The Skinners

iPhone Snippets

2011-12-06T23:19:00.001-07:00

if i stop blogging about the present to write about the past, i'll always be playing catch up.

so, here's a little something current.

LOVE this picture!

Christmas pjs from grandma skinner (thank you!)

have i mentioned i trained for a 5K the last two months?

yep, the jingle bell dash.

last saturday.

between a cough, the rain, and being wimp - i didn't run it.

BUT, i ran four miles today, in the snow, and that's a record for me.

my santa socks and elf skirt are put away for next year.

jake is madi's mini-me with darker coloring.

sidenote: we were decorating the tree and madi kept asking for more "hookers".

i reminded her that ornaments hang on hooks, not hookers.

then, in her prayer that night she said, "please bless my eye brows and eye lashes, all the stripes, the dresser, and all the hookers." :)

learning to sit up is still on our To Do list but we're getting close...

outing to twin lakes - heavenly.

my boys. so dang cute.

Christmas skirts (made by grandma!) and sweaters.

is madison saying cheese, or what? :)

the mauling dan is greeted with when he gets home from work.

we are well-

racing between responsibilities and perfecting the art of tag teaming

loving the bits and pieces of time we spend together here and there

laughing at the hilarious and adorable children we have

counting our many blessings

and enjoying this Christmas season.

Yard (March/April 2011)

2011-11-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

last spring, we dan spent forever working in the backyard. he raked bags and bags and bags of leaves, shoveled a pickup full of dirt into our grow boxes, tied up the pampas grass and cut it down with the chain saw, hauled debris away and planted strawberries with the girls. i love seeing him tackle a project and our backyard had plenty. he even planted dozens of flowers in our front planter right before jake was born so i wouldn't have to bend my super pregnant body in half to do it myself.

what can i say - i'm a lucky girl!

ps- the pictures at the bottom? sweatpants, princess shoes, high waters, costume jewelry, and goldfish. hilarious and adorably unstaged. so glad i caught those moments of sisterly love.

St. Louis Trip (April 2011)

2011-11-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

last spring we had an awesome 36 hour vacation as a family. one last hurrah before jake joined our family. i mentioned it here.

we:
attended the st. louis temple while some friends watched the girls at a nearby chapel
explored forest park
treated ourselves to Ted Drewes - twice
stayed at a hotel overlooking the arch and mississippi river
and swam in the pool
met up with friends from college
stayed up half the night watching william and kate's royal wedding
dinner at zia's at the hill (best italian i've ever had)
day at the city museum - the girls LOVED it. at 35 weeks pregnant i was mostly an observer so dan got quite a workout

we loved every minute that we spent together and can't wait to do it again!

the girls tried out their cute new swim suits from aunt lindsay. we forgot a swim diaper :)

just looking at these pictures make me claustrophobic. they climbed in and out of these re-bar tunnels, stories above the ground.

so, so pregnant.

Piano (Feb 2011)

2011-11-19T01:51:00.001-07:00

what do you get when you combine birthday money from your parents, in-laws, grandparents, and grandparents in-law?

enough for a piano on craiglist!!

do i play?

barely.

but i love it.

so do the girls. :)

Madi Turns 4 (Feb 2011)

2011-11-19T01:15:00.001-07:00

madison's 4th birthday party:

preschool friends- hallie, jackson, brylee, cohen, lauren, and parker

pin the the gold coin in the pot under the rainbow

duck, duck, goose

lunch

pinata

spin the bottle (to choose who gives their present to the birthday girl next :)

and rainbow cake, same as the year before

Lindsay's Visit (Feb 2011)

2011-11-19T00:27:00.001-07:00

we LOVE getting visitors! lindsay came out and we did all our favorites - cosmo park, the carousel at the mall, the MKT trail, and bonkers. it happened to be madison's birthday and she was a huge help with that too. we miss you lindsay!

The Blizzard (Feb 2011)

2011-11-19T00:06:00.001-07:00

we survived and even enjoyed our first and only blizzard last winter. we stocked up on food and water, bought a camping stove in case the power went out, and weathered the storm at home. after it snowed 18 inches or so, Dan's clinic was canceled and we enjoyed time as a family for a couple days. dan spent hours and hours shoveling our driveway and helped the neighbors afterwards as well. it was an adventure!

Firsts (Feb 2011)

2011-11-18T23:43:00.001-07:00

first snowball to the face.

first walk in the snow with boots and pants.

first snow angel.

first time sledding.

love the homemade sleds!

and first snowman!

Alive and Well

2011-11-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

October 2011

remember us? its been a little while - two months!!

excuses and updates are being saved for later (moles, mice, flooding, birthdays, a baby...).

we've been busy.

for now, enjoy our picture perfect fall afternoon a couple weeks ago.

78 degrees

me and the kiddos

5 minutes from home

the MKT trail

twin lakes

skipping rocks

and bright fall leaves

a spur of the moment decision turned into hours of fun.

one of my favorite days as a mom so far.

Can't Get Enough

2011-09-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

this kid is addicting.

cheeks. chub. eyes. smile. and laugh.

i just snuggle and smooch him all day long.

if having kids gets this much more fun every time...

we might end up with a lot. :)

Girl's Got Spunk

2011-09-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

this girl only has one volume and that's loud.

she bounces on two feet like a kangaroo, everywhere she goes.

she knows exactly how to push her sister's buttons and does it often and well.

she'd give anything to go to be a big girl and go to school.

she's feisty, stubborn, full of energy

and pays attention to jake in 7 second intervals.

long enough for a quick hug, kiss, and picture.

works out perfectly.

{jake at 6 weeks or so}

If You Let the Camera Out of Your Sight...

2011-08-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

..... you'll later find several pictures similar to this.

or maybe even a cute one like this.

but, if you're lucky, dozens and dozens and dozens will look like this. :)

happy ~~friday~~! (oops, thursday!)

Three Years and Good Traditions

2011-08-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

mark and chris in a field near tremonton, utah - august 22

i talked to my mom sunday night to see what their plans were for the 22nd. my mom and mark were going to be driving to yellowstone with hannah and chris, one final hurrah for the summer, so they planned to release balloons somewhere along the way - in memory of dallin, val (mark's wife), and my dad. dan and i agreed it would be the perfect way to include our girls in the day and keep it light and fun for them.

the girls picked out balloons, colored pictures and wrote "letters". dan and i wrote letters as well. i peeked at his before rolling it up and was quite touched at the depth and sincerity. i think i sometimes forget that even though it wasn't his immediate family members that died, he still loves them and misses them like i do. it was a great reminder - one of the best parts of the day for me.

we drove to our favorite park, cosmo, braving the midday heat and humidity. we found a good spot, snapped a few pictures, counted to three, and let the balloons "float to heaven". madison asked me earlier in the day if they'd write us back. that's when your smile holds back the tears.

we told the girls it was a special day to remember their grandpa and uncle since they are in heaven and can't be here. i'm grateful for the conversations this experience has allowed us to have with the girls. they know dallin and my dad are not alive but we haven't ever needed to talk about the crash or the airplane or things like that. we just talk openly about heaven and living with Heavenly Father and Jesus and that we can still be a family, together forever after we die. they believe it, accept it, and know its true. i'm grateful for the simple faith of children.

we had the missionaries over for dinner which is always a treat. we really enjoy these particular elders and it felt like a good addition to the day. did you know we stood up and sang "Called To Serve Him" as the closing song at the funeral? a beautiful, hard thing that seemed to end the program perfectly.

for dessert we had strawberry milkshakes - my dad's favorite. between the balloon release, missionaries and milkshakes, i think we've founded some pretty good traditions for the day.

strawberry milkshake mustache - making grandpa proud

i'm grateful. really, really grateful. for a wonderful family and loving, righteous husband. for the gospel and the answers it provides and the peace that it gives me. for a plan that enables us to be eternal families and be with those we love forever. for the examples of hannah, chris, kamber, mark, and my mom. and for a life, that despite loss and heartache, is still full and makes me happy.

Dad and Dallin - I love and miss you.

It's Hard To Put Into Words

2011-08-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

April 23, 2010

it's 2 am, utah time, and i can't sleep.
my dad's suitcase from his mission in paraguay. i can't get it out of my head. i saw it sitting calmly on a shelf in the storage room of my parent's house tonight as i was looking for something. it triggered thoughts and memories. then again, just being in cedar does that.
we have a full house tonight - mom and mark upstairs, with jacob and natalli {my cousin and his wife} in the guest room. hannah, dan, and the girls and i are taking up the three bedrooms downstairs. chris's bedroom is set up, ready for him to come home next month.{i know, next month. crazy.} dallin's room looks as it did in high school- his grandees hat still pinned to the bulletin. you would never guess that kamber and porter lived in these two rooms for almost a year.

*************************

April 25, 2010

i sang to madison tonight while tucking her into bed, just as she requested.
"i love to see the temple", "i am a child of God", and "families can be together forever".
perfect for the occasion.
we've been in cedar this weekend and tomorrow we'll make the big trek home.
its been hard.

*************************

January 16, 2011

december was a hard month - i was stressed and sick and tired and sad. i think it first started to creep in during thanksgiving weekend. i remember waking up that friday morning and saying to my mom, "i just feel kind of ornery today. i don't know why." it felt like being a moody teenager again. after several weeks i started to realize the why. i alluded to it here but couldn't ever find a way to put into words exactly what i was feeling. plus, december is saved for holiday cheer and i was like the grinch trying to disguise myself as an elf.

i miss my dad and brother. i always will, i know that. but sometimes the swirling strength of those emotions is overwhelming. unfortunately it impacted me too much this holiday season.

*************************

today is august 21, 2011. tomorrow marks three years since my dad and brother passed away. three whole years. can you believe it? i can't.

i've found it's harder to open up about it now. not them - i love to talk about dallin and my dad. but about my feelings and thoughts and how much i still miss them. its almost as if three years later, i'm surprised at how raw it still feels and that i should keep it to myself. so i mostly do.

when i do try and write down what i'm thinking, like i did in the months following the crash, it usually results in unfinished posts, like above. they get saved away, never to be finished. but that's ok because there is a time and a place for everything.

i'm ready for tomorrow to come and go. dan has the day off, madison has her first day of real preschool, grace and i will get some quality bonding time, the missionaries are coming over for dinner, jake fits in there somewhere, and on top of that we have some fun things planned to help make the day special.

because we have some pretty special people to remember.

Cousins

2011-08-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

august 2011 - kamber's house

i love, love, love living in columbia but one of just the few hard things is being so far from porter.

the girls miss their cousin!

(plus, now there's easton and soon-to-be emerson.)

these three ran, played, fought, shared, and rode the carousel together while we were in AZ.

it was so fun to see them interact and have fun.

can't wait till Christmas to get them together again!

and we did happen to get a normal picture of them all looking happy.

maybe not smiling and looking at the camera, but close enough. :)

One Happy Mister

2011-08-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

when this little guy smiles it pushes up his chubby little cheeks and his whole face lights up.

i swoon. seriously.

at almost three months he's in the 70% for height and weight so he's a hefty little dude.

i like 'em that way.

we are crazy about him.

Humbled

2011-08-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

we are busy. work, callings, and little ones. so, so busy. several weeks ago, before we left on our wonderful vacation to the west and to our families, i was ready to vent. to the blog or whoever would listen. i felt maxed out and i know dan did as well.

thankfully, i caught my breath, found a reserve of energy and pushed on.

then, just days before leaving town, we were asked to meet with a counselor in the stake presidency. we were anxious.

when i heard him say to dan, "we'd like to call you as 2nd counselor in the new bishopric.", all i felt was peace. i looked at dan and thought of all his many responsibilities, all the things he's trying to balance, and all the things he'd like to do but doesn't have time for. yet i knew he would say yes and start serving.

we weren't in town for the announcement or the changes but now we're back and the busyness has started right where it left off.

the day before his new calling was extended, while he was still serving as elder's quorum president, dan found out at the last minute that a family needed help moving and it was super early in the morning. i tried my darndest to tell him he shouldn't feel obligated but he went anyway. i was wrong and i'll admit it. today a letter came in the mail, from the family he helped move that morning.

"Dear Brother Skinner,
        We cannot express to you how grateful we are to you for helping us move. Especially knowing how busy you are between family, work, and your hectic calling, we are deeply humbled by the time you sacrificed to lighten our moving burden! Thanks again."

i feel so humbled by this whole experience - the family's gratitude, the lesson i learned, and by dan's willingness to serve in any way that's asked of him. i know that the next two years will be even busier than i could have ever imagined. but they will be wonderful too. our family will grow stronger and be blessed because of his service.

i am grateful for an incredible husband who works and loves and serves with everything that he has. i love you dan!

Jake's Arrival

2011-06-28T21:18:00.001-07:00

this guy is getting chunkier by the minute so it's about time i write about the day he was born while he's still "little".

a bit of background - my pregnancy with jake was pretty much by the book until about 37 weeks. i was standing up and saw/felt my belly move every which way and i thought maybe he flipped. after being checked the next day at my dr appointment and having a quick ultrasound, it was confirmed that he was breech when previous weeks he'd been head down. this led to a couple days of worry, questions, answers, a second opinion, and various options and risks. we decided the right thing for us would be to do an external version since we wanted very much to avoid a c-section if at all possible. we convinced my dr to do it earlier (38 and 3) than his 39 week standard, thinking a smaller baby is easier to flip. everything was scheduled for may 25th. an external version followed with an immediate induction or c-section.

i was stressed and nervous, knowing we'd go into the hospital to have a baby but not how he'd get here. i felt much more calm after a priesthood blessing and knew everything would be ok, however it happened. we lined up our babysitters, scheduled visits/help from family, cleaned the house and waited for the day to come. after a nearly sleepless night we got up bright and early, dropped the girls off, and headed to the hospital.

7:30 am - we checked into the hospital

8:00 am - quick ultrasound to see if the baby flipped back by himself. no luck.

8:30 am - i was given an epidural (it took forever and i was poked so many times. ouch!!) because the version can be quite painful and they want the mother prepped in case there is a need for an emergency c-section.

9:00 am - i was given terbutaline as a muscle relaxant for my uterus to reduce the resistance as the dr tried to manipulate the baby.

9:15 am - the dr came and externally felt around to find the baby's position, located his head way up at the top, and asked if he was about the same size as my other babies. i was looking at dan and in the middle of answering when it felt like the air was knocked out of me. he began to manipulate the baby, pushing and prodding, and before i really knew what was happening, the baby was flipped back into a head down position. it took less than 30 seconds and everyone in the room was really excited. i couldn't believe it happened so quickly. he had two nurses hold the baby in place while they double checked his position via ultrasound. everything looked good so the dr broke my water right then to start my labor going. he said i was 4cm but the baby was still high (i was 1 cm the week before so this was a surprise). at this point i was afraid to get my hopes up, thinking at any moment the baby would flip back around and we'd be back to square one. i held super still and kept my hands close in case i needed to suddenly hold him in place. :)

9:45 am - i was given pitocin to push me into active labor.

**during the next four hours: the pitocin kept getting upped and i was really comfortable and hardly feeling anything but the baby's heart rate had some questionable decelerations. again, in the back of my mind i kept wondering if a c-section was how this whole thing was going to end. he ended up being fine and we waited and waited for progress to finally be made.

2:00 pm - this is when things got interesting. i was checked and finally at 6cm. then i noticed it was getting pretty stormy outside. (on the way to the hospital that morning i reminded dan that the chance of a tornado that day was the highest it had ever been since we moved to columbia. plus joplin, missouri had the F5 tornado come through their city just three days earlier- see pictures here. it even hit the hospital.) the nurse started prepping the room and when she brought in the baby warmer she said a tornado had just touched down in sedalia, about an hour s/w of columbia. then the hospital intercom system came on saying code something (i didn't hear what), which means a severe weather warning. the nurse seemed pretty calm but pulled down a thick window shade as a precaution. i wasn't sure what to think at this point and asked her how often this had happened at work before. she said "never". i started to get a little bit nervous. we turned on the tv to watch the news and weather updates and that didn't help me calm down at all. what we heard was several rotating storm cells were southwest of columbia and they were issuing a tornado watch. part of columbia was in the projected path and the sirens were going off. i started to panic a little bit - here i am stuck in a hospital bed, numb from the legs down and hooked up to a bunch of machines, getting closer and closer to delivering this baby, texting our families to keep us in their prayers, staring at the weather report to see whats going to happen, and just hoping my girls were safely tucked away in my friend's basement. because of the tornado warning, they moved all of the moms and babies that were already delivered out of their rooms and into the hallway. i was far enough along in labor that they kept me in my room but turned the bed so i was facing the inside wall and raised the head so i was sitting up. this was in case of debris coming in the window. i was pretty shaken at this point. my dr's office is across the street from the hospital and his building was evacuated down to the first floor so he spent much of this time in our room. luckily and thankfully, a tornado never materialized and everything they did at the hospital was indeed just a precaution. thank goodness! at least the excitement from the storm made that hour pass quickly.

3:00 pm "ish" - things started to settle back down as the worst of the storm passed and the room/bed were put back how they originally were. unfortunately, because i'd been sitting up, the epidural medication went down to my feet and wasn't very effective in blocking out the contractions. i was in a lot of pain so they gave me something else to help. i don't know what it was and i don't care - it worked and i was happy. :)

3:15 pm - the nurse checked me once i was comfortable and said i was at 7cm. pretty soon after i could feel things changing. she had me try pushing once, called the dr, he came, and at 3:45 our little jake was delivered after two more pushes. six hours of labor from start to finish. healthy mom and healthy baby. not too shabby.

random thoughts (as if this post isn't long enough):
** though he was hardly mentioned, dan WAS there for the whole thing and i couldn't have done it without him. he kept calm amidst the craziness and was a huge support for me. plus he had the girls all to himself until our help arrived and did a great job.
** during my stay at the hospital, nurses and other staff kept asking if i was "the mom with the successful version". i guess the good news spread quickly because versions don't happen often and even then the odds aren't always in your favor. we felt very grateful to be the exception!
** last summer when dan's fellow residents were recommending their OB's, i picked a completely random one from the same practice. why? he was from tucson, went to the u of a for med school like dan, and while it seemed odd, i just felt good about it. it turned out that he performs versions when not all OBs do, and he has the second highest success rate out of the 14 dr's in his practice. tender mercy indeed!
** i remember laying in the hospital bed, listening to the beeps of the machines and monitors and looking at all the things i was hooked to (antibiotic/fluid IV, epidural pump, blood pressure cuff, catheter, internal contraction monitor and fetal monitor - no less than six!), and feeling grateful for modern medicine. i know many women prefer a more natural route to childbirth but as strongly as they feel that's right for them, i know that how i do it is right for me.
** and lastly, what a miracle it is bringing babies into this world! the whole process from start to finish is such an incredible thing to witness and be a part of. it strengthens my testimony of the plan of salvation, of the family, and of my Savior and loving Heavenly Father. i am so grateful for the blessing it is to be a mom and that we've been lucky enough to have these three little people join our lives and family forever.

now on to the pictures!!

excited sisters!!

proud papa!!

and now we have three kids. crazy. fun. and wonderful.

Newborn No Longer

2011-06-26T14:55:00.000-07:00


{boots were a must for madison during the cicada invasion we had. she wouldn't step outside without them. }

jake is one month old (yesterday) and starting to get chunky.

time isn't just flying by anymore, its zooming straight past me.

i had high hopes for this post but if i try and type more than a few sentences, i fall asleep.

i. am. beyond. exhausted.

other than that, things are great.

so here you have it - a snapshot of our life with little old jake.

one month old and along for the ride.

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

{june 2009}

today consisted of:
bran muffins, bacon, and oj
illustrations of our family by madison and grace
a questionnaire about dad
(sample question- what does dad do when he's not with you? madison's answer - "wishes he could be with me". so funny!)
a new shuffle
and a new polo - purple w/ stripes, girls' pick
church and meetings
dad's choice for dinner - stroganoff
and skyping with family

dan barely had two minutes to himself today, which is pretty typical around here. hopefully amid the busy-ness he felt extra appreciated.

i found these two pictures today. probably my favorite ones of dan ever. they capture him perfectly.

i'm grateful for his example, for the way he leads our family, and how he tenderly loves the girls (and jake). he is an incredible husband and father and i'm so glad he's ours forever.

Happy Father's Day Dan! We love you!

{june 2009}

Officially Outnumbered

2011-06-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

{grandma skinner reading library books with grace and jake}

its been almost three weeks of sweet comments, congratulatory emails, meals brought to our home, thoughtful gifts, and visits from family. we feel lucky, blessed, and grateful. not in that order. the last of our help, dan's mom, left today. we're on our own and officially outnumbered.

i. am. nervous.

being the mom (and dad) to three little kids is hard work and exhausting. this evening, dan had his hands full as he bathed the girls and got them ready for bed while they asked for mom every step of the way. they knew i wasn't available (jake decided he was starving and couldn't wait another minute). i'm sure we'll have plenty moments of chaos in the future.

but the small things keep us laughing about this crazy new phase of life for us.

like poor jake peeing all over his own little face before i realized what was happening.
grace bursting into tears as her grandma left today, saying "but she didn't say goodbye to sadie!" (our dog)
or madison asking me, "when your stomach gets smaller, will you still have milk in your two things forever?" :)
and just barely i pulled grace out of madi's bed because they're best friends and wanted to cuddle and sleep together.

i'll take this sleep-deprived, chaotic new chapter of life. i think it's going to turn out pretty good.

Twelve Days Old

2011-06-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

this little boy has stolen all of our hearts.
he gets held, squished and cuddled all day long and none of us seem to get enough of him.

i have lots of pictures and there's so much to write about - tornado sirens and warnings during labor, the art of "tucking it down", the comments from m and g about nursing and changing a boy's diaper, and how this little guy keeps reminding me of my dad and brother.

but for now i am going to be content with one picture. the simple goal of keeping us all dressed and fed is enough to keep me plenty busy. plus i need plenty of time to snuggle with my sweet girls, husband, and little newborn.

if only life had a pause button.

Our Baby Boy

2011-05-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

meet jacob daniel skinner

born may 25th at 3:45 pm

7 lbs and 19 in

yesterday was quite eventful but we'll save that story for another time.

for now...

madison is in heaven and "can't believe he is ours forever and ever!"

grace has interest in 30 sec intervals and really wants to help me nurse him.

dan can't help but walk around with a proud look on his face and its adorable when he says, "hey buddy"

and i think little jake has the cutest nose that i've ever seen.

we're all in love with this new little boy over here and

can't wait to head home in the morning - all five of us!

Lately

2011-05-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

{i have a lot to be thankful for!}

we are busy. i am tired. and the girls are as cute as ever. that about sums things up. but for the sake of posterity, a blog book, and family and friends that still occasionally check in on us, i'll elaborate a little more.

-we finished stocking up on water and feel better prepared having a solid two week supply for the four of us. our three month supply of food is almost replenished (from moving last summer) and i just need to get organized with specific meals and rotating lists. a huge thank you to dan's parents for contributing to our emergency preparedness supplies for christmas - we're finally putting it to good use!

-we got a new hot water heater for christmas, from my mom and mark, and finally listed our old one on craigslist and got rid of it. yay!

-we've spent hours and hours doing yard work in the back including raking up 26 huge garbage bags worth of leaves. next fall we'll stay more on top of things and have much less to do in the spring! we bought, put together, and filled raised garden beds with top soil and hope to have everything planted by this weekend. i also have 90+ little vincas and marigolds to plant in various places around the yard. being 38 weeks pregnant is hindering my excitement to bend over that many times. :)

-dan is still serving as the executive secretary while adjusting to the demands of being elders quorum president. we're all hoping that sooner rather than later he'll be down to just one calling.

-madison finished her first year of preschool and loved every minute of it. this spring she was evaluated by an early childhood educator and qualified to be a peer mentor for title 1 preschool next school year. she scored 97% and 95% for her behavior/skills and will help kids with special needs. i am so excited for her and think she will do awesome!

-on mother's day, madison sang with all the primary kids up on the stand. for her first time. i don't think she even noticed there was a chorister because she looked at us the whole time, grinning, in between singing all the words.

-grace wants to do everything madison does. she can't wait to be in primary and preschool. last week she was invited to stay at school with madison and all the big kids and i don't know if i've ever seen her so happy (except for maybe here).

-grace is loving the nice weather and i often find her outside, barefoot in the grass with sadie. we quickly learned that our side gates needed locks after she ventured into the front yard and let sadie out a few times. she is our mischief maker and adventurer! she comes inside sweaty, with rosy cheeks, telling me all about the things she saw and did and has quite a talent for finding lady bugs.

-we have really enjoyed spring with all the flowers and blossoms. we were pleasantly when daffodils popped up in our back yard and tulips in the front. our hibiscuses are getting bigger everyday and will hopefully bloom soon. this last week i bought gerber daisies, and a dahlia to plant in pots and planters along with the vincas and marigolds.

-dan enjoys watching the show "shark tank" and recently saw a new product he was interested in called the citi kitty. he purchased it and it should get here any day now. i told him i get to tease about it as much as i want and then if he can successfully toilet train our two cats, i'll take it all back.

-a pair of sparrows built a nest in our garage this winter and a couple weeks ago i heard a bit of commotion out there and found two little birds trying to learn how to fly. i figured between our dog and two cats they'd have a hard time surviving the day so we spent hours scooping the babies up off the ground and putting them back up high on the shelf. at the end of the day, one flew away with the parents and the other was left behind with a broken leg. we nursed it for three days, feeding it with an eye dropper, before it finally died. madison and i cried. grace said, "thanks for showing me the dead bird, mom." and rolled over to take a nap, unphased by it all. madison was devastated when i threw it away (we didn't want to bury it and have our dog dig it up) and said, while sobbing, "can't we just put it back in the next and let its parents deal with it?" we had a nice conversation about heaven and animals. :)

-we hosted a bbq with most of the residents and their families at our house (20+ people). i was nervous but everything turned out well and everyone loved the chicken dan grilled. we played some golf toss, watched the kentucky derby, and enjoyed eating and visiting outside in the gorgeous weather. they were sweet to spoil us with some cute baby clothes and accessories as well.

-our families have a lot going on as well: my sister hannah is currently spending 6 weeks in belize with a service organization, my brother, chris, has four weeks of boot camp for the air force coming up, my mom and mark have started building their new house out in new harmony, and dan's brother, brett, is returning home in june from his mission in brazil. we also have kamber and shane's new baby boy joining the family in july and stephanie and robert are due with a little girl in oct. a lot of exciting things happening!

-as far as this pregnancy goes, we are at the tail end of things, thank goodness! i'm officially 38 weeks and counting down. we found out this week baby boy is breech and that was a huge bummer. after a lot of talking, praying, and second opinions we decided to schedule an external version on may 25th (after giving me an epidural, they'll try to manipulate the baby so he'll turn head down). immediately after i will either be induced or have a c-section, depending on whether or not the version is successful. my doctor said our chances are 50/50. we have our fingers crossed!

this random list of things hardly covers everything we've been up to but it gives you an idea. like i said, we're busy and i'm tired. but life is good and i wouldn't change anything (except this baby boy being flipped back the right way!!). i'm trying to soak up the small and simple moments before life changes with a new baby next week. but we're very excited for everything about to happen and can't wait till this little guy makes his big debut!

Our House Decorated: The Girl's Room

2011-05-16T15:37:00.001-07:00

{original picture from previous owners}

the end of next month marks one year spent in columbia for our family. wow, it has flown by! i figure i'd better post pictures of our house all moved in and redecorated before baby boy skinner joins us in a couple weeks. this is what the girls' bedroom looked like back in feb 2010 when the house was first listed and i flew out to look at it. super cute but a little too dark and bold for me, plus nothing we owned went with red.

{last november}

thank goodness for killz because that room needed some serious primer.

{my "helpers"}

i painted once the girls went to bed and late into the night. between two little busy bodies, wet paint, and original hardwood floors, i wasn't willing to take any chances. the girls were excited to see the new color when they woke up.

{all painted with the beds and dresser moved back in}

next on my list was figuring out how to finish the room with things on the wall and empty space in the corner.

i finally finished everything in march.

here are the results .......................

{in between the closet (left) and bedroom door (right)}

the girls' art wall.

the pictures are hanging haphazardly right now but the beautiful thing about it is the door on the right is usually open and hides a lot of the wall so it doesn't matter. i hung eye hooks on each side and crossed fishing line back and forth between them. the girls hang pictures they paint/color or bring home from nursery/primary/preschool with clothespins. at some point i'll get some glitter and pom poms so they can fancy them up. i really wanted to have a space for them to display their creativity besides the fridge and i think this was the perfect solution.

{pic taken from madison's bed}

i love this corner of the room. i found the rug on sale at target and it gave me a starting point and color scheme. the bookcase was a thank you present from dan's sister stephanie, the lamp came from a model home sale in az last summer, and the picture is of madison on the beach in rocky point, mexico, painted by my grandma farnsworth.

here's a closeup.

the snap shot she painted from is attached on the back - it's from our last trip with my family before chris's mission and the crash.

it's priceless and i love it.


{the view from the corner by the bookcase}

{standing in the doorway}

for journaling purposes and to remind myself in the future i can do something like this again: the ikea dresser was found in the "as is" section, the shelves and plant are from marshall's, the letters above the beds are from stephanie, i mod podged them and the temple blocks, added ribbon and gave them to the girls for christmas, i had extra frames on hand, printed enlargements at sam's club, found the accesories at hobby lobby for 50% off with lindsay's help, the print of Christ was free from the lds distribution center, the piggy banks were birthday presents, and both bedding sets were on clearance from jc pennys and target (they don't match but do coordinate).

{standing in front of the window}

i found madison's head board and box spring on craigslist for $20 and the guy threw in two free shelves (they are hanging in the hallway and nursery). the headboard needed some love so i primed it and spray painted it.

this project really taught me to be patient. i searched and searched for just the right things, pulled from what i had, and emailed family a million times for opinions and advice. i really wanted a space that was bright, happy, and functional (and not all pink!). a space geared towards the girls that would reflect them and what we hold dear. a place they would enjoy living, playing, and sleeping. while its not perfect, i think it came together nicely and i'm glad its done!

{self portrait by madison}

i think they've given it their stamp of approval too.

Number Four

2011-05-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

today is dallin and kamber's fourth wedding anniversary.

it was a whirlwind day with pictures, a beautiful sealing in the mesa temple (by dan's grandpa lebaron), a luncheon at the landmark, two hour drive to tucson, a reception in the platt's backyard and a two hour drive back home. in honor of cinco de mayo, mexican food was served and we fiesta'd the night away.

its pretty crazy to think of all that's happened since that night four years ago. nobody ever would have guessed that my dad and brother would die in a plane crash just 15 short months later and that kamber would be left 8 months pregnant. thankfully, their son porter came into the world happy, healthy and roaring to go.

kamber said this as we were texting back and forth today, "I celebrated one anniversary with Dallin and then the second, third, and now fourth are with him gone. I just feel so lucky to have a little piece of him with Porter. He is such a blessing!" we are all grateful for porter and the pieces of dallin we see in him. he definitely has his dad's zest for life!

not only are we grateful for the addition of porter to our family but also kamber's new-ish husband shane. he has been sweet and understanding and takes great care of kamber and porter. have i mentioned they're expecting a little baby boy in july? i don't think i have. i'm SOOO happy for them and i know dallin is too. go here to see recent pictures on kamber's blog. my favorites - porter and shane playing baseball.

**cinco de mayo 2007, D & K's wedding day, and the funeral program picture**

the wonderful thing about all of this is the happy ending and ever after. the peace that the truthfulness of the gospel brings. the power of the priesthood and the everlasting ordinances of the temple. the reassurance in knowing that even though we don't have all the answers for sometimes really tough questions, it will all work out in the end. that our goal here on earth is to be happy and even though it can be hard, it's achievable. we can be happy despite the trials and circumstances we have to endure.

i'm grateful for this special day during the year when i can reflect about what anniversary's represent, even when they're not spent together with those we love.

happy fourth anniversary dallin and kamber - i love you both!!

Getting There

2011-05-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

**madison snuggling with 'baby brother' on a park bench, in forest park - st. louis.**

i'm officially 35 weeks pregnant and don't find it necessary to provide any more visual documentation than the above picture. :) just think large and uncomfortable with awhile still to go. we're really hoping this little boy joins us in a few short weeks, as long as he's good and healthy of coarse.

for some reason i thought things would start to wind down the closer it got to his due date but the opposite keeps happening. a brief summary of the last week? sure, why not: a haircut, Easter dinner hosted at our house, a week of teaching preschool, missionaries plus investigator over for dinner, mutual, the temple, 36 hour family vacation to st. louis, stake youth dance (yours truly in charge), visiting teachee over for dinner, presidency meeting, carpet cleaning, dr appt, new calling for dan (EQ president, though he's still acting as executive secretary till someone else is called), and this weekend i'm helping with a class for our stake relief society conference and we're hosting a BBQ for all the derm residents and their families. this doesn't include daily household and familial responsibilities, which take plenty of time themselves.

i'm exhausted...to put it lightly.

the neat thing amidst all this craziness is that it seems like we're finally figuring things out. living life going full speed ahead has taught us to prioritize better than we ever have before. we're finally, maybe, starting to get this parenting thing down and our girls on a routine that works (just in time to throw a new baby in the mix!). we are more consistent than ever before when it comes to the important but simple things like reading scriptures and saying prayers, as a family and a couple. we're communicating more about our schedules and wants and needs as we're figuring out how to balance all of our responsibilities. and we're learning how to really love and serve and be more diligent in our callings.

it's almost like the crazier life gets, the better we're getting at fitting all the pieces together. hopefully adding all the changes a new baby brings will just be one more piece to our puzzle. either way, they're getting closer - baby brother's arrival and where we want to be as a family. both have us smiling.


outside the st. louis temple, on the way home from our mini vacation.

timber......

pictures and details of our trip in the near future!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T15:01:00.003-07:00

{are you as shocked as i am that its only the day after Easter and here i am posting about it? craziness. maybe i'll actually get caught up one of these days.}

holidays are becoming more fun every year since the girls anticipate whats coming and are old enough to really know what its about and how we celebrate. Easter morning did not disappoint. madison waited patiently for dad to make sure the Easter bunny came/hide the hard boiled eggs. grace was ready to get the show on the road!

after finding baskets and summer dresses upstairs the girls got ready to hunt for Easter eggs in the basement. (i opted not to buy Easter dresses this year since the girls already have plenty of dresses that fit them. they wore beautiful dresses aunt lindsay gave them a couple months ago and looked so cute. taking a cute Easter picture didn't make it on my list of things to do yesterday. maybe next year.)

the girls had to empty their baskets with dad's help and then continue the hunt before all the eggs were found. we went a little overboard considering only two kids were hunting but dying eggs (we did that fri night) is so fun that we did three dozen.

we had a few busy days leading up to Easter since midweek we decided to invite a couple families over for sunday dinner. we cooked and cleaned like crazy and after much stress, on my part, it all came together smoothly. my main concern was getting the ham to turn out. this is the best ham ever. ever. it's an imlay tradition that i will gladly adopt. after dressing the ham with pineapple, brown sugar, and a secret ingredient, you cover is with foil and cook it over night at a low temp. the next morning it's falling-off-the-bone-tender and ends up being the consistency of pot roast, shredding easily. i may have texted/called mark with questions about 20 times. :) but it turned out so i was happy.

mint limeade....so good and even a hit with the kids! i need to get the recipe for that one. plus dan surprised me with flowers - so sweet!

on the menu: fruit filled jello, fruit dip with fresh pineapple and strawberries, veggie spinach dip with crusty bread, spinach salad with peppers, walnuts, berries and a poppy seed dressing, and then not pictured, funeral potatoes, sweet rolls and shredded ham. can you tell i like food? it was delicious!! {i SO didn't make everything!!}

adult table

kid's table

someone made a cute Easter cake. {never mind my blurry picture}

we decided to get rid of our extra candy by having another Easter egg hunt with all the kids after dinner. today grace keeps asking when we're going to have another one. :)

we had such a great Easter weekend full of fun with our little family and good friends. we talked to the girls a lot about what we really celebrate this time of year and i think they understood as well as they can at their age.

we'd been discussing Christ and the Atonement and Resurrection for a couple days when madison said this in her prayers one night, "thank you for dad, and all of his sins. thank you for mom, and all of her sins. and thank you for gracie and me and all of our sins." hahaha. we straightened that out a little bit more when she was done. but it was neat to see her thinking about what we'd been teaching and talking about.

the girls also watched the living scripture movie "He is Risen" a dozen times, we went through the classic Easter egg nativity with scriptures and objects to go along with them in plastic eggs, and madison learned about Easter last week at preschool.

i am grateful for a holiday that helps us slow down and remember important things. i'm grateful for the Spirit in our home as we focused on the Savior and the significant events at the end of His life. i'm grateful for little girls that are interested and excited about the serious things Easter celebrates and not just the fluff like the Easter bunny.

most of all, i am grateful for the knowledge that my Savior lives and that He loves me.

hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Easter 2011: Shelter Gardens

2011-04-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

our first Easter egg hunt this year was saturday at shelter gardens, hosted by the Dirks family. it was beautiful and other than being a little bit timid, the girls had a blast.

the grass was the perfect length to hide eggs and sometimes you almost stepped on them before actually seeing them.

200 eggs hidden out there for the 0-6 year olds and 100 something on the other side of the garden for the 7-11 year olds. the Dirks went all out!

this little girl has some spunk in her!

the girls and mary dirks.

she is the yw's president in our ward and i have the pleasure of serving with her. she is incredible in so many ways and her talents never cease to amaze me. she especially loves little kids. despite initially putting up a front, my girls have warmed up to her and can't wait to go have a picnic at her house (with her dogs, todd and jeffrey). we had so much fun and are so grateful for all the incredible people we get to associate with here in MO!!

mary posted this picture on facebook and wrote underneath it, "me and a few of my closest friends".

Sunday Evening Stroll

2011-04-18T12:57:00.000-07:00


Sunday, April 17

{i would have cropped this picture but did you notice the gorgeous pink blossoms on our neighbor's tree? i could stare out my kitchen window at them all day long. spring here in MO is beautiful and i can't get enough!}

sunday evenings are looked forward to at our house.

dad finally home from a looong day at church

simple dinners and ramekins with jello

sometimes games and dessert with friends

or skyping with aunts, uncles, and grandparents

but usually just quiet, cozy moments

and slow paced evening strolls

yesterday, madison practiced hitting the brakes down our street

we met a few neighbors

watched the sun set through the blossoming trees

and grace made herself right at home on the front porch of a little old lady's house

she and patches, the cat, had a staring contest through the window

after returning home, it was

"tickle eye drops" for madison

scriptures, prayers, songs, and books before bedtime

and the mr. and i studied and discussed an article about marriage and such

-there's always room to improve, right?

sometimes i can't help but think this is the calm before the storm - the transition from two kids to three, when life gets crazy. part of me feels a little sad and nostalgic that our lives as we know it will change. but we're excited for the big day in 7 weeks or less (hopefully less!!!) when we can bring ""baby brother" home to offically join our family and fill that spot next to grace in the stroller. in the meantime we're so very much enjoying and cherishing life as the four of us, one walk at a time.

Daiquiri Ice

2011-04-01T23:27:00.143-07:00

{friday movie night a few weeks back}

i look forward to the weekend all week long - like most people i'm sure. something about having no fewer commitments and dad at home is refreshing. we try and make friday nights especially fun for the girls - anything like pillow fights, homemade pizza, a movie and popcorn, or games can be on the agenda. usually its cheap and simple. i love cheap and simple.

this evening started out with yard work in the back - a precursor for tomorrow's long list of things to accomplish. as i helped the girls carry broken remnants of sidewalk chalk from the front porch to the back patio, so they could create a masterpiece under my watchful eye, madison said, "THIS is the funnest day ever!" surprised, i laughed. after a simple thrown together dinner, we took the girls out for ice cream cones - something that usually only happens when we're in mexico. they were SO excited.

it took me back to when i was young.

my dad was busy. so so so busy. i don't think my memory even does it justice. he was a pathology resident, father of four little kids, and bishop of a bustling young ward. i honestly don't know how he and my mom did it. how did they balance everything that was being asked of them? somehow they made family time a priority because while i remember my dad being busy, i have so many memories of him being home.

we were outside all the time - throwing fallen oranges from the most recent monsoon into the wash across the street, sweeping out the carport and the patios, watering trees and bushes, raking gravel under all the citrus, and various other odds and ends. i'm sure a lot of what we did was play, while my parents did the working. often we'd walk down the street to conor park and play catch or soccer or even kick the can.

one of our favorite things to do when dad could be home was ride bikes. we'd load up the van and drive to the rillito river. from there we'd race down the bridges, past the horse track and to the park on our bikes, just to turn around and race all the way back. hannah was young enough that she was always strapped in one of those seats right behind my dad as he rode.

if we were in for a really special treat, we'd ride from our house down to baskin robbins, park our bikes outside, and venture in to pick out the flavor of our choice. i always chose rainbow sherbet. something about the colors always snagged my attention. but i remember the first time i tasted my dad's favorite flavor - daiquiri ice. sweet and tangy. icy blue. so good. i've been hooked ever since.

i'm sure my dad was gone way more than i remember but i'm so grateful for all the times he was home and all the fun things we were able to do growing up.

i'm grateful for those simple pleasures and sweet memories.

and i'm happy that my girls are experiencing the same things with their dad.

only now,can i really understand the love that was behind it all.

so tonight:

baskin robbins-

bubble gum for grace,

rainbow sherbet for madi,

mint chocolate chip for dan,

and daiquiri ice for me.

single scoops and sugar cones.

our little family of four (and three quarters).

"funnest day ever!" according to madison.

i know exactly where she's coming from.

79 Days and Counting

2011-03-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

as a brand new sunbeam, madison was given a chart to keep track of her daily scripture reading for the year.
(once we got back into town after holiday traveling)

i honestly thought the paper would find its way into the trash by the end of the week.

boy was i wrong.

madison helped us remember to read scriptures before bedtime every night that week so she could fill in her next little box.

now we just started the book of mormon reader over again for the second time this year and have been at it for 79 days straight and counting.

(we missed one night - had friends over)

madison noticed and pointed out on her own that everyone in the stories "keep going back and forth - good, bad, good."

and grace loves to point out all the prophets and bad guys.

what used to be a hit and miss thing for us is now a constant in our bedtime routine.

we are grateful and hopefully there is no going back.

i won't pretend every night is smooth sailing. there are plenty of distractions. (sadie no longer joins us on the bed. :)

Gracisms

2011-03-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

june 2010

*dan and grace were watching football together and when i came downstairs he had her tell me what team they were cheering for. She said, "GO RAISENS!!!". i'm proud to say i am familiar enough with the nfl to know she meant ravens instead. :)

*madison started coming upstairs, leaving grace behind and she said, "i'm lost down here by myself madi babe!" i sometimes call madison, madi babe as a nickname and apparently grace picked up on it.

*every time grace gets dressed for the day or undressed for the tub she yells, " i'm a maked girl!"

*she says, "i love you the mostest."

*instead of upside down, grace says up-side-ways.

*she calls the elevator, "alligator" and wants to be held every single time.

*i found her in the corner, with madison's pillow and a bunch of stuffed animals and asked what she was doing and she said, "i'm having a camp-over!"

*"NO sadie!!!! you can't have your bone until after we have prayer!!" haha, she knows not to eat without having a blessing first.

*we were trying to discipline her for something and one of us said, are you going to obey or do you need to have a time out?
her response, "i need a time out!"

our gracie is a brilliant, spunky, mischievous, affectionate, and tenderhearted little girl.
she keeps us busy. and laughing.
{we like to think she's done all she can to prepare us for having a little boy next.}

Day One of Spring Break

2011-03-26T21:17:00.085-07:00

snow isn't quite what we were expecting for spring break but we'll take it ... hoping this set of flurries is the last until next winter.

the girls were gung-ho about throwing snowballs.

and for the first time, they didn't mind being all bundled up.

at least from the waist up.

this little girlie wasn't quite the happy camper she normally is-

-partly because this guilty dog shook snow all over madison's little bare legs. bad sadie!

but it was hilarious to watch madison having fun and trying to act grumpy at the same time.

this girlie had a blast and only came inside after going down the slide in her leggings, landing with her bum in the snow.

now if only it will start warming up again so we can fit some park days in too!

Operation: Make It Up ToThem

2011-03-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

madison ran into my room this morning yelling, "it's zoo time! it's zoo time! you forgot to wake me up early so we can go!". i spent the next 15 minutes trying to console her. {we were supposed to drive to st. louis with some friends today to go to the zoo but i decided that driving two hours each way to spend most of the day walking around outside in 34 degree weather wasn't my idea of fun. the girls would have miserable too. but i still felt like the worst mom ever by disappointing the girls.}

after some convincing, the girls made a list of things we could do to salvage the day. so far we've:
snuggled in bed and read books
made (and played with) rainbow pancakes, served with strawberries and syrup
danced around in the kitchen to 'wee sing silly songs'
helped train sadie with dog treats
colored with madi's birthday art supplies
and are watching a show or two - cat in the hat and super why (i heart pbs!!)

still to come:
paint our nails - fingers and toes
get out more baby stuff for baby brother (their idea!)
read more books
eat and play at mcdonald's
sort clean clothes (they LOVE helping with that)
make chocolate covered strawberries
watch a movie with mom and eat popcorn

we haven't planned the evening yet but it will be a girl's-day-continued since dan will only be home for 1/2 an hour while the girls are awake today. i'm sure they'll come up with something - pillow fights have been a favorite lately.

i'm grateful for short memories and forgiving little girls.
we'll try and squeeze in a trip to the zoo next week.

Magical

2011-03-20T19:00:00.003-07:00

this morning:
we ate mini muffins and cantaloupe for breakfast
listened to paul cardall's assorted hymn arrangements on shuffle
prepped and started dinner in the crockpot
the girls snuggled together watching a church movie as i raced to get ready for church
(i got in the shower 35 minutes before sacrament meeting started and we live 10 minutes from the chapel - oops!)

this afternoon:
grace fell asleep on the way home from church and transferred easily to her bed
madison had quiet time and watched mary poppins
i attempted a new homemade roll recipe and it was a success!! (link here)
enjoyed a diet coke
had a perky two year old after she took lengthy nap
played outside in our gorgeous weather
and ate an awesome family sunday dinner at 7:30 when dan finally got home after being at the church for a long 11 hour day - shoyu chicken, sticky rice, steamed broccoli, fresh fruit salad, and rolls - i'm still stuffed

our life is by no means perfect but i found myself completely satisfied this afternoon. dan was still at the church, having been there all day. my kitchen was a disaster, a whirlwind of dishes strewn across all the counters. our muddy dog's barking was interrupted occasionally by crying from the girls about who's turn it was on the baby swing or which princess was who's.

yet everything just felt right.
the ups and the downs.
the laughing and the crying.
this is exactly what i signed up for.

i think i've said this before but there's something totally enchanting about living everyday life.

here's to being better at blogging about it!

Thoughts on Baby Boy Bedding

2011-03-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

our house is dominated by pink. pink clothes, pink toys, and pink bedding - i think it will be nice to throw some blue into the mix. i just haven't been able to get excited about dinosaurs, trucks and trains, jungle animals, or any of the other boyish themes i've seen. after searching high and low i decided a couple months ago on THIS bedding from target. this set would be simple enough for a new baby and still look cute as toddler bedding down the road, plus allow some flexibility and versatility in decorating the rest of the room. perfect, right?

well i went to finally order it online yesterday so we can start getting things decorated and ready for when this little guys comes, only to find out it's "not available". bummer! after calling for more information i was informed there is a chance it will be stocked again. hmmm, now the waiting game begins.

for now i'll hunt for a back up. THIS is another option at target, same pattern but different colors, though i would probably choose something with more blue.

what are your thoughts? favorite (cheap) bedding lines? boy themes and decor you like? somewhere along the lines of simple, cheap, and easy.... we just have 11 weeks to go!

**pictures of our finished girl's room coming soon!!

A Glimpse

2011-03-13T00:04:00.000-07:00

my last post was over a month ago so we've been MIA for awhile. wow. no excuses or apologies for now. just a quick summary of the big things happening around here:

dan made it home (finally!) from the AAD conference in new orleans
we recovered from rsv/some sort of serious cold
celebrated valentines day
and our dad's birthday's
dan turned 30 with a "surprise" party
madison turned 4 and had a friend party
dan has immersed himself in studying for the mock board exam which is later this month
i helped plan a generations dinner and new beginnings for yw's (spoke at the later)
i also taught preschool and a combined yw's lesson
recently enjoyed a week long visit from aunt/sister/sister in-law lindsay
bought a piano
and started my third trimester!

i'm sure there are noteworthy events missing and many of these things even deserve a post of their own but this will do for now.

and since every post is better with a picture... or three...

grace has the tiniest bum ever and couldn't keep her skirt on. but there was no way she'd put down her bubble wand and use both hands. silly girl.

so there you have it - a glimpse into our busy lives and an update to hold you over until next time. :)

Madison Turns Four

2011-03-10T15:13:00.092-07:00

on february 28th, 2007, madison elizabeth skinner joined our family. is seems like just yesterday but now we're celebrating her FOURTH birthday!!

the festivities started the night before her birthday so we could skype with family and have her open presents from them "in front of them". madison loved everything she was given and grace lucked out with a few presents too.

monday was madison's actual birthday and she took cupcakes to share with her preschool class. that afternoon we headed over to bonkers, an awesome indoor playground. dad was a good sport and climbed around with the kids.

we took jackson and hallie, some of madison's good friends, and aunt lindsay was in town visiting so she came too. (this is terrible picture but i t cracks me up.)

we returned home from bonkers, made homemade pizza for dinner, and opened more presents.

madi loooves her new dress from lindsay because it twirls and she grins at church whenever she gets compliments.

madison had a good little helper...

she was given art stuff out the wazoo but it's been wonderful and exactly what she wanted because madi spends hours coloring and painting. some of the markers are already drying out.

i'm the frazzled pregnant mom who couldn't remember where i hid the candles so we sang happy birthday and lit matches instead. :)

that night madison snuggled right up with fluffy, her new pillow pet, and looked content. it made me happy seeing her so happy.

madison is a tender, sensitive, affectionate little girl with a strong desire to please others and always do what is right. she's such a great little helper and the perfect oldest child for our family. we are so grateful for her excitement to read the scriptures and pray daily and she has been a huge example to me.

Happy 4th Birthday Madison!! We sure love you!!

The Big 3O!

2011-02-21T13:21:00.059-07:00

dan turned 30 this year!!!

i tried to throw a surprise party but he figured it out in the end. maybe i'll try again in another ten years. i invited some families over for mexican food - dan's favorite. we had homemade enchiladas and spanish rice, a veggie platter, assorted grapes (first time eating black grapes - yum!), and 7 layer bean dip. squeezing in and feeding 23 people, adults and kids, was quite an undertaking but i think it turned out ok. hopefully dan felt loved and appreciated. i took all of five pictures, none of which were very good. but in an attempt to document the night, here are a few:

we ended with candy bar cake and the girls got to blow out the candles. a big thank you to everyone that came! we celebrated dan's actual birthday with a low key date the next night.

happy 30th birthday dan!! we love you!!

We've Almost Made It

2011-02-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

it's easy to say these last four days have been the longest ones EVER. that might be a little dramatic, but only slightly. thankfully the girl's fevers broke yesterday and mine was gone this morning. we survived this RSV thing. now, in a little less than 24 hours, dan's plane should touch the ground, he'll have a two hour commute back to columbia, and then he'll be home. we've made it this far, weather, please don't get in the way!

the girls and i were pleasantly surprised to find a box with our mail this morning. it was just what we needed. aunt lindsay sent an early valentines day package to the girls and we sifted through it, pulling out a few things to help us get through today. the rest will be taped back up and saved for V day itself. one of the favorites was a pink cupcake shirt for sadie (notice our fort/tent in the background). the girls love it. sadie... will eventually. :)

grace chose to eat her hearth shaped ring pop and madison wanted the little thingies you put in a bowl of water that turn into animal shaped sponges. they couldn't get enough of either one and it kept them busy for quite awhile. the picture above - cracks. me. up. they really were happy, i promise.

i finally convinced the girls they didn't need a second bath today and they're very excited to try their new farm shaped sponges tomorrow. thank you lindsay!! this was exactly what we needed to make it through today.

** and this just gives you an idea of what to do if you ever run out of kleenex. dogs are good for something, right? ;)

This and That

2011-02-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

we've had quite the week. last minute trips to stock up on everything imaginable for our first blizzard. record snowfall and hours spent shoveling. school, the clinic, and mutual canceled for the week. dan leaving for new orleans to attend the AAD convention. and a diagnosis of RSV for both girls.

i've dreaded RSV ever since madison was born during "the season" almost four years ago, and thankfully we avoided it until this year. now i have two little girls taking a concoction of drugs every so many hours to keep their fevers down and coughing at a minimum. poor gracie has hardly slept the last three nights because she's breathing so fast and restless. madison's eyes look glazed over and both of their little cheeks are flushed bright red.

i've felt a little exhausted and overwhelmed the last 24 hours. my solution? make a list of things to be thankful for. i'm a huge believer that the small things can make a difference. as i jotted this list on a scrap piece of paper in the kitchen it made me smile. i have a lot to be grateful for even when stress and anxiety and exhaustion seem to be dominating my life the last couple days. so here we go...

i'm grateful for:
- pictures i randomly find on my camera taken at knee level with little fingers across the lens
- a south facing house because our snow melts twice as fast as everyone across the street
- sudafed, tylenol, motrin, robitussen, and vicks vapor rub
- red vines and an unread dan brown novel waiting for me after the girls go to bed
- netflix to make folding the clothes go faster
- dishwashers
- soft rock 101.5 for making the house seem less big and empty and lonely at night
- cell phones, texting, and free long distance
- crayola water color paints ($1.99) and that madison still loves to paint rainbows after going through 3 sets of paints in the last few weeks
- pepsi max to push me through the day after sleepless nights with the girls. sad? yes.
- a house big enough for us not to go stir crazy after 5 long days of being cooped up inside
- the quote "Friends are the family you make for yourself" and how true it is. thank you amy!
- plastic popcorn tubs from the $1 bin at target because they make watching a movie and having popcorn so much more fun
- our dog that drives me crazy 24/7 but can put a smile on grace's face when nothing else makes her feel better or can cheer her up
- girls that love reading books so much i sometimes have to tell them no
- frozen pizza
- little girls who tell me they miss their dad like 20 times a day. (i secretly hope they'd say the same about me if i were gone.)
- the sun being out on a cold wintery day
- a family that eats bacon and eggs when i serve them, when i can't even stand the thought of taking a bite
- memories of my dad going to AAD meetings and bringing back "souvenirs" labeled with random drug companies (pens, paper, water bottles, bags, key chains). it was like christmas all over again.
- madison and that the first thing she said in her delerious, half awake, fevery state was, "i really hope gracie is feeling better!"
- when the girls can choose anything they want to do and they pick playing games with mom - hungry hippo, hi ho cherry-o, old maid, and princess memory match
- worthy friends who gave my girls priesthood blessings this afternoon since dan couldn't be here
- a husband who works hard for our family to provide everything we need and more

things aren't always hunky dory over here at our house, that's for sure, but there's always plenty to be grateful for. i'm feeling better already.

Winter Weather Advisory

2011-01-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

i LOVE living in a place that experiences all four seasons. fall is by far my favorite, followed by spring and summer. and even winter has it's perks - white Christmas's, sledding, snowmen, hot chocolate, bundling up to go outside and snuggling together inside. i really enjoy it all.

that is... until i read something like this warning from the national weather service, issued to our area for the next several days:

"... CRIPPLING WINTER STORM EXPECTED TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY...

* ACCUMULATIONS... SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF OF 12 TO 18 INCHES ARE LIKELY. LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE.

* WINDS... WINDS WILL BECOME NORTHWEST AND INCREASE TO 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH ON TUESDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THIS MAY CAUSE WHITE OUT CONDITIONS.

* IMPACTS... EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS ROAD CONDITIONS FROM THE HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATION AND EXTENSIVE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW COULD LIMIT TRAVEL FOR DAYS. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AS WELL AS AN INCREASED RISK OF DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES DUE TO THE ICE ACCUMULATION WILL LAST INTO WEDNESDAY.

*PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... THE RAPID ACCUMULATION OF SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL EXTREMELY DIFFICULT... IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE. IF TRAVEL IS NECESSARY... MAKE SURE TO EXERCISE CAUTION. BEGIN YOUR TRAVEL WITH A TANK FULL OF GAS... AND CARRY A WINTER STORM KIT WHICH INCLUDES A SHOVEL... FLASHLIGHT... CELLPHONE... AND BLANKETS OF EXTRA WARM CLOTHING."

let's hope it clears up enough that the girls and i will survive when dan leaves on thursday, for five days in new orleans!

Today Is Dallin's Birthday

2011-01-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

he would be 26.
and i miss him every single day.

we've kind of made it a tradition to celebrate dallin and my dad's lives by doing things they loved on their birthday. my mom made a list of things that dallin enjoyed or that remind us of him. feel free to join us in remembering him, but more importantly, in enjoying and celebrating this life we've been given, just like dallin would be doing if he were here.

Ways to remember Dallin:
-have a Pina Colada or Purple cow
-serve someone/reach out to someone who needs a friend/remember someone
-play a game (like Rummikub or Crazy Rook)
-throw a frisbee
-tell someone a story and don't leave out ANY details
-volunteer at the Happy Factory, or, volunteer somewhere else
-listen to cello music, or, listen to the song Pachelbel's Canon
-say "I love you" and hug someone (but not awkwardly!)
-watch Nacho Libre or Finding Nemo
-attend the Temple
-eat Hawaiian Haystacks
-make a sandwich with everything on it, especially red onions
-think about him, look at pictures of him
-SMILE!

when i think about how much Dallin accomplished and how he influenced so many people in the 23 years he was on the earth, i am humbled. he was an incredible friend and brother and example. i am grateful we can be together after this life, reunited as a family. i like to think he's cheering me on - "come on marie, you can do it!"

Dallin - We miss and love you. Happy Birthday. Love, Your Sister

Proudest Moment Yet

2011-01-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

{rr photography june 2010 - she's looking up at me. one of my favorite photos ever. }

madison was a flower girl at kamber's wedding.
it was a big deal for her. and me.
i wasn't sure if she'd walk down the aisle by herself.
but she did.
and i was so proud. so, so proud.

yesterday topped it.
she walked up slowly and sat with dangling little legs and hands grasping the edge of the chair.
a little self-conscious smile curled up in the corners of her mouth.
my heart was probably pounding as fast as hers.
and then, after weeks of practicing, it was finally time.
she walked to the podium, climbed the steps, pulled down the mic, and said to everyone in the primary room:

"my favorite scripture story is in the Book of Mormon.
it's when Jesus appears to the Nephites, and asks the children to come to Him.
then He gives them a blessing, and angels surround them.
this story helps me know Jesus loves me too.
in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

unprompted. unaided.
then she walked calmly back to her chair
and turned around with a big grin,
waiting for mom and dad's seal of approval.
i gave her the biggest smile and thumbs up i could.
on the way home from church i got to explain happy tears.

my little girl, just a few weeks into being a new sunbeam, was willing and confidant and brave.
she's growing up and i'm in awe as i sit back and watch who she is becoming.
i am one proud mama.

Pillow Fight

2011-01-19T01:00:00.001-07:00

every night after dinner madison asks, "what are we going to do that's fun tonight?". we let her think of an idea and having a pillow fight was the winner. the girls were knocked to the floor over and over again and couldn't stop giggling. madison could hardly stand up; she thought it was so funny.

check out the ever growing baby bump. i'm afraid it looks much larger in person and while standing. cheers for being half way done though!

madison ambushed dad.

and dad retaliated. look at that concentration.

somehow grace got buried in the mix - just her feeties sticking out.

and she wasn't so happy about it.

(it was actually really funny - poor girl)

tonight i am grateful for a husband who:

makes it a priority to eat dinner, at the table, as a family

eats what is served even when a new recipe doesn't quite pan out

feels it's as important as i do, that our girls eat a healthy, well balanced meal and try new things

gets down on the ground and plays with his girls

motivates us to be better friends and neighbors by reaching out

bathes the girls, gives eye drops and steroids, brushes teeth, reads books, scriptures and has family prayer with them, even when i'm not there to help

and then sings primary songs and puts them to bed

waits up for me to come home from 4 hour presidency meetings (it was 12:30 am)

because he wants to make sure i'm ok

pillow fights are just the beginning of how good it is around here.

Nap Time

2011-01-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

** it does a body good **

AZ Christmas Break

2011-01-13T14:34:00.213-07:00

***once again i'm behind. it's now been four months since we traveled to AZ so this will have to do***

after a loooong day of traveling we finally arrived in AZ and got to spend 10 days there visiting friends and family. the girls were so excited to see grandma and grandpa skinner and their aunts and uncles! it makes me feel lucky to have married into such an awesome family - not everyone has it so good! we headed to dan's parents house and the girls were all set to open another slew of presents. they were given such cute clothes, disney princess barbies, books and stuffed animals, littlest pet shop animals, more dress up clothes and jewelry, and that's only what i can remember off the top of my head. it was like christmas morning all over again for them and they got spoiled - to put it lightly. (thank goodness we brought an empty duffel bag with us to take all the goods back home in. :)

madison even scored her very own marc jacob's skirt from aunt lindsay.

we especially enjoyed the blue skies and sunny weather and made it a point to spend plenty of time outside. grandma and grandpa skinner's new trampoline helped with that.

one of the cutest things ever was when grandpa skinner wanted to take the girls to build-a-bear to pick out their very own stuffed animals. we left the four of them (g&g and the girls) alone in the store and came back at the end to see what the they had chosen. apparently grace knew immediately which outfit she wanted and named her dog princess. it was attached to her hip for weeks after this trip!

madison and grandma working hard on the "birth certificate" or something like it. she chose a rabbit, dressed like a fairy, with red sparkly shoes and named her dorothy. :)

the finished products.

we celebrated new years eve playing games and i think i might have fallen asleep early. new years day, we drove out to usery mountain park for lunch and some hiking. it was chilly but we chuckled seeing people bundled up with scarves and gloves and big jackets. if only they they knew how cold it felt in MO... :)

our annual pass to the phoenix zoo hadn't expired so we ventured there one day and you can't beat free. it was perfect weather too! grace loved brushing the goats (her choker is actually a candy necklace) and hugged a bunch of them on the way out saying "i think this one needs a hug too!".

madison showed off her milking skills and knew exactly what she was doing since we saw our land lord's cow get milked twice a day for three years, while living lehi.

a trip to the zoo would not have been complete without a ride on the carousel. grace was in heaven.

not pictured but worth remembering:

*hannah and chris flying down to visit for a few days. we went to nielson's frozen custard, ned's crazy subs, visited with shane and kamber, had a cousins night at g&g farnsworths, played games, and had so much fun.

*we met for lebaron family pictures where 80 something of the 95 people were present. it was fun to see how much the family has grown.

*while we were getting ready for pictures i had a coughing fit and felt something pop. it ended up being my tailbone and it was excruciating!! it put a damper on the trip for sure and every time i coughed after that i felt like an old lady. i tried narcotics for the pain and they made me sooo sick to my stomach. diagnosis - probably a fracture and nothing fixable but i did carry around a donut to sit on for a few weeks. four months later...it still hurts!

*it happened to be our 7th anniversary while we were in AZ so after family pictures we took advantage of having willing babysitters and headed to the cheesecake factory. dan didn't love what he ordered and i could hardly eat from being in so much pain from my tailbone, and madison was up during the night with a stomach bug. it was an eventful anniversary to say the least but it's fun to look back on and laugh.

*one night we gathered with the woffindens and miner's for dinner and catching up.

*we attended Monument ward in lehi both sundays and it was SO GOOD to see everyone. i wish we had been able to spend more time visiting with everyone there. i was also surprised to see how much it really felt like home still.

*we had an adult night out with dan's family and left the girls with their favorite babysitter - brittley.

*we enjoyed some quality mexican food - tia rosas, costa vida, and fili bertos.

*we went to the temple with dan's parents, grandparents, sister lindsay, and dan's uncle (who was also my dad's young men's president) performed the sealings. it was such a sweet experience and one of my favorite things from the trip.

*the other best part of the trip was having an early ultrasound and finding out we're having a little boy. it was fun to share that family and get a head start on the shopping. a huge thanks to aunt diana and uncle eric for making it possible!

after 12 days of fun we flew back to the winter weather waiting for us in MO. keeping this spunky little girl occupied for a four hour flight was an adventure in and of itself!

i have to admit, i was not gung ho about traveling over the holidays and spending christmas away from home. but of course, and thankfully, it ended up being wonderful to go back to az and spend so much time with family. the girls especially loved being surrounded (and spoiled) by so many people. we are grateful to be part of such wonderful families!

Preschool Co-op

2011-01-10T13:14:00.001-07:00

("fun day" at parker's house today - they don't usually get a movie)

mon-wed-fri

six kids

five different houses

circle time

lessons

crafts

snacks

and playing

its the perfect arrangement

(i teach every 6 weeks)

and madison loves it

making homemade popcorn at our house for snack time - missing cohen

dress up and face painting - blurry pic from facebook

play time in our backyard

the boys

and the whole group, minus lauren...plus grace.

she can't wait to be part of it next year.

Four of Us

2011-01-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

it is a new year. we are home. and we are happy. this holiday season was filled with family and friends and will be documented at some point in time.

its been rewarding to slow down after all the festivities and spend time with my girls again. i tend to be at the bottom of the totem pole when extended family comes around and while it's great to have a break, i really miss the daily menial tasks of being a mom. now we're back into the swing of things with a full week ahead.

this weekend has been wonderful. my facebook status last night read "baked potato bar with AZ navel oranges for dinner, games with the girls (remember don't break the ice? it's awesome), dancing to music in the kitchen, chocolate lava cakes for dessert, books and then to bed. i love friday nights at home - it's just what the four of us needed!"

this morning started with barbies and bouncing little girls in our bed until we reminded them of all their new toys in the next room. that bought us a few more minutes of peace and quiet. we stayed in our pjs well into the afternoon. we took down, organized and put away everything Christmas. grace seemed pleasantly surprised when she asked if we'd put the tree up next year and i said yes. then the girls ran around the coffee table for a good twenty minutes until they were hot and sweaty.

dan put in one of my country mix cds and all of a sudden i was back in high school, when i first heard and learned most of the songs. back when the dixie chicks were a little more respectable. :) alan jackson came on with a favorite, "chattahoochee", and that took me back to my preteen years. look at all that has come about and happened in since then. wow.

this year will be a good one. i'm determined to make it as good and even better than the last. we have a big transition ahead of us - becoming a family of five. dan and i will be outnumbered by kids. i hope we'll be ready.

in the meantime, we'll enjoy life with the four us and see what 2011 has to offer!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T14:34:00.112-07:00

***only the bare minimum because three months have come and gone since Christmas***

ideally we would have eaten a huge mexican dinner on christmas eve with enchiladas and tamales but since we were leaving the next day to be out of town for two weeks, we kept things simple with a christmas colored dinner. spaghetti, bread, and broccoli - red, white, and green. plain and boring but easy.

lots of snow made for a magical christmas eve and morning. it felt so festive and thankfully the roads were okay for traveling still. christmas night the girls each opened a present from my mom and got some cute new cupcake pjs. the girls loved them.

christmas morning was so, so, so much fun! i think it's gotten better every year as the girls have gotten older, plus their excitement rubs off on us. grace cracked us up and couldn't focus on anything else once she realized there was candy in her stocking. the other items that won her over quickly were the hot wheel cars and dora bandaids.

i love madison's face in this picture. she was quite happy to get a "tangled" book. her biggest christmas wish was dress up clothes. the girls were thrilled to see santa left a trunk of dress up clothes and wore dresses, crowns, heels, and carried wands the rest of the morning.

the other present the girls really fell in love with was from the hulets - a cute little tupperware mini pitcher and four tiny cups. they play with a similar set in cedar at my mom's neighbor's house. they still play with them almost every day. thank you hulets! (funny story: the package with this present came in the mail and it was the first one we put under the tree. the girls were told not to open it but grace, being our ever sneaky toddler, tore open some of the paper when i wasn't in the room. madison came to me in tears, saying grace ripped it open. i went to check on the situation and found only a little bit of bubble wrap sticking out. all was well. when i explained to madison what it was and that we could tape it back up, madison said, "how wonderful! they knew just what i wanted! its bubblewrap!" so funny! she was pleasantly surprised on christmas morning to find it full of more than just that. :)

christmas morning was wonderful. the only thing i would have changed about the day was traveling. pretty soon after our festivities ended in the morning, we loaded up, drove to kansas city, and flew out to AZ. while it was nice to end up with family that evening, it made for a long and tiring day. (note to self - don't travel on christmas day next year!)

i'm grateful that for the most part we kept things simple, made some homemade gifts, and didn't spend a lot of money. the girls loved everything about christmas and i'm already excited about next year!

Merry Christmas 2010!!

2010-12-25T08:54:00.001-07:00

To all our family and friends - Merry Christmas!!

We love you and are so grateful for the influence you have had in our lives!

Love, Dan, Marie, Madison, and Grace

**sorry about the card's text being blurry, that's as good as it gets when you pirate it from costco's online photo center. but if you read this blog you know way more about us than we could fit in one little paragraph anyway. and for those on the second half of our address list for Christmas cards - when we find that stack of envelopes we will send you one. be looking for it jan 2011. gives you a little something to look forward too :)

now we're off to sunny AZ for some navel oranges and family time!!

Countdown

2010-12-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

something has to happen differently next year so i can enjoy the month of december more. its seems like its been one busy day after another, making one busy week after another. its going too fast and i want to slow down and enjoy it more. i think i might be going crazy. between pregnancy hormones, stress and reminiscing it's been a rough few weeks for this mom. for some reason this has been the hardest holiday season since the crash and it's taken quite a toll on me. its sad to say, but i am looking forward to the holidays being over, being back at home, just enjoying our little family, and having life calm down a little bit. but then life never really calms down, does it? :)

on today's"Christmas To Do List - With The Girls":
make the best butter cream frosting ever (link here) and decorate sugar cookies
redecorate our tree because it tipped over again
dance to the little people Christmas cd while the girls wear their tutu's
watch santa paws one more time before returning it
and wrap presents for dad

here's to enjoying the next 4 days and making the most of them, despite the craziness!

**despite the stress and sadness and everything, i really am grateful for this time of year and have had many experiences the last few weeks where i have acutely felt the Savior's love for me and had prayers answered. i'm grateful for the chances i've had to serve people around me and be part of activities that have promoted and shared the Christmas spirit that is so special about this time of year. and last, i am grateful for all the extra reminders and opportunities to reflect on the Savior - His birth and life and all He has done for us. there is a lot to be happy about and celebrate. even if i'm feeling kind of grumpy. :)

Christmas Prep

2010-12-16T23:44:00.144-07:00

december was full to the brim with parties and activities getting ready for Christmas.

this included redecorating the tree after it tipped over each of the four times.

we need a new stand. but the girls especially loved it.

i caught the girls in the middle of something and can't remember what.

i love grace's face

and the cluster of ornaments at the bottom of the tree.

we decorated a gingerbread house from last year that i packed away in our Christmas storage.

madison had free creative reign and did a great job.

g&g lebaron let us choose something we wanted this year for Christmas and we settled for snow boots - something we maybe wouldn't have bought ourselves but needed very much (we were very grateful!).

dan puts his to good use shoveling the snow... mine are more for leisure. :)

we couldn't let december pass by without making and frosting sugar cookies. i attended a relief society dinner and left dan in charge of dying the frosting colors and supervising the girls. they loved it and had fun showing off their cookies when i got home.

dan helped decorate gingerbread cookies with the residents one night so they could be given to all the office staff and doctors they work with. the girls warmed up to the other kids pretty quickly and they ran around the house like crazies for the night. the highlight for me was the cream cheese dip with red pepper and jalapeno jelly. so good!

not pictured is the ward party - grace was in tears and shaking when santa entered the room and madison was a little bit more brave. when it came time to sit on santa's lap, grace was the brave one because she knew she'd get a candy cane. that wasn't a good enough bribe for madison and she wouldn't have any part in it. so funny.

dan's work party was held at a local bar/restaurant and was an extended cocktail hour type of event - standing and visiting around tall tables with hor d'oeuvres and drinks on the house. i'm slowly getting more comfortable at these types of events with the other dermatologists and office staff dan works with. for some reason i find it very intimidating as a "stay at home mom". but you couldn't pay me a million dollars to change what i do for a living. i'd miss precious moments like the one below. no way, jose.

i also attended a baby shower for one of the resident's and it was fun. it made me quite excited for my own pregnancy to draw to a close - wishful thinking. i still have months and months to go.

for yw's we had several activities that helped me get in the mood for the season - a progressive Christmas party, a Christmas choir concert and delivering letters and goodies to families in the ward that needed some extra tlc. i was in charge of the yw progressive Christmas party. i attempted to make luminaries for the houses we visited and i think everything went well. i was very nervous!

dan was busy, busy every sunday - leaving super early for meetings and getting home late from tithing settlement. we were glad when that ended!

we really tried to be frugal for the holidays this year and part of the plan was to make some homemade gifts. i made this blanket for hannah with byu's old school logo and i love how it turned out. despite being simple and fairly easy, it took me forever. haha. i am so not creatively talented!

i also made photo blocks for my mom and mark, hannah, and chris. i took a wooden cube and mod podged pictures on each of the six sides. hannah and chris got pictures of their nieces and nephew and my dad and brother. mom and mark got two cubes with pictures of all their combined grandchildren. a friend gave me the blocks and the idea - i can't claim either one.

dan got a towel/rice bag to microwave and put at the foot of our beds to keep his feet warm at night. lucky for me, he shares. i thought it would be a surprise but dan said he figured it out when he saw the big bag of rice i bought. next year i'll have to be more sneaky.

i made a couple things for the girls room as well. these temple blocks (kits from the same friend as above) will go on their shelves and i decorated big letters (M and G) to hang above their beds with ribbon. it was fun to put in time and make some of this Christmas be less money and homemade.

december was busy and stressful and filled to the brim but looking back we were able to enjoy so much as a family and create so many memories. next year i'll just have to do more ahead of time and simplify, simplify, simplify.

Halloween 2010

2010-12-15T21:13:00.019-07:00

**i know halloween seems like it was forever ago but really it's been like 6 weeks. and i've been more behind in the past. anyway, here we go...

halloween was more fun this year since the girls are getting older and were excited about pumpkins, getting dressed up, and filling their baskets with candy. we started celebrating in early oct when we carved pumpkins with dan's fellow residents and their families. our girls tend to be shy and mute in a group setting like this but they warmed up a little bit and it was great to see them get more comfortable.

the weather was beautiful and if anything, a little warm. we had an incredible fall with great temps for the most part. dan's program is on the smaller side, which is normal for dermatology. there are just 9 residents total, 3 in each year. only two aren't married and half of them have kids - it's a fun group.

kara is a second year and brought halloween books for the kids. they loved it. (and i know, madison pants are a little bit low. oh well.)

the masterpieces. ours are the two on the left. and by no means am i clever for tying a ribbon on the tops - they were given to us. cute and crafty? me? nope.

our bumble bee fairy and lady bug. i took many pictures. this was the best one. :)

we had our fill of halloween this year - our ward trunk or treat sat night, chili and corn bread dinner with friends on halloween (you can see "Mario's" leg in the background and "Daphne" from scooby doo was around there somewhere), and then followed it with a little trick or treating around the neighborhood to be friendly. madison stopped going to the doors after 3 or 4 houses and opted to sit in the stroller but grace realized if she kept going she'd get more candy. she filled her bucket to the brim.

halloween is probably my least favorite holiday but this year turned out pretty well and it was fun to see the girls get excited. now they each have just a couple pieces left and we'll put the buckets away till next year.

**we also squeezed in the hartsburg pumpkin festival - a huge crowded event in a tiny little town. it's 20 miles south of us and usually just takes 20 minutes to get there. it took us 1 1/2 hours to drive the last 1.25 miles!!! traffic was backed up due to lack of parking and we almost turned around 50 times. in the end the girls pleas of wanting to go to the "pumpkin party" were met. we might consider it for next year but first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds.

Tis the Season to be Jolly...

2010-12-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

Christmas came early today, in the form of a UPS package from BOSE.
i can't believe december is half way over - where did it go?
i love homemade pumpkin bread and am grateful it turned out delicious on my first try.
the temp outside is 28 degrees and it feels significantly better than the single digits we've had.
i finally broke into my maternity bin and it's refreshing to have clothes i can fit into again.
after it's tipped over twice, i'm embracing the lopsided and half decorated look of my Christmas tree - i don't want to decorate it a third time.
zofran is my best friend and keeps me functioning.
we're delivering baked goods and caroling for mutual tonight and i'm SO excited.
i'm conflicted about santa hats - i think they're corny but deep down i secretly wish i was confidant enough to wear one. and pull it off.
i'm appreciative of the snow and how much more it feels like Christmas when it's white winter wonderland.
i blow dried my hair today which rarely happens other than for church on sundays.
being domestic and crafty and making some homemade gifts has actually been fun this year, which surprised me.
i enjoyed a non-diet dr. pepper and am trying not to think about all the calories i swallowed - i usually only drink diet.
i'm loving the lingering scent of burberry cologne dan sprayed this morning before he left for work.
i love our new stereo and Christmas music is blaring through our house.
best part? we didn't pay a penny for it - thank you american express rewards points for making this meager little Christmas a lot more exciting.

*i no longer feel like the Grinch and am finally excited/ready for Christmas to come.

..... fa la la la la, la la, la la.

G and G Skinner's First Visit to MO (Oct)

2010-12-15T07:13:00.004-07:00

dan's parents, dan and laura, came for a visit in october. we did the usual things and lucky for them they enjoyed the best weather we've had for any guests up to this point. it was gorgeous with the leaves changing color and we were able to fit a lot in.

of course we went to cosmo, the girls favorite park and grandma and grandpa were good sports to go down the awesome slides.

we stopped at shelter gardens and had fun looking at all the flowers and trees.

we ate at flat branch and took a walk downtown with the girls as we waited for our table. madison called these statues "mom and dad" and got very up close and personal.

we drove to st louis for a day and went to the st louis zoo for the first time. it was really fun and you can't beat free. on the way out, the girls each picked out a stuffed animal from the giftshop - g & g skinner's treat!

next, we drove to the st louis arch right next to the mississippi river and took some quick pictures.

dan (my husband, not his dad) and laura and the girls at the top of the steps looking up. after seeing the sights we stopped at panera for lunch and bought some asiago bagels from einsteins bros to take home. that night we had an intramural kickball game (the derm office has a team - the dermatofighters! :) and dan's parents helped the girls cheer us on.

the girls were lucky and had grandma tell them bedtimes stories every night. it's become a fun tradition whenever the girls see their grandma.

laura's birthday fell on their last day here and we celebrated with belgian waffles and homemade buttermilk syrup - just like when lindsay came to visit on her birthday. laura became the lucky owner of a brand new mizzou sweatshirt.

then the girls went on a walk with grandma, collecting leaves to take back to her 1st grade class. (proof that fall really does exist outside of AZ? maybe. jk!! :)

it was a beautiful morning and the girls loved being buried in the leaves.

later that morning we also took a short walk on the KT trail. don't mind my un-showered morning glory.

as g & g skinner were on their way back to the airport, we stopped and picked out an awesome swing set. once again, their treat! thank you again - the girls have loved it! we loved having them visit and see our house, city, and the girls in their own environment. we look forward to hosting them again in the future!

It's Just A Photo

2010-12-14T07:06:00.004-07:00

but here's what i love about it:

*madison's pjs sticking out from underneath her pillow - we're trying to teach the girls to keep their room picked up and it looks like they're learning
*madison's glasses case next to her bed - she's diligent at taking care of them
*the white dresser - i loved it for 3 years, finally went to buy it at ikea, and ended up getting it from their "as is" section for $100 off
*the happy green walls - no more brick red, yay!
*the $20 headboard and bed frame found on craiglist - this room has undergone a complete transformation and i can't wait to show you the end result
*the piggy bank - the girls love finding money and filling their banks. my dad would be proud!
*the sun streaming in the window (not picured) - a little warmth on a cold winter day
*and my favorite thing about this picture is the lumpy bedspread

two little girls underneath.

a full 15 minutes.

all the little people nativity pieces.

lots and lots of giggling.

it might be just a photo but it represents so much more.

Baby, Its Cold Outside

2010-12-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

yeserday was COLD. though our church was cancelled (a combination of road conditions, cold temperatures, and gusts of wind), dan stayed for 9 hours of meetings and such with the bishopric and other auxiliaries getting odds and ends done for the ward. we were happy to see him when he finally got home and the girls patiently waited most of the day to play in the snow with their dad. we bundled up in layers and layers of clothes and braved the snow and frigid temps.

madison couldn't wait to have a snow ball fight and make a snowman. she started running around in the snow the minute we got outside.

grace on the other hand, was grumpy because she ~~hates~~ doesn't like her coats/jackets/sweatshirts zipped so you can imagine her dismay when she had to wear three layers of zipped clothing. she was unsure about the snow and was plenty happy just being carried by dad.

the girl's first encounter with a snow ball.

the snow was super dry and barely held together long enough for madison to throw. next time hopefully we can make a snowman.

we lasted maybe ten minutes before everyone was freezing cold and we headed back inside. (it took twice that long to get all bundled up to go out.) our fingers were frozen and madison cried as hers thawed. i would have cried too, had i been throwing snow balls bare handed in 12 degree weather! the girls cheeks are still chapped and pink today from their quick trip outside yesterday. it was an adventure.

today we declared another pajama day, stayed home from preschool and are enjoying just looking at the snow from inside the warmth of our house. i could get used to this.

First Snow Day

2010-12-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

we went to bed with snow flurries

and woke up to this

16 degrees

-3 with the wind chill

church cancelled

no driving in the snow today for this mom

hot apple cider for breakfast

madison waiting to play in the snow

and to try something she keeps hearing all about - snow balls

the girls don't have snow pants

or gloves

we'll have to make do

and we're waiting for dad to get home

(bishopric meetings weren't canceled)

hopefully it won't still feel like -3 outside

so far we're loving our first snow day of the season
and are very thankful we don't have anywhere to be

note to self: before our next winter storm, buy a snow shovel, a bucket of ice, two wind shield scrapers, gloves, scarfs, beanies and snow pants for the whole family, and socks (since i only own ankle socks). you'll feel more prepared. thanks.

Our Arizona After Party

2010-12-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

after a quick weekend trip to utah for kamber and shane's wedding, we drove back for an extended stay in az. i figured if i'm paying an arm and a leg to fly out there, i might as well make the most of it and stay for a while. for all the things we packed in, i have surprisingly few pictures.

the girls were able to visit grandma at her school while she was teaching. though they seemed quite timid, they loved it. madison left with a drawing of belle, colored by one of laura's students.

we rode the double decked carousel at superstition springs mall.

and followed it up with the artificial wind tunnel.

we gathered at g&g lebaron's house and saw aunts, uncles, cousins and the whole works.

{madison was having a serious conversation on the phone with dan.}

and we spent a lot of time hanging out at g&g skinner's house.

my favorite picture of the trip - gma ellsworth. she said she'd been wondering why i didn't come over very often anymore - and was surprised to hear we were living in missouri (despite the fact i talk to her regularly on the phone and remind her we've moved). we laughed and cried and it was wonderful to see her and gpa.

we had a busy week filled with family and friends, playing games, and eating good food but by the end we were ready to go home to our own beds and be reunited with dad/dan. thank you skinners for hosting us!!

Slowly But Surely

2010-12-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

it's beginning to look a *little* like christmas at our house. finally. i feel quite behind but we're getting there.

the tree is up and the bottom two branches are thoroughly decorated thanks to these little girls.

can't wait to finish!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

we hosted thanksgiving at our house this year and all of my immediate family flew out to missouri to be with us (mom, mark, hannah, chris, kamber, shane, and porter). we also had some good friends and their kids join us. it was a full house. the food turned out delicious. and i hope everyone had a good time. this was our thankful tree, thanks to my good friend lisa who brought it with her and let us join in the fun. we wrote down things we were thankful for and put them on the tree. it was fun to read them and a great way to get in the right mindset.

mom and mark, chris, and the girls.

grace really wanted to wear that dress over her clothes. so she did.

a benefit of dan having keys to our church building? being able to get in and borrow chairs for the day - we had 15 people total. next year i'll have to think more about center pieces and such.

food prep. i could not have hosted thanksgiving without my mom's help. i called and emailed her a bajillion times during those last few weeks about grocery lists and recipes. hannah came to my rescue and was the one to rinse the brine off the turkey. i tried to do it wearing gloves and couldn't help but shudder every time i touched it. she'll make a great nurse. :)

in the end, everything came together and tasted great.

on the menu:

turkey (brined the night before and roasted full of aromatics and slathered with herb butter, carved by mark)

slow cooker stuffing - thank you lisa it was great!

sweet potatoes with brown sugar and orange zest - courtesy of my mom

garlic and bacon green beans

mashed potatoes - dan insisted on real, not instant and made them himself. delish!

gravy of course

corn for the kids

jello jigglers - didn't quite turn out like i thought but the kids liked them

holiday jello salad (strawberries, pineapple and bananas in strawberry and lemon jello - best jello ever)

homemade lion house rolls. as in some of the best rolls ever, sold in a box at costco now. they were the hit of the meal mom - way to go!

homemade cranberry pomegranate sauce - in honor of you dad!

the only thing i'd have to add next year would be strawberry freezer jam

for dessert we had pumpkin pie, razzleberry pie (marie calendar knows what she's doing with that one!) oreo pudding pie and pumpkin cheesecake (thank you lisa!). we were so full. which means thanksgiving was a success.

i was so stressed leading up to thanksgiving, never having had to contribute more than a pie or batch of potatoes at a thanksgiving dinner before. i was worried about having all the ingredients, enough serving dishes, room for everyone to sit and eat, let alone sleep (my mom and mark did stay in a hotel). but it turned out great and everyone helped so much - it was awesome. it was great to be surrounded by family and have the shortridges with us as well.

as for the rest of the trip - i took very few pictures. we played games and hannah, chris and i watched you tube clips until it was way to late.

i turned 28 and my mom brought party favors for the occasion.

i enjoyed celebrating with family which tends to happen each year since my birthday is always right around thanksgiving. dan surprised me with some boots and even bought 6 different pair for me to choose from. i just laughed when we had to return all the ones we didn't keep at the store. good thing dan doesn't get embarrassed easily. props to him though - it was something i wanted and needed and he totally surprised me. i got some things from other family members and was very, very grateful.

we went bowling as a family and then out for dinner with the adults to Sophia's, a southern european restaurant that was incredible. i can't wait to go back!

my mom summed up the trip in the farnsworth fold, our extended family newsletter that gets emailed out once a month: "For Thanksgiving we all traveled to Missouri to be with Marie and Dan. Chris and Hannah flew out of Salt Lake despite a blizzard in the area the night before. Kamber, Shane, and Porter flew out of Phoenix, and Mark and I flew from Vegas. We all arrived in Kansas City within 15 minutes of each other! Hannah and Chris were in a different terminal and for a few minutes were afraid they had landed at the wrong airport. We all fit into one rental car and drove 2 ½ hours to Columbia. We had a ball! The cousins loved seeing each other and having plenty of adults to read to them or play with them. While we were there, Marie supervised a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, we played games, went sightseeing, saw the movie Tangled, raked leaves, replaced their water heater, went to a mall’s carousel, created memory boxes for Lansing and Dallin, went bowling, adults went out to dinner for Marie’s 28th birthday, and we all went to church together.

Thank you Skinners!!!!!"

thank YOU mom, for making the effort to come visit us and making it happen for the whole family. it was so much fun and we created so many good memories. we were also very happy that kamber and shane made the trip as well and it was great to have the three little cousins together!

Steph's First Visit to MO

2010-12-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

we were so glad to host a visit from stephanie back in november. she took some time off work, left her husband at home (he had work and school) and flew out to visit us. the girls were SO excited to see her. we had an eventful trip to the airport with several stops to get the DVD player working and then grace getting car sick. after steph had to wait an extra hour, we finally got to st. louis and picked her up. we headed straight to the arch and stopped for a quick minute. grace had no extra clothes to wear after throwing up so she hung out in a diaper. then we drove around for an extra half hour looking for an einsteins bagel shop - darn pregnancy cravings! poor steph probably thought we'd never get to our house!

steph watched the girls in the afternoon so i could frost 200 cupcakes for our YW in Exellence program that night and then i was gone for the rest of the evening while she spent time with dan and the girls.

a cute picture of the girls before we went somewhere, to do something.

(that's the problem with back blogging - you can't remember details.)

trip to shakespeare's for dinner. the girls love playing with pizza dough while they wait for their pizza. unfortunately our crust came out burned. steph - we'll have to go again when you and robert come so they can redeem themselves.

while steph was in town we set up madison's twin bed and moved grace from the crib to the toddler bed. it was fun for her to see the girls so excited for the new transition and with the new bedding. she helped me pick out a new color for their walls.

grace going to bed in her "big girl" toddler bed for the first time.

and madison in her "big girl" twin bed for the first time.

the girls kept her busy - she read stacks and stacks of books.

steph was a trooper. i was in the middle of my first trimester and if i wasn't in the bathroom i was sitting somewhere, exhausted. we did manage some shopping with a trip to the mall, target, toy r us and old navy and the girls took her on their favorite thing, the carousel. we drove back to st. louis as a family and on the way to the airport we topped to visit a friend from college. steph didn't experience as much of columbia as i would have liked due to rainy weather and me feeling sick but regardless, it was great to see her and the girls absolutely loved it. we're looking forward to next time when "bob" will get to join her. :)

Grace Turns 2

2010-12-03T13:13:00.010-07:00

november 1st delivered us a two year old little girl. we made the day all about her and i hope/think she had fun.

after dropping off big sis at preschool we picked up birthday balloons and a donut with sprinkles for breakfast. grace stayed in her pjs most of the day - her choice. we played games, colored, and read books.

sisters. i love when they look at each other like this.

demonstrating the new age.

out to dinner at grace's favorite restaurant... McD's. the girls love it and since it was freezing outside and they could play on the playground it seemed like a good option, though i did feel like a bad mom having fast food for grace's birthday dinner.

opening presents. i don't know who was more excited, madi or grace. g&g skinner were nice enough to send madison her own present to open. thank goodness the girls have grandparents and aunts to spoil them because we chose to do things cheap and simple- play dough re-gifted from Christmas last year, a tutu so when the girls play "ballerina" they don't have to take turns with madison's skirt, and a piggy bank. in case you forgot or didn't get to see grace's reaction to the piggy bank, watch it here. i've seen it about 50 times and it still cracks me up.

grace LOVES cupcakes and couldn't wait to chow down on hers.

our two year old.

and i can't believe how much she's grown since last year.

(or how blonde my hair was)

grace is a little ball of energy and we joke that she's getting us ready for this next little boy. words to describe grace: alert, attentive, observant, stubborn, spunky and feisty, full of adventure and mischief but tender hearted and affectionate at the same time. she LOVES books, has her favorites memorized, and reads them to herself. she constantly surprises us with her memory and vocal skills and is very dynamic and expressive.

grace loves going to nursery, hates when madison leaves to go to school, and already can't wait till she turns 3 so she "can go to school like a big girl too". she likes to be anywhere her big sister is. she loves playing hide and seek, tickle monster, and old maid and loves playing make believe if she can be a sharp tooth (from the land before time) or the "abomible" snow monster (from the old clay-mation rudolph). grace knows every disney princess and thinks she is a princess too. she's often found wearing layers of her favorite skirts/dresses over her regular clothes and loves headbands and necklaces.

grace's smile and big brown eyes make it hard to be upset with her for more than a moment and her crazy hair matches her personlity perfectly.

she sure is full of life.

we love you grace!

I Could Post About Thanksgiving But This Is MUCH More Exciting

2010-11-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

our first one has blue eyes,

our second one - brown.

i wonder what we'll get

this third time around?

either will be fine by me.

ETA: June 10th

Wedding Weekend Whirlwind

2010-11-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

things i loved about the trip to az/ut for kamber and shane's wedding:

washable markers hooked to a carabiner by their lids - meaning no scrounging around on the floor finding dropped markers for this mom.

two little girls who shared one seat the whole flight - they were troopers.
(every time grace looked out the window and saw the wing of our plane she'd say, "look mom! i see another plane out there!")

our welcoming commitee in AZ.

happy faces all around.

**not pictured -my incredible grandparents who willingly drove me and my girls from AZ to UT so i wouldn't have to brave the roads all by my lonesome.

the differences between girls and boys.
girls who play with flowers and stuffed animals and a nephew in the background playing in the dirt... in the garden... with his truck.
(my mom's backyard in cedar)

freshly cut sweet peas.

snuggling cousins and porter sneaking his tractor underneath the covers.

more happy faces.

spending some quality family time, limited as it was, with final preparations for the wedding.

the 200 chair covers just needed square knots, not anything fancy schmancy. i can do square knots.

madison as a flower girl.
(photographer unknown)

the wedding ceremony.

their first kiss as husband and wife.

how grace attached herself to grandpa mark and wouldn't let go for anything.
and my college roommates who figured out how to manage grace's crazy hair and make it look adorable.
(photographer unknown)

fluffy dresses and fall leaves at the cabin.

delicious food and a beautiful reception.

awesome parking attendants aka. my college roomies.
(you guys sure worked those vests and walkies!)

best. in-laws. ever.
seriously.

and our attempt at a family picture before driving back to AZ.

i planned on feeling mixed emotions going into the wedding weekend and mixed they were! it was hard to see and be a part of the hustle and bustle of preparations when i so clearly remembered getting ready for kamber and dallin's wedding a few years before. things like kamber getting her hair and makeup done, leaving early to have pictures taken... memories just came flooding back... standing outside the mesa temple and madison just 2 months old. but then there were moments when kamber would smile at shane, and i realized i hadn't seen her smile like that since dallin was alive.it made me so happy for her; truly happy. watching shane with porter was just as wonderful - porter calls him dad. it's bittersweet and incredible at the same time.

at one point during the reception, i was sitting at a table outside the cabin with my sister in-law and roommates when i saw a group of girls visiting - some of dallin's very best friends (brooke, christine, and lindsay). i was overcome by the reality of the situation and who was missing. i ventured over to say hello and as soon as i was within arms reach i lost all composure and the tears started free falling. lol. not what i had planned at all. they were sweet and understanding and patient. we visited for a few minutes and then i pulled myself together and said good bye. it was comforting to see them there. they loved dallin, they were supporting us, and especially kamber. i am grateful for the sacrifices they made to be there!

what a weekend it was - crazy busy and packed with friends and family. i'm so grateful i was able to be there and only wish dan could have been with us also! i am grateful to my grandparents for driving us up, and the skinners for driving us back. i am grateful to my family, hannah, chris and my mom, for their willingness to do hard things and still choose to be happy. they are such examples to me! i am grateful for porter - for his smile and energy and zest for life. so much like his dad. i am grateful for shane - for making kamber happy and being in porter's life. i am grateful for his open-mindedness in this unique situation and for what he contributes to our family. we are lucky to have him.

dallin said once, "kamber might be the happiest person i know and that's one of the things i love most about her."

despite the heartache kamber's felt and the trials she has endured, she is still a happy person. it's a testimony of her strength and faith. i am grateful for her - for her smile, her laugh, and her ability to enjoy life. i am so happy for her and wish her and shane and porter the best!

"Piggy Bank!!!"

2010-11-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

grace turned two a few weeks ago and while i have yet to post about it, i couldn't resist sharing this short clip. how fun it was to give grace exactly what she wanted for her birthday - though i wasn't prepared for her reaction. i love this girl!

Glasses

2010-11-17T16:12:00.001-07:00

madi got them yesterday and she's as adorable as ever.

back in july, we noticed her right eye occasionally crossed. worried, we scheduled an appointment with her pediatrician. he referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist and after waiting 3 months we finally got in. turns out madison is far sighted. extremely. it's common for kids and they grow out of it as they get older and with treatment so the prognosis is good. (madison's prescription is +5.0 in one eye and +6.5 in the other - for documenting purposes.)

madison was so brave with all the tools and techniques they used to check her eyes and when they dilated her eyes, she kept shaking her head, trying to get her eyes to start working and focus, i think. madison looked devastated when we told her she was getting glasses and bit her lip to keep from crying. poor girl! it was so hard to watch. i had so many questions, confused about why madison has such incredible fine motor skills when it's been so hard for her to see up close.

in the end we all came to terms with it and anxiously anticipated the day her glasses would be ready. we were told madison's prescription is so strong that often kids get headaches and nauseated as they adjust to seeing better. madison's been quite the trooper and hasn't complained once. she was taking abnormally high steps for the first 20 minutes or so and it was cute and sad and funny all at the same time. as we ventured out into walmart to pick up a few groceries madison stopped, pulled her glasses down, looked around, pulled them back up, looked around, and did that 7 or 8 times in a row, obviously noticing the difference in being able to see. when she tried to drink out of a cup for the first time and it bumped her glasses she said, "this doesn't work anymore," and i showed her how to do it.

to be honest, i've been dreading this adjustment and the changes it might bring. i kept worrying about madison and how this might affect her since she already tends to be shy. but madison has taken it in stride and while still being a little bit bashful, i can tell she secretly loves everyone telling her how cute she is and how her glasses make her look like a princess. i'm so proud of her willingness to be a good sport and have a good attitude about it. she's an example to me!

(sneaking a quick look above her glasses.)

Content

2010-10-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

notice how they look at each other -
i'm enchanted with my life.

things are far from perfect at the skinner household. my house isn't always spotless, i don't have dinner on the table when dan walks in the door, i lose my patience with the girls all day long and we have plenty of real life stresses and trials on top of all the little things that seem to go wrong.

but despite all those things, life is good (do i say that a lot?) and flying by and i'm trying to soak it all in.

today, after all of us snuggling in bed, we ate breakfast as a family which is a rare occurrence - scrambled eggs and bacon. (if you know me well, then you won't be surprised i had cold cereal instead. i don't do eggs). preschool was canceled so the girls did worksheets and colored pumpkins while watching little rascals so i could get ready for the day. grace now sings, "you are so beautifuuullll, to meeee, can't you seeee?" thank you alfalfa! its adorable.

the girls and i had a visiting teaching lunch date and came home in time for them to have a picnic out in their new swing set. i could hear laughing while i fixed their snack and i peeked out the window to see my two girls swinging back and forth on their tummies, just giggling hysterically.

back in AZ, madison used to tell people, "when we get to missouri i'm going to get a back yard, a dog, and a trampoline." i figure a swing set is a fair trade (thank you g&g skinner!). it's fun to see the girls running and playing and swinging outside and it feels good to make their dreams come true.

this afternoon we're on the hunt for the cutest pair of little girl's glasses we can find - madison needs them. then i'm off to mutual for the night and dan has the girls to himself. our life is busy, and sometimes hectic, but oh so good.

i often find myself wondering why i feel so comfortable here in columbia, so far from "home" and everything familiar. i haven't been homesick (yet) and am completely loving the adventure we're having so far. i'm caught up in our life of moving from one thing to the next, having to depend on each other for everything, and the new and sometimes big responsibilities placed on our shoulders.

i think being content comes down to knowing-
knowing we were meant to live where we are. knowing we're working in the right direction as a family. knowing we're lucky to have two adorable and spunky little girls that are the biggest blessing i could ever have asked for. knowing i have a husband who works so hard (even at 2 in the morning to finish a swing set) and provides everything we need as a family.

i know this is where we're supposed to be.
we're fully invested in our lives here and i'm content.

*my glass of cold milk and homemade chocolate chip cookies help as well. :)

Time Is A Crazy Thing

2010-10-24T22:43:00.015-07:00

grace turns 2 next week. next week! i honestly can't believe it. how has this happened? where has the time gone? i swear we were just bringing her home from the hospital last month. she's turned into a full-fledged, bustling little girl with a huge personality and enough sass and independence for someone twice her age. she keeps us on our toes and makes me laugh on a daily basis. she is sweet, tender, polite, and so much fun.

i can't stop thinking.
(beware this might be a jumbled mess.)

i was rearranging the girl's closet yesterday and found a little bin of things i tucked away from when madison was born = her little white shirt, the pink and blue striped cap, a tiny newborn diaper (how could she ever have been that little?), and the goggles she wore in the hospital for when she was in the bili light. i showed her the treasures i kept to remind me of when she first joined our family and told her about when i held her for the first time. she was enthralled and recounted the rest of the story back to me - she loves it and has it memorized. i feel like madison came home from the hospital just last month also.

when i think about everything that has happened since i became a mom, i'm in awe. i never expected how significantly i would be stretched and strengthened and in turn, grow. i always knew all i wanted to be was a mom, but i didn't realize how complete it would make me feel.

i underestimated how much i would worry, how much work it would be, and how tired i would feel. but i also underestimated the joy i would feel and how that makes everything else worth it.

when madison was still a newborn, just leaving the house was an ordeal. planning around feedings and naps and loading the car seat and packing the diaper bag with 500 things "just in case" made play dates, let alone errands, a daunting task. i used to think, how do people have more than one kid? how is there time in the day for everything that needs to happen?

fast forward to the present. last week consisted of a presidency meeting, mutual, teaching preschool, making cookies to deliver, a throwing up child for 48 hours, my first batch of homemade bread using wheat i ground myself, and a pediatric ophthalmology appt for madi.

this week makes me tired just thinking about it - missionaries and investigators over for dinner, dr's appt, discussion with investigator, bishopric meetings, lunch for visiting teaching, mutual, stake auxillary training, dan in st. louis for the weekend, ward party (just me and the girl's), teach on sunday.... this is without the regular things like cooking, cleaning, and sleeping. no wonder i feel behind.

sometimes i measure my success based on my to do list - what have i scratched off today? its easy to be caught up in all the things going on around us. because of this, i'm finding it more and more necessary to make conscious choices to be available and engaged in what my family is doing.

i need to make to do lists that says things more like:
sit on the floor and read 10 books
make eggs in a nest with play-do
blow bubbles
make a fort
tell stories
have a picnic lunch
giggle

simple things make my girls the most happy and those are the easiest to do.

i need to do better because it seems like i'm running out of time. kindergarten feels just around the corner (ok, a little less than two years away, but still) and my baby will two. my girls are growing up right before my eyes. i just want to push pause.

time is a crazy thing.

A Visit from M & M

2010-10-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

my mom and mark came to visit over labor day weekend and it was so much fun seeing them, showing them our city and getting some much needed help with our house. we kept busy the whole weekend and i think they left a little worn out. hopefully we didn't scare them away for good. now for the pictures.

we started with dinner at flat branch and then hit cosmo park on our way home. the girls loved showing off their favorite park. (the above slide shoots the girls off the end so madison is bracing herself in preparation :)

racing down their favorite slides.

and climbing back up, over and over again.

we ventured over to the farmers market 2 minutes from our house...

and picked up some groceries for a delicious dinner that night - fresh, homemade pasta, sauteed squash, zuccini, and onions with garden tomatoes, swiss cheese and herbs, artisan bread, and mini pies for dessert.

i would cook like that more often if all the fresh, homegrown ingredients didn't cost as much as eating at a nice restaurant. it makes me excited to have a garden next year.

on sat, mark helped dan with the 2-man post hole digger as they prepped for our new fence. more on that in a minute. i hated watching them use it and was glad they came out injury free.

i found these chairs on clearance at ace and they were perfect for the girls to watch all the action from.

a trip to columbia wouldn't be complete without a carousel ride in the mall.

shelter garden was beautiful and we actually couldn't have asked for better weather all weekend. apparently september is a much better time to visit than july. sorry lindsay, we are learning!

tuckered out from church. (the girls love these dresses so much that i hide them after i do laundry. otherwise, they ask to wear them every single day. maybe it's because they're from g&g skinner?)

dan and mark dug all the holes and cemented the posts on saturday so they could put the actual fence up on monday. they spent hours and hours on it and dan spent at least that much time on it before mark even came into town. mark had some great tips and was such a good resource. the fence looks professionally installed and it turned out very nice. (finished pictures to come with the house reveal later.)

madison got an owie from 'working so hard'. grace was concerned for her.

more of the fence.

madison gave me a demonstration of what mark and dan were doing.

we also hiked the devil's ice box trail and again enjoyed the beautiful weather.

we got so much accomplished and fit in so many things. it was wonderful to have m&m come visit and we can't wait until they come back with the whole family for thanksgiving!

On This Lovely October Morning

2010-10-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

i am loving...

sleeping in and snuggling with my girls.
bedheads.
waking up to dishes washed by a helpful husband.
princess pajamas and a makeshift derm textbook booster.
a breakfast of pre-cooked bacon, honey nut cheerios, and chocolate milk.
sweatshirts and the sound of the heater kicking in.
children's tylenol and puff's kleenex.
sesame street and PBS.
a whole day with no commitments.
and a To Do list that might get a few things crossed off.

**sometimes i get so caught up in trying to make sure i blog about the big things like trips and such that i don't make time to document the little things.
all the small stuff is often what makes life the sweetest, don't you think?

Full-fledged Fall

2010-10-11T21:49:00.008-07:00

the chill in the air

brilliant colors

leaves fluttering in the wind

and rustling on the ground

hot chocolate

sweatshirts (i wish they still fit)

and today it even drizzled.

i love love love the fall.

how did i live without it the past 5 years?

Pick and Pick Plantation

2010-10-08T00:15:00.064-07:00

one of our favorite things we've done here in MO was pick raspberries. the pick and pick plantation was just a quick drive out of the city and it was a beautiful day. the girls loved it. madison was so focused and grace probably ate her weight in raspberries. no wonder they charge an arm and a leg for a pint of them- they probably figure you eat half of what you pick in the field.

i love how grace wears her hat on the side. she does it all on her own and won't let me touch it for anything!

"look at all the raspberries i picked."

"where'd all mine go?"

madison ended up trying a few. they were tiny but super sweet.

dan showed the girls a jackpot of raspberries.

here's the goods! (i think grace's was empty :)

we'll be back next summer to try the asparagus, strawberries, and blackberries.

Oh, What Do You Do In The Summertime,

2010-10-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

...when all the world is green?

here's some of the random things WE did:

rode the big wheel, went garage sale hunting, found this coffee table and sanded/painted it (finished product to be seen with our house reveal).

painted our toenails... or toes. and got bitten by bugs - grace seemed to get an unfair proportion.

wore crowns 24/7 because "we are princesses" and learned to keep my little ponies high out of sadie's reach.

discovered the wonderfulness of little mate's cove, the last day of the season.

you can bet we'll be there most of next summer, trying to escape the heat.

avoided being in pictures.

found cosmo, our favorite park by far. check out the big slides. most of the park isn't pictured.

raced down the awesomely long slides.

conquered a fear of the awesomely long slide.

sweat a whole bunch. (grace after 10 minutes in the humidity)

hugged and played and especially loved getting ride of the yellow living room walls.

Our First Official Visitor

2010-10-07T12:48:00.001-07:00

my sister in-law, lindsay, was the first one to come visit us (in late july) and that just means she loves us the most. :) her ticket was booked before we even moved from az and it was something i was really looking forward to. we picked her up in kansas city and i don't know who was more excited, me or the girls. we had a busy five days and lindsay was our guinea pig as far as finding out what fun things there are to do here in MO.

we hiked the devil's icebox trail at rock bridge park. it was miserably hot and humid.

looking down into "the devil's icebox".

it's a stream that runs underground for miles and is open at times of the year for spelunking.

it's pretty chilly down there and felt wonderful on such a warm day.

they are sitting almost directly below the opening in the the picture above.

madison and dad.

lindsay braved the cave as well.

i was the photographer and declined their invitation to join them.

translation: i don't do caves.

we headed downtown to shakespeare's pizza on friday night. it was absolutely packed and we won't be returning on a weekend anytime soon. the best thing is the pizza dough they give the kids to play with while waiting for the food.

a sunday stroll on the katy trail.

miserably hot and humid also.

ready for a walk in shelter gardens.

new shoes from aunt lindsay.

miserably hot and humid, again.

do you see a reoccurring theme here? :)

hanging out on the couch.

not pictured:

dinner at Flat Branch

lunch at panera x2

andy's custard x2

attended our ward

youth conference - lindsay had the girls all day long!

YW pres. meeting- once again, lindsay had the girls

carousel x3

shopped at the mall

played games

had a BBQ

and last but not least..

we celebrated lindsay's birthday!!

what beats getting woken up by your nieces, singing happy birthday, with candles in donuts? ok, maybe a lot of things but that the best we could do. we had waffles with homemade buttermilk syrup and i even splurged for some orange juice. i hope lindsay felt at least a little special that day even though we had to say goodbye and she traveled home. we had a wonderful few days and we can't wait to have her come visit again in december!

we love you lindsay!

Wondering How the Wedding Went?

2010-09-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

we are back in mesa enjoying some heat and lots of family.
blogging won't be priority (is it ever?) till we return to missouri.
in the meantime go here to see pictures of the happy couple.

**alexa, you are an incredible photographer!

Spontaneity

2010-09-21T20:28:00.001-07:00

i don't know if this blog has been as boring to read lately as it has been to write but i need to get out of this funk. something about "catching up" just ruins it for me. so here is a little post of spontaneity before we go on a big trip to AZ and UT tomorrow.

-my gracie girl looked pretty adorable picking raspberries, if i do say so myself.

-6:45 am found dan and i sitting on our back stoop cutting off a clump of poo stuck in the hair on sadie's behind. I AM SO NOT A DOG PERSON!!! i just had to get that off my chest.

-i love red vines, and starburts, and pretzal m&m's which is a problem since i had a bunch leftover from our yw's fall camp last weekend. note the word had. they disappeared quickly.

-our $300 bill to fix our AC this morning puts a damper on things since we're trying to save up for new carpet.

-i found a beautiful piano at a garage sale a few weeks ago. it was orange and i loved it but didn't buy it. we're saving up for new carpet, remember?

-i'm not very happy with mr. stork because he is taking way too long in my opinion.

-i went camping this weekend and participated in a high ropes adventure coarse and it was awesome.

-i can't wait to see what happens to grace's hair when we leave MO for the next 12 days. will it lay flat? thats the million dollar question.

-i bought a $1 black witches hat at target. grace wears it around the house saying "glinda" and "witch songs". the wicked soundtrack is the girls choice of music these days. i train them well.

-and last but not least, i am SO bummed (and that doesn't even begin to describe it) that dan won't be at kamber and shane's wedding this weekend. he's going to miss madison walking through the meadow, in her beautiful red dress, dropping rose petals down the aisle as a flower girl. kind of a once in a lifetime thing. but thats what pictures are for, right? i'll have to take a few.

thats all for now. tomorrow we are flying west. AZ and UT, here we come.