Family Pictures!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I went to an open house for an amazing photographer out here in QC a few months ago (check her out at http://www.chealamb.com/). I put my name in a drawing and won a free sitting. I was so excited! We needed to update our family picture since Noah is now 18 months.

Then the madness began. I spent every free minute for almost two weeks at the mall trying to figure out what we were going to wear. I've never hated the mall more after that. Anyways, the day finally came to take pictures. It was well, crazy. Noah was a PILL! We made Chea work hard. She was practically doing flips while taking pictures to keep Noah entertained. During the shoot she said, "Katie, you are looking a little tense try to relax." I was very tense!

Once Noah was happy my girls would move or look away. UHHH!!! Well, I thought we didn't get one good picture but some how we did. I hope the day will come that family pictures are not so stressful but I do have to say they are worth the stress. Here are some of my favorites.

Determination

Monday, November 10, 2008

Paige's school does a walk-a-thon every year to raise money for the school. This year she was determined to win a prize. 1 lap is a 1/4 mile and they had 1 hour to walk or run. So as she was getting pledges people were asking her how many laps she thought she would do. Her reply was, "about 20." When Paige wasn't looking I would mouth to the person, " Probably about 5 or 6."

The day of the walk-a-thon came on Halloween (someone wasn't thinking about all the walking they would be doing the same night!) Anyways, she was pumped! Noah, Shea, Aunt Annie, Trai , and I went to the school and cheered her on. Her little legs were movin. Towards the end she had a little melt down saying that her knees were hurting her. I told her she could be done but her reply was, "Then I won't get to 40 laps." Oh my gosh, she pushing for 40 laps! I told her there was no way that anyone in 1st grade will go 40 laps. She wiped the tears and said, "I have to keep going", so she did. She ended walking/running 17 laps, 4.1 miles! She won the most laps done by a girl in the first grade and chose a Hannah Montanna CD for her prize.

Paige amazes me every day. She is so determined, she tries so hard at everything she does. You are a wonderful example to our family, we love you.

Here is Shea proud as can be to be the Star Student of the Week. She reminded Sunday night that we had to have her poster board ready for Monday. Oh great! I'm losing my mind, and I only have 3 kids. We took a trip to Walmart Monday morning and frantically put it together. It was a little stressful until I just let her put things where she wanted them to go. I'm learning (or trying) to let go of things that don't really matter. Shea is very helpful in helping me learn. She is VERY particular about HER stuff. Thanks Shea! I love you.
(I love the beanie. She has a sleeveless shirt on to go with her outfit. Go figure!)

Election Controversy

Sunday, November 9, 2008

So Paige came home from school on election day and said, "John McCain is the new President at our school!"
Me: Really, did you vote for him?
P: Yes, Obama lies and drinks drugs!
Me: Really! Who told you that?
P: Isabella
Me: Oh, well I don't think he does drugs now, hopefully.

It ended at that, then Shea comes home from school so proud of her voting sticker.

Shea: Look Mom I voted!
Me: Oh, who did you vote for?
S: The black guy, I like his face, he's kind of cute. The other guy was old and had gray hair.
Me: Oh (Thinking, who would have thought we should have talked politics with our 4 and 6 year olds! We bombed this!)

So watching election night Paige was getting furious as McCain was loosing.
P: Why are people voting for a liar! You voted for a liar Shea!
So Shea starts crying and is sad that she voted for someone different than the family.
Me: Shea it's o.k. that you voted for someone different. We are lucky to live in a country that gives us our freedoms to choose as we want.

So we pray and hope that Obama does something good for our country. Matt told me today that in bishopric meeting our bishop said he saw a report of the exit polls. The states that passed prop 201 got a lot of yes votes from African American's. Because Obama was a candidate it brought alot of people out that might not have voted. I thought that was very insightful. I love my country and am so thankful for my freedoms and priviledges. I pray that our leaders will keep God in their hearts. I don't know where our country is heading but I have faith and hope.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Monday, November 3, 2008

My little Trick-or Treaters. We always go to the store looking for the specific character the girl's are wanting to be. And every year the same thing happens. They see all of these wonderful costumes and end up changing their minds. I try to persuade and coax them into dressing up in what I want them to be but it never works. Paige was going to be Princess Fiona but ended up as "Capn' Cutie" an army girl. Shea was going to be Princess Leya(not sure of the spelling) and ended up as Princess Fiona. She was a big fan of the yarn hair. Thanks to my friend, Emily, Noah was a cute Fireman. He didn't want anything to do with the hat, or pictures, or trick-or-treating, maybe next year he'll be into it. We had a fun night. The neighborhood came over for a front yard barbecue and at dark we hit the pavement. We then went to Nana & Papa Deaton's to hang out with everyone there. It was fun to see everyone in their costumes. We were happy to have a fun and safe Halloween and can't wait until all of the candy runs out!

Vacation Pays Off

Sunday, October 26, 2008

So we took our annual vacation to Rocky Point during October break and had a blast as always. Sitting on the beach relaxing, watching the kids play, building sandcastles, going seashell hunting, finding diamond rings, ...what!? Yes! We were on a walk looking for "treasures" and Shea actually found one. She came running up so excited that she found a ring. At first I didn't think much of it but when my friend Stephanie examined it she said, "I think this is real!" David thinks it's worth about $2000! Holy cow. We definitely had to pay Shea off to have her give us the ring. She came home from Mexico blinged out. Matt gave David the ring before we snapped a picture. He said he would get us one. I'll post it when I get it. It's beautiful. The poor woman who lost it!


(Noah was sleeping when we took this picture, we do love him.)

Catching up

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Fall break has arrived at the blink of an eye. I told Matt I needed to post the girl's first day of school. He said, "It's a little late for that." Yes, but it is on my "to do list" so it can finally get crossed off! Paige is doing so good in school and loves to read. Hopefully she takes after the Deaton's side and their passion for reading, there's little there from me.

Shea is having fun at pre-school. Apparently she is the class clown and her teacher says she's very annimated. Not a big suprise to us. She is someone different everyday from a puppy dog to Roa (some princess) and gets frustrated if we call her Shea. She's always fun and exciting.

Noah and I have fun hanging out together and running erands. He's my little buddy. This was Noah's trick that Matt loved, I'm not sure it was ever Noah's favorite though.

In August, Matt and I got to go on a quad ride with my dad's side of the family in Utah. I'm trying to remember where in Utah but for the life of me can't. Somewhere in the mountains! We had such a fun time. It was such beautiful country. There were still patches of snow at the top of the mountains. It was so peaceful and amazing to see God's creations from different views as we reached different parts of the mountains. Most of all it was fun to just be together and not be interupted by little voices (as much as we love them). We take advantage of the few vacations we take each year without our kids. We cherish those times just together. (Thanks to wonderful parents and siblings that make it possible!)

To kick off Fall Break we went to Utah to attend Tessie's baby, Dakota's blessing. It was so fun to see them. Dakota is just the sweetest thing ever. I forget how amazing a new born is and what a special spirit they bring with them. So fresh from Heaven, so innocent and pure. I already miss them.

While in Utah we spent one day at Temple Square which is always fun and inspiring to learn about the history of our church. Shana always has fun returning to Temple Square where she served most of her mission.

The next day we went to Lagoon. The kids had so much fun. Paige and Shea are amusement park junkies! They outlasted the other kids by hours! Suprisingly, Matt and I can stand to be there just as long. They made the comment that every time we go to see Tessie we can go to Lagoon. Oh great, what have we started!?

One Last Hoorah!!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

With summer almost over and our kids already back in school, we decided to go the lake a couple more times before it was too late. The kids had a blast riding on the tubes, learning to wake board and spending time with friends. We went with some friends to Saguaro Lake which is about 40 minutes from our house and then the next weekend we went a little further away (about 1 hour and 45 minutes) to Roosevelt Lake. It was a much better option for busy Saturdays because it is much less crowded and much larger.

Paige tried to wakeboard for the first time and got up for a second. The next weekend she got up and went for a little while before doing a faceplant and calling it a day. We'll see if she can forget the bloody lip by the time next summer rolls around to try it again.

Trying to teach our kids some life lessons

Sunday, July 27, 2008

About six months ago we began giving our kids allowance. We did this for a few reasons: a) We wanted to teach them the value of money ...how to save, how to pay tithing, the fact that money doesn't grow on trees, etc. b) Our other motivation was partially selfish as this put an end to the begging and pleading that would begin the moment we entered a store. We could now say, "You are more than welcome to buy that if you have enough money."

Paige had been saving her money for something big and had been doing pretty good. She had saved quite a bit and was constantly asking us for more jobs that she could do to earn money. She even planned a garage sale so that she could sell her old toys and increase her "nest egg". (She learned quickly that people are looking for a deal at a garage sale and aren't willing to pay $4 for broken princess toys.)

Finally the day came that Paige decided to go to the store and make her big purchase. She loaded her money into her purse and headed off to Wal-Mart. After much debating, she finally picked out a cute little puppy (because you just can't have enough stuffed animals). The real "plus" was the carrybag that it came with and the "necessary" accessories. Katie figured she had enough money so they put it in the cart and went to check out.

After Katie had purchased her items, it was Paige's turn. She put her new prized possession up on the counter and the clerk rung it up. The total came to just over $14 and Paige began counting out her money. At around $10 the money ran out and the tears began. Katie was thinking: "This is great... just imagine the wonderful lessons that I will be able to teach her......you don't always get what you want, delayed gratification, crying won't give you more money, etc." The clerk in the meantime was a bit flustered and had the expression on her face that seemed to say, "Come on lady. Just give the poor kid $4 bucks so she stops crying." But no, Katie was going to take advantage of this teaching moment.

Just then the manager came over to see what was the problem. Paige explained through tears that she didn't have enough money. (Again, Katie thought a great lesson was in the making.) But then the manager said, "That's okay. We'll just make it on sale so you have enough money". What!?! Can you do that? Isn't that against the rules?

Needless to say, Paige got the puppy and returned home very proud. She ran in to show me her new purchase and explained (summarizing the lesson that she had just learned), "Daddy, I cried so the lady put it on sale." So, this is the lesson she learned: If I cry, the lady will put it on sale and I will get what I want.

In the end, Katie and I have to thank Wal-Mart for giving us job security. If she learns some of these important life lessons to soon, we won't have anything to teach her later on.

The Latest Project

Monday, July 14, 2008

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Joseph McConkie, mentioned that he wanted to build a doll house bookshelf. As we have built several different items of furniture together (ie. bookshelfs, toy boxes, etc.), I knew this was a ploy to get me to build one as well so that we could build it together. It actually works out pretty well and we were able to build both of them in under five hours.

The painting however proved to be the greater challenge. After 4 cans of spray paint, I scrapped that idea and went and purchased some latex paint and rolled it on in a matter of minutes. (I did discover that your index finger looses the feeling in it if you use a spray can for too long. I hope the feeling returns soon.) I think the "littlest pet shops" have finally found a home.

Setting the ground rules....

Sunday, July 13, 2008

So after a lot of procrastination and pressure…we have decided to make our first post on our blog we created several months ago...it remains to be seen how many other posts should follow. We have decided it will be a team effort so you will occasionally here from me or Katie depending on who has the time or something to say.

We will try our best to follow standard blog protocol (as we have been able to observe) but we may miss something. Here is a “Top Ten” list of “blog etiquette” that we have been able to compile in preparation for our launch:

10) Come up with a witty title for you blog…first impressions are very important.
9) Find a quote that sums up the purpose of your blog.
8) Comment…if you read someone’s blog, you better comment.
7) Pictures, pictures, pictures….Post at least one picture with each post…this captures the attention of your reader and pulls them in.
6) Come up with a clever way to describe yourself and your family.
5) Occasionally post a video as this will be a special treat for your readers.
4) Post regularly…people look forward to your post almost as much as they look forward to the new season of “The Office”.
3) Music…add your favorite music so that when someone opens your blog while on the phone or at work, they have to scramble for the mute button.
2) Talk about your kids…Kids are more interesting anyways and when you brag about your kids, it’s not frowned upon.
1) Mention how much laundry you have to do…this makes those that are reading your blog, instead of getting their stuff done, feel better.

Ready or not, here we go....