitted hat today because it was "Hat Day" at preschool!  This is Dr. Suess week, and so that is how you celebrated!  While we were driving to preschool, we were slipping and sliding every so often, and so I made sure that we drove slow enough that we didn't slip too much.  After I dropped you off I did some homework, and I was surprised to see how much I got done!  I was almost late picking you up, but I'm so happy that your class came out early so that I wasn't the one that was late!  You were so cute!  I watched you through the lobby windows, and you accidentally dropped your backpack, and then took your hat off.  It was so sweet!  You were really excited about leaving, and really wanted to run out the door.  It was hard to keep your attention!  You must have really been excited about all the snow that was outside.  When we got home, I gave you a snack and then got some dinner into the crockpot.  Of course, it's not going to be done in time.  It's a bean soup.  Here's what's in it:

9 bean blend (soaked overnight)

3/4 cup dehydrated hashbrowns (homemade)

handfull of dehydrated onion

1 red bell pepper

your choice of seasonings

1 can of corn

Worchestershire sauce

hot and spicy sauce (about 2 tablespoons)

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of water

So, because this isn't going to work out, I made corn chowder and it's in the wonder oven.  Here's the recipe for that:

1 can of corn 

1 can creamed corn

1/8 t pepper

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2.5 cups of milk

handful of dehydrated carrots (homemade)

1/8 t parsley

So I boiled that for 10 minutes and then stuck it in the wonder oven.  Hopefully it's good when we eat it for dinner!  We'll just have some toast with it, and canned pears (home canned).

Right now, you are in your room with Kelly, your developmental service interventionist.  You are having a tough day today, whining a bit.  But that's okay!  That just means you are working hard.  The house smells like bean soup, and my tummy is rumbling.  We are going to go to Idaho Falls after you are finished working, and other than Sams Club, getting gas, and returning a pot we bought at TJ Maxx, I don't know what else we are going to do there.  I will probably have us eat before we leave in hopes that we don't get hungry down there.

The sun is shining bright now.  No more snow has fallen, and the sun is glistening off the snow.  It's a real beauty!  I am going to try to talk daddy and Skyler into going out back with me to build a mountain of snow so that we can slide down it with the sled!  I know that I've kept trying and trying to keep you inside, but I just can't keep you in forever!  Plus, I really want to sled with you :)  We'll see how big we can get it :)

I love you sweetheart.  Daddy loves you, too.

Amanda 

Monday Already?

It snowed all night last night, so I'm SO glad I had found Scotty when I did!  We didn't do much today.  I made tapioca pudding and got some sauce cooking for lasagna.  

Here's what's in my homemade sauce:

Home canned quart of whole tomatoes, diced

One zucchini, diced

3 large carrots, diced

4 stalks of celery, diced

3 tablespoons of home dehydrated spinach (powder)

1/8th cup flaxseed

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Spicy Italian seasoning (for homemade spaghetti sauce)

Let it simmer until the veggies are somewhat soft.  Grind until smooth, then add with your ground beef that you've already cooked.

Anyways, I made lasagna.  But I was in a sour mood just because I was really tired.  I'd run lots of errands, this and that...anyways.  I didn't finish making it until about 7:50 pm, so Grace ate and then went right to bed!  She had really rosy cheeks today because something made her excema stir up, so I put some lotion on her face before I put her down.  Oh yeah...

Daddy went in to get Grace out of bed because he was already up going to the restroom anyways.  It was around 9 pm, so not too late.  Anyways, I heard the "uh, oh" and knew she was naked. She came running into my room, in her birthday suit, and I'm happy to report that her bed was DRY!  She got to take a morning bath (which seems to be starting a trend) and I got to be lazy a bit longer!  She's such a smart girly because she'll say "all done" when she wants to get out, and so I tell her, "Ok, pull the drain, and I'll get your towel."  And while I'm going in her room to get the towel, I hear the drain pull and the water draining!  Smart girl!!

We wrote a letter to Me Ma today.  I like to find an article in each months church magazine and send it to her with a little note, so we did that this evening while the lasagna was cooking.  I let her draw on the card and what did she make?  3 smiley faces!!!!!  And you can definitely tell what they are too, which is the greatest thing!  Me Ma (my mom) will definitely love the card!

It's 10:21 pm, the guys are downstairs watching a scary movie, I just finished up some homework and am now writing this while trying to find something that I would like to watch while working on a little bit of family history.  I found that I'm linked to Abraham Lincoln, thanks to a third cousin I didn't know existed!  I am Ab's 1 cousin 6 times removed.  Anyways, I'm just loving family history, so I'm going to go work on that a bit now.  Goodnight!  Preschool in the morning!

Amanda

Sad and then Happy Sunday

We were so sad because Saturday night Scotty had run away and we didn't know where he was.  We went out around 11:45 pm to look and call for him, and then I went inside to stay with Grace.  The guys were out for a while and then came in with a story of police coming.  While they were walking around, a red truck kept following them, here and there and everywhere.  Finally two cops showed up and took down the guys information and said they were called in as a "disturbance."  How silly!  Why didn't the person just roll their window down in the truck and realize they were looking for a dog!  So, that was a horrible night.  Sunday morning was super hard too because he still hadn't come home.  I had let everyone know on my facebook and so people kept asking if we'd found him.  But no, we hadn't.  All through the day at home I kept having the thought I'd go out and look for him, but was so sad and tired that I just laid down once I put Grace to sleep.  When she woke up the nagging feeling that I needed to go out was so strong that Grace and I finally went.  Neither of the guys wanted to go, so it was just me and her.  Our windows were rolled down and Grace and I both called for Scotty, over and over, as we drove 2 mph on each and every rode in our subdivision.  Can you imagine little Grace?  "Stotty?  Stotty...tum heeeerrrreeee!  Stotty!  (Mumble gumble).  NOW!"  It hurt so much to hear that.  I prayed in my head, called to him, then prayed out loud.  Kept driving, kept calling and praying, looking behind us in case he was running after the truck.  We were going down a particular road and I felt the need to look in an empty lot to the right.  I saw what looked like a black and brown rock, but I looked back.  Sometime had caught my eye.  It was HIS eyes!  At this point I'm blubbering like a baby, not caring WHO was around me.  I ran to the edge of the lot and almost climbed over the 2 feet of snow but he had practically flown from where he was sitting at the far back of the lot, wedged between a wall of snow and a chain link fence.  He jumped into my arms, whining and licking and nibbling me over and over.  I was balling and telling him to NEVER run away again.  It was a mess...really!  Now I'm happy there was no one around me.  They might have thought I had gone insane.  But really, how would you feel if your husbands heart and soul had been ripped out because his pup was gone?  He and Scotty are joined at the hip, no joke.  Scotty follows him into the bathroom and sits beside the toilet.  And we take Scotty everywhere.  Even when we go to the movies, he goes in the car and just hangs out in Grace's carseat.  Anyways...back to the story.

So I bring him home and I had collected myself but right when I walked in the door the emotions broke and it all started again.  The two guys came STORMING up the stairs because (what they later told me) because they thought I had found him dead.  Shew...I'm glad I hadn't!!!

Fast forward about an hour.  We went out to go to Walmart because I needed to walk, be warm, and see humans all at the same time.  We drove by where I found him and I walked back to the fence.  He had paced about 20 feet back and forth along the fence until the wall of snow was about his height, and then I walked to the right and found where he had dug down about 3 inches more into the frozen dirt.  That's where he slept.  Thanks to Heavenly Father the chain link had the plastic slates, in it, but not only that, there was a thick bunch of brush right where he slept, so the wind was kept off of him.  He has a cut on his nose and I'm only assuming its from digging in the freezing dirt, in the freezing dead of night, trying to get as deep into the ground and as close to the fence as possible.  

That silly dog.  I hope he never does that again.  Ever.  He slept with us that night :)  I had told Heavenly Father...well, pleaded...that if he brought Scotty home I'd NEVER be mean (raise my voice, scold when he sleeps on my pillow, begs at the table, chases the cat), to him AGAIN!  So, I'm going to keep that promise.  

Thanks be to Heavenly Father for bringing our pup home.  We missed him dearly, and are happy to have him back.

Amanda

A WHOLE WEEK!

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I've written!  I am so sad that I've missed out on 7 whole days of writing about the fun things we did!  I'll try to write it out here, but I'm probably going to miss a lot of things that we did.

Sunday:  You went to Sunbeams today.  You got to see Janica there, so you were pretty happy with that.  She had been teaching the lesson and so you ran up to her and she held you while she finished.  After church you had a nap and while you napped I made dinner since the whole Miskin family was coming over.  They came over for dinner and it was really good.  It was sausage with gravy mixed with seasonings, dried spinach, flaxseed, corn, carrots, zucchini and celery.  You REALLY liked the sausage, and so I just kept right on feeding it to you.  It's healthy!  Then you went downstairs with the kids and played and watched them play the Wii while the adults stayed upstairs and played catchphrase.  Bedtime came and then you were out like a light!

Monday:  You had therapy today.  There wasn't much that went on besides therapy, but after that we all drove down to Idaho Falls to go to the museum.  It was a free day because it was their 10th anniversary.  It was extremely busy and you were pretty upset that you couldn't touch any of the models.  The theme was "Carousels" and so there were so many different animals that we saw there!  You would keep screaming in excitement and pointing out one after the other!  It was so cute!  After that we went to Chinese Buffet.  We all really love that restaurant, and you ate a ton of food.  But we could tell you were really tired because you were acting way hyper.  We got home around 7 and I put you to bed around 7:30.  You, once again, were out like a light!  I wish I could have flooded the journal with pictures, but a lot of them were just the items there, and not with family in them.

 Daddy and Grace next to the pig carousel.

 I thought these ones were beautiful, but what I liked the best is that she pulled me over to her so we could pose!

 Daddy and Grace.  The geese's wings go up and down and the feet look like they are walking when it's moving.  But they didn't let it move.  See that guard rope?  Well, Grace had reached over and touched one of the geese and a woman that worked there bolted over and pulled her hand away from it, bent down and told her no.  Now, I was okay with this.  But then for her to hover, and rock towards Grace when Grace pretended like she was going to touch it again was overboard.  She was like a shadow.  I could see her out of the corner of my eye, and she was staring Grace down.  But, I bit my lip, and we moved on.  I understand that these things are really old and that, no, she shouldn't have touched.  Next time, though, back off and trust that I know how to parent!

The family that went :)  Most of the pictures with Skyler in them have him doing goofy faces, like the one above!

Last but not least, Grace riding the pretend horse!  She actually kicked it to try and get it to go.  How cute!

Tuesday:  You had preschool this morning and I could tell you had a lot of fun.  You didn't want to leave and so I had to make you stay in my arms.  But after we got in the car you were fine.  You mumble jumbled back there while we drove home, and once we got home, you had a snack.  We played together for a while until you went down for a nap and then I got on the computer and did as much homework as I could.  At 3 your therapist Kelly came, and so you had fun playing with her in your room!  The rest of the day was pretty normal.  We wandered around the house, played with your toys, watched Elmo, and piddle diddled until it was once again bedtime.

Wednesday:  I can't remember much of this day, but I do know it is one of the days that you don't have anything going on, so it was probably pretty boring.  It's so tough that the snow is here because we NEVER take you outside, and so we get stir crazy in the house.  If you wouldn't get sick so easily we would probably take you out more, but I'm just too worried about you getting sick.

Thursday:  You had school in the morning, and when you came to the lobby, you smashed your face against the glass and made some REALLY funny faces at me!  Then you dropped your backpack on the floor and refused to pick it up, so your teacher had to pick it up for you!  Silly girl :)  Then we came home and played, had a quick lunch, then you had to go down for nap.  But you didn't nap very long...you were more interested in jumping up and down in bed.  So when I went in to wake you up after your 20 minute nap, you weren't really happy.  But you had fun at therapy, and then we met Kelly at the library and she worked with you there.  A change of scenery was nice and for the most part, you did pretty well.  After that the evening went by quickly.  I don't really know why, I just know it did!

Friday:  Wasn't too exciting.  Same as it was on Wednesday, really.

Look how much snow there is!!  That's Scotty's track from the dog house and back.

 Here's Grace!  She was watching Daddy out back shoveling the snow.

And then here she is modeling the snow!  It doesn't normally fly into the front door, so this was funny to see!

And today, it's Saturday.  The snow was coming down in buckets and buckets, and so we haven't even left the house at all!  In the morning you played in your room really nicely by yourself for about 40 minutes, which gave me time to not only get dinner in the crock pot but to also make breakfast and lunch!  We had oatmeal for breakfast and we ate together while I finished reading an amish book about how to put their values of family into your own life.  I thought it was such an interesting book, and loved reading about how focused they are on family.  After that you played a bit with daddy and Skyler while I cleaned the kitchen and made lunch.  We had cheeseburgers but you were not having ANY of it.  You were so tired!!  And now it's 2:45 and I heard you mumble a sentence in your bed.  I don't know if you fell back asleep or not, though.  Once you wake up we will probably play with some of your horses, read some books, go to the kitchen to taste the soup to see if its good (Chicken noodle with TONS of veggies), and then vacuum the living room.  You'd thrown your crackers on the ground and then stomped on them.  Oh and we'll finish the laundry, and then you can help me sort it all!  If there's time, we will watch another Elmo (even though you already watched one) or we will do some sort of art project.  I guess it really depends on how hyper you are.  I am having a craving for ice cream but I will try to be good :)  I think we will also throw in some freezer organizing, too.  OH!!!  Brother Ryan went on a date!!!!  This is his first one ever!  He had gone to a dance with Cousin Boyd and Brother Ryan and had an awesome time!  He danced with this girl, Maryn (?) for 2 whole hours!  We finally talked him into calling her today and he did.  He invited her to the movies and she was so excited that he had called.  So I'll report on how that went later.  23 years old and going on his first date in his life.  Wow...

That's it for now!  I'm going to go check the soup :)

Amanda

Mariah!

Grace got to play with her friend (therapist) Mariah ALL DAY TODAY!!  Brad and I went to Kelly Canyon to ski again, and shew, was it a day.  My first time on a black diamond run...or two.  Now I'm super exhausted, sore, and ready for bed.  Grace had an awesome day and was such a good girl.  Granted, she didn't take a nap all day...but that's ok.  She was still a great little one.  Ate a really good breakfast and lunch, played really hard, and listened very well.  And Brother Skyler and Mariah really liked visiting with each other, and hung out with each other while Grace played.  

All in all, a good day.  Shew...I'm tired...

Amanda

Valentine's Day!

Hi Grace!!!

Today was such a good day!  You had your Valentine's Day party at preschool today and it was obvious you had so much fun.  You also came home with a bag full of goodies, a heart that you decorated with sticker hearts, and a Valentine's Day HAT!  

 Hi Everyone!  Looking so serious.

But then you bring out the treats and the smiles come out!!!  These are for her classmates and teachers.

I helped Grace write her name on each one of them, and we started a few days early since she didn't have enough attention to do more than 2-3.

Since I had her pose with the Krispies I had to give her one!

Then we had some play time, nap time, therapy time.  At therapy you took rice krispie treats to the secretary and your therapists, and they were so happy.  You had a hard time giving it to Sarah, your speech therapist, because you didn't want to give your snack away!!

Tonight was really nice, too!  Skyler took us out to dinner for Valentine's Day!  That was so sweet :)  We went to Pizza Pie Cafe and they had a sugar cookie pizza.  I didn't have any, though, because I was so full.  You had TWO PIECES OF PIZZA!!

After we got home, you went to bed and then we read scriptures..me, daddy and brother Skyler.  I'm so happy that he is here, and so are you.  He had a great experience with reading his scriptures, and I am so happy that he is changing his life and being happy again.

Love you Grace, 

Amanda

You Little Stinker

I can't believe you haven't fallen to sleep yet!  It's 2:34 pm and I put you down to nap at 12:30!!  Well, you are going to be one tired girl, aren't you?  Your play therapist will be here so soon and you are still in your room jumping and giggling in your crib.  I have been busy cleaning house while you are in there playing.  It's fun to hear you in there being so silly, but I do wish you'd get your sleep!

Today you went to preschool and had a great time!  And on Thursday, you get to have a Valentine's Day party with your class!!  We bought little Rice Crispie treats that are in pink packages, and they have a spot where you got to write your name on it.  I can't wait until you get to give them to all your little friends.  And you will get treats back in return :)

Yesterday there wasn't much that went on.  We just played at home and you didn't take much of a nap then, either.  You did well in therapy even though you didn't have much of a nap either.  After therapy we didn't do much either.  I really wish you would be able to play outside but I just don't want you to get sick.  You get sick so easy that I want you to be as healthy as can be.

The weather has been so pretty the last few days, but today we got to try to catch some really fluffy snowflakes with our tongues while we walked out of the school.  You are so cute :)

Amanda

Sunny Sunday

It was a pretty day today but we still don't go outside to play.  I'm just too worried about Miss Grace getting sick since it happens so easily.  Plus, her preschool is having a Valentine's Day party this week and I don't want her to miss out!!  Church went well today.  She is doing so well in Sunbeams.  I just can't believe she's growing up so fast.  Sometimes I look at her and I see my baby, but then there are those times that I have to take a second look because it just DIDN'T look like my little girl the first time I looked.  This evening while I was trying to take a nap on the floor she kept sitting on my pack and bouncing up and down because she wanted me to play horse.  And then she came over and laid her head on my pillow.  She snuggled up really close until our noses were touching, and then she put her arm over my shoulder and patted my back.  I have such a sweetie. :)

Love you bunches Grace.

Amanda

Not Much

Not much happened today to report about.  It was Friday, nothing exciting.  We just hung out at home.  I just worry about taking you outside because I don't want you to get sick!  So now it's 9:37 pm and you are still awake so I'm going to go get you and feed you because I think you are hungry.

Love you sweetie!

Mommy

What a Busy Week

Gosh, I've been horrible at keeping up with this darn blog!  School, therapy, preschool, cooking, cleaning...oh, excuses and excuses.

Tuesday:

Tuesday you had preschool and had a great time!  When we were walking out you told me you had crackers and juice for snack.  It took a lot to get it out of you!!  And you are going to have a Valentine's Day Party!!!  I am so excited for you!  You love hanging out with your brother.  Skyler lives with us now, and you love saying, "Hi Sty-yer!"

Wednesday:

You didn't have any therapy or school today, so we hung out at home.  We totally reorganized your room and switched your toys out.  You had such a great time searching through your boxes of toys and seeing everything that you forgot you had!  I tried you out in your toddler bed...but...that was NOT a good idea!  I went in there one time and you had pulled out the bottom drawer of your chest of drawers and the clothes...were...EVERYWHERE!!!  I stood there staring at you and you high tailed it SO FAST to your bed, climbed in, pulled the cover over yourself and laid down.  So I turned your bed around and you are back to a crib.  That's ok, though.  I like you in the crib because then you stay right there and don't get out and play instead of sleeping.  In the evening we went to Idaho Falls to go walk around the mall, and then we all got hungry so we went to Evergreen Chinese Restaurant.  Then home to bed for you, and I did an online discussion for one of my classes.

Thursday:

Today was busy, but I like busy!  You had preschool this morning and had such a great day again!!  You wore your super cute sheep hat with the ears and your sheep mittens.  I think this was the best day of preschool ever because when we got in the car and started driving home, you started singing the ABC'S!!!!!!!!!  The letters were all out of order and sometimes I couldn't even understand then, but you were doing it!  I would sing some, and then you'd sing the following, and then I'd sing more, and so on.  When I sang "W, X" you went "Y, Z."  I couldn't believe it!!  I clapped and cheered for you as we were driving down the road.  I probably looked so silly, but I don't even care.  You and I have sang that song over and over today.  Right now it's 4:41 pm, and you are in your room with Kelly, your play therapist.  And then I will make dinner while you are playing.  And then we will color coffee filters for the flowers that go on the Valentine's Day cards!!!  And then we will play some more, and then you will have a bath, go to bed, and I'll do another online discussion.  Love you bunches baby!

Amanda

Saturday and Sunday

Gosh the two days went by so fast!  To tell you the truth, I can't really remember what we did!  Oh, that's right!  The guys were in Montnaa on Saturday until the evening dealing with some family stuff, so Grace and I got to hang out together!  Then on Sunday the three of us went to church and Skyler went to church with Ryan.  After that we had our family friends come over for dinner, and their kids watched the Superbowl with Skyler while the rest of us visited upstairs.  This weekend definitely went by so fast!  Already Monday and back to homework I go!  So far we've made it to the computer.  I'm typing this up while Grace is sitting next to me watching Sid the Science Kid!  Today I will definitely be doing a lot of homework so that it doesn't drag on through the week, and I'm really hoping to get some more skiing in.  I just wish Grace's feet were big enough to wear the boots for kid skiis because I would SO take her up with me!  I would have so much fun trying to teach her to ski.  But I'm thinking that she is a bit too developmentally behind to figure out how to move and keep her body the right way.  So I'll wait for next year!!

Well, Happy Monday!

Amanda

Ski Day...Play Day

We both had such a great day!  Grace got to go to a friends house to play while I went skiing, and we both had a great time!

 Skiing was pretty good. The powder made it hard on some of the runs...I did NOT like that! Of course I did fall quite a few times, but if I don't fall, I'm not learning. All but the "skier's lane" which is for beginners, I took intermediate runs. Tried out moguls too, but it was SO hard to see each of them with the thick fog. I couldn't see more than 5 feet ahead of me! My first run I went almost to the top and took a side run but got lost! I went the wrong way on the run and ended up in 6 in deep powder...but then I tried to hike out of it back to the run and ended up in thigh high snow. So, a bit of panic there. Can you imagine it? Thick fog, surrounded with trees, and it super deep powder. No worries though :) I made it out alive. All in all I had a great time, learned how to catch some edge more than I have before, LOVE the speed, and had so much FUN!

 

Grace was so sad to leave her friends house.  I'm glad she felt that way though because that meant she had fun there.  When we got home we had pizza, juice and a short movie.  Then she and I enjoyed a bubble bath in our swim suits in "Daddy's Tub" (jacuzzi).  It felt SO good on my super sore muscles.  

 

Anyways, a wonderful day, and early to bed for sure :)

 

Amanda  

Fun Day Today

I had a lot of fun today with you Grace!  Daddy and brother Skyler went to Montana to take care of some business, and so you and I got to be together today!  I took you to therapy, and then Kelly, your new play at home therapist came over.  After that, we just had to have some fun!  We went to Walmart and got a Pepperoni pizza, apple juice, and chocolate ice cream. :)  You ate almost 2 small pieces of pizza all by yourself!  And you really enjoyed the apply juice.  I don't let you have it at all because it's SO horrible for teeth, but I watered it down and then we brushed your teeth REALLY well.  I enjoy spending time with you so much my sweet girl.

After you went to bed I made sure to get the rest of my homework done, and now I'm writing in your blog while I watch a movie.  

I love you so much sweet girl :)  You and your daddy are my everything, and I am so happy that I am your mom!

I love our girl time!!

Mommy

I'm Sorry Grace

Dearest Daughter,

I am so sorry that I haven't been keeping up your blog.  I've gotten lost in the midst of schoolwork, holidays, birthdays, and then the struggle your brother is having with his divorce.  I've loved so many moments with you that we've had, and keep them in my mind and heart.  It is now 11:05 pm and must be getting to bed so that I can get you up and to school in the morning, but I just want you to know that I love you.  Here is a list of things that have happened throughout the past weeks that I've missed writing here:

Mommy's birthday!  We went to Uncle Brian and Aunt Lisa's house for my birthday.  We got there on Thursday, went skiing on Friday (we had a babysitter come watch you.  She was the sweetest girl and had cerebral palsy, so she understands what it's like to have special needs!), on Saturday we went out to dinner for my birthday to Straw Hat Pizza (YUM), on Sunday Donna, Lane and Trudy came to visit, and then on Monday (my birthday) we headed home.  It was such a beautiful day to be driving home, and you were such a good girl!  I thought it was so cute when you fell asleep in your car-seat because you had one leg crossed over the other one at the knee, your head was slightly back, and your little mouth was hanging open :)  I left you in your pajamas so that you would be comfortable.

You love going to their house.  Every morning, when you first see uncle Brian, you yell his name... "MYAN!!"  over and over you say it.  And then you put your arms up and say "up" and then he picks you up and throws you in the air.  You and he giggle and laugh with each other.  You also sat by him during dinners and he would give you food from his plate, or some more food once you ran out.  You two just get along so well.  You also love your "Aunt Seesa!"  You love to play with the fun toys she brings out.  One day, while I was doing homework on their couch, you and Seesa were in the little tent she had put up and were playing with the pretend food.  She had a baby doll sitting in a pretend high chair and you guys were feeding her.  It was so cute to hear you and Lisa talking together and pretending to eat food.  You were in there with Lisa for so long...about 20 minutes!  Every time you were around Lisa you would try talking to her, and sometimes I didn't even know what you had said.  She's really picking up on your "Grace's language."  I love that she is able to do that.  That way you are being understood by someone other than me.  Uncle Brian is picking it up as well, so that's good.

I'll finish this list later.  It's too late now.

I love you.

Mommy

Blogging

I'm so sorry, Grace, that I haven't been blogging.  Ever since I started school I've been so busy, and then busy spending so much time with you!  I love being home with you AND doing school at the same time!  You've been great!  Sick, but this was such an easy bug this time.  You didn't need your nebulizer at all, and though you still have a tiny bit of a runny nose, you are healthy all the other ways!  We are going skiing soon!  We are heading to Uncle Brian's and Aunt Lisa's house on Thursday, will ski Friday, visit with them Saturday, go out to Pizza for my birthday dinner, and then leave for home on Monday!  So, hurray!

Well, I love you bunches sweetie.  I'm sorry that I haven't written much.  But I love you.  Always.

Mommy

Already Thursday

Well Miss Grace, it's Thursday and I didn't post yesterday.  Darnit!  School has got me going full speed whenever I have a moment to get on the computer.  But you will be happy to know that we had some fun yesterday together!  We turned on some kid nursery songs on the computer, pulled out a batch of potatoes, and you and I scrubbed them all clean while talking and singing!  Then you kept scrubbing while I peeled, and then went off to play while I finished.  The cutest thing was that you would always come to me and ask "Up?"  When I picked you up, you'd lay in my arms, cuddle up to my chest and say, "Baby...mommy baby..."  Isn't that so adorable!  Then you'd let me rock you just like I used to do when you were little.  I had the joy of doing this with you almost 15 times!  It never got old with me since you're my sweet girl and I'd do it a million times so you knew I loved you.

Today you didn't go to therapy, but Mariah came over and you were all excited to have play therapy with her!!  After that, you sat next to me at the computer and watched Blue's Clues while I did my homework.  I love when you sit next to me and we share the screen :)  Then I don't feel like I'm ignoring you because we are talking about what's going on in your show!

When you went to bed, Brother Ryan came over and the three of us played cards for a while, and now here I am writing on your blog!  I love you so much my sweet girl!

Amanda/Mommy

Sick Again...

Darnit..Grace is sick again.  We had a great day and all, with her going to preschool and then having her play therapist over, but she woke up from nap stuffy, coughing, and having a bit of trouble breathing.  I'm so tired of my little bit getting sick all the time!  It's hard on her little body!  Tonight by 6 pm she was laying down over and over again on the floor, saying, "ni ni."  I felt so bad for her and wished I could have put her to bed, but she did well staying awake.  Dinnertime was a bit of a struggle since she was so tired, but she got enough to be satisfied!  After a nice warm bath, I tucked her into bed 2 minutes before 8 and she was quiet right then!  Usually I hear her in there talking to herself, sometimes jumping, but this time...nothing!  No more preschool or therapy for my little one until she's better. 

Amanda

FOLLOWERS

I HAD CLOSED MY BLOG DUE TO SOME WEIRD SEARCHES THAT HER BLOG WAS BEING OPENED TO.  IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE FOLLOWING GRACE'S BLOG YOU WILL NEED TO GIVE ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO I CAN INVITE YOU.  MY COMMENTS ARE MODERATED SO THEY ARE PRIVATE, SO ANSWER BACK TO THIS POST.  PLEASE ANSWER BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN MAKE MY BLOG PRIVATE ONCE AGAIN.  THANK YOU.

AMANDA

Fun Monday!

So far it's been a pretty fun Monday!  It's been -4 degrees so far, and a transformer had problems so we were without power!  That means the house got down to 65 degrees!  So we all cuddled in bed until the power went back on!  Then Grace and I had homemade oatmeal for breakfast while we watched a girly movie, and now she's in bed for a nap while I start to do homework.  Then she has therapy at 2, and then we will go wander Walmart for a while to get out since it's too cold to actually be outdoors.  The high for today is 1, and the low is -3!  And this week we won't get above 19, and the lowest low is -8 on Thursday!  Crazy right?!  Well, off to do homework now!

Amanda

Not Much

Not much has been happening recently.  Brad and I went skiing on Saturday, and Grace got to play at a friend's house.  It was fun, don't get me wrong! First of all, don't ski on a sprained ankle, it just gets worse. Second, if you rent skis/ski boots, make sure you move and walk and lean in them just as much as you would if you were skiing. Mine were as tight as they could go and I still couldn't turn in them. Third, I gotta get over being nervous!! I did have fun, but was SUPER nervous, and so I didn't get many turns in today. The loose boots didn't help. All in all, it was a nice Saturday. :)

Sunday is a normal day as always.  We went to church at 9, and Grace almost fell asleep in Sunbeams today!  Of course, now she's talking and talking in her crib when she should be sleeping!  At two I go visiting teaching, and then that's pretty much it for the day!

Amanda

Oh My Snow!

It's been snowing and snowing since yesterday morning!  This is so exciting!  Now I'm getting a tiny taste of what Winter is supposed to look like in Idaho!  But it's still nothing like the stories I've heard.  When I woke up this morning I looked at the clock and said, "we'd be waking Grace up from her MRI right now..."  We turned around from our travels to Utah to get her to all her doctor appointments because of the horrible weather.  In the matter of 30 miles, we'd seen 6 cars that had slipped right off the road!  The 6th one we helped.  She had gone off the side of an off-ramp, and so we used our tow rope to pull her back onto the street.  I'd say it was only scary because the off-ramp was practically all ice, and there were vehicles constantly coming off the freeway.  Obviously we had some heavenly protection there so we wouldn't get run over.  I had later thought..."  Wow, if someone were to slam into our truck, Grace's side of the truck would be first impact..."  Shew...Thank Heavenly Father for keeping us safe.  At one point the truck went parallel with the slight hill she had gone down and I was a bit worried that our truck would get stuck as well.  But then Brad put it into 4 low and we were fine.  After that we turned right around and headed home.  There's no sense putting ourselves in danger for doctor appointments that aren't needed desperately.  They are all just checkups.  

So, that's where we are now.  Brad and I are still in bed, and Grace is sitting here while I type and she's playing with her Magna Doodle that came from her Grandma/Grandpa Hildreth for Christmas.  Brad will be hanging out with his friend today (so he says) so it will be just Grace and I.  I'm hoping she and I will have fun, but we'll see.  Not much to do when the snow is falling.

Happy SNOW!

Amanda

Wednesday was a Calm Day, and Thursday was a Cold day!

Well, there wasn't much going on Wednesday.  No therapy, no school.  So we just hung out at home.  Plus, it's so darn cold that we can't go outside or we'd freeze!  It is fun to see the snow falling from Grace's window, which is what we love to do when there's a lull in time.  This was the super crazy busy day when we were scheduling everything for Spina Bifida clinic, but then we needed up not even going because of the crazy weather!  By the time we were 30 miles out of town, it was a white-out with super slick roads.  We passed 5 cars that had gone off the road, and the 6th one we saw we were able to pull over and help her off the side of an off-ramp.  We almost didn't get it, but at the last second, after we put our truck into 4-low, we got her out!  I'm glad we ended up coming home.  We had called Brad's dad to have him check the weather and he let us know Salt Lake was going to get 10 inches of snow today!  Shew!  I'll stay home, catch up on my blog, do some homework, and be safe :)  Now she's napping (since she didn't get to sleep until 2:00 pm).  And now, as I'm writing, I hear my sweet girl moaning in her room, ready to get up and be goofy the rest of the day.  

Amanda

Preschool Changes

Well, since there has been some scary things going on in the world, Grace's preschool has made some changes in how parents are to drop off their children.  We used to take the kids through a back door that leads right to the preschool room, which I can see how is a BAD IDEA!  But now we are to take the kids to the front of the school, and wait in the lobby.  The teachers will then walk down and pick up all the kids at the appropriate time.  I think this is so much better!  I'm so glad that they decided to change the procedures to drop off the children.  It makes me feel a little less worried, even though I still have a heart flutter every time I drop her off.  Just the idea of something happening to my sweet pea makes me tremble.  But I need to just remember to keep breathing, praying and believing that she will be safe.

Amanda

Way behind on posting

I know I'm way behind, but sometime in the near future I will update!  We are leaving tomorrow to go to Utah for her normal MRI/Spina Bifida clinic, so obviously it won't be in the next few days.  So bear with me :)

Amanda

Sunbeam Sunday!

I was so excited about today because it was the first day as "Grace, the Sunbeam!"  I can't believe she's getting so big!  Oh, something about yesterday...she wanted a cracker while we were playing the game with Ryan, but she'd already eaten, and dinner was going to be soon.  So she came to me and signed open while saying "kacker open dur?"  It was so darn cute!!  A three word sentence!!  I was so proud!  Anyways, so I took her to the primary room, but she didn't want to go in!  It was something new, and of course she was a bit shy.  But her teacher gave her a baby doll to hold, so at that point she was happy to go in.  Her "uncle" Garon came a bit later and was with her the rest of the time.  He is her shadow, so she will have him with her every Sunday so nothing happens to her from the other children.  After church I invited them all over for dinner, so we will get to visit this evening.  And Ryan came over and brought his game so we can play again!  So all in all, a great Sunbeam Sunday!

Amanda

Slow Saturday

Well, I didn't do much except for go on a fun date with my honey!  Grace got to play with her two friends that came over to watch her while Brad and I went to the theater to see "Life as Pi."  It was a wonderful movie, and I enjoyed the company with Brad!  Oh, and Ryan brought over a new game and so we played that before we left for the movie.  It was a pretty neat game, and made the time go by between nap-time for Grace and leaving for the movie.

Amanda

Friday Already?!

This has definitely been a weird week.  It's gone by so fast, and so it's weird to see that the weekend is already here.  Two more days and then my college online courses open up!  I'm hoping that Grace understands that school is very important and that when Mommy needs to do homework, that she needs to let me do it :)  But I know she'll be great!  I have two hours Tuesday/Thursday to do homework while she's at school, and if she gets into BYU-I preschool again, that will be two hours every morning!  I can tell she's getting back into her schedule of being home, all except her naps.  She's still keeping herself away.  Oh, and do you want to know how I found her this morning?  Stark naked!  Little stinker took off her footie pajamas and her diaper...and yes, I forgot to put a onesie on her.  Oh well, she got to take a swim bath with Daddy, so she was happy!  What are we going to do today?  Nothing big...clean the house, make bbq beef for dinner with croissants, and organize the food storage room.  Grace can help with the first two, but we've got mason jars on the low shelves in the food storage room that she'd just love to push off!  Oh, and laundry.  She really likes to help with that, too.  Her favorite thing about laundry is pushing the buttons!  

Well, that's Friday for us.  Nothing big, and nothing exciting.  Just a normal day in our household.

Amanda

Christmas

Christmas day we got to spend at home for the first time since we moved here.  That was pretty fun to do!  Grace was so excited about all the presents, especially the Dora doll that she got from Santa!  Skyler got to come down for Christmas, so that was nice that we could spend some time with him, and Grace was so excited to have him here to play with!  Our friends came over and celebrated Christmas with us, played games, and brought Grace a singing Elmo for her present!  They gave us a couple's massage gift certificate :)  We had a big lunch of lasagna and tons of snacks, and played games late into the night.  

On the 27th we left to go visit Brian and Lisa, my brother/sister in laws.  I had such a great time!  We just got home yesterday, and it was hard to leave.  We went skiing twice while we were there, which is my first time ever in my life.

 We also played games, checked out some guns (a left handed 270 for me, and a 300 for Brad), and just relaxed :)  New Years was fun as well!  There were so many yummy snacks and treats, and I loved spending time with family.  And now we are home and back to the grind.  I REALLY miss being up in Montana with family, and am hoping to get together with them again so we can go skiing!!  I will definitely be working on it.  I fell both days, but that isn't a surprise.  The first day I messed up my ankle a bit, and my knees were NOT liking the confinement and positioning of my body from the ski boots, but those didn't stop me from skiing on the 28th as well.  The knee pain went away super fast, so it wasn't a bother, and after resting my ankle and stretching it quite a bit, I was good.  My first day I also bruised my knee from the ski hitting it!  But, I got some good turns in, and all in all felt proud of how well I did for my first day.  The second ski day I was more scared because of my falling from the first day, so Brian came up with the idea to give me his helmet, which played music.  I rocked it with that helmet!!  It was so hard to give it back ;)  I got 9 runs in that day, and skiied from 10-3.  

Great times, all in all.  I was happy to be spending time with family, and can't wait to do it again soon!  Grace loved it too!  Aunt Lisa had so many toys for Grace to play with, and Grace's cousin was there as well, which was so much fun!!  They played well together, and it helped that Qeirstyn (her cousin) was so gentle and old enough to understand that Grace needs a little help being good.  Grace definitely LOVED all the snacks that were always out, and loved using the word "MORE!" over and over until she got yummy snacks!

Amanda

Christmas Countdown Day 20-24

Well...you can obviously see that I failed on completing the countdown for 2012!!  Oh well, though.  That's ok :)  It was a super fun time and I'm so glad we did a countdown!!  This holiday season was awesome.  I really couldn't ask for anything better.  What a wonderful day to end the year, and ring in 2013!

Amanda