Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

New Blog

2009-09-14T20:25:00.003-06:00

Well I have moved over to a new blog... I figured now my world revolves around two adorable little girls instead of one that I should find a more appropriate blog for our family. It is www.cairnscrowd.blogspot.com

I have some pictures up finally from Ashley's birth and as things settle down and I can sit in one spot for longer without feeling like I am being stabbed I will update it.

Lauren's first day of Preschool

2009-09-08T19:26:00.004-06:00

Lauren had her first day of preschool today and had a great time. She has wonderful teachers Ms. Tracy and Ms. Heather. She has one friend from church Walker in the class with her which made it easier for her. She is excited to go back on Thursday especially because she gets to celebrate her birthday!!!

Going to the car...

Outside of the school, a little unsure but still smiling!

She gave me a hug and kiss, then gave Ashley a kiss and walked into the classroom with out looking back. I snuck in and took a picture.
Back at home, writing thank-you notes.
Posing on the fence

Just being cute!

Climbing in the trees.

This picture was taken before we went to the hospital for false labor. Wes and I had gone on a date and our friends the Kelly's had watched Lauren for us. During the movie I kept having contractions and timed them on the drive to get Lauren and they were between 5 and 7 minutes apart. I wasn't super concerned but called the health link on the way home and they said to go to the hospital, so we packed up our bags just in case and dropped Lauren back off at the Kelly's it was her first sleep over ever and she had a great time (she didn't even want to come home in the morning.) The doctor said they were contractions but they weren't progressing so she sent me home and said if they got to 3 minutes apart to come back in. They continued the next day but got further between. This week is busy so I have to admit I was glad that it was false other than feeling silly for going in to the hospital!

Our little family
Ummm, I really hate pictures of me when I am pregnant, but for documentary purposes here is a picture of me before the hospital trip. Lauren is giving Ashley a hug and a kiss.

Ultrasound

2009-07-12T13:59:00.005-06:00

We had another ultrasound last night because when we first went she couldn't get a good picture. Well this time wasn't much different, as the tech put it she likes to kiss my placenta which made it hard to separate the picture of her face from my placenta. We did double check to make sure she is still a girl and she is. We got to see her doing a lot of moving, tons of cute smiles and lots of yawns. Here are a few of the pictures that we were able to get...

It is a little hard to see but she was playing with the umbilical cord and put it in her mouth and was sucking on it. It was pretty cool to watch.

Potty Time and lots of summer fun!

2009-07-06T22:53:00.003-06:00

I am sad that I haven't been updating my blog, it is working it's way up on my priority list but here is a blurb for journaling purposes... I guess the biggest problem is my camera I lost mine on our trip to Disneyland and Wes bought me a new one for Christmas but I just don't use it and when I do the pictures don't turn out I am sure it is user error not the camera but I need to figure it out and get back in the habit of taking pictures!!!

We have had a great past few weeks, we went camping up at Bow Valley campground and it was loads of fun. Our great friends the Kelly's came up on Saturday and Lauren and Emma had a great time together. We went for a walk to the park then hiked down by the river, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and played lots. I need to steal some pictures from Brooke. It was forecast to rain the whole time we were there but it only rained Saturday night after we went to bed but continued all night and stopped just long enough for us to pack the tent up Sunday morning. Lauren told Wes she and I were going to stay there and he could go home. She really loves camping she takes after her Mom!

When we got home Lauren decided that she no longer wanted to wear diapers and wanted to only wear panties, I humored her thinking it would be just a day and then back to pull-ups but she suprised me by using the potty and only had 1 accident. I wasn't really pushing it because the next 2 weeks were going to be busy and I didn't think I would be able to have a potty available at all times. Well she made up her mind and did it! She wanted some roller skates like she had played with at a friends house and I kept telling her that if she used the potty I would buy them for her and I guess that was the kicker. I put her in pull-ups for bed time and she would conveniently poo before I could get it off in the morning but then I told her she could get what ever she wanted at the store if she went poo in the potty and then at the store she picked out a doll with a binkie and that night went poo in the potty so she could open it, she now lovingly calls it her poo dolly. :)

The following Friday Lauren and I headed out Glennifer Lake with Wes' cousin Rebecca and her kids, it was so nice to be able to hang out play at the park, swim in the pool, ride bikes and just have a great time. Wes came up after work on Saturday he arrived just in time to go and watch the Canada Day fireworks down by the lake, they had a pre-show with low fireworks and then had a computer error and so there weren't any other fireworks but it was still fun for the kids. Lauren fell ALL the time while we were there, it started with her tripping in some gravel after swimming in the pool (I had wrapped her up like a burrito so she hit face first and bruised her right cheek) followed by a roll down the deck stairs with out injury then falling head first down the other side of the deck with a goose egg on her forehead, scratches on her nose, upper lip and chin. Soon after we went for a walk to the park and she tripped while holding my hand and managed to scrape up her knee pretty badly with out even getting her pants dirty, then there were a few falls while riding her bike. I was lucky there was no serious injuries or I am sure there would have been some questions! I think that is was a sign that she had a good time.

We got home and I did laundry caught up on a few things around the house and started packing for another camping trip with Wes' Dad's side of the family. Wes' sister Allison and her family flew in Friday night and then the camping got vetoed and we went to Banff Saturday and had a great time checking out the gift shops, eating at Melissa's Misteak (Wes threw up all over the front glass doors when he was a kid so it brings back fond memories), swimming in the hot springs, checking out the waterfall and hiking. The girls fell asleep on the way home and Lauren slept all night. Sunday morning we left early and headed down to Crow's Nest Pass to meet up with the rest of the Starts. Allison hasn't seen any of them for 12 years so it was a great reunion! We ate lunch then played in the river while some went down it in tubes, it was cold! We got to ride ATV's and had a great time hanging out.

I had my first appointment with my OB today and I really like him, I have been going back and forth about wether or not to try to do a v-back or do a scheduled c-section it was good to get some input from him but I am still torn about what to do. He said because of the fact that Lauren got stuck that I have a 40% chance of being able to have a sucessful v-back. The thought of not being able to pick Lauren up for 6 weeks kills me and I worry that me having to recover will make the transition of having a new baby here even harder for her. I told him I would have an answer about what I want to do by my next appointment in 2 weeks. I am still very torn. On a positive note we have another 3-D ultrasound Saturday night I can't wait to see the baby again, and make sure she is still a she... Lauren is already starting a collection of toys and things that she is going to give to Ashley because they are to small for her I love that she is already getting ready to share, we will see how long it lasts though!

I am so grateful for Lauren she is truely such a blessing in my life I absolutely adore her. Yes we have our moments sometimes days but for the most part she is fantastic. She loves to read, play with her doll house, I get to be the little boy and she is the Daddy, she always has a bag/purse full of things with her, she loves to draw and has filled 4 or 5 notebooks with little doodles, she loves Cinderella and Toy Story is her favorite movie right now, her favorite tv show for this month is Max and Ruby previously it was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She so much fun at this age I absolutely love it!

Wes has been working long hours and we miss him! He has been a good sport with me wanting to go and do things on his few days off, I know he would prefer to hang out and do nothing but I love family outings. Lauren really misses him while he is working, today at the Dr's office she came and sat on me and was hugging me then started to cry out of the blue when I asked what was wrong she said she missed her Daddy. I appreciate all of the hard work he does so that I can be home with her and so that we can have a comfortable lifestyle. I am definately looking forward to this winter and having him home for a few months!!!

I am doing well, I definately look pregnant. I think most people I see think I am due any day now and I still have 2 months left. This pregnancy has been good, I have felt tired but otherwise no other issues. I am starting to get heartburn at night but that is managable with a few tums. I have really enjoyed all of our summer fun and am loving living in Calgary. I definately miss family and get homesick some times but I guess it helps that most of my imediate family is now spread out but it still is hard not to be close to them, I have lots of people here who fill in when I need something and I have made some great friends and love them dearly!

Well I could keep going and going but I am going to call it a night. Hopefully it won't be as long between posts this next time. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors it is late and I just wanted to get this done! I will add some pictures as I get them from people...

It's a Girl!!!

2009-05-12T23:29:00.003-06:00

We had our 4D ultrasound today and found out we are having a girl! She was pretty shy during the ultrasound and so the tech couldn't get very good pictures so she said she wouldn't give us pictures this time but would schedule us to come back in July for free. It was great because our parents and my grandparents were able to watch the ultrasound live through the computer, although with out audio it was hard for them to know what exactly they were looking at sometimes it was great to be able to share that experience with them.

Lauren was very excited and so are we. I am looking forward to more bows and frilly dresses and tea parties. To most people's surprise Wes was actually hoping for another girl too, so no one was disappointed with this news! We are considering calling her Ashley Marie or Ashley McCall. Wes and I have a hard time agreeing on names but we both like these. We are looking forward to our upcoming addition to the family and can't wait for her to join us.

Ultrasound Pictures

2009-05-05T15:15:00.005-06:00

We got to go and see the baby today at the Ultrasound. We were hoping to find out if it is a boy or a girl but unfortunately the baby and the technician were not cooperative. We did get some great shots of the baby's face.

We are debating on whether or not to go and do a 4D ultrasound to find out. I like to have things ready before the baby comes and would like to start shopping! : )

I'm Going to be a Big Sister!!!

2009-02-22T19:59:00.005-07:00

Yes, #2 is on it's way... I am due at the end of September. So far everything is going smoothly. I have been a little more tired than usual but it could be worse! Lauren is excited and likes to pat my belly and talk about the baby in my tummy. She says she is going to hug it and rock it. I think she is going to make a great big sister!!! Wes says I am a follower, since most of my sister-in-laws are also pregnant and quite a few of my friends are too. It will be lots of fun to have so many kids the same age!!!

Potty Training

2009-02-22T19:28:00.003-07:00

Well I think we are almost there... we are on day 3 of potty training and it is going pretty well. Lauren had an accident on the sofa today, not so much fun to clean up but not to bad. We still put on a pull-up when we leave the house and for bed time. She kept her diaper dry for most of church, she even told me she needed to go but when I took her into the stall she said it was scary and didn't want to go. When she sat down in her car seat after church she started to cry and said she peed in her panties.

She is definately good at holding it but not so good at going on demand, I am sure that comes with time though. She has spent a lot of time on her potty, I initially was making her go and sit on it every 15 minutes but then she would tell me she needed to go and then sit down herself so I am letting her decide when to go. She will sit on it and watch TV. As excited as I am at the prospect of not having to change her diapers, a little bit of me is sad that she is growing up so fast.

We started off with a pile of dollar store items that I had wrapped up that we set outside of the bathroom and if she went pee she got to open one and if she went poo she got to open two. She went through the pile pretty fast once she started going. So far it has been a good time. ( I am sure my tune will change the first time she poops in her panties...)

Vegas Trip part 2

2009-02-21T16:16:00.011-07:00

Wes gave me my Christmas present early (a camera, see previous post where I lost my camera at Disneyland...) here are a few of the pictures of what we did on our trip. I didn't realize how many pictures I had taken, it was hard to narrow it down and there are still a ton of pictures...

Lauren loves to eat snow!

Having fun on the swing before going sledding.

Santa, Doo-Dad and the Lauren elf (Wes thinks these masks are creepy)

Hanging out with the cousins, I love all of their expressions I think they were eating fruit snacks.
Snow Angel

Cute girls warming up by the fire with hot cocoa after playing in the snow. Lauren, Addison, Tig, and Cam

The night before Christmas day Katie and I stayed up late crafting. She taught me how to make the black apple dolls, they are really easy and adorable. I have not made another one yet but it is on the top of my to-do list!

Christmas with the Farrer Family

The turkey, chasing the kids (and now adults) around with the turkey before cooking it has been a long standing tradition in the Farrer family, I run and hide when ever I hear the turkey is being prepared...

Sorry it is a little blurry I wouldn't get very close so I had to zoom...
Grandma, Ben and Lauren making the yams, Lauren spent lots of time in the kitchen helping us cook.
Lauren helping with the dessert, and then the clean up...

Christmas eve dinner. It was so much fun and really yummy!!! We had all of my siblings, my Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Greg and Gerrie, and my cousins Russ and Eliza with Eliza's sister and her hubby. It was a full house but was just like I remember as a kid!

The "kids" table
Lots of stockings I think there are 2 or 3 more behind the couch
I had to post this one with Mariah's footie pj's. I made the doll Lauren is holding thank-you Katie for teaching me!
Lots of presents! Yes this is a remote control bobcat, Lauren loves cars and boy stuff as much as the dolls so we got her both...
Wes got a remote control helicopter and as you can see he was excited! He has had lots of fun with it!

All of my siblings, L-R Ben (my twin), Justin, Mariah (back), Nathan, Bob, Me...

Christmas at the Cairns...
We headed down the mountain for round 2 of Christmas with the Cairns. We had a blast with everyone and there were tons more gifts! Two of my favorite traditions are that we all get chocolate coins and Dad's spiritual thought before we open presents.
Lauren, Crysti and Nat hanging out

Cami, Crysti, Allison and I had a night of crafting while we were there, we made lots of fun things. I taught them how to make tutu's, bows and the pendants that we did for Super Saturday, I didn't take any pictures unfortunately but we had a great time and laughed a ton!

Although I didn't get to see everyone that I wanted to while we were in Vegas I did get together with Hayley and Kori at the Cheesecake Factory (yummm) We all served on Junior Staff for girls camp along with Amanda Slade Coon. We had the best time back in the day and at dinner. I seriously love these girls!

We went out to Famous Daves with my Dad and Nate before they left town it was so yummy, we don't have much in the way of real BBQ up here so it was a real treat!
For New Years we went to our friends Brian and Marixa Mills house. We had lots of fun eating steaks, ice cream and lots of other yummy stuff, playing the Wii and just hanging out with fun people!

Here are Lauren and Mia sharing a plate of carrots before dinner

Homemade ice cream it was soooo good!
Unfortunately this is the only picture I got with most of the people that were there in it...

Lauren devouring her ice cream

Marixa with her bull horns! It was late...

Lauren actually stayed up all the way 'till midnight. She borrowed a pair of pjs from Mia in the hopes she would conk out but she was having to much fun! She fell asleep as soon as she got in her car seat though! Thanks for the great time!!!

Our Trip Part 1:

2009-01-30T22:09:00.006-07:00

** I decided I can't blog with out pictures, it just makes things more interesting. I lost my camera at Disneyland and along with it all of the pictures from the first half of our trip, so I will try to find appropriate photos to fill in the gaps...**

We started out our big adventure by going to my Mom's house in Spokane, Washington for Thanksgiving.

We had a very yummy Thanksgiving dinner and got to do a little Black Friday shopping too.

(I am a whimp though we hit a few sales that started Thursday night and then went out Friday afternoon after the crowds had died down a bit.) We left Saturday and headed down to Idaho Falls where we stayed with my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Clarke. We always have a great time with them and got a great night sleep!

We then headed down to Utah where we visited with my Dad, and my Grandma and Grandpa Singley. It was so nice to see them and spend some time with them. We stayed with the Stouts for 2 nights to recover a bit and visit. He is one of Wes' mission companions and his family is so great we loved our visit with them and miss them lots! We left for Vegas and stopped to look at a car which Wes bought, of course.

(actual picture)

We then stopped at my friend Amanda's house in Provo and had a great visit. She is one of those people that I can go years with out talking to and just pick right back up where we left off. Her little girl is absolutely adorable. We then drove to Vegas in two separate cars, I of course got to ride with Lauren. We watched Tinker Bell and lots of Mickey Mouse clubhouse. We stayed at my Grandparents house in town for a night or two and then headed out to California. We met up with Wes' uncle and his family at Disneyland. We spent 2 days there and I lost my camera on the first day, second ride. Lucky for me Carlee had her camera and got a few pictures of Lauren...

Lauren and Hayley had a great time together, here is Lauren taking Hay for a walk.

They got to play ring around the rosie with Alice in Wonderland

Lauren's favorite ride was probably Dumbo, she did really well on all the rides we took her on. She even went on the roller coaster in toon-town. She loved seeing Michey and Minnie. We ate at Blue Bayou for Taylor's birthday, which I had never done before and it was a lot of fun. We also went to the California Adventure Park, I have been to Disneyland quite a few times through out my life but always for just one day it was nice to get an extra day and not feel like we had to hurry to see everything. The weather was great not to hot not to cold and it wasn't super busy. It was so much fun to get to go on the rides and we switched off with Steve and Linda taking the smaller kids so we could all get in some adult rides. I know Lauren probably won't remember this trip but it was a lot of fun!

More to follow...

I am here!!!

2009-01-30T15:48:00.007-07:00

Alright I have been holding off on blogging until I could blog about our big trip for the holidays, but now I have been home for almost a month and haven't blogged at all so I am going to just do it and then hopefully catch up on the trip as I go...

Last weekend we went up to Banff and Lake Louise with Rebecca and Dan to see the ice sculpture contest. It was lots of fun! We headed up on Saturday afternoon and Wes and Lauren took a nap when we arrived. Then we went to the Silver Dragon for some delicious Chinese food with Rebecca and Dan, afterward we went and got some yummy candy.

Lauren chowing down on her candy!

Hanging out by the fireplace.

Wes doing his normal vacation stuff...

Lauren decided she wanted to sleep by the fire

Sunday we woke up and went to Banff Springs hotel for breakfast, we were a few minutes late for the buffet so we got to eat off the set menu, not such a great deal!!! (The atmosphere and company were great though!) Lauren loved being in a real castle.

I forgot to take a picture so here is a stock one...

Lauren and Wes walking down to the ice sculptures as you can see we bundled Lauren up tight! It was really COLD!

This was the 1st place (Wes' favorite)

This was 2nd place

3rd Place (my favorite)

The actual sculpture

A Dr. Seuss inspired sculpture

Cool Animals

Wes and Lauren in front of the ice castle, Lauren thought she was ice skating and didn't want to get off the ice even though her cheeks were bright red!!!

Lauren and Dan playing table hockey with nuts while drinking yummy hot chocolate!

Lauren threw a huge fit in the middle of the hotel, it was a long day and way past her nap time! I think this was her first public fit!

Monday we headed down to Raymond to drop off some tires to Curtis for his mustang. We had a great time visiting with them and I got some Cherry Coke, yes there is only one place in Canada that I have found so far that has Cherry Coke and it is at the Red Dog Diner in Lethbridge (they also have great poutine!) thanks Curt and Christina for taking us there! It was REALLY windy on the way home and a box hit our side mirror and knocked out the glass. You never realize how often you use your driver side mirror until you don't have one!!!

Apple treats

2008-11-20T09:42:00.005-07:00

I had an enrichment meeting last night and decided to try some new things for refreshments and thought I would pass along the information because they turned out really yummy!

For the drink I made the Starbucks apple cider (thanks Mike for telling me how to make it!!!) It is really simple. First you buy the cinnamon dulce syrup from Starbucks. Then you heat up apple juice then add 4 pumps (1 Tbs) of syrup to every 2 cups of hot apple juice. Top with whipping cream and drizzle with caramel topping. ( I added a drizzle of caramel to the drink before adding the whipped topping, just to make it a little sweeter.) I haven't had the Starbucks one for a while but everyone said this tasted even better than Starbucks.

Harvest Apple Streusel Squares

I got this recipe from Eagle Brand. Check out their site

for some other yummy recipes like pumpkin pie bars

and deep dish pumpkin pie.

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAN Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 eggs
1 (21-ounce) can apple pie filling
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped pecans

In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter

and finely chopped pecans. Press evenly into a 13x9-inch

baking pan. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.

Add sweetened condensed milk and eggs. Pour over prepared

crust. Spoon apple pie filling over cream cheese layer.In

medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.

Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in cranberries and pecans. Sprinkle over apple layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden.

Do not over bake. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

I should mention that I have a box of apples that I was trying to use up and that is why I went on the apple kick, but as you can see I didn't use any fresh apples...

Friends

2008-11-07T09:58:00.002-07:00

I have been thinking a ton about how grateful I am for making so many new friends since moving to Calgary. Looking back I realized that I have made very few new friends since high school and although I still count my high school friends among my closest friends I am not the best at keeping in touch with them other than through blogs and facebook.

When we decided to move to Canada I was very worried about not having a support group or people to turn to when I needed help. I knew Wes would be working long hours and that Lauren and I would be on our own. In Vegas I knew that even though I didn't talk to my friends every week or even every month that they would be there for me if I needed something, plus we had family there. In Utah I relied on my Dad to be my support and didn't put myself out there to make many friends.

I decided that when we moved I would go outside my comfort zone and introduce myself to people rather than wait for people to introduce themselves to me and made a conscious effort to smile at people. I was given some amazing Visiting Teachers that quickly included me in what was going on and made me feel incredibly welcome. They were great at introducing me to people in the ward and are always more than willing to help me when I need it no matter how busy their lives are (they are both teaching classes for me at Super Saturday) I have in the short time we have lived here made more friends than I have made since high school. I am surrounded by amazing women that care for me and are incredibly supportive of me. I have made friendships that I know will last, and I have gained something from each of the women I have interacted with. I hope that I will never go back to waiting for people to make the first move and will continue to make new friends. There is nothing better than having a group of people that you know care about you!

Lauren has also made lots of new friends since we moved. I know how important it is for kids to be able to interact with other kids and am grateful for all of the playdates we have been invited to.

I also want to mention how grateful I am for being able to get to know Wes' family that lives up here better. We have been able to spend more time with the Start side of his family and have had lots of fun with them. I have also been able to get to know the Cairns side of the family better and have loved spending time with Rebecca. We have gotten together almost every week and done fun things with the kids. Lauren loves to play with Marlowe and I enjoy hanging out with Rebecca.

I know we are suppose to be here, and I have learned and grown so much in the past few months. I really love it here and love the people that I have met here.

Help Baby Mia

2008-11-05T16:49:00.003-07:00

My friend Stephanie Larsen is doing a quilt giveaway in order to help Baby Mia get a new heart. Please check out her blog for more information and to sign-up to win the quilt.

Help Baby Mia (click the link to take you to her blog)

Pre-Halloween Fun

2008-11-04T15:59:00.001-07:00

We have had lots of Halloween fun lately! Last Monday Lauren had a playdate at Emma's house and they got to make sugar cookies!

Watching the ingredients mix together

Rolling out the dough

Concentrating on decorating the cookies

Don't their cookies look yummy!

(For the past few weeks when you ask Lauren what her name is she tells you it is Emma. She even tells strangers, it is pretty funny!)

Tuesday we went and played at Marlowe and Gabe's house and they got to make rice crispie treats. Then Wednesday we went to the park with the Schow's to take advantage of the perfect weather we have been having. Then Thursday we went to the Clark's Cottage (Wes' cousin Rebecca's art classes for kids) for their open house and Lauren got to play with Walker and Aiden, do some fun crafts and eat yummy snacks! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of all of our fun...

On the way out to Clark's Cottage, Aiden and Lauren pointed out all of the horses and cows. On the way back home we stopped to look and pet some horses that were along the road. Lauren wasn't to sure when it came to petting the horse. The horse ended up petting Lauren, and rubbed his nose on her.

Lauren has also taken to saying "beep-beep" if she wants you to move or wants something to move. Lauren and I took Gram to her cardiology appointment Thursday morning and Lauren wanted to get in between two chairs so she started telling them "beep-beep" in a loud voice, she got lots of giggles.

Updates are coming...

2008-11-03T15:48:00.002-07:00

Wow, I just looked through my recent posts and I have a ton of catching up to do! Life has been busy and great! I promise to start playing catch up soon and get some pictures up!

Awesome Giveaway

2008-11-03T13:11:00.002-07:00

Go check out Crafting in Laymon's Terms awesome giveaway and enter to win! Click here!

This is my sister-in-law's blog she just switched over to this blog but she has had some great tutorials and has adorable crafts for sale! Go and check it out!

Picture Tag

2008-10-23T17:57:00.003-06:00

Alright I have seen this on a few friends blogs so I thought I would post mine too...

You are suppose to look in your picture folder, find the 4th file, and the 4th picture in that file. Post it and tell everyone what it's about.

This was taken right after we moved up to Canada at Melissa's Misteak in Banff, they seriously have the best Hot Chocolate, they told us they have the original machine from the 1930's.

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

2008-10-23T17:47:00.000-06:00

You have got to check out this dress it is absolutely amazing! Lauren would be so adorable in it!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Super Saturday

2008-10-16T01:39:00.004-06:00

Well for those of you who have ever been in charge of a Super Saturday, hats off to you! I have to admit I completely took for granted the time and effort that was needed to put one together. I am so lucky to have great women helping me put this all together. It is a huge relief to finally be at the point where we have finalized everything and have the samples made, teachers ready, and everything priced out. If you want to see what we have been up to check out the samples on my Calgary Sisters blog.

I have to admit I am looking forward to it being done, I am very excited about it don't get me wrong, but I am also very anxious and hope that everything turns out well. It will also mean we are only a week away from our big trip to visit friends and family! We are planning on being in Spokane for the US Thanksgiving and then making our way down to Vegas via Idaho and Utah, we have to be in Vegas Dec 2nd for a Cairns family get together then off to California for a trip to Disneyland then down to Arizona to see the DeSilva's and Ben and Katie, then slowly work our way back up north again. We will be traveling all of December. I can't wait to see all of our family and friends!!!!!

We have been having tons of fun lately but it is now almost 2:00am and I have a busy day tomorrow, I have lots of stuff to catch up on but that will have to wait until another sleepless night....

Random Recipes

2008-10-15T19:24:00.003-06:00

Scrapbook Pasta Salad

From the kitchen of: Janan De Silva

1 pk Spiral pasta (colored)
1 pk bow tie pasta
4 cups chicken breast
1 can whole cashews
1 can pineapple T-bits
1 bottle Kraft Colesaw dressing
1 cup REAL MAYONAISE
Grapes

Cook the pasta, bowtie pasta as directed on box. Cook chicken, cut into cubes. In a bowl add pastas, chicken, cashews, pineapple, grapes. Then, add dressing and mayonnaise. Toss until everything is well covered. Place in fridge to chill.

Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken

4- boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1- 0.7oz envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/3 cup water
1- 8oz package cream cheese
1- 10 3/4 oz condensed cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1- 4 oz can of mushrooms
Hot cooked rice, noodles or mashed potatoes

Cut uncooked chicken into bite sized pieces and place in crock pot. Mix water and Italian salad dressing mix. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Combine cream cheese, cream of chicken soup and mushrooms, mixing until smooth. Pour over chicken, cover and cook for 1 hour. Serve over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Note: I leave out the mushrooms and substitute baby carrots the last hour
I like to make this for people when they come over it is easy to do tastes great and you aren’t in the kitchen cooking while they are there. Freezes really well.

Sloppy Joes

3 pounds ground beef
1 cup onion chopped (I use 1/3 Cup dried minced onion to make it quicker)
1 cup ketchup
3 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoon vinegar
2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (10 ¾ ounce) can tomato soup
1 teaspoon salt
12 hamburger buns

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Sprinkle salt, add chopped onion and cook until tender. Stir in ketchup, tomato soup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Simmer for about 30 minutes, Spoon into hamburger buns and serve. Serves 12.

Lizzy Anne Quilts

2008-10-15T08:22:00.003-06:00

I am surrounded by so many talented women. A girl in our ward has created a beautiful quilt (made from her very own pattern) she is giving it away! I love the fall colors and the flowers are adorable. I could definately use an extra quilt this winter so I can attempt to stay warm. Make sure to go and check out her site and the adorable quilt. She is also a fantastic photographer, I have been nagging Wes to get a Saturday off so we could get our family picture taken but unfortunately with the impending frost nearing quickly he is working way more to try to finish everything before the ground turns into ice. Maybe I can get her to take our family pictures next year....

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving !

2008-10-13T20:32:00.003-06:00

I have to admit it is a little weird for me to have Thanksgiving before Halloween, but none the less we had a wonderful day! The Fairbanks invited us over to celebrate Thanksgiving with them (I was very grateful because I haven't ever had to cook my own turkey and Wes wasn't to keen on being my guinea pig. ) I spent the morning making cute turkey bows for the little girls and little shirts with ties for the boys. My contribution to dinner was the green bean casserole, I guess it is more of a US thing and I was happy to share! We had a great time visiting and stuffing ourselves with delicious turkey and all of the fixings and topping it all off with pumpkin pie!

I am so thankful for the friends I have made here, I honestly love it here and know this is where we need to be right now. I am grateful for our family and for the love and support they give to us. I am thankful that Wes' Dad (Walter) is recovering well from his surgery and I hope that he will continue to heal quickly. I am so thankful for my husband and all of the hard work he does to support us. I can't imagine my life with out Lauren, she truly is such a blessing and I love being able to spend every day with her.

One of those days!

2008-09-30T18:38:00.003-06:00

Have you ever had one of those days where what ever you do doesn't go quite right? Lately things have been going really smoothly, but this afternoon it seemed like nothing is going right.

My Mom mailed me up a package UPS that was suppose to get here Friday because it had stuff for my Super Saturday crafts that I was suppose to have out on Sunday, well here we are at Tuesday and I still don't have the package. I have called UPS twice a day for the past 2 days and I keep getting the answer that it will be delivered before 7:00pm, well I checked the status and it was checked back in to the delivery center at 3:30, so they are trying to find the package and figure out what is going on (this is the second time UPS has done this to us!)

Then I have been waiting for my Permanent Resident card to arrive which was suppose to take 4-6 weeks and we are on week 8 now so I called to find out what was going on and was told that my file had been suspended on August 27th but there was no information on why. So now I have to make phone calls to find out what is going on with that. I need to get the card so I can get my SIN and to keep my health insurance here. My visitor visa expires on October 15th, I think I may have enough documentation to keep the insurance but I can not fly with out my actual card, not that I plan on flying any time soon but it is nice to be able to if there is an emergency or something.

I guess things could be lots worse but it is frustrating to spend hours trying to figure out things that shouldn't be this difficult.

On a positive note we had a good morning, Lauren and I took Gram to her cardiology appointment and I was on time and actually a few minutes early to the appointment and Lauren was really good in the waiting room. Then Gram treated us to a yummy lunch. It was nice to spend some time with Gram!

Happy Fall

2008-09-22T17:20:00.001-06:00

Fall is definately here! We are loving the beautiful colors and falling leaves. I saw this cute quote and thought I would share it...

Plant Smiles

Grow Giggles

Harvest Love

Hooray for blog updates!

2008-09-20T01:26:00.004-06:00

I think I am actually caught up on my blogging for the moment. I just did 5 new posts so keep scrolling to see what we have been up to, including Lauren's birthday, her party, a trip to the zoo and Super Saturday preparations. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors it is late and we had an early morning...

Question, I want to print out my blog so I have a paper copy for my "journaling" any suggestions on who would print it and how to format it? Thanks for stopping by and feel free to let us know you were here!!!

Super Saturday

2008-09-20T00:46:00.012-06:00

It is all about Super Saturday around here lately. Our Super Saturday is on November 15th, but I am trying to get projects priced and samples made so we can start getting people signed up. We are in the process of narrowing down our overly abundant amount of ideas. Here is a sneak peak of some of the ideas that have made it to the final cut...

Magnet board painted with scroll or ...

Magnet board with scrapbooking paper and ribbon

Idea from Cami (I am thinking of using horse shoe nails instead of the knobs any opinions?)
Accordion Brag books two of the girls on my committee make these

Perosnalized clocks from Simply Designed

Family tree; tutorial can be found at Mormon Chic

Personalized soap dispensers idea found on SugarDoodle
Magnetic FHE board, still toying with the idea of doing a more traditional one instead... This can be found at Adhering Thoughts

Easy necklace kit from AnnieHowes

Scrapblocks way cute by the one and only Katie Singley
she has a great tutorial on her site.

We are also doing a class called Wife Saver with great time saving tips for the holidays.

There are a few other ideas that I may bring back from my previous elimination, but we will see... I am having a hard time narrowing down our ideas if you couldn't tell!

If you are looking for Super Saturday ideas I found a blog prose of a rose with tons of great ideas for Super Saturday and she has been really helpful! I also have a ton more ideas if anyone wants them.

Speaking of blogs we finally got the go ahead to do a blog for our RS, here is the link... www.calgarysisters.blogspot.com

Big thank-you to my committee and to Katie, Cami, Linda and my Mom for all of the wonderful ideas, help and feedback, you guys are the best!!!!!

Zoo Trip

2008-09-20T00:30:00.007-06:00

Tuesday we went to the zoo with a few friends. The weather was just perfect and it was tons of fun to see so many baby animals! If anyone ever wants to go and wants some company give me a call!!!

Lauren, Ella, Talon and Montana checking out the Asian wild horses, don't you just love Talon's cape!!!
We stopped and let the kids play at the play area here are Lauren and Coleen going down a slide together.

Talon, Ella, Montana and Lauren watching the hippos and giraffes.

Cool hippo getting out of the water for lunch

Lauren and the baby gorilla, Lauren is the one on the right.

This gorilla slowly made it's way over to us and tried to see what was in the raisin box, I thought it was great, Lauren was upset that the monkey tried to take her raisins, she didn't want to share them at first but then held one against the glass for it.

Gorilla looking at Lauren, trying to figure out how to get the raisin.

Baby gorilla

Baby elephant throwing dirt on it's back

Big girl bed

2008-09-20T00:20:00.003-06:00

One of my friends was selling her daughters toddler bed and offered it to me and so I bought it. I had put very little thought into when I was going to move Lauren in to a toddler bed and thought I would keep it in the garage for a few months and then set it up but it was too cute to put in the garage so I set it up in the living room and then decided to give it a try so I moved it into Lauren's room. We practiced getting in and out of it and I made her ask me permission to get out before she got down and then that night I laid her down in it. I stayed with her to make sure she didn't get out and she stayed in it all night. In the morning she called for me and when I went in there she was still in her bed. We are on day 4 of the toddler bed and loving it. Now I guess I should take down the crib, I have to admit it makes me a little sad to think she isn't in a crib anymore. I have a toddler now not a baby, time flies so fast!

Cupcakes and Family Party

2008-09-19T23:45:00.005-06:00

Ever wonder what to do with left over cake? Well head on over to Bakerella's blog and learn how to make cupcake pops. Lauren and I did it so anyone can do it!!!

The first step is to crumble the cake, let me tell you Lauren and I had a blast doing this part. Then you add frosting and mix it in. Then you get to lick the frosting spoon.

There are some steps in between but Bakerella will give you those...
These are what you get!

I definately need to work on my dipping technique, but all in all they turn out adorable and taste great too.

The best part is eating them when you are done.

This is what Lauren looked like a few minutes before the guests arrived for her birthday party. She and I took turns wearing the "cape" and flying around the house, it was lots of fun!

Here are some of the guests, it is nice to have some family here so we can have family parties, we were sad that the Start side of hte family couldn't make it but it is a long drive!

Here is Lauren blowing out the birthday candles, luckily there wasn't too much spit involved.

Dog pile on Wes

No birthday party is complete with out fireworks.

Steve brought over some fireworks and we lit them after dark it was a lot of fun and I am sure our neighbors love us even more! Lauren loved seeing them and when you ask her what a firework sounds like she says: "weeeeeeeee pop" it is pretty funny.

It was a fun night with great people and lots of fun new toys for Lauren. I still can't believe she is 2, in some ways it seems like she was just born a few months ago and other ways it seems like she has always been a part of our lives. We love her so much and are grateful for her fun, loving and giving personality.

Lauren turned 2!!!

2008-09-19T23:36:00.003-06:00

Well this is a bit late, but better late than never... right? Lauren's birthday was September 9th and she turned 2! We had a quiet night, with her favorite meal of noodles and some yummy homemade cake. I made her a tutu to match her birthday shirt (which made it 15 minutes with out getting a huge slobber of smarties (for those of you who live in the USA and don't know what smarties are they are similar to M&M's) down the front, it was blue of course. So it got taken back off and sprayed and washed. So much for a special shirt!!!

Montana Trip

2008-09-11T10:51:00.003-06:00

Alright I should really stop blogging and get working on cleaning the house and getting ready for my meeting tonight (anyone have any ideas for Super Saturday crafts?) But I really want to get caught up...

Friday I went down to Great Falls Montana with Linda (Wes' Aunt) and her girls for a baby blessing and shopping spree. While I was getting ready Lauren was hauling around our suitcase and it fell on her foot. Luckily I had let her open her Birthday present from Great Gma and Gpa Farrer and it had an adorable cuddly giraffe and a dinosaur that has an ice pack in it. So we iced her foot and put band-aids all over and she got better quickly.
We started out our shopping day with a power breakfast, alright maybe it was just the continental breakfast from the hotel but it was full of sugar which gave us lots of energy.

Here are the girls taking a break from the shopping. I wish I would have taken a picture of the stoller with all of the bags on it, let's just say it is a good thing we had a stroller or our arms would have really hurt!
Don't worry we still did some more shopping after this to make sure we had properly filled the trunk.

It was so nice to get to shop at some of my favorite stores, I really scored at Ross and found a dress, skirt, jeans, new bag, and some outfits for Lauren all really cheap!!! Thank-you Linda for letting me tag along, it was so much fun and I really enjoyed our drive time and the great conversation.

Service Bingo

2008-09-11T10:27:00.005-06:00

I had my first Quarterly Enrichment activity last week and it was a lot of fun (at least I thought so...) We did Service Bingo, kind of a spin off of a Service Auction. We had everyone bring an idea of a service to donate then played Bingo, when you got Bingo you got to go up a pick a service.

Here is my invitation, I did them on Photoshop (Huge thank-you Curtis for getting me the program!) And then printed them at Costco.

Here are some women posting their services and checking out what everyone else donated

Yummy Chocolate and Ranch fountains

Time to eat (check out the Self-Serve sign above the table)
Water table

Filling out the bingo cards, just if you are wondering yes the girl on the left is pregnant, isn't she cute! :)

Getting ready to start the game

Big thanks to these little ones (and their Mom's) for staying and helping clean up.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

2008-09-11T10:05:00.003-06:00

Today is my Mom's Birthday. I wanted to tell her how much I love her and am grateful for all of the sacrifices that she has made for me. She is truly my best friend and I am constantly amazed by all of her talents and gifts. My Mom is my sounding board for things that bore Wes, she constantly reminds me to KISS (keep it simple stupid.) I am so thankful that she is my Mom and that my kids get to have her as their Grandma! Love your guts, Lizard Lips.Sorry not the best picture, I need to get some better ones next time I see her!!

Grandma comes to play

2008-09-11T09:52:00.005-06:00

My Mom, Step-Dad, brother Bob and sister Mariah came to visit over Labor Day weekend. We had lots of fun together. We went to the Calgary Tower, Devonian Gardens and swimming at the the pool at their hotel which had a huge water slide and a little kid play area.

Here most of us are on the see through floor. (Dad is taking the picture)

Mariah Falling

Bob falling

Large stuffed RCMP

Any takers????

Feeding the fish at Devonian Gardens (for those of you who don't know about them, they are a huge indoor garden in the middle of downtown. Lots to see!)

Lauren chillin' with Bob after swimming

We had a lot of fun and once again went to Peter's I am sad to say, I think I am Petered out. Maybe in a month or two I would consider eating there again, but for now I am done. We loved having the family here, and were SO excited that Bob got suspended from work so he could come up too. I love them all so much!

Grandpa comes to play!!!

2008-09-11T02:21:00.007-06:00

My Dad finally made it up to visit us. We had lots of fun showing him around. He loved Canada but said that he could never live here because things are too expensive.

We took him to Fish Creek Park and went for a walk.
Lauren enjoyed watching the river under her.

Really cool plant

Lauren likes to go exploring

Running to catch up with us

Wes wanted to look a car out by Glemore Reservoir so I packed a lunch and we had a picnic and played.
Wes climbed up to help Lauren go down the huge slide then decided to slide down himself.

There was a fun water park

My Aunt Lori and her boyfriend Donald came up for a wedding and spent the night at our house. I took them up to Lake Louise and on the way got my first ticket (unfortunately it wasn't for speeding like I had anticipated it was for making a U-turn at a light, you are not allowed to make U-Turns here except at 4-way stops apparently.) We still had a great time.

Grandpa, Lauren and Chloe heading down to the lake. It was raining and Lauren was glad to get to use her umbrella.

Aunt Lori and Lauren in front of Lake Louise. Lauren adores Lori and was sad when she left.

The only picture I got with everyone in it...

Checkin' out the water

Pretty flowers

Tadaa here is the hotel

We went for a pretty long bike ride along the trail by our house. Lauren fell asleep within 15 minutes. (You can see her laying down in the trailer.) It was nice to have some company while riding.

The day before Dad left we headed up to Elbow Falls. It was a little chilly at first but it warmed up.

Elbow Falls

On the way back Lauren decided to take a "shortcut" which went straight up the side of the mountain. It had a great view from the top.

We really miss having my Dad around, I feel bad that I was so busy while he was here. Lauren walks around yelling Doo-Dad (my nickname for my Dad) and when she sees something that reminds her of him she lights up and says Grandpa!!!

Playdate

2008-09-11T02:13:00.003-06:00

August 20th Lauren (and I) had a play date with Emma and Brooke.

Lauren had lots of fun playing with all of Emma's toys and they both worked on their sharing skills. Brooke and I got lots of good talking time in. Then we ate really good chicken Caesar pitas and a delicious apple crisp.

While I was there my Dad showed up at the house. (I will post about the fun stuff we did in another post.)

That night I brought dinner to Kristen one of the girls I visit teach who had just had a new baby. I made creamy italian chicken and a 5 cup salad. I unfortunately did not taste the food before I dropped it off and the 5 cup salad was horrible (I have made it many times before), I learned that I need to taste food before giving it to others!!!

Cairns Family Reunion

2008-09-11T01:43:00.006-06:00

Wes' Dad came up to visit. Sunday we went to Dave and Wendy's house after church for a little family gathering.
On Aug 16th we headed up to Wes' Aunt Shannon's house in Drayton Valley. We had loads of fun while we were there and I got to meet a lot of people that I hadn't met yet.

We played water balloon volleyball.

Lauren hung out with Uncle Pat

We all went four wheeling

Hanging out waiting for food

The rest of the group

Lauren played with cousins

We all played missionary tag

Dad, Wes, Ed (Wes' brother) and Lauren listening to the instructions

Had to put this picture on here (can you believe how high Wes' Dad can jump?!?)

After we arrived we found out everyone was leaving that night. We ended up staying at Glennifer Lake Saturday night (HUGE thanks to Pat and Wendy for letting us use their stuff!)

Here are Wes and Lauren getting ready to go for a drive in the golf cart

The motor home we stayed in

This is Wes' version of camping out...

We had a great time visiting and meeting the Cairns family and spending time with Wes' Dad while he was here. We finished up his visit with a trip Peter's on Monday before he went to the airport and had some yummy hamburgers and shakes!

I know...

2008-09-05T01:12:00.002-06:00

Yes, I am way behind on my blogging! I have been to busy entertaining, playing and planning to do my blogging. I have 3 posts started just need to upload photos and then there is tons more to do after that! We have had a steady stream of family visiting and have been having a blast! I am leaving tomorrow for a quick trip to the States and will catch up on my blog after I get home.

Curtis and Fam come to visit

2008-08-17T22:33:00.006-06:00

I started this post a long time ago, and here it finally is... they got here Aug 12th!

Tuesday Curtis, Christina and their boys Carson and Nick came up from Raymond to visit. We headed up towards Elbow Falls (we didn't quite make to the falls) but we had a yummy picnic and then splashed in the river and threw rocks. That night Curtis and Christina went to a Cirque Du Soleil show for their anniversary and I got to hang out with the boys.

We made english muffin pizzas, went to the park, played with cars and then they fell asleep. I have been really concerned about if I would be able to handle having 2 kids but I actually did really well with the 3 of them, it helped me feel more ready to start working on that second kid.

Wednesday Curtis had business meetings and Christina and I took the kids to the Science Museum. It was a blast there was so much to see and do, we didn't even make it to all of the displays and we were there for 3 1/2 hours. After dinner Christina and I headed over to Ikea and I found some great deals on things for my new calling (I can't announce it yet but will let you know when I can...see I can tell you now if I had posted it earlier you would have had to wait in anticipation to find out! I am the ward Family Home and Personal Enrichment Leader ) Wes came home a few minutes after us and then Curtis came back with a tasty ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen for my birthday! I think it is the first birthday cake I have had in years! They were suppose to go up to visit Christina's brother that night but they ended up staying.
Thursday we went to the water park (after a small detour for Christina to pick up some things for the boys for back to school.) Lauren was a little apprehensive at first but loved it by the end. I didn't take any pictures but it was tons of fun!

It was so nice to have them here, I wish we lived closer and could get together more often. At least they are only 3 hours away rather than the 18 they use to be!

Random stuff...

2008-08-09T20:57:00.004-06:00

Wednesday we went to the beach with some friends, it was a gorgeous day with the exception of the wind blowing the water from the spray park on us which was freezing. Lauren had lots of fun playing in the sand and on the playground. I only took one picture... Don't look if you have a weak stomach!
Towards the end of the beach time I started feeling pretty exhausted so I came home showered and took a nap with Lauren but when I woke up I was still exhausted and sore. Over the next two days it got worse and finally I went to the doctor, I had a kidney infection they put me on antibiotics and I am glad to say that I am starting to feel better! When we told people we were moving here we heard lots of horror stories about the medical care but my experience was great, now I need to find a regular doctor not that I have had one in the past but they recommended that I get some follow up tests to see why I am getting them.

Today Lauren walked up to me with a bottle of nail polish that Mariah had given me and said pink and pointed to her toes. I haven't painted her nails before and she is loving having pink toes!!! She kept taking her shoes off today to show people her pink toes.

Civic Holiday

2008-08-09T20:22:00.005-06:00

Wes had last Monday off for a civic holiday and Steve was kind enough to give him the proceeding Friday and Saturday off too so we went on vacation. Well actually I had to leave Canada so I could come back and "land" to finalize my Permanent Residency status, but we made it in to a fun vacation too! Originally we were going to head down to Montana and go camping but with having an extra day we decided to go to Spokane and visit my family instead. We left after Wes got home from work on Thursday night and arrived at 3:30am. I woke up and said good-bye to Bob as he was off to visit some friends and then the girls went shopping while Wes slept and then did some shopping of his own. I found some great fabric and patterns I can't wait to use them and post pictures!!! Saturday we went out to Pizza and Bowling it was so much fun!

Everyone but Mom (she's the one taking the picture) at the bowling alley
Lauren got to bowl for everyone, she rolled the ball so slow that it typically didn't register so we still got to take our real turn
Lauren and Grandma Lauren and Wes

The score board for those that can't see Mom got a 77, Wes got a 78, Moe got a 77 and I got a 152!

Moe and I bought matching hats, had to put this on here to bother Wes...

Lauren LOVED the trampoline and talked everyone into taking her "hop"

We decided to leave Sunday after church since my Mom and Mariah were trying to get ready for Girls Camp Monday morning. We drove through Glacier Park and stopped in Kalispell, MT for the night.

West entrance of Glacier Park

Looking down on the valley

We were surprised to see so many waterfalls this late in the season

Lauren had her own waterfall going on! As we pulled up to park at the immigration office they were arresting a guy I am not sure what for but it made me nervous. All of my immigration stuff went really smooth, they were friendly and helpful, even offered Wes a job. It is nice to have that all behind me I am proud to be a Canadian (it's okay Janan I will always be an American I just added that to get you riled up :P )

Priorities

2008-07-29T23:35:00.006-06:00

My friend and I were talking today about how great it is to be able to stay at home with our children and to get to go and do fun things with them. I ran across this quote and I love it!!!!

PRIORITIES

I hope my children look back on today,
And see a Mother who had time to play!

Children grow up while you’re not looking,
There’ll be years ahead for cleaning and cooking,

So quiet now, cobwebs; dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.

~ Author Unknown ~

Sometimes life gets so busy that you start to feel like it is a burden to stop and do things with your kids. There is always something that needs to be cleaned, a load of laundry to do, a phone call to make, a blog to catch up on but our children really are what life is all about and every moment with them counts. I hope that Lauren will think of me as a Mom that stops and plays with her! And as for the cobwebs and cleaning, they will have to continue to wait, sorry Wes...

Fun in the Sun!!!

2008-07-29T16:20:00.003-06:00

Today was warm so Lauren and I decided that after we ran a few errands we would go to the lake. One of errands was out by Chestemere so I thought I would check it out and see if there was a beach type place and could not find one, so we headed back down to Sikome Lake. It was pretty busy but we found a great spot and Lauren started to play. I forgot to bring her bucket and shovel but there were lots of nice people who shared with her!

Lauren practicing her kick, and checking out all of the action.

Building a sand castle

Chowing down on lunchables (not a good idea for sandy hands...)

Lookin' cute!

Quick gripe... We were having a great time, I was working on getting my legs a little less blindingly white while watching Lauren play in the sand when a lady walked in front of me and started to set up her big chair and umbrella right in my view of Lauren. I very nicely asked if she would mind setting up her chair a little to the right so I could still see my daughter, in which she responded "if you need to watch her you should be with her not lounging over here." I very politely through grinding teeth told her not to worry about moving that I would move all of my stuff... I have had nothing but pleasant encounters with people since I moved here and was a little taken back with such a snotty remark, I could see if Lauren was in the water and I was not paying attention to her or something but she was playing in the sand on the beach. I didn't let it ruin it for us though, we went swimming and built a sand castle and Lauren had lots of fun throwing sand and filling buckets.

Potty Training take #1

2008-07-29T16:03:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I decided to give potty training a go. I read how to potty train in one day and had everything together so I could spend all day working one-on-one with Lauren . We were very successful, well at least with wetting through 7 pairs of princess panties and 3 pairs of training pants.
She can do all of the potty process by herself, go into the bathroom, pull down her pants, get her potty seat, get her step stool and sit down , wipe, flush the toilet, put everything away and wash her hands. Yet in the entire time she never once went pee in the toilet. I fed her tons of salty foods and lots of juice, pop and water to make sure she needed to pee a lot. Twice she went in to the bathroom on her own and peed while standing right next to the toilet and once she got up off the toilet and stood in the bathtub to pee. So I think she still needs to work on being able to pee while sitting down and then we will give it another go... It was actually kind of nice to spend so much time completely devoted to her we enjoyed it even if we didn't accomplish our end goal...

Ky and Bridge's Party

2008-07-26T21:09:00.003-06:00

Today we went to a birthday party for two of the Larsen's kids, Kyanne and Bridge. It was tons of fun, they had lots of fun games and really yummy snacks!

They blindfolded the kids and had them try to catch a ball in the net, the kids loved it! If they caught a ball they got to sit in the winner's circle and then they played the prize game, where we sang you are my sunshine and when we stopped whoever had the prize got to open it. The little girls got crowns and the little boys got animal noses.

Here is Stephanie with her pig nose getting ready to lead the birthday parade where they sang "Happy Birthday" and then played follow the leader.

Lauren chowing down on her cupcake icecream cone. I thought these were such a cute idea!!!

Kyanne all decked out in her dress-up stuff. She was very excited about all of the fun stuff!

They also did a fun relay race where the parents dressed up in little kids things (glasses, dresses, hats etc.) and the kids dressed up in Dad's shirts and ties. They had to pop a balloon and then tie themselves together for a 3-legged race to the finish line. It was really fun! Lauren loved the bouncy houses they had set up too. Happy Birthday Kyanne and Bridge! It was a really fun party thanks for inviting us!

Crafty

2008-07-26T14:04:00.005-06:00

I have had a major itch to do some crafty things and finally did a few of the things on my list...

I made my first "I Spy" bag for Bridge a little boy in our ward who had a birthday party today. It looked pretty straight forward and with it only being my 2nd time sewing with out having help I think it turned out alright. I did have to pull out the stitches more than once and I will change some things the next time I do one but all in all it was a fun experience. I can't wait to make one for Lauren she kept picking his up and playing with it.

I also made a tutu for his sister Kyanne who loves to dress-up. I tried a new way of doing the tutu this time which was lots faster. I also wrapped the waist with ribbon, which I think is a huge improvement (sorry to those of you who got one pre-ribbon!!!) I made a matching set of bows to go with it.

Well I thought that making some stuff would fix my itch to be crafty but no, I still want to do more... I am thinking a crayon roll next? Any other easy ideas???

Lions and Bears and Tigers everywhere, we're going to the zoo!

2008-07-26T13:15:00.006-06:00

I broke down and bought a season pass to the zoo, I figured I will go at least 2 times and that is the same price as the pass. The last time we were there I felt rushed like I needed to see everything and it is a huge place, so when Lauren got tired and was ready to leave before we finished I was bummed. This time was awesome, I didn't feel like I had to get to every area and we had a great time!!!! We walked through and spent time watching the monkeys and elephants and then had a great picnic with the peacocks. Then meandered through some of the other areas until Lauren was worn out and then we headed home, I really like the Calgary Zoo and am looking forward to our future visits there!

Watching the monkey's watching us...
Lauren is really into elephants lately and was mesmerized by the mommy, daddy and baby elephant.

Random bird came to check us out while we were having our picnic in the garden, someone said it was a Pea Hen, it was quite ugly...

Peacock and 3 babies joined us for our lunch. Lauren was nice and shared her grapes.

Pink Flamingo's Lauren attempted to stand on one foot like them and fell over...

Happy Hippos

Lauren crawling on the rock like the lion. ROAR!

For some reason I really like the giraffe's.

Potty Training

2008-07-22T15:38:00.001-06:00

Potty training... I think I am going to actively try to potty train Lauren, I never thought I would do it this early I always pictured starting to try at around 2 1/2 but she is really interested. I guess I can give it a go and if it doesn't work this time, no harm done!

My Mom recommended a book called potty training in 1 day, has anyone used this method, if not how did you go about potty training? I bought her some pull-ups that get cold when she wets them and now she wants a new pair every time she pees which I am realizing is an expensive endeavor unless I get my butt in gear and actually get her potty trained. I would love to hear what worked best for everyone!

Random Stuff

2008-07-22T15:00:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures from the past few days...

We went for a drive on Friday, Wes wanted to show me Cochrane and then we drove to Bragg Creek. It was a really gorgeous area!
The weather was pretty bad that day, and it hailed so much it looked like it had snowed, I was amazed that hail could stay on the ground that long in the middle of July!!!!

The road on the way home.

Lauren has to be in the middle of my cooking lately. She insists on sitting on the counter when ever I am in the kitchen and loves to stir or dump things for me, see the nice mess next to her, that is what happens when she dumps flour into a bowl! (Needless to say it makes measuring a bit harder, but makes her very happy)

Anyone want to buy a Honda Accord? Wes is back to his car buying and selling yet again...

Monday Lauren had a play date with Cohen Pratt, alright maybe it was more of a mommy play date but Lauren still had lots of fun!

We went to the park and Lauren met a new friend, while Lindsay, Cohen and I cooked in the sun, it was hot!!!

Lauren "playing" with Cohen. She actually did really well with him, I was glad to see her interacting so well with a baby. (Isn't he adorable!)

Lindsay made us a delicious lunch with a homemade Lime Sorbet for dessert, Lauren stole Cohen's seat to eat her dessert. We had a great time and I really enjoyed getting to know Lindsay better!

Monday night we went to the Olive Grove for 1/2 price pizza with a few families from the ward, it was yummy and Wes actually made it there before we left which was wonderful! I was very happy to not have to cook, it was the first time that I really missed having an air conditioner, it was 82 F in the house and 87 F outside.

Luckily it has cooled down a ton today. This morning we went for a run and then Lauren played at the playground then we got followed home by a very large dog, that kept licking it's lips when it looked at Chloe, so I put her in the jogging stroller with Lauren.

Sales

2008-07-15T20:03:00.003-06:00

I ventured to the mall today to find Lauren some new church shoes... I didn't find her shoes but I did find some great sales at The Children's Place and the Baby Gap. TCP is having their Monster sale where all of their clearance stuff is 50% off. I got a bunch of shirts for Lauren for $1.99/ea. Just thought I would pass along the info in case anyone is interested...

Update

2008-07-15T09:19:00.002-06:00

Sorry to all about not updating on Lauren's fever; it went away... I did end up calling the Calgary Health Link number to find out if I should take her in and they said that I needed to bring her in if her fever continued for longer than 48 hours or if I couldn't get it to go down.

Last week we had lots of fun, but I didn't take any pictures.... Monday we went to Olive Grove (not Olive Garden) for pizza with a few families in the ward, the pizza and company were great! (The pizza's are half off on Mondays!) Tuesday my VT's invited Lauren and I to go to the lake with them and a few other families from the ward. Lauren had a blast playing in the sand and water and I got to meet a lot of new people. (I have amazing VT's they have really gone out of their way to make sure that I am included in what is going on and are great about introducing me to people) Saturday morning we went to the ward Stampede Breakfast, the Bishopric made yummy pancakes, sausages and juice. They had a cool little jumpy house that Lauren loved, and the fire department came and gave the kids a tour of the truck and let them "drive" the truck. Lauren loved it and still wears the hat they gave out. They also had a hay ride (a rhino pulling a trailer) but I didn't get Lauren on it. Afterwards we went and got Icee's from Mac's and then took Lauren to a playground to go weeeeeee (that is what she says every time she see's a playground) Saturday night I went to a Girls Night Out, my first one ever! We played Pit, ate junk food and did lots of talking!!! It was the first time Wes had babysat (his words not mine) Lauren for longer than a quick trip to the grocery store. I admit I was a little bit worried but they did really well, I did get a call at 10:00pm with Lauren screaming in the background asking when I was coming home, so I left to come home and put her to bed but with church at 9:00am it was better to get her in bed and to get some sleep myself... At the risk of sounding pathetic, I was feeling pretty lonely up here with Wes' long hours and not really knowing anyone, it is so nice to finally get to know some people!

Fever

2008-07-10T20:29:00.002-06:00

Lauren has been running a fever off and on since yesterday afternoon, she doesn't seem to have any other symptoms. You can tell she is sick from looking at her eyes (they are missing her usual sparkle) but otherwise she is acting like she is fine other than being a little more irritable than normal and wanting Mommy to be close by. Last night her fever was 102.7 it is at 101.8 right now and I have been giving Tylenol through out the day. Should I take her in to the Dr? I don't want to look like a paranoid Mom but I am worried that there aren't any other symptoms that I can see and hope it isn't an infection or something... What would you do?

CALGARY STAMPEDE

2008-07-06T16:38:00.004-06:00

One of the guys Wes works with got us free tickets to the Stampede and Chuck Wagon races on Saturday. Steve was nice and let Wes off of work early and we headed over to the C-Train and then to the Stampede. Lauren enjoyed the train ride.

We watched some BMX bikers Lauren got a kick out of them jumping and doing tricks.

Lauren scarfing down a mini-doughnut
(These are one of the few things Wes remembers from when he was a kid at the Stampede)

Wes wouldn't let me buy Lauren a cowboy hat so I bought her a Stampede backpack...

This is her saying "Backpack!"

They had lots of these human "statues"

Pre-Show entertainment
My first Canadian anthem

Chuckwagon Race

For those of you who have never seen a chuck wagon race...

Grandstand Show with fireworks

Lauren finally fell asleep as we wheeled her on to the C-Train platform at 11:30pm

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-06T16:13:00.003-06:00

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!!! I planned on dressing Lauren up all cute and taking pictures but... it didn't happen. I am not as eloquent a speaker/writer as most of my friends but I just wanted to let you all know how grateful I am to have been born into a country that has all of the freedoms that we do. I am grateful for all that people have done to make it what it is now (I ditto Heather and Janan's blogs!)

More Fun

2008-07-06T15:59:00.003-06:00

I took Lauren to Prince's Island Park. (An island located downtown )

It was a gorgeous day and it was so cool to go from the fast paced buzz of downtown to the peacefulness of the park. They have Shakespeare in the park and a Folk Festival there, so look for more posts later on this summer!

Lauren was so excited when she saw the playground. Checking out the train
(You can see some of the buildings in the background)

Lauren LOVES to climb

Watching the ducks and Canadian Geese from the bridge

Playing in the wading pools!
(Lauren was so tired that I went to grab something from the diaper bag and turned around and she was nodding off while standing in the pool!!!!)

Friday we went to Gram's for some wonderful chili and a few rounds of manipulation (card game)
Wes decided to use his napkin as a headband... maybe it was heat exhaustion????

Canada Day!!!

2008-07-01T19:36:00.004-06:00

Well I had looked up what was going on around here for Canada Day and had decided to go to Fort Calgary and see what they had and then if Lauren was up to it head to Prince's Island for their big shin dig. Just as I was about to load Lauren into the car Wes called and he lost a tire on the work trailer a few kilometers from here and wanted me to stop by, on the way to get him Lauren fell asleep, so after a trip back and forth I laid her down for a nap hoping to leave when she woke up. Unfortunately it was raining, so I decided to hang out at home. When it stopped raining we went for a run and played outside for a bit. Not quite what I had planned for a holiday but it was still lots of fun. These pictures are for Janan, don't you just love my Canadian baby!!!!!!!!

Raymond

2008-07-01T13:19:00.006-06:00

After church on Sunday we headed down to Raymond to visit Wes' Dad and siblings. When we got there we found out that all of his siblings with the exception of one were there and doing a family picture. It was so nice to see everyone and wish that we would have had more time together. Monday we headed to Waterton with Curtis and his family and then came back home because Wes had to work.

Lauren with Grandpa StartWes with all but one of his "Start" siblings
L to R: Jody, Wes, Curtis, Greg, Susan, Trenton, Theah, Mandy, Kendra

Cousins

Group photo

After dinner we had a game of soccer which turned into girls against boys monkey in the middle/tackle football, it was lots of fun!

Christina made us a great picnic lunch for our trip to Waterton

Everyone hanging out on the beach and skipping rocks

Kids playing in the lake.
It is a glacial lake so the water was COLD!

Lauren on "her" rocks

Lauren passed out on the way home in the middle of eating some Cheerio's

We had a great time and enjoyed spending time with family. We were sad that we missed out on Raymond's famous Canada Day celebration, but hope to get to see it next year!

Lake Louise

2008-06-28T20:52:00.005-06:00

Today we headed up to Lake Louise! We got a late start but it is light until 10:30pm so we had plenty of daylight. The weather was gorgeous and there were lots of people but it was still tons of fun!!!

Lake Louise

The family
(some one saw us taking our classic family picture and offered to take a real one for us!)

Lauren playing in the water

We rented a canoe and headed out on the lake

Video of us on the lake, do you see who did all the work? Lauren was very excited that she and I had matching life jackets!

Yes we spent $50 for an hour of canoing, but it was worth the memories!!!
Wes and Lauren on the lake, with the hotel in the background.

Lauren and I

Lauren wanted to help paddle, she is such a big girl!

Almost to the other side!

What a stud!

Lauren loved putting her hands and feet in the water and splashing

Summer is finally here (I hope)

2008-06-27T14:11:00.006-06:00

Well it is definitely warming up here, it is 20 C today (68 F) which is just perfect! On Wednesday I took Lauren to the zoo, we had lots of fun checking out all of the animals and she loved walking around. I got a membership so we can go back again when ever we feel like it. I forgot the camera unfortunately so I don't have any pictures to post. Lauren loved seeing the animals in real life, although she almost got as much entertainment out of watching the caterpillars and bee's along the pathways as she did the other animals. I love how curious she is, I am actually looking forward to her "why" stage. ( I loved that both of my parents always gave me answers when I asked questions and I asked a lot of questions (still do just ask Wes) and if they didn't know they found it out!) Lauren has finally started to talk more, I was starting to get worried but now she is doing really well at telling me what she wants and is becoming quite the chatterbox. Her favorite thing to say is No, Mommy, No.

Lauren chowing down on watermelon!
(A sure sign that summer is here!)

Today we went for a run over at Sikome Lake, I had planned on doing a sprint triathlon on July 5th but I completely failed... I did not do any running or biking or swimming while I was on vacation and don't feel anywhere close to ready for the triathlon. So I am trying to focus on running and maybe try to do a 5k before this winter. Lauren is really good in her bike trailer/jogging stroller and I try to point out cool things as we go and make sure to let her walk with me while I cool down. I hope she doesn't get burned out before I do!

We are on day 3 of getting rid of Lauren's teetee (her binkie/pacifier/soother... depending on where you live). Last night she would not lay down in her crib so I laid her down with us and she fell asleep almost instantly. I love the way she cuddles up to Wes. Any tips from those of you have already gotten rid of binkies?

Wes actually has a 3 day weekend because of Canada Day and so we are looking forward to seeing and doing some fun stuff. He mentioned maybe heading up to Lake Louise and maybe a bike ride or two.

Sylvan Lake

2008-06-24T08:42:00.008-06:00

This weekend we went camping with Curtis (Wes' brother) and his family and his brother-in-laws family at Sylvan Lake. We had tons of fun playing at the lake, roasting hot dogs, marshmallows, and even tried to cook jiffy popcorn, but I accidentally poked a hole in the foil when I opened it. As my luck has been lately it rained, I was just happy it wasn't snowing...

Here we are getting ready to head down to the lake!

We brought our inflatable kayak and Curtis and Christina brought an inflatable raft. The water was cold and of course Wes started a water fight with Christina.

The kids getting ready to go in the water.
After dinner we took a hike with the kids down to the lake and all around the campground to wear them out.

Curtis and the boys on the floating dock

Curtis, Christina and I stayed up and talked until really late, it was lots of fun!!!

Unfortunately we woke up an hour or so after we fell asleep to rain drops on our faces, Curtis and I made a mad dash to get the rain fly on before we got soaked...

Wes and Lauren fast asleep.

In the morning it was pouring, so we loaded up the truck and headed back to our house.

Lauren trying to stay dry

We got home and I took the kids to our little playground.

They had lots of fun, climbing, sliding, swinging and... even teeter-tottering This is what everyone else was doing while we were playing at the park

Even Nick was tired

Uncle Curtis got up when we came home from the park and we had lunch and then lots of fun in our yard we had lots of races and played with bubbles, balls and of course bikes. Curtis even helped teach Lauren how to pedal her new princess bike.

Surprise, Surprise... we had enough bikes for everyone!
Lauren trying to climb a tree
Wes helped Lauren on a walk around the block when he woke up
Then Wes took everyone for a ride on our lawn mower
Where did everyone go?
Lauren was very upset when everyone left. We really enjoyed our time with Curtis, Christina, Carson and Nick and hope to get to see them again soon!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T21:29:00.003-06:00

I am very grateful for my wonderful husband and love the fact that he is utterly smitten with our daughter. I will admit that he was absolutely petrified about being a Dad, but he is amazing. He is patient, loving, and willing to do anything to make Lauren happy. I am so grateful that there is a day to celebrate the wonderful fathers in the world. I have the unique privilege of having a father, a step-father, 2 father-in-laws and 3 amazing grandfathers. Each of the men in my life are wonderful examples and always there for me when I need them! I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to all of my family and friends!

Utah Trip part 2...

2008-06-15T16:47:00.005-06:00

I finally found my other memory card with the rest of my Utah trip pictures on it...

We had planned on going camping at Flaming Gorge but the weather forecast said it would be cold and rainy so we decided to head further south and go to Moab.

As with all good Singley trips in the VW bus we started with a jimmy rig repair to the van... There was no running water and lots of bear warnings...

We had lots of fun roasting hot dogs, making s'mores and listening to Gpa play his guitar.
Lauren getting cozy in the tent

Nate, Lauren and I took a nice walk around the lake, until it started to rain

We spent a little while in the bus watching movies, reading and playing games. Suddenly it started to get dark.

And then it got darker...

This is what it looked like the following morning!

We tried to get a fire started before it got to cold, but it started throwing snow balls at us. By the time we gave up Lauren looked like a little snowman.

Nate getting avalanched on!

Warm and cozy fire!

Nate and Dad moving trees so we could get out!!!

Even though things didn't go exactly like we expected, we had a good time hanging out together and it is definitely a trip that we will always remember.

Scattergories

2008-06-15T16:36:00.003-06:00

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Erase my answers, enter yours, and post it. *Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...*They have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Rachel
4 LETTER WORD:Race
VEHICLE: Range Rover
CITY:Reno
BOY NAME: Randy
GIRL NAME: Ruby
OCCUPATION: Receptionist
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Rain Coat
FOOD: Raspberry
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Robe
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Radical!

Ok, now YOU have a go at it! Leave me a comment if you do it, so I can see!

Even More Fun!

2008-06-13T21:01:00.005-06:00

Well on top of the yucky water we now have water in the basement on both sides of the house. The left side is because of the rain (we think) and the right is because our septic tank is full and it is backflowing into the basement, luckily it is just the top stuff (bath water, washing machine water, and of course other liquids...) So they are coming on Monday or Tuesday to pump the septic tank and we have a sump pump down there pumping the water out. The water put out our hot water heater and it took me forever to get it dried out and lit again only to find that the hot water was really gross... So yeah I now appreciate the city water and sewer that I grew up with and hope that you all will take a minute to appreciate it too! (Except for Ben and Katie because they are on well/septic too)

No, we didn't forget to flush...
This is what the water looks like (and this is when I thought it was clearing up)

Packing AGAIN!!!

2008-06-12T17:34:00.002-06:00

No I am not going on vacation again, I am going to a hotel because our water has turned a nice dark shade of yellow with lots of sediment in it. We are on well water and when we first moved in we had some issues with the water being "yucky" and it got quite a bit better (stilled smelled like I had showered in a bucket of nails but it wasn't sulfur smelling or too yellow.) Yesterday in the shower I noticed that the water was a bit off, but some fluctuation is normal with a well but as the day went on it got worse and worse, it is a little better today but not something that I want to wash my baby in or cook with so we are going to stay a few nights and hope that it clears up. The well people said it is probably because of all of the rain but can't get out here until the 26th... Lots of fun!!!

New Style

2008-06-12T16:30:00.004-06:00

Lauren found some of her Dad's shoe polish while I was packing and decided that it made good blush...So if you ever run out of blush, just grab some shoe polish! (I think it kind of makes her look like a little kitten, and yes I should have immediately washed it off rather than taking pictures but I couldn't resist!!!)

Lately Lauren loves to read to her doll, I think it is adorable!

Utah Trip

2008-06-12T15:45:00.008-06:00

Well I am back from Utah, the trip didn't go exactly as planned but we still had lots of fun! Ben and Katie didn't make it up there which was a big bummer and I never got a chance to go and visit my Utah friends while I was there! We will be coming back down to the USA this winter while Wes is off of work and will definately get a chance to stop by and say hello to those of you in Washington, Utah, Nevada and hopefully even in Arizona!!!

Lauren eating a Tim Hortons doughnut (her first doughnut!)Cool rocket ship at the airport

Getting ready for take-off

We went camping with Gpa at Antelope Island
Here are Gpa and Lauren checking out the horses at Garr Ranch, Lauren really wanted to ride them!

Sitting in the saddle, she was very disappointed that it didn't move!

Antelope on Antelope Island

Drawing in the sand

Playing with bubbles

Starting the fire

Flying the kites

Yummy olive fingers

Getting ready for bed, sleeping in the VW Bus

Picking up Nate from the airport

Hanging out in Gma and Gpa Singley's backyard

Lauren and Grandpa loved rocking out together, Lauren learned how to use the harmonica and we had lots of mini concerts...

Lauren is a great harmonica player

At the Utah Planetarium (my Dad only wears pink shirts when we go to the mall)

Checking out the planetarium

Lauren on Mars

Lauren walking on the Moon

More to come.....

Random Pictures

2008-05-26T14:26:00.006-06:00

Lauren running around our yard. Lauren's new bed...

Yes, she is laying on top of my tupperware drawers with her feet on my sewing machine. The other night she decided that this is where she was going to sleep and would not let me move her!!!!

Gram and Dee came over for dinner on Saturday night, I made Katie's yummy Chicken Taco Soup (see below for recipe)

Before dinner we played a few games of Mexican train and after dinner we played Manipulation, it is a really fun card game. It is hilarious to listen to Wes and Gram bantering back and forth as we play...

Dee was awesome with Lauren they sat a read some books while we played Manipulation it was great to finally play a game with out worrying about what Lauren was up to.

I think Lauren may be getting some more molars, she continually has her hand in her mouth and drools up a storm!

Taco Soup

From: Katie Singley

Chicken (either 4 breasts or 6 tenderloins)

Boil with water (shallow) until cooked and tender, chopping up slightly. (I shred it because Wes loves shredded meat)

A few dashes of salt

Couple dashes garlic salt or powder

A dash or two of onion powder or chopped onion

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can diced tomatoes (don't drain)

1 can corn, or frozen corn

1 can refried beans

1 can pork & beans (don't drain)

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can pinto or kidney beans (don't drain)

Stir together with cooked chicken

Add 1 pkg dry ranch dressing

Stir and cook on medium heat until beans are soft and the soup is thick.

Then put on low heat.

Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream and cheese sprinkled on top.

Really yummy, makes a huge batch we had enough to feed 5 of us and then some for dinner a few days later and some that I froze for Wes while I am gone...

Trip to Waterton

2008-05-26T14:04:00.005-06:00

Wes actually had a weekend off because of Victoria Day and we took a trip down to see Waterton, it was still a little bit cold and very windy but it was a fun trip!

Lauren walking Chloe and pointing out the waterfall. There was lots of little waterfalls everywhere because of the snow melting.

Wes, Lauren and Chloe checking out the lake. (Well Chloe was checking me out but she was missing out on a great view!)

Lauren tried to skip rocks (the boys in the background where skipping them and she was trying to copy them...)
Lauren decided she needed to sit on every one of these rocks before she would get back into the car.
Lauren and I at one of the upper Lakes, it was still frozen over.

This snow bank was at least 7 feet tall in the middle.

Our classic cheesy family picture, in front of the snow bank

Throwing snowballs at the end of May!

View of Waterton

Red Rock Hike

Wes and Lauren checking out the river

The top of the hike, it was really pretty, but not what I would name Red Rock ...

More Spokane Pictures

2008-05-26T13:38:00.005-06:00

Here I am getting ready to leave for Utah and haven't finished posting my pictures from Spokane. (Yes, poor Wes is getting left behind again while Lauren and I fly down to Utah for a Singley family reunion and my cousin Amanda's wedding.)

We took the kids to the children's museum and they had a blast!

Here are the girls playing with a sand and water table Here is everyone playing on the water table. Ben made us go back to it when all of the school kids left and then he broke it! Luckily he was able to fix it before anyone noticed.
Addi and Lauren lounging.
This was by far Lauren's favorite thing. Cam wasn't a big fan.
Fun ball pit (after the mean girl left)
This is one of those bikes you pedal to make the TV work, my Dad use to threaten us that he was going to make our TV into one of these so we would have to ride a bike to watch TV. Lauren loves bikes!

Riding the white elephant outside of the White Elephant store (one of the best stores in the world!)
Grandma showing off the quilts she made for Addi and Cam (she is working on one for Lauren too, but since she didn't know we were coming she didn't have it done.)
Auntie Mariah and Uncle Bob dropping us off and saying good-bye to us at the airport.

Family Pictures

2008-05-20T15:39:00.006-06:00

If you want to see more... Click on the link below....

http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x5/rachebike/family%20picts/

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

2008-05-11T18:17:00.010-06:00

First of all I want to wish my Mom, my Mother in Law and Grandmother's a Happy Mother's Day. I absolutely love and adore all of the Mothers in my family! I have learned so much from each of them and am grateful for all of the love and support that they give to my family. I also want to wish my friends a happy Mother's Day, I appreciate what great examples you all are and thank-you for all of the wonderful tips and advice you have given me. It has been so nice to know that I have a great support group to turn to with my questions about raising a kid!

For Mother's Day my Dad decided to surprise my Mom and fly all of the kids to Spokane to surprise her. She knew that Ben and Katie and their family were coming but didn't know that Nathan, Lauren and I were coming too. Nate got in at 9:00pm Wed night and Bob picked him up from the airport and then Ben and I got in at 11:00pm and I ran to his gate and walked up just after they had come out and were talking to my Mom. She glanced my way and then did a double take and it took her a minute to figure out that I was really there. We came home and Nate was waiting on the couch when she walked in, it was so cool to see her reaction! We have been having lots of fun (although I really wish Wes was here, but someone has to be responsible!)

It was my first flight with Lauren on my own and I was pretty nervous but she did really well!We had a long layover in Seattle and Lauren and I had lots of fun running around the airport and she ran around and around this pillar until she was dizzy. She did a lot of dancing and stood at the top of the elevator greeting people as the came up.

We had Burger King for dinner at the airport but they didn't have a spoon for her applesauce so we used a straw it worked really well.

From Seattle to Spokane Lauren got her own seat she was so excited and kept pointing got my seat belt and then her own. She passed out about 5 minutes into the flight and stayed asleep until we got to the house.
Friday we went to check out downtown Spokane it was so much fun! Here are Addison and Lauren at Riverfront Park in Downtown Spokane feeding the birds. It was lots of fun until the Canadian Geese came and started to get close and hiss at them...
Lauren has decided that she should get to push the stroller now, and it takes us a lot longer to get places than it use to.

Old fashioned carousel, it went really fast!
We took a gondola ride at Riverfront Park, at first Lauren wasn't to sure about it but she enjoyed herself.

Waterfall from Gondola
Dad, Nate, Mom, Addison, Bob on Gondola

Lauren on the gondola in at Riverfront Park
Funny marathon runners
Playing with the catchable bubbles downtown
Lauren's favorite ride!
Saturday we planned on going to Silverwood the local amusement park because Mother's were free for Mother's Day, unfortunately Mom, Dad, and Bob got the stomach flu and Mariah discovered she had it after we got to the park. We ended up going with out them and were still able to have a good time. Lauren loved the rides and enjoyed spending the time while we were on the big rides playing with Addi.

Cheese...
Lauren and Addi chowing down at the park
Watching everyone else go on the roller coaster
Nate was carrying Lauren and she fell fast asleep...
Ben, Katie, Addi and Mariah went on a wet ride they got soaked, luckily Lauren was to short and so we couldn't go.
The girls in the van on the way home.

The family in the BMW (big Mormon wagon) Mom and Dad are up front. We get some funny looks!
Lauren and I at Cour d' Alene Lake
Checkin out the flowers
Lauren is obsessed with popcorn

Sorry about the massive amounts of pictures but Wes wanted to see what we were up to...

Quotes

2008-05-02T18:47:00.003-06:00

You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named Bush, Dick, and Colon.

The basic rule of human nature is that powerful people speak slowly and subservient people quickly- because if they don't speak fast nobody will listen to them. (How quickly do you speak?)

(I got these from our little community paper, thought they were something to think about...)

More Fun

2008-04-28T15:27:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of Lauren in her pillowcase dress, Wes wasn't a big fan of it at first but I made some adjustments and I think it turned out alright, I will definitely make the top more fitted next time but it was an easy sewing project... Lauren has really been into dancing lately, I wish I would have gotten a video of her but thought this picture was cute.
She has been really independent lately and loves to watch and help with everything that I do in the kitchen, we bought a step ladder so I could get to the top cupboards and Lauren grabs it and pulls in into the kitchen so she can be a part of the action.
This morning we went for a run/walk and when we got home Lauren went in to her room and was playing and reading books, a few minutes later I went back to check on her I found her like this...
I covered up the doll but she had taken off all of the dolls clothes and was laying on her backside. This is the first time she has fallen asleep mid play...

Some House Pictures

2008-04-23T02:04:00.001-06:00

Sew Much Fun

2008-04-23T01:40:00.003-06:00

For Valentines Day Wes bought me a sewing machine, it was while we were visiting his family in Vegas. Wes' Mom helped me do a few projects while we were there, I haven't had time to do anything yet but I have a few things planned...

Here are some pj's that we made for Lauren, Wes' Mom did most of the top I watched and learned and did what I could and I did most of the bottoms and got help when I got stuck :)

This is a pot holder and kitchen towel that we made into an apron, it is a really easy project and turns out so cute! I just found a bunch of really cute sets and can't wait to make some more!

This is the Minky blanket that I made. I have been wanting to do one of these for sooo long and thought that they were way to hard, but it really wasn't that bad. Lauren loves it and finally will let me cover her up and night with it (but not her feet!!!!)

I also made Lauren a pillowcase dress, I will have to get some pictures of her in it later. It didn't turn out like I wanted but I think I know what to do next time!

I can't wait to get started on some more things and learn more as I go. If anyone has easy sewing projects let me know!!!!

Family Fun

2008-04-23T01:25:00.003-06:00

Last week we had lots of visitors. We had Wes' Gram over for dinner on Sunday night and we played a few games of Mexican Train and then Wes' brother Curtis and his family over for dinner on Tuesday. (Yes, Wes has a brother for those of you who don't know, his Dad lives here in Canada about 2 hours away from us. Wes has a total of 2 brothers and 6 sisters) It was so nice to get to see Curtis and his family. Lauren played really well with Carson and Nick she was great about sharing her toys. They all like to play with cars (it must be genetic.)

L-R: Carson, Nick, Christina, CurtisNick (3), Carson (5) and Lauren (18 mo)
Yes, Lauren is taller than Nick...

Lauren and Nick playing upstairs

Nick can get his fingers in his nose up to the second knuckle!

Hanging out and talking after dinner, the kids had fun coloring...

Spring! (or not...)

2008-04-11T18:09:00.004-06:00

Wednesday the weather here was perfect spring time weather. It was sunny and warm so we went out in the yard and blew some bubbles, watched the trains and Lauren rode her big wheel bike around the yard (well I pushed and she sat but she enjoyed it a lot!) Chloe loved chasing the bubbles and barking at them and Lauren loved blowing bubbles and helping me in the garden.

Lauren watching the choo choo trains

Lauren blowing bubbles on her own (she is pretty good)

Lauren decided to taste the bubbles, as you can imagine they don't taste that good...

Checking out the lady bugs in the garden
(I didn't notice the one on her shirt until we got inside and Lauren started to cry and I couldn't figure out why until I found the lady bud inside her shirt)

This is what we woke up to on Thursday morning. We ended up with almost 2 feet of snow. Lauren kept trying to go outside so we went out and she ate a ton of snow and we made a snowman. (They were suppose to start siding our house on Friday... needless to say that didn't happen.)

Handful of snow

Lauren and our funky snowman

Wes and Lauren enjoying some hot coco

Lauren figured out how to watch movies on the portable DVD player and I find her in our room watching movies.

Lauren has decided that she wants to use the big potty. I had no intentions of potty training her until she was at least 2, but maybe I should re-think my plans...

Banff

2008-04-07T09:49:00.005-06:00

This weekend we recorded conference and drove up to Banff. It is a gorgeous drive up there and Banff is amazing. I didn't take very many pictures while we were there but for some reason we took a bunch while we were eating...

The road up to Banff.

Downtown BanffLauren and Wes at the waterfall

Family Pic
Goofing Around!
Melissa's MisSTEAK
We have been here every time we come to Banff,
Wes came here as a kid and ate so much that he threw up all over the front door.
Good memories...

The best hot chocolate in the world!!!!

Creme face

Lauren had a very interesting meal, pancakes, hashbrowns, toast, salad, and roast beef
(Wes got a brunch and I got a lunch and we shared with Lauren)

Back at home and ready to run around...

Friends and Family

2008-04-07T09:26:00.005-06:00

I have to say one of the best things about moving was finally making the time to see some of my friends that I haven't seen in years. Amanda (Slade) Coon came up with her adorable little girl Elizabeth before we left for Vegas and we were able to catch up on what we were doing and reminisce about all of the fun times that we had together planning girls camp and going on trips to Utah. It felt like we had never lost touch and just picked back up. I have always had an admiration for Amanda and how she is always so positive and comfortable to be around.

I also got to visit with Shauna (Davis) Roundy. It was so great to get to see her and catch up. She was one of my closest friends in High School and College, she stuck with me through the good and the bad. She and I are very similar and it was nice to get back in touch with her. Shauna and Amanda are both people who have had great influence in my life and that I hope to always have contact with.*

I also went an visited with my Grandma and Grandpa Singley a few times before we left. As it always is I felt bad that I hadn't made more of an effort to spend time with them while I lived close to them. We took many trips up to Utah to visit them in my childhood and as an adult, and I was so excited to live closer to them and get to know them better. Luckily Lauren and I are going back to Utah in June for a Singley family reunion with all of my Grandpa's side of the family. I really don't know very many of his siblings and am looking forward to meeting them and getting to spend some time with my grandparents and my siblings also.

On the long drive up to Canada we were lucky enough to get to stay with my Uncle Clarke, Aunt Nancy and their family in Idaho Falls. All of his kids were there, although we unfortunately missed seeing Amanda and her fiance by a few minutes. It was so fun to get to hang out with all of my cousins and their prego wives (Dan's wife Sarah is due in June and Clarke's wife Bethany is due in September) we were there when Amanda called and announced that she was officially engaged (she finally has the ring on her finger.) We also got to wish Shawn good luck before he left on his mission. It was good to catch up with all of them as it has been a while since we have been able to sit and just visit.

The Farrer family (I stole this pict from Dan's blog)

Clarke, Dan, Shawn and Amanda

Aunt Nancy gave Clarke his yearly hair cut, which happened to be a mullet this time.
It was hilarious! She later trimmed it up unfortunately...

The next night we stayed with Wes' Dad Greg in Raymond, Alberta. It was fun to get to see them and we are looking forward to getting to see them more often now that we are closer. It was the first time that they have seen Lauren and she warmed up to them quickly especially because she shares Greg's love of cars. I can't believe how much Trenton and Theah have grown up since the last time we saw them and it was great to see Curtis while we were there. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures there either...

Life's a Beach

2008-04-04T09:06:00.005-06:00

I guess I am kind of working backwards, but any update is better than none... We got the opportunity to go and spend some time with my Grandparents at their condo down at Laguna Beach California before we moved up here. It was exactly what we needed. We were able to hang-out and get some much needed relaxation and also got to see a lot of cool places with my Grandparents along with a few days of beach time.

Here is the farmer's market in Los Angeles (My Great Grandfather owned a grocery store in Salt Lake and my Grandpa has many memories of coming to this market when they visited family and admiring all that they had to offer especially the meat counters.)

We had a delicious lunch at the farmer's market. Lauren decided that she liked Grandma's lunch better than her own and spent a lot of time riding with Grandma.

Grandpa gave us a tour of downtown LA and we got to see most of the theaters it was pretty neat.

Wes and Lauren getting ready to head down to the beach.

Checking out the waves

Enjoying the beach

Exploring the beach

Checking out the cave, with rock and shell collection in tow...

Looking at the tidal pools and catching hermit crabs

Wes with his new hermit crab which he let go before we left the beach...

Our friends Rob and Sarah VanBoerum along with their two adorable little kids Ethan and Madi came up from San Diego and we all went to Ruby's for dinner it was great to get to see them. (And the food was great as usual!!!!)

Grandma playing with Lauren and Ethan, she spent most of the evening entertaining them and taking them for walks, which gave us the opportunity to visit.

After California we went to Vegas for a week. We spent a lot of time with family and got to see some of our friends too, but I failed to take any pictures... We went to lunch at the Olive Garden with Robyn (Wirt) Bounce and her husband Mike, we went to dinner with Brian, Marixa and Mia Mills at In-N-Out and we had a really fun BBQ at Morgan, Devin and Tig Balwin's house with Billy, Heather, Erin and Craig, the kids all got along really well together, it was so nice to see Lauren interacting with other kids, I need to make sure she does more of that... As you may have noticed we were trying to go to restaurants that they don't have here in Canada, I think we made it to all of the ones that we love and are going to miss. There were tons more people that I wish we had time to see while we were there but as always time is limited and I didn't make it. I made Wes promise that we would at least make 1 trip to Vegas every year when we moved here so I will be back, most likely during the winter.

On the way back to Utah we went to Zion National Park. I have loved going there since I was a little kid and have spent many springs there with friends and family, now living so far away I think it will be quite a while until I am able to return and my loving husband took the extra time to take us there and go on a few hikes. Lauren loved the hiking and was very interested in all of the surroundings especially the birds and the rocks.

Here is one of our infamous take it yourself shots at the weeping rock.

Lauren taking a break along the Temple of Sinawana (the trail that goes to the bottom of the narrows.)

Easter

2008-03-31T10:26:00.005-06:00

Lauren got to have her first easter egg hunt this year. She had a blast even though it was chilly outside. I am use to being at Zion for Easter and most of the time it is beautiful so this was a big change for me. Wes said that they always did their easter egg hunts inside but he conceded that it was much more fun outside. Every time we went outside last week Lauren wanted to go and look around the yard for more eggs.

Lauren got really excited about the easter eggs and was running around the yard.

I found one!

Wow this bag is getting full!

My very own bunny!

Yummy Peeps!
(She shoved almost the whole thing in her mouth only to realize she couldn't chew it and it ended up back in my hand, yuck!)

Photo shoot in the church parking lot
Kissy face.

Lauren and Wes waiting for me to finish and get in the carHayley and Lauren getting ready for Easter dinner

Steve goofing around, remembering his hippy days?

Taylor, Lauren and Hayley jumping on the trampoline

Playing in Steve's back yard.

Although Easter wasn't quite the same with out all of my family gathering in Zion, it was still a lot of fun and it was great to spend time with Wes' family.

Fire

2008-03-31T10:05:00.003-06:00

As I may have mentioned to a few of you there is a railroad track across the street from our house. Last week one of the trains braked hard in front of our house (you can tell because it sounds like cars crashing together) and the brakes sparked and caught the grass on fire, luckily one of the guys working outside saw the fire start and called 911 right away.

This is a view of the action from our front door...

Our house wasn't really in that much danger although the fire did try to blow across the street there is a house that is on the same side of the street as the railroad track that sells hay and pallets. The fire was burning right up against their garage when the fire department arrived. Luckily they were able to get it under control before any properties were damaged.

It made me miss my Dad and Ben watching the firefighters out there walking through the flames they spent a few hours makings sure all of the embers were out. There ended up being about 8 fire trucks working the fire.

At least now most of the grass has been burned down so we won't have to worry about another fire for a few more months! It was actually a great way to get to know some of our new neighbors as everyone came and gathered next to our house to check out the action!!!

Oh Canada!!!

2008-03-30T21:08:00.004-06:00

We made it!!!! It has been a busy couple of weeks trying to obtain the basic necessities, internet access, tv, telephone and cell phones but we finally are connected... It didn't help that we don't have any credit history here or that we live out the boonies (well it's really not that far out of the city but they act like we are in another country!) It has been a rough start but all in all things are coming together and it is starting to feel more like home.

It is currently -6 degrees outside (that is Celsius) and snowing... but the weather hasn't been all that bad thus far. We are all getting settled in and Lauren is loving having a yard to play in and has been having a blast playing with her cousins (once removed) they are Wes' cousins; Hayley is 6, taylor is 10 and Carlee is 14 and they were a HUGE help with Lauren while we were unloading the moving truck and have been great with playing with Lauren. Chloe likes the yard and has been exploring the neighborhood. There has only been one small fire but I will get into that on another blog...

I have so much to blog about from the past month but I still am trying to unpack and get things settled but I will try to do some updates as I get a chance. I just wanted everyone to know we made it safely and life is good in Canada!!!

Flylady.net

2008-02-21T13:17:00.004-07:00

Katie sent me a link to flylady.net this morning and I was checking it out and thought I would share it with all of you.

FlyLady uses the Sidetracked Home Executive (SHE) system as a basis for organizing her home and her life. She adds humor, spunk, and a dose of common sense to her advice, but be prepared - FlyLady does not allow whining. You have to get off your "Franny"!

First, you join as a FlyBaby. You will receive your e-mail Welcome Letters from FlyLady instructing you on how to get started. You will also receive regular e-mail reminders from FlyLady about zones, decluttering, laundry, shoes (honestly - shoes are very important here!) and more. Don't feel overwhelmed! FlyLady will keep you on track using small baby steps. And FlyBabies - no peeking at all of the routines, etc. shown on the FlyLady website. You are just getting started!

It seems like a great way to get your house organized and it isn't something that is overwhelming. Once we get moved in to our new place I want to start doing this... Check it out at www.flylady.net

Canadian, Eh?

2008-02-08T12:02:00.001-07:00

Well we are going to do it!!!!! We are moving to Canada on March 17th.

Downtown Calgary

I have been working on getting all of the paperwork completed to get my Permanent Residency application mailed in. I am just waiting on my medical exam on Feb 15th and on my FBI clearance letter. I now understand why people move into countries illegally, it will cost us over $2,000 and weeks of paperwork. After lots of phone calls and research on the internet I found out that Lauren is a Canadian citizen and so I do not have to fill out any paperwork for her, I also discovered that we will all be eligible for the medical coverage as soon as we get there (huge relief!!!) It sounds like the house we will be renting is coming along, we are so grateful to Steve and all of his hard work to make the house "new" inside for us!

We will be making our farewell tour to Las Vegas starting Feb 28th but will head to Laguna the following day, we will be back in Vegas around March 4 to March 10th. (Wes wants to celebrate his birthday on the 9th in Vegas!) All dates are subject to change but I am pretty sure this will be our travel plans...

P.S.- For anyone who noticed, I have some research to do on how to spell Eh correctly now I have to figure out it's proper usage!

To move or not to move that is the question!

2008-01-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

It seems like every couple of years around this time we get the offer to move up to Canada. We usually humm and haaa about it for a couple of weeks and decide to stay where we are... We got the call again a few days ago and are seriously considering making the move this time. I love Utah don't get me wrong but Wes job doesn't pay that well and it isn't really what he wants to do for the rest of his life and the school system here isn't the best for Lauren and, well those are my only real complaints...

Wes got offered a job in Canada (Calgary for those of you who care) and we are trying to decide if it would be a good move. I have always had a fascination with Canada, it seems like they have their stuff together up there, their schools are good, their health care is good, the people seem friendly, and there is lots of new things to see and do. The obvious down sides are moving so far from family and friends, although we contemplated moving to the Oregon area which is almost as far away, and the cost of living. The taxes are pretty high around 32% but that isn't that much higher than what we will pay this year with Utah's State taxes and the price of goods and gas are pretty expensive. (Gas costs .98 per Canadian Litre and 1 US gallon = 3.785 litres so it is $3.70 per gallon and we think it is expensive at $2.80!!!) I am also a little worried about having to learn all of the conversions, miles to kilometers, Fahrenheit to Celsius etc. but I guess that is all part of the great adventure right?

Well I will keep you all updated on the big decision, we will hopefully make it in the next week or so, I am one of those people who stress out really bad when I have to make a big decision but once the decision is made I am fine so hopefully we figure it out before I get an ulcer!!!

P.S. The top picture is of Lake Louise about a 45 minute drive from Calgary.... Absolutely gorgeous!

Snow much fun!

2008-01-10T23:51:00.001-07:00

Wes has been in Scottsdale Arizona training for work this week while we stayed and played in the snow. Grandpa came over to hang out with us while he was gone and we have had lots of fun...

Monday we went to the Natural History Museum and Lauren found some buried dinosaur bones. (FYI for those of you that live in Utah it is free on the first Monday of every month)
Tuesday we had a play date with Suzie and her kids and Carie and Asher we went to the Gail Center in South Jordan and had lots of fun dressing up like pioneers and leaning about the Indians.

Wednesday we met up with Dr Ono for lunch and then for a a check up.
Here is Lauren and Grandpa walking in to the office...
Lauren was fine until they started to adjust the seat and then she decided she didn't want to stay there any longer. She ended up in my lap and was very happy when Dr Ono gave her 3 new toothbrushes.

Thursday we played in the snow and got to use her new sled. Lauren really likes to eat snow and was trying to catch snow flakes...

This is fun!!!!!!

Lauren decided that she needed to help me shovel the walkway,
because I didn't do a very good job by myself.

Christmas

2008-01-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

We headed down to Vegas for Christmas.

The first night we were there we got together with a bunch of my friends from High School for a Christmas party it was so nice to see everyone and we had a great time.

We spent the vacation going back and forth between my Grandparents and Wes' family. We spent Christmas Eve at the Cairns' home and we had lots of fun and good food! Wes' favorite part of Christmas is the food and we had lots of it...

Wes and Crysti on Christmas Eve waiting for the food!

Lauren and I hanging out watching all of the commotion

On Christmas Eve Wes' family does a huge spread of finger foods and desserts,
there was even more that what you see in the picture

Wes has a habit of laying on the floor after he eats, he laid under the table so people wouldn't step on him when they came back for 3rds and 4ths.

Waiting to open stockings Christmas morning

Lauren and Alauna playing under the table, it was a popular place to hang out!

We spent Christmas day evening with my Granparents up on the mountain, they even waited for Santa to come until we made it up there. I didn't take any pictures but we had lots of fun and good food, it was just the way I remember Christmas growing up.

We slept with Lauren in our bed up at Mt Charleston because it was cold, as you can see I didn't have much space on the bed, but it was fun to cuddle with Lauren.

Tantrums

2008-01-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you like me who are unaware that the terrible two's actually start at 15 months here are some choice moments of one of Lauren's first tantrums. ( This was around Dec 20th)

Unfortunately I had to laugh because of all of the faces she was making so I wasn't very sympathetic . Luckily she has only had one more since this one and she pretty much just dropped to the floor and stayed there for a few seconds and then got back up and carried on with what she was doing.