Proof

When I was a kid, I remember eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches a lot. So much that now I cant stand them. I also remember having bologna sandwiches and hating them so much that I told my mom they made me throw up so she wouldn't make me eat them anymore.

Now its my turn to be the mom and to pack my kids lunch. Ive never forced Auralee to eat anything. I let her choose what she wants most of the time, and what she wants is peanut butter and honey sandwiches and bologna Lunchables. Not at the same time of course, but often. I just wanted to have proof that its what she likes so that when shes older and I'm "such a mean mom" she cant blame it on me like I blamed it on my mother.

Taryn

Now that we are home by ourselves, sometimes its hard to find things to do. Today, we decided to do a little photo shoot. Taryn, like her sister, can be a great poser. The only problem is that she isn't very patient in holding the pose. You have to be quick or you lose out on something really cute.

I couldn't help but put this one in. She looks so squishy, I just want to squeeze her and pinch those cheeks.

She likes to be silly a lot. Here she asked, "Taryn funny? Momma, Taryn funny?" Yes Taryn, of course you are funny.

Here we are just chattin'. She really does have a big vocabulary, but when she gets around other people she doesn't talk much. She understands a lot and can follow simple instructions I give her without any difficulty. I sure love this baby of mine!

The Big 32!

OK, so age hasn't really bothered me yet, but not being recognized for ageing kind of does. Silly huh? My baby sister, bless her heart, decided to help me out. She had her house warming party on my birthday (don't worry, she called and asked if it was OK first) and decided to make me a cake as well. I enjoyed being sung to but all 32 candles were a bit much :)

I think here, Kaleb was teasing me acting like he was going to blow out my candles. I had to challenge him, right?

I was really surprised, but I blew out all my candles at once and really quickly. It was good cake. Luc gave me a hair straightener. I liked it so much, I straitened my hair on Sunday. It was nice. Thanks Alisha for my moment. Its nice not to be forgotten.

Auralee's 1st day of Kindergarten

Yesterday was Auralee's first day of Kindergarten. I set my alarm for 6:30 so I would have enough time to get her ready and off to school. By the amount of toys strewn about the play room, she had been up for quite a while before that. She had decided what she was going to wear the night before and had decided what she wanted to take in her lunch. Everything was ready, including her backpack full of school supplies. She got dressed, we fixed her hair and topped it off with a nice bow to match her shirt, she ate breakfast (cereal, im not June Cleaver), we took a few pictures and she was ready to go. It was 7:20 and school didnt start till 8:15. What to do with that extra 1/2 hour. Daddy gave her a fathers blessing and then we read scriptures. It was a nice way to top off the morning.

Then we were off --> As we were pulling up to the school, I saw how crowded it was and I saw other parents walking their children to their classes, so I asked;

Auralee, do you want me to park and walk you to your class?

No, I can do it by myself.

I got closer and I saw more parents taking their kids in.

Auralee, are you sure you don't want me to take you to your class?

No, maybe tomorrow.

Alright (sighhh)

I dropped her off at the sidewalk with one of the teachers and drove off. Now, I don't usually cry at anything but movies and the occasional "discussion" with my husband, and I didn't think I would then, but driving away from my "big girl" and just thinking about how much shes grown, my eyes got a little moist. I couldn't help it. It didn't last very long, but I felt it for a while.

Picking her up took a long time. The school is brand new and they haven't gotten all the kinks out yet. When I finally got her, she was a little disheveled, but still intact. Every zipper on her backpack and her lunch box were undone, her water bottle was empty (good girl) and her pretty red ribbon was missing (not so happy about that, but Ill live). She had a good time and was ready to go home. Now, to keep up the bar that was set that first day.

We'll see.

Happy Birthday To Me (early)

I was talking to my S-I-L Candace and she wondered if I had read the new Stephanie Meyer book. I was in Luna, so I really had no access to it. Feeling sorry for my booklessness, Candace (and Marc) said they would send one immediately to my home for a birthday present so it would be waiting for me when I got there. It came yesterday and I am so excited to read it. Sorry to all those who want to talk about it right now, but I have to pace myself. Ive been gone a week and there are a lot of things to get done around my house. I'm trying really hard to do the important things first, ie, wash laundry, do the dishes, sweep and vacuum, grocery shopping, shower, feed my kids, you know, the usual. I cant let it take over my life like I want it to, but even so, Ill probably have it finished in two or three days. I love the series and cant wait to find out what happens. THANK YOU CANDACE!!!!!

Fly Me To The Moon!

Luna NM is the best place on earth! I love going there! Every year we have a couple family reunions there and I like to make at least one. I spent time there every summer camping out when I was a kid, and then when my grandparents moved back there I got to spend even more time there. I love it! I love it! I love it! The mountains are so beautiful, the grass is so green, the air is so fresh and the water is so pure. I would live there permanently if it wasn't so cut off from the rest of the world, but that's what makes it such a wonderful place to visit.



These are my grandparents, George and Lillie. They are two of the best people I'm ever likely to meet. They're like my own parents, I love them so much. They both grew up and met in Luna and even though life and kids took them away from it for a while, they always new it was home and so they came back (lucky for the rest of the family!).

Auralee and Taryn had a blast! They got to go outside whenever they wanted. Auralee ran around barefoot all week long! She was so free and happy! Taryn was introduced to a whole new world of animals. Shes never really been around animals, so in the beginning, she was terrified. There were dogs, cats, horses and pigs and after being around them for a week, she became quite comfortable around them and would even touch them.

Mechelle and I stayed for a week with our kids and one day, while the babies stayed at home, we took Auralee and Kaleb down to Trout Creek. Every year since I was a kid, there was water in the creek, but its been empty for the past few years Ive been there. It was so exciting to see, we had to take the kids. They had a blast "fishing", throwing rocks and just playing in the water. One of these pictures had a picture of Mechelle in it, but when I collaged it, it cut her off, sorry Mechelle.

We were there for two weekends for two separate reunions. One was during the 24th celebration. Luna does it big. They have a parade, a big lunch a rodeo and a dance, and people come from all over to attend. I didn't get any pictures of those things, but Ill try next year. My mom got to come one weekend and it was nice to see her. Auralee had spent 3 weeks with my parents and it was really convenient to get her back in Luna. I know some of you might be looking at that picture of Taryn and saying "poor child, look at all that hair in her cute little face. Why doesn't her mother do something about that?" Well Mechelle took pity on her and gave her bangs a cut. She looks much better now and can see where shes going :).

This is one of my favorite pictures EVER! I loved seeing my grandpa and my daughter just sittin' on the front porch talkin'. It made my heart feel good. That's what Luna does to you.