Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Picture Princess!

I'm not one who enters my children in contests, actually, I'm definitely NOT one who does it . . . except for this one exception. (My sister is always saying how beautiful Emory is and that we need to get her modeling or something; hopefully this will satisfy her, for now!)
I'm the worst photographer ever, so I took Marianne's help on this one!
I'm not exactly sure what "Picture Princess" means, but if there was a definition in the dictionary, I think one of these pictures (above) would be next to it. Emory loves to have her picture taken! Every time the camera is out, she's there performing. Her little girl giggles and infectious smile, not forgetting her baby blues, make it hard to say no to this "Princess". She loves to dress up like a princess, watch princess movies and . . . well, there's not a lot of princess stuff she doesn't like; except the kissing! I think she would love the little girls and girls dresses from shabby baby. On the special occasion that she gets a new dress, she's always "ready for her close up!"

Saturday, March 21, 2009

A little bit of this, a little bit of that!

That's the perfect description our little life. We've been busy enjoying this beautiful spring weather, walking almost every morning, playing at the park and in the backyard, doing projects, and of course Cory's getting in some golfing!
I love this sweet face! But don't let it fool you! This is what she'll do when caught with an illegal substance. What's wrong with Powdered Sugar for breakfast?!?
I made this stroller liner (with only a little help from Momma) and I love how it turned out. I always look at Toile at the fabric store and think, "How could I use that?" I finally found a use! What a lifesaver as opposed to spending 9 hours removing the other liner to clean it.This little Missy is in love with being outside. She'd live out there if I let her. She is right at home in the dirt and loves to pick up garbage at the park! And this is what we do for fun at our house:

This other little Missy, is definitely OCD! She has a hard time with any dirt or grass or anything on her hands or feet. She loves to jump on the tramp and knows that's a safe place from bully Tessa (she's afraid to get on, I think it's because she can see through to the ground)! She had many takes of this little "routine" that she made up. It reminds me of Reading Rainbow, but a description of herself instead of the book. After each take, she'd come look at "her movie" and approve or say, "Let's redo that." Some of the outtakes are amazing!

She also said the greatest thing at the park the other day. This guy was jogging past, and had his shirt off. Emory spotted him and squealed, "THAT GUYS NAKED!!!!" He had ear phones in and still heard it! What a girl!
Here are both of the Missie's getting their wrestle on. It looks like Emory's winning but once again, don't be fooled!
Homemade muffins with fresh blueberries. Emory loves blueberries. Actually she hates them! Explanation: The juniper-like bush in our backyard produces a berry. They're blue and small and Emory loves to pick them. I get after her every time, because I don't want her to eat them. She always says, "But Mom, I need to pick the blueberries!" So, last week I let her pick out some blueberries at the store. I told her we'd make muffins. I changed my mind and made syrup for our German pancakes and cocaine (see picture above). She was devastated when the blueberries disappeared. Round two: The Muffins. I actually let her taste a plain blueberry and she spit it out! After that, she was hesitant to taste a muffin. She eventually did, but wasn't a huge fan like her mom, who probably ate 6 for breakfast!
I also took our door off on a warm day, and painted it. The triumph in that . . . I did it all by myself! And carried it up these stairs! It was no small feat, let me tell you. It turned out nicely. We, all the helpful adults of my family, trimmed back the hideous ivy that plagued our porch. The rocks you can see in the those pictures were completely covered in 12 years of ivy growth. It'll come back, but now I can sleep knowing that my children aren't rolling around in spider nests of ivy! Plus, Billy Goat Kirby loves to climb the rocks!
Last but not least, we got to visit some lovely friends from AZ. It was sad circumstances but we were grateful we got to see them. Carmie is out of the hospital and doing much better now! It was so sweet to see both little girls eyes light up when they saw each other.I also got to go to the Opera with my friend this week, and it was so fun. I'd never been, unless you count listening to Michael Ballam singing his lecture in class an opera - I actually almost count that! What a sly devil he was! (Just teasing, he has a great program called Opera for Kids in Cache Valley that both Cory and I participated in. It is super cool!) Anyways, we saw "The Marriage of Figaro" and it was totally entertaining. I was blown away by the singing! What a fun girls night out, and hats off to Cory for watching 4 kids under 4 - a true feat for someone who considers himself "babysitting" when he's watching his own children!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Miracle Idol!

The time has come to say my piece about American Idol, or Miracle Idol as Emory would say. I think there is so much talent this year, and we're especially excited because we feel like we sort-of have a connection. It's my sister's cousin's husband's brother-in-law's dog's breeder's owner! Just kidding, but it's a little bit like that. My friend went to high school with Adam Lambert and they were good friends. Here's her blog if you wanna see pictures pre-EMO/Goth! I think he's got some skills, he's just not my "cup of tea."
I am LOVING Matt Giraud! That guy can play the piano and sing! Ever since Hollywood Week when he sang "Georgia," one of my favorites, I have been rooting for him. I know he's not the most popular, but I would listen to his music for sure!
Oh the joys of Reality TV!
Emory's said some RAD stuff lately.

Emory (praying over the food and saying the usual): Thank you for the piano, thank you for the Church, thank you for the Temple, thank you for Tessa to feel better, thank you for Dad for going to the hospital, thank you for Mom to make good food and not SOUR food!
*I'd made sweet and sour chicken the night before, which she actually liked, apparently she wasn't fond of the name!
**The next day she prayed I would make yummy food, and not grossy food!

(Mom and Emory practicing rhyming words)
Mom: Man?
Emory: Can!
Mom: Bat?
Emory: Fat!
Emory:Mom, what rhymes with vitamin?
Mom: Nothing, I guess?
Emory: Wrong! Bitamin rhymes with Vitamin.

(After church on Sunday, Emory was running around with a blanket over her head and making spooky noises)
Emory: Mom! Dad! Look at me! I'm the Holy Ghost!
*Wonder what she learned about in primary?

Tessa is . . . well, crazy! She's keeps me very busy. She's been very clingy since Puerto Rico, so I'm trying to help her gain some independence. I pulled out the potty, which she loves to sit on and pretend to push. I also turned her bed into a toddler bed. This could be a big mistake, but she's sleeping in it right now and loved climbing in on her own. Finger Crossed!! She's also starting to recognize and say letters names. This is about when Emory started doing that, so I'm not too surprised. She talks like a fiend too! I love watching Emory try to decipher what Tessa's saying. Some of my favorite phrases are:
"Momma, poop!?"
"Momma, drink, please????"
"No, No, Emmy!"
"Happy Birthday!" This one's not perfect, but you can totally tell what she's saying!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

One year older and wiser too . . .

Happy Anniversary to us! 6 whole years and happier than ever, I hope! We had a fun filled weekend with tons of activities for our Anniversary Celebration.
We went up to Logan for an overdo visit on Friday. We were going to Em night skiing at The Beav, but it was a clear night and would have been frigid. So, instead we headed to Golden Corral with Cory's grandparents. We've been there before with them, but this time I think Emory's eyes were opened to the world of buffet eating. "Mom, I can get just about anything a want here!"
On our actual anniversary we went out to breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Hulse, Grandma Lisa and Uncle Chase. Then we left the childrens at home with the boys and went shopping. I fully planned on spending no money and I did really well, only $5 and some super cute stuff! Kayla, Lisa and I had a great time dressing up for each other! I found another mini-skirt at Downeast, this one is sailor-ish navy blue wool, and I'm way excited to make it into another bag (that was the $5 I spent). We also stopped into Old Navy. Just the day before, Cory threw a ON gift card at me and said, "Here you go, I have no idea if there's any money on it." Anyways, I found this raincoat and have been eyeing it for a couple months. I decided if I got up to the counter and had the lady check the card and there was at least $15, I'd buy it. And how much was on the card? $36 and some change!!! It was my lucky day, it was my Anniversary Miracle. That night, Cory's grandparents watched the kids while we went out to a nice dinner. I got to watch Cory eat 1 lb of crab, it was interesting to say the least!
We had fun talking about how we've changed over the years. Cory's lost hair, gained weight (the good kind!), and is so close to achieving his childhood dream of being a doctor. I've been pregnant twice, had two beautifully terrific little girls, gotten Lasik!!, and grown my hair out. There's a lot of other accomplishments (and failures) in there, those were just the more physically prominent ones we could think of. For a little throwback to our wedding day, here's a picture of Cory holding my ring.I love it! I was thinking about how much our wedding rings say about us. Cory designed it. I didn't worry once that it wouldn't be right, I just knew it would be perfect! Even though he hesitated a little on the emerald cut, he followed through. I trust Cory in every way, he'll do what's right, no matter what.
After dinner we got to go to our first Aggie Basketball game. It was fun that it turned out to be their last, more hullabaloo. They won and we had a great time with Cory's Grandpa Maughan and our brother-in-law Adrian, who got us the tickets.
I've always admired Grandpa Maughan, he is an amazing person, but he said something that I always want to remember. A little while ago Cory helped him get a Pulse Oximeter to check his O2 levels. Grandpa was telling Cory that after he goes out and works on the tractor, his levels drop. He's super active for an 80+ year old man, working out on the farm, always going. Cory said, as nicely as possible, "Well Grandpa, your getting old! It's going to get harder for you to do the things you've always done easily." Grandpa laughed and I said, jokingly, "I don't think you'll ever stop! You'll be out doing something and you'll just fall over dead!" He laughed, looked at me and said, "And I hope it's doing something good." What a man!
Final note, I made these little booties for my cousin. She's having a boy and I found this awesome fabric with sheepskin on one side and suede on the other, in my mom's scraps.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Spring has sprung . . . but don't cross your fingers!

It seems every once in a while, Utah gets a mild winter. Lucky us! But like I said I'm definitely not crossing my fingers. It'll snow again, and again, and probably in June! We've spent hours out in the backyard enjoying this beautiful weather, riding scooters and tricycles and jumping on the trampoline; and everywhere we go this darn blanket follows! She got attached to it while we were in Puerto Rico, and it's not even her cute blanket - that's what drives me crazy! Emory's engineering at work.We also had the pleasure of visiting with these lovely ladies a couple weeks ago. What a treat! They are one of the reasons we miss AZ so much. We missed meeting Sweet Afton by 2 weeks, so this was our first delicious taste of her and we couldn't get enough! Before they came over, Emory said, "I'm so glad that Alicia's baby came out!" She loved that big belly! Now she loves Afton. We talked non-stop of crafts and more crafts, and more crafts. So in honor of our (Alicia and I's) addiction, I pumped out these babies! (Is "I's" even a real word?!)Their fun to clip in hair, on a bag, or on a gift!
Emory made this beautiful design for me, while I was unpacking from our trip. She said, with a flourish of the arm, "Look what I made for you, Mom!"One last thing, anyone ever gone to a Dance Aerobic (Dance Jam) class at their gym? Wowee! My friend took me to one today and . . . I'm speechless. I felt like a dancing-pole-loving-Britney/hooker and I loved it! It was so fun to let loose and just DANCE! I guess you could call me uptight, but not today. After dancing like I did to "Baby Got Back", I think I might need to talk to my bishop?!?