Update on our Life

Here is random updates on our life. I have a few pictures I need to post. I also did a post about our trip to Oregon so keep scrolling down when you finish this post. Life has been pretty normal. The one big update I have is that Caitlyn is Potty Trained! After a few failed attempts I finally was able to get it done. It was so easy once SHE was ready to do it. I am firm believer that they will do it when they are ready and if you try and force them you won't win. It seriously took maybe a day. There have been a few accidents but that is to be expected. It is weird that she potty trained I seriuosly never thought it would happen. I had been so frustrated with it. It is a whole new world but I am so glad it is done. Hopefully Elsa will be easy too. As a bribe to get her to go poop in the potty we told we would take her to Chuck E Cheese so tonight for FHE that is what we did. We went with my Brother and his family because there little boy Brock who is Caitlyn's age also is potty training and that was his reward too. I am still trying to decide who liked it more Wade or Caitlyn. I had to keep reminding Wade that we were there for kids and not him. Here some pictures from the last few weeeks.

I had to take a picture of this. Caitlyn made a bed out of boxes that I still need to put away. She keeps me on my toes. I love to see her little mind work. The other funny thing in this picture is the story of why Elsa has a hairbow on. While Elsa was napping I made some hairbows for a gift. I was sizing them on her head to make sure they would fit. So when I took the bow off she threw a fit so I went and got one of her hairbows and she kept it on all night.

MMMMM! Licorice. I don't reccomend giving 1 year olds licorice. It seriously took like 20 wet wipes to get it all cleaned up. She was in heaven though.
Elsa's new favorite place to play is in Laundry baskets full of dirty clothes and if there is clean folded ones in there she will unfold them for you. I couldn't keep her out of there she kept going and climbing back in.
Here are the girls enjoying a ride with Chuck e Cheese.
Here is Caitlyn having a tea party with her Bear.

Oregon Trip

So we went to the Oregon Coast for a week. It was so fun and relaxing. Wade's Grandma has a house up there so almost every summer we take a vacation up there. My favorite things to do are eat out and shop and Wade likes to golf. We drove up there this yea. 18 hours in the car with a 3 year old and 1 year old. I know you are all jealous! All things considered though the kids really were not that bad I got some good reading in. I started the Twilight series. That is why I am kind of late on this post because any free time since I got home was spent reading number 3. I am done now so I can post the pictures. We really had a good time. My mom came with us, it was nice to have the extra hands to help and to babysit so Wade and I could go on a date. I will explain the trip through the pictures.

Here is Elsa enjoying the car drive. If you look close you can see that she has donut crumbs all over her. She loves the Entenman's old fashioned donuts! Smart Girl. We had to vacuum her car seat out when we got to Angie's.

Wade's sister Angie lives right off one the freeways we were traveling on so on our way up to Oregon we stopped for a visit and a much needed break for the kids. We drove another 4 hours after we left Angie's. Without that visit I don't think we could have made it. It was fun to visit with them. We hadn't seen them in a year and half. Here is Elsa and Caitlyn with Morgan.

This is a picture of the awesome crib that Elsa slept in. Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you the mattress I mean foam pad is on the floor. I felt like she was an animal in a cage not a baby in a crib. She slept soundly all night in there.

We woke up the next morning and only had about a four hour drive which was way nice considering the way long drive the day before. It was also Elsa's first birthday. I still cannot believe she is a year. She is getting so big and is so stinking cute. I brought her gifts up there for her to play with but Caitlyn kept thinking they were hers. We are working on the sharing thing.

This is us trying to get a family picture from a viewpoint on the Heceta Head lighthouse. As you can see it was incredibly windy. So windy that it almost knocked me over when I was walking back to the car.
I decided that shopping and eating out aren't always Caitlyn's favorite things to do so I wanted to do something for her. There is a family fun center in Florence so we decided to go Miniature golfing. My mom went shopping while we were golfing and we should have had her take Elsa, it was pretty difficult with her but we still had lots of fun. Caitlny actually got a hole in one on one of the holes. This is how Caitlyn played, she would hit the ball once, go pick it up and put in the hole and clap for herself. It cracked me up.

We really didn't go walk on the beach much because low tide was always at weird times that didn't work with our schedule. We did get this opportunity though.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you again. This is another crib with a foam pad on the floor for Elsa to sleep in. We had to turn this crib upside down to make it work. The guy had to search long and hard to even find these parts of the crib. When we booked both hotel rooms they told they had a crib so we didn't bring a pack n' play because the Oregon house has one. I mean seriously have these hotels not heard of a pack n' play. They are only $70. It gave us a good laugh.
Oregon was lots of fun. I can't wait to go again. We drove a total of 2800 miles. I am not excited to do that part again but it is worth it in the end.

Air Conditioning

I could not live in Las Vegas without air conditioning in the summer. I rarely spend any time out outside unless I am at the pool. It is usually hot getting the kids in the car to run errands but I can get through it because I know that air conditioning in my car, house, or the store will be there ready to give me relief. Sunday Morning though my air conditioning in my house let me down.

Let me back up to a week ago. Remember as you read this that we are on a corner lot and the side of our house with the most windows gets the afternoon sun. So it was Saturday night about 7 p.m and I was getting ready to bathe the kids. I looked at our thermostat and it read 85 degrees. It really didn't feel 85 degrees so just kind of thought that it was because the sun was shining through a window right on to the thermostat. The air was blowing cold so I figured the sun was going down so it should cool down. When we went to bed at 11 it was reading 80 degrees. Keep in mind too that for 4 hours our AC is just running constantly so think of the great power bill we get to pay. That night Wade and I decided to we need to get solar screens. It was one of those things that we have talked about but have never done. After dealing with sales guys, calls to the Homeowners, and our window company I am happy to say that those have been ordered and should be installed next week. Also that night I was asking Wade if he thought our AC was working right or if we should have it serviced because it has been 4 years in this house and we have never had it serviced. We decided to get the solar screens and then maybe have it serviced.

Now that brings me to Saturday night. We went to bed around 11 and the AC was working fine. Around 5 I wake up and Wade is sitting up in bed I think Elsa is waking up to. I was asking Wade what he was doing. I didn't think he was getting up for the day. He said aren't you hot the AC is out it is 85 degrees. I thought I am kind of hot but sometimes I wake up hot. He went and checked the breakers and they were fine. I feed Elsa, she went back to sleep and I came downstairs. Around 5:30 Caitlyn woke up so she came downstairs with us. We called the repair people and after a few phone calls back to them we were scheduled to have it serviced between 9 and 12. I went back to sleep for a little bit and then had to get ready for church. We went to church and then I went to my parents while Wade came home to wait for the repair man that was of course running late. It ended up being something that powers the compressor. Thankfully it wasn't anything to major or expensive. I came home around 3:30 and it was still like 85 degrees but at least cold air was coming out of the vents. As long as I didn't move too much and sat under the fan downstairs it wasn't miserable, I was able to get a little nap in. Elsa also took a nap in the heat. We went to my SIL's house to have cake and ice cream for her birthday so it was nice to get out of the hot house. We came home and put the kids to bed. Around 11 when I was going to bed I heard Elsa over the monitor choking so I ran in her room and she had thrown up. What a great ending to the day. I changed her and the sheets and got her back to sleep. She hasn't thrown up since so I am wondering if the heat of yesterday got to her. We haven't been around anybody that has been sick and she was acting totally normal before and after she threw up so who knows. I hope it was just the heat because I don't want to pass that around. Every so often I think we just have to be reminded of how many wonderful things we have in this life like air conditioning.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Even with no air the girls still looked adorable for church. (I love Target Clearance!)

Anytime I get the camera out Caitlyn wants a picture taken of her so she can see herself.Elsa has discovered purses especially mine. It is the perfect size for her and kept her very entertained at church yesterday.Elsa has discovered the kitchen drawers.One day I looked over at Elsa and she was sitting on Caitlyn's couch reading a book. Too cute!

Music

Music is a major part of life. I love it. Not a day goes by that I haven't been singing through out the day and I wish I could say the same about playing the piano. Music has always been a part of life. I grew up in a musical family, starting playing the piano at age 6 and always loved to sing. When I entered high school and joined Mrs. B's music program my love of music grew to a new level. Growing up I had been around a lot of people in her program, my mom accompanied a lot the students and would substitute for Mrs. B. I couldn't wait to be a part of it. We were suppose to move to Utah in my my 8th grade year but that changed and we stayed in Vegas so I was able to be in choir. Choir at Chaparral was not just an easy A. You were in that program because you loved it. It was well established by the time I entered it and it was awesome.
Tonight gave me a chance to reflect on really how much being a part of that program really made me the person I am today and not just musically. Marsha Borovicka, or Mrs. B as we called her, is retiring at 33 years of teaching, 23 of those at Chap. Tonight there was a retirement party for her. It was fun to go there and see some of the great friends I had in HS but I haven't seen in 7 or 8 years. These are the people that I spent all my waking hours with in HS. Choir was basically my social life. During the Christmas season we would have 30 or so performances. I was around all these people all the time. Some of them I have stayed in good contact with but I wish we could have just all kept in touch but most have gone on and gotten married and have kids and families but it is fun to have a reunion once in awhile.
As I sat and listened to the various people that spoke at the party I couldn't help but sit and think about how much Mrs. B and this program really had an effect on my life. I learned a lot of what I know about music because of her. I learned a ton about leadership as well. It is amazing to this day when I go to other choir performances that I still notice people touching their face and not looking at the director, all things Mrs. B taught us not to do. Those things are ingrained in my head. I grew so munch as a person. I have never really sat and thought about how much impact those 4 years had on my life. We moved across town the middle of my sophomore year and there was no way I was going to switch schools and leave her program so I stayed at Chap and drove the 20 minutes to school everyday. At the end of the presentation we sang "Friends"(at the end of every spring concert we sing that song and alumni were always welcome to come sing it) I never can get through that song without crying and tonight was no exception. It was a great night I am thankful to have that time to remember all that choir taught me and how important music is to me. Mrs. B said tonight to make sure that we are singing with our kids because there is a lot of yuck in this world and music can help us get through that. I totally agree music has amazing power in our lives. I hope I will never forgot the wonderful memories I have that program and all that it taught me.

Happy Birthday Caitlyn (a day late)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITLYN ANNE!!

May 12, 2005

Yesterday was Caitlyn's 3rd Birthday. I can't believe she is already three. Time has gone by so fast. She is getting so big. She definately can be a handful but I love her and think she is so cute and funny.
Two of my nieces have birthdays right around the same time as Caitlyn so we always do a family birthday party and celebrate all 3. This year we tried to have it at the park but the weather didn't want to cooperate so we ended up at my brother Jared's house. We had pizza for dinner and a cake from Freed's bakery. It was a lot of fun. Caitlyn got a lot of princess stuff which she loves. Wade and I gave her a CD player and made her CD of her favorite songs from the princess movies. Anytime she could today she was singing in her room. It was a good day for her yesterday. Below are some pictures from the evening.

We picked out a princess cake for Caitlyn and since we were celebrating Mackenzie and Caylee's birthday's, who are older, we served it on Hannah Montana plates.

Here are the Birthday girls as we sing Happy Birithday. Mackenzie turned 9 today, Caylee turned 6 on Saturday and Caitlyn 3 yesterday.Here are the kids enjoying there cupcakes and ice cream.Caitlyn opening her Belle Barbie Doll.Here is Caitlyn opening the CD player. Of course we had to get her a pink one.

Here are some pictures of Elsa that I had on the camera. She is getting so big as well. She stands up without holding on to anything and has cut her 2 top teeth. She is a so fun and loves her big sister.

Elsa was helping me unload the groceries from Costco one day.

My Bowl! My Bowl!

So this morning at about 3:30 a.m. I was awakened to Caitlyn talking/crying saying "My Bowl My Bowl" I instantly knew that she had thrown up or was throwing up. I ran in with the bowl to catch the end of her up-chucking.
Let me back-up a little. So last Friday Wade came home early, which was a great treat. I had been planning to go shopping but he came home so I wanted to spend time with him. I had been cleaning the house all day so I wanted to get out of the house and do something. We decided to go to the park. The girls played and had a great time. I had a spatula I need to return to a neighborhood friend and we ended up hanging out over there for about an hour. The next morning when I was talking to my friend she said her daughter had thrown up that night and was still not feeling very well. She didn't want to tell me because she knows how much I hate the stomach flu. I was just like oh well it is not like we knew she had it. I didn't have much going on this week so if we get it we will be okay. I have gotten through it before. So every night since then I have the bowl in Caitlyn's room and she knows exactly what it is for. I thought we had escaped getting it and was hopeful we had. I was wrong.
Caitlyn had thrown-up on her bed so I got a sheet and laid her on our floor, next to her bowl, so I could catch the throw-up the next time. We all finally got back to sleep about an hour later and were up at 7. Caitlyn woke up acting totally normal. Actually, even right after she threw up she seemed fine. I gave her few mild things to eat and everything seems to be settling fine. It is now almost 5 p.m. and she hasn't thrown up again and has been acting totally normal. I am crossing my fingers that it stays that way and that the rest of us don't get it. I fully expect her to randomly throw-up sometime again though like tomorrow night or something, she always does that. I had some errands to do today but didn't dare go anywhere in case things got worse. So my day has been spent doing all the throw-up laundry. Way fun! I am sure you are all jealous.

Hello?

So yesterday started out pretty normal. I got up, got ready ,picked up the house, and went out shopping. I came home and picked up the phone to make a phone call but there was no dial tone. I went upstairs to get the phone and the same thing. I grabbed my cell phone to call my friend who lives in the neighborhood and I just got a busy signal. By that point I figured that there must be an outage in the area. I got my cell phone and called Embarq thinking they would comfirm that. The lady was like I haven't heard of any outage in the area but I will put your problem through and somebody will come out by 7 p.m. tomorrow night. I was thinking great that is a long time to be without the phone. Hopefully it is just an outage in the area and it will be fixed earlier than that. Oh yeah I also didn't have any internet either. My cell phone reception was also really bad and that is not normal. I do have to admit to that when I first got home and realized the phone wasn't working and my cell phone was being bad I thought what if somebody is trying to break in my house, cut my phone lines and bought one of those things that makes your cell phone not get reception. I did go upstairs and make sure nobody was hiding. There wasn't anybody in my house. I know I watch too many crime shows but I love them.
It was weird not to be able to call anybody. Elsa was napping so I couldn't go on a walk to confirm with neighbors that it was an outage so I just hung at home. Around 3:30 I went to grocery store and was able to get some cell reception but not much. When I was checking out they told me Debit was working because phones are down and the checker wasn't getting any cell reception either. That made me feel better but I just wanted to know what was going on. On the news they said that a contractor didn't "Call before you dig" and 12,000 people were without phones. Embarq was hoping the problem fixed by 9. Well, at least I finally knew what caused the problem but I still didn't have any phones. It was just kind of a weird feeling all day. I couldn't have instant communication with people. It is amazing how much peace I have knowing that if something happens, help is only a phone call away. I was feeding Elsa some furit puffs and was like if she starting choking or something happened to my kids I could not call 911. I felt trapped in my house. I have never experienced that before and I hope I never do again. We didn't have them back until 6:30 this morning. Even going to bed last night I was nervous not having a phone. Just another experience to make me grateful for all the modern conviences we have and really how much of a blessing and peace of mind they are to us.