Smith Family

Sittin' Pretty

2012-02-07T16:13:00.000-05:00

Anya is learning how to sit up.

Her mom likes to pose her for silly pictures. She is getting so big.

Tooth Number Two

2012-02-07T16:09:00.001-05:00

Mesha lost her other loose tooth! This one came out during sacrament meeting. What a big girl I have.

Toothless!

2012-02-04T12:30:00.003-05:00

Mesha lost her first tooth! We were shopping at Target and it was dangling by the skin (it flapped when she talked!) so I told her to twist it and out it came! I think the initial gush of blood caught both of us off guard but she was so excited that it was no big deal. Last night the tooth fairy left some money under Mesha's pillow! What a big girl! I wasn't expecting my 4 year old to loose her teeth but our dentist said it isn't anything to worry about. That's good because the tooth right next to the one that fell out is seriously loose too...

Naked Stair Jumping and A Loose Tooth

2012-01-28T12:42:00.001-05:00

This is a typical Saturday morning at the Smith home. No clothes, not much parental supervision, lots of potential for accident and bleeding. Just the way they like it!

The loose tooth is, amazingly enough, not related to the naked stair jumping. Sterling keeps trying to convince Mesha to let him tie it to some floss so he or she can yank it out. Can you say traumatizing? I guess I can't speak for Mesha but the thought of that traumatizes me!

Bows

2012-01-27T14:16:00.001-05:00

I decided I needed to up the girly cute factor with Anya. It seems like you can cover your child in pink or purple and people will still think she is a boy. But bows are unmistakable. Thank you to Aunt Mindy for the corn syrup tip. How cute is a girl with a bow stuck to her head? I love it.

Hungry Fella?

2012-01-16T22:11:00.000-05:00

When I first had Mesha I found myself calling my sisters and Mom all the time. I didn't know how to take care of a baby! It really is amazing how much work little things can be. But I learned, I grew, and I figured out how to watch my babies for cues and not try to force growth on them when they were not ready for it. For example, when my little girl grabs a cup of smoothie nearly out of her Dad's hands and proceeds to put it to her mouth and actually swallow some you know she MIGHT be ready for solids.

Ya think?

Man this little one is cute. I think she is a keeper.

Same Ol' Same Ol'

2012-01-07T21:45:00.002-05:00

There hasn't been much going on here lately. Just the same ol' same ol'. So for your viewing pleasure I got some inspiration from my sister's blog and will post some phone photos for you.

Mesha in a chicken suit.

Me and my favorite son.

Summer fun (man I am already done with winter...)

Silly boy.

Making turkeys not this last Thanksgiving but the one before.

I like Costco, the kids like Costco. It's a win-win kind of place.

Happy meal, happy boy.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T15:08:00.000-05:00

We had a fun Christmas, we stayed in Connecticut and did our own thing this year.

We did Christmas Eve with some friends in our ward. Here is our nativity dress up.

The kids in their Christmas Sunday best.

Mesha and her presents. She LOVES her easel (she calls it a weasel sometimes) and the Littlest Pet Shop tree house.

Griffin and his presents. This is the face he made when I asked for a smile. There are a few presents missing from these photos, sorry to the givers of those items.

Sweet Anya and her presents. What a happy girl!

Here she is trying out her Johnny Jump Up.

We had a good day but we sure miss all you Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. Merry Christmas!

Anya In A Hat

2011-12-27T14:19:00.003-05:00

Anya in a hat. Why? Because she is cute.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-14T10:15:00.000-05:00

This is the photo I was going to use for Christmas cards but I got another one instead. This was too cute to not post. Merry Christmas!

Four Months Old

2011-12-02T15:07:00.001-05:00

That means is exersaucer time!

Look Who's Rollin'!

2011-11-16T16:09:00.001-05:00

Look who learned how to roll yesterday.

15 Weeks old! She is growing too fast!

Is There Anything Better?

2011-11-13T17:35:00.001-05:00

Is there anything better than chubby baby legs and ballerina tights? No, no there isn't.

Also, Anya got a new piggy bank.

And this makes me laugh.

Eighteen

2011-11-11T11:17:00.001-05:00

I feel bad about not being able to give Griffin the kind of time I was to Mesha. And I feel worse for Anya. But there are definitely advantages to being the second child. Griffin can already count! He gets to 10 pretty well and after that it isn't consistent... until eighteen. Funny boy.

Anya These Days

2011-11-11T11:04:00.001-05:00

Our little baby girl is getting big fast. She is now 3 months old. Today I put her on her belly on my bed and she rolled over onto her back. At three months! Stop growing so fast! She is still such a good little girl. She is so patient and content. We love our little Anya.

She is such a good smiler!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-10T14:44:00.001-05:00

The festivities started with the ward trunk-or-treat. Good times. Monday during the day we got to trick-or-treat at Daddy's office and later that "night" (5pm) we did a short street. The power was still out at that point so there weren't too many people home but I promised the kids we would go, so go we did.

Our carved pumpkins.

The ward trunk-or-treat.

Griffin the "ohh-ahh" and Mesha the horse (for the second year in a row!).

Anya the sweet pea.

Happy Halloween!

Really?

2011-11-10T12:59:00.001-05:00

Really Connecticut? An October snow storm? ANOTHER power outage, this time in cold weather? We were out of power for almost 6 days but some people just got power yesterday! Really Connecticut? On the 29th we had a snow storm with heavy wet snow. The trees still had most of thier leaves so tons of branches broke and took out power lines. We have electrical everything so we had no way to keep warm without power and no place to go until we did. So we drove down to the less affected areas to find a generator. We had our refrigerator, a few lights and our space heaters powered up. Oh and of course the DVD player, can't live without that. We hung up some sheets to partition off our living room to keep the warm in so we ended up staying in ONE little room DAY AFTER DAY.

Our "warm room" or "cell", whichever...

Can you tell I went a little bonkers? It was real. It was not fun. It was not real fun.

Happy Halloween. Poor pumpkins, goodbye mums.

The storm at the beginning.

Boo to being cold. Later in the week it got down to 45 in the house.

New York

2011-10-22T14:28:00.001-04:00

While my parents were in town they offered to watch Mesha and Griffin so that Sterling and I could go to New York. We just did a day trip but it was a lot of fun. It was cool and a little bit strange to see some of these places you have seen a million times in movies and on TV in real life.

Looking at "the ball" in a museum by Times Square.

Times Square. We walked into it on accident and all of a sudden I recognized where I was without ever being there before.

The Empire State Building. We were too close to see it very well.

Riding the subway.

On the Staten Island Ferry to get a look at the Statue of Liberty.

Manhattan Temple. It looked so out of place from what I am used to which is why I think it is so cool.

Good ol' Deseret.

Central Park. Sorry to Anya for cutting her out with our not so great self portrait skills. Sorry to Sterling for the look on my face (I was running out of patience waiting for him to figure out how to put the camera on night mode...)

Radio City Music Hall.

Rockefeller Center. Anya wasn't impressed.

I haven't ever seen it without the ice rink. It would be fun to go sometime this winter.

I can now put a big ol' check mark on my bucket list. Yay New York! I'm still not a Yankees fan though, sorry.

Anya's Blessing

2011-10-12T12:14:00.001-04:00

We blessed our sweet little Anya on Sunday. Both sets of grandparents, her sister and brother, and her mom and dad were all there. Her Daddy gave a sweet blessing. She is such a good little person for our family. She is so patient and hardly ever cries. She loves her big sister and smiles at her whenever she sees her. I am so grateful for my little Anya and for her angel baby qualities.

The whole gang.

Big brother and sister.

Anya and her Daddy.

The girl of the day.

I had my Dad pose for this picture because I have one like it for both my other babies on their blessing days.

Grandpa and Anya.

Grandpa and Mesha.

Grandpa and Griffin.

What sweet babies and what a good family.

Mystic

2011-10-11T17:45:00.001-04:00

We have both sets of Grandparents here with us for Anya's blessing/ tour of New England. I went with my parents and the kids to Mystic, CT one day. It is a seaport town and there is a Nautical Museum, aquarium, and this little 18th century looking "village" with shopping and such.

There was a duck pond. Grandpa bought us some food and we had a couple dozen instant friends!

This was, of course, the kid's favorite part.

Especially this guy. He loves ducks.

We found a hand pump drinking fountain.

Griffin took a drink and spit it out. He was blowing raspberries for a few minutes before we figured it must not taste very good. I tried it and it tasted like iron so badly. Yuck.

Pumping the well.

Sweet little Anya.

Right before we went home we saw an old train caboose and took the kids over to see it. I lifted the kids up on it and left them there while I went to get the camera. As I was walking back Griffin was trying to get down by himself and I kept telling him to stay there. It didn't work. He slid off and landed on the big granite slab that was used as a step. His whole side was one big bloody scratch. So I didn't get a picture but Griffin got a nice souvenir. Besides that incident it was really fun. There was a Scandinavian gift shop there that I could spend all day in...

Bunk Beds

2011-10-02T18:52:00.000-04:00

We got bunk beds! Thank you craigslist, I love you. The kids LOVE it. We set it up in Mesha's room and were planning on moving Griffin in later this year when Anya is ready for her own room. Griffin would have none of it. He let us know that he was going to sleep on that bed immediately. The first night he slept on Mesha's old box spring padded with a few blankets (still not nearly close enough to comfortable). We bought him a mattress and big boy bedding the next day.

Next up is putting Anya's room together...

Chubby Bunny

2011-09-30T15:08:00.000-04:00

Anya is a chubby bunny. It is a nice feeling to know that your baby is eating well and growing. Here are some photos and a video of Ms. Bunny herself.

Everyone loves a naked baby!

Sleeping on Mommy's bed.

She was giving Sterling fist bumps but I wasn't quick enough with the camera. Sweet girl.

She is becoming quite the smiler and talker!

Fall Family Fun

2011-09-25T23:05:00.000-04:00

Aunt Katie came to visit and we had some fall fun.

We went to a pumpkin patch/farm. It was so much fun! We went on a hay ride and into a corn maze.

Find a prize in the hay!

Miniature donkeys, hee-haw.

This is the last time I stick my head in one of these things without looking at what it is first...

E-I-E-I-O

Griffin and a train, shocking I know.

I thought this boat was so fun.

We picked some pumpkins to take home. Griffin chose the one on the left for himself and the big one on the right for Anya. Mesha chose the little on in the middle for herself.

Later we went to an apple orchard to pick some apples!

We found some at kid height!

Griffin calls apples "bite"s.

Love these guys.

We also went to the Mark Twain House and looked around.

Hilarious.

The house.

Lego Twain. Mesha made this face on purpose and held it until I took the picture. Silly girl.

So by looking at the pictures you couldn't tell that Katie, Anya, or I were there but we were. I will have to be sure to get some pictures of the kids WITH Aunt Katie before she goes.

Mesha's Latest

2011-09-13T12:34:00.001-04:00

Here are two of Mesha's latest drawings.

This is a Ring Seal thinking about his favorite meal- shrimp! This is why I have a hard time limiting TV, she picks up so much (I guess that is also a great reason why I SHOULD limit TV...).

This is Anya complete with all her fingers, toes, nostrils, and a diaper. I love it. She tells me that the circle that the arms are coming out of is her neck (not a thorax).

PS: To all those bloggers out there, have you tried the new interface? It's awesome! It is so much easier to use! Try it, you might like it.

Boston Again

2011-09-05T15:05:00.019-04:00

A little while ago we went to Boston again. We wanted to go while it was still warm and nice outside so during Sterling's time off we made the trip.
First we went on the swan boats. Griffin almost jumped off a few times. Sounds about right, huh?

Next we let the kids play in the "frog pond" at the Boston Common. This was their favorite part of the day.

After that we went on the "Freedom Trail" which is a walking tour of a bunch of historical sights that have to do with the Nation's independence. At the State House.

Here is Paul Revere's grave.

And his house.

Mesha's new best friend.

What I did most of the time.

Bunker Hill.

There were a bunch of women with babies doing a work out group on the lawn at Bunker Hill. Mesha, being the friendly little thing that she is, when right over to her "friends" and started exercising with them. I thought it was cute and harmless and even had Sterling take a little video.
Then one of the ladies came over and asked if we could keep Mesha away because she could get "injured". Whatever. That's the lamest excuse, if she is bugging you just say so, don't feed me lines about her getting hurt. Boo to you women's work out group of Bunker Hill, boo to you. Sorry for the rant, it just broke my heart when Mesha asked me why she couldn't dance with her friends anymore. Jerks.

Besides that we had a great day. A long but good day.

Irene and Life As Usual

2011-09-01T11:04:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday hurricane Irene hit us here in Connecticut. I think it was technically just a tropical storm by the time it got to us. It wasn't too bad, just windy and lots of rain. And of course the power went out. 4 days later it came back on. We had water and nice weather so it wasn't so bad, just annoying. The kids had movie withdrawals. But today we have power and it is back to life as usual. Sterling went back to work after a two week "staycation" so today is my first real day of being a mom of 3. Mesha woke up and then threw up. Hmmm, I can do this right? We'll see if I am still this optimistic in a week. Goodbye sanity. Goodbye naps. See you in a few years or so.

Mesha the Artist

2011-08-26T15:17:00.006-04:00

I bought Mesha some water color paints a few weeks ago and she went nuts with them. I have already bought her more because she used them all up. She loves to paint! Her paintings are so cute I had to blog them. These are all her own creations, I didn't suggest any part of them.

This is "Num Nums" the Zhu Zhu pet. This is a train, Percy from Thomas and Friends to be exact.These are sea horses.This is a school of fish. The dark dots are tadpoles and the green 'V's are seaweed of course. These are sea turtles. I think these might be my favorite. Coconut trees.A bowl of fruit. Like I said, she came up with this all on her own. If I only knew what went on inside her brain...All kinds of ocean life. Can you find the crab? Green seaweed? Purple coral? Dolphins? (See the next painting to know what a dolphin looks like to Mesha...) Blue and yellow striped fish? Jellyfish? Tadpoles?Dolphins.What a creative little girl. She makes me proud everyday.

Lovely Lady

2011-08-23T11:25:00.004-04:00

My nick name of choice these days for Anya is 'Lady'. She sure is cute. She is a good eater and sleeper too! What a lovely little lady!

Zero, Two, and Four

2011-08-09T11:02:00.003-04:00

The two year old gets himself stuck.
The four year old makes turtle families out of orange peels.
The newborn smiles in her sleep.Cute kids if I do say so myself.

Pictures of Anya

2011-08-03T11:41:00.008-04:00

Here she is, our chubby bunny.

The Votes Are In: Girls 3 - Boys 2

2011-08-03T09:19:00.003-04:00

Last night at 9:20 we got to the hospital. Kierstin got her epidural by 10:30. Baby Anya (Ahn-ya) came out this morning at 1:48 AM on the third push at 9 lbs. 9 oz and 21 1/4" long. I'll post a picture soon. In the meantime, Kierstin and baby are both doing great and I couldn't be happier.
When I got home this morning Mesha demanded that I take her to the hospital so she could see her baby sister. Griffin is already calling her "Ya-Ya" which probably means grandma in some other language, but it's really cute.

Ready?

2011-07-31T23:58:00.005-04:00

I get a lot of people asking me if I am ready to have this baby. There are reasons to say yes and reasons to say no. The yes reasons are starting to build up. Here is one of them.
I have little piggy feet. Constantly. And can you say cankles? Besides looking gross they hurt too. I feel like it is a race between my belly and my feet to see which will explode from pressure first. But on the bright side I should "go" any day now.

Uncle Jacob

2011-07-31T23:44:00.007-04:00

Sterling's brother Jacob came to visit us 2 weekends ago. He travels all over for his job and he was in Buffalo, NY for a few weeks and came to see us on the weekend! We love visitors! Mesha made a new best friend and was talking about playing angry birds for days afterward. Thanks for coming Jacob, we had fun with you!

Mommy and Me Moment

2011-07-16T16:26:00.002-04:00

I just thought this photo that Sterling took was pretty cute. Me and my 3 babies.

29

2011-07-14T11:45:00.014-04:00

Tuesday was my 29th Birthday. For the most part it was a normal day but the highlight was Sterling taking us out to eat so that I didn't have to make dinner! Besides the fact I'm not a great chef it was WAY too hot to cook anything on Tuesday.

The night before Sterling and the kids decorated for a luau (Mesha chose the theme) and made me an ice cream cake. The animal cards are Mesha's doing, they are "napkins".

The kids had a great time "helping".

Party time!

4th of July

2011-07-07T21:02:00.003-04:00

We spent our 4th working on expanding our garden. We had a nice little dinner and our own fireworks show. Since we saw the fireworks in Rhode Island we opted out of the big show downtown on the 4th. We got Mesha to watch the little fireworks and just cover her ears. Baby steps.
Good times, I love my family.

Rhode Island

2011-07-07T13:30:00.009-04:00

Last Saturday we went to Rhode Island for fun.

We had a picnic lunch by a lighthouse in Beaver Tail Park, it is the very tip of Jamestown Island (yes it looks like a beaver's tail).

We checked out some tide pools and found some starfish to torture, I mean look at.

Next we drove over to Newport, RI and went on what's called the "cliff walk". It goes along the coast and you walk by a bunch of huge fancy mansions. We didn't go too far on account of me being so pregnant. I didn't know I was so out of shape until I tried to waddle around for a while.

Next we went to a beach. There are so many in Rhode Island we just picked the closest one. It was in a bay so there weren't many waves and it was a little on the gravelly side as far as sand goes but the kids had fun. Sterling caught a little crab and a live clam that would open it's shell and then snap it down.

We went to dinner on Thames (Street, Road, Avenue???) and then got ice cream. After that we made a quick trip to Purgatory Chasm. I saw it on the map and wanted to check it out. Pretty cool. I have no idea how it came to be or any history on it but it was cool to look at. I was completely paranoid the whole time that one on my children was going to fall in however. Not so cool.

Lastly, we saw advertisements for the Jamestown fireworks show that night- woo hoo! So we walked about a million miles to see that. Griffin loved it and would point and say "colors"!
Mesha, for the second year in a row did this:
Oh well.

We drove home and the kids slept. It was a great day.

35 Weeks

2011-06-30T12:19:00.004-04:00

The home stretch. (Please disregard my hair in this picture, it has been hot and humid here...)

I still feel pretty good but it is starting to take a turn for the worse. Getting comfortable to sleep is hard and picking things up off the floor is a joke (my house is in a downward spiral of cleanliness). I will have to take off my wedding ring soon on account of my extremities swelling and I feel like the skin on my belly may split any day now. But I have a very active and healthy baby (who is running out of room real quick here) and I couldn't ask for more. I am glad for the uncomfortableness of the last month because it is my motivation to do delivery and the first couple months with a new infant (otherwise I think I would rather stay pregnant indefinitely). 5 weeks to go, bring it on!

Baby on the Brain

2011-06-27T23:20:00.004-04:00

As you might realize I have baby on the brain a lot lately. I have just 5 weeks to go (belly picture soon to come...) and it makes me think about my other babies.I am nervous about #3 and how I will be able to manage the day to day grind. The sleepless nights without daytime naps, the millions of diaper changes, teething, spit up, the battle known as breastfeeding, crying for reasons you can't figure out, and so on. Add that to the two I already have and the cost of another baby and I am pretty much freaked out. But when I look at these little pip squeaks I remember why we do it. It doesn't make any of that stuff easier but it helps me not hyperventilate now.

Our Garden

2011-06-18T21:37:00.006-04:00

We have had some gardening success! Some plants are actually growing and there are 3 little green tomatoes on one of the tomato plants!

We started everything except the tomatoes from seeds (hence my shock that some things are actually growing!) Here are tomatoes, cilantro, carrots, and basil.

Our Peas! They have done the best out of everything we planted. We did some homemade trellises. It is cool to see them wrap their little selves onto it.

Cucumbers and beans. Can you see it growing up the bean pole? I love it!

And in our container garden we have more basil and carrots (and a pot where something didn't grow... besides weeds that is...)

More peas, beans and tomatoes. So the container garden isn't doing as well but look at these...

Ta-da! My pretty girl and my three little tomatoes. I really love gardening and look forward to the day when I have a yard where I can do more. I dream about pumpkins, raspberries, bell peppers, etc. Yay for gardening!

Hello Summer!

2011-06-07T13:40:00.003-04:00

We went to a beach for playgroup today. It seems spring was rather short this year because it's already feeling like summer! The kids had a lot of fun at this little pond, I will have to find more places like this to frequent these next few months.

30 Weeks

2011-05-24T11:24:00.002-04:00

Here I am at 30 weeks. I can't decide if I am excited or scared about this fact. You can sort of see my new haircut in this picture. I think I am leaning toward not liking it but there isn't a whole lot I can do about it untill it grows out some. At least I will have a nice cool haircut for the summer!

Aunt Laura

2011-05-24T11:00:00.009-04:00

My sister came to visit kind of by accident. She had a job interview in Rhode Island and her flight home got delayed so we borrowed her for a few days. We didn't do a whole lot (it has been raining like crazy here for the last week straight) but it was good to have a visitor.

We went to a children's museum one day for fun.
Griffin the mailman.

Mesha was meant to be on a farm I think.

Mo!

A group photo, yes this is the best one. My kids are a handful and I am getting that swollen pregnant look. Lie to me and tell me I am tiny, please.

Thanks for coming Lu, we had fun with you!

Four in One post

2011-05-10T09:14:00.007-04:00

This is a four in one post.

Number 1: Saturday was our 6 year anniversary. We spent the day together but didn't do anything exciting. We figure some years it's nice to keep it low key.

Number 2: I cut my hair. I'm still not sure if I like it or not. I like some things about it and others not so much. I meant to just cut it to my shoulders but I was so close that I decided to just donate it and they had to take 10 inches so the resulting haircut was dealing with what was left and trying to keep it long enough for me to put in a pony tail per my request. I don't have a good picture of it right now, I will post one later I promise.

Number 3: Mother's Day. Sterling and the kids made me breakfast in bed then the kids helped me eat my breakfast in bed. It was a beautiful day. I am very grateful to be a mother.

Number 4: Here is another Mesha drawing that was so cute I had to scan it. She says it is a picture of herself.

Just Silly

2011-05-06T11:38:00.003-04:00

Dinosaur? Solider? High knee drills? I wish I knew what went on in his handsome little head. Silly boy.

Sick Boy

2011-05-04T10:36:00.004-04:00

Griffin was sick on Sunday and Monday. He kept falling asleep when he normally doesn't, wouldn't go to nursery, and cried a lot. So why, might you ask, is this blog worthy news? Because he threw up twice during those two days and both times was while he was sitting on Sterling's lap at the lunch or dinner table. After he did it the second time Sterling asked me if I thought he was doing it on purpose. Poor Sterling. I am so happy he did barf at home in the kitchen and not in the car or at church.

Palmyra

2011-05-01T14:56:00.045-04:00

We had the opportunity last week to go to Palmyra, NY and see some church history sites. Sterling's sister, Hilary, was in town for a Model UN competition for a class and came with us! It was AWESOME to have another adult to help us outnumber the kids. We decided to take a nanny with us on all of our family vacations.
Palmyra itself is awesome. I am not a history buff like Sterling and I still loved seeing all of these sites. Even with the distractions of kids, crazy weather, and swollen feet the spirit at these places was so strong I don't know how you could not feel it. Amazing.

Our first stop was actually the Hill Cumorah but there was a quick thunderstorm while we were on top of the hill so we didn't take any pictures, but we went back on out last day so there are pictures of Hill Cumorah later on.

The next stop was the Smith Farm and Sacred Grove. This is the log home Joseph lived in at the time of the First Vision.

My absolute favorite part of the trip was standing on the back porch of this home looking toward the sacred grove just like Joseph on that day in 1820.

The upstairs of the log home where Joseph was visited by Moroni.

This was taken on the road down to the frame home (the home Alvin Smith was building before he died that the Smith's later moved into). You can see the Palmyra Temple in the background.

This is the brick hearth in the frame home where Joseph once hid the plates last minute from a mob.

This is the sacred grove. Griffin was screaming at the top of his lungs at one point so we didn't get to walk very far into the grove. I was surprised to see how bare the trees were. It's not known what day Joseph went into these woods to pray except that it was early spring. This may have been how it looked back then. It's not how you see it depicted in art and stuff.

The next day we went to the Grandin Press, where the Book of Mormon was first published.

We stopped at Alvin Smith's grave.

A few miles north is the Martin Harris Farm. This site isn't church owned so there are no tours but still cool to see.

Next we went about 1/2 hour south to the Peter Whitmer Farm where Joseph finished translating the Book of Mormon, the Church was organized, and the first 3 general conferences were held. (Sorry Mesha, apparently the guy taking the picture for us didn't know you were there...)

On day 3 we drove over to Niagara Falls. It was SOOO windy. They had to close of bunch of the sights and things to do because of the wind so we didn't we to do too much while we were there but at least we got to see it.

On our last day we walked around the temple grounds.

This Temple is the only temple with clear, totally see through windows on one side so that you can stand in the temple and see the sacred grove. Gordon B. Hinkley wanted people to be able to be in the temple and see where God has appeared and where he now appears. Here is the view you see when you look out of those windows.

All the stained glass in the temple has a sacred grove motif. Gorgeous.

Lastly, we went back to the Hill Cumorah and got to hike up the hill and see the monument.

We had such a great time. This makes me want to go to Navoo really badly now. Thank you, Hilary, for coming with us and helping us with the kids.

Easter

2011-04-25T15:59:00.007-04:00

The Easter Bunny came to our house, did he come to yours? Mesha got the hang of the egg hunt pretty quickly, Griffin only found a few because he would stop to eat the contents of each egg he found before moving on to another...
Here is Griffin in his new Easter outfit. This was as close to a smile as I could get.
Together!

Now just Mesha. Thank you Target dollar aisle for having such cute little gloves and hats!

25 Weeks

2011-04-25T15:49:00.001-04:00

25 weeks and doing good!

Eggs!

2011-04-20T09:35:00.004-04:00

It's Easter Egg dying time! It is a lot more fun with and older kid like Mesha than a little one like Griff because you don't have to be on high alert for things like knocking the dye over or drinking it. But we had fun all around. Now we are ready for that bunny to come visit us!

Birthday Withdrawal

2011-04-09T20:54:00.004-04:00

Mesha was invited to a birthday party today. She and I wrapped the present we picked out for her friend and put it on the computer desk for safe keeping. I guess it wasn't safe enough because Griffin found it and opened it. Little bugger. We used the last of the birthday wrapping paper the first time around so I had to use a paper bag for the second go. I try to do cute things, look cute, and have a cute house but I have a few children that usually prevent me from doing so. Oh well, I will have time to be cute when they are grown up, right?

Happy, Happy Birthday Sterling Dear

2011-04-02T20:22:00.004-04:00

To finish off our family's "birthday season" we celebrated Sterling's 31st on Friday. The kids and I got him a bike trailer. The kids absolutely love it. They get to ride and go fast, Sterling gets some exercise and bonding time with the kids, and I get a break! It's a win-win-win! Sterling says that when they are out Mesha will yell "Daddy, go faster!" or if Sterling is coasting she will yell "Move your legs!" Happy birthday my love, we are so blessed to have you as our husband and father.

2 Year Old For Sale

2011-03-28T16:04:00.004-04:00

Griffin decided that it was high time he became a terrible two year old. He screams (like a girl) for about 75% of the day. He scratched my neck and made me bleed. When he is mad at me (85% of the day) he follows me around so he can hit me and scream at me. Every little thing sets him off. Case in point, I opened his fruit snacks wrong. How dare I?! I know it is a phase and things will get better but until then pray that I won't kill him. Good thing he has this hansom face, it helps him from time to time.

Ultrasound Pictures

2011-03-21T22:11:00.004-04:00

I had my 20 week ultrasound today. I love, love, love ultrasounds. They are so fun to see. Baby's gender is still a mystery, to be announced in about 20 more weeks. Here are the pictures I got to take home. Who do you think it looks like?

Laws of Nature

2011-03-17T08:44:00.004-04:00

This is what I get for giving a 4 year old scissors.

We even had a little talk about what you do and don't cut when we gave them to her but I guess it doesn't stick in until mom looses it. Luckily I caught her soon enough that it wasn't too bad and you can't really tell unless you are looking for it. Can't say I didn't see this coming. It's like a law of nature, give a little kid scissors and hair will get cut. I'm glad Griff's hair is too short to cut otherwise I'm sure he would have a new hair-do about now.

A Dragonfly Named March

2011-03-15T11:26:00.003-04:00

Mesha truned 4 yesterday! She decided about 6 months ago that she wanted a dragonfly cake. Since then she has been a little confused about the difference between when and what her birthday will be. She used to insist that her birthday was in dragonfly. Now she tells people that her birthday is a dragonfly named March.
Mesha had dragonfly/butterfly decorations and chose to have "yellow M" (McDonalds) for dinner. Mesha got some books, a movie, a game for her leapster, a letter writing workbook, and some art supplies. Her favorite gift was the pair of kiddo scissors and the tape I got her. Silly girl.
A little bit about Mesha at age 4: She loves horses and unicorns. She is a tall drink of water. She loves to color, cut, glue and TAPE. Her daddy is her favorite person. She knows her letters and most of her numbers. She loves movies and books. Any kind of rope, sash, or tie become a leash for one of her toys. We love our Mesha so much and we can't imagine life without her!

20 Weeks

2011-03-15T11:08:00.004-04:00

Here is my belly at 20 weeks. I love this point in pregnancy because the bad side effects are at a minimum but you can feel the baby and actually look pregnant. People are starting to get brave enough to ask if I am indeed pregnant.(I did have someone ask me when I was 5 weeks along with Griffin however, sad day.)

Baby's Bed

2011-03-09T11:33:00.004-05:00

I got a bassinet (thank you craigslist) for the baby last night. Mesha and therefore Griffin are so excited about it. Mesha talks non-stop about how the new baby will wake up in the night and see the little teddy bears and how I should turn the music on. Griffin wants to get in it. Currently it is baby Mo's new bed (Mesha's stuffed fish) complete with blankets, toys, stuffed animals, and a bottle in case Mo gets hungry. I am constantly being told to shush because I am being too loud and Mo is sleeping. Cute girl.

Grffin's 2nd Birthday

2011-02-26T21:48:00.008-05:00

My baby boy turned 2 on Tuesday. I planned him a train party. Since two is more of a family party age and since we have no family near by (sniff sniff, poor me) I hosted playgroup as an alternative.

I decorated with streamers, balloons, and pulled out the Thomas tent.

Here is my awesome train cake. It took so long. Sterling, bless his heart, stayed up late with me to help me finish. Note to self, start earlier next time, think the day before... Props to Sterling for the cute decorating of the engine.

Party hats, presents, and Thomas the train as far as the eye can see, he's gonna love it.
And here are the party animals themselves.

Two years old. Where does the time go? We love our Griffin so much. He is such a rough and tumble boy. I love how when you ask him for a kiss he offers you his forehead. I love his broad shoulders and skinny little man hips. I love those big blue eyes, they save his life from time to time. Happy Birthday little boy, we are so glad to have you in our family!

Goodbye Old Friend

2011-02-20T21:27:00.004-05:00

We sold our Accord. Some of you might think that I am way too sentimental, others will understand. This car was a present from my parents when I graduated from BYU. It was my Grandpa's car before that. It took us on our honeymoon and brought two babies home from the hospital. It has been registered in Utah, California, Washington, and Connecticut. It was hard to say goodbye. It was a good car with lots of happy memories. Goodbye Mux, we'll miss you.

Griffin

2011-02-19T20:10:00.004-05:00

Griffin is almost 2. He has gotten Birthday cards from loved ones. One particular card is his favorite. You guessed it, the Thomas card. He carries it around everywhere. Can you say obsessed? But with a face like this I can't help but to feed the flame.In other Griff news, he has learned how to get out of his crib. A day after he did it for the first time Sterling and I were casually weighing our options on what to do about it. We could lower the side so it is less dangerous, get him a toddler bed, buy one of those tent top things and put an end to this climbing out business... and so on. The night I was out at a RS activity I came home to find Sterling removing the side of the crib (it is the kind that converts to a so called toddler bed). I was thrown off guard and, I'll admit, feeling stressed because I didn't plan it and I was not in control, so I started freaking out a bit. Sterling explained to me that after he put Griffin to bed he kept getting out time after time so Ster spied on Griff to see how he was doing it. Griffin's method of getting out was to lean over the rail until he fell out. Onto his head. Not arms or hands to break his fall. Over and over again. So we had to take immediate action and off went the side. I was stressed that the new big boy bed wasn't going to work but we ended up putting a baby proof knob on the door and he now has an extended crib (also known as a room). It has worked pretty well. If he won't go to sleep we just let him cry it out by the door and he goes back into his bed eventually (which is good because his room is not so warm if you sleep on the floor, ask Sterling, he knows). So Griffin is now a big boy by default, growing up without permission.

Boots

2011-02-10T09:48:00.001-05:00

Silly kids.

Baby Bump

2011-02-08T08:39:00.003-05:00

This picture doesn't do it justice. It is quite the baby bump. The only problem is it is only 1/2 new baby. The other 1/2 is leftovers from the other babies. But no one assumes that so I can walk around without sucking in my gut and everyone thinks it's cute. This is the best part of being pregnant! I am 15 weeks now and on the road to feeling better (I know, come on already!).

Soccer Mama

2011-02-08T08:17:00.005-05:00

We got a minivan! We weren't really planning on buying one this month (we were thinking sometime this spring) but Sterling found an offer he couldn't pass by. It is a 2005 Honda Odyssey- Kara we are twins! This van has everything we 'need' and most everything we 'want'. The kids love the DVD player, thus I love the DVD player. We got it for a good price because it has several dents in the bumpers. Sterling is going to fix them, I would be OK with living with them. As I drive it around it seems surreal that it is ours. We can't wait for it to warm up so we can go somewhere fun with it! We need a name for it (yes, I am that kind of person). Right now we just call it "the big blue van". "Big Blue" doesn't seem too bad, kinda has roots to High School. We love our new van!

Now all I am missing is a few more kids and soccer practice to run off to! All in due time...

Kicking Lemons

2011-02-02T09:18:00.003-05:00

I love the e-mails I signed up for that tell you about your baby's developments that week. They also give you a food that compares in size. This week my baby is a lemon.I am only 14 weeks but I am pretty sure that I have felt this little lemon move. I have to be holding still and paying attention to it but I am pretty sure it's not gas or twitching muscles. I LOVE being able to feel baby movements because I am irrational when I am pregnant (and often when I'm not...) and am convinced 95% of the time that something is wrong. So being able to feel that the baby is moving and doing well is relief for my crazy little brain.

BA (Binkiholics Anonymous)

2011-01-31T10:28:00.006-05:00

We were skyping with Grandma and Grandpa Smith last night and Griffin likes to sit on the desk to get a good look at the computer screen. While up there he found a stash of binkies (we are trying to keep them out of his mouth during the daytime). He, of course, stuck them both into his mouth. Normally with one binki, for some strange reason, Griff will take the plastic end of the strap on his binki and put it on/in his eye. This comforts him somehow. So the funniest part last night was not when he put two binkies in his mouth but when he put two binki straps in his eyes. Sterling and I both cracked up. I tried to grab the camera quickly but we could only re-create the mouth part. Silly boy. I think we need to sign him up for BA.

Coming This August

2011-01-24T13:00:00.005-05:00

Due date is August 1st. I am 13 weeks and still feel sick (cross your fingers it will ease up any day now). We are going to WAIT to find out if it's a boy or a girl. We are very excited and a little bit scared out of our minds...

Snowed In

2011-01-18T08:52:00.004-05:00

Last week (yes, I know I have been a terrible blogger lately...) we got over two feet of snow in one day. Sterling tried to dig himself out and go to work but with no luck.The biggest problem with the storm seemed to be what to do with all that snow. You can't just push two feet's worth over to the side, it makes the roads too narrow. Parking lots that were plowed have huge mountains where they piled their excess. The kids had a lot of fun in it. Sterling took them out and they played on the "mountains".
This was taken in the morning, it snowed for the rest of the day. Sorry, this is the only picture I took, I didn't have any desire to go outside.Right after all this snow fun we discovered that we ran out of oil. Yes, bone dry. No, you are not recommended to let that happen. We are new at this though and to our credit the gauge on our tank is broken. So the kids and I spent the morning in hats, scarves, and gloves to keep warm (at the coldest the house got down to 58 degrees). We spent a couple extra hours in the cold because letting the oil run completely out apparently screws up the furnace and we had to wait for the guy to come fix it. And since this is turning into a rant I will also say that we had to spend our life savings to fill the dumb thing. Fun times.

To top it all off, it is snowing right now. No, the two feet have not melted yet. Boo to winter. Isn't it time for spring yet? Sorry for the negative post, sometimes you got to vent.

Science Center

2011-01-08T18:21:00.008-05:00

Today we went to the Science Center and got to play with lots of cool things. The kids loved the water area. Griff loved this water vortex so much I fear what we'll lose down the toilet in the coming days.

Daddy and Mesha playing with a fountain

Kierstin liked the hurricane machine. The wind only reached a speed of 78 mph. We were hoping to watch her cheeks flap.

Griff did not like the hurricane machine.

Mesha may have loved this the most. She played here a long time.

I'm Dreaming of a White Boxing Day

2010-12-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

Our snow came a day late this year. It started to snow before we went to church and when we got there they announced that they would only have sacrament meeting so people could get home before the worst of the storm hit. So far we have about 6-8 inches. Mesha is in heaven. Sterling took her out to play (yes, in the dark...).

Christmas

2010-12-26T20:48:00.000-05:00

The kids had a great Christmas this year. They both really loved the presents they got from everybody. Mesha kept saying "I love it!" to all of her gifts. Griffin played with his train set for about 15 hours straight. We had a nice relaxing day of playing with our toys and we went out for Chinese that night (got to keep the tradition alive!).
Merry Christmas!

Kids Say The Funniest Things

2010-12-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

We were in the car listening to Christmas music. "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" came on and a particular line said "Now the goose is on the table..." to which Mesha replied: "Silly Goose, not get on the table! Get on the floor!" Silly Goose.

Copycat

2010-12-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

I was trying to get a video of the kids dancing to their new Christmas CD but I got this instead. When I watched it back it made me laugh because Griffin is copying Mesha's every move. Can you tell that he likes her a little bit?

Griff's Stocking

2010-12-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

The stocking I made last year for Griffin stays at Grandma's house (it matches all the others) so I needed to make one for the boy this year. Here it is.
And here he is.Personally, I think I did a better job making the boy than the stocking. It's all about attention to detail and 9 months versus a couple hours.

Santa

2010-12-06T20:46:00.000-05:00

We went to Walmart the other day and to our luck Santa was there AND they were doing free pictures with him!

Mesha has made serious strides from previous years and was so excited to sit on Santa's lap. She was petting his beard and being so cheesy. It made me smile. Then Santa gave her a candy cane and she made a new best friend.

Griff had to be bribed with a candy cane to stay for a picture. But at least he's not screaming or something, right?

Turkey Day

2010-11-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving. Some friends from the ward invited us over to dinner so we didn't have to make the whole thing ourselves. Yay! (Can you tell I'm not much of a cook?) After dinner another family in the ward invited us over for pie. Sterling made an apple pie and was so proud of it. He did a good job (now there is someone who likes to cook). It was a nice day.

Now it is onto Christmas and Mesha is so excited this year. We put up our tree and she kept saying "Wow, it's so beautiful Mommy" and "There are so many yellow lights on the big tree." Her favorite time of day is when it gets dark and we can turn on the lights. It is a lot of fun to have a kid old enough to appreciate the excitement of Christmas. Now if I can only get Griffin to stop pulling the ornaments off... Life is good.

Boston

2010-11-21T17:47:00.000-05:00

We went to Boston this weekend. Yay Boston! We didn't get to do a whole lot of things because the real purpose of the trip was for Sterling to help out with the youth temple trip and also the fact it is freaking cold and there isn't as many things to do when it's cold. But we picked a few things to do and had a good time.

At the Boston temple.

We went to see the USS Constitution. It is 213 years old, not much of it is original, but it was fun to see. Sterling loves stuff like this. The kids don't do tours very well so he has learned to read about things before we go because we won't hear the tour guide.

On "Prudence". These guns had a 45mph 6ft recoil. Yikes.

Her nickname is "Old Ironsides" (if you want to know why I'll tell you but for the sake of those that don't care I won't do it here). Huzzah!

Us Smiths.

The kids love any kind of water.

You can't really see it but that flag is a "Don't Tread On Me" flag.

We also went to Quincy Market but didn't take any picture because it was a zoo and I was afraid of loosing a child if I wasn't holding on at all times.

It was a fun quick little trip. It will be fun to go back in the summer and do the whole freedom trail (a walking tour of historic places, the USS Constitution and Quincey Markert are parts of it). I have said it before and I'll say it again, it is so fun to be so close to things like this and to be able to go for a day trip whenever we pretty much feel like it. Boston is such a cool city. I could do without having to pay to drive there (curse you Mass Pike) but what can you do? Fun times.

Drawing

2010-11-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

Mesha has really been into drawing faces lately. And by faces I mean the same face over and over. In her mind she is drawing different animals or people but to me they all look the same. They all have the same lop sided oval shaped face, a long oval at the bottom for a mouth, and small circles up high for the eyes. Sometimes she will throw in a nose or ears. It is really cute and fun to watch your kids grow up right in front of you. I finally got access to a printer with scanning abilities and I saved these two drawings to share with the blogging world.

I think this one is supposed to be a horse. It features "rosy cheeks".
And this one is a self portrait. I love the hair and teeth. This is her best and most detailed one yet.

I love this part of being a parent!

And Thus It Begins

2010-11-08T11:55:00.000-05:00

Look what we woke up to this morning. Mesha was so excited it took her all but 5 minutes to break me down and convince me to put her boots on so she could go touch it.
It's hard being the little brother.

Mesha wanted some snow to eat. Griffin wanted pretzels. Together you have wet, soggy pretzels.

It has already melted but it is a sign of the times. My initiation to New England is about to begin.

Daylight Saving Time

2010-11-07T18:35:00.000-05:00

Guess who went to church an hour early today? That's right, I did. Whoops. Man I feel stupid. I am glad we have 1:00 church because I would have been pretty put out if I had rushed to be an hour early for 9:00am. But better early than late, right?

One More

2010-11-03T10:21:00.001-04:00

This is the last Halloween picture, I promise. We ended up taking the kids out on Sunday. It was nice and chilly and the kids had so much fun. Griffin would yell with excitement whenever someone showed up at the door with a bowl of candy. Mesha really got into character and was nuzzling people. At one house she tried to go inside because there were some fun looking toys in there. Halloween is all about freaking people out right? Right....

Halloween 2010!

(Yes, Mesha is hugging her candy. That's how we roll.)

Say "No" To Crack

2010-11-01T12:43:00.001-04:00

"Why do you keep following me around taking pictures of my butt, Mom? Knock it off, it's creepy!"

Smell My Feet

2010-10-29T15:48:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday our ward had it's Halloween party complete with trunk-or-treat. Today the kids went trick-or-treating at Sterling office. We got SO much candy that I am glad Halloween is on a Sunday and there will be no more!

I forgot to take pictures of the kids BEFORE they got any candy so this is what I was able to get AFTER the sugar high already commenced...

If you can't tell Griffin is a lion.

And Mesha is a horse (of course!).

You can see them a little better in this picture. Griffin had the hardest time not being able to eat the candy the moment someone gave him a piece. But is was fun! Hooray for Halloween!

Pumpkin Time

2010-10-27T13:14:00.000-04:00

We carved our pumpkins for FHE this week. Mesha picked out the shapes for her pumpkins face this year.

Mesha and her pumpkin.She loved to look at the inside through the pumpkin's eye.Griff and the pumpkin carnage.Daddy, Griff, and Griff's finished product.After we were finished we went outside to light the candles and see how they looked. Unfortunately our doorknob is the kind that turns on the inside even if it is locked to the outside. We got locked out. After trying to find a way in for a while we ended up driving over to our landlord's house (a whole 45 seconds away by car) with the kids unstrapped in Sterling's car. He was very nice about it and let us in with no hassle. I'm glad it was a warm night. By the time we got back in however, Mesha went straight to the potty and Griffin needed a diaper change and a bath! Ah life.

The All Important Nap

2010-10-26T16:39:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when you have no nap and not enough nap.
I don't know why they don't believe me when I tell them they need to sleep longer!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T16:17:00.000-04:00

We went to a pumpkin patch last weekend. There are SO MANY around here so I chose one that had a free petting zoo. The kids loved it. You could buy little ice cream cones full of animal food and you would have instant friends! The chickens were by far Mesha's favorite. We could hold up our food cone and they would poke their heads through the fence and bite chunks out of the cone. Hilarious. Griffin loved the lose roaming goats. He tried really hard to ride them, I'm glad they didn't ram him. I fed a pig out of my hand. Can you say yuck? My hand was so dirty and smelled so bad after 1 second of contact with that animal's mouth. Gross. Besides that they were cute.

Mesha liked the tractor!

The kids petting a sheep/ram kind of animal (Sterling and I can't figure out how old this thing is. It is small like a baby but those horns make you think otherwise...)

The chickens, oh the chickens!

What is that? I have no idea, but it was cool!

Cute little boy.

At the end of the day we didn't get any pumpkins at this place, we picked some up at a farm stand instead. For some reason pumpkins are so expensive around here. There are so many and everyone and their dog grows them so I don't know why that is. I am used to going to any old grocery store and getting them for a decent per pound price. Oh well, what can you do.

Apple Harvest Festival

2010-10-17T22:28:00.000-04:00

New England is all about the harvest. It is a big deal around here! We went to the Apple Harvest Festival to celebrate! We spend a few million dollars and let the kids go on some rides and play a game.

They had pony rides for FREE (I was shocked by this news. If the kids weren't so tired I would have put them on multiple times or go myself...). Mesha LOVED it! I was so proud. She has had some "freaking out" issues in the past (I feel there is a theme in our blogging, Mindy) and she didn't have any of the problems I was expecting her to have. She was ok that she couldn't ride the white pony because we were in the "large" horse line (she picked it out). She was fine with some girl coming up to her and slapping a giant helmet on her head without saying a word. She let a stranger lead her away from me a stick her on a huge horse (yes, now I am exaggerating a little bit...) and she was happy, excited, and smiling the whole time! Yay Mesha!

Griffin on the other hand was a bit too close to nap time to enjoy his pony experience.

They provided off site parking and a shuttle to the festival so we got to ride a school bus. Mesha was in heaven. Again, she had so much confidence and an obvious lack of freaking out. It was a good day.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

2010-10-17T22:21:00.000-04:00

Sterling came home on Friday. Yay! Both of the kids were alive when he arrived. We had some rough days but we survived. I don't know how people do that kind of thing on a regular basis. I'm glad it's not me I guess. While Sterling was gone, along with missing him I was always super envious of all the fun things he got to do. He had tons of free time with no kids to deal with, he got to talk to other adults daily, and he had a bunch of per diem to eat out with for every meal of the day for two weeks if he so chose. However I am NOT jealous of the 10 extra pounds he brought home with him! Yikes! I guess eating out isn't all it's cracked up to be. I am glad to have my chubby hubby home!

Love

2010-10-15T15:53:00.000-04:00

This is what I love.

Why Bother?

2010-10-07T13:13:00.000-04:00

Why bother scrubbing, disinfecting, wiping, mopping, and otherwise cleaning your kitchen when 20 minutes later it looks like this?

Here I Go Again On My Own

2010-10-06T15:38:00.000-04:00

Deja Vu? Sterling went to Wisconsin for training. Apparently 7 weeks in Rhode Island wasn't enough. This time it is only for 2 weeks though. I still made a countdown chain for "the kids" (that's my cover for making childish countdown chains for myself...). I am so lonely. It's so quiet here at night. I haven't left the house in over 24 hours (don't worry I have plans for after dinner). The kids have been pretty good. They have slept in and Mesha has told me she loves me at lunch everyday since Sterling left. Tender mercies you know. I am grateful for the internet and a way to reach the outside world while still being home with the kids. I must say though, I wish I had a backyard like no other. I bet the kids would agree. Someday guys, someday.

Here are some random pictures that don't have anything to do with this post!

I made some growth charts for the kids. I'm happy with how they turned out, now I have to put them up and USE them!

When stacking blocks just doesn't do it for you anymore. I need a pantry with locking abilities...

Newbery

2010-09-30T10:43:00.000-04:00

Last summer I made a goal to read all of the Newbery Award winning books. This week I accomplished that goal! If I were a more productive member of society I would write interesting things about the books I read, or rate them, or recommend the ones I liked. But alas, I just want to pat myself on the back and let everyone know I did it. Some of those books are doosies. As I read them I thought "Really? This won an award?" And some of them were actually good. Mostly I am just proud to have seen something through to the end. Being a mom is hardly the kind of work where you can see a big finished result (the things you clean always get dirty again, diapers always need to be changed, they always need to eat and nobody says 'good job Mommy' when you do it...). So I look at my list of 89 crossed off books and say to myself "Good job Mommy."

Vermont!

2010-09-25T21:47:00.000-04:00

We went to Vermont today. Why? Because we can...

We went to the birthplace of Joseph Smith in South Royalton/Sharon. It was such a pretty day. With the kids we didn't get a chance to hear all of the history stuff from the tour guide but we got the gist. There is an obelisk monument (one foot for every year in his life). I loved that it had James 1:5 printed around it. There was also the door step and a marker for the hearthstone (the actual hearthstone is in the visitor's center) where the Smith's lived and bore Joseph. Pretty touching. Sterling is standing between the front door and hearth. Joseph was born right there. A little ways away on the property you could go see remnants of other family members' homes and the old Turnpike dating back to colonial America which ran through the 100 acre property. There was a stone bridge still standing since before 1804 that I thought was so cool.

We took a scenic road down to Woodstock. Gorgeous. I think there is another week or two before this part of the state peaks as far as foliage but I couldn't stop taking pictures and saying "This is so pretty!"

Next on our Vermont to do list was to see a covered bridge. The inside was the coolest. It was kinda dark for pictures plus there was a line of cars waiting to go across (you can only fit one car so you have to wait if someone is crossing in the opposite direction as you). But cool none the less.

Lastly we went to Sugarbush Farm. They make cheese and maple syrup. They had a room where you could sample them all (smart idea because once you taste it you want to BUY it!). They had a baby cow, two goats, a rabbit, and a handful of chickens to see too. Mesha and Griffin were in heaven. When I asked Mesha later if she liked Vermont and what her favorite part was she told me the chickens and the cow. They had a sugar house you could go look at. Very cool. Mesha touched an electric fence when we were not looking. She later told us about it but didn't cry or freak out when it happened so I am hoping it wasn't a very high voltage. The last thing we did on the farm was a "Maple Walk". It was a little trail through a part of the maple trees with little visual aids to show you how they tap the trees and stuff. Did you know that it takes 40-50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup? Crazy!

We had a lot of fun. I am so happy that we can go do things like this on a day trip. The world is a smaller place over here on the east coast (and speaking of a small world, we met a couple where the guy was from Spokane and the girl from Bellevue and they now live in Connecticut...small world...). Good day, good times.

Our New Place

2010-09-19T20:02:00.000-04:00

I FINALLY got most of our house put together and felt like I could take pictures and not be ashamed. We are renting a duplex right up the street from our temporary housing. It is really close to Sterling's office. It is in a town called Glastonbury which is really family friendly and has lots of fun things to do in the fall, perfect timing! We will be here for at least 6 months and then we will see from there what we want to do as far as buying or continuing to rent.

The front, we are on the right. The sign is for the business in the back (we have no yard unfortunately) owned by our landlord. He grew up in this house.The kitchen.The "middle" room as I call it.The play room/TV room/living room.Griffin's room.Mesha's room.Our room. If the pictures aren't enough, you can watch this video tour.

Welcome Baby Cousins!

2010-09-15T23:08:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our three new baby cousins! (For respect of privacy I won't include names or details) We are happy to have you here with us! We are excited to meet you someday.

For Laura and Amy (two of the biggest dorks I know...)

2010-09-15T22:55:00.000-04:00

My poor little Griff tripped while running today and hit his head on the corner of a door frame. Griffin, door, get it? And now he has a nice little Harry Potter scar. Insert some silly spell chant here, Laura. Thanks Lu. All this reminds me that I need to find a doctor...

This was taken soon after the incident. I had to wrap his arms up in a blanket so I could put a butterfly closer thingy on it. It's not a deep cut but he hit his head so hard that the bump was HUGE and was pulling the cut open. Yuck. But it's nothing a little Barney couldn't fix.

And this was taken tonight after he pulled off the butterfly and band aid. The dried blood makes it look extra lightning bolt like. Insert another spell here please, Amy. Griffindor!

Family Fun Day At The DMV

2010-09-09T22:53:00.000-04:00

Sterling and went in together to get our licences and to register our car. We took the kids with us. We were there for over 3 hours. During lunch. And nap time. I must admit, not the best planning on our part, but at least it's all over with now. And might I say that I hate dealing with snotty government workers. Apparently I am an idiot because I don't know that the term "paperwork" means my car's title and not the application to register the car. My bad. One day we will stop moving around and won't have to go the DMV so freaking much. Boo to you DMV people. Amongst all the "fun" there was an actual fun moment. We bought some snacks and drinks from the vending machines to distract the kids. They both wanted a sip of my "spicy juice" over and over even though this is the reaction we got every time.

Funny kids.

Moving and Electric Squirrels

2010-09-05T21:09:00.000-04:00

We found a place to rent for 6 months in hopes of being able to continue to look for houses. We had our stuff delivered on Wednesday and my life has been an episode of "Hoarders" ever since. Unpacking has been complicated (it always is). We have run into all kinds of snags. We need another dresser since we have had another child since we last were on our own. Our box spring won't fit up the stairs so we have to find a split one, we need more shelving, and oh yeah we have two kids that need all kinds of attention. But it is coming together little by little. We are going on an Ikea trip tomorrow so that should help. I will do pictures and all that when I am no longer ashamed to do so (like I said, I feel like I am living on hoarders, little paths through lots of stuff...). Unpacking things that we put in boxes over a year and a half ago has been a real trip too. It feels so good to be on our own again and to use our own things. Instant self esteem you know.
To end this boring post I will spice it up a bit. This morning while we were still in bed we heard a loud bang and couldn't figure out what it was. Later we realized the power was out. Later still some guys came over to fix the power and pointed out what caused the problem. A squirrel decided he needed to eat our tasty looking power line. Boom. Goodbye squirrel. Sterling took a picture. Don't worry, I will not post it. It's disgusting. I hope some animal will come and take it off the front lawn already. I guess this is evolution at it's finest. Survival of the fittest (that doesn't include stupid squirrels).

Big Boy!

2010-08-22T20:36:00.000-04:00

Griffin turned 18 months old today! He went into nursery for the first time. I was totally expecting them to bring me a crying boy after about 15 minutes but he stayed the ENTIRE TIME! Yay Griffin! What a relief!

Here is Griffin holding his picture he "colored".

And some other cute pictures (the mask is all Sterling's doing, don't blame me...)

Here is a little video that I took just for my own personal documentation that I decided to stick on here.

What I big boy I have! I love his cute little face so much. I love how he loves anything Mesha does. He eats grapes like they are going out of style. He loves songs where he gets to clap his hands. He learned how to say "no" today (and now it begins...). Griff still loves to roll and burrow in blankets and pillows. He is a cuddle bug. He says "Ma" for 'more', 'mom', and 'Mesha'. I love this age. I kinda wish he would stay like this forever. But there is still fun to come so I guess I will allow him to keep growing. I love you Griff!

East Coast Firsts

2010-08-14T21:06:00.000-04:00

While driving all over the state looking for a place to live we have taken a break or two to experience a few "East Coast" things.

Dunkin Donuts. Seattleites, think Starbucks. There is a DD every half mile around here. We like it because it has free wi-fi so we can look up addresses and such. The kids like it because they sell doughnuts. It's a right of passage really, like going to In-n-Out in Cali.

Atlantic Ocean!! OK so technically it's the Long Island Sound. Close enough right? I was surprised at how warm it was. All 'sounds' are not equal I guess (yes Puget I mean you). This little dip was unplanned and just a break from sitting in the car. We will have to plan a bigger and better trip when we get settled into something permanent. We get lots of good advice from locals.
While I am on this train of thought and for those that care... Here is my "East Coast List". Not sure why I am using quotes so much lately. Sorry if it is annoying. Anyway, back to the list.

1. New York. Just has to be done. I could use a tour guide (Mitch?). This includes but is not limited to the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Ground Zero, and Times Square.

2. Palmyra. I want to go during the pageant even though it will be crowded.

3. Boston. Love it. There is so much history in that town. I don't think I could ever visit too much. I would love to go to a Sox game at Fenway. I want to go to Cape Cod.

4. Light Houses. They are just so cool. They remind me of my Dad and Kara.

5. Atlantic Ocean. Check! But I want to go to a better beach too. Something with cool boardwalks and stuff like that.

6. Carousels. New England has a few of the country's remaining Loof Carousels.

7. D.C. The other Washington. It is a bit of a drive but worth it right? There are things I missed last time I was there on account of me getting stitches in my face... I would LOVE to see the fireworks on the 4th again, don't know if Sterling would be up for that though. Lets see, Capitol Building, White House, Lincoln Memorial. You know, that kind of stuff.

8. Rhode Island. Sterling really liked it when he was there. Block Island sounds like fun. Amica Headquarters. Ha, just kidding. But in reality I bet Sterling will take me there when we go...

9. Autumn. I guess I don't know how I would "do" autumn but I want to and will experience New England in the fall. I'm sure there are lots of fun things to do. Maybe one year we can go up to New Hampshire or Vermont.

That's all I can think of for now. If any of you out there have lived in or visited this area and have a suggestion please comment! I would love to put it on the list!