Happy New Year

OK so technically it is not the new Year just yet. We still have about 4 hours but it will be soon enough so here I go. Austin is sick with the stomach bug once again, I woke up around 6:30 this morning to him throwing up. He seems to be feeling better and has kept stuff down since about 10:30, so that is a good sign. So while we did not have any big plans for tonight my sister was going to watch the kids so we could go to the movie, that has been cancelled for a night at home with the kids. Which really at this point in life I can't think of any 3 people I would more like to spend a night at home with then my wonderful husband, my girl, and this little man who even while sick keeps blowing me kisses, really who could ask for more.

So here are my hopes for the New Year, unlike so many others our 08' was actually pretty good so I do not wish for alot different. But here goes:

1) I hope this year brings more financial stability to our nation, I have seen the layoffs all around us and pray none of us have to experience personally

2) I hope to be a better steward of all the things God has given me.

3) I want to know God more,

4) I want to really enjoy my time with my kids more (this is a hard one for me I get caught up in all that needs to be done and forget to just soak them in, and enjoy each minute I have with them)

That is pretty much it, I mean sure I would like to exercise more, eat better, all the standard stuff but honestly I believe if I can work on those four things alot of other things will fall into place. So what do you want out of 2009? I pray what ever your hopes are that you can achieve them and may God Bless you like he has and continues to bless me.

Happy New Years.

December where did you go???

Well hold on to your hats this is going to be a long one. I have my calender out and am ready to fill you all in on all the happenings with the Harper Household this busy month of December. We started out the season going great, I had almost all my shopping done and all house was decorated by very early in the month. Then the 1st slight glitch Austin came down with the stomach bug the over the 1st weekend. We had a ABF (Sunday school) party that Friday night and since Austin was at the early stages of the bug I thought it was just teething and so we went. We had a nice night getting to visit with other adults with no kids around. On Saturday Allie and I went to a mother daughter tea party at Nieman Marcus that her friend Claire and her mom do every year. It was so nice and there was a ton of food. (sorry all my pics have other kids in them so I do not want to post them without there parents OK). They typically have the tea at their house but they are trying to sell theirs, and so we could not do it there. From there we made a quick stop at Target for Pedialyte for Austin and then home because we were having a party at our place that night.

Every year before Christmas we have a party with 3 other couples and their kids and we rotate houses. These girls are some of my closest friends, we all worked together at our 1st job out of school and have stayed close over the past 10 years. This year was our turn, so with the adults and kids we had 8 adults and 7 kids ranging in age from 51/2 (Allie is the oldest) to 11 months, so alot of kids pretty close in age at our house that night. Since it was our turn to host we also did the meal and then everyone else brings the desserts. We also do a gift exchange for the kids (we draw names since we all have so many, it's just to much to buy for all) and a gift steal for the adults. It was so much fun, a little crazy when all the kids started running around but ton's of fun. Allie got an easy bake oven and Austin got a fridge farm, a shirt and balls. They both have had a ton of fun playing with their stuff since then. I am so glad us girls are all able to still hang out and our husbands and kids have gotten to be friends also.

Since we were up late that night we decided to sleep in and then take the kids to see Santa. You have seen the official pic but here are a few that we took. On the weekends at this place they have real reindeer and they were so pretty and soft, I just had to include a picture of Blitzen. Also I just loved the outfits my mom got for the kids this year. Allie's had a Santa in his sleigh and the reindeer and Austin's had 3 reindeer faces on it, so they were not identical but very similar.

Austin was still sick on the following Monday so Heath stayed home with him and then back to the sitters after that. Just when i thought he was getting better on Wednesday he had another flare up . Then on Thursday I was supposed to help out at Allie's school, I had already talked to the Dr and they said I did not need to bring him in but just to watch him closely. Then when I got home I mentioned to my mom that Austin's toe had been really red that morning, well, I went to show her and it was not only red, but swollen all over the bottom , so off to the Dr, we go. They found blisters and had to put him on antibiotics and send off a sample to the lab, which meant we could have the stomach issues back, thankfully that did not happen and the lab results did not show anything so i have not idea what was going on, but it cleared up on it's own. That weekend, we had family movie night on Friday and watched Elf. We all just love that movie it is so funny. On Saturday we ran a few errands and then that afternoon went to Six Flags holiday in the park with another family. It was really nice out and Allie and the other kids had so much fun. This was the 1st time we had taken Allie to six Flags and we will have to do it again this summer, she loved it. She road all the rides in the kid area and even a few of the big rides she was tall enough for. We also all went down the snow hill. We had to wait about an hour to go down this hill for 30 seconds but the kids really enjoyed it. I unfortunately only got a few pictures and my friend Michele got the rest and they are on her camera. I will try and add some when I get them. The next morning Allie sang with choir a couple of Christmas songs in church and then that afternoon we had our church's annual outreach event called 3 Trees. This is a huge event where we have families come in and the church has games and activities for the kids while the parents get to collect a payless gift card and toy for each child plus they get either a Target or Walmart gift card for food. Heath and I served as host's again and this year we had a single mom with one little girl, so it was a pretty easy time (last year our couple spoke very little English so it was difficult). All of this made for a very busy weekend but we all enjoyed the family time.

That week was my last work week for the year so I was super busy with work, making Christmas goodies, wrapping presents, and going to parties. On Friday (the 19th in case I have confused or lost you) was Allie's last day of school and they had her class party. I went to that and really enjoyed seeing the kids interact and her teacher did a cute video show from the first 1/2 of the year. As soon as it was over we got the car loaded up and headed to Arkansas for our Christmas with Heath's mom and grandmother. This is typically about a 4 hr drive but I-30 was shut down just outside of town and by the time we got past it we had already been in the car over 2 hours (it should have been 45 min.max) The rest of the drive went OK and we did not stop for food or potty breaks. The kids napped and watched a movie. Right as we were exiting the highway about 5 minuted from their house I hear throwing up in the back seat. I turn around and see him doing it again. So we called Heath's mom and told her to get the towels ready because it was ALL over him, his seat, and even managed to run down under the car seat and onto the actual car. We thought he might have just been car sick since this was his longest drive without stopping but as soon as he ate he was sick again. Over the next few days he started running a fever, got a runny nose and started coughing.

For any of you that know my son you have probably hear the stories of him not sleeping in his pack and play but thankfully he did pretty good overall this time until the last day until he was sick and could not breath at night. The last night was pretty rough but otherwise he slept good which was a HUGE relief. We had a great time visiting with family and we got a ton of great things, including a gift card for me to get scrapbooking stuff.

As you can see the kids got some great stuff and we had a really nice time, the only down part was Austin kept feeling worse and would not let anyone but mommy hold him, so we do not have any pics of him with Heath's mom or grandmother. Our drive back on Monday afternoon was uneventful (thank you Jesus) and it was time to get ready for Christmas. I took him back to the Dr. on Tuesday but our regular DR was out so we had to see the fill in one and he said he just had a really bad cold, and there was really not much we could do.

On Tuesday we did dinner and Christmas with Heath's dad, and then Allie and I went over to my sisters for a girls night with my mom, grandmother, aunt and cousin.

My grandmother came in on Monday and my brother got here on Wednesday just in time for us to go to Christmas eve service. Considering how much snow Seattle has had lately and the fact that that morning another plane had to be evacuated we were pleasantly surprised that he was only 2 hours late. After church we all came back to our place and my aunt, uncle and cousin all came over and we had soups and played games, so I could get Austin to bed at a decent time. We played a Christmas Carole charades, then around 11 everyone left so Santa could come. I do have to mention a few really cute things Allie said that night, first Heath asked her if she wanted to go outside and look for Santa before bed and she would not go outside, she was sure if she saw him he would not come to our house. Then before bed we called the Santa hotline so we could find out where he was and when it said he was coming soon and that she needed to get to bed, she almost tripped and fell she was running so hard to get to her room.

On Christmas morning we got up around 7:30 and Angie came over to watch the kids find their Santa gifts. Austin was still sick so he was not really into it at first but perked up later that day. Allie's big gift was a doll house that folds up and Austin's was this indoor slide/play center. It was a great to see them excited to open their stuff. They both are so cute to see the new toys and Allie was so happy to find that Santa had brought she and Austin both new slippers (this was the only thing she asked him for). As you can see Santa likes to do things big at our place. So between Santa, a few things from Heath and I, my family and Heath's we have way more stuff than any of us needs.

After we did presents we went over to my parents house and had brunch. Then Austin napped and we did stockings and started to open presents. We do things the slow way in our house where everyone watches as 1 person opens and then on to the next person so by the time Austin got up we were about 1/2 they way through. I still have more pictures but my mom took them with her camera, so i will have to add them later.

As you can see it has been a very busy month for us, there has been a few other things we have done, like going to see the King Tut exhibit at the DMA, reading a new book etc, but it has also been a great one filled with lots of family time and LOTS and LOTS of love. God has blessed us so much this year and it is my prayer that be can bring glory to him through our actions.

Visiting Santa

This is the picture form 2005 You can see Allie is cring in this one.

This is last year's shot, one of the few years without a child crying
2008

Heath and I took the kids to see Santa yesterday. we have always gone to this same Santa year after year, because he is so good with the kids. I actually fell in love with him the first year he was at Stonebriar 8 years ago when I saw the way he was with this little baby. He totally posed, even laying across his chair at one point and putting the sleeping baby on his belly, so when we had Allie there was no way I was going to any other Santa, he was the one. Heath and I recently learned that he is not longer at Stonebrair but has moved to the Village in Allen, a huge outdoor mall/shopping area that is just starting to open up, and on the weekends at this location they have Donner and Blitzen. So yesterday we got the kids all dressed and drove out to Allen. I knew Austin was going to cry because he pretty much does not like most strangers these days but I still had to put him on his lap. Allie of course was excited to tell Santa she wanted new slippers and a barbie doctor, although she said she forgot to tell him about the barbie doctor and wanted to know if he was just going to bring her slippers. I told her we would write him a letter so he would know about the other stuff. Anyways, I have not uploaded my pictures yet but will soon and then I will post them, but I wanted to go ahead and post the picture they sell. As you can see I was right about Austin. He was none to happy that I set him in this strange man's lap, but it was not an all out screaming cry, just looks like that. That is his duck lovey he his holding, he would not let go of it so I just let him hold it while we took the photos.

As you can see I am up for mom of the year. Hope you all are having as much fun this Christmas season as we are. I just love seeing everything through my kids eyes.

Thankful

I was going to post over the Thanksgiving break but we had family in town and Austin has been in this strange mood where if anyone else is around he HAS to be in my arms. I mean at one point we were in the mall and I let him out of the stroller to sit in these chair while I looked at some clothes 2 feet away and Angie walked towards him like she was going to pick him up and he started screaming, and the only way to get him to stop was for me to pick him up. You should have seen the people in the store staring at me, like I was the only person who's child has ever thrown a fit. Give e a break I was in gymboree people not Neimans.

Anyways i hope you all had a great Turkey day. We did we got up and did the Turkey trot and Allie walked the whole thing. The home to clean up and a quick nap for Austin then over to my mom's to eat and them my aunt's for desserts and then back to my mom's. it was busy but fun. On Friday we got up and went to Walmart and Target around 9 (which was actually not that busy) I think we missed the big rush. We were mostly looking for deals on toys for an angel we got of the salvation army tree and for gifts for 3 trees out church's big community outreach event. Allie helped me pick out toys and I think she is starting to get it. In fact that night at bed time when we were saying prayers I asked Allie what she was thankful for that day (we do this everyday and and it is always fun to see what she says). That night she said she was thankful that we got to buy toys for kids who don't have any. Oh how it made my heart melt.

I will try and update more this month we are already in the busy time, but thankfully the house is decorated and I am almost done with the shopping. We have 2 parties this weekend and Allie and I have a mother daughter tea to go to so, I am sure we will be busy. Hope you all are having a good week (now I have got to get back to work).

Christmas Photos

Well some of you may be getting some of these in our Christmas pictures but I had to post them because I just got them in today and think they are good.

Edit I got these the Friday before Thanksgiving but could not get them to load at the time, and am still having issues. I think they are just so large that i have to load them 1 at a time, which is kind of a pain, so enjoy the one's you can see. Also if any of you know how I can make the photo at the top of the page fit the block let me know. I think all the good pics are up and down so i may just be out of luck.

Had to post this link to the Harper dancing elves. http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/MczJjyVMyBwmCPxZ, I did this last year and I just could not resist doing it again, and this year you can pick the dance you want. I could not decide between the disco and the Charleston, so after you look at the first one you can click on try another dance and click on another one. You can also set your family up as dancing elves. Just an FYI, you can pick 5 and if you only choose 3 or 4 the 5th elf will be a standard computer generated one, which is why I have Allie's face on there 2 times. Hope you enjoy.

Voting according to a 5yr old

I had to post this today it is just to funny. This actual conversation happened several months back but Allie -reaffirmed her voting preferences again today. Allie had been at my parents and seen commercials (and maybe a debate) by the candidates and came home telling me we were going to have a new president. She explained how we all get to vote and whoever gets the most points wins. I then asked her if she knew the candidates names and she did, although she said Obama funny- I mean Barack Obama is a hard name for some adults, no less a kid. So then i asked her who she thought would win and why- and I swear this was totally straight from her, She said McCain- and the great reason she gave was McCain had an easier name to say so he should win. If only it were that easy.

Anyways I hope you all voted today. I really think it is so important no matter where you stand to make your voice heard. I have my views and I will not expand on them here but I do pray for our country and both candidates. One of them is about to win the hardest job in the world. I would not want to be in their shoes.

Photo Preview

Just a quick update to let you all know if you want to see one of the shots Kandice got of our family this weekend go to her blog site, listed on the right side. I can't wait to see them all, this backdrop looks great so I am sure others will be just as good.

Busy week

We have had one VERY busy week starting last weekend. We had a garage sale last Friday. We did not make a ton of money but we did get rid of a bunch of stuff which was good. Then Saturday was soccer, and we did a little work around the house. Sunday we let the kids sleep in and skip church because we knew the rest of this week Allie would not be getting in bed early. Then that afternoon my parents neighborhood had a block party with face painters, bounce houses, etc. so we went to that. It was fun but it was really hot so Austin could bot wear his costume. Thankfully we had this little cowboy hat and a western looking shirt so we put him in that and went. This week for Allie's school was red ribbon week so she had theme days each week, which she thought was fun but kind of strange. Monday was backwards clothes day and she had soccer practice and I had bible study. I am doing the Beth Moore study on Daniel with my mom, sister, and a bunch of teachers form Allie's school which is really nice. I am so happy to know that even though Allie goes to public school there are christian women around her each day. Tuesday we carved our pumpkin, Wednesday we had our church fall festival. Then Thursday we went trick or treating at Heath's work. They do this every year and the kids get SO much candy, they both filled there pumpkins up to the very top. After that Allie had choir dress rehearsal. Friday was Halloween, so we went by Heath's dad's house so he could see the kids and then over to my parents house to trick or treat. Saturday we had the early soccer game (they won and ended the season 6 and 4) and then family pictures that evening. This morning Allie sang during church and her performance tonight is in about 2 hours so needless to say we have been busier than I like but it has been a good week. I am going to try and upload pictures tomorrow, but not today we have to much going on. Just wanted to let you know we are all here and doing good. Hope all our friends had a fun Halloween with there little ones.

Pumpkins, pumkins, everywhere

Well I meant to post this a few weeks back but you know, life got in the way. So here are my pictures from we went to the arboretum. It was great weather that day and my sister was able to join us so that was so much fun. We had a picnic lunch and then just enjoyed the beauty. I tried really really hard to get a ton of good shots of the kids both looking and smiling but I know you all understand how hard that can be with a busy little one, and a big sister really wanting to go look at other stuff. Anyways here are some of the ones I liked. As you will see there was more than just a few- I think I took like 150 pictures while we were there.

I love this one because it is so them. Austin has found out that if Allie is bothering him, all he has to do is grab her hair and she will scream and he thinks it is so funny. The other night he actually would reach for her hair and before he even got it he would yell OW, Ow over and over, and Allie would just laugh so it is kind of her fault that he thinks it's a fun game.

At the arboretum they have this large fountain out front, and for fall they had all these pumpkins floating in it. Who knew pumpkins could float. Anyways Austin wanted them bad, so we let him sit on the edge to try ad touch them and before we knew it he was practically jumping in the fountain. As you can see his pants got soaked but he had the best time.

We ended up having to take Austin's pants off because they were so wet so then we had WT baby. Thankfully they dried quickly and we could put them back on.

This is how our day ended, with a few good pics of us and Allie and a little one who was sacked out. I just love this picture he looks so much like Allie did at the same age, with just a little bit more hair.

Princess party for 2

Well I have been waiting to post this blog till I got my pictures uploaded. Last weekend Allie had an early soccer game and then we came home to watch the Texas/OU game. So first here are a few shots from the game:I have very few where I was able to actually get her face, but I am going to try and bring my camera to the next few games this season to get some better ones. Her team is 5 and 3 so far this season, and has improved alot since last year.

OK now on to the Princess party. Allie was playing dress up during the football game last Saturday and I kind of joked that she should do daddy's make-up and nails. He did not say anything but she wanted to do her make-up so we went and got it, and then next thing I know she had put her Cinderella wig on Heath and was putting make-up on him. He would not let her paint his nails, but he had eye shadow, lip stick, and glitter on his cheeks. I could see the glitter on him for the next few days. Heath is such a good daddy he just sat there and let her do pretty much anything she wanted. What a great daddy. So here are the pictures:

We have a walker

Austin is finally walking. He turned 16 months last week, so I was honestly getting a little worried since he still was not walking. He would cruise around the furniture, climb anything and everything, and even take 1 or 2 steps going from 1 thing to the next, but that was it. He has had no interest in walking or standing on his own. That is until this weekend several times we saw him let go and just stand in one spot for about a minute. Then late Saturday he took about 5 or 6 steps. And now he is doing that over and over. He will not go to much more than that but he keeps doing it so I know our world is about to change again, big time.

UPDATE: I started this blog like 4 days ago and since then Austin is really walking. He will cross the room and is so proud of himself. He just gets this big smile on his face every time he sees us looking at him walking. It is so cute. I can hardly believe he is so big already. He has been sick the last 2 days with a cold and major teething issues and this morning he just sat in my lap and let me hold him for about 5 minutes without moving. It was so nice to get to snuggle with my little guy since he is hardly ever still. Even though we have been wanting him to walk it makes me sad that he is getting big. He has also developed this wonderful new habit of throwing whatever he has in his hand or nearby if you try and take something from him that he is not supposed to have. Today he got a hold of this whistle key chain that lights up that Allie just got today from school. When I went to take it from him he chucked it onto the rocking chair and broke it. I felt so bad for her, I tried to fix it for about an hour, but could not get the light part to work. I sure hope Austin gets out of this phase fast before he breaks something else of hers or hits me in the face with whatever it is he is throwing.

Alright well that's about it for the Austin post. I will try and post pictures of the last few weeks later this weekend. We have a soccer game tomorrow and then are either going to the pumpkin patch or the arboretum afterward so I should have lots of new pics. Plus some good ones from last weekend (you will have to wait to see them, but you will just die, here's a hint we had 2 pretty princesses in the house last weekend.

Lockdown Drill???

Allie came home today and told me they are having a lock down drill tomorrow. I asked her what that meant and she proceeded to tell me how the teacher locks the door, turns off the light and they all hide in case there is a bad man in the school. What in the world is going on that you have to teach kindergartners about lock downs. It honestly made me sick to think that this is the world we are bringing our kids up in. I mean fire drills and tornado drills I understand but lock down drills, it makes me sick. I pray a drill is all she will ever have but I guess if something bad were to happen she would know what to do. Such a sad statement of what little kids have to learn at such a young age. Sometimes I really worry about the world and what we are teaching our kids, but Allie acted like the lock down drill was no big deal so that is how I responded, even thought I was so sad on the inside. Sad that they have to have fear, sad that lock downs are a reality, sad that she will never be allowed to ride her bike alone all afternoon like we used to. I know this world is a different place from when I was little but sometimes things just sneak up and slap you in face.

Where does the time go.

Well, where does the time go. Can it really have been a month since I have blogged??? What has been going on in the Harper household, School, work, activities, repeat repeat. Allie is loving school, she is doing great and seems to really love her teacher. She has also started back with soccer and choir so she is a very busy little girl. She actually seem to thrive on everything and is doing great. I think once soccer is over we will start back up with Dance and gym because she is missing them, we just can't do everything with school.
Austin is still not walking although he will take a step or 2 between holding on to furniture. He is always on the go and I am constantly chasing him around. He keeps us all on our toes which is a good thing.
Heath and I have been busy with work and the kids. I have been able to do some scrapbooking with friends, although I think I will never be caught up. Some days i get alot done others i have a hard time getting a page done. I am trying to get more organized so can get up to date on Allie's so I can actually start Austin's book. Heath and i took the kids to there 1st football game last weekend with a bunch of his friends from high school. They both seemed to really like the half-time show. Austin kept clapping his little hands, it was so cute.
So I know this is not much of a blog update but we are doing good and staying busy. Life is good for the Harper's and hopefully soon I will be inspired to write a decent blog with new pictures. Until then we will keep on moving and hope you all are doing great also.

Vacation updates below

For those of you that care, I finally finished and posted my vacation updates. i kept waiting thinking we would have the computer fixed but not so much, so I finally just published them without pics, and hopefully I one fay I can ad them or just do a picture post.

Treat her well- a letter to my girl

This poem is read by a local radio station each year around this time and it always gets to me, but this year was really special. This version is slightly different than the one he reads but you get the idea. I just love it and always get a little sad. So world please treat Allie well, she is my girl but I must let go a little and pray she is taken good care of while I am not around.

I Trust You'll Treat Her Well
Author: Victor Buono

Dear World:I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two blue eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day long.. and a flash of blond hair that bounces in the sun when she runs.

I trust you'll treat her well.

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning...and skipping off down the street to her first day of school. And never again will she be completely mine.

Prim and proud she'll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say "Goodbye" and walk with little lady steps to the schoolhouse.

Now she'll learn to stand in lines...and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called.

She'll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school-bells...and deadlines...and she'll learn to giggle...and gossip...and look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy 'cross the aisle sticks out his tongue at her.

And now she'll learn to be jealous.

And now she'll learn how it is to feel hurt inside.

And now she'll learn how not to cry.

No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch on a summer day and watch an ant scurry across the crack in the sidewalk.

Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn and kiss lilac blooms in the morning dew. No, now she'll worry about those important things...like grades and which dress to wear and whose best friends is whose.

And the magic of books and learning will replace the magic of her blocks and dolls.

And now she'll find new heroes.

For five full years now I've been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and mother and friend.

Now she'll learn to share her worship with her teachers ...which is only right.

But no longer will I be the smartest woman in the whole world.

Today when that school bell rings for the first time...she'll learn what it means to be a member of the group...with all its privileges and its disadvantages too.

She'll learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud...or kiss dogs...or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms...or even watch ants scurry across cracks in sidewalks in the summer.

Today she'll learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends.

And I'll stand on the front porch and watch her start out on the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.

So, world, I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two blue eyes...and a flash of blond hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.

I trust you'll treat her well.

Allie one day when you are much older you will read this and it is my prayer that you will realize how special you are to me and how proud of you I am. You are my little girl and always will be. I pray as you grow your struggles will not be to hard and that you make friends easily. I pray for your happiness and that you always know who you can depend on. You have a family that loves you and can't believe how fast your are growing up, try and slow down at times and enjoy this stage of your life. before you know it things will get harder and you will have responsibilities not just to your parents and teacher but others too. Life can be hard but always know that I am your number one fan and supporter. I am here for you no matter what. I also pray that you will grow to love God and depend on him. Make him the center of your life, it will not always make things easy but he has never let me down or turned his back on me, and he won't on you either. I can't wait to see where life takes you, God has great plans for you and I know you can do anything you put your mind to so spread you wings Allie and soar. I love you more that you will ever know. Mommy

School Days, School Days, Dear ole golden rule days

Today was Allie's 1st day of kindergarten and over all she did great. She was not ready to wake up this morning, but honestly that is most mornings so nothing new there. I could tell she was nervous because when we got to school we had to go to the cafeteria before going to her class and she looked up at me and said "mommy are you going to leave" and when I said only if she wanted me to she said no and grabbed my hand tight. once in her room she went right to her spot at the table and just sat there very quiet. this is usually how I can tell she is nervous, she is not one to cry but she will clam up and not talk, so I helped her get settled and then left. It will be exciting to see what all she has to say when i pick her up today. I also did pretty good, no tears from me, I think yesterday I was more sad than today, today was just about getting her up and ready and being strong for her, if I got upset in front of her then she would have been upset also, so I stayed strong. I of course am sending some pictures, but hope all my other friends who had to drop there kids off are doing OK. For all of you that have not had to do this yet, you have a total range of emotions, happy, sad, scared etc. Oh well I have got let go some and know that she is in Gods hands and he will be watching out for her when i can't be. Talk to ya soon. Mer

Vacation day 5 & 6

This is the run down from Day 5, sorry for no pics but I am doing this from work since our computer is still messed up at home.

We had all decided to get up again and go hiking early that day and to pack a lunch. I had originally thought we were just going to do the 2.45 mile hike on the preserve but Angie and Matthew had hiked back that way the day before and said we could hike up to Phelps lake and then hike around the lake and there were place to picnic on the other side of the lake. I was a little worried because the park ranger had mentioned that the part that we were going up to the lake was a little steep in places and it was a hike around the lake. But off we went, the hike up was steep at times and part of it was in the sun so we had to stop a few times and I could tell Allie was struggling some she was not leading the group this time but with my mom in the back. But once we got to the lake it was nice and shady and Austin was sound asleep in the carrier. We stopped and rested to enjoy the view. My brother and dad wanted to wade out to this point to fish, so we decided we would meet them on the other side of the lake for lunch and we would take the shorter of the 2 paths (although it was not much shorter). It was a nice hike, pretty easy and almost all in the shade, the only problem is that it is narrow and when people would pass you, it was tight. We passed this rock on the way there that jets out into the water that Matthew and Angie had said they were going to jump off of after lunch. Then got to the beach area, which was nice except for the mosquitoes all over the place, we saw several deer, one saw about 5 feet from us at one point.

My family showed up and we all found a place to sit and eat lunch. Matthew and my dad decided to fish a little more and Angie and Allie got in the water. heath and I also took off our shoes and walked in it a little but the water was COLD. We even let Austin put his feet in, but he was too sure about it. I am sure between the cold and the first time feeling sand he did not know what he was standing on. After hanging out there for a while we decided to head back. As we got up to the rock where you could jump i the water several other people were also jumping in so we stopped and watched and then Matthew and Angie decided to go. Better them than me, it was a pretty high jump. (if I had my pics I would show you). Anyways after watching them we headed back. By the time we got back we were all in need of a shower and rest. We also found out the trail just around the lake was 7 miles plus the 1.2 it takes to get to that trail so we figured we walked about 9 miles that day on our end since we took the "short" route. But honestly we all said it really did not seem like it was that long. Poor Heath though had to carry Austin in backpack the whole time so that added about 30 pounds on his back . Once we got back to the house we all got in the hot tub and then got cleaned up because my family was taking us out to eat for a late birthday dinner for me. We went to a place called sweetwaters and ate outside. It was really nice and we all tried new things. Allie ate catfish for the 1st time and decided she liked it, and I have a buffalo steak, which was really good, there was also some elk which was good but the best was the bread pudding my brother ordered for dessert. I am not usually a fan but this was awesome. The we went back to the house and just hung out and started to pack back up.

Thursday (day 6) we just packed up and got the house picked up some. of course Matthew made us all breakfast again and we tried to eat up any food we had brought with us. Overall it was really a GREAT vacation and I would do it again and again. I love the mountains but it is really different up there, more secluded and peaceful than in Colorado. You just feel like you are in the old west there.

So like I said it may have taken me a while to get all these posts out but with the computer issues it is what it is. I am glad I can at least journal about them here so one day my kids can read over them. I know Austin will be to young to remember this trip but I am hopeful Allie will have some memories.

Vacation Day 4

So this day we all decided to sleep in a little and then all go out for breakfast at this little place that is supposed to have great sourdough pancakes in Jackson. The food was good, i would go again, but just hanging out with, getting to eat outside is so worth all the effort. Then we all did a little shopping in the Jackson area. we really did not have plans for the day except Allie really wanted to go fishing with poppee (my dad). So after shopping my brother and sister decided they wanted to hike again, which was completely out for us because there was no way Heath was going to carry Austin around for miles again, and honestly both kids were tiered and just needed a quite slower paced day. So we took Angie and Matthew to the drop off point and decided to stop by the a new preserve that is part of Grand Teton national Park. This is the Laurence Rockefeller preserve- and if you ever have the chance to go up to the area you need to go there. Apparently the land has been owned by the Rockefeller family for forever and a couple of years back before he passes away Laurence gave the land to the national park system, but they had like 20+ buildings on it and it was not in very good shape, so they NPS decided to do major reclamation work and build a LEED certified Platinum buildings and the who preserve would be the 1st of it's kind for any NPS building. Now I know you all not in the environmental biz do not know what a LEEDs building is but basically they have to look at everything they do and build with out effect the environment as much as possible and they get points for each of the things they do and platinum is the top level so it is a HUGE deal, and really the building is so cool architecturally that if nothing else it was worth it just to tour the building. We decided we should find out if the trails were smooth enough for strollers (they weren't) so we left but all decided that if we could find a place to rent us one of those backpack carriers for Austin we would go back.

From there we had read that in Teton village (where the ski lifts are) they have a small fishing pond for kids that is free. So we went and got a pole- the kids did not make us rent one which was good because less than 5 minutes into in Allie was done. She fished with poppee and wanted to go and see the bungee trampoline that she saw on the way in. So needless to say we were all glad we did not pay to rent the pole and no fish were caught. We did find a place to rent a backpack carrier so we were excited about that and planned started to plan out the hike for the next day. It was our night to cook so we ran to the store and got food, then back to the house. Right as we were finishing up dinner on the deck the skies opened up and and it poured but then there was the most beautiful full double rainbow. All in all it was a slower paced day but well worth it, i think we needed it.

Austin's new trick

Well last week I was looking at a friends blog and laughed at the picture of her son on top of the counter. He is about 17 months old and figured out how to climb up the bar stools and then onto the counter. Well, God must have seen me laughing because Saturday I had friends over and I was helping them get there stuff together to leave and realized Austin was not in the room with us. i went in the living room and he was not there, then I turned to see him sitting up in his high chair sideways. If I was not so scared he was going to fall and hit his head on the floor I would have taken a picture. I guess Heath had left the tray off the chair and there was a few cherrie-o's in the seat that he wanted, because there he was happy as clam sitting up there eating his o's like it was no big deal. Oh boy am I in for a world of trouble, this never would have happened with Allie. When she was little it was the dogs who liked to eat the crumbs not her. So from now on the tray stays on the highchair and I will have to watch out for any thing he can climb on.

He also has 3 new bruises since Saturday night, first he fell back and slammed his head into the wooden rocking chair and almost immediately had a huge goose egg, then yesterday he was trying to climb up on the couch and fell and hit his cheek into the coffee table and has a purple spot, then last night at dinner was also noticed a red mark right above his lip, and I have no idea what that is from. Oh well boys will be boys- as long as no one calls CPS on us we should be fine.

Computer issues-

Computer issues- don't they just want to make you say all kinds of bad things. That is what we are dealing with at our house. Friday night he said the computer was doing some strange things and thought we had a virus, oh great (I thought the Verizon guy said we could not get one with the system we had- I guess he was wrong). We also kept having these pop ups going on all the time, even if you did not open Internet explorer things popped up. Nothing dirty (thank you very much) just adds but still very annoying and it made the computer SOOOO slow. Then Saturday the Internet stopped working all together, and Verizon could not get it fixed till Monday. Actually we fixed it after I waited around for them all day- but that is another story for another day. So Monday night i went and bought anti-virus software and got it all loaded up. Well when I tried to get on last night it said it had found a virus, but we are still have tons of pop ups and the computer is even slower now. I was going to blog last night but it took over 10 minutes just for me to get my home page opened up so I could see stuff, so I just decided to shut it down and will try again later. I am really not sure what we are going to do. If it keeps it up we may have to take it to geek squad or somewhere and have them look at it. Thankfully this time I have all our pictures backed up so we would not lose them but it is just so frustrating.
So all of you that think I am never going to finish blogging about our vacation- I promise to try again soon. If nothing else I may just write my post from work or heath's lap top and add the pictures later.

Such a sad little girl

Today was Allie's last day at her school that she has been going to for almost 2 years. She was sad when she left her first sitters house and went to the new school but she was young and does not remember it, but today when I picked her up I had her get her blanket, pillow and bag that we usually leave at school. even thought we have been saying this was her last week I do not think it sunk in till that moment. Alot of her friends were not there and I asked her if she wanted to say by to anyone and she just kind of stood there looking around with this sad look on her face. By the time we got in the car the tears were coming and it was one of those cries that just goes from nothing to full on bawl in no time. I felt to bad for her that she was so sad. She told me that she did not want to go to her new school that she wanted to stay at her old one because she would not know anyone at big school. Now this is not true her closest friend is going to be in her class, and my aunt teaches at her school but she is scared and very nervous. We talked about it and I think she is feeling a little better but I can tell it has totally sunk in that she is going to big school and she is very nervous. I think once she gets going she will be fine but I am not sure how the first day will go. There may be tears and not just from me. We will just have to talk it up this coming week and pray for her and for the best.

Where did the time go??

Wow where does the time go. Everyone says to enjoy your kids while you have them because they grow up fast and I am really realizing that lately. First on Sunday we went to a local water park with our church and at one point Heath picked Allie up and she looks at him and says put me down- with this total Dad you are embarrassing me look. Which I think is kind of funny but also sad. I was amazed that she was brave enough to go down a couple of the water slides but then again she like to remind me "I am 5 now" so she is a big girl and can do this stuff. On Monday I had planned to take off work so she and I could have a mommy and me day before she starts school- In a week and a half OMG!!!!. So we went to play games at Dave and Busters- which was alot of fun and something different and then to eat, and as we were walking around the she was holding my hand and i suddenly had this sad feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was just like I realized right then and there that very soon that sweet little hand will not be so little and she for sure will not want to hold my hand as we walk through the mall, much less anywhere else. How did this happen, how did I blink my eyes and she is about to start "big" school. Wait slow down I want to yell don't grow up to fast, life is good right now, it only gets harder the older you get, but we all know that can't happen. So for the next week and a half I am going to try and soak up every little bite of my little girl that I can. I know she won't instantly stop holding my hand and needing my so much but I want to stop an feel every moment with her. She is at such a good age where they understand alot and can do stuff on there own but still need you. And in a few weeks it will just be me and my little man, and I am going to try and not blink because otherwise it will be 4 more years and he will be going off to school too.
So for all you mom's out there who's kids are not getting ready to go to kindergarten, stop and be thankful for the fact that they are still little. It is hard watching them grow up but I would not change it for the world, I get to be Allie and Austin's mommy and there is truly nothing greater in this world than that.

Vacation Day 3- Yellowstone

So on Day 3 we got up early and got going so we could drive up to Yellowstone. It is about an hour and a half to two our drive from Jackson so we wanted to get going. The drive was beautiful. The main highway goes through Grand Teton National park and we passed the most beautiful still lake that all these people were stopped to look at. There was a bunch of swans and other animals far off but noting to exciting.

My co worker had given me a map of Yellowstone and told me where they liked to stop and what was must see. Honestly we could spend several days in the park and not see all the beautiful cool stuff. The first thing you notice driving into Yellowstone is all the small trees and all the downed tress that were a result of the HUGE fires from back in 1988. It is great to see things coming back, but so sad to think what it must have looked like before the fires. It is also cool to think how mother nature just knows what to do and is coming back on its own. So the first place we stopped was to look at all these geyser pits. Now everyone knows about Old Faithful but there are these geysers that are basically just hot sulfur pits. You could instantly smell the sulfur when you walk out of the car and the ground was boiling from the hot water. You could not get to close due to the fragile nature of the soil (and the fact that there is boiling water running under it that could break through). This area was right at the edge of Yellowstone lake. This lake is over 20 miles long and 14 miles wide so it is big. From there we went to see the Lake Hotel ( I would have never known it was there is Saundra had not told me about it), it was so worth the stop, it was like you instantly stepped back in time. It felt like you were walking on the Titanic or something, the hotel is all yellow and was constructed over 100 years ago, and has seen presidents and other famous people. It was definitely worth the stop.

From there we went on to the Canyon area but we were also on the lookout for a place to stop and have a picnic lunch. Know when you go to Yellowstone you get LOTS of info about staying away from the animals and they have things like bears (black and grizzly), buffalo, wolf, coyote, deer, elk, and moose and other tings but we had not see any besides some buffalo on a fenced in area on the drive up. (my parents saw a moose but we were not with them, and we stopped on the drive to Yellowstone where a big crowd was an apparently we had just missed a black bear. But when we turned in to a picnic area we were driving down this road to find a table near the river and Heath's goes wow is that thing real, as I look up to see this HUGE buffalo asleep in a picnic area about 20-30 feet away. He was real and be was beautiful. We were all floored to see them just hanging out right by where people were eating.

When we picked our table we watched another buffalo on the other side of the river roll around in the dirt and rest. After lunch we drove to the next stop and began to see more and more buffalo everywhere. At one point we were about to turn into this area to see these mud pits and we looked up to see this buffalo just standing on the other side of the road. Now mind you the roads are all 2 lane so we were really close. So many people were stopping and trying to get pictures that the park ranger came up and tried to get the buffalo to cross the road but no luck, he just hung out there. At the mud pits the sulfur smell was AWFUL. As soon as we got out of the car Allie said "mommy this place tastes gross" and she was right, the smell was so strong you could taste it. But it was cool to see the mud bubbling up and these caves with boiling water coming in and out (like in an ocean cave).

The next stop had these falls that were supposed to be great, in fact they call this area the Grand canyon of Yellowstone, and they were not lying. The falls were huge, and the colors of the canyon was so pretty. I had no idea there way anything like this in Yellowstone. We went and did a short walk to look at them , and my parents, siblings, and Allie decided to do about a mile walk to get a different view. Heath and I and Austin took the cars to meet them because Austin was about to have his mid day melt down and needed to nap. I think he was asleep within 2 minutes of getting going. We meet them at the end and the views again were incredible. I mean I know I keep saying it but WOW , words and pictures really do not do it justice.

From there we were on to Old Faithful. When we got there we had about 30 minutes or so before the geysers was supposed to go off (yes it really is that predictable) so we got ice cream and then went to find a spot on the bleachers. They now have this huge deck area that curves around old faithful with bleachers because it is such a huge tourist draw. It went off about 10 minutes before scheduled and to be honest while I thought it was really cool I thought it would go off for longer and go much higher in the air. They say that it used to but over time it has gotten shorted and not as tall.

We then went into the Old Faithful Inn which is so cool. it looks like a huge tree house, with these fireplaces that go all the way up through the middle (about 5 stories). they are so large you could walk into the fireplace. When the fires were going on they had to have people all around wetting the hotel to keep it from burning down because the fires got really close.

From there we headed home and it rained (hard almost the whole way home). Just an FYI it typically rains a little most evenings so if you ever go take an umbrella. The storms are usually not huge but just enough to get everything good and wet. All in all it was another great day.