Shepherd Family News

When Dad plays with Daughter's hair...

2012-02-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

A lazy Saturday morning with Bryan and Sienna getting creative...

Bryan dared Sienna to wear her hair like the last picture to a birthday party she was attending that night. So she did!

Lesson in Style

2012-02-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Ashley has discovered this hot pink vest that Grandpa gave to Sienna when she was four years old. She will wear it with anything, about 6 days a week.

Impatience

2012-02-04T14:36:00.000-08:00

I usually get the bath water started then start undressing Dallin. I got distracted with something this time and Dallin was too eager to wait for mom.

Halloween

2011-11-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

It's become tradition for the Wallworks to join us the night we carve our pumpkins.

Dallin totally got the gist of trick-or-treating after the first house or two.

Ashley couldn't decide between a princess or a cat. So she's both.

Cleaning lesson....

2011-10-25T14:19:00.001-07:00

After immediate discovery, Windex will help most of Sharpie artwork come off a computer screen.

Most.

Not all.

Other Randomness

2011-10-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

I never posted pictures of the completed treehouse! Completed in June with a trap door and a rope ladder.

Ashley started ballet and tap. As shy as she is, she was a little hesitant at first. But now she enjoys it.

Spirit week, including crazy hat day and crazy hair day.

Bryan and a buddy competed in a canoe, mountain bike, trail run triathlon (the Jailbreak) and took third place in the mens division.

My dad made some banks for the kids over the summer (with compartments for savings, spending, and tithing). They had fun painting them.

Here Comes Trouble!

2011-10-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

This has been one of my most frequent sayings lately. Ashley has picked up on it, and often calls Dallin "Trouble".

I found Dallin in the bathroom like this. The first time he was dry. Every time since then (multiple!) the water has been running. He just sits there. With the water on. Chewing on a toothbrush. Getting drenched. His new favorite thing.

Dallin was sporting a mullet for quite a while. We finally gave him his first hair cut.

Before

After

Whenever I pull out the camera to try and take a candid shot, like him coloring (which he does everywhere, every time he gets a pencil/pen/crayon, which is often) I get a cute "cheeeee" smile.

Car Wash Help

2011-10-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

What a good little helper.

May Highlights

2011-06-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Dance Recital (with other girls from church, in two separate dance classes):

Backpacking the Fiery Gizzard trail with friend Jon:

Cicada invasion:

Building a tree house:

Sienna spends a lot of her free time during summer break writing stories. She also loves playing games, reading, and going swimming. She finished soccer and dance and is taking swim lessons.

Colby loves playing basketball, or any sport for that matter. He finished a strong season of soccer and is also taking swim lessons. He loves playing computer games, watching movies, and having playdates. He is becoming a good reader.
This was Colby counting today: "Infinity and ninety-niiiiiiine...... infinity and beyond.... infinity and beyond-one....infinity and beyond-two.....infinity and beyond-three...."

Ashley loves playing with her baby dolls, listening to stories, playing with Dallin, and trying to keep up with the big kids. She knows her letters and almost knows all her sounds. Bryan asked her today if she had any more bloody noses (she's been waking up with them at night). She replied, "No, only a yellow one."

Dallin has an adorable 4-teeth grin. He loves being outside, playing in the water, and any kind of possible mischief. He started walking full time this month.

Bryan enjoyed a 4 day bike trip with the Young Men from church. They rode along the Natchez Trace (a National Park Scenic Highway). The highs were in the mid to high 90s every day.

I'm trying to be creative with finding entertainment for the summer. But mostly it involves going swimming somewhere. One of the highlights for me was going to see Les Miserables with Bryan. It was fantastic. I also had a great Mother's Day and am a very blessed mom.

New Dictionary Word

2011-05-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a new word for the dictionary: "whobody"

Kind of like "somebody", or "nobody".

Used in context:

"Whobody will push me on the swing?"

I like it.

News from April

2011-05-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

April began with a few attempts at April Fool's day jokes. I tried making an April Fool’s Day dinner that I read about on blogs from last year. Something like this, with cupcakes for dessert (mini meat loaf with colored mashed potatoes and a cherry tomato on top). The kids were mostly just confused about what was going on, but it was still fun seeing their reaction and figuring out what things were. Ashley’s reaction was the best. She is a very picky eater. So she was delighted with a cupcake on her dinner plate. She went right to work taking off the wrapper. When she finally discovered it wasn’t actually cake her world just fell apart. She collapsed in a pile of tears and wails. It took some persuasion to convince her to try her peas. I never thought I’d hear myself say “Eat more of your cupcake if you want some more peas!”

Easter was nice. On a whim I bought some material and stayed busy during the week making simple matching skirts for the girls. We dyed eggs, had Easter egg hunts, and had a nice Easter dinner with two other families before Bryan took off for Washington D.C. for a conference.

Dallin is pretty good at balancing and can take many steps in a row, but he still prefers crawling. He loves being outside playing with push toys, chasing after balls, picking petals off pansies, eating dirt, playing in puddles, etc.

Ashley is breaking out of her shell, bit by bit. I had to drag her out of the car for her annual doctor appointment this week. But by the end of the visit she was actually conversing with the doctor. Progress!

Colby loves playing on his soccer team. He has also been playing a lot of basketball in our driveway and is getting pretty good. I volunteered him for an education research study today at Vanderbilt. He was supposed to wear this cap with a lot of wires and electrical nodes everywhere that measured brain waves while he played a computer game. He liked the computer game, but not the cap.

Sienna is learning to sing “Bring Him Home” from Les Mis, with Bryan accompanying. She likes writing stories, poems, and songs.

Dallin turned one!

2011-05-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

This week I celebrated my first birthday. I survived a whole year! Hard to believe with the brother and sisters I have. I'm typically a happy kid, which is why Mom made me a Happy Face Cake. She tried to represent my bottom two teeth with raisins, but when Sienna said it looked like nose holes in the wrong place she got rid of them.

In honor of the special event I'd like to share a few of my favorite things:

1. Helping load and unload the dishwasher. I sometimes get the two tasks mixed up. OK, most of the time. Mom thinks its a big help and she's trying to train me to work faster. She often moves me to the far corner of the house to see how fast I can crawl back to help. My speed is really improving. The top rack can be tricky, especially when my feet get stuck on the poky things on the bottom.

2. Emptying the sandwich baggie drawer. Mom tried to trick me by moving them up a drawer. I confess, it had me confused for half a day or so. But it helped me discover the place mat drawer also. Now I can really cover some square footage on the kitchen floor!

3. Toilet water. The closed lids used to be an obstacle, but not anymore. I've been working out. If I was any more manly I'd have hair on my chest already.

4. Peek-a-boo with the shower curtain. You'd think Mom would learn to not get me dressed until after she takes a shower. She always has to change me into dry clothes again.

5. Toilet paper rolls. (Bathrooms are just so much fun!) Sometimes it takes me a little longer when the rolls are turned backwards, but I figure it out eventually.

6. Arts & Crafts. Mom was so nice to vacuum the floor for me right before this picture. I like having a lot of work space.

7. Foam darts. Dad keeps trying to take them away from me because sometimes the ends come unglued. Mom has given up. I just like having one hanging out of my mouth as much as possible. I'm a chain-darter.

8. Easter. Wow! What a great holiday!

9. Exploring the upper range of my vocal cords. I've heard that glass can break when you get up super high. I'm trying to test the theory. Dinner time is best. I just don't like being left out of the conversation.

10. Going up and down stairs. Walking (short distances). Eating and playing in mud. Chasing balls. Walking with push toys. Swinging. Emptying bookshelves. Eating. Sleeping. Normal one year old stuff.

With all of these wonderful attributes is it any wonder my Mom & Dad love me so much? Sometimes Mom goes overboard on the kisses and squeezes. But I don't mind so much. I love them too.

Family Home Evening

2011-05-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

On Monday nights we have "Family Home Evening," where we spend a little time together as a family, have a lesson, scripture, activity, songs, prayer, treats, etc. Often its crazy, occasionally there are tantrums, but for the most part we have fun together. And every once in blue moon we have a lesson that really sticks. Here are two examples.

Last Monday I took the kids outside and had them draw chalk circles around themselves on the driveway. Then read this quote by Karl G. Maeser (first president of BYU):

"I have been asked what I mean by 'word of honor.' I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls--walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground--there is a possibility that in some way or another I may escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the circle? No. Never! I'd die first!"

At first it took some explaining. I got questions like, "Why was he in prison?" But after talking about what it means to be men and women of honor, they started to get the idea.

So a few times this week when I've asked Colby a question, such as "Did you brush your teeth?" or "Did you use the potty," I've heard, "Yes. And I'm a man of honor!" A couple times I heard him start to reply falsely, then stop and think, and change his answer.

So the lesson has stuck, at least for a little while.

Here's another one that stuck longer. Over a year ago we had a FHE about bad words. Sienna was in Kindergarten and we were starting to hear things in our home that we weren't use to. Not terrible, just words like "stupid" or "dumb", but used in reference to people, which I didn't like. So we had a FHE about it. I looked up a story in the "Friend," then we wrote down as many negative words we could think of, wadded them into balls, and threw our "garbage words" across the room into the garbage can, trying to make baskets.

And we've rarely heard those words since. I heard one this week from Sienna and called her on it. Colby added the comment, "Yah, because once for Family Home Evening we threw those words in the garbage."

Colby was three, almost four when we had that lesson. It stuck!

Great Achievements

2011-04-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

Over Christmas break, Bryan stopped shaving. He decided to shave off his beard after he
a) got tenure, and
b) broke the 5 minute mile.

Last week we got the good news that he got tenure at Vanderbilt. Hooray! For those not familiar with the academic profession, achieving tenure is a promotion. He is now an associate professor. It's also good for your status, your salary, job security, etc. I don't actually know all the implications, but it's a good thing.

Then today...

Hooray again! After YEARS of working, training, and trying... finally! Success! I think this is the goal he is actually more proud of.

Bryan is such a good example of determination. What a guy.

And he is now clean shaven again.

With a pause for a photo-op during the process. :)

March News

2011-04-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

What happened with the Shepherds in March?

Sienna turned 7. She also lost her top two front teeth and one on the bottom, which makes for a really cute, goofy smile.

Colby turned 5. He celebrated with a Transformer birthday party with some friends. For those not into Transformers, his cake is supposed to be the Autobot (good guy) symbol. Homemade red frosting is impossible.

Sienna was a ladybug for her first grade play/dance. She was practicing once in the bathroom and taking forever. She came out quite frustrated because "she couldn't shake her hips right".

Bryan went to Prague for a work related trip. Saw a lot of cool old stuff.

Ashley continues to be cute. She's learning to write her own name.

Dallin started the month by balancing on his own. Now he has taken up to 4 steps before falling with a grin into the closest arms.

February Stuff

2011-03-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

So here are a few things we've been up to:

Dressing up as "transformers":

Hosting a valentine playgroup:

Visiting the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga:

Celebrating Valentines Day:

Celebrating Ashley's 3rd birthday:

And visiting the Grand Ole Opry. After 5 1/2 years of living in Music City, we finally went. We watched and listened to 90-year-old Little Jimmy Dickens, the Doobie Brothers, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Sarah Darling, and others. We're not big country music people, but it was a very fun evening.

It's kinda hard...

2011-02-23T19:18:00.000-08:00

It's kinda hard to take a shower when this little guy likes playing peek-a-boo with the shower curtain.

(The picture does not capture how truly wet he is)

It's kinda hard to do stuff on the computer when these little fingers are trying to get my keyboard and mouse.

Die hard

2011-02-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when you run 16 miles in below-freezing weather with a beard.

The Good of Winter

2011-02-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

Winter has typically ranked last among seasons for me. Cold, sick, dark, sick, gray, sick, etc. But this year I've focused on a few things that I actually really enjoy about this season. I don't know if I'm ready to change it's rank status or anything, but I'm just glad I live in an area where we have a good chunk of time in each of the four season. Enough time to appreciate the good and the bad and to be ready to move on to the next season.

So... The Good of Winter:

Being inside together in the evenings. When summer rolls around and it's light until late, the kids are often outside until the very last minute. I've been enjoying the time we're all together, usually in the Family Room. We've been enjoying our fireplace more than usual. Lately we've been doing a lot of reading. Right now we’re reading “The Wizard of Oz” to the kids and we’re all enjoying it (except perhaps Ashley and Dallin). (If you have any other suggestions of "family books" let me know. We've also recently enjoyed "Frindle" and "How to Eat Fried Worms")

I also love that when I sweep there aren't tiny baby spiders that crawl out from under the cupboards. And I love that I don't have to put on bug spray before walking outside for fear of mosquitos or chiggers.

I love crawling in bed after an exhausting day. Actually I love this year round, but in winter I love being slightly chilly but feeling the weight of heavy blankets on top and expecting the heat from the blankets and Bryan to soon warm me. So comforting. It’s just not the same when you’re hot, with just the sheet on, the fan going overhead, and not wanting to touch or be touched.

Lazy Saturdays. Between soccer, frisbee, and summer excursions, Saturdays always seem to be so busy. Fun, but busy. We don't have kids into basketball, so our winter Saturdays tend to be lazy and kind of boring. I've always gone stir-crazy before. But I've come to appreciate them this year. It's OK to be a little bored. It's OK for my kids to find things to do. We read, play games, take naps… it’s great! Maybe that just means I'm getting older and lazier...

And I LOVE soups. Mmmmmmmm.

Strike A Pose

2011-01-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

What do your kids do when you get out the camera?

Christmas Memories

2011-01-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

Picking out the Christmas Tree

Graham Cracker houses with cousins

Christmas Eve pageant with the Ducloses

Christmas socks

(Ashley was too busy playing with her Christmas baby to pose with her new slipper socks)

Playing in the snow in Connecticut

Visiting the mansions in Newport, RI

New Years Eve party

Driving around town

Visiting Washington DC

Family "naps"

Spending time with these hooligans

Favorite Christmas Presents

2011-01-25T20:13:00.000-08:00

For Sienna... a beginner piano book with piano lessons. She is very excited about taking lessons from Dad and enjoys practicing.

For Colby...his transformers. He's totally into them right now. Of course he also got a big kick out of his light saber, nerf guns, and remote control truck.

For Ashley... her new baby doll with accessories. LOVES it.

For Dallin... what more does a baby need than wrapping paper?

He also enjoyed the two front teeth that Sienna made for him.

He has some of his own now. Nice and pokey. Ow.

Snow Day

2011-01-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

It snowed again, therefore school was canceled. Again.

After "timing" themselves (by counting) while running around the circle in our house for a while, the kids were wondering what to do next. The conversation went something like this:

Sienna: "What should we do now?"
Colby: "I don't know."
Sienna: "We could make something?"
Colby: "OK."
Sienna: "What do you want to make?"
Colby: "I don't know."
Sienna: "How about a cowboy? Or polar things from Antarctica?" (She's learning about polar animals in school)
Colby: "Yah! A cowboy!"

Hence, Conner the Cowboy was created.

Meanwhile, Ashley had been taking care of her babies. The girl loves her baby dolls.

2011-01-18T18:44:00.000-08:00

Dallin has gotten pretty good at the army crawl. And he tends to get stuck in awkward places.

O.K. So this one he had some help with this one.

What it takes to get somewhere

2011-01-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

The process of getting ready to go somewhere.

Get your socks on. Get your socks on. Stop playing with the toy. Get your socks on!!
Put your shoes on. Put your shoes on. You can only take one baby. Put your shoes on!!
Put your coat on. Put your coat on. Get back here. Put your coat on!!
Get in the car. Get in the car. Put the stick down. Get in the car!!
Get in your car seat. Get in your car seat. Leave her alone. Get in your car seat! GET IN YOUR CAR SEAT!!

Every. Step. At. Least. Three. Times.

Broken.
Record.

Medium Bob

2010-12-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

"Little Bob" was born in January:

He's grown up this year. He's made it to "Medium Bob" status (yes, he's outgrown his hat):

It snowed, therefore school was canceled. We tried to take advantage of it with snowman pancakes, playing in the snow, listening to Christmas music, making Christmas cards, making Christmas treats, reading Christmas stories, and in general making a disaster throughout the house. Now, two hours after the kids are in bed, it is somewhat less of a disaster and I'm ready for bed. I'm thankful school is back on for tomorrow.

Santa's Lap

2010-12-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

The curious.

The cooperative.

The cowardly.

Bryan literally had teeth marks on his shoulder.

And you could probably hear her scream on the far side of the library.

We're such cruel parents.

Dreams and other random tidbits

2010-11-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

After blogging about this picture recently

my Dad emailed me this:

"After I saw those photos I had a very strange dream last night that your children accompanied me on my travel to work and I couldn’t wake them up between flights but had to cart them around like carry on luggage. They stayed asleep all during the travel, but they were so limp they kept falling out of their seats and I was admonished by the stewardess to keep my grandchildren off the floor in the aisles. Because I had to keep moving from one to the other to put them back into their seats I never got any sleep myself. Good thing because when the terrorist sprang from his seat to cause havoc I assisted the sky marshal in subduing him and the kiddies missed the whole thing.

Very strange. I never remember any of my dreams but I woke up from that one thinking it had been real and wondered where I put all the children."

Today during lunch Colby said something to the effect of...

"Last night I dreamed that my foot was really, really big and it stretched all the way to Grandma's chair at Grandma's house."

Then this afternoon he was "helping" me shape bread dough into loaves. I let him do a small loaf on his own and he wanted to do more. I told him I would do the rest because they were bigger loaf pans so you need bigger hands. He said, "No I want to! I can have big hands!!"

What a cute, big footed, big handed boy.

(I love the bright red bushes in my backyard during the fall!)

And lastly, doing laundry is just so much more enjoyable with this guy for company.

The Sadim Touch

2010-11-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

Years ago while driving my parents huge van, the A/C stopped working.

Later when we owned their old Mitsubishi, the A/C stopped working (as well as several other problems).

Later when we owned their old Chrysler mini-van, the engine, transmission, door handles, window, etc. all broke (and the A/C at one point).

Hours after we drove our new Honda Odyssey off the lot, we hear a noise in the engine, and learned it needed a new engine.

Now our friend whose Pilot we just returned after borrowing it for three weeks while our Odyssey was in the shop informs us there is a grinding noise in his brakes.

What is the opposite of Midas touch? The Sadim Touch. And we have it when it comes to cars. Everything we touch... breaks.

Don't you want to let us drive your car?

1:00 Church means...

2010-11-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

...very late naps.

Dallin likes the Sunday newspaper as much as his Dad.

Why is it...?

2010-11-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

Why is it that after kids struggle and struggle for independence and finally achieve it in some area, they want to become dependent again?

Case in point: the car seat. All my kids have gone through a stage of "I DO IT! I DO IT! I DO IT!!!" while they try and buckle their car seat and you can't touch or help so you just have to stand there and impatiently wait while most likely running late. And if you do help then you get to listen to a tantrum all the way to your destination.

And then? Once they have finally mastered buckling their own car seat and you appreciate that that is one less thing you have to do to get somewhere.... "I can't do it. You do it."

Getting dressed, putting shoes on, feeding themselves... same story.

Why? It's a good thing, right? To help us hold on to our babies a little bit longer? It's a blessing, right?

Right?? (Help me see the good in this!)

The Babysitter and the Fairy Baby

2010-11-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I got up at six to nurse Dallin, then put him back in his crib and went back to bed hoping for a little more weekend sleep. Within about five minutes I heard all four kids awake. But then I heard Sienna get Dallin out of his crib and take him into the kids room where they all played for quite a while. What a good babysitter Sienna is becoming! Eventually I heard from her, "Mom, you gotta come see this!"

So I hurry in to see

Too funny!

I'm grateful for...

2010-11-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

Recently I re-read Elder Holland's General Conference talk titled "Because of Your Faith." To me it was a lesson on gratitude. I was inspired. So in honor of the season...

I'm grateful for our old van that carried us back and forth to Utah several times. I'm grateful that the engine and transmission were dying, so that we were motivated to buy a new van (complete with working door handles!).

(saying good-bye at the dealership)

I'm grateful that we had been saving money to remodel our kitchen, so that we didn't have to go into debt to buy the new van. I'm grateful that our kitchen fund now sits on four wheels, so that we can continue to enjoy our childrens' "Art Mowzeum" (which would be replaced by counters/cupboards/shelves in the remodeled kitchen).

I'm grateful that we heard a funny rattle sound in our "new" used van right after we bought it and took it to the shop. I'm grateful that we're getting a brand new engine in our used van, and that it's covered under warranty.

I'm grateful for our really good friends, the Lindemanns, who have loaned us their car for the past few weeks so we have room to drive our family around.

I'm grateful that our oven is broken, so that I could learn to use our solar cooker a little more. I'm grateful for our really good friends, the Watsons, who helped us identify and find the broken oven part. I'm grateful that it arrived this weekend (and hope it works!).

(Picture from last summer)

I'm grateful when things break, so I can realize and remember how blessed I am.

Happy Pictures

2010-11-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

Last night we got some photos taken of Dallin at six months. He was hilarious! The photographer and her penguin were totally doing the trick - he could not stop giggling. It was contagious. He's been sitting up for a couple weeks now, but still kind of wobbly now and then. He was laughing so much he kept tipping over. I wish you could hear a picture.

Halloween Pics

2010-11-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

It was a Happy Halloween.

Boo!

So... how big is YOUR leaf pile?

2010-10-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

I came home from picking up Colby from a birthday party and asked how Dallin was doing. Bryan replied that he was pretty happy, up until he tried taking a picture of him in the leaf pile. I wonder why?

Can you find Sienna?

Fall Break

2010-10-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

For Fall Break we went with our good friends the Lindemanns to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in Florida. It is an awesome campground on the beach. I've never combined a camping trip with a beach trip, and I was a little apprehensive about it. But it was terrific! The weather was perfect, the beach was beautiful and deserted since it was off-season, and the campground was great also, among palm trees and long leaf pine trees. We'd take a short boardwalk to the beach, spend several hours there, then head back for the fun of camping. The only downside was the abundance of mosquitoes in the morning and evening, but nothing a little bug spray couldn't handle.

The Lindemanns brought our kids' bikes as well as theirs, so they got some good bike rides in also. On one bike ride, one of Colby's training wheels fell off and he didn't even notice. So after a couple practice loops around the campground with Dad, he's now training wheel free. Woo-hoo!

I love the way my friend Nathalie put it, "The beach is everybody's babysitter." So true!

Excuse the pink hat. We've lost Dallin's.

Dallin's first touch of the ocean. Not too thrilled about it.

September Newsletter

2010-10-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hooray for Fall! We’ve finally moved from the hot and humid days to beautiful, sunny, warm days, cool nights, leaf-crunching weather. We spent Saturday during and between sessions of General Conference painting the front door and filling cracks in our driveway with tar… projects that are just too miserable to do in the summer.

Saturdays this month have been busy with soccer games for Sienna and Colby. But we’ve found some time for other fun activities as well. On Labor Day weekend we got free tickets to a Vanderbilt football game. We went with our friends, the Edgertons, so the kids had much more fun playing with friends than watching football. We also went to Kentucky to tour the Mammoth Caves with the Lindemanns. It was fun to do that again. Colby and Bryan went to a Father-Son campout one weekend, while the girls (and Dallin) had a girl party at home: painting nails and making treats with the Easy Bake Oven.

Bryan is keeping his figure trim with his running, biking, and tennis. He ran with some young men from church in a 5K race on Labor Day, taking first place in his age group, followed by a leisurely 10K. Another weekend he did an adventure duo triathlon: canoeing, mountain biking, and trail running. He placed 11^th overall by himself, and his team placed 7^th in their division.

We’ve started a babysitting rotation with some friends so we’re able to go on dates more often. There are nine kids total (including two babies), so it can be kind of crazy when it’s our turn to babysit. This weekend we went to dinner then a high school play of one of the young men from church. For another date we went minivan shopping. Our current one is on its last “wheel” and we’d like to get a “new” one before it completely bites the dust. Another date was going to the temple with a friend from Uganda who went for the first time. That was neat.

Sienna is doing well in school. I had a parent-teacher conference this month. She was praised for her excellent behavior and academic standing (she’s already almost where she needs to be with her reading by the end of the year). But her teacher said she needs to practice listening to instructions. That came as no surprise since I sound like a broken record at home (pick up your toys, pick up your toys, are you listening??? pick up your toys… put your pajamas on, put your pajamas on, are you listening??? put your pajamas on). Sienna had spirit week this month where she got to wear something special every day: favorite team day, crazy hat day, pajama day, mismatch day, and Lipscomb day. She’s been talking about mismatch day since last year. This time she had me put curlers in one half of her hair and leave the other straight. Different socks, different shoes, flowers and stripes…. you get the picture. She and Bryan have enjoyed riding their bikes to and from school a few times when Bryan has worked from the public library next door. It’s about a two mile bike ride.

(I was trying to take her picture when the bus showed up and she started running.)

Colby is also enjoying preschool, especially show and tell days where he gets to bring something that starts with the letter they are focusing on. At home he is crazy about Legos. He (and Sienna) love building things with them and they are always scattered all over the family room floor. Bryan substituted for Colby’s soccer coach for a practice and a game. Colby was quite upset when he had to take a turn resting on the side, and especially offended that it was his own father who chose him to sub out! Of all the nerve…

Ashley got a cute haircut. At first I tried cutting it but wasn’t that successful. So I had my friend and hairdresser come fix it. Ashley screamed and cried the whole time. She sat on my lap and I had to brace her head while Conny worked around us, trying to trim it up. In the end it looks cute, but she sure was a pill.

Dallin is hungry. That’s a very good adjective to describe him right now. I’ve started giving him solid food, as well as supplementing with formula bottles, which I’ve never really used before. He’s also very smiley, cute, and cuddly, and has recently found his toes to suck on.

We hope everyone is enjoying Autumn as much as we are.

Baby toes

2010-10-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hooray! A new form of entertainment!

I just love this fold-in-half, suck-on-toes, squishy, smiley, want-to-kiss-all-over baby stage.

It's so fun to get Dallin to smile and laugh, but as soon as we pull out the camera, it turns into "ooooh, look at the strange toy with the bright orange light" stare.

See what I mean?

She's doing it again

2010-09-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

I should have been suspicious when we were picking out school backpacks, and Sienna didn't even look at the princess backpack that was right at her level. But last week when I learned she was embarrassed to drink out of her old princess water bottle at soccer practice, I realized it. She's growing up. Again. Despite repeated requests and demands to stop. Sheesh.

*********************************************

Here are a few sayings we've heard around our house lately:

Ashley: "Bummit" (Bummer + Darn it = Bummit; Actually this was over the summer, we haven't heard it lately, which makes me sad. I think it's a rather cute expletive.)

Colby: "Shoot it!" (Not referring to a sport. This is also an expletive.)

Sienna: "Come ON!" (Said with proper emphasis and 6 year old attitude.)

August Newsletter

2010-09-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

The main event for August was going back to school. Sienna is in 1^st grade and likes her teacher, Mrs. Upton. There are only two kids in her current class that were also in her Kindergarten class. But she has made new friends and enjoys going to school.

Colby started preschool this year. He goes Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in the morning. After I get Sienna on the school bus in the morning I have about 25 minutes before packing up the rest of the kids to drive Colby to preschool. I’ve realized that 25 minutes is just not enough time to clean up after breakfast, feed Dallin, shower and get myself ready for the day. Our mornings are typically rushed.

Colby had a few tearful mornings going to preschool the first week, but now he enjoys going and I’m hearing about the friends that he plays with during the day. He is in a class where half the kids are “typical” and half have “special needs” (speech, hearing, mobility impediments, etc.). So he’s been teaching me a few words in sign language.

While Sienna and Colby are at school, Ashley and Dallin hang out with me at home or we run errands together. Grocery shopping is so much more enjoyable with two kids instead of four! Ashley likes to move the kitchen stool around after me, offering to “help”. And she is always “unry” (hungry), which often just means bored. Today she was “unry” specifically for an “eye deem done” (ice cream cone).

Dallin grows more smiley and interactive daily. He is now in the stage where he likes to roll from his back to his tummy, but doesn’t actually like to be on his tummy and can’t roll back over, so he lays there and whines. So I roll him back over and we repeat the whole process.

Colby and Sienna also started soccer again. They both improved quite a bit after many backyard bare-foot games at Bear Lake. Colby is playing on a 3-4 year old team. He is 4 ½ and this is his 4^th season playing, while many on his team are 3 and playing for their first time. I’m afraid the others don’t get to touch the ball much when Colby is around.

Bryan had a short work trip to Santiago, Chile. He only had a day to tour around, and being the good husband and father that he is he spent his time buying souvenirs for the rest of us. He has a tradition of bringing back a soccer jersey for Colby from all the countries he’s visited. Colby has quite a collection now. Me? I got a cow apron. Mooooooooo! Sienna, Ashley, and I also got pretty matching necklaces. Bryan always enjoys doing his morning runs at the places he visits because he gets a feel for the area. He also took a trolley up to a lookout point to see the city.

On a sad note, I learned that my grandmother passed away this month from cancer. My grandpa died over three years ago after suffering from Alzheimer’s, so she has gone to join him. We will miss her.

On a happier note, my volleyball group started up again and I look forward to our weekly games during the school year. Our most exciting (only) date for the month: getting together with other couples from the ward and going to a BBQ joint, followed by a high school football game. Nothing like pulled pork and football in the South.

Summer recap, continued...

2010-09-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

More fun pictures from our vacation:

Touring Minnetonka Cave.

Watching Grandpa Shepherd rope swing into freezing Bloomington Lake.

River rafting the Snake River with the Shepherds and the Packers.

Yellowstone National Park with Grandma and Grandpa Shepherd, Uncle Brent, Austin Gee, and the Sahms.

Finding unusual forms of entertainment during long drives.

Being cute.

Cross-dressing.

Beach time with the Edgertons.

Swimming at the pool.

Feeding chickens and playing in corn with cousins in Nebraska.

It was an awesome family vacation.

Summer overview

2010-09-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I've blogged. It's summer... what can I say? We took a nice six week vacation to Utah and Idaho, spending much of the time at my parents cabin at Bear Lake, Idaho. So fun. So relaxing. So nice. Here are a few pictures to try and capture our summer.

Climbing on giant rocks at Vedauwoo near Laramie, Wyoming.

Shepherd Family Reunion Campout in the Uintahs

Getting ready to watch fireworks with cousins.

Watching the inflation and take-off (and some deflation) of hot air balloons on the 5th of July.

Freedom Parade in Provo, Utah.

Playing at Bear Lake with cousins.

Hanging out with Grandma (and enjoying help with Dallin!)

Well I thought I could do it all in one post, but there's more coming....

Iso... what?

2010-06-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we went to watch the minor league Nashville Sounds play against the Albuquerque Isotopes.

Isotopes, you say?

That's what we said. Bryan and I both remembered the term from our days in chemistry. The lady in front of us thought it had something to do with rubbing alcohol. The man in front of us said it had something to do with a Native American flower or jewelry. Eventually he looked it up on his PDA and read the chemistry related definition. I figured it had to be due to the scientific facilities in that area. Turns out the name came from the TV show "The Simpsons." Go figure. Anyway, we enjoyed making fun of it. Sorry to offend any Albuquerque readers. It just seemed such a funny name!

*********************
The other day Colby said "You're kind of like a table to Dallin, Mom."
"A table??"
"Yeah, because we eat at a table and Dallin eats at you. So you're like a table!"

Up to the table, Dallin!

*********************

For my birthday I would like a new van, please. For some time now the handles on both sliding doors have been broken. Quite inconvenient, since you have to open the front door, reach around and push the handle button of the sliding door, and push it open from the inside.

Well now the handle button on the driver side is broken as well, so it doesn't open at all. So we have to do the reach around thing on the passenger side, all the kids have to crawl under or around Dallin's car seat, and to buckle or unbuckle all the car seats requires standing and reaching over Dallin's car seat, or crawling around it ourselves.

Bryan reminded me that I am a Shepherd, after all. Just wait until the sliding door on the passenger side breaks as well, then everyone can climb through the front doors. Just like his family had to do at one time.

Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or do without.

Sigh.

***************************
And finally, we had more rain and wind yesterday.
Jeez Louise, what is it with falling trees?

Randomness

2010-05-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Just some random pics and events.
Colby loves holding Dallin and does such a good job. He can sit there forever with him.

So far Ashley has been very kind and gentle toward Dallin.

Sienna had her dance recital this month. She was such a cutie. Here she is with her friend, Sally.

We visited a Chihuly glass exhibit at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.

Sienna is sporting a cool new hairdo.

Dallin is supposed to be wearing shorts.

Earth Shattering News

2010-05-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

This li'l gal lost her second tooth yesterday. (And it's a good thing the tooth fairy remembered during a 4 am nursing.)

This li'l guy lost his umbilical cord today.

This li'l gal pooped in the potty yesterday. (And if you know anything about The Potty-Training Woes of Ashley Rose, this is indeed good news.)

This li'l guy is getting pretty good at balancing between his training wheels. (Not on this trike, obviously.)

This big guy just gave a presentation at a conference at NYU. I think New York City is one of his favorite places on earth to visit.

And I just finished reading this book. Loved it. (No pics of me, I'm always the one behind the camera.)

See, wasn't that all just earth-shattering?

Because they change so fast...

2010-05-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need to take pictures every day.

This is how he left for church. And this is how he came home from church. Pretty easy for our first time back.

"Do or do not... there is no try"

2010-05-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Can you see the Yoda ears?

“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm?"

What happened to April?

2010-05-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

Now that May is half way over, I thought it's time to post a few pictures and comments about what kept us busy in April.

(And when I finished the blog I realized there were a ton of pictures. So skim and enjoy.)

Summer-time buzz for Colby.

A spring stroll around Radnor Lake.

Easter egg hunt on a sunny day.

Just being goofy.

A stroll around Cheekwood Botanical Gardens during Spring Break.

A camping trip with the Edgertons. Cold night, but tons of fun.

I think we may have a rock climber in the family.

Spring soccer season started. Colby is pretty much unstoppable.

Grandma Piggott arrived to be here when the baby came. He took his sweet little time. We toured the Opryland Hotel the week before it was flooded.

We watched our tummies get bigger and bigger.

How the Shepherds survived the flooding

2010-05-09T19:38:00.001-07:00

Many friends have asked how we fared during the recent historic flooding in Tennessee. Overall we were very blessed with everyone safe and very little damage. Here's how it affected us.

It started early Saturday morning with rain and thunderstorms. And just kept going and going and going. The kids thought it was great fun to play in it. "Kids" meaning Bryan and Sienna, and to some extent Colby.

The kids' soccer games were canceled in the morning, so Bryan spent the time putting together a glider that we bought the night before, with lots of helpers. Wanting to get out of the house, we went out to eat for lunch then rushed through the Adventure Science Center for about 45 minutes before needing to return to make it in time for a birthday party for Sienna. At this point it was still just a rainy day to us.

As we were coming home we saw huge flooding along the side of the freeway. We knew things were serious when we passed the YMCA about a mile and a half from our house and saw the flooded parking lot. We could barely see the tops of some of the cars. This was where Sienna's birthday party was supposed to be at. It was obviously canceled.

There was a ton of water on the road leading to our house (Wilson Pike) that we drove through, and shortly afterward the power steering in the van went out. It was actually from an engine belt that came completely off that left us with only one car for a few days (a 5-seater car, when we're now a family of 6 plus Grandma!) We also noticed a leak in the van on the passenger side near the feet.

We were worried about our house but it stayed dry. The water from our sloped driveway streamed to the lawn instead of into our garage. There were streams on three sides of the house, which is typical during major downpours, although the water level was much higher than usual, rushing quite fast and deep. We also had standing water in the yard. It seems like anyone with a basement had flooding. Bryan spent a few hours in the afternoon helping a neighbor move things from their basement and vacuum it out.

During a lull in the rain Sienna and Bryan went outside to play and walk around in the water. Eventually they got some Styrofoam from the glider packaging and made boats to race along in the streams.

At around 6 Sunday morning the tornado siren went off. We went back to sleep and sometime later the power went off. It stayed off until around 2 pm. Everyone was encouraged to stay at home and not drive anywhere. Church was canceled as well as school the next day. Late that night a large, rain-soaked tree branch fell against the house. It fell completely to the ground a couple days later, pulling off part of the gutter. We're still not sure what kind of damage it did to the roof.

I was scheduled to go into the hospital Sunday night for an induction. The hospital called to cancel (they had flooding as well) and told us to call on Monday. So the next day we drove downtown to see what else the storm washed up...

In the midst of having a new baby in the family Bryan was left with the projects of fixing our van, cutting down a tree, as well as trying to meet a grant deadline at work. He's been kind of busy this week.

So even though the storm affected us, we were definitely blessed, especially considering the many homes that were completely ruined and the lives that were lost. We appreciate the calls and emails from friends and family out of state checking to see how we fared.

Introducing...

2010-05-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Dallin Earl Shepherd

Born Monday, May 3, 2010

7 lbs. 3 oz., 20 1/2 in. long

Sienna, Colby, and Ashley are happy to have him here. (Ashley really is happy, she's just sporting her usual stoic camera face.)

Of course so are Mom, Dad, and Grandma.

Mom and Dallin are home and recovering nicely. Dallin seems in perfect health for which we are very grateful. We're glad he didn't come a day or two earlier during the Nashville downpour that caused historic flooding. It would have made it a lot harder to get to the hospital!

March picture highlights

2010-04-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Besides birthdays, here's a glimpse of what we've been up to in March.

Colby has been building blanket forts.

Sienna's been climbing trees.

The kids have been out riding bikes.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with green oatmeal, green eggs, and green milk.

Bryan took a work trip to Barcelona, Spain.

Ashley's been potty training.

And I'm getting bigger by the day.

Happy Birthday Colby!

2010-04-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Four years ago this little cutie joined our family.

Happy Birthday Colby! Grandma and Grandpa Shepherd were here to celebrate with us. We took advantage of wonderful weather and headed to the zoo. His big birthday gift was a soccer goal, which he loves.

Look who's 6!

2010-03-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

Six years ago we brought home this tiny girl.

We celebrated Sienna's 6th birthday on Monday. Unfortunately she woke up feeling sick and spent much of the afternoon like this:

She perked up a bit when the festivities started: dancing to her song ("Brown-eyed girl"), spanking machine, getting measured on the wall, opening presents, handprint on the birthday tablecloth, and cake & ice cream.

Sienna requested a Strawberry Shortcake Cake (as in the character, not the typical dessert). A Strawberry Shortcake hat was as close as I could get.

Speaking of 6 years...
Ashley has been potty training and is now in underwear during the day. It has been 6 years since I haven't had to regularly change diapers. And I'll have about a month to enjoy it before #4 arrives!

Artists in the making

2010-03-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows Sienna knows she loves arts and crafts. She can spend hours at her desk coloring, cutting and drawing. This month one of her pieces of school artwork was selected among 12 from her school (2 per grade) to be shown at the Williamson County School's Art Show. It was held at Nashville's Frist Art Museum. She definitely gets her artistic talents from her Dad. Although I'm pretty good at stick figures!

Here is a link to her artwork.
And here she is at the Art Show.

Funny how a simple drawing can sure make a momma proud.

A few other recent crafts:
A doll, bed, and quilt for Ashley's birthday:

Paper earrings for us all:

Colby is not far behind. He will also sit forever and draw cars, butterflies, boats, and curious looking people. And lately he's been using reams of tape for anything and everything. Gotta love his "smile" in the picture above.

Highlights from February

2010-03-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day. Although Bryan and I did enjoy a date over the Valentines weekend, Sienna probably got the biggest kick out of the holiday. She made Valentines galore and planned a Valentine party for us at home, after having so much fun at her school party. She had everyone dress in red or pink, we all had paper hearts added to our clothes, and everyone exchanged Valentines.

Injury. Colby tried to do a running jump onto his chair and missed.... hitting the table with his lip. It wasn't pretty, but it's healing nicely.

Snow days. There have been several this season. We spent one of them at the bowling alley.

Dancing. Bryan went with Sienna to a Daddy-Daughter Dance at her school. Sienna was so excited and was looking forward to it all week. And Bryan was a good sport.

A birthday. Ashley turned 2! We had a couple families over to help celebrate and eat cake and ice cream.

Cabin fever. We headed out to Percy Warner Park for a little hike. It was still kind of chilly but everyone was happy just to be outside.

Meet Little Bob

2010-02-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest things about winter in Tennessee, is that when it snows, even a little, it's a BIG DEAL. School gets canceled and everyone heads out to play. We had our biggest "snowstorm" in seven years this weekend. School was canceled Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, and we'll see about tomorrow. There are very few snowplows in the city, and since the weather right now is a pattern of warming, melting, then freezing, it's too slick for the buses at 6 in the morning. Church was even canceled on Sunday! At first the snow was too icy for packing. And by the next morning there was a thick layer of ice on top, such that Ashley could walk on top without breaking through. Colby would break through about every other step, totally throwing off his balance. Here's a glimpse of how we spent the weekend:

Meet "Little Bob" and his creators:

An evening "sled ride" around the yard. Mush, Bryan, mush!

Sledding with other neighbors down a subdivision street the next morning:

Some people wish it would snow more often around here. Not me! Then it wouldn't be so exciting and fun!

Drumroll, please....

2010-01-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Our oldest child has lost her first tooth. A momentous occasion indeed. Sienna first noticed her loose tooth on New Years Eve. Today, three weeks later, it was barely hanging on when I sent her to school. When she got home I exclaimed that her tooth was gone! She immediately started crying, because she didn't know when it happened or where her tooth went. There wasn't even any blood. Who knows, she may have swallowed it.

Farewell, adorable baby tooth smile.

Hello, adorable gap tooth smile.

Happy New Year

2010-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful holiday season. Here are a few picture highlights:

Sitting on Santa's lap at our local library

or "near" Santa's lap

Watching Sienna's ballet/tap class on parent observation day

Taking cute pictures of the kids

Going to to the zoo on a warm December day

Enjoying the company of the Butlers

and these Shepherds

over Christmas break. We had fun going to the zoo, to storytime at the library and the park, shopping for Christmas presents for cousins at the dollar store, making graham cracker houses, driving around looking at lights, caroling, mountain biking (for some), opening presents, singing around the Christmas tree, going to the Adventure Science Center, the Frist Art museum, and the Opryland Hotel, playing lots of games, and putting together a 1500 piece puzzle. It was great just being together with family.

For all the locals...

2009-12-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

This is an advertising post for any locals reading this blog. Bryan and I are singing in a fabulous production of Handel's Messiah on Dec 13 at 7 pm. There are several professional soloists and musicians involved. It's wonderful to listen to and be a part of. And we want you to come! (But come early if you want a decent seat.) For more details, see this Flier .

Picture highlights from November

2009-12-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

For Sienna...
A class field trip to Gentry Farms (with Grandma as chaperone - a real treat!)

and the Kindergarten fall show (the close-up pictures didn't turn out)

For Colby...
He's potty-trained! Well, except at night. If anyone has any splendid ideas for that, please share. Sienna did it on her own right away. We don't have any great pictures of Colby, but here he is with the others using our closet as a gymnasium.

For Ashley...
She's binky-free! Even at night - hooray! She also likes to undress herself, as well as try to dress herself with whatever clothes she might find around (like Sienna's underwear).

For all of us...
We had a pleasant Thanksgiving, enjoying a huge feast at the home of our friends, the Wallworks.

And since it hasn't been blogged about yet, and in case you didn't know, baby #4 is on it's way. Due mid May.

For more pics from November...

Nov

Beep, beep, beep!

2009-11-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago during Family Home Evening we talked about fire safety. We practiced running outside to our safe meeting tree when we heard the smoke alarm. I think we only did it three times that night. But that's all it took to get stuck in Ashley's head.

A few nights ago the alarm on Bryan's stopwatch went off during dinner. It beeps for a minute, unless a button is pushed. While everyone else was doing the "beep beep dance," Ashley was looking around in panic. She started pointing to the hall where the smoke alarm is, then pointing to the window (meaning outside). Pretty soon she started crying and struggling to get out of her high chair. Eventually we realized she thought it was the smoke alarm and we were supposed to run outside!

Then last night Bryan's watch did a single beep at the top of the hour. Again Ashley panicked, started crying and tried to get out of her chair.

I don't think Ashley has a clue about the danger of fire. But now she definitely has a fear of beeps!

Ashley, begging for milk at the fridge.

Halloween

2009-11-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

We tried making these Halloween treats.
Ours didn't turn out quite so nice. But still fun and yummy.

Long before Halloween the discussion of costumes came up in our family. Sienna knew she wanted to be a witch. Colby did too, so we suggested he be a wizard. (I couldn't find any costumes his size, so had to make one). The kids decided Bryan should be Zorro, since he often tells them Zorro stories at night.
Dad: "Well what should Mommy be?"
Sienna: "Zorro's horse!"
I resisted and complained, but in the end gave in to the puppy-dog looks, and became Zorro's horse. One day Colby was describing what everyone was going to be for Halloween. He said I would be "Daddy's horse." Grandma, who was in a nearby room, didn't hear the "s" on the end of horse. She gave me quite the funny look.

Before our church Halloween party:

After:

Our Jack-o-lanterns:

Before trick-or-treating. We were joined by Sophia and Annika Lindemann, since their new sister decided to be born on Halloween.

The witches and wizard:

Ashley was possessive of her loot.

Wedding trip and visit from Grandma

2009-11-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago Bryan and I went to a wedding in Salt Lake City for Bryan's brother, Nathan. It was a quick, whirlwind trip, but a lot of fun visiting family, quilting, and all the wedding activities. Congratulations Nathan & Michelle!

My mom came to Nashville to watch the kids while we were gone, and we convinced her to stay for a whole week after that so she could be with us for Halloween. It was so nice having her here! The kids loved it. Colby was moping today, saying "When is Gwomma gonna come back?" Of course she's always a big help to me, doing whatever she sees that needs done around the house. I especially loved the free, live-in babysitter! Here are some pictures from her visit:

Ashley took half a day to warm up, then Grandma became the favorite.

She liked to pile babies and stuffed animals on top of Grandma.

We enjoyed a fall walk along Radnor Lake.

Grandma was the parent volunteer on Sienna's field trip to Gentry Farms. They took a hay ride, did some farm activities, picked out a pumpkin, all on a beautiful fall day.

Thanks for the fun visit Grandma! Can't wait until next time!

Little House on the Prairie

2009-10-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I went on a three generation Girls Night Out with my mom and Sienna to see this Broadway show:

First of all, if you live in Nashville or somewhere where this production will be playing, you should see it. Maybe it's just because I'm a Little House fan, but I thought it was great. I remember reading the "Little House on the Prairie" series as a girl on the bus ride home from Elementary School. And over the last several months I've been reading the series to Sienna. We're on Book #7 of 9, and we both love it. So when I heard the musical was coming to Nashville I bought tickets. Then when I learned my Mom would be in town, we got another one.

I wondered how my 5 year old would do, with a 7:30 start time on a school night. She did great! She stayed awake and attentive the whole time, although leaning quite a bit against me during the last half. And I think because she already knew the story, she wasn't asking a million questions, like she does when watching a movie. I think she really enjoyed it. Of course by the time we left the parking lot she was zonked out. I hope that it will be a fond early memory for her. Even if it's not, it's a wonderful memory for me.

Before:

After:

Random pictures and events from September

2009-09-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

Here is Bryan's latest Masterpiece. Amazing isn't it? In case you're not familiar with the Northwest, it is Mt. Rainier. We climbed this beast in 2005 before moving from Seattle. No small feat, and one we're both pretty proud of.

I had to include the kids' heads so you can see the size of the painting. Rather large. It hangs on the wall across from our bed, so we can gaze at it and dream of beautiful Seattle.

Speaking of Seattle, we've had a very rainy September. It rained for about 2 weeks straight, and has only recently cleared up for a beautiful fall. After too much time trapped indoors, Colby and Ashley decided rain wasn't all that bad, and was actually pretty fun to play in. You can't see it, but it IS raining in these pictures.

Bryan and his buddy, Dale Edgerton, have been training for a canoeing-mountain biking-trail running triathlon. The big event was last Saturday. And sure enough, it was raining. I stayed home with the kids, which was too bad because nobody was there to take a picture of them covered in mud. This was at the end of the 2 weeks of rain, so you can imagine what the trails were like. Bryan said he's never been muddier. The Mud Bowl in Seattle didn't even come close. They hosed off and changed shirts before coming home, so the picture doesn't capture it. They both got flat tires and still came in 10th overall. Way to go boys!

Sienna had Spirit week at school. This was mismatch day. Too funny!

We took a trip to Memphis early in September to attend a wedding Open House of a friend from Seattle. While there we took time to visit the Memphis Zoo. It's a pretty good one! We liked all the big cats, the rhinoceros, the pandas, and a few other animals we don't have in the Nashville Zoo.

We also had to cut down a big, beautiful, dying, red maple tree in our back yard. Bryan borrowed a chain saw and mentioned it to a couple friends and they all showed up to help. They finished sawing and hauling that tree and another small one in about 3 hours. Here's the kids' last climb. Doesn't Ashley look happy?

Arts and crafts brag blog

2009-08-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sienna loves to do arts and crafts. I do to some extent as well, although I'm not nearly as creative. Most of my ideas come from other peoples blogs. I thought I'd share some of the things we've done this summer along with their source. So you can get ideas too, if you're into that kind of thing. So this is one of those show-and-tell blogs. You might even find your own blog mentioned here.

Flower hair clips and bows (picture not shown)
I haven't totally joined the Giant Flower Hair Clip Club, but I wanted to try one. It has to go on the back of her head, or else it looks ridiculous.

No-sew tu-tu
This was kind of a waste of time. Sienna doesn't like the way the tulle feels against her legs, so she never wears it. Maybe with tights or leggings, but it's too warm for them right now. Cute and simple though!

Pillowcase nightgowns from here

and here.

Sienna is pouty in this picture because the ribbon she picked out for the sleeves from my scrap box was too scratchy on her arms. (Are you seeing a theme here?) So the ribbon came off, and now she wears it almost every night. This pillowcase was one my Grandma embroidered.

Decorations for the shelf in the kids' room. Thanks to a comment on my blog from Pamela!

Crazy crayons. A good use for broken crayons.

Painted 4th of July shirts.

Reversible capes (modified from here). I actually did these for Christmas last year, but the weight of Sienna's pulled at her neck and choked her a little. So this summer I made the front part to keep it down in front.
Colby had just woken up from his nap in this picture, and was a little slow getting out of bed. And Sienna is pulling a face because, well, that's just what she likes to do nowadays.

Now for some of Sienna's crafts. At one point when I was at the sewing machine, Sienna was being bored next to me. So I gave her some scrap material and showed her how to do a running stitch. She liked doing it, so a few days later when she was bored again, I cut out some scrap material for her to make a purse/wallet. It still needs a snap or button or something. The stitches aren't super straight, but not bad for a 5 year old, eh? (Click to enlarge to see stitches)

From our trip to Gulf Shores in June we got some painted sea shells. So Sienna picked out some paint and a craft box from the store and went to work decorating it.

Can you guess what this is? When we were preparing to go to Washington D.C., I checked out a bunch of kids books from the library about the city. The first one I read to them was about the Lincoln Memorial. A few hours later I peeked in on Sienna in the office, and she was attempting to recreate a model from paper. She got a little discouraged when it couldn't stand up on its own, so I tried to help salvage it with bamboo skewers. It didn't last long. But it was such a cute attempt!

What happened in July?

2009-08-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

Now that August is half over, is it even worth mentioning what went on in July? Well, there are a few things that seem worthy of a note.

Independence Day was awesome. We had our annual neighborhood parade, barbecue, and fireworks show.

The holiday was even more awesome this year because we had our friends Jacob and Lisa Ferrar come to visit for the long weekend. We had such a good time visiting, seeing historical sights, eating good food, and celebrating the holiday together.

We also enjoyed some wonderful weather in July. Or as a Severe Weather Alert warned: "Unseasonably cool". Highs in the 70s in July? Unheard of! We took advantage of a beautiful Saturday for a hike in Long Hunter State Park.

The cool weather was so unexpected we had to dig out our winter clothes:

OK, not really. This was actually from our Endurance party, hosted by our friends the Edgertons. We all read about Ernest Shackleton's amazing Antarctica adventure on the ship Endurance. Even the kids all read (or were read to) at their level. So we got together for a polar meal, chilling games (like the ice plunge challenge below), and a movie about the Endurance. Great times!

Here's some more pics:

(Go here for the Picasa website)

This week...

2009-08-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

This week...

Colby started wearing underwear.

Sienna started riding her bike without training wheels.

Sienna started going to Kindergarten.

I love it that our kids are growing up.

I hate it that our kids are growing up!

Happy Birthday to us

2009-08-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Bryan and I both celebrated our birthdays this month (mine on the 10th, Bryan's on the 12th). We celebrated with family "parties" on the big days, and on our in-between day by going out to eat and to see the movie Harry Potter (thanks for babysitting Melissa).

Birthday parties are Sienna's most favorite thing ever. After her and Colby's birthdays in March, she wrapped up a present for me and stored it under the couch in the office, with strict instructions to leave it there until my birthday. So there it sat. When I opened presents, she was more excited to open it than I was, since she had forgotten what it was: a picture she had colored.

I was gifted many colored pictures in fact. The evening before we had some friends over for games, and Sienna and her friend, Sally, were busy coloring away. Sienna wrapped up one of them the next morning:

Here's all my colored loot:

When the kids have a birthday I like to make a simple, fun-shaped cake. And I let them choose. I had no choice for my birthday. Sienna was insistent that I wanted a red, heart-shaped cake. And the moment she awoke she began begging to help make the cake. I didn't even want cake! I'd much prefer a pie or cheesecake or pudding cake or ice cream cake. But Sienna was very particular. So looking through my Kraft magazines I found a chocolate peanut-butter cheesecake brownie cupcake recipe, that I figured we could shove together in the shape of a heart and frost it. This was OK'd by the birthday chief.

Sienna and Colby did all the decorating:

Isn't it lovely?

For Bryan's birthday, I let Sienna wrap one of his presents all by herself. I wish I had taken a picture as she was cutting this piece out of the middle of the wrapping paper, to see how much was wasted. It was a very creative wrapping job. I think she still needs a little more supervision, but in the end it was all covered up.

Sienna also wanted to decorate a bit for Bryan's birthday. She wanted some balloons, so I let her pick some out of a bag I had of small balloons, impossibly difficult to blow up. You know the kind... when you strain and blow to get a little bulge in the middle of the balloon, pinch it closed, take another big breath, blow again, only to have it all come spitting back in your face. Well I puffed and I huffed until I ran out of steam. Sienna was beside me the entire time, encouraging and praising. As I blew into a balloon, she blew into the air, spitting when I spit, always with a focused, concerned look on her face. I don't think she realized she was doing it. I was laughing too hard to blow up the last one. Plus my cheeks hurt.

And lastly, when we were shopping for Bryan I knew we were out of birthday wrapping paper so I picked up a roll. Colby was excited to carry it through the store. Back at home when it was time to wrap the presents he shouted, "I want to wrap the long, shooty-thing!"

Huh?

Come to find out, he thought the wrapping paper roll WAS the present. Or at least the cardboard roll underneath, since he got to play for a while with the old one when it ran out. (That is until he became a bit too abusive and it got recycled.) "Head boppers" is another common name for them in our household. Particularly the paper towel rolls which are more common.

Anyway, when Sienna was wrapping her present Colby tried to continue to unroll the wrapping paper to get to the cardboard roll in the middle. I gently tried to explain that the wrapping paper was needed to wrap the presents, and he couldn't have the head bopper until it was all gone. Tears and tantrums followed. He was very disappointed he couldn't give the long, shooty-thing to Daddy for his birthday.

Well now I know I don't need to buy anything for Colby next year. And it's already wrapped! He just has to unroll it.

Washington DC

2009-08-14T12:35:00.001-07:00

We've been on vacation! Only for a week, although it's been a lot longer since I've posted. We drove to Washington, D.C. for Bryan to attend a conference, to visit his brother Nathan and fiancee Michelle, and to do a little sightseeing. Here are some picture highlights:

Day 1: White House tour, Natural History Museum, a lot of walking.

Day 2: Visiting the beautiful Washington DC temple with Bryan's brother, Nathan, helping Michelle move to a new place, visiting the Mall at night, a lot of walking.

Day 3: Church, George Mason home (near Mt. Vernon) with engagement photos of Nathan & Michelle, Great Falls National Park, a lot of walking.

Day 4: National Zoo, Conference for Bryan, Swimming in the hotel, Games with Nathan & Michelle, a lot of walking.

Day 5: Storytime, Building Museum (kids play area), Portrait Museum, Conference for Bryan, Dinner with Nathan, a lot of walking.

Day 6: Rock Creek Park, Conference for Bryan, Date in Georgetown (thanks for babysitting Nathan & Michelle), a lot of walking.

Day 7: Capitol Building tour, Museum of Air & Space, National Archives, Top of Washington Monument, Iwo Jima Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, a lot of walking.

It was a great trip. But I think the kids are glad to be through with the walking.

To see more pictures, visit

Washington DC Trip

Colby Quote

2009-07-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Said Colby, while getting my bathroom scale out of the closet to stand on:

"I'm going to see how noisy I am."

Definitely off the scale, Colby.

June Pictures

2009-07-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

I forgot to include a link to more pictures from June with the last post. So see pictures here.

June Newsletter

2009-07-07T04:38:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Tidbits

Summer started with a bang here in Nashville. It’s been really hot. We keep reading emails from the family about snow in Wyoming or non-stop rain in the northeast. We wish some of it would come down this way. To keep cool, we’ve been running through sprinklers and playing in our friends’ neighborhood pool.

Our highlight for the past month was a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We rented a beach house with our friends the Edgertons and spent almost a week down there. It was even hotter down there – but we’d hit the beach in the morning, head back to the house for lunch/games/naps around noon, and then return to the beach when it’d cooled off in the late afternoon. Colby and Ashley loved playing in the sand. Colby was a great beach soccer player. And thankfully, Ashley was great at taking naps on the beach towel (on her stomach with her rear end stuck in the air). Sienna just loved playing with her friend Sally: boogie boards in the small waves, chasing crabs at night, building sand castles, … All of our kids are much more comfortable around the water now. Sienna took 2 weeks of swim lessons after we got back from the vacation. Kristen enjoyed making lunches for us, washing sand off kids, and carrying things back and forth from the beach house. She and I also enjoyed our boat ride watching 4-5 dolphins jumping in our boat’s wake. My favorite part of the beach was laying out and pumping iron. Anyway, it was a great trip.

Other events in June: Our bishop from Seattle, Dale Jenkins, had a business trip here in Nashville, so we spent a nice evening with him. Sienna and I had a Daddy-daughter date to see the movie “Up” and to get dinner afterwards at McDonalds. I don’t know anyone who gets so scared watching cartoon movies as Sienna, but overall she enjoyed it.

I ran in a few local track meets in June. I’ve been trying to run a mile in 4:59. I’m down to 5:07 – which means I still have a long 8 seconds to improve on – but I’m making progress. I’ll try again in a race in early August. Minus the pain, the track meets were a lot of fun. Sienna and Colby both ran in the kids 100 meters event. Colby ran the whole way with his tongue sticking out, and Sienna kept running after she’d passed the finish line – she couldn’t believe it was over already. Next year we’ll have to sign her up for the 400 meters. We’re still playing ultimate Frisbee every Wednesday. The kids are good sports on the sideline. And I go mountain biking early in the morning once a week with my friend Dale. Kristen even joined us last Saturday, and then the kids met us at a nearby creek afterwards for a picnic and snake catching.

Ashley is saying “Ah oh” (she’s been saying that for a long time), “Daddy,” “Mommy” (but it’s more of a whine than anything), “woof woof” (she’s been saying that for a long time too), “Meow,” and “Antidisestablishmentarianism.”

Well, that’s about it. Hope you all have a great month. Love,

Bryan, Kristen, Sienna, Colby, and Ashley

The joy of shopping with children

2009-07-02T17:42:00.001-07:00

I prefer to shop without children. Very much so. But usually it's unavoidable. Here's some highlights from our trip to Kroger this afternoon.

1. Entrance. Colby decides he wants to ride in a car cart, while Sienna wants to push a child-sized cart. So Colby and Ashley get settled behind the wheels, then we realize there aren't any child-sized carts left. By the time we hit the produce section, Sienna and Colby are on top, in front of, and out the sides of the car, seemingly all at once. Ashley wavers between being entertained and terrified.

2. Meat section. I'm trying to make a selection on salmon that is on sale, and kids are yelling in the background. I successfully tune them out, and the associate behind the counter comes out to offer them paper butcher hats. Temporary peace.

3. Cleaning aisle. Colby the butcher is running full speed backwards the length of the aisle while yelling something to Sienna. I see the lady with the cart that he's headed straight for and try to warm him, but too late. Crash goes his head against the metal cart. Screaming and crying the length of the aisle the other direction back to mom.

4. Dairy and Beverages. Last aisle. Almost done. A lady in front of us is trying to maneuver her two kids out of the way so my semi-truck can get by. Not quite enough to get around the tower of Miller beer cases stacked in the center. Yup. Bump goes the cart. Crash goes one, then two, then three cases of glass beer bottles, fuzzing all over the aisle. The other lady leaves her two kids next to me while she goes to tell someone.

5. Van. Ashley starts crying. I realize that one of her last two Binkys was left somewhere in the store. Perhaps covered in Miller Light Beer. It looks like she will be weaned sooner than any of us had planned.

Got any nightmare shopping trips to share?

Placecards... Sienna style

2009-07-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week Sienna was being very helpful and set the table without asking. Then she rushed off to her desk and came back with these, to make sure we all remembered where we sat.

Don't read preschool language? Here's the interpretation:

Sienna - Brown-eyed-girl
Colby - Not totally king
Mommy - She's always the queen
Ashley - Cutie and little
Daddy - Handsome

Too cute.

Oooooooops!

2009-07-02T17:35:00.001-07:00

Several days ago I got a warning email from Picasa that I was approaching the limit of storage space on my account. So I went in and deleted a few old albums. I believe I inadvertently deleted my Blogger album with all my pictures from our blog. Ooops! I could go back and upload them all. But seriously, that would take way too much time. You'll just have to enjoy them from here on out!

Ahhhh... the Beach

2009-06-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last week we spent 5 days at Gulf Shores, Alabama with our friends the Edgertons. We shared the cost of a beach house and had a wonderful time playing in the sand and water. Here are some highlights.

Looking for crabs at night. Mostly we caught little white ghost crabs scurrying on the sand. We saw some people looking for bigger ones like this one Sienna wants to kiss.

Napping. Ashley could be found with her bum up in the air every day taking her morning nap on the beach. The rest of us often found time to nap in the heat of the afternoon back at the house.

Playing in the sand. Colby and Ashley mainly stayed on shore, which made it easier to watch them.

A dolphin viewing boat ride. It took a while to find them, but when we did they gave us quite a show.

Playing with King Hop. A grasshopper hitchhiked on a beach chair from the house to the sand. Sally and Sienna built him a sand kingdom. I felt sorry for the poor little guy after all his "royal treatment".

Tying things together. This is Colby's latest thing. At one time he tried to involve the neck strap to my swimsuit, but I had to put an end to that real quick!

Playing in the water. Sienna was pretty brave with a life jacket and boogie board. Colby would get his feet wet if he held someone's hand, or sometimes he would let mom or dad hold him in the water. Ashley was fickle. Sometimes she liked it, sometimes she didn't.

Sharing. We're working with Colby on taking things from helpless Ashley. Here he is, practically begging to hold her stick. He was very patient until he finally managed to get it.

Synchronized swimming. Dale and Bryan got creative in the water.

There you go. Don't you wish you were there? Thanks, Edgertons!

I wish I had...

2009-06-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

some patio furniture. A table, umbrella, and chairs to be specific. But I don't yet (hear the whine..."they just get so yucky"). We do the picnic blanket thing, but with 1 year old Ashley, that usually ends up with PBJ, squished grapes, spilled drinks, etc. all over the blanket. So this was our latest outdoor lunch.

It worked. But I still wish I had a table, umbrella, and chairs, dear.

May Newsletter

2009-06-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Tidbits
May 2009

Here are some of the highlights from the past month:
-Sienna finished preschool. They had an end of year program where they sang songs and showed us some of their work. It’s been a great program for her. Hopefully Colby will get to do it in a year.
-We went to a pub downtown (Cadillac Ranch or something like that) to watch our friend Mark Watson in his southern rock band.
-Earl and Anna Clare (Bryan's parents) visited over Memorial weekend. They were on their way to Nathan’s graduation in New Jersey. They came to the kids’ soccer games.

In the evening we went “hunting for newts” (salamanders) with the Edgertons at Cedars of Lebanon State Park, with a cookout afterward. That was a lot of fun.

We also took a trip downtown with them.

-The kids had their last soccer games May 30. Sienna scored her first goal. Colby scored his first goal the week before when Grandma and Grandpa were here. They both had fun doing soccer. In the end, Bryan enjoyed coaching Colby’s team, although sometimes he wasn’t so excited to babysit/coach 10 kids twice a week.

-Ultimate Frisbee season started. We are on the same team as our friends the Dibbs, who have 2 kids, so it makes it a lot easier since only one of us has to be on the sideline. Plus the kids entertain each other.
-We went to the Biostat potluck party at Centennial Park downtown. Sienna and Colby had fun playing kickball afterward with Bryan and the adults.
-We visited the Adventure Science Center on Memorial Day. We ended up buying a family membership since it wasn’t that much more than the cost of getting us all in. Now we can go all summer long. It’s a huge children’s museum with mostly educational hands-on type of stuff.

-Ashley fell out the window. (See previous post)
-We took out the solar cooker for the first time this spring. I cooked bread, meatloaf, ham, and a few casseroles with it. Kind of nerdy, I know.

For more pictures from this month, visit here

Love,
Kristen, Sienna, Ashley, Colby, and Bryan

Ouch!

2009-05-30T04:40:00.000-07:00

What happens when a baby falls out a window?

Answer...

Awful isn't it? Wouldn't you feel terrible if you were this baby's mother? We've been using windows to cool our house during this nice in-between time of heater and AC. The window has a window seat, and Ashley doesn't play there very often. So I didn't even think of it when she was playing there Thursday, while I was a few feet away in the kitchen. I could hear her talking and babbling, then all of a sudden it was distant crying and screaming. She had pushed through the screen while leaning on it. I made a mad dash outside to rescue her.

This was the next day.

So much for the cute pictures of the previous post, eh? We're very, very grateful that it wasn't worse than it is. Heavens knows it could have been! But she has rebounded well and acts her normal, happy self. She's just a fright to look at. And every time someone asks "what happened?" I have to feel guilty all over again telling them, "Yes, my child fell out the window."

Now I'm praying it will all heal nicely without scars we can post cute pictures again!

Ashley Cuteness

2009-05-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Don't you just want to eat her up? One of the blessings of being a "stay-at-home" mom is I get to kiss her cheeks all day long.

April Newsletter

2009-05-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Tidbits

Bryan went on a trip to China at the end of the month. He spent a day giving an 8-hour lecture on statistics as part of a workshop sponsored by the Chinese CDC and another day listening to lectures. The other 3 days he was able to spend as a tourist. He visited the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall. He also ate lots of weird Chinese food. It was a great trip – China was pretty spectacular. But thankfully, he has no more out-of-country trips planned for the rest of the year.

Gifts for the kids from China:

We’ve been enjoying the mild Spring weather, until it started raining. Lately it’s felt like we’re back in Seattle. The kids have fun playing hide & seek and freeze tag outside with neighbors and riding bikes and tricyles on the driveway. We can now do short family bike rides with Sienna on her own bike and the other two in the bike trailer, although Ashley screams like she’s dying whenever she’s wearing the helmet. We had a friend from Seattle visit and together hiked the Harpeth River Narrows, a nearby State Recreation area. In April we also went to a Sounds game (local baseball team), visited the zoo, and did an Easter egg hunt in the front yard. Even when it’s raining the kids like to play in puddles and with the umbrella, which is now hanging on to only three spokes. Ashley thinks its great fun to splash in the water under the downspout then lick her fingers. Gross.

The kids are enjoying soccer, although two games and a practice have been canceled due to weather. Coach Bryan hasn’t minded too much. Both Colby and Sienna like to stay on the outskirts of the pack chasing the ball. They also like to practice in the front yard with Dad and the neighbors, using buckets to mark the goals. It’s cute to see them give each other hugs after a goal.

Kristen has been busy planting flowers, and enjoys working in our pretty perennial garden. She spent many hours giving our hedges a much needed haircut, and even got a big haircut herself.

Bryan found a friend who likes working on cars… yippee! A few weeks ago they tried to fix a squealing belt in our car. They didn’t finish the project and it only made it worse, giving an ear-splitting loud squeal enough to wake the neighborhood at 7 am. It turned heads in parking lots and Kristen was embarrassed to drive it. They finally got together again and got it fixed… hooray!

That’s about all! (Here's more pictures from April)
Love, Bryan, Kristen, Sienna, Colby & Ashley

Bryan's Trip to Beijing

2009-05-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

I got to spend a week in China at the end of April, participating in a workshop sponsored by the Chinese CDC. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Here I am in Tiananmen Square, looking towards the Forbidden City. There were some notorious riots here 20 years ago. There is a huge picture of Mao Zedong, the founder of the Chinese Communist Party back in the 40s hanging on the wall, and Mao's refrigerated body is on display in a large memorial building on the square. (I didn't get to go inside the building.) I went back to my hotel and tried googling Tiananmen Square, but I couldn't open any of the websites -- they've been censored by the government.

This is me and my helpful friend, Dr. Yie, inside the Forbidden City. China's emperors lived here from the 1400s to the early 1900s.

The Great Wall is about an hour or so north of Beijing. Here are a few pictures. I've never seen more tourists in my life -- most of them were Chinese.

The next two pictures are from the Summer Palace. This was the countryside retreat of the emperors. It's spectacular, with beautiful gardens, a large lake, and lots of fancy buildings. The first picture is of "The Long Corridor," which is a pretty walkway paralleling a lake for almost 1 kilometer. The second picture is looking up towards the Tower of the Buddhist Incense.

I ate without using a fork, spoon, or knife for over 5 days. Some of the food was very interesting, to say the least: chicken feet, chicken heads, coagulated blood soup, pig ears, lots of seaweed,... I didn't know what I was eating most of the time. I typically enjoyed the food, although I got a little tired of eating Chinese food for breakfast.

If you're interested, more pictures are here.

Colby Speak

2009-04-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Colby learned the Alphabet song forever ago. And sometime in the last year he learned to identify all the upper-case letters (with some mix-ups now and then). So yesterday we were doing some activities with card stock letters on the table, and one of them was to put them all in order. He did pretty well, singing the alphabet song repeatedly up to the letter he was on. Until he got to "L". He was actually holding the "L" in his hand, but kept looking around the table. Finally he looked at me with a perplexed face and asked "LMNO?" He couldn't find the letter that corresponded with the "LMNO" of the Alphabet song.

If you think about it, that is an awful lot of letters to cram into two beats.

Lately Colby has also been singing made-up songs with "the BYU" thrown in periodically. I don't know where he gets it from. Bryan and I are both BYU alumni, and have a few t-shirts. But we're not fanatics (like a certain sister and brother-in-law). And we never call it "THE BYU". And we never watch BYU sports. We did, however, sing what we remembered of the BYU fight song a couple weeks ago, which ends with a rousing "Gooooooo Cougars!"

Yesterday in the car Colby was singing one of his made-up "the BYU" songs. I hadn't heard him tack on the ending before, but this time he did: "Goooooooo Kroger!"

For those of you not from this area, Kroger is a national grocery store.

And they give free kids cookies, so "Gooooooooo Kroger!" is actually a pretty fitting exclamation for Colby.

Birthday Photo Shoot

2009-04-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

The challenge: Get the 5 year old and 3 year old to give their genuine, adorable smiles, instead of cheesy fake ones, and get the 1 year old to sit still for 3 seconds. It's hard enough with individual poses. Getting all three to cooperate at the same time was impossible.

Success? Limited. These are the best ones (small grainy images from the Sears website). If you want to see the the rest of them go here.

While we were trying to pick out the pictures that we wanted, we took turns viewing them and watching after Ashley. At one point we both got involved, and Ashley disappeared. She was nowhere in the studio. This was at Sears, and after fanning out to search for her (including the portrait people), we finally found her playing in the shoe section. She can escape in an instant! A few moments more and she could have made it to the general mall area.

Birthday fun

2009-04-05T04:22:00.000-07:00

Spring is the time for birthdays around here. This year it seemed to last forever.

First came Ashley's, Feb 26 (one year old).

Next we had a joint birthday party for all three kids while Grandma and Grandpa were here. (I'm helping Ashley with her candle corner.)

Sienna had some friends over for a zoo-themed birthday party (Mar 22, 5 years old).

And finally Colby had his 3rd birthday on Mar 29. (I groaned when he picked red for the color of his race car cake. It's impossible to get red from white frosting!)

We have a few birthday traditions I thought I'd share.

-Handprint birthday tablecloth: each kid has a different color of fabric paint. We have a white tablecloth that we put their handprint on every birthday, with their age written on top. We keep it on the table during birthday season (with a sheet of plastic over it so it stays white)

-Fun cakes: I have fun trying to make different shaped cakes. We take a picture every year and slip it under the plastic on the birthday tablecloth.

-Measuring: There is a wall in our laundry room where we measure the kids on their birthday and half-birthday

-"Their song": Sienna and Colby each have "their song" that we make sure to sing or dance to on their birthday. Sienna's is "Brown Eyed Girl" and Colby's is "In the Jungle". We haven't picked one for Ashley yet.

-Spanking machine: A carryover tradition from when I grew up. The kids crawl through a tunnel of legs as people give them their spankings.

-I recently thought of another one that I haven't implemented yet. Asking a short survey every birthday, to see how it changes as they age. Things like "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and "What is your favorite toy or favorite thing to play?" and adding maybe a sentence or two about significant national or world events that happened that year.

What birthday traditions do you have?

Sienna likes to make to-do lists for the "play day" (Saturday). Usually it has a work side (dictated by Daddy) and a play side. Bryan took a work trip to Portugal and after long airport delays he returned early on a Monday morning, so took the day off from work. This was the day we were going to celebrate Colby's birthday. Since Daddy was home from work it was automatically a "play day". But this time Sienna's list had a birthday side and a play side.

Birthday side: Sing happy birthday, Have the birthday, Blow the cake, Eat the cake, Put the handprint, Measure Colby
Play side: Color, Slumber party, Paint, Play princess, Have fun making a tent (out of blankets and chairs), Have graham crackers and milk (a favorite snack shared with Daddy), Party! Party! Party!

For more birthday fun and pictures from March:

Mar 2009

Peru pictures

2009-04-05T04:01:00.000-07:00

If you didn't get enough of a taste from the previous overview post, here are some more pictures and comments from our trip to Peru.

Peru Part 1: Lima and Cusco

Peru 2: Machu Picchu and Lima temple