GO RCC!!!

Kelsee made the competition cheer team at Raglan Coast Cheer this spring. She has the best cheer coaches! It is a husband wife team that are the coaches for the Dixie State cheer team and have now opened up their own gym. There are 3 teams at this gym and each one has about 25 girls on it. Kels is on the youngest team and loving it.

They have had a few performances at Dixie football halftime and a couple of high school games, but this last weekend she had her first competition up in Salt Lake at Alta High School (mine and Al's old stomping ground). I have to say I had no idea how serious this all was. There was a panel of judges, a crew of spotters, and a herd of girls in sparkly costumes and tons of glitter make-up. I couldn't hear anything because the music was so loud, but it was so fun to watch her. There was a huge storm that morning which meant a lot of our family traveling to see her missed it because of the roads, but she did great! And according to her she smiled and looked at the judges the whole time because that is what they get deducted for.

Her team took 2nd place!!! Way to go Kelsee! Next stop...Vegas next month, a couple more up north and onto Disneyland in the Spring.

Mommy I want an i-pod for christmas

Who' s 2 year old asks for an i-pod for Christmas? Apparently mine does. We were walking through Costco the other day and Olivia looked at me and said, "Mom, I want Santa to bring me an i-pod for Christmas, a pink one." I thought there was no possible way she knew what she was asking for so I said, "What do you do with an i-pod Liv?" She looked at me and rolled her eyes and said, "you put it in your ear an lissen moosic mom". She had been previously asking for Santa to bring her a battery powered car for Christmas and I was hoping she would come up with something else she wanted instead of that, I was just surprised that it was an electronic. I was bucking for a new doll or something. So I said Olivia if Santa brings you an i-pod he will not bring you a car too (thinking that would deter her) she said, "ok mom, I don't want the car. I want an i-pod". At this point I had to flat out tell her that Santa does not bring i-pods to 2 year olds and she asks, "why not?" What is the appropriate response to that?

Kelsee was in a panic when she heard this. She was trying to explain to Olivia that we have already sat on Santa's lap and asked for a car and we mailed him a letter that said you wanted a car and you can't change your mind. So as it turns out we are back to asking for a car (which again I didn't really think she knew what she was asking for, but she said "the kind you push the pedal and drive outside". What happened to the baby doll?

Catch Up

Ok, I know it's been a long time since I have posted anything and I have heard about it from all of you, so now it is time to play a little catch up of fall events even though it is December. No worries though, I am behind in my Christmas efforts as well. Much to Kelsee's dismay we have no tree, no decorations, no lights, and no gifts. We do however have plenty of choir practice, cheer practice, homework, cleaning, and running errands. I don't think I do much of anything else right now. So I think because it takes me so long to make a post for some reason and because I swore I would not have a blog that was nothing but posting pictures of my kids and telling how cute they were I haven't had much to say. But the fact is that is all I have going on right now so that is what you get. So here is a run down of a few highlights of the season:



Aidan was deathly afraid of masks this year and would scream like a girl if one like this was even in sight. Livy however thinks it's funny to tease him with them. My brother Jeff thought it would be funny to scare him. He was horrified at first, but much to my surprise he not only warmed up to this one but after a while he actually touched it and then even put it on. That did the trick. Suddenly he was a superhero and we couldn't get him to take it off the rest of the afternoon.

Livy loves her Baco (my mom, named by Kelsee when she was one). She is always asking when we can go see her or when she is coming to see us. We took a trip up to Salt Lake for fall break and spent a couple of days. I always have grand expectations of accomplishing so much, but the time flies and we barely have time to get the necessities in like eating at some of our favorite places. It's never a trip home without a Mimi's bran muffin and a stop at Paradise Bakery!

Kelsee spent the afternoon raking leaves into a pile and then doing a running jump into them. I think she realized on her first jump that leaves don't spring back like a trampoline when she landed like a rock on her butt. Don't worry that didn't deter her.

Although Aidan didn't like masks this year, he fell in love with the plastic vampire teeth (I refer to him as my mini Edward). He stood in front of the mirror day after day admiring himself and his new found smile.

They had so much fun creating their mini pumpkins Gram got them with the fun face parts that Baco sent them.

Kelsee was a pirate this year and you would think I would learn my lesson. I thought I was free and clear of sewing costumes this year. Cheryl and I went shopping earlier this fall and found parts and pieces to put together a pirate costume. In the end it didn't look like what I had envisioned in my head so I ended up making the whole thing. I know I can walk into any store and have my choice of 7 pirate costumes that are cheaper and way less time consuming, but for some reason I can't do it

Aidan and Olivia were supposed to be chickens. The costumes were so cute! It was the one Kelsee wore at this age with the big fluffy feather body and yellow rubber gloves for feet. I even had two because I borrowed one from Al's sister Emily since we both made one. We had a ward Halloween party and I tried to get the kids to put them on then. No exaggeration, Aidan cried for an hour and a half about not putting it on. I tried everything (I mean bribed him with everything) to put it on. I think he is more stubborn than me because after sitting in the car with him and missing everything, I took my half naked, red swollen face boy into the party for the last little bit.

The next day we were at Costco and Olivia saw a tinkerbell costume and informed me that is what she was going to be for Halloween. I don't even know how she knew who tinkerbell was. I was still bound and determined to force them in the chicken costumes until my friend Michelle gave me a reality check. She said, "Halloween is for them, let her be tinkerbell if she wants and I even have a little peter pan costume if you want it for Aidan." So as you can see from the picture they went as tinkerbell and peter pan and couldn't have been more excited. Olivia informed everyone she was a princess and Aidan was just happy to have a sword. They had to hand pick every piece of candy from everyones bowl and they gave back their toothbrushes to the dentist in our neighborhood and said, "no thank-you". It was the most gorgeous night. We trick or treated in shorts and t-shirts. The kids were hot in their costumes. Everybody's door was open and a lot of people just sat out on their porch handing out candy. This is one of the many things I have grown to love down here.

Freebie!!!

One of my favorite things recently has been taking classes from Jessica Sprague and learning all the little tricks I've wanted to know about photoshop and photo editing. She just announced today that she has created a new class about telling the stories in your life. This isn't just a scrapbook thing. It's for anyone who wants to keep a journal or learn a better way to record the things you want to remember. The best part is she is doing this class for free!! You just have to register on October 20th and there is no class limit for this, so if you want in, you're in. She's never done anything like this before. I'll put the link for her website here you can follow it and read more about it, but I recommend trying it while it's free.
http://www.jessicasprague.com/

Was that a stuffed animal?

Al was out in the garage (in his bare feet) with the kids the other night washing the 4 wheelers and putting them away. It was getting dark and he was trying the hurry and get everybody in. As he was walking toward the door, he kicked something he thought was a stuffed animal. When he looked down he saw what it really was....a Tarantula!!! No worries though. I hear they are super friendly and one of the most harmless bites you can get. So now we have bats, cockroaches and tarantulas. Who wants to come visit me?

My mid-day meltdown

Ok, I really need some advice. Nap time at our house has turned into a 3 ring circus! We have had the infamous "naked nap" where they both strip down completely before they fall asleep (I chose not to post pictures). The "destructive nap" where they completely tear their beds apart, empty the drawers in the dresser and pull everything they can reach off the walls. And recently there is no nap at all because I spend 2 hours getting Aidan out of Olivia's bed because even if she stays in and falls asleep he climbs in and messes with her and wakes her up. Their beds have turned into jungle gyms and apparatuses to help them climb higher and reach more. It is such a frustration because they are still tired, but I am done with the daily fight. I've tried keeping Aidan up and letting Livy sleep, but he can't stand being without her and always sneaks in and wakes her up. There is such a difference between 1 toddler and 2 because they play off of each other. This is so different than Kelsee. She was in her crib until 3 and a half and never even tried to climb out. She still never gets out of bed. She calls for us if she needs something. She took a nap until she was 4. Do I get rid of the cribs and get big beds? I am just afraid they will get out all night long as well if I do that. Do I give up even trying to do naps as well? I feel like I have no patience these days.
My days are shot if I lose nap time. Aidan is such a climber. He can get into any cupboard at any height. He can get on top of the washer and dryer. He climbs his closet shelves. He has an attraction to knifes and scissors and has cut himself several times. They finger paint with anything they can find (lotion, A&D ointment...my favorite, it doesn't come off, and countless other things).
I love this age. They say the funniest things. They make me laugh all day long. They love to play and try new things and are amazed by everything, but my house is a constant disaster and I truly can't ever leave them alone right now. Nap time was my break. Any suggestions?

This is the result of no nap

Makin' me smile

Aidan is so into shapes right now. He learned them at right about 2 years old along with his colors, which actually makes things more complicated because he has such an opinion on what he wants and he is able to express it. Friday we were outside and he was standing on the sidewalk that had a wierd corner piece and wouldn't move. I went back to get him and he said "Wow, this is a triangle on the ground." Then yesterday he wore a pair of shoes to church he wasn't happy about, but I talked him into it. When we got home he was limping and saying his foot hurt. I took off his sock and shoe and there was a huge blister on the back of his heel. He looked down at it and said, "Livy, look at my circle owie". It is so cute to see him realize that there are shapes all around us. I took me a while to figure out where he was learning all this, but I have to admit Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is my babysitter in the morning while I run on the treadmill and it finally dawned on me that is where he was learning it. I don't feel so bad about it anymore.