M. I. A.

Yes, I am MIA this week, I dont know where it went or what we did but it happened and now I am home and it is late and I am too tired to tell about it.....night night.

Spokane trip

We had a good time on our trip, we were glad to get back though too. Ryan's meetings were good and my shopping was even better! Well I think so at least! Here are a couple of pictures from the hotel.

I loved this chaise lounge chair, so stylish and comfy, Ryan liked it too, I'm not so sure it is his style though!

On our way out to dinner in one of the ball rooms at the Davenport Hotel, we had to cross the street to get to it from our room so we were all bundled up.

Here is the ballroom at dinner time, my camera/picture taking skills doesn't do it justice!

In front of the TIGER, when we saw this we knew we had to take a picture for the kids, they have asked a million and one questions about the tiger, is it real, is it dead, where are its eyes....

And the golden hippo, another kids favorite! Fun trip we had a great time and cant wait to go again next year!

Hello from Spokane!

Ryan and I arrived safely in Spokane this morning. We had a good uneventful flight, and have been in meetings most of the day, well Ryan has been anyway. We have been given the ROYAL treatment here at the beautiful Davenport hotel and Tower, we are staying in the Tower part this time, we usually stay in the original hotel, but we are trying this side out, and it is great! It is a beautiful old hotel that has been restored recently and has a lot of charm that you don't see much anymore, bell boys, doormen, all sorts of really cool hospitality! It is a really fun place to stay if you ever come to Spokane, plus it is two blocks from a really fun mall and theater, (one of my most favorite parts!)
The kids are doing well, I think I cause more problems when I call to check on them, they are just fine with out us. Justin kept asking if we were coming to grandmas house in an airplane to pick him up, he was a little sad that we weren't coming home until Friday, funny boy! Tomorrow there are more meetings for part of the day and then we are going to go do some fun things around town here. I did enjoy a nap today, first time in years I think! I will post pictures when I can, www.thedavenporthotel.com Just BEAUTIFUL!

Girls day off

Ashley and Emma got to stay home from school yesterday, I love it when we don't have to get up on a Monday morning. Those girls have really learned how to work hard, Ashley had every one's bedroom sparkling and clean before 8:30 in the morning! Yes she is an EARLY riser! Even Emma worked with a smile. We got all of our laundry done from our weekend trip and got everyone packed for another trip this week. Ryan and I are going (alone) to Spokane, WA. Fun, I know! I cant wait. Grandma Telford is keeping the kids for us, Thank you, Thank you! We fly out of Boise in the morning. (I will keep you posted on our trip).We were glad for a nice day off and some catch up time around the house. Here are a couple of pictures from the day; Emma was feeding her "baby"

This is her reaction when Justin tried to feed her baby! Poor Emma, as you can see we really took the day off, Emma wore her PJ's ALL DAY!

A girlie giveaway!

Check out this fun giveaway on my friend Lori's blog, just click on Chad and Lori on my list of blogs and you will see the DARLING purse (Im sure she would call it something more fashionable than that but....) and leave her a comment and hope to win! Tons of fun!

Claire is standing

Claire is back to standing alone, this was taken Sunday morning and today she has been taking steps (Monday). I cant believe that she has healed so quickly. I don't want to do that again....anytime!

Jen- she is wearing some little leg warmers, that I made from the ideas off of that fun web site. I also won a pair off of EBay, I'm excited to see how they are made! Thanks for the tips! They are so cute!

Rexburg in a weekend

We had a great quick trip up to Rexburg, I love going back to our old college stomping grounds, so many good memories there. Ryan had planned a fun date for us, we went with Cody and a date to this really cool fiddle concert (it was called Barrage). It was dancing and fiddling, singing, tons of talent, it was really entertaining. Jared and Jenna kept our little kids at their house (thanks a bunch) and Ashley and Emma had a fun night out on the town with Aunt Bean and her Jared. Christine took them to the Bolt movie (I think) and they stayed up way to late watching more movies at her apartment, she thoroughly spoiled them! Saturday Ryan and his brothers and some friends went to Island Park for snowmobiling. I guess there was an avalanche and a man died, luckily not where Ryan was. They did have some snowmobile troubles and ended up getting back pretty late. He was tired and wet when he got back, sounds like a good time to me! Jenna and I (and all the kids) did some shopping in Rexburg, they have one of the best craft stores ever (Porters) we spent some time there and of course I cant go to Rexburg with out a trip to Down East. Jenna kept us all entertained all day, it was fun. We got home about midnight. We were tired for Sunday, but had a great time, thanks Jared and Jenna! I forgot the camera.

Sunday dessert

We always make some kind of yummy dessert on Sunday aftenoon, this YUMMY brownie recipe is from my sister in law Lain, we ate the whole pan in one night, yum!

gotta love that "handlebar" mustache! Here is the recipe;

Lain's Brownies

1/2 C. butter melted

1 t. vanilla

1 C. sugar

Combine and beat until smooth then add;

2 eggs and beat in then add the rest;

1/2 C. flour

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 C. coccoa

1/4 t. salt

bake in a 9" square pan @350 for 20-25 minutes, it can easily be doubled and put in a 9x13, ENJOY!

Quick Trip

We are off this afternoon to Rexburg, just for the weekend, so it will be quick. I am excited to see some sister in laws and for Ryan to get to snowmobile a little bit, he has only been once this winter so far. I am trying to run into parent teacher conferences on our way out, I am pretty sure the girls are doing fine, but I still need to go. I better get moving! Have a good weekend!

Justin's Fever

Justin had a bad fever in the night along with a stomach ache, this morning he is still feverish, but he says he feels fine....so what is going on with him? It is hard to know, something is obviously wrong because he has a fever, but yet no other symptoms. So whats a kid to do when he isn't feeling the best, why lay on the couch and watch Lightning McQueen all day silly! We cancelled our exercising and visiting teaching for the today and are just having a sick day, I just knew our moment of good health wouldn't last long!

Claire is improving so much, I have noticed since she hasn't been walking she sure has been talking. She is saying things like;

mankie = blankie (my favorite, too cute)

night night

amen (after, during, and before prayer time, oh well at least she is saying it!)

coo coo =cookie

Shh = Ashley

Mma= Emma (she was shouting for Emma yesterday, Emma thinks it is pretty cool)

She has just really started talking a lot, its fun.

I am supposed to be working on primary music for Sunday so I wont have to worry about it while we are gone to Rexburg, so I need to get going on that. I have a really sore jaw today, which is causing a little headache, it has been sore since I went to the dentist last time, I dont know why, just holding my mouth open for so long I guess, but today it is really sore from stuffing that big tray of goopy stuff in my mouth yesterday. Im kind of a whimp when it comes to the dentist, I dont like to go at all, so I am going to be really sick of it by the time I am done with this month, I will have gone at least 4 times, YUCK! AND I just found out that our dental insurance has GREAT coverage for braces, for my CHILDREN, there is a reason you dont wait till you are 29 to have braces! I wasnt planning on having the coverage......but I was hoping to have some...hopefully we still will when Ashley gets braces in 10 years! Oh the joys! I hope to get started on some of those cute leg/arm warmers for my kids today too, fun projects!

Todays dentist visit

So I only gagged a little bit, OK no it was a lot, that mouth molding stuff is so thick and nasty and it rolls down your throat, I was embarrassed and drooling all over, but I am done with that part...for now anyway, I go back on Tuesday for spacers and then next Monday for banding, AHHH it is like commitment, I hope I am ready for this! Ryan passed his exam with flying colors also, thankfully. We did a little grocery shopping, lunch and then came home. It was a fun day anyway.
Ashley had piano after school today, she is starting into a new series of books that are pretty tough, her piano teacher is excellent and really pushes her students, which I like, but I am just surprised at this little girl trying to play these tough pieces, I guess that is the way to get better. Now she just has to practice, practice, practice, the fun part!
Claire is feeling much better today, she actually stood up and was holding something in her hands so all pressure was on her leg, she didn't stand for long, but it was a good 10 seconds, progress anyway. I cant believe how fast she is healing, babies are amazing!
We are going to try and run into the ball game tonight, something to do anyway. We are going to Rexburg for the weekend (snowmobiling).....I think.....Ryan has planned the whole trip, which usually I do all of the travel planning, so we will see how it goes, I need to call some sister in laws so we can all get together while we are there. Better get dinner going and check on that piano student!

Dreary January

We haven't been up to much at our house lately. I am just busy chasing down my injured child, who doesn't seem to be so injured, if she was older I would think that she was faking, but I know she isn't, she is just a super fast crawler and has to keep up with every body else! I did talk to the Dr. again yesterday and everything looks OK, it is not near the growth plate and as long as she starts walking, or at least starts putting pressure on it in two weeks then we wont have to go back in. She is already trying to stand on it alone, not holding onto anything, as much as I let her anyway. She was putting on her "funny face" last night at dinner. This is what she thinks of having a broken leg; Silly girl! The kids are all doing good, we are fortunate to not be sick for a moment this winter, and are enjoying that. The girls are glad to be back in school, we have parent teacher conferences on Friday, didn't we just do them?
Ryan is busy being busy, but we get to go on a fun date to the dentist tomorrow, aren't we lucky! Ryan is just getting a cleaning and I am starting the work for BRACES, yes I am going to be a brace face! Why I didn't have it done years ago, I don't know, but better late then never. I used to think "old" people with braces were funny, but now I think old people with bad, or no teeth is even funnier, so I am going to finally get a smile that I will be comfortable with. I am looking forward to that, but not so much the pain of it all. Tomorrow is just the moldings and x-rays, I hope I do OK, I have been known to gag on that molding stuff, I hope it isn't to yucky. It will be worth it anyway.....I think.

Our FIRST visit to the ER

.....and hopefully the last. Our little "climber" fell down the stairs Thursday night and ended up with a broken left leg. It is actually called a green buckle fracture, right below her left knee. There is no treatment for it, so no cast or bandaging, which is nice, but it would also be nice to be able to "constrict" her a little bit, she still can crawl just fine, a little slower, but fine, But her FINALLY walking has turned to no longer walking. Hopefully she will be back to walking in two weeks. Pretty fast I thought, but yet not fast enough.
Since she is still a baby her bones are not hard, they are still cartilage which will help them to heal much quicker than an adult or even the other kids, so that is nice. We just have to keep a close eye on her and I try and ice it as much as she lets me, and then we give her Motrin and Tylenol for swelling and pain. Her x-rays are going to an Orthopedic doctor on Monday to make sure that there isn't any further problem, the fracture is close to the growth plate, (of course) but as long as she doesn't have any further injury it shouldn't be a problem.
So for now I watch her like a hawk, I follow her around and keep the other kids from bumping or even touching her, and that is pretty much all I have been doing for the last two days, not really very fun. We are glad that she is going to be OK, I just wish she would stop trying to climb on everything! Crazy little Claire!
At least she can still eat coo coos (cookies) even if she has to do it laying down, funny baby!

Jesus wants me for A Sunbeam

It's official this boss of the Nursery has graduated to Sunbeams! He was so excited to get a shiny new CTR ring on Sunday after class, here he is trying to figure it out, Now if he can just remember to Choose The Right, Ha!

Grinding Wheat

For Christmas we got a really nice wheat grinder from my parents. The girls and I tried it out last night. It scared us a little bit because I plugged it in and it was turned on, the girls about jumped off the counter, and me too, it was funny.

It worked really good though, we couldn't hardly wait to see the end product, really nice wheat flour, which turned into really yummy whole wheat pancakes, YUM! Thanks Mom and Dad, it works GREAT!

Claire is walking

Claire finally took the plunge! I think she could have done it sooner, but she was too scared, and still is of falling, I guess I cant blame her. She walked around with me all day one day last week holding on to my legs like this;

and then that night she was doing this;

I was a little excited, can you tell? What a big girl, YEAH Claire!

No, Not even ONE!

Cavities, that is, I cant hardly believe it! I think this is the first time ever in my kids going to the dentist years that there was not even a speck of one brewing, even Justin had a check up, Yippee! I cant tell you how thrilled I am about this...Ryan wasn't able to make his appointment this morning, when he goes next week he had better not have any.... sometimes he is worse than the kids at the dentist, well just the shots part...We love our SUPER TOUGH Daddy!

After hours

This is what happens after my big babysitting girls go to bed....These two get into trouble!

Justin colored all over Claire's face too, and in her hair, and on his own lips, and in his mouth, on his tongue. So much fun! Claire is just going to LOVE growing up with this super fun older brother who is a better teacher than I will EVER be!

Thank goodness for Non-toxic, washable markers!

I'd rather be in Sunny Texas

Yeah, San Antonio Texas is supposed to be in the 70's this week....I don't know why I checked the weather, just to torcher myself I guess....

2009

We are home from our quick Christmas trip to Mom and Dads, It was nice to see everyone, I wish we could have seen Luke and Sara, and that we could all stay longer, but life happens and we all have to get back to it. We are having super freezing weather here the last few days, like -10 this morning, yeah that's cold! We are cold blooded in this house and so Ryan and I have been FREEZING, I think the kids run around enough that they aren't to affected by the cold, (don't get me wrong, our house is probably piping hot compared to most others 73 degrees to be exact, last night it was 74, I know we aren't very "green" around here sometimes). I will be glad when we get out of this cold snap anyway.
The kids are ready to go back to school, I'm not sure I am ready, I have enjoyed sleeping in a little bit and not having to be anywhere anytime. I have also enjoyed having two big helpers around, I forget how much help they really are, although I will be glad to not have to keep them fed all day long, every day, they are eating me out of house and home! They must be growing.
It was good to get back to church today, I started my new calling of Primary music chorister, it was good, I enjoy that calling....BUT, now Justin has started Sunbeams and so we are together and he was having a hard time staying quiet and in his chair, I think he is just trying to figure it all out, He wasn't naughty, just busy. He will get the hang of it soon. Claire was also with me today in Primary, Ryan had to teach in Elders quorum so that left me with Claire, I will have to figure out some other place for her to go during singing time, she is just to busy, only 3 more months and she can go to nursery. She started walking this past week, she doesn't do it very often, but she does do it. Ashley and Emma did fine in their classes, they always want to come up and help me with everything, and it is hard for me to not choose them to always be the helpers, I need to work on that.
Well we are off to the dentist in the morning, the girls will miss school in the morning but we should be back right after lunch if not before. I am keeping my fingers crossed for NO CAVITIES. I hope it really happens. Ashley has a molar coming in (that I just discovered tonight) and the other (baby) tooth is getting pushed side ways and needs to come out, we will see if they pull it out tomorrow or just let her work on it on her own, yuck I do NOT like the dentist!
Ryan is going to be busy this week, all of the guys and some wives are going to Texas for potato meetings and we decided not to go this year, what were we thinking? I think it was still summer time when they planned the trip and I wasn't concerned about -10 weather, I would much rather be in sunny Texas for a couple of days! Oh well, I'll go to the dentist instead!
I think it is going to be a good year!