snow days

Today was another snow day. Maeley hasn't had school all week! She'll be going back tomorrow...or at least I think.  She was pretty bummed Monday to not go to school, but today was was thrilled she had another snow day. Maeley, Chase and Zoe have had so much fun playing together. There really hasn't even been any fighting. I've loved having her home all day this week.

Well I heard that we got betwen 6-8 inches of snow Sunday night into Monday. That's quite a bit for around here. I love it. Its been pretty cold though which has made the roads refreeze each night. That's really been the reason for the snow days the past 2 days.

Staples are out

My fear I've had all week happened about 5 minutes after Derek came home for lunch. Zoe slipped on a puddle of water on the tile (from us being out in the snow) and fell backwards hitting the back of her head, exactly where the staples were. She cried and bleed some. We felt so bad for her. Derek called work to make sure it was okay to take a longer lunch. We quickly ate lunch and all of us took Zoe to urgent care. I stayed in the waiting room with Chase and Maeley while Derek took Zoe back. He said she cried when they took them out. Poor girl, she is so sensitive on that spot that falling on it earlier just made things worse. She seems okay now. I'm so happy to finally have them out. Now I hope we can stay out of urgent care for awhile.

Snow Day

Today school was cancelled. I was jumping up and down with excitement while Maeley was quite disappointed she was missing a day of school. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? I have the blinds all open enjoying the view out my windows while listening to Christmas music. Meanwhile Maeley, Chase and Zoe are all playing together nicely.  Its a wonderful day! Now if only Derek didn't have to go to work.

I'm supposed to take Zoe to get her staples out today. Actually they should have come out yesterday but with church and tithing settlement there really wasn't the time. Plus it wasn't until about 7 that Derek decided he wasn't going to take them out himself. I couldn't even get through to the pediatrician this morning to talk with anyone. That's not normal. I'm thinking they were getting so many phone calls with cancellations. We'll see, maybe I'll have Derek take Zoe to urgent care tonight to get them removed.

It may not be a lot of snow to some people but it's a lot for here.

Urgent Care

Late this afternoon Zoe fell off the couch and hit the back of her head on the coffee table. I was upstairs while the kids were downstairs watching TV. She immediately cried of course, she had hit hard. I jumped out of my seat and ran downstairs. Once I was holding her I realized she was bleeding and I saw the gash. It stopped bleeding pretty quickly. After Derek got home from work a short while later we took her to our neighbors. He's a flight medic and she's a nurse (they are great neighbors by the way). I wanted his opinion if Zoe needed stitches or not. He said she did. Derek stayed home with Maeley and Chase while I took Zoe to urgent care. Zoe was so happy that she was going to the doctor. Seriously she was skipping as we were walking to the front door singing her own song and she was a very happy kid in the waiting room. She ended up getting a shot in the back of the head to numb it and got it cleaned out. The doctor gave her staples. Its so disgusting. Now we have to take her back in 5 days to get them removed. I'm so proud of Zoe. She cried a little while she got the shot and even less when she got the staples. She's a tough kid. I feel so bad for her. 

Thanksgiving week

Our plans for Thanksgiving changed about 2 weeks before. Originally we had planned to stay home and Derek's sister Kim was visiting from New York. Derek had took the whole week off work. But things change. My parents had been out to visit us at the end of October but when they got home their house was flooded. With all the chaos that goes with that we felt that it would be helpful to my parents if we went out there so Derek could help put their house back together during his time off. That meant changing Kim's flight to fly out of Phoenix instead of Albuquerque. All in all I think we made the right decision of going out there. Thanks Kim for being so understanding. 

While Derek spent most of the week working at my parents house I was able to get some Christmas shopping done and there was plenty of down time spent with the kids. Kim and I took Chase and Zoe to see the new Muppett movie on Wednesday. It was actually better than I expected (I'm not really a Muppett fan.) The kids definitely had a great time spending time with extended family.

Zoe, Maeley, Hannah (Carl's girlfriend), Boston, Chase, Devan and Jake attempting to make candy turkeys

I think the kids gave up and just enjoyed eating all these goodies before dinner.

After the Thanksgiving meal Chase came out dressed as Santa and handed out candy canes.

Chase showing off the hat Aunt Kari made for his dog that day just because he asked.

Chase and Aunt Kimmy

There is a special bond between the two of them. Chase misses her like crazy now.

Realizing that I had only taken a handful of pictures the entire week I snapped some pictures of the kids playing before we left. 

Zoe being cute.

Chase and Papa building

Their finished product.

Maeley and Tama reading.

Tama reading one last story.

Dr. visits

Last week the girls had their well check ups. I always love going to these and seeing how much they've grown.

Maeley age 6
weight: 40.4 lbs
height: 43.8"

Zoe age 3
weight: 30lbs
height: 36 inches

Both are on the small size for their ages. I was fully excepting them to get shos. I was pleastantly surprised when neither of them needed any and they got the nasal mist instead of the flu shot. It made the doctor visit much more enjoyable when you don't have a screaming child your walking out with. We decided to go to McDonald's after so the kids could use their "treat" money they got a couple weeks ago. They had a great time and for me it was wonderful to get out of the house.

Maeley lost a cap on one of her teeth a couple weeks ago. Although it happened on the school bus when the bus driver went around a corner and Maeley face planted the seat in front of her, I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Halloween candy. After that I pretty much took away all the Halloween candy from all three of them. Last week I had to take her in to get it replaced. She was not happy about what the dentist was trying to do. She kept blocking her mouth with her hands. I've learned that Maeley does not handle pain well and she hates needles. After awhile of no success they told me I'd have to bring her back first thing in the morning. And that lucky day was today. Thankfully she was well behaved and let the dentist replace the cap.

Chase was rescreened today on his speech. He just has issues with the "k" and "g" sounds but its not enough to qualify him for speech therapy. I'm glad he's improving. During the screening everytime the teacher would be writing down notes he would turn and look at me and give me a huge grin. He is such a cutie.

Lost tooth

Maeley lost her first tooth on Friday. That tooth had been loose for nearly 2 weeks. It was literally hanging on by a thread. While I was flossing Maeley's teeth Friday night I just slipped it right under the back of the tooth that was no longer attached and pulled ever so slightly. It didn't take much for it to come right out.

Of course there were tears and a little bit a blood. But she got over that pretty quickly and was excited that it finally came out. The tooth fairy has already came and was pleased with what she got.

Another project finished

Today the final coat of polyurethane was applied to the mantel and now we can say that the entertainment area is complete. We couldn't be more happy with the results.

Here is the before when we first moved in.

The way it was before was a huge pain to decorate. Those shelves were huge. Everything got lost in them.  Plus it just looked plain.

After

(wish the lighting was better but its a cloudy day today and I didn't want to wait)

I love it! The camera isn't picking up the true color of the stain. It's not black I promise. Its walnut gel stain by Minwax. Its the same as the railing.

The cabinet doors came from Restore and were only $4 each. They actually have a rope detail on them. We originally planned on purchasing kitchen base cabinets but the cost was higher than what we wanted to pay. Instead we found the doors and Derek built the bases.  Now I can hide all of our pillows and blankets.

Our house is looking so very different than when we moved in. I still would love to re-tile around the fireplace. I already have the tile picked out. For now I think we are done with projects for a little while. Derek got a new church calling a few weeks ago. He's now an early morning seminary teacher. That means he's working on his leasons in the evenings after the kids go to bed and going to bed early. Seminary starts at 5:50am! With that big change, it pretty much leaves projects to the weekends and those get filled with other things quickly too.

The entire project cost less than $350. But many many hours of labor. It was all worth it because the transformation is amazing!

Halloween 2011

I can't believe I didn't get very many pictures. I'm not sure why either.

It was Chase's idea to dress up as Santa.

We bought the costume online. He's already excited to wear it again this Christmas.

driving to the church for trunk or treat

Halloween 2011

Chase- Santa

Maeley- Rapuntzel

Zoe- Tinker Bell

Picnic in the woods

Derek really liked the spot where the Father's and Son campout was this year. We decided it would be fun to drive up there for a picnic and take some family pictures.

This was our best attempt at a new family picture. The lighting isn't great so we will have to try again later.

The kids got there chance to play in the water

play hide and seek and look for fossils with Grandpa.

It was nice to get out of town and just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Maeley's 6th birthday

Last week Maeley had Thursday and Friday off from school because of parent teacher conferences. It just happened to be her birthday Friday. That actually worked out well. Because Derek comes home for lunch everyday she was lucky enough to get to open presents then and not wait until after dinner.

She has been asking for Rapunzel hair for quite some time.

Maeley also got a new blanket made by Grandma.

She loves this horse. She named it Glory after the horse she got to ride a few weeks ago.

Another amazing cake made by Laurel. Maeley loved it.

Zoe's birthday party

Zoe had been talking about her birthday pretty much all month. I loved seeing her get so excited and know it was her birthday coming up. Everytime I asked what she wanted she always said, "lots of boots". Not sure why but it was funny to me.

I love the look in her eyes. She has been playing with this jeep so much since her birthday. This is made for one doll to ride but she always has both her dolls cramed inside and usually a dog in the back.

And of course she got a new pair of boots.

My parents came to be here for the girls birthdays.

I love this picture! Zoe is a very happy girl holding a new blanket for her and a blanket for her dolls. Both made by Grandma Crandall and purple polka dots too.

Thank you Laurel for making another wonderful cake. Seriously though you took a huge stress off me.

We were all surprised to find the cake purple inside.

Maeley's 6

Playing dress up

It's hard to believe we have a 6 year old. Time sure does seem to be flying. Maeley has really matured this last year partly because of school. Thursday Derek and I went to parent teacher conference. Maeley is doing exceptionally well and is beyond kindergarten level in many areas. Her favorite day of the week is Monday. She loves school because she "loves to learn" as she as told us many many times. She is setting such a great example to Chase and Zoe. She uses every spare second to count, add, or try to sound out words when we're in the car. She still thinks she can boss her brother and sister around. She still loves to sing and makes up songs often. She loves when I read her chapter books. She loves when I do her hair curly. She always lays out her clothes for school the night before and remembers when things need to be signed and returned to school. She can be a huge help to me.

We love you Maeley and are so proud of everything you are doing.

Zoe turned 3

Last week Zoe turned 3 years old. Its hard to believe my sweet little baby isn't a baby. She's just as sweet but a "big kid now" as she says. We were very lucky to have never gone through the "terrible two's" with her.  Zoe is such a delight. Her personality keeps you laughing and guessing what she'll do and say next. She is still strangely obsessed with polka dots, preferably purple ones. She loves playing with dolls. She thinks she can do everything her big sister and brother can do. We enjoy conversations with her because she talks so much. She will often come up to you and tell you how much she loves you and give you plenty of hugs and kisses. She has done extremely well at potty training and even wakes up dry in the morning. Chase and Zoe have become better friends since Maeley has gone to school. However she still adores her big sister. When she's in a grumpy mood its normally pretty easy to get her to smile again. And lucky for me she still likes to snuggle.



We love you so much Zoe.

Ready for the bus stop

Chase and Zoe insist on bringing a toy sometimes multiple to the bus stop each morning and afternoon. Today Zoe wanted to bring her My Little Ponies with her. So she packed them up into her backpack and added her blanket too. She looked like she was ready for school.

The backpack looks so big on her.

They are growing up so fast.

Here's Chase being crazy.

For the record this kid hates to wear pants and jackets.

He's being a good boy today.