making cookies

Katelyn and I make some pretty amazing sugar cookies if I do say so myself, the only problem is you can't just make 5 cookies, and the longer these cookies sit on the counter, taunting us, tempting us to take a bit, the harder it is to resist... fortunately, we also love delivering cookies to unsuspecting families. sharing the love, and the calories...

Watching our Garden Grow

I never thought I would be much of a gardener, as a child I remember one of the most dreaded chores was weeding the garden, I was never thrilled about the dirt, bugs or heat which put a damper on the whole gardening thing. . but I'll be honest, now that we have a house and a yard I was pretty excited to finally have a garden, and I get so much joy walking to check on the garden every morning, and every time  I can see a noticeable difference in the produce growing there.  it's so fun!

we decided to start planting the first week of March while my mom was here helping out after my mastectomy.  the kids were thrilled to help plant the seeds and make cute markers for each type of plant.

a month later at Easter our plants were beginning to outgrow their little homes but we didn't have the ground ready to plant yet

While I was away for a weekend with my old roommates Cameron transplanted the rose bushes that were against the back of our house. and that began the process of getting the ground ready for our plants that were quickly outgrowing their little pots. 

the hardest part of this was digging up the grass and breaking up the hard soil so it would be ready.

Cameron put lawn clippings over the dirt to keep it from drying out as fast.

The first week of May the plants had grown a considerable amount and our squashish plants even had big yellow flowers. and yes this is the best picture I have of it at this stage and yes Grant insisted on being center of attention in this shot.

by the end of May everything was growing well.

These pictures were taken last week and our Garden is growing out of control, all of the vine type plants, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, and pumpkin have reached far beyond their roots and we have had to redirect their vines so that they didn't overtake all of our grass, our corn is taller then we are.  we also have zucchini, tomatoes, snap peas, pole bean, Alaska peas, regular peas, onions, acorn squash, butternut squash and basil. unfortunately our corn and cantaloupe have had a bit of an aphid problem so they are struggling right now but everything else is doing beautifully.  I love having a garden

check out those watermelons, up until a week ago we thought that was our cantaloupe plant but then these little guys started appearing, currently there are 5 watermelon growing.

our corn is just about ready to harvest, we planted 18 plants and I think we will get about 18 corn, some have 2 ears but some don't have any,  the corn is in one of the more shaded locations so we think that could have been the problem, but the aphids didn't help much either.  oh well, we live and learn,  we still love our little garden.

We are Family....

On mother's day I decided I wanted a family picture while everyone was still in their church clothes so we headed out with our tripod and fumbled around with it for a while when our neighbor's daughters came out to take out the garbage,  they were in town for mother's day and one of them just happens to be a photographer.   noticing our struggles with the tripod she offered to take our picture.  sadly our kids don't seem to care who is  behind the camera these days and this was the best shot. still a million times better then we would have gotten left to our own devices.  Thank you Neighbor's daughter who shall remain nameless... mostly because I don't think I ever caught her name in the first place...

3 months?

Really? has it been 3 months since I last posted?  so sorry about that.  we have been pretty busy these last three months. (I still can't believe it's been that long since I've posted)  I am the Relief Society president in my ward and have been since January, I like to think that I can still do all the things I use to do but as I'm writing this I have answered 4 RS related phone calls and gathered table decorations for a fruneral lunchon I'm hosting tomorrow, it's late and I was tempted to go to bed after the 4th call but I know that if I don't finish tihs it will sit in the drafted posts for another 3 months or longer.  So here I am...

Katelyn "Graduated" from preschool last week.  she has LOVED it and besides the lice she has brought home, not once but twice...  I have enjoyed watching her expirence school.  she is home now and we abslutely love having her around,  she and Dallin play constantly together, they love being together.  Grant gets to tag along most of the time but he's always the "baby" or the "puppy" in their games so he doesn't have much of a staring roll, but  I think for now he perfers it that way.   SHe has had two visits from the tooth fairy but that's for another post.

Dallin is our little comidian,  he loves making faces, silly noises, falling and ocasionally bonking his head to make people laugh, which may be suprising to those we meet while we're out and about because he wont even look at people let alone say hello.  He likes to askes lots and lots of questions, he wants to know why everything is the way it is. tonight during family night he asked "Why did God put ants on the earth if they bit us and hurt us?"  He is convinced that we are going to have another baby soon and is constantly talking about "when we have our baby this and when we have our baby that,  I've explained to him countless times that mommy doesn't have a baby growing inside her yet,  this of course leads to all sorts of questions about how babies get in their mommy's tummys in the first place... fun times....

Grant is gets cuter evreyday.  He still hauls his blanket and two puppies around everywhere he goes and likes to show off his two front teeth.  He is simply the sweetest little boy.  don't get me wrong he denfinately has his two-amd-a-half-year-old moments, but he is always the first to cuddle me and say, "I yove you mommy"

he loves saying the prayer every chance he gets and if ever someone else starts saying the prayer he quickly rushes to say it before the other person can finsh... not one of his most reverent habbits but we still love him. He is growing way, way too fast.

Pre-K Graduation

apparently graduating from preschool has become a pretty big deal complete with caps and gowns and the whole 9 yards.   I can remember in kindergarten making a cap out of cardboard and black construction paper and we thought that was pretty cool. Times have changed.

Katelyn meeting her teacher, Miss McDaniel and the principal Ms Coppin.

the photo shoot

there are two classes in this shot, no Katelyn did not have all those kids in her class.

At the end there were refreshments in the gym for the families and many of her class mate got presents from their families, Katelyn asked why we hadn't gotten her a present. and I told her, "it's fun to celebrate all the fun times we had in preschool but you still get to go to school for a long time and sometimes we don't get presents  for everything we do."

Katelyn and Miss McDaniel, I have loved Miss McDaniel she is such an amazing teacher, Dallin is looking forward to having her next year.

Backyard Camping

We've been meaning to take the kids camping for a while, but it hasn't happened, it's too hot, too cold Cameron has to work, we have to wake up early.. we have a million excuses. on Memorial day we put all excuses aside and set up the tent in the back yard, The kids were so excited they could hardly stand it.

Cameron made a fire in his little barbecuer and the kids roasted marshmallows on metal hangers, unhinged and sanitized of course.   

once it got dark we tried catching fireflies but the mosquitoes were better at catching us so we retreated to the tent where the kids played with their flashlights and the parents lamented the lack of airflow on a humid night.

Grant had an especially difficult time settling down so finally at 10pm I took him inside to sleep in the house, he walked to the kitchen and tried making himself comfortable on the kitchen floor, before long I was able to convince him to sleep on the living room floor but it did take some persuasion.

Katelyn soon followed us in and insisted on being my cuddle buddy in my bed.  and cuddle she did, as I tried to move away and have some space she cuddled even closer. I came close to falling off the bed a few times,  now i know what my sisters felt like, they did not enjoy sharing a bed with me because I tended to do the exact same thing and they were either left squished against the wall or hanging off the side of the bed.

Dallin slept great out in the tent, Cameron on the other hand didn't get much sleep to speak of but he stuck it out and made it until morning.  what a trooper!

Mother's Day

This mother's day was a bit different then mother's days in the past.  Cameron and the children picked me wild flowers from a near by field.  I had forgotten about wildflowers, Florida doesn't have wild flowers at least not south west Florida.  the day started out a bit rough, I got up early to make some last minute preparations for our special mother's day lunch for the RS sisters. It was a lunch/ visiting teaching conference. The kids soon woke up crying wanting their breakfast, I went to work getting each one what they wanted, Grant needed the blue bowl, Dallin had to settle for the blue spoon and Katelyn was content with the yellow bowl but only if she could have the yellow spoon too, which of course was dirty,  nothing a little soap and water can't fix.  as soon as everything calmed down Cameron came out of the room apologizing because he had forgotten it was mother's day.    The rest of the day was busy.  during Sunday school my presidency set up the lunch and served up each plate, we planned for 65 sisters and we had close to that many.

Randi, on the left in blue is my 2nd councilor, and Sarah, across from her in black and white is my sectary, Donna, below on the right, in blue is my 1st councilor. I would be completely dysfunctional without them.  they are the best!

The 3 blonds in this picture make up most of the primary presidency,  they are fantastic.

doesn't it look like they are having fun?  and who wouldn't getting to eat an amazing lunch instead of teaching or going to class. while the guy take over the responsibilities of nursery and primary.

ok so these aren't the most flattering of pictures, it was a quick snap and not very well thought out, I'll do better next time.

so much to do, so little time...

I'm in a quandrey.  yesterday I read about one of my friends who is doing this thing where she takes a picture everyday for a year.  That inspired me.  I love photography and it's something I think I could be good at if I spent more time doing it,  this is contray to the believe of my children who think I already spend pletny of time behind the camera I would just like to remind them that I wouldn't need to spend so much time if my subjects were more cooperative.
I've also just finished reading an email of another friend who wants to join the NaNoWriMo which involves writeing a 50,000 word novel in one month, the month of November to be exact.  this also intregues me because I've been thinking of writing a book for some time now and why not do it now?  I was thinking of writing something more along the lines of a parenting book or how to get through cancer treatments with a smile on your face, but I could somehow work that into a novel right?
I also want to finish Dallin's and Grant's baby books before they are teenagers, Katelyn was born during my scrapbooking days so she has an adorable scrapbook but the boys weren't so lucky so they will have to settle  with a photo book.
I'm also starting this thing with the family where we study different cultures around the world and every month we will find out fun facts and make food from that country and celebrate any holidays they may have. I'm really excited about this, and I think it's something my kids will really enjoy too.
we also had a lesson about family history today and I would like to spend more time doing that.
so with so many fun things to do, what do I choose? Anyone who knows me, knows I will probably choose all of them, I will think, analize, make lists and plan and then actually do none of them, not because I don't want to but because that's just too much to add to my already full life...

All is Well

my Surgery went well,  I feel more sore and tired then I remember feeling last time but over all I feel ok.  my actual surgery didn't start until 4pm and I was starving!  you have to have an empty stomach for the anesthesia you're not suppose to eat past midnight the night before which is fine when you have surgery at 7am, you almost don't even notice.  but when you're surgery isn't until 4pm, that's another story.

it took me a while to wake up from the anesthesia,  it always does,  When I was finally taken up to my room, Cameron was so sweet and had gotten me food from Whataburger because he knew how hunger I was but I couldn't eat,  I tried but it made me feel sick. so he ate both his and mine... what a sacrificer.

The next morning Cameron brought the kids to the hospital to visit and they were pretty concerned to see my IV, in fact they didn't want to come anywhere near me.  they had a great time making my bed go up and down and once I got off it they enjoyed climbing up and making themselves go up and down. as long as I wasn't too close to them. They are also a bit grossed out by my drain... but let's be honest, who isn't? They gave me a different kind of drain that's much bigger and has extra long tubing so I have to be careful it doesn't get caught on anything.    

I am at home now, resting and recovering,  I truly appreciate how wonderful everyone has been to me and my family,  I feel so blessed to have so many people concerned for me and ready to jump in and help whenever possible.  Thank you so much!

Mastectomy Round II

I'm gearing up for my second mastectomy, why you might ask? because it reduces my risk of getting breast cancer on the right side by like 95% and I would like to see my kids grow up.  plus I would love to have more kids and I can't imagine how awful it would be to get pregnant and then find out I have breast cancer again.  so tonight I find myself making last minute babysitting arrangements with a knot in my stomach,  I know everything will be fine but I can't help having a few unsettled nerves before my surgery on Friday.  I don't remember my first mastectomy being too bad but I haven't decided if that's because I was so drugged up on pain killers that I just don't remember or if its because it was so soon after I finished chemotherapy that my brain cells hadn't recovered yet and there is a laps in my memory   or if nothing seems that bad when you've been thought what I've been through. or if it really wasn't that bad... it's hard to say. I guess I'll find out. 

Our First Texas Rodeo

Katelyn's Preschool had field trip to the Rodeo,  I volunteered to help supervise... I don't think what I did could be classified as help though, Dallin, Grant and Reagan made sure I was too busy to pay much attention to    anything else going on.

 Dallin and Grants Favorite part was watching the cowboys and cowgirls ride around the rink before the show started.

and this would be why we don't have more pictures of this great event.

Who needs to go Potty?

Grant has been training "Big Ruff Ruff" to go potty.  Really, anything that can be carried to the bathroom is considered potty trainable at our house.
Grant for the most part has stopped having accidents but if ever we catch him doing the potty dance, you know the one, where they wiggle and squirm because they obviously need to go but wont, we always suggest that perhaps his best friend Ruff Ruff needs to go and without hesitation he runs to the potty, helps Ruff Ruff do his business tells him good job as he tosses him aside and  grabs the next victim until they've all had a turn then Grant says, "Grant's turn," he goes and there are smiles all around... Thank goodness Ruff Ruff needs to go so often...

Meet Reagan

I know what you're thinking, "I don't remember Elisabeth mentioning that she was having a baby... where have I been," I get that a lot.    

well if it makes you feel better, she's not actually mine, but I get to hang out with her during the day while her mom saves lives... or whatever anesthesia  residents do. As a teacher, her dad is also saving lives, one high school student at a time.

Katelyn loves having a little baby in the house unfortunately most days Reagan is gone before Katelyn comes home on the bus, but on those rare occasions when Reagan is still around Katelyn loves feeding and playing with her.  

Dallin has proven himself over and over again as a "big Brother"  he especially loves it when Reagan has tummy time,  he gets right down there with her making faces and keeping her content.   

It's a bit harder then I thought to take care of another child but now that we have been doing it for 3 weeks it's gotten easier... and harder, but not because of Reagan, harder because 2 weeks ago I was called as the Relief Society President... What!  someone has a lot of confidence in my abilities... personally, I'm still in shock.

in a fit of creative that come when the TV is finally turned off Dallin decided to make a bed out of the under-bed storage bin left under Grant's crib, Katelyn came home from school and LOVED it!  Grant wasn't about to be left out of the fun and due to my random spurts of organization frenzies we happened to have 3 empty bins  just for such an occasion.  

in case you are wondering Grant is the only one who actually fits in the bin but when I suggested that they might not be comfortable sleeping in their "beds" because they were too small they showed me that yes indeed if they slept curled up in their sides they could fit.  so we let them sleep in their new "beds"

and sleep they did... funny kids.