Maybe You Know This Trick...

We've lived in our house since September and I barely finished putting these rooms together this week. Why did it take me so long? Why now rather than later? Because Book Club was at my house tonight! That is my trick, sign up to host something at your house and all the projects that you've been meaning to get done become urgent and they get done!

And to my Texas Book Club friends, I miss you. What are you reading? What are you eating? Compared to the way you guys do things, it's pretty simple here. But yummy. Wish you were with us.

They Call it "Pinky"

Growing up, I called mine ba-ba. Some call theirs blanky. Others woobie. And one I know even calls it a bainjy. But at our house, we call it Pinky. That's how you know there are only girls here, every special blanket is called Pinky.

Kassie's Pinky "Polka" - made by Alison and Joann Mitchell.

Sydney's Pinky - a gift from someone at my work.

Caroline's Pinky - we were smart enough to buy two of these for her, in case one needed to be washed or got lost. We thought we had it all figured out by #3.

Sophia's Pinky - made by Tricia Gutherie and Kassie Perkins

Dan - this is like you being able to check on the kids before you go to bed.

Make Way for Ducklings - in Gilbert, AZ!

So we're sitting in the family room when we think we hear quacking. So we look outside and this is what we see in our pool! Mr. & Mrs. Mallard looking for a place to make a nest. Look closely at the cat circled in red. As soon as he makes his move...

The ducks take off! No ducklings for us:(

Bed Bug

This morning I woke to find a little snuggle bug in bed with me (Dan is traveling and I didn't feel her get in his place.) When I asked Caroline why she came and got in bed with me, she said, "I couldn't sleep in my bed." I asked why. "It was too small for me." Hope mine was big enough!

It all started with spring break...

I didn't want to pack everyone and get ready to go. They made me. I didn't want to drive 7 hours to sit around all day while everyone else went skiing. They made me. They didn't want to wear matching outfits for Easter. I made them.

My dad has been offering to take us skiing ever since we moved to Phoenix. Dan was excited. The girls were excited. I was jealous. I knew that I wouldn't get to go because of Sophia. But I knew Gram would love to have us spend the whole day with her and help her out a bit, so I went along for the ride. We bought everyone their own duffel bag, gave them a list and made them pack their own stuff (worked out reasonably well except for strange outfits and a few missing underwear).

Check out my handsome dad.

So we drove up to Cedar City, making a stop in St. George for lunch with my dad. It was a little bit of a late lunch. When we got to Gram's house, bridge club had just ended and the kids were in heaven since all the little dishes of candy and nuts were still out. Regardless of the fact that we had just eaten in St. George, dinner was ready. So we sat down for some social eating. When Caroline didn't finish her soup, Gram made Dan eat it! Am I going to be like that when I'm 89?

The next morning, we got everyone up early and sent them up the mountain. Caroline and Kassie went to ski school because they only had two spots available so Dan took Sydney up with him. Sydney caught on so quickly, she would go down and taunt Caroline and Kassie at ski school. She was a speed demon!Sydney, leaving my dad in the dust!

The day was great with everyone learning about having "yard sales". I'm not sure if that's a snowboarders term or what but for those of you not in the know, it means that you fell so hard that your goggles, poles, skiis, hat, whatever, is all spread out around you. You know, like you put it all out in your yard to sell. Kassie had a hard one at the end of the day but she loved the lifts and the chicken nuggets for lunch.

Kassie

Caroline had a good time and came home wanting to go again the next day! We didn't, we needed to get home. But isn't it great when they love something that much.

Caroline

The Gang

So...while the cat's away... My sister-in-law knew about this hardward store in Cedar that sells great fabric (Ace Hardware). I know, strange but true. Since Kassie and Sophia are drastically different in sizes, it's been a while since I dressed everyone alike - especially since no one is really fond of it. But then I thought I could make them skirts out of coordinating fabric! It took a long time to choose but almost the same amount of time to whip up four skirts - they were that easy! Definitely for those who say they can only sew straight lines. If I had been thinking straight, I would have taken pictures and showed you what I did but I was more about getting it done. The final product is witnessed above as we all posed for our picture this morning before church. Everyone got their favorite color so no one complained! It worked out great!

I would like to thank everyone who made this post possible: First and foremost Dad - you bankrolled the whole deal and took all the great pictures. Second, the Ganems who lent us their ultra sweet snow gear. Third, Tricia for spending so much time helping me pick out fabric. And last but not least, my beautiful children without whom I would only be a fraction of the person that I am (albeit a much richer, saner, and less busy one).

More House Pictures

So I kept thinking that I would finish a few details in this room or that and then post pictures. But that is just not happening. So without further ado, here are a few more rooms of the house:

Kassie's Room

Sydney & Caroline's Room

Sophia's Room (refer to previous post for yellow super hero room)

Here's to having so many things to do that you actually get more done than you would if you had nothing to do!

Happy (late) Valentine's Day!

We've had a very busy weekend! I thought when we moved to Phoenix that we were through with whirlwind trips to visit family. But this weekend we did in 3 days what we usually did in 3 weeks!

The whole things started when we planned a baby shower for my sister-in-law Tricia. It was a tea party that was beautiful and there were lots of darling little baby clothes. It almost made me want another baby. But I'll just hold baby Kate and enjoy.



That night we went to the strip for dinner and to see the fountains - we saw more than we were hoping to.

The next morning we drove up to Utah, stopping to have breakfast with my dad then up to Provo to see Dan's mom. The next day we visited Dan's dad who sadly can only remember things from the past, which does not really include the kids. But it was a good visit.

That evening we drove back to Vegas, stopping to have a Valentine's/Presidents Day dinner with my grandma. After we left, the kids were wishing we had a basement like hers. It's full of dolls, dress ups, and little kitchen stuff from when my mom was little. So we saw all the living grandparents expect my mom (who is on a mission in Germany) in two days!

The next day we decided to take a little longer way home and stop to see the London Bridge in Lake Havasu. It was built in 183 A.D. and it was amazing to touch a piece of history that was so old.
We finally made it back home and man was I glad I had done the dishes and vacuumed before we left! It just makes me glad for one thing less to do. Anyway, we loved everyone we saw and wished we could have seen everyone we love. But we couldn't so from our house to yours, Happy Valentine's Day and we love you!

PS - I forgot to mention that we saw our good friend Sarah from Texas who is a freshman at BYU. It was so fun to remember that distance does not stop friendship. Love you Texas friends!