A Doorbell

Sometimes I hear Cassidy describe little puppies or cute stuffed animals as 'a doorbell'. That's her term for adorable. She's pretty precious.

Diggin' this guy's voice. Somehow he is a cross between Travis and Charlotte's hubby, Brady. Both men I adore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp2APWPJZz0
I may venture to say I have an internet crush on him.

Looong

I hate that I haven't been able to post any holiday or kid birthday pictures yet, but alas, the house is coming along and (hopefully) soon we should have our built-ins done so that we can set up a mini office station.

Today we have double pink-eye at our house and it's another gloomy winter day, but luckily Trav built a ginormo fort downstairs and the kids are playing contently.

If I could complain for a minute it might be about not having a dishwasher yet, backed up gas bills (the most recent being $270), still not having all my kitchen in tact, a living room full of uninstalled cabinets, a mile-long list of stuff Trav and I have to do before I become larger (and thus birth another munchkin), and the majority of my job these days involving managing 'stuff'.
BUT...
I could also describe a million little things that make me so grateful lately...the opportunity to have another baby (not to mention friends of mine being blessed with new heavenly treasures soon as well), this new beautiful kitchen that makes it more fun for me to plan meals and entertain company, our health, the blessing of having Trav's sister and my brother live with us for a while (so much better than I anticipated...thus far, at least!), and a husband that, with a little help from Dr. Pepper, is an Energizer bunny. Even after a long day at the office, he swoops in to help with the kids, does after-hour projects, and is genuinely interested in fulfilling my needs. Of course two of my greatest blessings are my two kidlets who constantly amaze me with their giant personalities and beautiful potential. I smile at them everyday, and laugh at their uber-honest utterances!

If Cassidy is uninterested in a conversation or is busy, she may ask that you don't talk to her because she is 'nervous' or 'anxious'.

After teaching the kids a little about stranger danger and the sacredness of their own bodies, Cass asked me, "Mom, are you the only one who is allowed to touch your big tatas?" (she's learned this word from her brother who only heard it once when he was two...though I've tried to change the vocab, this is the one that won't quit!)

Boston asked the other day what 'exquisite' meant. A few days later I heard him from the other room telling Cassidy, "You are exquisite, Cass. That means you are beautiful." When he's not provoking her, he cares for her with a precious tenderness.

So while it seems life is a bit chaotic and a whole lotta work, I'm grateful to be where I'm at and also very thankful for the journey that has brought me here. I wouldn't trade my college experiences in good ol' Rexburg, my 2 years with Travis in our little 'shoebox' apartment, the starving student days, the moves, late-night therapy sessions with my family, and the highs and lows for anything.

Words

Greetings from my laptop! Looking forward to posting some pictures from Christmas and the updates in the house since we've moved back. We still don't have a complete kitchen, but it's coming together, and everyone's been so much more at ease.

We're grateful (again) for the well-wishes, neighbor gifts, cards, and service everyone has offered. We love our neighborhood, our friends and family.

Is it bad that I'm sort of glad that Christmas is over? It was a fabulous one, but normalcy is high on my priority list right now. Ahhh.

Love to all of you!

Grand Dadda

My dad has been so kind to come up once a week for the last month or so to spend time with the kids and give me a couple hours off. Though I've become quite efficient at tile shopping, carpet hunting, and meeting with sub-contractors with the kiddos in tow, it's aaahhhhmazing to be able to do some of these things in quiet solitude!

The kids love spending time with Grandpa reading books, playing games, and taking walks. It touches me because these are the things I adored growing up. My dad always had time for us, and there were so many Saturday mornings that he'd take us kidlets to Griffith Park to ride ponies and the merry-go-round, feed the ducks, or to play at the park. I know he genuinely loved doing these things with us, and it was evident in the chats we'd have with him, all his picture-taking, and his singing while playing the drums on the steering wheel of the car as we'd travel.

I realize these are some of the things I'll do with my kids, but it's a much better legacy that Grandpa gets the chance to make these memories with them.
Thanks, Dad.

Halloween Evening

Dad with Darth and 'Gator

Though often unkind to her cousin, the holiday spirit brought out a Cass who wanted to hug and watch out for Jason.

The love those cousins. And how nice for photos when the majority of kids are in masks!


My kids are taking after their dad. They love holidays (I guess that's only noteworthy if you're an adult...all kids love holidays!). What they've been obsessed with most recently are the lawn decorations. Every day when we'd pass this one house with a graveyard, heads, and skeletons, they'd beg to drive by it (twice: once so the yard was on Cass' side, and once for Boston). We've been to the Halloween stores half a dozen times. Cassidy adores the spooky displays and creepy noises. I'm sure next year she'll lose some of this fearlessness, but it's hilarious to watch. There was a dummy in a body bag that basically shook on the floor and she'd just clap at it trying to set it off over and over. The disturbing baby statues with spinning heads and gorey faces were even more intriguing. At one store there was a holographic mirror with a mummy image inside that would shout, "Help! Let me out! Can anyone hear me?" She'd whine when we'd have to leave it. Is it weird that it would melt my heart when she'd wiggle her hands and reinact it for Dad? She is her own person.

Cassidy picked this out to try on. Boston and Boomer followed along.

We hit up Bridget's trunk-or-treat early Halloween evening, then checked out a few spooky houses we'd been admiring, and then hit our neighborhood (apparently there's a guy who rides on a real horse as the headless horseman--we missed him this year, but next year we'll see him!). We finished the night off with munchies at Bridget's house.


My friend, Kelly, let us sift through her overflowing costume supply. Cassidy went right to the alligator (dinosaur? you decide). Maybe next year she'll consider the cute butterfuly or fairy costume.

Halloween Morning and The Boston 5

My blogging may be somewhat abridged. By the time the late hours of the night hit and I have a quiet house, I'm not necessarily motivated.

On Halloween morning we let Boston take his neighborhood buddies to Chuck E. Cheese for his 5th birthday. He loves this place and was thrilled that he and four friends would get to ride there together, play, eat pizza and cake, and of course share in some gift fun. I managed to squeeze 5 boosters in my van, and I was tickled to hear them interact with one another. They sang songs to me the whole way home (go sugar!). It made me think of my birthday gigs long ago: pool parties, ice-blocking, and slumber parties. I wonder if some of these little dudes will be soul mates.

Tanner, Tad, and Adam

Boston and the Boomer

Cassidy loves snuggling creatures. Watch for an upcoming 'raccoon' posting.

Woes: Me

I haven't taken too many pictures of the progress on the house, but here's an idea of what's been going on: lighting is in, floors are laid on main level, paint is done on main level, tile almost complete, fireplaces up and rolling, carpet ordered (just bits and pieces to fix the stairs and hallway that got saturated). Still yet to be done is the installation and painting of the kids' bathroom, floor staining, basement prime and painting, all the finish-work, kitchen and other built-in installation, countertops, backsplash, and of course—duh duh duh—moving everything back into the house. Travis has promised me his spectacular Thanksgiving feast. The insurance company expressed their doubts about things being done before Christmas, but I'm thinking the hubby's determination and many (many!) late nights will pay off.

The recent frustrations have been in contracting labor. No one seems to look at the bigger picture. Each (this especially applies to you, Mr. Tile!) tries to do what they want without attention to the grand scope of the project. But we're working through the kinks and trying to keep things positive.

We feel so blessed with the help people have offered. I'm going to have to make a speech when this thing is over. We simply could not have done this without the many hours people have generously given. I will (I promise) repay the favors!

There's no place like home!