Friday, October 31, 2008

Camera Down

So Jeffrey's camera broke this week! We don't know exactly what happened, he got a new lens and about 20 pictures in, the camera shut down and hasn't worked since! It's so sad! We have it insured, but since we already made a claim on it last year (it was stolen) if we claim it again, word is that no one will want to insure it again after that! We will send it in to Canon to see if they can fix it, but there is no guarantee! So pretty much, it all stinks! Either we buy a new one or claim it and have to pay the next time something happens. And who knows which would cost more in the end! I'm especially sad today, because it's Halloween and I wanted to take pictures of my babies in their costumes!! Hopefully someone else will take pictures of them for us (hint hint Melinda). :)

This week we have all gotten sick. Jeffrey and Jaclyn both got it first and then Jacey and I. Jacey has it the least, which is actually the greatest, because he would be the hardest to deal with. Poor Jaclyn though, her nose and her eyes were constantly runny and she looked so tired and puffy the whole time! It was sad, but she was still really cheerful! She's an angel! It's basically just sinus issues we're all dealing with, but it's annoying! Oh well, could be worse!!

Today Jacey and I made our very first craft while watching Mister Maker!! It was so fun! We kind of made up our own version of it because we didn't have paint or feathers, but we created a little man out of an empty water bottle! We have so many of those floating around I figured it would be easy enough to do with some construction paper! He had so much fun coloring the paper before we cut it out. It's kind of a Mrs. Potato Head type thing with curly paper hair! He just holds it and laughs at it! It is pretty funny looking but we had a lot fun making it!! I'm so excited that he's getting old enough to start enjoying things like that!! And it's only just beginning!!

I'm so excited for tonight, it's "Soup Night" at Cyndi's! The traditional soups-and-homemade-cheese-buns dinner before trick or treating begins!! This is the first time Jacey will have gone trick or treating! I'm excited to take him!! And of course I'm excited to eat the yummy food and to share Jacey's goodies!! Because whether or not he's aware of it, he will be sharing! :) Hopefully I can get some pics of them all dressed up to post next time! Happy Halloweening everyone!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Tag Mania

I've been tagged again...so here goes!

Someone loves my blog...pass it on...

1. Where is your cell phone? On my couch
2. Where is your significant other? at work
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? ...is always there when i need her!
5. Your father? ...makes me laugh all the time!
6. Your favorite thing? being married to jeffrey
7. Your dream last night? jeffrey and i went to visit his mission (france) and we were constantly being chased by bad people and they all had goatees. a random detail i just remembered.
8. Your dream/goal? to raise my kids so that they will always make good choices
9. The room you're in? the family room/den/kitchen.
10.Your hobby? i want to start a new one...making hair ribbons/bows..it's so fun!!!
11. Your fear? something terrible happening to my kids
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? in a bigger house
13. Where were you last night? my parents' house, then jeffrey's parents' house.
14. What you're not? a good cook
15. One of your wish-list items? to be skinny again
16. Where you grew up? Calgary, AB, CANADA
17. The last thing you ate? how embarrassing...ice cream with chocolate sauce. i guess you all know now why i'm still not skinny. :)
18. What are you wearing? sweatpants and one of jeffrey's shirts. i'm creating a lovely image of myself, aren' I?
19. Your TV? ...has jacey's sticky handprints all over it!
20. Your pet? peeve? Pet -- my family dog, Tillie. She is old and will die soon. Pet Peeve -- I used to have a lot, but I guess I've relaxed a lot over the years, because I can't think of any..I guess that's a good thing!
21. Your computer? ...has been reformatted way too many times..Jeffrey is OCD about that. Actually maybe that's my pet peeve!
22. Your mood? pretty good, excited about dressing my cute kids up in their cute halloween costumes this week!!!
23. Missing someone? I always miss my Grandma Wood and I always miss EVERYONE from my mission.
24. Your car? ...has the back right reverse light burnt out
25. Something you're not wearing? my watch
26. Favorite store? any store where i can buy my kids clothes
27. Your summer? ...is 8 months away, i have nothing to say about it.
28. Love someone? my eternal love, Jeffrey <3
29. Your favorite color? Green, like a really nice olivey green...I used to HATE green, but my second mission companion is Irish and got me hooked!!!
30. When is the last time you laughed? Before Jacey went down for his nap, he makes really funny faces
31. Last time you cried? I cry almost daily, tv shows, daymares I create about my family..you name it, I cry about it. the last time JEFFREY cried is more funny. I was watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie, and Jeffrey found himself watching it with me, Mary had just won 2nd place in a state arithmatic competition and her whole town was celebrating her success, I won't get into any more detail than that but as soon as Jeffrey realized that he was starting to cry he stood up laughing/crying and said "I'm outta here!" I love my sweet husband.

I pass the "I Love Your Blog Award!!" to:

Everyone on my blog list....and whoever else needs something to blog about!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Tag!

Thanks Jessica for tagging me, I actually was lacking in stuff to blog about, so this is great!

5 places I have lived

1. Calgary, Alberta
2. Louisville, Kentucky
3. St. Denis, La Reunion
4. Quatre Bornes, Mauritius
5. Provo, Utah (MTC...does that count?)


5 snacks I love

1. Cool Ranch Doritos
2. Swedish Berries
3. Cashews & Almonds
4. Tortilla Chips & Salsa
5. Cherry Nibs

5 jobs I've had

1. Cleaning my dad's office.
2. Prairie Mill Bread Company - Dough Roller (my official title)
3. Palmer Salmon Insurance - Technical Assistant
4. Full Time Missionary (Can this count too??)
5. Mom

If I had 1 million dollars I would...

1. Build ourselves a big house...one where we could stay forever...I hate moving!!
2. Work on creating and/or selling Jeffrey's many inventions
3. Get laser eye surgery
4. Take a long vacation to visit Jeffrey's mission and mine
5. Take another vacation (without kids of course) just to relax on a beach!

5 things I love

1. evenings with Jeffrey when he isn't working or preparing seminary lessons
2. sleeping babies
3. comments on my blog :)
4. Laughing so hard I cry (it was a good one Jess)
5. getting a full night of sleep...when and if it actually happens

5 people who should do this tag:

Anyone can do this who wants, but specifically, I tag:

Becky
Heather
Alysha
Laura
Crystal

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Thanksgiving Weekend

Hey all! We had such a great time down in Cardston for Thanksgiving this year! Last year both of our families were out of town, so we had our own pathetic meal, but this year I wasn't having that. So we traveled. I thought that we were going to miss the big meal again because after the first night down there, Jeffrey and I couldn't get the kids to sleep until 7:45 AM!! We all slept in the same room because there were so many of us down there, but that just created chaos. Jaclyn kept waking Jacey up, and then Jacey would wake Jaclyn up. And Jacey doesn't fall asleep unless he's alone, so he would just stand up in the playpen and see us, and continue to cry and scream. If we pulled him into bed with us, he either started playing, or he got angry because he was tired and he didn't like touching us, or having the blankets on, or whatever else he could find to be mad about. We probably slept in 10 minute intervals until the morning when finally we were all too tired to care about one another and zonked out for about 2 hours. We didn't want to do that again, so our plan was to leave just before naptime so the kids would sleep for the drive home. But, my family was so sad that we were going to leave, that everyone shuffled around sleeping arrangements so that Jacey could have his own room to sleep in. It was SOO kind of them, and I felt bad, but they all assured me they would rather have us stay. So that was awesome! They love us!! It made us feel pretty good! :) Dinner on sunday was delicious! We had it kind of late, because my dad was driving back from Calgary. But better late than never! I totally over ate, and it was wonderful!!!! Jacey went right to sleep that night, but woke up around midnight and cried for about 2 hours. My sisters made me stay strong and let him cry it out, so that he relearned to put himself back to sleep. We've done that before and he slept through the night fine, but sometime in the last 2 months, we've lost that routine. So it took a lot of will power not to go comfort him. My sister, Katie, even confiscated my baby monitor from me, so that if he cried again later, when we were all sleeping, I wouldn't hear it and want to go get him. I made her give it back, but I promised if I heard him, I wouldn't go. He did wake up and cry a while later again, but I let him be and he fell back asleep rather quickly. It was torture, and I felt bad, but in the morning, he was as happy as could be and didn't seem to be mad at me, like I thought he should be. Last night he slept the whole night without any waking up at all. So I guess it was worth it to get back on schedule. Even though it was hard!!! Anyway, we drove home yesterday just in time to have Bell come set up satellite for Michael and Melinda upstairs. It was fun to go away, but there's no place like home. I love my bed! Plus, I was excited to get back because I've been looking forward to this week for the past year and a half. I am finally going to get my kitchen!!!!!!!!!! Ikea is coming on Thursday to assemble and install the whole thing! I know that most of you think I'm crazy and don't know how you would have survived with only a fridge and a microwave. Oh and a toaster and a sandwich grill. But most of you cook and would have known exactly what you were missing! I still don't know how to cook and have a lot to learn. But I am SOO excited to start!!!! Plus, I am so sick of food that you can make in the microwave. I want an oven and a stove!!!!! And a kitchen sink to do dishes in! Anyway, I am ecstatic!!! I will definitely be posting pictures of the blessed event!!! I still won't believe it until I see it, but I think this is finally it! I'll keep you posted!! For now, here are some pics of our weekend!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Family Update

I figured that it's been a while since I've actually talked about my family (meaning Jeffrey, Jacey and Jaclyn and me) and it's definitely time for an update! Starting with the youngest member of our family... This little lady has been keeping me busy that's for sure! Not only has her sleeping-through-the-night pattern been disrupted by growing in teeth, making my nights a lot less enjoyable, but she is getting to be more active. She likes to roll around our house finding new things to play with! She is going to be crawling soon, I swear. She gets herself into this funny little position where she lifts her body off the ground and rests on her face and her toes. Then she pushes with her toes and scoots forward a few inches! She's managed to get up onto her knees a few times, but hasn't figured how to move with them yet! With her on the ground more, I have to be extra aware of what Jacey's up to. So he doesn't run her over! But I don't want to move onto Jacey yet. Jaclyn is the sweetest girl, she smiles at anything and everything! I love when Daddy comes home from work and she watches him from the time he comes in, as he makes his way through hugs and kisses from Mommy and Jacey, until he looks at her. As soon as they make eye contact, Jaclyn's face bursts into this happy, glowing grin, which melts us every time!!! She has this laugh, that is sooo adorable! It kind of reminds me of my sister, Elizabeth's. Not the way her laugh sounds, but that it can turn into a scream/laugh! Man, can Jaclyn squeal! Piercing laughter! Jeffrey and Jacey can make her laugh better than anyone, it's so much fun to watch! Every day at least once, I'll find Jacey and Jaclyn face to face laughing at each other. Hard. It is probably one of the happiest times I have had as a mom, just to watch them laugh together! And not only is Jaclyn just a happy baby, she is a snuggly baby. I've been lucky, Jacey was a snuggler too! Every time you pick Jaclyn up, she curves into your body to snuggle! It's so wonderful! :) I am loving everything about this stage in Jaclyn's life. With Jacey, I always couldn't wait for the next stage to begin, just to see what was next, but with Jaclyn, I would be so content to just stop here and have her like this forever.

I don't even know where to begin with Jacey. He is the funniest, most charismatic little boy! Obviously, I think that because he's my son! But he is, I swear! :) He is the smartest kid I have ever met (I'll get to that in a sec) but when it comes to walking and running, he's got a lot to work on! :) He falls down more than any child I know. I don't know if it's because he's not looking where he's going, or if he's just really clumsy, but he falls down all the time! And it's not always because he trips over stuff, he falls over nothing quite frequently! The greatest though, is what happens after the falls. Sometimes he'll just get up and keep going, but if he hurts himself, he will hold onto whatever he hurt, like his knee, and very slowly walk over to me while holding onto that body part. Usually he hurts both knees, so he'll walk to me, while squatting and holding his knees. And he looks hilarious! So I start laughing and then he starts laughing, but doesn't break his grip at all and continues to walk and laugh. He totally knows he's being funny! That is just one example of his funny personality! The best is when he hurts his feet. He tries to walk while holding his toes...hahaha! I laugh just thinking about it! But despite his physical trials, his mental abilities are above and beyond what they should be! This kid has known the entire alphabet since he was 18 months old. All uppercase and most lowercase. He can count to 10 in english and french. He knows his shapes and colors. And I don't mean he knows all these things by pointing to the right one when we ask "where's the B" for example. He sees them and tells us what they are on his own. He finds letters and shapes in everything. A roll of duct tape is an O. A vacuum head is a T. A hook for potted plants that comes out of a ceiling is an S. It's freaky sometimes how he sees everything as a letter! The best thing is that he is the one that wants to learn. I didn't sit down with him one day and make him memorize everything. He always asks!! His first words were "what's that" and he truly meant it!! He is so curious and never lets me ignore his questions! We are so proud of him!!!! Also, he is the greatest big brother! He loves Jaclyn so much!! Whenever we get ready to go somewhere, I always put Jaclyn in her carseat, then run around making sure I have everything I need for the diaper bag. Usually Jaclyn will start to get fussy while waiting and while I'm getting everything together, Jacey will kneel over her and kiss her or rock her carseat to make her happy! And it almost always works! In Jacey's baby blessing, he was blessed to worry about his siblings and to care for and protect them. And it's already started happening! I love watching them play together! I also love watching Jaclyn watch Jacey play. She ADORES him!! Seriously, she gazes at him like a lovesick puppy! That's the only thing I can't wait for Jaclyn to start doing...playing with Jacey for real! I know she wants to and Jacey can't wait for it either!

I know this doesn't represent me, but it's the closest I have to a picture of myself. :) That was taken in my dad's truck down by Cardston. We did a little off roading to look at some land he bought last year. Jacey had a great time bouncing all over the place. Anyway....me. I have nothing really significant to say about myself. I wish I could tell you all that I've lost 50 lbs and have finally gotten down to my pre-baby weight, but that would be a lie. I have however, started to work on it. I don't lose weight when I'm nursing very well, and ever since I was pregnant with Jacey, I've either been pregnant or nursing. With no breaks in between. And that's been 2 and a half years exactly. So I haven't exactly had a great window of opportunity to get into shape. I wish I could stop nursing Jaclyn already, but she hasn't taken to formula very well yet. I'm working on it though. It'll be a great day when I have my body to myself again and can do what I want with it! In other areas of my life, I'm loving my calling in my ward. I'm the Laurel Advisor! It's so fun to be with the Young Women, they are so much fun and always keep me laughing!! There are some changes occuring right now with the Young Women leaders and I just keep praying I'll stay put! I'm sorry, this paragraph about me is quite boring. :) My life is my kids, so please refer back to the previous two paragraphs for the real updates. :)

Jeffrey has a lot going on his life right now! He's very interesting to read about! :) He just started teaching seminary this year. He team teaches with Sister Layton and Sister Turner. He and Sister Layton switch off every other week from Monday to Thursday and Sister Turner focuses on scripture mastery on Fridays. He is LOVING it! He stays up rather late on the weeks that he teaches, preparing his lessons, but he loves the kids and he is loving the things he's learning! I don't envy his lack of sleep, but I'm happy he's so happy with his calling! He's still working as an Insurance Broker for Insurance Express and loves that too! What's great for him, is that he gets to help people in French every day! Although, most of the time, it's people from Quebec, and that French isn't as nice as the real deal! :) The biggest thing for Jeffrey is his new website! Some of you may have already checked it out from my facebook page, but if you haven't seen it, GO!! It's awesome, I'm so proud of him! He is such a wicked photographer and I know that he'll do well with it! He has a lot more pictures he needs to add to his site, but he's got some great ones on there to start! He really wants to get into commercial photographer/advertising. He was introduced to CJ Burton's work this past year, and that's the field of work he loves!! I don't doubt that he could do well in it! For example, the lovely new fall header above that he made for me. :)

I know that this was a pretty long post, but I rarely do major updates or at least not very often, so I had to get it all over with at once. We're heading down to Cardston this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. My whole family will be there, so it should be pretty fun! I hope it's nice and the kids can be outside most of the time! I know Jacey would love that! His favorite thing to do is to chase the puppy around. I say puppy, but really, Tillie, our beloved family dog, is almost 14 I think. Or actually, she is 14 and a bit already. She probably won't be around for much longer. That will be a sad day. Especially for my mom. Anyway, wow, that's a morbid way to end my post. :) Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Enjoy your long weekend!!