Margie's Blog

We had a great Christmas today! I’ll try to recap our Christmas celebrations for you. Friday afternoon we headed to Idaho. The girls are troopers and try their best to behave as we travel. It’s tough being strapped to a car seat with little wiggle room for three hours. Saturday evening was the Nelson Family Christmas Party. Joan did a great job hosting it and we all enjoyed the festivities. Santa Claus even made a special visit to drop off a few gifts early to the good little kids. Paige was enamored with Santa and walked right up to say hi. Brooke was a little more hesitant but tolerated sitting on his lap really well.

Sunday we attended church with Shawn’s family and opened a few presents with them while we were there. Monday morning we headed back to Utah to make sure Santa was ready to visit us. We managed to get a lot of snow on Monday so we bundled up the girls and attempted to take them sledding. The snow was still blowing which didn’t make it fun for the girls as they whizzed down the hill so we each got about two runs in and then called it good enough. Maybe we’ll try again tomorrow.

Monday night Paige helped me retell the Christmas story by holding up the pictures as I told the story. We also made some more sugar cookies and then got to open our Christmas Eve presents of new pajamas. The girls are at a great stage where they are starting to figure out Christmas but don’t know about trying to stay up to see Santa or get up early to open their presents. So we got a normal night of sleep in and even when Paige woke up and saw that Santa was here she was fine with having some princess waffles first before we went and opened our presents. Santa did a good job of spoiling the girls this year. They got some new fun toys and were glued to them most of the rest of the day, which was great! Shawn helped them play with their new toys as well while I attempted to make my first turkey. I got one cheap after Thanksgiving and figured it’d be a good time to attempt to make my first turkey as a practice run and it was a good practice. I learned a few things and will do a better job when I have to make one in the future for guests. So there’s a synopsis of our Christmas. I hope yours was equally merry and fun.

Shawn was in Salt Lake all of last week and the girls and I were all glad when he came back home. We are a lot calmer and I can get a little more accomplished around the house when he’s here to bounce the girls off of. Saturday I was on a mission to get some treats made for neighbors and so I baked up the rest of my cookie dough I had kept in my freezer, made about four dozen sugar cookies and had made some peppermint bark on Friday to add to the treat boxes.

Later in the afternoon we went to get me some new rosin for my violin. I’ve been playing violin since I was 7 years old and I’ve only ever had the rosin my dad purchased for me. I don’t know what the difference between the dark and light rosin is or why one brand is better then another. If someone knows the difference can you please explain it to me? I did purchase one, they didn’t have the same brand of my previous one, so I just got the next best thing I could think of. Seeing how I’m not a professional violinist I don’t think it’ll make that big of a difference.

Last week I rented “Meet Me in St. Louis” to watch while Shawn was gone. I loved getting to watch it again and see the familiar story. If you care at all for old movies and musicals you should check it out. It’s one of my all time favorites. I didn’t realize it was so old. It was made around 1944 and it's in color, unlike the picture.

I think I’m officially done Christmas shopping as well! We have presents already piled under the tree and Santa has filled a closet or two of mine full of presents for the girls as well. We should have a fun Christmas this year and I hope when we balance the checkbook at the end of the month we don’t cringe too much. I tried to spread the purchases out over several months.

Last night (Sunday) it was time to make our weekly cookies. I usually make chocolate chips but since I had made sugar cookies the day before and only gotten to eat 1 of the 4 dozen cookies I decided to make more for just us to enjoy. I’m getting pretty good at making them and not burning them. I hope you all are enjoying the fun holiday month and do a snow dance for us so we can go play in some snow!

The past two weeks have been pretty busy with a lot of holiday parties to attend. I think we got through four parties in the past two weeks. We had our church Christmas party and they asked me to play my violin as part of the program. I can’t even remember the last time I played a violin solo but since I’ve been brushing up with my orchestra participation I felt up to the challenge. I picked out a new song called “Christmas Lullaby Medley” which was just a mix of all the Christmas lullabies and it turned out just fine.

We also attended a dinner for all of the clients of Shawn’s accounting firm that week. It’s always a nice dinner but I know I have to try a little harder to be a good conversationalist at these dinners. Then last week we went to a bank Christmas party because the bank is one of Shawn’s clients. They are gracious to invite us to that dinner because it really is just for their employees usually. I attended my work Christmas party/department meeting on Thursday. Friday night we attended the employee party for Shawn’s office. They had a dinner and show at USU by the Pickleville Playhouse and it was pretty cute.

Saturday morning I taught a little Big Brother/Big Sister class at the hospital and after the BYU basketball game Shawn was up for some holiday shopping. I crossed my fingers that the girls would behave and figured we’d get through one store before Shawn got tired and the girls melted. But to my surprise everyone persevered and we made it through two stores, had dinner at Costa Vida and then returned to shop at two more stores! We actually got gifts purchased, names crossed off our lists and things accomplished. I think it was divine intervention really to be able to survive that much shopping in busy stores with two toddlers and a husband who doesn’t particularly love shopping and we all came home pretty happy! Really that is something to remember because I don’t expect it to happen again anytime soon.

Sunday I taught in Primary and I only get to teach this class one more time before we switch classes next year. They’ve been a great group of kids and are really pretty smart and know more of the scriptures then I do at times. That’s enough to bore you with a little update. I hope everyone else is surviving the holiday prep work.

Today I was enjoying practicing my violin and playing some Christmas Carols. As I played "Here Comes Santa Claus" the sound of Goofy going, "dum dee dum dee" during the rests kept on popping into my mind. Then I realized that the voices that were signing the tune in my head as I played were all Disney characters, Donald, Mickey & Goofy. We owned the Disney's Merry Christmas Carols record when I was a kid and must have played it over and over because now as I remember all those Christmas songs they are all sung by Disney Characters. I've determined that Christmas and Disney is very intertwined in my memories and I always long to walk down Main Street at Disneyland and see the garlands strung across the street as they pump carols out of the speakers. I also realize that when I hear "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" it will always be Alvin and the Chipmunks singing it to me. Just some of the downfalls of growing up in the 80's I suppose. But on the bright side I do imagine Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis.

We have survived another holiday! Survived is a bad word isn’t it? I enjoy my holidays and visits but am always pretty wiped out afterwards, as is most of the world. Last Tuesday we went up to Idaho for the Thanksgiving holidays. Wednesday was my birthday so Joan made a yummy chocolate cake and the girls helped put the candles on it so I think at least 33 candles got put on the cake even though I’m not quite that old yet. I guess it’s good practice blowing out all those candles for the years to come, right? Shawn spoiled me with a great new ski coat. Joan found an amazing Christmas songbook for me as well and I’m excited to get to enjoy the holiday season with more music this year. Wednesday night Shawn and I went out to eat and it’s always great to have some time alone.

Thursday we spent Thanksgiving at Aunt Debbie’s house. Paige had a blast running around with Abby and Brooke mastered going up and down her three stairs to her living room. Friday Shawn worked long and hard with his dad and brother gutting his parent’s master bathroom. I’m excited for them to get to update it. Saturday was the Nelson Family Thanksgiving meal and we even got a visit from Santa Clause while we were there. Paige got a princess book and Brooke got a bowling set. We came home after that party and I’m trying to get ready for my week ahead today.

My incredibly talented sister Jeanette sent me a link to her new website for her Jazz band. (http://www.furgojazz.com/index.htm) They are located in Fort Worth, Texas now but have played all over Southern California and Utah. They performed at our wedding and Shawn still says it was one of his favorite parts of the reception was having their music in the background. Plus she was awesome and jazzed up a James Taylor song just for me on my special day. So take a quick look and send it on to anyone you know who might live in the Forth Worth area.

So last Saturday Shawn and I did get off together and went to the USU v. Boise football game. It was a fun event and amazing to see so many Boise fans come in town for the game. I think most of the rest of my week has been fairly normal. Sunday we went to church as usual and I made fajitas for dinner. Monday night we had family home evening. We made a family motto “Building for Eternity” and learned about being loyal to people. I painted the motto on a board and hung it in our room. Really not fancy and a bit “homemakingish” but I thought it would be good to try and unify our little family with a theme. The girls helped and put their handprints on it and they enjoyed that.

Wednesday night was orchestra practice again. We practiced for two hours straight with about a 60 second break half way through. I think most of our arms and backs were a bit tired by the end of the rehearsal but it was much needed. I don’t think anyone lives in Cache Valley that reads my blog but if you are you can come see us perform Sunday, November 18^th at 7:30 at the Kent Concert Hall. Luckily my class on Saturday got cancelled so I’ll be able to make my Saturday morning rehearsal now.

This morning we watched Owen for a few hours. He is a happy little boy and ran around bouncing and giggling the first 30 minutes being here. He loves playing the piano and singing songs with us. I even pulled out some play dough for him to explore. Then we went off to the grocery store. I got the girls gingerbread cookies this time to munch on and they made a fun mess on Brooke. After I got the groceries in the house Paige wanted to go and play in the leaves. I stood there and watched her jump in the leaf pile and she kept on begging me to come in and jump with her. I finally inched my way in and we ended up having a blast throwing leaves on one another’s heads and giggling. I know, a picture would have been cute but things like that are hard to catch a picture of. So there’s some updates from us!

My week is flying past me as usual. Monday night we went off to Shawn’s last football game. He had fun playing with his coworkers and the girls enjoyed running around the field and playing. Brooke kept on running the water bottle over to Shawn when he was standing on the sideline. She would be a great water girl. Since the time changed it was a bit chillier then usual but I was well prepared with blanket, warm jackets, hats and gloves for all. If only Brooke would learn to leave her gloves on. I realize it’s a hopeless dream and just chuckle at the feeble attempts I make to teach her how to stay warm.

Tuesday was Election Day and I took Paige with me to vote once Shawn got home from work. She enjoyed the one-on-one outing. Brooke was a bit heart broken that I actually went with Paige somewhere and didn’t take her. She even grabbed her sweater and ran after us as we left. It was too cute to see her at the door holding her sweater saying “me, me!” in her little one year old language.

Wednesday I went off and got a flu shot from work. That night I went off to orchestra practice. We only have one more weekday rehearsal until our concert! They have a dress rehearsal the Saturday before the concert but I won’t be able to make it so crazy! The conductor decided to cut out a piece that was particularly hard and we hadn’t spent much time on and simplified a difficult passage for us so that should help out quite a bit but there still are a lot of numbers I need to polish up on. I also was asked to play at the ward Christmas party. I went out and found a nicer arrangement of a Christmas Lullaby song to play and now I need to practice that as well and find myself an accompanist.

Paige is still enjoying her “preschool” time with me twice a week. Brooke participates as much as she can but sitting in one place to listen to a story is pretty difficult when you are one. This weekend Shawn and I are off to the USU v. Boise football game. He’s a Boise State fan being from Idaho so he’s excited. The weather has been pleasant all week but I think the weekend is supposed to bring some colder weather so hopefully we’ll stay warm at the stadium. That’s all of my exciting news of the day!

So if I wasn’t crazy enough with trying to keep two girls happy all day and trying my best to feed my family and pick up after the 105 messes the girls make a day I’ve added one more thing to my plate. Paige is a busy 3 year old and sadly I don’t think she’ll get to start kindergarten until September 2010 because she was born at the end of September. I think we are all going to literally go crazy if she sits in front of the TV for three more years. For some odd reason I haven’t been keen on the idea of sending my kids off to preschool. Probably because my mom didn’t send me and I thought I was fine without it. Plus Paige hasn’t mastered the potty training process so she kind of needs to stay at home for a while until that is mastered. So thinking about how crazy I was going to go if I didn’t plan something to occupy our time over the next three years I decided on trying Joy School out. Since I didn’t start until November this year I’m just giving it a test run this year on my own which I know has it’s downfalls but at least I’ll know the curriculum better and by next fall can decide if I want to start my own group, join another group in town or continue on with Paige, Brooke and I. Paige loves it! She asks me everyday if she can have preschool today and calls me “teacher” during our school time. I’m getting all sorts of new ideas as to how to entertain her and we are all happier having spent a few quality hours together two or three times a week. Plus the tuition spent on the curriculum is good for every kid in our family. I don’t have to repay Joy School for each year I want to teach my kids preschool so it’s a bargain in that sense. And on top of that you have to sign up for the Values Parenting website but I get Family Home Evening lessons for the entire year as well! Score! It still takes some time to prepare for the lessons but as of today I feel like it’s time well spent and the more I do the lessons the quicker the preparations will go. So there’s my latest adventure.

So I saw this on another girl's blog and thought it was kind of fun. Enjoy a review of my past and feel free to pass it on and do the same on your blog if you wish. I won't "ask" you to do it as a tag but feel free if you are inclined to do it back.

Where did you meet your husband?
Do you want full explanation or just a summary? I had actually gone to attend the CES fireside for once and saw a guy (Steve) that I had met years earlier chatting outside of Liberty Square. I went over to see what he was up to and saw him talking to Melissa (a girl I knew from freshman year). He had moved into Liberty Square. So that night I took my social self over to his apartment to visit. He wasn’t at home but most of his roommates were. Randy and Scott welcomed me in and kept me entertained. Shawn sat in the corner sewing an overly loved beanbag seat back together.

What was the first thing you said to your husband?
I have no clue. We didn’t talk much on the first meeting. Randy and Scott were much more into being the entertainers.

Where was the first kiss? First date?
Steve called me up the next night and set me up with Shawn on a group date to see “The Mummy Returns”. Just Shawn and I went out for ice cream at the Malt Shoppe afterwards. I was a little shocked to find out he was a BYU Accounting Grad student (he had just grown out facial hair during the school break). He sounded shocked when he found out I was 21 and not 18 or 19 like most the girls his roommates hung out with.

Our first kiss was (do I admit to this? . . .) just on Sunday a week later. He had gone away to help his dad with farm work and see his brother’s mission homecoming and when he came back Sunday night he came over to visit me and we ended up with a kiss by the end of the visit.

Did you have a long or short courtship? Engagement?
I think we did pretty well for a Mormon couple in Provo, Utah. We started dating May 2001. Hinted towards our future in September to make sure we could be in the same city after graduation. I think by Christmas we knew we’d get married but the actually proposal wasn’t until April 2002 I think? We then got married on May 10, 2002 so just a little over a month? I was planning the wedding before the proposal though.

Where did you get engaged?
We had a meal rotation between Shawn’s roommates and I. It was Joe’s turn to make dinner and Shawn called me up to say it didn’t turn out so good so could he just take me out to eat (which is pretty uncommon for him to suggest going out to eat). So when we got to the University Mall he surprised me by saying he’d take me to Rodigioz Grill if I wanted to! When I thought he wanted to go out to eat on a Wednesday night I thought it was odd, I figured we’d be going to Wendy’s or something like that. When I saw he was taking me to Rodigioz I knew something was up by then. We had a great dinner stuffing ourselves silly on Brazilian Barbeque and then went for a walk on the Provo River Trail. He found a nice quite spot to stop and pop the question on me. Sorry, nothing too crazy there.

Where did you get married?
San Diego LDS Temple.

How did the reception go?
Great! My Uncle Bruce & Aunt Rocann opened up their yard for our reception and everyone did a great job putting it together. My one request was to get a dance with my dad in so my sister Jeanette put together a little jazz combo group and they played great music then entire night. I enjoyed my red and white colors and flowers and getting to see all our relatives visiting.

We also enjoyed a reception in Twin Falls, Idaho which was great! Ice cream cake and lots of people I didn't know yet :o).

How was the honeymoon?
We enjoyed the first two nights at a bed and breakfast in Dana Point and then traveled back to Utah and on to Idaho. I obviously wasn’t too demanding on the honeymoon requirements and we spent a few nights at his family’s ranch in Elba, Idaho. We climbed around the City of Rocks, which was a fun activity.

So I put in some pictures last week but failed to write much about what we’ve been up to so I’ll try to review the past and update.

So a couple of weeks ago I found out there was a Reperatory Dance Theater Master dance class and concert in town. I knew I needed a break from my normal routine so I signed up for the class and got tickets to the concert not caring if I went alone or had Shawn join me (he didn’t know what modern dance was when I told him about it). I got a babysitter for the dance class hour and had a fun hour of doing modern dance again. It was hard rolling onto the ground and trying to pop back up again. For some reason that was easier 10 years ago, go figure. But I haven’t gotten to dance barefoot and enjoy a class like that since college days so it was a great experience. Plus I still fit into my dance clothes from high school, which is a bonus and makes you feel good!

Friday night Shawn joined me for the modern dance concert. He really was a great husband that night. He came home from working ready to go to the concert having no clue what he was getting himself into. He didn’t know if it was a show, a participation dance class or what! I reassured him he would be sitting and it was more of a ballet concert (which he’s attended in Russia) and he wouldn’t have to participate in any way. It was a review of the evolvement of modern dance over the past century and I enjoyed remembering all the names of choreographers and things that I had learned back in my college days of studying dance. (If you didn’t know I was a dance major before I changed to audiology/speech pathology.)

Last week Shawn spent three days working in Salt Lake. He invited us to join him for a night. Wednesday morning I went off first thing to the hospital to renew my CPR certification. I felt like I was in school again trying to take a written test and being tested on my CPR skills. Luckily I passed and am certified for 2 more years. When I got home I picked up the girls from the neighbor’s and got ready to head to Salt Lake. We first went to my Great Aunt Elaine’s house to visit with her and my Grandma Eliason. I forgot that Brooke hasn’t ever met Grandma and it’s been a long time since Paige has seen her. They were great at entertaining my silly girls and we had a fun visit with them. I attempted to walk around Fashion Place Mall afterwards but Brooke was in a rotten mood due to a soaking wet diaper which I didn’t discover until we were back at the hotel. So we retreated from the mall, found the hotel and waited for Shawn to get back from work. We all enjoyed a fun night out of eating dinner and then walked around the mall together again.

Thursday morning was a fun event for us. We drove down south a little farther and met up with Lori and her kids at Thanksgiving Point. The Ethan was Paige’s buddy instantly and they held hands and walked around looked at the farm animals together. They got to feet the goats, have pony rides and eat some bubble gum ice cream. I don’t know how it couldn’t have been a fun activity with bubble gum ice cream!

Saturday I went off to an American Mother’s Conference. It’s a good organization and I enjoy the uplift it gives as it encourages us to keep on trying to be good moms. They put a lot of effort into the conference and had some great speakers including Linda Eyre. That night we attended the annual North Logan Pumpkin Walk. It’s a fun free activity.

So that’s enough to make you tired of reading my blog!

So here is Paige's Halloween Costume for this year. I don't have the talent of patience to try to make one by hand so I try to find ones that are decent and on sale. She really wanted to be Sleeping Beauty but sadly Sleeping Beauty on Ebay goes for $10 or $15 more then Snow White in general. He he. So she'll be Snow White for a few years and then I'll think of splurging more for a Sleeping Beauty costume. Enjoy!

This past week fall is hitting us with nice sweater weather. I got to pull out my old worn out grey knit hoodie that I have abused and worn every cold season for the past ten years. I thought it might be time to replace it and have started to look around but it’ll be hard to put away and find one that is as comfortable as mine. I splurged on it freshman year of college and spent over $60 for it and thought I was being a bit foolish but I think 9+ years of almost everyday use in the cold season has proved it well worth it’s money. I try to not be too attached to things but today I started to think of the other clothes and things I loved and have gotten rid of. The “cranberry” limited shirt I over wore from 7^th grade on and finally got rid of it after having my first kid. I wore that shirt for almost every picture day I think. It wasn’t even worn out (well no holes at least), I just didn’t think I had the body of a 14 year old anymore.

Then there was the blanket. I know Lori remembers all these items. Grandma Kunz made me the best blanket. The pattern on the fabric was a bit silly (red, white and blue with chickens). But it was flannel on both sides and small enough to be used on the couch and big enough to cover a twin bed. I would try to go to bed at night and wonder where it was. I would go downstairs and find my mom sleeping under it on the couch! I took it to camp with me in Junior high and my bunkmate (Megan) would take it to band practice with her. In college I noticed the binding was shredding apart and would attempt to sew it back together by hand (since I didn’t have a sewing machine as a college student). It would undoubtedly just continue to shred and I knew its days were numbered. It well exceeded it’s duty and I sadly threw it away in the Liberty Square Apartments dumpster just a few weeks before I married Shawn. I figured I needed to leave it behind and not show Shawn what I had been dragging around with me for over a decade. There’re other items I loved but I’ll stop boring you. You’ve fallen asleep already.

So this week we went up Logan Canyon with Becca & boys. We saw the pretty fall leaves, ate lunch, went on a short walk and tried to get back to the cars without putting Becca into labor. This weekend was General Conference. We stayed home and watched the meetings on our TV or listened to them on the radio. It’s easier to keep the girls entertained and be able to listen the meetings in our own home then anywhere else. Today I tried out a new recipe. It said it was Comforting Beef Casserole but essentially was just stew meat cooked long and low on the stove top with carrots and onions and other seasonings. It tasted pretty yummy and I knew it’d be a great thing to eat when I was exhausted or sick.

The Paige accomplishment of the day was getting dressed all by herself. I put her clothes next to her this morning as she was watching TV and went off to make breakfast. She ran over to see me and said, “Look Mom I got myself dressed!” Sure enough her shirt and pants were on but on backwards. She did pretty well I thought! Tonight she wanted to put her pajamas on all by herself and managed to put them on just fine. What a big girl I have! Brooke is signing better and talking more. She found the doll stroller today and had a blast pushing it all around the house. There’s a boring long post for you!

So this morning I did my usual morning routine of putting something on the TV to entertain the girls so I could get in the shower for a minute. When I came out I found quite the fun surprise. The girls had moved their little bench and were sitting on it (nothing new) but this time they had pulled the lemon and lime juice bottles on the fridge and were hoping to take of sip of "soda". I didn't notice them open but that was just a few seconds away. Then I noticed some red on Paige's lips and wondered what that was. Got closer and discovered there was some on her new white pants as well and it was Jell-O! She had managed to pull the glass pan of Jell-O out of the fridge, put it on the table (without dropping it!) and proceeded to dig in with her hands on the tasty treat. Luckily she didn't share with her sister so only one girl to mop up. I just chuckled to myself and thought my girls are pretty silly. I gave her a quick lecture on not getting into the fridge but I think it's time to browse the baby proofing section again and see if we can prevent this in the future.

So this week has been a good week. I’ll try to think of why it’s been good but in general I’ve been in a better mood and had fun playing more with my girls. Paige’s fun birthday was Wednesday and she turned three. She did a good job helping me make a cake and pizza for her birthday. She’s getting to where she can help out a lot more in the kitchen. She put the cupcake liners in the pan and set the table a little bit as well. I found cute Disney princess wrapping paper to wrap all of her presents in and she had a blast playing with her new toys. She got the Fisher Price My First Dollhouse, which is really pretty cute. I hope to get more of the accessories for Christmas. I also ventured into the world of Barbie’s and got one for each girl. The small shoes and pieces are hidden from Brooke but she enjoys holding the doll as much as Paige likes to play with hers. Paige also got a small backpack and she loves to think that she’s big like school kids. Brooke likes to wear the backpack around the house as well and can even say “backpack” fairly well. So the birthday was enjoyable for all and we had a fun time celebrating 3 years of being parents with Paige.

The Office premiered on Thursday and I’m not normally one to care much for what’s on TV but I’ve been looking forward to the premiere and it was hilarious. I just think of PB & J and chuckle to myself.

Friday I got my homemaker skills out and made an apple pie from the apples in our yard. Shawn told me he was going to be out of town Friday night so I wasn’t sure who was going to help me eat this massive pie but had a craving to make it so I did. Becca called up and asked if I was husbandless and if we wanted to do something. Yeah! A victim to eat my pie. I told her to bring her kids over for pie and ice cream once I got Shawn out the door (he was doing an audit at 6am Saturday in Burley). So the kids had a blast running around the house and playing, eating left over birthday cake, and ice cream and we enjoyed my yummy pie. (Becca’s husband was off running a 100-mile race Friday night. Crazy!) Today was Fast Sunday and I actually made a decent pot roast again. Shawn enjoys his pot roasts and it’s great for fast Sundays. So there are the updates of my week.

So I’ve had a fun busy week. My mom flew into town Monday evening and spent the week helping me out and giving me a break. She would take the girls to the park every morning for close to an hour and give me a chance to pick up the house, practice my violin, and work on one thing on my to-do list or another. I took off and got my mandatory testing done at the hospital for work one afternoon, grocery shopped another day (which takes no time at all without two kids in the cart), and even got a pedicure. She watched the girls at night so Shawn and I could enjoy a movie. We saw Transformers at the cheap theater but we never go to the movies anymore so it was a fun treat.

Saturday I taught a babysitting class again. It was a good class, about 13 students attended and they all were interested in learning. After work I jetted home and tried to get the girls ready to go down to Murray for our Kunz family reunion. I knew Shawn was watching the BYU football game and felt bad to make him leave during the fourth quarter but also didn’t want to arrive too terribly late. So I tried to not be too pushy and get the girls ready all by myself as much as I could so he could spend his time enjoying the game. The reunion was fine but I feel bad that we really don’t know one another, meaning my cousins. I know Shawn’s cousins much better then I know my own on my dad’s side and I think it’s kind of silly. There isn’t any reason why we should be so distant. Okay, moving on . . . we put the girls in their jimmies for the ride home and they both fell asleep easily and we had a good ride home.

Today, Sunday, was the Primary program. I had missed both practices so thought it would be better if I stayed out of the way and help Shawn watch the girls in the pew. But I was asked at last minute to fill in for another missing teacher and Shawn had a hard time with the girls so he just watched them in the foyer. I was a little bit torn as to where I was serving the best, either sitting in a sit on the stand not really doing much or trying to help Shawn with the girls. It’s one Sunday though and luckily I don’t have to make that decision everyday. I taught in the second hour my primary class. It really was a pretty good lesson and the kids were extra active due to their program excitement but they tried to listen and participate the best they could. I made shrimp scampi for dinner and Shawn made brownies for a treat later on. Pretty exciting I know. So there’s my week in review!

This past weekend was really different for me. Thursday Grandma Joan came and picked up Paige for her to play in Idaho for the weekend. After they left we went to Shawn’s football game and Brooke actually sat on my lap most of the time and I didn’t have to chase kids for the entire time I was there. Then we headed over to our ward activity of miniature golfing. It was a fun activity. Brooke sat in her stroller the whole time holding and throwing golf balls.

Friday night we went out to eat at Iggy’s. It was nice to not have to feed two kids plus myself all at the same time. Brooke preferred Shawn’s French friend to my pasta (no surprise) so he was on food duty. Shawn took off after that to go to his parents’ house in Idaho. He spent Saturday golfing in Boise with brothers and dad and attending the Boise State football game with them. Paige and Shawn came back Sunday and it’s good to have them home. It was the longest I’ve gone without Paige, even including giving birth to Brooke, so I was in a little shock at first to not have her around. Now I get to work on getting her back on schedule and not staying up until 10pm every night :o).

Oh my other news is Saturday morning Brooke and I had fun running the 5K race for the Top of Utah. I’m a slow runner but did it in about 34 minutes. I did run most of the way though and enjoyed the exercise. Brooke was a sport and kept her blanket on in the stroller the whole race.

Last Wednesday I also started going to the Cache Chamber Orchestra again. I’m very rusty on my violin. My stand partner had to remind me what to do at the D.C. at the end of the piece. Plus I feel like I need to write fingerings for all the hard parts but I’ll get through it with a little practice. When will I practice? Your guess is as good as mine but I’ll try :o). That’s my week!

I’m trying to think back on my week to figure out what I’ve been up to. Yesterday I taught for a couple of hours the Sibling Class at the hospital. Shawn worked in the afternoon and got home in time to watch the BYU v. UCLA game. I joined the girls in watching our city’s Apple Days parade. Paige did good picking up all the candy the parade tossed at us. After dinner (german pancakes) we went down to the park to see the Apple Days talent show. Paige enjoyed a little kid ride of going up and down on a little seat.

Friday wasn’t too eventful, laundry, tending girls as usual. Shawn was working late so I grabbed Dominos pizza for dinner. Thursday I ventured down to Salt Lake to hang out with my sister Charlynn for a few hours. We enjoyed walking around the Gateway and had lunch together before getting the girls utterly exhausted and driving home. Luckily both girls slept happily the whole drive home. That night we went to support Shawn as he played in a flag football game with his coworkers. They did a good job and won the game. The mosquitoes were vicious though and attacked Paige’s ankles (everything else was covered). She’s a good sport and we put cream on it make her “bug kisses” feel better.

Wednesday I took Paige to a little dance class. She enjoyed learning how to tap her feet, put them in first position and somersault down the mat. We went to the doctors after that to get Brooke’s ears checked out because she had been extra fussy recently and walked around pointing at her ears the night before. Sure enough, she had an ear infection in both ears. We ran to Sams to get her medicine and she’s on her way to getting feeling better. I worked on my grocery list that afternoon and tried to shop for two weeks worth of meals this time instead of one in hopes that I don’t overspend on groceries as much this month. It’s a nice thought; we’ll see how I do at the end of the month. So there are my updates. I hope you’ve had a good week as well!

p.s. I added a few pictures in previous posts, nothing too exciting though.

This past weekend we stayed fairly busy. Friday night I got a babysitter so Shawn and I could attend the ward temple night. We took some extra time to have a dessert afterwards so it was a little more of a date. The poor babysitter looked a little tired by the time we got home at 9:30pm. Neither girl would nicely go to sleep for her and by that late at night Brooke was exhausted. Hopefully the girls didn’t scare her off from babysitting ever again.

Saturday we packed the girls up and headed down to Provo. Kenny & Jenni were great helpers allowing us to leave the girls with them in Lehi for the day so Shawn and I could attend the BYU v. Arizona football game. When we rolled into Provo tons of great memories came flooding back to me and made me miss the pretty area quite a bit. (Lori, you can laugh all you want.) But I did enjoy looking up to the mountains and seeing Timpanogos, Squaw peak, and the Y mountain all again. We found our nosebleed seats at the stadium and enjoyed a fun game. I actually could follow the game a little bit better this time. The girls seemed to survive and enjoy their time with their aunt and uncle and we are very appreciative to them for taking on the challenge of watching them for so long. We got home around 10:30pm with both girls tuckered out and ready to climb into bed.

Sunday was church as usual. Shawn borrowed a co-worker’s The Office DVD so we spent plenty of time on Sunday and Monday going through that. I think it gets funnier the more you watch it. Sunday after church our friend asked us what we were doing tomorrow (Labor Day). I had completely forgotten that yesterday was a holiday and Shawn would be home from work. He helped me take care of the girls and gave me a few hours off. I went jogging/walking in the morning and in the afternoon I took off and went shopping. It’s always nice to get to walk around a store without saying “Paige, come back here!” or “Paige, don’t touch that!” I actually bought three things for myself and no clothes for the girls. Most of the time when I go shopping I only find baby clothes for the girls and don’t tend to treat myself too much. Isn’t that the life of a mom?

This week wasn’t too out of the ordinary. I got to visit teach twice last week and that was good. I signed up to switch from Dish Network to Comcast for Shawn so he could watch the BYU football games this season. Dish Network doesn’t carry most of the games and he waited through the season last year but this year they aren’t picking up the games either so we decided to switch over to Comcast. Tomorrow the cable man comes to install it. I also ordered us tickets to BYU’s football game next Saturday. I haven’t been to a football game in at least two years. Kenny and Jenni said they could watch our girls so that will make it a lot more enjoyable to watch then game instead of just sitting on a bleacher tending two toddlers for three hours while Shawn tries to watch the game. It’s really pointless for me to go if I have to watch kids at the same time.

Charlynn came and visited us this week as well. It’s been fun to get to see her more often. Quite a change for me seeing how I’ve really lived without much close family contact in Utah since Jeanette left in 1999. Charlynn watched the girls while I got to attend a temple session. A couple hours of peace and solitude was great to help rejuvenate me.

Friday night we drove to Bountiful to attend Shawn’s cousin’s wedding reception. It’s been a summer with lots of weddings but I suppose most summers are filled with weddings. They did a great job and it was fun visiting with a few relatives again.

Saturday morning Shawn went off to a golf fundraising tournament. I knew he’d be gone all morning and into the afternoon and wasn’t looking forward to hitting my to-do list again so I packed the girls up and took them down to Willow Park. We went for a nice walk on the river trail, Paige enjoyed playing at the playground and then we walked around the zoo. I let Brooke out of the stroller to see the ducks a little bit closer and she had fun walking up to the fence to see them.

Today I taught my primary lesson on the crucifixion. I needed to spend more time preparing it because it was such a heavy subject to teach to ten year olds. They were troopers and followed along as I went through the scriptures with them.

FYI: I love to read comments people leave. Feel free to leave any note to let me know people are actually reading my nonsense :)

So Brooke tagged me to be apart of telling 8 secrets. I think I'm pretty similar to her where I don't keep too much quiet. I already told you 100 things about me (look at my early posts). So I'll try my best to tell you 8 more things about me . . .

1. I've had a hard week. Nothing monumental to explain just emotional roller coaster of a week. I feel like I'm a teenager again and that sucks! So that is a warning as to what might follow in the next 7 things.

2. At times it has been harder to be a Mormon in Utah then in California. I could see the black and white as to why I believed in my religion so much more clearly when there were so many different types of people and cultures to compare it to. In Utah most people are Mormon to some degree so understanding what is so great about my church has been a little harder. I truly do know that it is true and it's the right church for me but it's hard to see so many people around me be Mormon but them not fully appreciate what that means.

3. At times I look in the mirror and am a little shocked that I'm 27 and have two kids. I still think I should be 22 and a newlywed I think. It really does go by quickly.

4. I watched "A Little Princess" with Paige last week (it's her new favorite movie) and actually cried at the end. I haven't cried watching a movie in years. It was all apart of my emotional roller coaster of a week but it was kind of fun in a way to enjoy a movie enough to cry.

5. I haven't ever owned cell phone and really don't know how to work one very well. I sadly am not that busy or wanted of a person for people to need to get a hold of me at all times.

6. I used to think I could easily have 5 or 6 kids. Now I'm wondering if I'm really that good of a mom to be able to handle raising that many or if I'll loose my mind before then. I'm not worried about that many pregnancies really, just the actually tending of 5 kids at one time. Yikes!

7. As a girl I stress too much over things I have no ability to change. I tell myself, "Margie you can't do anything about that so get over it!" but to no avail it still gets under my skin and bugs me.

8. I love dancing around my house with my girls. I put music on and Paige starts to dance all around and even Brooke jumps right up and starts to bounce up and down. It's the cutest and if I was more computer savvy and had a faster connection I'd put up a clip of what they looked like dancing around because it puts a huge smile on my face.

Okay, so there's so not so exciting secrets to entertain yourselves. Now I get to tag a few more people to pass the game on to.

Jenni Kunz
Jenni Peacock
Amy Norton (although I think Aaron does their site),
Lori Withers

I won't bug anyone else seeing how Drew, Krysta and Brooke were all already tagged.

This weekend has been busy for us. Friday we attended Shawn’s company summer party at the Celebration Centre. They had a big area for Paige to play on a blow up slide, bounce house, carousel, and climbing gym. Then Shawn and I both got to ride go carts, play miniature golf, and ride two rides (a giant swing and sling). It was a fun day for our family. That night we headed to Logan Canyon for the Raymond Anderson reunion. Shawn and Paige spent the night and I opted to head back home to rest in my own bed with Brooke. Grandma asked Paige if she wanted to sleep in her tent and Paige was excited for that adventure so Shawn actually got the tent to himself. Saturday was full of activities at the reunion. I braved the tent that night with Brooke and Paige stayed in Grandma and Grandpa’s tent again. There was a big thunderstorm last night but Brooke and Paige both slept through it fairly well.

The other silly news of the week is I was needing some me time and a change and went in for a hair cut and now have shorter hair then I think I’ve ever had. I’ll have to take a picture and post it soon. My ears are definitely visible. It’s fun to have something different but I don’t think I’ll keep it for the rest of my life so no worries. If you've known me for a while it's similar to the huge chop I did the summer of 1999.

Shawn was out of town again this past week. This time he was in Idaho Falls. So the girls and I managed to stay busy while he was away. Now I have to try and remember what we did . . . Wednesday night we went to a block ice cream party at our neighbor’s house. Paige had a blast running around with some friends and Brooke enjoyed munching on an ice cream cone. Thursday I spent most of the day cleaning. Paige and Brooke helped me clean up their rooms, mop floors, clean walls, clean the bathroom, etc. There was a lot of cleaning.

Friday night Shawn got back in town and we stopped by a wedding reception for a neighbor. This morning I ran a couple errands with the girls and then we went swimming in the afternoon with Shawn. I went for a run tonight all by myself that was fun as well. It is a lot easier to run without having to push a double stroller. Speaking of which, we have done lots and lots of walks this week.

Here’s a silly story for you. Friday morning we were playing at the park after our walk. Paige sat at the table by the lemonade stand and asked me to make her some noodles. So I go and make her some pretend noodles. She then requests some juice so I make pretend juice. Next she says, “Oh, you forgot the fork and knife.” I went and found the pretend fork and knife. After she takes a few bites I told her it was time to go. She hops into the stroller and scoots over so she can put her pretend dinner next to her on our way home. We get almost home and she wants to run the rest of the way (which is common for her). She hops out of her stroller and says she wants to take her “dinner” with her. She takes a few steps and says, “Oh, can you hold my dinner for me mom?” Then she hands me her pretend dinner and does her running to our house. I then handed her dinner back to her. I can tell that my days of make believe are only beginning and I won’t have to tell her what to pretend at all.

Last Thursday was Shawn’s 30^th birthday. I tried my best to make a celebration out of it but realize I’m awful at buying gifts and throwing parties. I found four presents for him, made an angel food cake for strawberry shortcake, and made a homemade pizza (by his request) for his birthday dinner. I had fun and picked up a balloon bouquet as well as putting the girls in cute dresses so they’d look extra cute for Shawn on his birthday. I think he enjoyed our little celebration and appreciated the effort I attempted to put into making a special day for him.

Saturday morning I worked for a couple of hours and that afternoon we drove to Idaho to attend Shawn’s cousin wedding and reception. Paige had a blast chasing kids around at the reception and Brooke found out that her pretty satin dress was extra fun to slide on the wooden floor in. Not that I wanted her to do that. I would try to get her back on her feet and she’d flop back to her tummy to slide again.

Sunday I taught my primary class again. I made a new enchilada recipe for dinner and it tasted okay but I’m contemplating adjustments to make for next time.

This morning I went on a fun walk/run again with the girls and when we got home I glanced at my calendar and realized I had an eye appointment in less then 10 minutes. So I gave them a call, got the girls car seats back in the car and jetted off to the appointment. I’ve been pretty productive the rest of my day with cleaning, yard work, and found the girls some cute outfits on a great sale. I’m always wishing to buy their future clothes on sale before I need to buy it full price. I think that’s my highlights of the weekend.

So I wanted to report on our fun night last night. I had planned on going to the driving range last night to hit a few balls. Shawn came home at 5pm so I could go. I had quickly made some German pancakes for dinner and they were getting out of the oven. Shawn went to try to turn the window AC on when our power went out. Power outages in our old home aren’t too uncommon so it didn’t shock us too much. Then we saw fire truck after fire truck plow down our street. They weren’t the big engines but just the trucks and SUVs. I went out to the car to go golfing and noticed some neighbors out talking. I quickly noticed where the fire trucks were going and why half of the street was standing in the street looking eastward. The hill just above River Heights was on fire in a few spots. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do anything so I went on to the driving range and enjoyed hitting a few balls. On my way home I stopped by the grocery store (whose main power was out) and grabbed a few bags of ice just in case it takes a while for our power to come back on. At first I thought I was being silly to even bother buying extra ice but figured it’s only a couple bucks and worth a little extra peace of mind. By this time the fire was probably halfway up the hill and I knew it was going to be a long night for the fire crews. Through word on the grapevine we found out that the power would probably be out until 8am this morning if not later. So when we got home we put duck tape on the fridge to prevent Paige from opening it and got the girls to bed. I managed to quilt a little until the sun went down and my flashlight wasn’t enough light anymore around 9:30pm and just went to bed. There wasn’t much else I could do. Brooke woke up a couple times last night probably because she didn’t get her bedtime milk in and didn’t have her night light. Around 3am (I think) the power actually came back on! As far as I can tell from reports no homes were damaged and the fire should be out. So it made for a different and interesting night but luckily I made dinner early, had some inspiration to buy ice, and it was still light as the girls went to bed so they didn’t really know any difference.

I’m trying to think up what I’ve been up to over the past week. Shawn was out of town last week again but it is always good to see him when he comes home. Brooke walked all the way across the room to see him, which was amazing. She’s taken a few steps before but that was a really long stretch for her to walk without any assistance. She must have been excited to see her dad. Saturday morning I picked up a babysitter bright and early (7am) so Shawn and I could try to beat the heat a little and enjoy 9 holes of golfing. We golfed at Birch Creek, which was a great golf course. I wasn’t hitting anything too well but felt like I was getting a little better toward the end of the day (which is usually when I’m exhausted and doing horribly). I got a golf pull cart, which made the day go by much better then carrying my bag around. I know there are golf carts but I am still such a horrible golfer a cart wouldn’t do me much good. I need to actually drive the ball a good distance to want to drive to where it lands. Today I went for a good walk this morning with the girls that we enjoyed. We stopped by two different parks for Paige to play at and she loved that. I made potpies for dinner again and have laundry to sort and fold as usual. So off to more chores I go.

Happy Pioneer Day! So this morning I was adventurous and tried something completely new for me. I ran a 5K! Well, ran/walked would be a better description. After all I was pushing a double stroller the whole time. But it was a fun way to start our day and the girls enjoyed the activity as well. Paige would cheer me on to keep on running which helped. I hope to do more in the future because it really isn’t that long of a race. There’s one with the Top of Utah Marathon in September and I’m contemplating signing up for it. I will never do a marathon but 5K is fun.

This evening we went to Willow Park and did our best to watch some of the Peter Brinholt concert. Paige loved clapping and dancing around but it was past Brooke’s bedtime and she reminded us often of this. I was on my own so I tried to not push my luck any further and took them home. The fireworks are going on now and I’m sure the girls would have loved to watch them but they were tuckered out. That’s our updates!

Last week was busy but good. Shawn was away in Salt Lake all week so that meant I had control of the AC while I slept, :). The week was fine. The evenings usually get a bit tough when I’ve been tending the girls all day and night and they and I are both getting tired around 7pm but we went for some extra walks and survived just fine. Tuesday I had an eye appointment. Wednesday evening I went golfing with two neighbors. We had a blast trying our best to not hit the balls in the water and without fail our balls would just gravitate toward the pond. Luckily the golf pro had given us free balls so we didn’t mind losing them as much. The girls did just fine with their babysitter and I felt rejuvenated after having a few hours off. Thursday Charlynn and Eric stopped by for lunch and a visit. We enjoyed visiting with them for a little while. Saturday I worked all day long (9-4). I taught a babysitting course and added a sibling course to the end of the day. Both were great classes and the kids seemed to enjoy the classes. We went out for ice cream as a family that night. It had to have been one of our messiest ice cream outings. Not that any cone completely spilled but between trying to feed two little girls ice cream and ourselves something was always dripping. Brooke usually eats ice cream just fine but wasn’t in the mood that night. She would make a sound asking for it and then when we’d try to give it to her she’d turn away. Silly girl. Sunday was just fine. I made pot roast and tried to relax a little. Now the next week is here! Wish me luck.

This weekend we traveled to Pocatello, Idaho to camp with Shawn’s family. Paige enjoys camping and Brooke tolerates it well too. We cooked the Friday night dinner and I ended up making a Dutch oven dinner of cornbread, potatoes, chicken, and chocolate cake. All turned out great and everyone was fed. I never sleep well camping (I’d like to know who does) so I took a sleeping pill and slept great. The girls did fairly well too.

Saturday we had breakfast at camp then I went for a hike with Shawn’s sisters. The family went to a shooting range and swimming in the afternoon. I’m not supposed to swim yet and haven’t ever and don’t care to shoot guns so I entertained the girls during those activities. It was a fun weekend for everyone. Sunday I taught my Primary lesson again and enjoyed church. I made pork chops for dinner and that’s been my day so far.