Bradshaw Crazy House

January's Primary Song

2012-01-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

The kids sing this song all over the house. They are learning this in their church classes.

Naturally they don't know the 2nd verse quite as well.

And VERY naturally, they can't hold still through all 3 verses! :-D

Snow!!!

2012-01-29T18:03:00.001-08:00

It snowed!!!!

First snow for baby A!

Delicious (but dirty) snow for M . . . I really did try to teach him what the different colors of snow meant, but he didn't really care. :-P

L's an expert in the snow department. She was equipped with snowman eyes, arms and scarf.

Now for some ADULT silliness! :-) I threw a Jane Austen Party with a bunch of my friends. We planned dinner, charades and a movie (Northanger Abbey). We WERE going to dance as well, but we ran out of time.

I think my friend could be a professional party-thrower! She did an AMAZING job with the decorations!

I played Miss Bates (from Emma), and here's my "niece," Jane Fairfax:

Elinor Tilney (Northanger Abbey) and Jane Bennett (Pride and Prejudice)
Some old friends and family might recognize their dresses :-)

Not only did my interest in Jane Austen start from a high school friend, but my know-how on how to do hair came from her as well. We don't have many opportunities to do pretty hairstyles as adults, so it was fun to take the opportunity.

Mr. Knightly (from Emma) . . . definitely the most popular character of the evening, being the only male AND the only cuddly baby.

Top Row: Mrs. Jennings (S&S), Charlotte (S&S), Jane Bennett (P&P), Jane Fairfax (Emma), Marianne Dashwood (S&S)
Bottom Row: Elinor Tilney (Northanger Abbey), Emma (you guessed it: Emma!), Miss Bates (Emma), Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey)
It was SUCH a fun night! Next time I hope we have 3x as many people so we can keep up the Austen humor the whole time. :-)

Pictures from today:

Their new favorite toys are balloons. I really encourage this, since M will throw anything and everything into the air ANYWAY . . . it might as well not knock half of our possessions onto the floor. :-P

M would be in Sunday clothes too . . . but they kind of got full of spaghetti. Next time I need to give him a poncho instead of just a bib.

In case you're wondering how our baby's colic is doing, here's the summary: The COLIC is going GREAT!!! It's really thriving!! :-P We took him to the doctor, a chiropractor, and now a homeopathic doctor. The doctor says to wait out his colic and get babysitters so I can get some sleep. The chiropractor says bring him back 2 to 3 times a week for a month, then once a week for a year, and his colic will finally go away (hmm . . . it takes a year ANYWAY. WHY would I pay for THAT???). The homeopathic doctor says he has problems with his stomach and liver, is dealing with strep, parasites, teething, and two other diseases I can't remember, and he can't handle eggs, pasteurized dairy, sugar cane or white sugar. Then she charged me a bunch of money for homeopathic remedies to get his stomach and liver back in order. So I've taken the no-nos out of my diet (along with all of the other things I had already taken out of my diet: ALL dairy, corn, tomato, garlic and onion). He's not doing any better. The remedies in fact seem to hurt him a little, so we've gone back and forth with how much we give him in each dose. CRAZY times . . . little sleep. But I know for a fact that Heavenly Father is REAL, and that He helps me not only from day to day, but from minute to minute. Sometimes I'm so tired I just want to sleep the day away, but I can't do that when I have 3 kids and a husband to take care of. So Heavenly Father makes up the difference. How blessed I am!!!!

Family Fun in January

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

Okay . . . maybe this first part isn't fun. It's quite the opposite. Our nephew, who is two weeks younger than Baby A, was discovered to have a brain tumor last week. He went through surgery last Thursday, and is gradually recovering a day at a time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family right now!
Here he's looking at his mommy while trying to hold up his head.

Now for the happy stuff!
Baby A has started on solids! He has tried rice cereal, peas and green beans. We tried giving him a bit of baby meat last night, and he threw it up. I don't think I'll try that one again for a while! :-P

M thinks A should be Sir Topham Hat!

Skiing

Playing with Daddy on the computer (photo taken from above)

I know we're told to think out of the box, but he's certainly cute IN the box!

January Movies

2012-01-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas in the Bradshaw Home

2012-01-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

We went to Denny's to see Santa! The kids got free meals, and the baby got expensive gas! (I tried SO SO SO HARD to only buy things that wouldn't hurt him. They cooked everything in the way that I can eat it . . . except for the candied nuts. Darn.)

At least he was happy THERE.

L wanted to know how Santa got to Denny's. He said that he parked his sleigh on the roof and made it invisible so that no one would play with it. Here's L trying so hard to spot it! :-)

Our FAVORITE Christmas present was Daddy coming home 7 hours early from work on Christmas Eve. YAY!! We reenacted the Christmas story as a family.

M was the donkey while L was Mary.

I guess Mary was a little too heavy for this donkey. :-)

Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus with a binky!

Wait . . . now he's a reindeer?

Silver bells . . .

Some of their favorite Christmas presents:

(The train wasn't his present this year, but we only bring it out once a year. He could care less about his presents!)

The fun manger scene that came a few days later (thanks Uncle Tim and Aunt Liz and cousins!!):

2011 Summary!!!

2011-12-18T21:22:00.000-08:00

Lessons we've learned in 2011:

January: Pulling teeth isn't as hard as getting kids to eat vegetables . . . 'cause at least he was sedated when his tooth was pulled!February: Pretending to go to McDonalds is just as much fun as actually going!

March: Stay-cations are much cheaper than vacations. And they're the fun WITHOUT the travel!
April: Cousins are pretty fun! Mommy learning how to cut hair is NOT.

May: Boys like toenail polish just as much as girls:
June: Never sign up to work on your Masters when the classes take place during childbirth. It's a little bit too much for even Superman to handle.
July: You should have called the grandparents a month ago! (Sorry Bradshaw Grandparents . . . we didn't have any good pictures of you with the kids.)

August: Life gets a lot more interesting when you through school into the mix! September: Reno ROCKS!! It has cousins, trains, brightly lit computer games (and people) and HOT AIR BALLOONS!! (Too bad the trip there takes twice as long with a newborn in the car. Time for another stay-cation!)

October: We want to be JUST LIKE DADDY!!! Conducting is COOL!
November: Rice cereal is gross. Go for the toy instead.

December: Gloves are safer than pockets. At least you can CATCH yourself when you fall.
AND . . . chicks dig boys who can sing (especially if the chick is a grandma)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Family Photoshoot 2011

2011-12-18T20:42:00.001-08:00

Princess Lia

The Micahnator

Sweet Adam

Hot Stuff!!!

And ME!

The happy (crazy, busy, sleep-deprived) couple

Thanks again to Chelsea DeFriez for taking our family pictures! You do a GREAT job every time!

Adam's Newborn Photoshoot, June 2011

2011-12-18T20:28:00.000-08:00

The biggest lesson we've learned through having 3 kids . . . is that each additional kid adds additional time to whatever you're trying to accomplish. Kudos to Chelsea DeFriez for being on the ball with taking these pictures only a week after he was born!

TADA!!! We FINALLY have his newborn photoshoot . . . 6 months later. :-)

Baby Adam

At least we know he has guardian angels . . . err . . . elephants.

Can't I just take a nap?

Ah . . . that's better.

Um . . . did you REALLY just take my binky away?

How am I supposed to be comfortable without my binky?

BINKY NOW!!!!!

Mm . . . close enough.

Our little bundle of joy!

(Batteries not included, but that doesn't matter 'cause he comes with poop, gas, colic, restless nights . . . and a piece of heaven.)

November 2011

2011-12-11T19:48:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving Turkey . . . or . . . our Turkey Gobbler :-)

We went around the table, saying what we're grateful for. M was the first one to go, and said, "I'm thankful for Heavenly Father." :-) Boy he made us look good. The next girl didn't want to say anything (we were at a friend's house for the feast). Then it was L's turn, and she said, "I'm thankful for Jesus." It was so precious that we all laughed. We promise that we didn't tell them what to say ahead of time. It was so cute!

I wonder what she's praying for!

A would be praying for food that tastes better than rice cereal! (We actually think he's not ready for rice cereal yet, 'cause it seems to hurt his tummy. We'll try again in a few more months.)

Better than rice cereal?That's more like it. :-) (After a week of trying, he finally sat up in it.)

Happy Brothers
Watching the Christmas lights
My latest commission:

2 of a Kind

2011-10-16T12:25:00.001-07:00

People keep telling me that Adam looks just like Micah did. I haven't believed them, 'cause they look so different to me. Adam has my eyes, but his nose and mouth come from Tony. Micah gets all of his features from Tony. :-) I guess when they smile it doesn't matter whose eyes they have, 'cause they're crinkly anyway. After looking at some pictures, I have to agree that they definitely look like brothers.

Micah at 3 months

Adam at 3 months

Fall Break

2011-10-09T20:55:00.001-07:00

L has had a week-long vacation. At first she just ran kind of wild, and started as many fights as she could. But by the end of the week, the kids got along so well! We had some really good times.

The house was quite, except for some muffled giggles. That's almost never a good sign. Where did I find those giggles?

In the bathroom cupboard!!

So why does A have such a scared look on his face? YOU try to sit with kids who are screaming "CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!!!!!!!!!"

Each day we've done a little something for fall or October. Yesterday we made costumes. Who knows if they'll like them enough by the end of the month to use them during trick-or-treating.

I have some amazing friends. I was really sick this last week, and my friend came and picked me up, with all of my kids, and took us all to Chuck E Cheese. I just sat back while watching the kids play. It was so much better than watching them fight at home. :-P

M didn't find the "airplane ride" until after he ran out of tokens, but I discovered a few extra ones in my pocket. :-) He stayed in that ride for so long that kids started to grab their parents to make him get down. I intervened at that point. :-P

Chuck is really quite scary looking . . . but the kids think he's cool.

When I was almost better, Tony let me sleep in. He didn't get to see the kids for at least 24 hours . . . so we went to visit him at school. That classroom is as fun as Chuck E Cheese!

Our future conductor:

September 2011

2011-10-09T10:38:00.001-07:00

M wanted to feed A, so I asked him where he wanted to go. "On the couch." Now what? "I'm feeding him!" What are you feeding him? "Pancakes!" Hehe . . . I guess M doesn't quite understand what it takes to nurse.

What's growing at the Bradshaw home:

Still 2

Sick

We start their music lessons REALLY early (or "real early" if you're from Idaho).

At the annual Christian festival

We went to Reno for Tony's great grandpa's funeral. The kids at first were really excited to be surrounded by shiny computer games, but I was pleased at how easy it was to sidetrack them.

Who cares about casinos when you can have ESCALATORS???

Funeral Chapel

Cheese:
Personalities:

21 gun salute at the funeral . . . the kids plugged their ears through the whole program and not just when the guns were firing. :-)

Happy 3rd birthday, M!
Presents from G&G Wheeler
Presents from G&& Bradshaw

We tried to teach M to say "Luke, I am your father!" Instead, he just says, "I'm your Luke FATHER!" :-)

M's birthday present:

A likes it too!

L has really missed her old friends. She doesn't see them very much now that she goes to school.

Here's the hat L designed at the art history museum.

Gun demonstration at the museum:

Can't convince the kids that the gun demonstration's over :-P

A really doesn't care that the guns go off. He's just fine.

My new visiting teaching companion: :-) Isn't he pretty?

A rare moment where Daddy is home for storytime

Our home in the fall, plus some squabbling kids

Blackbeard

A loves to smile now that we've basically figured out his food aversions: Dairy, corn, tomato, garlic and onion. When I don't eat those things, he's happy most of the time!

And he's found his hands! FINALLY! He can entertain himself!

School, Bus, and Chopsticks

2011-08-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is in KINDERGARTEN!!

Daddy took her to the bus stop on his way to student teaching. He said that she was SO EXCITED while getting on the bus, and that she immediately found a window to wave goodbye out of.

She was so excited that I just couldn't be sad to see her go.

We had fun waiting at the bus stop for the first 20 minutes (while A slept), but then started to worry that we had missed her!

We walked to a nearby house to call the bus company, but the line was busy. (This is the first time I have been desperate for a cell phone which I don't have. The time passed, though.) We walked home, called again, and they said to expect the bus in 15 minutes. We drove to the stop this time to pick her up. It took her 1 1/2 hours to get home from a school that's only a few miles away. She was crying by then.

She ran to us, but you can't see her crying face in this picture. Poor girl! The next day I sent a present with her to open on the bus. It was something she already owned, but it was something for her to do while on the bus. That made her want to go.

Waiting for the bus on Day 2 (M's listening to my ipod). We decided to drive to the bus stop to decrease our time in the heat.

Pulling his toy train along.

A's sleeping the time away again. :-)

THERE'S THE BUS!!!

Waiting . . . Day 3

Not asleep this time, but pretty cool!

Waiting, Day 4 (the bus started to get better, but we still had to wait for 45 minutes). We had to walk that day 'cause someone had broken into our car and smashed the window. I was having a very hard time cleaning up the glass while hanging onto one kid and the other kid hanging on to me . . . so we just walked. Daddy picked us up from the bus stop on the way home from student teaching since he didn't have to go to work that day.

YAWN!!!

It was about 100 degrees outside, so I don't blame them for being tired and hot.

M really likes not needing to share his toys while L is gone. :-)

ORIENTAL NIGHT!! M didn't want to eat the peas and L didn't want to eat ANYTHING, so we got out the chopsticks and made it into a game.

By the end M decided that they were DRUMsticks, NOT chopsticks.

L perfected her technique: Use the chopsticks to pick up your spoon!

Randomness: I'm participating in a hair bow swap. I'm making 32 of these little flowers, bringing them to the swap, and getting 1 or 2 of everyone else's creations. It's a fun outlet for my creative energy!

Now that I'm completely off dairy, garlic and onion, and A is taking Zantac, life is much smoother! He had one night this week where he slept for 5 hours straight . . . and the miracle was that I slept at the same time! Ooh I got a lot done that day! Unfortunately he picked earlier hours to get his 4 hour chunk of sleep the next night, so I didn't overlap with him.
Student teaching is going really well for Tony! He loves it! He has breakfast with us, e-mails me during the day when he can, calls us from work during his break, and greets the kids when he gets home. We might not get to see him very much, but he is definitely doing everything in his power to make sure we know he loves us. I hope he knows how much we love him and miss having him around!

June through August 2011

2011-08-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm back online! YAHOO!!! This is the first time since A's birth that he's been asleep for longer than an hour while I'm awake and feeling good! So . . . let's back up a few months and see if we can fill you in with some good pictures.

A's a sweet boy. He's brought such joy to our lives . . . and such trials! For the first nearly 2 months of his life he was either crying or sleeping. He'd sleep for a few minutes, then wake up crying. Tony and I took shifts at night so that we both could get some sleep. I slept from 5:30 to 10:30am, interrupted with a couple of feedings.

I'm so grateful that Tony was home for the first 8 weeks of A's life. I wouldn't have made it without him! I learned very quickly that I couldn't walk without my legs buckling under me, so Tony had to do almost ALL of the work! My legs started getting better when A turned 2 months old, and I'm slowly starting to take walks again. Thank goodness!

A fell asleep up against my chest, and when I put him down he kept the same position. He was a deep sleeper when he wasn't in pain.

Isn't this outfit cute? It's from his wonderful aunt and uncle! It says "Bananas over Mommies." :-) Still has blue feet . . . they're always so cold!

Here come the grandparents to the rescue!!! Tony had to go to class, so Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler came to help me survive. They did the cooking, laundry, cleaning, projects, kid-entertaining and baby holding!

They even brought a box just for the kids! :-)

This picture might make you think that M's still at the table when everyone else has finished. If you think that, you don't know M and you've never had my mom's cooking. He knows the food is coming, and he's at the table long before the food is even ready!

Then Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw came! They didn't bring a box . . . they brought stomp rockets!!

They played with the kids while Aunt J did the work. :-)

Getting ready for church: The Blessing Day!
M decided to do his own hair!

The choice men in the blessing circle

A was good and quiet through the whole blessing. I never did find white pants for him, so he ended up wearing tan pants. Ah well . . . a friend made him a beautiful vest for his blessing, and that made the whole outfit!

FLYING! Like father like son. :-)

Our whole family!

4th of July:

We went to a parade in Downtown Caldwell, where we saw some friends to sit next to.

After the parade they had a bunch of free activities at the park. Daddy and M got into a waterfight.

See that evil grin?

The Helpers are Gone:

And we're even MORE sleep deprived! A just doesn't sleep! Obviously I spent his crying time comforting him instead of taking pictures, so these pictures of him aren't what he looked like 95% of the time.

Lavender picking festival . . . though we didn't actually pick any lavender. We got there and realized that we already had lavender at home. Oh well . . . it was still fun!

Mirror, Mirror on the toy . . . who's the cutest little boy?

Movie night!

And laundry . . .

This was one of A's first semi-happy days! He was happy for an accumulation of 3 hours that day! We hoped it was related to the vast amounts of no-bake cookies I had consumed the day before, but no luck. :-( We later learned that he has a milk intolerance. When I dropped dairy products, his screaming decreased by half!

More laundry . . . more movie nights . . . (look at the SIZE of that pile!)

M likes having a little brother. He loves having extra places to climb and hide in his room. Luckily, A doesn't sleep in M's room yet . . . so M's not sitting on anyone in the bassinet. :-P

Starting to smile!

Matching brothers

Harry Potter Day! Harry Potter 7 part 2 came out that night, and we went to an HP party at a library. Unfortunately, L got some potion in her eye, and cried almost the entire time we were there. Oh well . . . they surely made cute house elves!

24th of July:

Our stake had a HUGE Pioneer Day celebration. We dressed up in our pioneer clothes (T and me in our Trek clothes, M and A in their own clothes, L in my childhood dress).

Overall, the past two months have been CRAZY!! Tony just started student teaching at Idaho Arts Charter School, and he's still working for the state school and hospital. He's gone from 7:10am until 11:20pm. We miss him a LOT, and are doing our best to have a schedule. Good news, though: After years on the job, he finally gets to have Sundays off! YAHOO!!
L starts kindergarten tomorrow. She's so excited to go, and has been talking about riding the bus for AGES! M's jealous, and insists that he's 5 also and can ride on the bus. She's also excited to meet new friends and learn Spanish.
M is doing really well with potty-training! Just this week he started going #2 on the toilet 'cause he had some owies from going in his diaper. I told him the owies wouldn't hurt if he went on the toilet, so he DID! GOOD JOB, BUD! (He does insist that he's not "Bud," he's "M-")
He also dresses himself, which is sometimes a disaster. It's amazing how he can fit his whole body in one pants leg.

A's doing better now that I'm off milk and he's on Zantac. He's like a normal baby now. He gets up about twice during MY night to eat (between midnight and 6:30), and will stay asleep if I hold him. It means I get between 2 and 4.5 scattered hours of sleep per night, which is a GREAT improvement considering I have no more help! I was finally able to start sleep-training yesterday now that he's not constantly in pain. We'll see how that goes!
We lost the camera for a few weeks, so we don't have many pictures from August. I found the camera tonight, just in time for L's first day of kindergarten tomorrow!

A is STILL asleep! WOW!!! He's been asleep for 2 hours! Now I feel silly for being awake! Goodnight, world!

Father's Day

2011-06-19T12:27:00.001-07:00

Here's to the fathers in my life.
The most prominent right now is my wonderful husband, who has taken several weeks off work to help me recover from childbirth.
The kids LOVE having him around, and he's able to wrestle/dance/nurture them in ways that I can't right now. He is funny, thoughtful, and takes time out of every day to make sure each of us knows that he loves us.

And to my own dad, who supported me through me trying teenage years (and added to the "trying" part of them) :-). He's the smartest man I know, or at least he tries to make me think he is. He also holds the record for the longest filibusters.

Here he is teaching my daughter how to fix a refrigerator. :-)

And to the father-in-law, Roger Bradshaw, who accepted me into the family without hesitation. He can fix anything, grow anything, and make any grumpy child happy again. Tony takes a lot of his personality traits from his father.

And now for the pictures of Baby Adam:
Here's a good shot of his birthmark, right next to his ear:

It's too loud in this crazy house!

But I like being here anyway!

Adam James

2011-06-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

tony accidentally put a blog entry on emily's art page instead of this blog, so to see a LOT more pictures, go here:
http://emilybradshawart.blogspot.com/2011/06/adam-james.html

Chuck E Cheese, Memorial Day and Baby Shower

2011-06-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

We went to Chuck E Cheese for our official birthday celebration for L. (M thinks we went to Grilled Cheese, and ate Chuck E Cheese.) We took her there last year, and she hasn't stopped talking about it. I'll admit to hoping she forgets about it by next year so I don't need to hear all of those same songs again. :-P L chose to spend most of her tokens on rides. She liked the thrill factor.
M was scared of ALL of the rides, so he preferred to play the games. He actually spent most of it watching this train that you could speed up and slow down. I had to drag him away from it to do other things for MY sanity.

Daddy had fun getting tickets, too!

M may not have been willing to ride a ride, but he sat long enough for a picture (before we put the token in).

Morning hair!! (Love the dimples!)

Playing in the rain

When the doctor let us know that we wouldn't have the baby for at least another day, Tony took M camping. We kept contact over the radio, but I never went into labor. Instead L and I ate cereal, watched a movie, and painted nails. :-)

The kids have definitely enjoyed having Daddy home for a week. They played so many games together! Now Tony's back in school, and they STILL spend every second they can with him.
Our annual Memorial Day celebration at the cemetery. I felt a special closeness to the veil, surrounded by people who had passed on, and inside me was a baby that was about to come. I wondered who was giving my baby his pep talk for Earth life.
Okay . . . so catch this: I invited a few people over for a game night/ movie night. I had some friends who were dying to have a girls' night, so I decided to have our last bash before the baby was born. I only invited MAYBE 5 people. 8:00 came around, I opened the door, and there were a few people I didn't invite. They were still good friends, so I was happy the word had spread to include them. One of them said, "WAIT! You know about this?" I had no idea what she was talking about . . . until I looked at their hands and noticed that they were each carrying a present. It was a surprise baby shower at my own house!!! How did they do that?? We had fun chatting, opening presents and eating. Most of the presents were home made, or at least the cards were, and if they weren't then they were picked so well according to my likes and styles. I felt so loved! What great friends I have!
Quotes of the week:
1. M was getting tired of waiting to sit on my lap. The baby is taking up all of the space. Finally he said, "The baby is done!" I asked him what he meant, and he said, "The baby is gone." Where did he go? "To the church." Haha . . . I wonder how he feels when he can SEE the baby in my lap, and know exactly who is taking his place.
2. M and I sat at the piano and played We'll Bring the World His Truth. It's not exactly a hyper song like Popcorn Popping, yet at the end Micah said, "That song was FUN!" I think he felt the Spirit while we sang, and in his little words he was trying to explain the happy feeling.
3. L was picking a fight with M (again), saying, "I have friends. You don't have any friends." Since they watched Emperor's New Groove, they've done a lot of "Yes I do! No you don't! Yes I do! No I don't!" I finally interfered and said, "He has friends! M_ . . . who are your friends? Who do you like?" He answered, "JOANNA!" In order to understand this, you need to know that Joanna is MY friend, about my age, and she has 3 kids of her own. She's the one he picked, though!

Getting close!

2011-05-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

I'm finally going to give you an update that isn't solely made out of pictures! Feel free to skip to the pictures, though, if you don't like the wordy stuff. :-)
Tony is as amazing of a husband and a father as he ever has been. He takes time out of every day to make sure we all feel loved. He does chores around the house, helps the kids in their tasks, and is constantly working so hard to provide for our family. His schedule has been changed dramatically, and we're still trying to adjust. After 3 years of working the night shift, they've switched him to work swing shift (3pm to 11pm). He's been getting used to the new level of danger involved (working with sleeping clients wasn't as dangerous as working with clients that are awake), and trying to keep an optimistic attitude. It's tough on him, though. He will start his Masters program next Monday, so his schedule will be consistently busy 'round the clock. The school is doing everything they can to help him succeed, including rearranging some of the class meeting times so he can go to work. He will take time off work when the baby comes, but will still be in school.
I (Emily) am currently 36 1/2 weeks pregnant. Getting close to the due date! Those of you who have seen me while I've been pregnant will know that I don't get very big at all. I've had a different doctor with each pregnancy, and each doctor has taken this "smallness" in a different way. My current doctor send me in for an extra ultrasound this last week, only to find that the baby was healthy and the amniotic fluid just fine. She doesn't think I'll make it to my due date, though, since the baby has already dropped and I'm already dilating. I spent a few weeks working on an art project for my uncle who is on a mission with his wonderful wife. I didn't get much housework done during those weeks, but now I'm free to get ready for the baby. Now I spend my days playing with the kids and cleaning the house in preparation for the baby to come (I have no desire to clean once the baby's here!). I spend my nights twisting and turning with twitchy limbs. Luckily Tony is a deep sleeper, and isn't disturbed by my wiggles or bathroom trips. I do think I'll get more sleep when the baby is here, despite the odd feeding hours. (Sorry I don't have any pictures of my pregnant belly . . . I've learned the hard way that my attempts to photograph my pregnant belly are not successful. Here's a picture of my artwork, though!)

Liahona got in to a local charter school, and we brought her to registration on Friday. I wasn't pleased with the process, and am a bit nervous to send her to this school. Tony really wants this school because it will teach her Spanish. This school's probably better than the regular public school, but that's not saying much. They tested her skills in specific areas, but she was confused at the way the questions were presented. I tried some of the same tests later on, and she got them right because I presented them in a manner that made sense to her. She is very bright, and though she's very wiggly she is also very excited to succeed. She knows how to read, though her attention span doesn't let her read very much yet. She loves pink, princesses, playing with her friends, and her daddy. She turned 5 last week, and designed her own birthday cake (a pink cake with a smiley face made out of gummy worms). She's such a sweetheart, and is a joy to be with.

Micah is 2 . . . and potty training! WOW! We tried to force Lia to potty train early, and it took us 3 years to get it down. Torture. Micah, we decided to take everything at his pace. He can stay completely dry except for the naps and the poops. He loves his sister, and they usually get along pretty well. He doesn't like her excessive hugs, though; just occasional hugs. He loves to do things by himself . . . even if the result is a bit odd.

He loves to do whatever she does . . . even if it's not the most masculine thing to do. At least we attempted to make toenail polish more masculine by putting American flags on his toes instead of the PINK that he wanted. :-)
Overall, our family is busy and happy. Lots of changes will occur in the next few weeks, and we'll let you know how that all goes.

Easter Plus

2011-05-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Community Easter Egg Hunt

Visiting the Statue of Liberty

Eating Easter Candy

Our new tradition is to buy Easter candy the day after Easter, and give the kids our own candy hunt that morning.

Cuties

Do all kids take apart their sandwiches the moment they get them? They eat all of the innards first. :-)

Family Time

Like Mommy

Our New Organ: It smells like an old smoker's house, so now our house does too! Blech!

Favorite Things

2011-04-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

Eating the pasta and snitching the cookie dough . . .

Climbing the statues although it's time to go . . .
Playing in fountains as if they were springs

These are a few of my favorite things!

Conference Guests and Birthday

2011-04-10T17:26:00.001-07:00

My brother's family came to visit us for General Conference. We had so much fun with them!
M and J were die-hard Buzz Lightyear fans, so here they are showing off their pjs.

L and B ended up matching as well. L laid down next to B for the picture, but then B tried to get her. :-)

Playing during the session:

Tony finished this rug in one day! He's amazing!

The next weekend we celebrated Tony's birthday. He took work off the night before and the night after so that he wouldn't have any "work" on his birthday. He still had school, but at least we had time to go on a double date with my brother nearby and his wife.

First successful attempt at giving M a haircut with a buzzer. His back got really hairy!

This morning M looked like he was pretending to be pregnant. I asked him, "Do you have a baby in your tummy?" He replied, "No . . . a RACE CAR!" First of all . . . boys shouldn't be pregnant. Second of all . . . the least he could do would be to have a HUMAN baby! :-)

testing

2011-04-01T18:41:00.001-07:00

just set up for people to receive email notifications. anyone following us that wants email notifications?

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

For Tony's spring break, we decided to take a trip to Boise (I know . . . it's a whole 30 minutes away!) Truth is . . . Tony couldn't get any time off work next to his weekend, so we didn't have enough time to travel anywhere else. But we made it fun anyway!
A friend of ours works at the Marriot, and she gave us a discount for reservations to Hotel 43. What a blessing, and SO MUCH FUN!

We saved money by bringing our own food. We weren't sure if we'd have a refrigerator, so we brought nonperishable items. The hotel also provided us with lots of goldfish and goodies!

After getting situated, we took some hotel passes to the YMCA to go swimming. It was a difficult walk for M and me (by the time we got back to the hotel we were pooped), but we took it slow and stopped at every interesting thing that the kids wanted to see.

Great view of the capital building . . . better view of the kids! :-)As tired as they were at the end of the day, we were still in an unfamiliar place. It took them 2 1/2 hours to get to sleep. Tony and I ended up watching 7 Brides for 7 Brothers on his laptop with earphones so we'd have something to do while ignoring their whispering. They eventually conked out.
After getting up very slowly we went for another walk. There are so many interesting things in Boise, especially through the eyes of a child!

This outdoor escalator had to the be the highlight of M's trip. We went up and down a few times before I forced him to move on. He wasn't very happy about that. :-P

How much is that kid in the window?

The one with the fish lips!

Climbing fire hydrants while waiting for the crosswalk light to turn on.

The Grove had some interesting visitors. M called them "squeeky," but they're really just talking geese. :-) I could swear the husband had lost their way and the wife was trying to tell him to ask for directions. L decided to be helpful and shout out the location of the other geese, trying to get them to follow. :-)

Playing with marbles . . . too bad they wouldn't come off the ground!

There's a B just for us in the middle of Boise! We couldn't resist!

If you recognize this location . . . shh!! Don't tell anyone where it is, or they'll wonder why we let our kids play there!

What kid can resist a hill full of soft grass, and stairs at the end of the hill to go back up again?

And again and again and again, until they're wiped out?

After lunch we visited Castle Rock Reserve.

Anyone reading this know that Tony proposed to me near Castle Rock in California? Now we have to check out all Castle Rock Parks in every state we live in. That rock in the background doesn't look as much like a castle as the mansions next to it.

I think we all enjoyed the playground best!

Close to the park were a bunch of really cool places: the botanical gardens, a historical museum, a few other things, AND the old penitentiary. I didn't even know what a penitentiary was before today. If I had known, I wouldn't have had any desire to go see it anyway. Tony really wanted to see it, though (probably because of his current line of work). We drove by, and it looked like a castle!

We parked 'cause we thought it was free to go in, but after finding that it WASN'T free we chose to visit only the free portion (The Women's Ward).

It was fascinating to visit the rooms and read the inscriptions on the wall. It's not a place I would have liked to go when anyone LIVED there! How degrading! It also looks like many women were put there for reasons that are almost passed over these days (such as adultery). I don't know how I feel about the change in the definition of a crime.

Overall we had an excellent family staycation! M started potty-training himself in order to get the hotel goodies. L had fewer tantrums with so much to occupy her and so much quality attention. It was probably our last big outing before this baby comes, so it was nice to create some good memories and get some good pictures!

This photo presentation has been brought to you by the skills of: a garbage can, fence post, Honda Accord, and photoshop, in order to get all of these pictures of the whole family together. :-)

It's Always Fun When Grandpa Comes!

2011-03-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Our kids are normally excellent singers . . . but when they start to compete in volume their natural talents go in a different direction. :-) This video cracks me up SO MUCH!! M just gets so excited to belt out a word that he stands on his tippy toes!

March 2011

2011-03-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Our kids are so creative! Some of the things they come up with to entertain themselves are really fun! Here's M watching a movie from inside a toy box.

And the train we built: (They've been wanting to ride trains ever since their Bradshaw grandparents visited, so we have to make due somehow!)

Riding inside the train:

L's new creative way of eating her Frosted Mini-Wheats (pull out the ones with the most frosting and save them for last!)

Dancing to Daddy's piano music (the music looks like it was pretty wild!):
Sickness in the home: M was sick for 2 weeks. He rested on the couch the ENTIRE time. At least Sissy was willing to entertain him.
Okay . . . maybe he wasn't on the couch the ENTIRE time. He cried unless he was right next to me. It was like having a 30 lb newborn! So . . . as you see . . . he was with me as I did the dishes (and other places that I won't post pictures of!). :-P L was the lovely photographer of this picture:
When he got better I realized his haircut didn't match his new personality. He has QUITE a personality. So . . . I cut it! (I had a little too much fun with the process!)
It may look like he hates the haircut . . . but really he's just frustrated with getting his shoes on. :-)

Fashion Statements:

(M was REALLY upset when we told him he couldn't wear his Lightening McQueen slippers to church.)

This last week we got a new refrigerator and a new dishwasher (and a new microwave, and one car just finished getting its repairs while the other still has to go in to the shop). Although it's been an expensive year, we have some great memories to look back on! How many things can you do with a huge BOX???
Go to a drive-in movie:

Peek-a-boo:

They also rode the "train" to "California," and the box became California. It became an airplane, a helicopter, and, best of all, a garbage truck! It's pretty trashed now.

Frugal February

2011-03-07T21:02:00.001-08:00

February was a month of sickness, staying indoors and trying not to spend extra money on entertainment. We ended up having a really fun month!

Out toy shelves keep falling apart, so we decided to go all out and let the kids build whatever they wanted with them. They played with them all morning!

We caught a few wolves (after seeing Alpha and Omega):

Then Tony and I put them together and hot glued them in place so they wouldn't fall apart anymore.

Another day we pretended to go to McDonalds. We had homemade chicken nuggets, french fries, and happy meal bags. L even put a surprise toy in each of the bags.

Then they "played on the slides" by pulling out bean bean bags and sliding all over. At our local McDonalds they have a piano slide that plays descending notes when the kid slides down. M and L laughed so hard when I played the same thing on our piano while they slid!
Here's what REALLY goes on during preschool . . . or shall we say . . . recess. It's fun to teach a bunch of girls!

Indoor football! Tony taught M and L to throw the ball under their legs!
L had a phone call, so M wanted to talk on the phone as well. His is fake, hers is real. They're having just as much fun!
And for our February sicknesses: Poor guy!
L got sick as well, but she liked to dress up with some clip-on earrings and pretty clothes!

January Jiggles

2011-01-30T19:49:00.000-08:00

Our kids are either fighting or giggling these days. It's a love/hate friendship. Of course I don't take pictures of the fighting, so enjoy the other half of my life!

Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler came to visit, and spoiled us rotten! They brought us to The Discovery Center, and broke our fridge (well . . . it broke while Tony and I were on a date, and they took care of it. Talk about great babysitters!).

Discovery Center

Blacked out bodies from the green screen:

Bubble Blower:

Kiddie Grocery Shopping:

Giant J:

It took L a while to WANT to pull herself up into the air, but eventually she realized how cool it was!

Magnet board with cousins:

Entrance to the Discovery Center

Back at home . . . M's fishy face!

Making biscuits with Daddy!

Okeydokey . . . here's the tooth story: A month or two after M's first baby tooth came in, he tripped and fell on a large vase. His tooth eventually died, and something called a draining fistula showed up in his gums above his tooth. The infection was sticking in that spot, and would impede the growth of his permanent tooth directly above it. The dentist said he'd need to pull it in order to have better hopes for the permanent tooth. So . . . here M is in the toy room, waiting for his little oral surgery:

There were PLENTY of fun things to do while waiting!

But after he took the medication, he got a bit loopy. I had to hold him in order to keep his balance, which he didn't feel like he needed. You'll see who's right!

After the surgery they gave him a can of applejuice, and he drank it down (and spilled it down) on Daddy's lap.

M did such a great job. He kept trying to pull his numb lip off (or bite it off), but sticking a good movie in helped him out. I had a much harder time coping with the surgery than he did. He was fine once the numbing wore off. It took ME 3 days to stop crying over his lost tooth! Now that I see how normal he is, though, I can't help loving him for who he is. No more depressing over a lost tooth for me, and M could care less!

He's still winking!

Moving on . . . we went to a family fun day at the nearby Civic Center. They had a reptile exhibit that the kids LOVED!

M got a new belt! Living snake skins are better than dead!

L loved the snakes more than the candy!

Though they didn't want much to do with the HUGE snakes!

Funny faces:

One of our favorite things to do during a meal is make each other laugh with our funny faces. Really polite, huh? This day it was "angry faces."

(Kind of hard not to crack up while making funny faces.)

Post-Meal face:

Father-Son Outing

2011-01-11T03:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

Frosting sugar cookies:
(This cookie is supposed to be a bell, but L isn't very good at placing cookie cutters on the dough yet. She called this cookie a "princess" instead!)

M's new *WINK*!! I know, both of his eyes are closed, but YOU try catching a moment that lasts only for the blink of an eye!

CHEESE!!!

Christmas Eve
New Christmas PJs
Christmas Day: We started off with a picnic breakfast in the kids' room. The kids slept in the same room the previous night so that we could install L's Christmas present (the pictures come later). They had way too much fun in the same room, and started the day at 3:30 instead of 7:30. I guess that's expected on Christmas Day!
First sight of the tree/presents
It was hard to distract M from the train that went around the tree. Of course he wanted the present that WASN'T his! :-P
Which one should I pick?
So . . . here's the bed story: We traded/bought/made/painted this twin bed for L since we need her bed/crib for the new baby. We weren't planning on showing her the bed until after the presents were open, but we didn't notice her sneak out to go put her new Christmas pjs away. She came running back in, saying, "There's a BIG BED in my room!!!"
We laughed with her, and joined her in her room where we videotaped her reaction. She LOVED it, and said "thank you" many times. I think this was my favorite memory from the day.

M liked it too, though I don't trust him in her room anymore without me!

And . . . last of all . . . L's new classy clothes from G&G Bradshaw:

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Who are the kiddos looking for?

The super duper awesome people who get to bring them on the train!!!

Tony's family came through snow and traffic to visit us for Thanksgiving. Boy are we glad they came (for more reasons than the trains and the presents)! :-)

Think they're a bit excited for this ride?

M likes seeing the world pass by while the train is moving.
So we brought him outside to get a better look!

He liked the inside MUCH better!

Until he saw a crazy man in a red suit come into the room (yes, this is his REAL expression when he saw Santa)!

L likes Santa this year, though.

M liked Santa a little better while eating a candy cane.

Santa's temporarily empty workshop:

"Frosty the No-man!"

G&G Bradshaws' last few minutes being tortured in the Idaho weather, soon to seek refuge back in the train!

We were sad to see them leave to go back to California . . . but as it became time to leave it started to snow in our valley! Hmm . . . M wasn't sad for too long.

Random pictures: M's first suit ($4.00 at D.I.!!!)

L in her most peaceful moments!

Just so the Bradshaws know they're still missed, just today the kids were asking when they were going to show up for Christmas. L is starting to remember that we didn't spend Christmas HERE last year, but in California with them. I think she's afraid Christmas won't come in Idaho! We love you guys! Thanks for suffering the bad travel conditions in order to come and visit us!

Tribute to Tony

2010-12-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Lately Tony has been feeling really guilty for marrying me, 'cause he's just plain not around. This post is to prove to him that, though I often feel sorry for myself 'cause I don't get to SEE him, I have NEVER felt sorry for marrying him! Here are 10 of the reasons he is such a great husband to have (if you don't like cheese, don't continue in this blog post). They're not necessarily the TOP ten, but they were the first ten that came to my mind:

1. He writes love notes to me every day!

2. He has learned to accomplish the things he DOESN'T like to do first, so that he is free and happy when he DOES get to be with us.

3. He makes the kids happy (and me too) whenever he enters the room. They can go from major tantrums (and me too) to cheering "I'M SO GLAD WHEN DADDY COMES HOME!!"

4. He's working hard so he can have a profession he loves, and therefore a life that he loves!

5. He often lets me sleep in, while getting the kids ready for the day and making breakfast.

6. He's constantly asking me what he can do to make my life easier, even though his life is SO FULL!

7. He won't leave the house without hugs and kisses.

8. He's just so darn cute!

9. He's not afraid to crochet, and we can spend a lot of our time together working on projects. He's not afraid of anything for that matter, and is getting teaching credentials in a subject that never came naturally to him.

10. He thanks me for being a single mom, and appreciates what I do even when I don't feel like I'm doing my best.

Muirwood Tribute

2010-11-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

Tribute to The Wretched of Muirwood, by Jeff Wheeler
Lia and Sowe, ages 4/3 (Never that young in the Muirwood books, but fun anyway!)

October 2010

2010-11-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Okay . . . whew knew that peaches were funny?

Effective?

Halloween Preparations

I asked him to go get a tissue and blow his nose . . .

Princess Leia and Han Solo:

We went to a John Williams concert at BSU. They invited the kids to dress up! It was a BLAST! Darth Vador kept attacking the conductor, but he fought back!

BSU has a beautiful campus. If Tony didn't go to C of I instead, I'd have to have our family pictures taken here!

Now for the REAL Halloween costumes!

ROAR! GET DADDY!!!

Daddy did the hair. :-) I laughed when I first saw it, which almost made M cry. Poor guy!

The dragon and the princess:

Sadly, our little dragon had too many sweets. He was puking all night. :-(

Family Pictures 2010

2010-10-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken by Chelsea DeFriez

Our family of four and one seventh!!

September 2010

2010-10-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

M has taken a liking to our dish towel. He thinks it's his superman cape. I wonder . . . if I actually MAKE a cape for him, will he leave my dish towel alone while I'm making dinner?

Didn't you know that cucumbers were extremely funny?

Is this a Wheeler trait, or do other families also build forts around their cereal?

Duet with a friend

It's amazing how early "girliness" starts. Then again . . . M tried to brush MY hair today. Ouch!

Princess Castle Mural (unfortunately, it's in someone else's house)

Birthdays

2010-10-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Cousin E!!

Happy Birthday, M!!
We went to Planet Kid for M's birthday. He liked the toddler area the best, since he wasn't strong enough to climb ropes and such by himself.

Future Olympics Contestant:

M gave everyone a gift for his birthday. L got a GIGANTIC mouse.

M had second thoughts. He wanted Mousie back!

But he did have his own set of presents.

He liked the kitchen towel more than the presents. Sigh . . .

Having a 4-year-old Giant

2010-09-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

I just have to tell you about some experiences I've had with my 4-year-old daughter over the past week. She is such an example to me!
L has been asking a lot of questions lately, and has given me a lot of deep insights. They might not seem so deep when you look at them, but if you think about them then you'll see how profound they can be. She truly helps me feel the Spirit during ordinary tasks.
Quotes (plus a bit of explanation):
1. That mountain is the same as the one Jesus died on! (Speaking about the mountains the pioneers hiked over, and that we hiked through on Trek.)
2. When we die, we will fly with Jesus! (After a long two-way conversation about the atonement.)
3. When Jesus knocks on our door, I will open it and we can give Him our food! (After a conversation about how Jesus and His angels are all around us, watching over us.)
4. I want to give my life to Jesus. (After singing "I Lived in Heaven," and catching that Jesus gave His life that we might live in heaven again.)

These precious gems in each day help me to see my Father's hand in my life. Sometimes I am frustrated by how weak I am. Today, as I prayed, I remembered these conversations I've had with my daughter, and I felt so strongly that Heavenly Father was pleased. I am not a perfect mother. I struggle from hour to hour with my many weaknesses. But when we organize our lives and teach our children as we have been directed to, someday we will see and feel the results. We may not think the little things are important, such as family dinner, FHE, family prayer, or music . . . but children absorb these things and learn from them!
Though I am weak . . . my BEST is enough, and Christ is taking care of the rest.

Testimony

2010-09-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today about 20 kids got up to bear their testimonies in church. This was unusual for our ward, but was well-received. L wanted to get up too when she saw other girls get up, but I discouraged her. I wanted to teach her that bearing her testimony shouldn't be done because it's the popular thing to do. I told her that if the Holy Ghost told her to get up, that I wouldn't stop her . . . but I wasn't going to whisper a testimony into her ear for her to repeat.
Minutes later, M wanted to get up and bear HIS testimony! Tony had such a hard time restraining him! He barely talks in sentences . . . and it was our guess that he just wanted to be "free" like the other kids up on the stand. Were we wrong? Should we have taught these little kids to restrain their testimonies like we do as adults, or should we have taught them that it's always okay to bear one's testimony? In previous wards we have been discouraged from letting our kids bear testimonies on Fast Sunday . . . yet some of the testimonies are real and heart-felt.

Boise Zoo

2010-08-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

While playing dress-up, L pretended to be Wendy while M and I rotated between Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the crocodile. Right now M's the crocodile, saying "ROAR!"
He liked being Captain Hook so much that he decided to grow a blond beard (dough)!

They think that these cool shopping carts are roller coaster rides!

Now that M is out of his crib, he climbs out of bed and cries by the door until he falls asleep. I barely squeezed my hand and the camera in enough to get a picture.

Boise Zoo: It looks like L needs to grow a giraffe neck in order to see the giraffes!

Good thing the tiger was so much closer.

M still preferred the tiger he could climb on.

Both kids wish they were birds . . . not so that they could fly, but so they could live (and jump) in this spongy next.

And they wouldn't mind having big bat ears.

Happy Birthday, B!!

We brought L's friend with us, and they both loved being together. We were really there for L's cousin's birthday party, but he was so occupied with his other friends that it was good to have a girl for L to hang out with. Everyone was happy.

M tried to swipe the statue's apple. :-)

M loved the long running spaces in the nearby rose gardens. I loved the gates that kept him enclosed.

In the end, I could only keep him close by locking him in a stroller.

We love spending time as a WHOLE family (i.e. with Daddy)!

We gave stuffed animals to the kids for the trip home so we wouldn't have to buy souvenirs. Looks like it was a success!

Happy kids!

Summer Sillies

2010-08-22T18:38:00.001-07:00

M was the first to pretend the broom was a horse, but didn't do it long enough to catch a picture. L's cute too!

Bye Daddy!

We had a neighborhood party, and invited Neighborhood Watch, along with the police and fire departments. The kids loved the fire truck. It was a little discomforting to have cops in front of my house during a party, but it was all part of the plan.

Yup! That's McGruff in the fur!

The Canyon County Fair was fun, but the kids liked the toy tractors the best.

M moved quickly up to the real tractor (or "tra (breath) tor")

Isn't this a BEAUTIFUL camp ground? We went camping with some friends, and were amazed by the beautiful scenery!

L trying to be spontaneously silly for a picture . . .

Cute shirt . . . but the neckline is a bit small :-)

Community Fair

M got a little scared at the puppet show. Those three little pigs were so mean to that big bad wolf!

The free jump houses were the best! We LOVE free events!

My blog's been modified! I'm mortified!!! :-P

2010-08-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

You see this square in the middle of my blog saying that a picture has been moved or deleted? Yeah . . . a picture of our family swimming was moved to my ART blog. How do I get rid of this notice?

Remodeling for 50 cents!

2010-07-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

M kept trying to sleep on L's bed, so we decided that he was ready for a toddler bed. We moved L's toddler bed into M's room, and put M's old crib sheets on it. Then we took the crib rail off and turned the crib into a second toddler bed, for L! It still looked like a crib, but we promised L that we would turn it into some sort of princess castle. With this in mind, we set off to buy the materials at garage sales. Instead of buying the materials to build the castle, we found some tulle that was all ready for a princess room. We got it for 50 cents, rearranged L's room, and now her room is very pink and just how she wants it! The sun shines through the pink tulle, casting a pink light on all of the walls. It's heaven for our little princess!
M wasn't quite as excited about his toddler bed. It took him a few days to get used to sleeping in it. He still cries himself to sleep, but now it takes him 2 minutes instead of 30. He cried himself to sleep in his playpen, too, so it's not a big difference.

Nighty night!

July Fun!!

2010-07-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

4th of July Parade! The kids loved the candy the best, but they were too timid to run out into the street and grab it before the other kids got it. Luckily, a teenage girl nearby grabbed candy for them.

M really loved the trucks and tanks, too!

After the parade, we went through the park and saw a lot of really cool things!

Both kids loved the zebra . . .

But M decided he wanted to BE a zebra!

And no matter how hard I pulled . . . I couldn't get him away!

So we bribed him with more candy . . . and they're both happy again!

The kids have LOVED spending so much time with daddy! I'm no longer the favorite parent for EITHER of them!

Fish sticks are yummy, fish FOOD is yucky! Try telling M that!
The kids have LOVED their swimming lessons . . . except for how cold it is, and putting their heads under water, and trying to float on their backs, and listening to the teacher . . . hmm . . . maybe they didn't really like swim lessons after all! :-P

But they liked it when Mommy and Daddy came to play on the last day! Before we left on Trek, I took the kids to the temple. Really, I just needed to go to the distribution center there to buy a children's songbook so Tony could play the harmonica on Trek, but we had a good time anyway. L spotted Angel Moroni!

The gardeners liked seeing little kids, and they gave L some flowers that had broken off their stems. L TREASURED them!

Are wishes still granted if you throw in flowers instead of pennies?M liked the long stretches of cement on which he could run!

I asked them if they wanted to touch the temple (I used to love doing that as a kid) . . . but I'm pretty sure M thought I said "Jericho" instead. :-)

Can you spot both kids in red?

Last week we got to see their cousins in "Peter Pan." L wanted to be a pirate!
They did such a good job!

And finally: I completed my FIRST mural! YAHOO! A friend commissioned me to do a mural in her home. I learned so much from the experience, and had a lot of fun hanging out with her every night. She's definitely a friend I'm going to keep!

Trek

2010-07-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Trek was an amazing experience! It couldn't have gone better!
We got to our destination over an hour earlier than expected, so we visited Independence Rock. It was a beautiful sight. It kind of reminded me of the last section of Half Dome, though not quite the breath-taking green view.

Eventually we loaded up our handcart.
And set off for the first 3 miles. Our "sons" pushed and pulled most of the way, though the girls helped out as much as we could.
I think some of us suffered from sleep deprivation from the bus ride . . .

. . . and some seemed a bit confused . . .. . . or mortified by a stubborn shoelace . . .

But we kept smiling anyway.Especially when we saw a bathroom on the horizon!
The sunrises and sunsets were breathtaking!

And as we walked, we saw God's hand in all things.

How can I summarize the feelings we felt as we walked the steps of the pioneers? As we were carried across the Sweetwater River, as were the frail, suffering people so many years before?

How can I explain how close strangers grow when they're put together into a family? We served each other, and taught each other. We felt the Spirit together. The pioneers built their own Zion on their journey to Zion. It's all about the journey, not necessarily the destination.

We learned so much from our Trek experience! But most of all, we learned to
"Enjoy the Journey."

May we always remember that lesson, even when we're not hiking in the wilderness.

Boys vs Girls

2010-06-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the story of a cute boy and girl:

The girl loves her dresses,

The boy just impresses

and makes many messes,

saying "no no, yes yesses"

and runs 'round his parents to give them a whirl.

It's so fun to have a boy and a girl. The older M gets, the more differences we see in their personalities. M isn't afraid to try anything sporty, and is in fact already better at steering a tricycle than his sister (though he can't reach the pedals). L excels at art and nurturing, while M excels at sports and hitting. They're so fun!

More Sewing Projects

2010-06-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the pillowcase dresses I made. I've adjusted the blue one since I took this picture, but the picture's still cute. I like the men's dress shirt pattern better, but L can make anything look cute!

Picture Update

2010-05-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that I submitted one of my paintings to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, hoping that they would purchase it for use in some of their buildings. It was the picture of Adam and Eve that I posted a few months ago. The update is: it was rejected.
I was surprised by their decision, because I feel like this specific painting is Heavenly Father's painting instead of my own. I don't feel any sadness or injury . . . just mild surprise. If it doesn't belong in the temples, I'm curious to figure out where it DOES belong. I learned so much by this submission process, and hopefully one day I will be able to fulfill this dream.

Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T14:07:00.001-07:00

Here we are on Memorial Day 2010!!!

This picture is us on the couch with the blanket T made of an American Flag. T also brought home matching shirts for the kiddos to wear.

This is the best one we could get of the two of them in their matching shirts.

We went to the local cemetary, and E found a gravestone of someone with her maiden name. Strnage emotions that are hard to express resulted:

Here we are under our umbrella because it was raining. See how good M is getting at looking at the camera and smiling; He's even better than his older sister!

This one was nearly perfect. E stapping the picture made us snapping a few shots before we got it just right!

Mowing the Lawn

2010-05-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

How to mow a lawn, family style:
1)Hold your sick toddler's hand with one of your hands.
2)Hold/guide the lawn mower with your other hand.
3)Push the lawn mower with your stomach.
4)Accept your preschooler's help when offered, but realize that when she's not around, she's most likely making her own dinner with her free access to the fridge.
5)When your toddler's tired of walking around, let him join the fridge raid, then run with the lawn mower to finish the job as fast as you can. Hopefully you will finish before your house has burned down.
6)Have fun!
Warning: Do not try this if pregnant or elderly. Seek a doctor's advice before having kids in the first place!

video of kids in car

2010-05-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

enjoy!

Artistic Endeavors

2010-05-24T10:59:00.001-07:00

Those of you who follow me on Facebook, know that I've been tired of drawing lately and that I've turned to other artistic adventures. I cut M's hair, but had a difficult time deciding how to style it.
Strategic messy look:

We just went swimming look:

Wet, nice look (my favorite, though not obvious in the picture):

L's haircut (I cut about 5 or 6 inches):

Grand finale: I MADE THIS DRESS! Isn't it cute?? I got the pattern from a friend a few years ago, and turned a man's dress shirt into this cute summer dress. Luckily she loves it, and even wanted to wear it to bed last night. :-)

I made other dresses out of pillowcases, but they require matching shirts underneath to make them modest. They will be posted as soon as I find the shirts (or learn how to make them).

Spencer's Wedding

2010-05-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

This month we went to our best man's wedding. It was AWESOME! He has a beautiful bride, and they compliment each other so well!

Wedding or water? WATER!!!

L couldn't take her eyes off the "white girl." I suggested that she should go tell the white girl what she thinks of her dress. She did, and got to hold the bouquet and have a special moment with the bride!

Throw a garter, or throw rocks? ROCKS!!!

L's the flower with pretty blue eyes.

I forgot to take a picture of their FINISHED wedding present, but here's a picture of it at one of the last stages. I still made a lot of shading corrections, but it's

The next day we had to chance to go meet their new Wheeler cousin. She's so cute! L wanted to hold her, M wanted to hit her. Go fig.

Then we went out to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw (they don't look old enough to be grandparents), and Tony's sister (who backed up too far to be in this photo).

Congratulations, Spencer and Kim! We're still going to be grandparents way before you, unless your first child marries one of ours! :-)

L's 4th Birthday!

2010-05-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

For L's 4th birthday, she received some money from her grandma and grandpa Bradshaw. With that money we went to Chuck E Cheese's for the firs time. It was SO FUN! At first M got really scared on the rides, but he had more fun when he rode WITH L.

M has finally gotten over his digestive problems! YAHOO! He's discovered that he REALLY likes pizza.

And L has always loved pizza. Chuck E Cheese's was a HUGE success. It really made me want to take a trip to Disneyland. I thought M would be too young to enjoy something like that, but he proved me wrong. Plus L loves princesses. Maybe that will be our celebration after Tony graduates?

L's 2 best girlfriends came over to celebrate on her birthday. While they were there, L got a phone call from her grandparents. :-)

L wanted to decorate sugar cookies with candy for her birthday, so I decided to put together a sugar cookie castle. You might think I'm totally spoiling her, but I just had so much fun designing it! I've been sick of drawing lately, so I've needed other artistic outlets.
We unexpectedly had family over, so I had to finish the castle much faster than I had planned. It didn't look the best because of the hurry, but it was sure fun to make!

Good think I took a picture before I let the kids decorate the castle! It BLEW UP!

We have such a cute niece who really liked L's princess chair!

Here's the party group! Afterward we went to Tony's recital, then caught the drive-in movies. Of course we brought the castle to munch on at the movies. :-)

It's so fun to have a 4 year old! She's such a joy in our lives!

Visitors!

2010-05-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

T's brother's family came to visit us. It was GREAT!

We all went fishing together.

Still waiting . . .

We didn't end up catching anything, so M decided to attack the fish with rocks instead.

These cute cousins were so fun to watch. We asked them to hug and pose for the picture, and they weren't willing to let go for several minutes! :-)

Two brothers: Same receding hairline, two different solutions.

A Visit from Sis!

2010-04-11T20:34:00.001-07:00

My sister visited us here in Idaho for the first time. We had SO MUCH FUN, despite sickness among all three families here!
She got along so well with L and M. L often preferred her company over mine. M will always stay loyal to his mommy, though. :-)

Her sons were hilarious! I don't even remember who A is pretending to be in this picture. A and L had a lot of fun playing.

Here's her sick son. L tried to console him a few times, and never got sick herself! YES!!!

A really liked his ice-cream. :-)

Her baby was so cute, fun and loving. I just couldn't pass up his hungry facial expression!

Riddle of the Day

2010-04-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

L has been learning about a certain structure close to where we live. This two-piece setup on the table is her representation of the structure. Can anyone figure it out?
T crocheted this sweater. I need to take a picture of the other one he did, too. They're both so nice!
I tried to take a picture of M with his new Spiderman pjs (from his awesome aunt), but he wasn't cooperating.
L took the picture instead. :-) She tried a few times, and this shot finally didn't chop our heads off.

Who says boys don't play with dolls?

Or cook?

Coloring eggs. She likes to do it all year round!

March 2010

2010-04-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

March was a fun month for our family. It was my birthday, but we didn't bring our camera to the celebration. Oh well. I made a GREAT cake that looked like an art palette, but no one could tell what it was. My wonderful husband took me on a date that night while my brother's family took the kids . . . and L puked all over her cousin's beautiful bed. Too much sugar!

This smile can charm anyone! (No wonder she got away with so much sugar!)

It is getting to be WAY too much fun to do L's hair. She asks me to make it curly after almost every bath time. I use the rag-curl method.
M's getting really good at using a spoon (which he calls "boo"), though you can't tell in this picture. :-)
M wants to play with L, no matter what she's doing. We tried to turn Esmerelda's dress into a toga to make it more masculine. They're SO CUTE!
L went to her second birthday party. She's sitting next to the birthday girl in this picture. They're AWESOME friends!
After years of training, L FINALLY stayed dry for a few weeks in a row! Her reward was princess bedding. GO L!!!!

February 2010

2010-03-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

Our dishwasher broke last Sunday, so here are our two new dish washers at work. :-)

Daddy spent hours and hours and hours on this quilt. A co-worker gave him all of her yarn dregs, and this is what he came up with! Isn't he amazing???

Good thing M wants to be just like him!
Daddy's been gone a lot lately, so M decided to put on Daddy's hat and go looking for him.

Having no success, he decided to call and report a missing daddy. Luckily Daddy came home just in time.

M was very happy 'bout that!

L officially LOVED Valentine's Day. These valentines came from her teachers at church. She also got a Spiderman pencil from her friends around the corner. :-)
Our friend had the idea of doing a Valentine's Day house. Ours didn't turn out nearly as cool as hers did, but I'm sure it was just as tasty!

DELICIOUS MUSH!!!

L's and M's newly found game! LIGHT SWITCH WAR!!!

Articles of Faith

2010-03-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

For the past while we've been teaching L the Articles of Faith through the music in the Children's Songbook. L prepares a song, then presents it to the bishop when she is ready (and gets a piece of candy from the bishop, too). She works so hard on memorizing these songs, and is learning so much through the process. Here are a few things she's learning:
1. How to memorize in relatively short periods of time.
2. Diction and volume so the bishop can understand her (when she's actually there she gets really shy and has a hard time with this, but she's getting better). She's also learning to have confidence in front of non-parents.
3. The bishop cares about her, and she can trust her priesthood leaders.
4. These Articles of Faith will stick with her FOREVER, though hopefully our simple explanations will stick with her until she's old enough to understand the big words.
5. Our dear BISHOP is learning to keep a straight face during a really cute performance, though there's laughter in his eyes. He's a good sport, and we love him!

Enjoy the video performance!
FYI . . . L's understanding of the 2nd Article of Faith is that when M hits her, M goes on a time-out. L doesn't go on a time-out when M's the one who does a no-no. It's cute to hear her explain it.

Home Decorations

2010-02-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

T's on a school break this week, and we have a number of things to do around the house. As the weather was a bit colder today, we did indoor things.

T bought this chandelier for maybe $2.00 at a garage sale in August, but we didn't get around to hanging it up until now. Partly because it required more than one person, and partly because we weren't sure all the pieces were there and it would work. Wrong on both accounts! All the lights lite and it is "pretty!"

We got the picture and the candle holders for Christmas from two different parties. We decided to put them in our dinning room, so now we can light the candles and have a romantic candlelight dinner!

Scales

2010-02-12T22:12:00.000-08:00

Oh . . . I have a funny story for you. Tonight I stepped on the scale (after eating many sugar cookies for V-day), and discovered to my HORROR that I had gained 20 pounds since Christmas! ACK! I started doing a mental check of all of the things I needed to cut back on, and of the exercises I needed to start doing in greater quantity. I wondered if something was wrong with the scale, 'cause I had never weighed this much without being pregnant! Something wrong with the scale? Wait! My kids have been playing with the scale! I ran back and discovered that our good old fashioned scale was set at 20 lbs instead of at 0. I switched it back to normal, and I discovered to my DELIGHT that I had lost 20 pounds in only 10 minutes! YES!!! Moral of the story: Lose weight and feel better about yourself in minutes: just tamper with the scale! :-) (Or just don't let the kids play with it.)

Copycats

2010-02-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

L tries to be Mommy:

then tries to be a fish:

M tries to be a fish too . . .

but cracks up intead!

Dancing and Singing

2010-01-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

You all already knew these kids loved Les Mis. Well . . . here's a small cut from their dancing and singing along. It's the first time Micah hit the right pitch, even though it took him 3 tries. :-)

Chosen

2010-01-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

I finished this picture just this week. It's a representation of a young Mary holding a doll.
My idea with this picture was that we all have callings in life that we may not be aware of. IF we can humble ourselves and do God's will, He will mold us into something amazing! Many are called, but few are chosen.
I've also thought of my own children as I drew this picture. Sometimes it's hard to remember that they were called to do something on this earth as well. Sometimes it's hard to be patient and loving with them. Who will they be one day? What kind of influence will I have been?