Amazing Day

We had such an amazing day today. Actually, it started last night. We had our good friends, the Seamons, over for swimming and s'mores. At the end, their mom cam to pick the kids up and we sat around the fire visiting for a little while. She mentioned that she was going to take Caroline in to do baptisms at the temple in the morning. Kimee said how bad she wanted to go and how we hadn't been able to go yet. Mary said she would be happy to take her. It was Caroline's first time going. So this morning Kimee and I went with them to the Timpanogos Temple at 6am. It was perfect. Kimee and Caroline were baptized together when they turned 8, and now they got to be together for another special first. It really was so perfect for so many reasons.

The beginning of this story is that a few weeks ago, I was really stressed out. When school started, I was so on top of everything. I actually thought for a few days that I wouldn't get my normal totally and completely overwhelmed feeling that I get every year when school starts and I think I cannot survive as a working mom. And then everything started going south- Audrey crying every night about not wanting to go to her new school and Maddi was having major clothing issues. Every day, by 8am, I was already completely emotionally drained. I was almost in a daze for a few days. Luckily, I already had the first week of school planned. But with teaching, you can never stay on top of things unless you spend 24 hours a day at the school. So within a few days, I already had a huge pile of stuff to do. We had to go in for 2 movie nights at school the next week, one on Monday and one on Friday to try and catch up!

Anyway, that first week that I was so overwhelmed, I really wanted to escape. I kept trolling Worldmark Reservations looking and hoping for something. Actually, I had been doing that for a couple of weeks, ever since I got back from girls camp. As soon as girls camp was over, I was so relieved. All those months of preparation and thinking about nothing but camp were finally over. And I was ready for my summer vacation to start. I wanted desperately to go somewhere to escape my stress and the chaos at home. On Friday night, I went to lay down for just a minute, and I had the thought to go check for bonus time. Miraculously, there was a Friday/Sat open at Wolf Creek. I quickly reserved it and even found a sub for my class so we could leave around noon to do some fun stuff on the way up and beat the Labor Day weekend traffic. It cheered me up a lot to know I just needed to get through two weeks of school and I could be up in one of my favorite places in the whole world. Unfortunately, Dave couldn't get work off and Kimee did not want to get check out of school. I didn't want to fight through traffic and get up there late. It was a painful decision, but I went ahead and cancelled the reservation this Monday. I was sad about it, but was glad it would save us money and committed to myself that we would have just as much fun, if not more, staying home.

We have had "Hiking the G" on our Fun List for months and months. So when I cancelled Wolf Creek, I decided we were going to fit in some things that we never have time to do. Saturday morning was "Hiking the G". When Kimee and I got back from the temple, we got everyone up, packed up our water and snacks, and left around 8am. We had a great time hiking up to the G. The weather was cool and breezy and we were in the shade or cloud cover the whole time. There were no injuries or complaining. We were worried about Maddi being able to do it, but she did awesome in her too big dress shoes and she was at the front of the pack for almost the whole time. Not to be forgotten was when we went through the forrest of bugs. Even though we stopped a lot to rest and marvel at the view, we made it up there and back in pretty good time. Enough that we were able to come back, eat breakfast, and still make it to a baptism for a cute girl in our ward.

After the baptism we started getting ready for our amazing BYU football game spread. We had planned to have snacky foods for lunch, yummy treats, and watch the BYU game as a family. Audrey and I went and picked up buffalo chicken wings and Cravings cupcakes. It was so fun to watch the game together. I don't remember the last time I have watched that much of a game and really been aware of the score and what was going on most of the time. The team did really well in the first half and then struggled in the 2nd half. Several players got injured. It looked like we were going to lose. Kimee and Audrey weren't watching the game anymore. But with just a few minutes left I called everyone back and said we have to watch the end of this game. They missed a field goal and other chances for a first down. The announcers kept talking about how Nebraska hadn't lost their opening game in over 50 years. With 1 second to go in the game, BYU's freshman second string quarterback throws a 50ish yard hail mary pass, and the receiver barely gets in the endzone to win the game. IT WAS AMAZING!!! It was one of the coolest endings to a football game you could ever imagine and we were watching it together as a family.

Today was such a special day, I don't want to forget about it:)

I can't believe

I can't believe it has taken me this long to figure out that there is a Blogger app! I'm feeling really behind the times right now, but also very excited. If I had known about this sooner, maybe I would have been blogging more events as they happened instead of waiting two years and trying desperately to get caught up.

I don't really use my phone that much. I'm not into apps or games. I use my phone, texting, email and camera. That's about it. I was really into the calendar, but I don't know if it's because it's summer or what but I'm not really using it right now.

Last year I thought maybe it was time to move on from Blogger to bigger and better things. I did a bit of looking into Instagram and Twitter and who knows what else. I really didn't feel comfortable with any of them as a replacement for me to journal/ digitally scrapbook about my kids. I really don't like advertising about everything we do on Facebook. So I decided to stick with our blog. But I just wish I could do it when I am not sitting at my computer.

So when we are at Lagoon and I get stuck sitting out because we have an odd number or I'm too dizzy, I can do something more productive than people watch:)

What a day...

If only I could accomplish this much every day.
First day of Christmas break:
-renewed driver's license
-researched and purchased new dishwasher
-researched and ordered new carpet and tile
-purchased tools at Home Depot for upcoming home improvement projects
-listened to bid proposal on solar power
-called to have water leak in fireplace fixed, guy came to check it out

let's give it another try

I have been getting mad at myself for not keeping up on my blog. So many times, I have wanted to type up the fun, cute stuff that is happening, but I don't have time to hook up my camera/phone, download the pictures, edit them, add them on, etc. So I had this idea that I should just type in the text of what I want to say while it is fresh on my mind, and then later add on the photos.
So here's to seeing if this method will work!

What do you do?

What do you do when you are so far behind on your blog that you don't know where to start? I really want to do my blog book for 2012, but I have to post all my pictures and stuff from 2012 first, in order to start working on my book. But I am so behind it is overwhelming!
I have to catch up 2012, do my blog book, and then do everything from 2013 so far. I guess I will break it down into smaller parts, and put them into a list, and start checking it off. It's a plan!!

September Events

We had this really gorgeous rainbow by our house on Sept. 6.

Kimee and Audrey loving horse lessons. Maddi gets to go to the "brown park" with mom while they are at lessons, so she really looks forward to it too.

Sept. 14- Audrey absolutely loves her new bathrobe!

The girls absolutely love all the fruit from our yard.

On Saturday, Sept. 8, we had our Primary Program practice. My friend MaryJane is the pianist and I am the chorister. We just so happened to wear coordinating outfits. Unfortunately, they are moving to Texas so we won't be partners any more:(

Audrey has really gotten into making her bed perfectly, and gets really mad if you mess it up. She even put up a sign that says, "Audrey's Bed, Noone Allowed". We teased her about it, so she added, "Only Audrey".

On Saturday, Sept. 15, the girls had tons of fun washing the van with dad. They completely cleaned the inside because we were thinking about getting a new/different car. We went and test drove a used Pilot and decided our car was awesome and we would stick with it for a few more years.

In September, Kimee had her first piano recital. (Her previous teacher did not do recitals.) She performed on the piano and violin. Grandma and Grandpa K. & Jill and her kids were able to come to the recital. My sister Janna's daughter takes piano from the same teacher, so we had a lot of family there:) Kimee did a really great job!

That evening was the General Relief Society Meeting. Janna, Jill, Mom, and I were able to go watch it together at our Stake Center.

Dave and Grandpa watched the kids at home. They watched a movie and everything was going fine. When Maddi disappeared for just a minute. Jeremy came running in to say Maddi was in the paint. (We had left an old bucket of paint on the driveway out in hopes that it would dry out.

Right near the end of the meeting, Dave sent me a text with this picture. We were freaked out and decided to leave during the closing song. The part I thought was so funny, is my mom went in to get our brownies, she told the ladies getting refreshments set up that the dads were babysitting and one of the kids painted the car, so we had to get home. Thanks mom, for getting us all brownies:)

Maddi was having a grand ole time splashing in the paint. She got her punishment by being hosed down with the cold hose water.

It's time...

I can't believe I haven't updated my blog since July. Shame on me. I guess the updating I did in June was so massive (I think it was Thanksgiving up through Lagoon), that I took a break for a while. Well then August hits and life becomes a big blur.
I am having so much fun looking through all of the pictures, thinking of all the stories, and hoping that I will be able to get a bunch of posts done before I go back to school on Tuesday. Thank goodness for Fall Break :)
So here goes...

lists

You know me and my lists. Every summer we make up a list of all the fun things we will do. I have a list for projects too. We always start with the fun and then get to the projects. Unfortunately, the projects don't always get done. This year I think we got a good head start on fun, so hopefully I will get further down on my project list.

We did Chuck E. Cheese and a movie at the theater in May, so we could check those off our list before summer even began!

I think this is cool, so I wanted to write it down. In the month of June we have done:
Kangaroo Zoo, Thanksgiving Point Farm and Discovery Gardens, Hogle Zoo, candy stand, water slide, Lagoon, Huck Finn Day, swimming lessons, cousin sleepover, camping, horse lessons, and hopefully Park City (this weekend??).

I haven't gotten much done for projects in June. We have gotten the windows in, I've put in 5 days of work (training and collaboration that I actually get paid for), did the Primary music CD's, sold some stuff on KSL, and of course have been working on this blog. I still have a long list. Hopefully now that we have gotten a lot of the bigger fun stuff done, I can focus on projects for the month of July. I'll let you know how it goes at the end of the summer.

updating blog

I am really wondering, "When was the last time I was actually caught up on my blog?" The last time I can remember was just after Christmas break, Jan 2011. I am going to check back and see if I can figure it out. It could have been last summer, but that was a year ago. For a year, I have carried around this feeling of being behind. For a year, I have been slowly taking fewer and fewer photos, because I know that just makes me even more behind.

I was just thinking of the weight that will be lifted off my shoulders when my blog is finally updated. I have gotten as far as being ready to download the last batch of photos from my phone, which will be a lot. BUT I am so excited that I have gotten that far. I've done 12 posts in the last 2 days. I can't wait for the feeling I will have when I am caught up. I feel like I have been doing a lot of sitting around the last couple of days, but I am accomplishing something important! And once I am caught up, I can start taking more photos and hopefully spend more time recording the cute and fun everyday things that happen.

Where to start...

Where do you start when you are this far behind on your blog or scrapbooking? I am 7 months behind on this blog! I can't believe it. I am really disappointed in myself. Things are starting to settle down at the house. There is still lots to do, but none of it is extremely urgent. Plus, so many things cost money to do, and we are out of that. Things at school are pretty much under control as well. SO, I might start having time to get my blog updated. YEAH!
Well, I think what I will do is start with the present and then catch up on the past a little at a time. I will most likely post date all of those to January sometime so that they will be somewhat in order.
Here goes!!

house

Back in August, we closed on our new (actually old) house. We got our old (actually much newer) house ready to be rented out. It was busy, but when we moved out, it was perfectly spotless. I couldn't believe what a nice house we were leaving behind. I was so jealous of a person that was able to move into a house that was that nice and clean, everything fixed up and in working order. It has been a long time that person was me. I think it has only happened once to me, when we moved into the house by the church in Orem. From what I can remember, it was nice and clean when we moved in.
Here are a few pictures that I took for the rental ad:

successful break?

What makes a successful Christmas break?
At the beginning of the week, I was already stressing out that I wasn't going to be able to get everything done that I wanted to do over the break. That I would feel so terrible when it ended because I hadn't accomplished anything. My list is always so long, I never do complete it.
Dave said to me, "What will make this feel like a successful break to you?"
I know I should have said something like, "Being able to spend time with my family", but I just couldn't. Instead I said, "Getting everything done on my list."
See. Now you know what a terrible person I am. I care more about lists than people. I think Kimee has even pointed this out before in a moment of frustration.
So today was a very productive day. I didn't shower or get dressed. I stayed in my pajamas and worked the whole day. I got a lot done. So I was thinking about making a list of everything I have done over the break so that I could show myself how productive I have been and could feel like it was a success.

Things I Can Feel Good about Accomplishing Over the Christmas Break:

• Wrote the family Christmas letter
• Got Maddi's teeth cleaned, Audrey's fillings in, Kimee's new glasses
• Surprised the kids with a big, used, backyard playset (thanks to KSL ad, Dad, and Grandpa!)
• Hosted 5 different get-togethers/meals with family or friends
• Took my kids to Chuck E. Cheese and a movie (Happy Feet 2) 
• Actually watched 2 movies at home (Kung Fu Panda 2 and Unknown)
• Sang in the Ward Choir on Christmas Day
• Didn't work or do any projects on Christmas Day (only because it was Sunday:)
• Went to 3 wedding receptions
• Went out to lunch with Dave and out to dinner with the family for my birthday
• Took down and put away the Christmas tree and indoor & outdoor decorations
• Took our dog in twice to the pet clinic
• painted 3 rooms, 2 halls, 2 bathrooms
• hung over 20 pictures on the walls (Finally, it looks more like home!)
• started our 2011 tax return (Cannot wait for the refund!)
• Scheduled and completed: attic insulation, gas insert from fireplace removed, chimney and fireplace repair, water softener install, duct cleaning, furnace humidifier install
• Got to enjoy a beautiful warm fire in our family room, and the kids roasted marshmallows
• Completed guest laundry downstairs
• Got rid of stuff on KSL
• Organized/cleaned out coat closet
• Unpacked the rest of the boxes in craft/laundry room

Just a little disclaimer- I didn't do all of these things on my own- Dave helped with A LOT! He had all but three days the same time off as me. He was a super duper trooper!
Unfortunately, I didn't get everything on my list done. I won't list them all, but one was getting my family blog updated. Sorry everyone! I am so behind that I feel it is going to take me a huge chunk of time, which is one reason why I haven't tackled this task. Maybe I can work on it a little bit at a time now that my room is painted. . .

Miscellaneous

Some miscellaneous pictures on my camera . . .

Just before we left for St. George, this was delivered. We were excited to have something fun to come home to. FYI- Our old waterslide got eaten by mice in the shed this winter. Very unfortunate. I debated for a long time whether or not to get a new one. Finally did after watching for sales and coupons for a long time.

This was a teacher appreciation gift from the last day of school. It tasted as good as it looks. It was so beautiful, I had to take a picture. (I did remove the feathers and ribbon before eating.)

Back in April, I took Kimee and Audrey to the Justin Bieber movie at the theater. It was a fun mother -daughter date. I had to take a picture of the tickets just to prove that I did one cool thing in my life. Someday soon they will think I am SO uncool, so I have to have some evidence of coolness in my past.

Speaking of coolness, Maddi got into the hats and purses basket. Boy, is she one stylin' lady.

Summer!

I am usually celebrating like crazy that summer is here. But this year my schedule is already so full (of fun summer activities) that it hardly seems like it will be a break. I am excited to get to spend more time with my kids, but they are pretty demanding. Sometimes I think going to work is actually easier. We will probably get sick of each other after not too long, but we'll get through it.

So, the fun has already begun. We spent almost a week in St. George and have already checked of a few big things off of our Summer Fun To Do List.  I guess I am a little worried that with all the plans for fun activities, I might not have time to get done all of the projects around the house that I need done for my own sanity. So hopefully I can stop stressing about how much I'm going to get done this summer and just relax and enjoy it a little bit.

I haven't downloaded pictures for a while and a TON has happened in the last few weeks. I've got several hundred pictures to go through, and start posting, so here goes...

blogger blues

I don't know what's gotten into me, but for some reason I lost the desire to blog the past few months. I think I've got the blogger blues, or just the regular winter blues. Why blog when you're not really doing anything exciting anyway? My kids are still cute and fun, but we haven't been going anywhere.

I have been trying to figure out what changed this year that has left me without as much time to blog. One thing is the dog. This dog does take up a lot of my free time. I have also been trying to put more time into my calling and do a better job on churchy stuff. Other than that, I have no excuse. Things are busy, but I still have a little free time. I just haven't put blogging at the top of my list.

I guess another thing is my camera broke awhile ago and so I am a little handicapped in that area. Kimee and Audrey got cameras for Christmas, partially so that they could take on some of the responsibility of taking pictures. They love their cameras. I have kinda on purpose been taking less pictures so that I wouldn't have to blog. I am starting to feel bad that I am not recording the cute stuff that my girls do and maybe some important things that are happening in their lives.

I am excited for Spring: blooming flowers, Spring Break, warmer weather, and the anticipation for summer vacation. Maybe all of this we help me get back on track with my blogging. Wish me luck!

55555

Dave loves numbers and has always been fascinated with cool patterns on the odometer. He was so glad to hit this milestone while he was driving. Unfortunately, if it had been me driving to school or out and about, I probably would have missed it.

Last night, we hit 55, 555 in the van. We were between the light at Smiths and the light at Main Street in AF, after going to Costco. Dave asked if I would put it on the blog so we could remember.

On another random note, one of my goals for Christmas break was to read the latest John Grisham book, The Confession. I didn't get very far into it. I realized how difficult it is to just sit down and read when I'm at home. If I'm sitting somewhere waiting, then there's nothing better than reading a book. But I often don't have my book with me (Kindle??) Anyway, I started reading it the last few nights and have gotten to the point of no return. I'm hoping to finish it today. It's a very interesting book, but a little frustrating and discouraging.

Last night at Costco, we bought new swimsuits for the girls for this summer. This morning when Audrey woke up she said, "Mom, are we going on vacation today?" I replied that I wished we were because I love going on vacation. Then I asked her why she wanted to go on vacation. She replied that she loves going someplace different and that she likes swimming. What brought this up is that she really wanted to wear her new swimsuit. I'm thinking it's time to go somewhere. We usually go at Christmas, but this year we got a puppy instead. I've got to find some pet friendly hotels or a good kennel!

Yellowstone . . .

In October, we took a trip up to Yellowstone National Park. It was totally awesome and turned out to be a perfect vacation. We took hundreds of pictures on two different cameras. I have been dreading going through those (just under 700) photos to decide which ones to post and which ones to put into a little iphoto book. This was one of my goals for Christmas vacation- to go through those photos and get them posted. Well, I didn't get to it! (Way too much time spent with my new printer and laminator and organizing Primary stuff.) So, this is going to be my goal for the next few days. To start going through those pictures and getting some posted! Sorry it's old news. But I have got to get these documented for my blog book. (I am so excited to do my 2010 edition!!) Hey, it's only Jan. 4th and I've already got Christmas posted. Hooray!

Birthday and New Year

For my birthday, I got to sleep in a little and then I made a really yummy breakfast. My parents watched the kids so Dave and I could go out shopping. We mostly ran errands, did a few returns, and then went to lunch at Cafe Rio, yum! It was so nice to have some time together without the kids. Thanks Mom and Dad!

I was anxious to get home so I could get back to work on all of my projects. While printing stuff out on my new printer, I had the idea to look for a laminator online. I can't believe I found an awesome little laminator for $20 (Happy Birthday to me!). I quickly ordered from Amazon and had it in 2 days. I spent the last few days of my vacation laminating stuff for Primary. I love my new laminator!

That evening, Dave made a delicious angel food cake for me, and we made homemade ice cream with our ice cream ball. It was a fun birthday.

Kimee made up a little coupon book for my birthday present. I love these! It's got things like, watch the kids for 1 hour, help mom, clean up, be obedient (on that one I said, "Wow! For how long?" Kimee replied, "For 1 hour". Darn, I was hoping for at least one day. Thank you Kimee for such a thoughtful gift!

A couple of days later, I was able to go out to lunch with a couple of really good friends using a gift card I got from one of my students. It was really a treat to go out to lunch with friends and no kids.

For New Year's Eve, we decided to have our own family party. It was just so freezing cold out, I didn't feel like going anywhere. And this year I didn't want to deal with the aftermath of kids staying up until midnight. (Kimee was really disappointed about that.) The day before, we had each of the kids pick out a special treat at the store for our party. We had snacks and treats and played a new game we got for Christmas, Pictureka.  It is a really fun game, and has become a new favorite. Thanks, Mark and Trista!

Next year, we'll probably do the midnight thing again and not be such party poopers. The kids thought that was awesome last year, so we won't deprive them every year. :)

Christmas Letter 2010

This year I took the easy route and skipped doing a family letter with our Christmas card. I directed everyone to check our blog for family updates. But the blog doesn't have a summary of the year and everything we are grateful for. So I am going to post a "Family Letter- Christmas card style" for the sake of tradition. Here goes...

2010 has been busy and filled with fun.

Dave celebrated his 20th year working at MegaDiamond. Things are really busy at MegaDiamond as they are developing new products and growing the business. Their parent company SMITH sold to Schlumberger, so more changes and progress. At church, Dave moved from Young Men's to Ward Clerk and enjoys working closely with the Bishopric and other clerks. In his free time, Dave enjoys watching sports, mostly BYU and the Jazz, and keeping up with CougarBoard online. He likes reading, playing Sudoku, and wishes he had time to go golfing.

I am enjoying teaching 1st grade at Lindon Elementary. I love being able to have Kimee and Audrey at school with me. I love teaching so much, it barely feels like a job. At church, I am finally the Primary Chorister again. I had this calling about 10 years ago, and couldn't wait to do it again. It's a fun calling, but I most appreciate that having me there has helped Kimee and Audrey enjoy Primary more. In my spare time, I like to be on the computer- blogging, shopping online, planning trips, doing school and primary stuff, and more.

Kimberly is 7 years old and in 2nd grade. She loves her teacher Mrs. Heap (a 1st year teacher/intern). After school, she is in gymnastics and art class. Her biggest love is horses and she takes riding lessons when the weather is nice. She loves playing horses, watching horse movies, and reading books about horses. Kimee also likes being a big sister singing, and reading. She enjoys the Geronimo Stilton series, the Friend magazine, mystery books, and all of her library books. She learns a lot from the books she reads and she has an amazing memory.

Audrey 4 years old and is in her second year of preschool. She loves her teacher Miss Bonnie. She goes to school Tuesday-Friday afternoon and learns so much there. She is starting to write a lot, and always wants us to spell words for her. Audrey is also in gymnastics and art class. She loves horses too and playing with Kimee. More than anything, she loves being around people. She likes to be silly and make people laugh. Audrey spends her mornings at Cathy's and says that her best friend to play with there is Maddi.

Maddi turned 1 in April, so she is 20 months now. She spends her weekdays with Cathy, a neighbor of ours that does daycare in her home. Maddi loves baby dolls and Curious George. She is talking more and more and is overall a pretty mellow child. She is now "Maddi, the Mess Maker", and is leaving a trail of destruction everywhere she goes. It's very frustrating to Kimee, who is often my helper in cleaning up. But she will soon be past this stage and we will somehow miss all these messes.

We went to the Oregon coast for Spring break this year with our friends the Claunches and loved every second of it (except maybe not some of the driving). The girls ask on a regular basis when we will be going back. This summer was filled with swimming lessons, candy stands, a Puckett family reunion at Wolf Creek (up Ogden canyon), playing with cousins, a big birthday party, projects, fun day trips, and more. During fall break, we took a trip up to Yellowstone with our Smith cousins and our friends the Foxes. It was the perfect time of year to go and we saw so many of Heavenly Father's beautiful creations. It was breathtaking, relaxing, and so much fun. We can't wait to go back there too.

At this time of year we are so grateful for our family and friends, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our home and our jobs, and the many blessings we enjoy. Thank you for your cards and letters. We wish you all the best Christmas and hope you have a wonderful New Year!

Christmas Break

I am so excited for Christmas break and one of the reasons is so that I can get my blog all caught up. I have two weeks off, 16 days total including weekends. Sure, some of that will be filled with holidays, traditions, and celebrating. Lots of that will be filled with taking care of the kids, and our new puppy, but surely I can squeeze in some time to work on my huge list of projects.

Top of my list is getting this blog caught up. I have a goal to get everything updated BEFORE Christmas. So then I will have time to post Christmas and the end of the year stuff so I can be ready to work on my BLOG BOOK! I am so excited to do my 2nd edition. The main reason I am doing a blog is to publish all my posts into a hardbound book as a keepsake and record for my family, replacing my scrapbooking. Last year's turned out great! (Not very cutesy or fancy, just plain and simple. The important thing is that it had all my posts and all my pictures from 2009. DONE, in a book.)

I usually get really excited for any holiday or break from school before it happens, but once it gets here, I start stressing out. I start worrying that I won't get everything done that I really want or need to get done. So far, we are three days into our 16 day break, and I am not stressed out yet. I think because I have a full week before Christmas and a full week after. Soooo nice! Wish me luck on getting everything done as well as enjoying the holiday with my family.