I saw this on Holly and Trish's blogs and I had to do it, because I have nothing else to do (Ha!). They were chocolate and vanilla, so I was wondering how many different flavors there are? What are you?

9 months (& 8 months a little late)

So my format is kind of shot on these, since we were at Lake Powell when Tessa turned 8 months, and I don't have my printer set up now to make the signs for her turning 9 months. But format or no, Tessa is 9 months. Her first tooth has finally cut through (just barely) and she is dangerously close to walking. Here are a few of her favorite things:
Food: paper (shopping lists don't stand a chance)
Place to sleep: the high chair (harder to keep moving there). (Hard floors work well in a pinch).
Least favorite place to sleep: her crib
Favorite new nickname: "all-terrain Tessa" (She 4-wheel crawls over anyone and anything in the way of her objective)
Pasttimes: housekeeping inspections (she will find any spec of anything left on the floor), taste testing (all of those things immediately go to her mouth), bouncing, dancing, mooching for food (anything that big people are eating), flirting
New tricks: waving "hi," saying "mumm, and dad."
Current objective: To press the pretty blue button on Mom's computer (and ruin all of her work).
She really is a happy, friendly baby, and is so much fun, when she isn't eating choking hazzards, and now that she is over her ear infection/pink eye/diahrrea/virus/teething/diaper rash/etc. that was going on during the move and Utah trip.

I took these shots of her at Lake Powell right around her 8 mo. b-day. Don't you want to squeeze her???

Progress!

At times, it is painstakingly slow, but I really feel like we are making some good progress. (Here is a shot of our white board to do list).
I still have this to greet me each morning, but I also have this...
For those who voted, you can see that we went with the black appliances to match the cooktop and sink (and because we found great deals on them). The fridge is the smooth front, so I still have to deal with the fingerprint issues, a bit, but so far I am loving it!
Just incase you think I stole these beautiful pictures from a magazine :-), I am including a shot with Tessa in the high chair, and the messy corner, I haven't really gotten too, yet.

So I am feeling encouraged and optomistic. It also helps that the children are well again, and Tessa is actually taking a real nap at the moment!

In other news, we have a washer and dryer! And have ordered the replacement interior doorknobs. I believe with enough persistance and determination, you can find anything you need on craigslist. And if you can't get it there, you can use a combination of ebay and amazon to get what you need (door knobs). I will post pictures when we get those in place.

As for our other home, I am expecting between 1-3 applications to be turned in today. It is my goal to have someone living there by Aug. 1, and I have every reason to believe that that will happen.

So as the big fires are being put out, I am feeling like I can take a deep breath and spend a few minutes each day doing stuff like, catching up my blog, commenting on my friends blogs (I still love you all!), reading to my children, thinking about the fact that school is going to start in no time, and thinking about parties/events that are coming up. I have also decided to offer voice lesson and master classes this fall through Johnson Peforming Arts Studio. Hopefully, I can get my music room ready in time!

....And we're back...

Back from Utah, back from family reunions (and tons of fishing for Barry), back amongst the civilized world that has internet service (as of Monday after a couple of nasty phone calls to provider. But what is up with our telephone? It has been out most of today!), and back in the blogosphere...a bit.

I'm anxious to get the blog caught-up and to get through all of the pictures I have taken over the last month or two, but the picture above is just one of the reasons that this will be a slow process. That is what greets me every morning. (It is actually a little better than that now, but just a little). We've all been (are still?) sick, and I feel like I am trudging through molasses to get anything at all done. But lest I sound too whiny (too late), we are extremely grateful for this house, and today, I am grateful for a kind library worker who forgave $19 worth of fines (a record for me!) accrued during this move/trips to Utah, etc. chaos! Bless you!

Rollercoaster & the Blogging Backlog

Life has been so full of tremendous blessings and tremendous challenges over the last little while and we aren't to the end of the ride yet. I don't think I've cried tears of gratitude and tears of desperation with in such a close period of time before. The basic update is that we made the move! Yea! We wouldn't have made it if I hadn't sent out a desperate email for help the night before the movers came. Tessa had been sick all week (I finally got her in to the doctor on Monday and she needed all kinds of antibiotics, etc.), and I just couldn't get it all done. Thankfully, we have so many wonderful people in our ward who check email, who pitched in and got us moved.

Some highs:
We are LOVING our new home!
People are continuing to bless us with service!
We are recognizing the Lord's hand in our lives more powerfully.
Kids are having to use their imagination since no TV or computers are connected yet.

Some lows:
We are exhausted!!!
Tessa's sickness meant no sleeping (she is doing much better).
Barry's Dad had surgery the same week, and we couldn't help each other at all.
It looks like our renter is backing out last minute.
We won't have phone or internet for a couple of weeks!!!

We are going to go to Utah for family reunions, even though we can think of about 100 reasons not to go. Hopefully I can catch up on blogging, when we get back, get our internet, and get a new renter. I still have pictures from Memorial Day, not to mention Lake Powell, the move, and all the stuff from Utah.

I'm pretty sure when all the dust settles from this move, we will know it was all worth it! Thanks for your prayers and support.

It's Ours!

The title company called and said that they were able to record title at 11:00am, so the home is now officially ours! I had a few requests for more pictures. I'm sure more will follow as we get moved in.
This is the fireplace from the family room.
We are going to be the warmest family in AZ! This is the fireplace in the master bedroom.
One of the main selling points for us. This pantry/mudroom is even bigger than it looks in the picture. We are so excited about food storage, now!
The outside has been neglected for a little while, but is landscaped, and won't need too much work at this point.


We are excited, but still quite stressed as we prepare to move on Sat. and square things away with our renter. (Then travel to Utah!) Anybody want to come and pack a box, or borrow my children for a while??? :-)

Garden Girl

Kira had a great time helping outside at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Here she is making new friends, and learning how to go eat worms.

(btw, I have been experimenting with some of the photo and filter effects with my photo software. At first I was really excited about what I had done with the first two photos, but now that I look at them again, Kira looks a little green. What do you think?)

Little garden girl

I was trying to get a picture of Tessa in the beautiful irises at Grandma's house. Of course, she had to pick the dead one to latch on to.

Memorable Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Prescott, helping Barry's family put in a new parking area. It honestly felt like we were there for Christmas. Notice the ominous skies?

Trentonisms--Sabbath Edition

This could become a weekly column, since every Sunday, the leaders in primary come to me with a new Trenton story, or we personally hear or witness them. Let's see if I can remember them all...

• The time he said the opening prayer in primary and in the middle of the prayer cried out, "I don't want to die."
• The time he told them his favorite scripture story was Adam and E...gypt.
• Of course, the best was when they were talking about family home even and how sometimes you can sing with out the piano for FHE, because not every family has pianists (can you see where this is going?). Trenton piped up, "boys have penises!"
• We may need to work on his secular vs. religious education. When they were talking about having agency, he started talking about evil A.C.M.E. agents from the Carmen Sandiego game.
• And just last week, the Bishop was in talking about the story of David and Goliath. And when he asked what the giants name was, Trenton shouted "The Pickle!" (I guess he is more familiar with the Veggietales version than the actual scriptural account).
• You know the kid has a reputation, when they make him wait to give his talk in primary, until the microphone is working, because the adults can't wait to hear what will happen. Well, he gave his talk (pretty long one, for a 3-year-old), and it was all going a little too well, until he finished and immediately announced loudly from the pulpit, "I gotta go pee-pee!" The older primary boys thought that was hilarious and all suddenly had to go "pee-pee," too.

Am I forgetting any, those of you who are in primary?

And here are a couple related to parenting:

• We have discussed the importance of giving children choices in our parenting. Barry's version of this, is usually asking the children if they want to do things the easy way or the hard way. Trenton had been getting in a lot of trouble, and was pleased that Barry was posing the "easy way or hard way" question to his sister, instead, this time. Before she had a chance to say anything, he piped up with "Hard way for Kira, Hard way for Kira!"
• And just this morning, to his dad, he said "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at your BEHAVIOR!"

The difference between Barry and me

The other day Kira was concerned and was asking us if we had saved money for her to go to college (I know, I know...but that's Kira. I think she listens a little too closely whenever we discuss finances). I told her that we had some saved and not to worry because there is a long time to save before she goes to college and that she will probably get a great scholarship or something that will pay for the whole thing!

Barry chimed in and also told her not to worry...because the world will probably end before she gets to college.

Tough Tattooed Trenton

Trenton was so excited to put on these temporary tattoos. He thought they were so cool because they were skateboarding tattoos. Does it take away from the toughness factor, that they are Disney tattoos?

tattooed

More Mothers Day Madness

Kristin took some great pictures when we got together for Mother's Day at Grandmother and Grandad's house.Super Trenton!

Recital Round-up Part 3--Aloha!

The morning after the talent show, Kira had her performance with "Stages," the show choir-type class she has been taking. The theme this time was luau/beach party. They started with traditional hula dances. I loved their cute costumes!

Don't you love all the red-headed polynesians. The end of the production was a medley of Beach party song from the Beach Boys, etc. Here they are doing the Mashed potato. Kira does a mean twist! She did a great job smiling and performing!

After the performance, we enjoyed a pot-luck luau and had to take a few more pictures of our hula girl! ALOHA!

Recital Round-up Part 2--A Day in the life of a Star (or Kira's School Talent Show)

Today we are following the young starlet, Kira, on the day of her big school Talent Show performance. She has a full day of public appearances promoting the event, but still has to be ready for the night, so she sports this stylish scarf to keep her pin curlers in place and heads out the door. She is wearing a special t-shirt to promote the event, "A Night with the Stars" at the school. Kira has a loyal following, but not everyone is a fan...

After a busy day at the school, she returns home where her hairstylist and make-up artist (a.k.a. Mom), completes the transformation from starlet to "Annie."
A quick bite to eat, and then it is off to the school. Here she is practicing her smile as Annie.
And the moment we've all been waiting for...."The Sun'll Come Out...Tomorrow." She finishes to thunderous applause in the standing-room-only cafeteria! (video to follow...hopefully!)

After enjoying the rest of the talented performers, and undoing the Annie hair, Kira takes a moment to pose for the paparazzi (a.k.a. Mom).
And works the Red Carpet!
Then it is off to bed to get ready for another performance the next morning. Just another day in the life of a star!

Recital Round-up Part 1--Kira's Class Presentation

This month has been crazy with all of the end-of-year performances. It began with Trenton's first recital ever with his tumbling class. I'm sorry to say that the world's most friendly kid, actually had a pretty bad case of stage fright. I didn't get any photos, but am trying to figure out how to get that video posted.

This was Kira's 1st grade class presentation. I had a fun time snapping action shots as the kids showed us the raps they learned to help them remember how to count by 10s. The other moms and I are considering using this for our workout routine, since those kids were burning some serious calories:




And here she is as the old lady in the class play, "The Good Guys vs. The Bad Guys." I was impressed with her ability at physical comedy when she had to pretend that she slipped and fall on the ground. (I thought she had really fallen, at first).

After the performance with her good friend, Halle, and their special 4th grade friend, Makayla.