2nd Grade

A few minutes ago I sent my girls off to second grade. They were excited, and I am not lying when I say that I was excited too. I know I should be sad that they are growing up so fast, but I know all that they will be learning, and how much they will become more of who they are. Does that make any sense. It's exciting. In a few minutes I am off to my first day of school as well. This year I am working with the first grade again. It will be fun, challenging, and there will be days that I wish I could stay in bed. Here are some pics of the girls, sorry none of myself, but I really haven't changed much. And since you will wonder, yes it really is cool enough to wear a jacket. When they come home, it won't be but this morning when they left it was 54 degrees. Crazy August weather.

Juliana

Kathryn

Hiking

On Friday the 13th Steve took work off and we started the day off with a little hike. We have been meaning to do it since we moved back, but just now got to it. We hiked up to the "Y". It's a short 1 mile hike, but it is steep, and I mean steep. I was proud of the girls for sticking with it, and if we are being honest I was proud of myself for sticking to it. Once we got to the top, the views were worth it. Here are some pics.

At the begging all smiles.

Juliana, Steve, Kathryn

At one of the switch backs where we stopped

to catch a breath. Meg, Jules, Kath, Steve

Looking up

The view from the top was spectacular.

All smiles at the top. This wasn't quite how happy

they were on some of the really steep parts.

Two Stories

In one day two very different episodes took place at the Nordstrom house. In the morning of Wednesday the 11th, we had gone to run some errands. We were just about to pull into the driveway. Kathryn said, "Mom"

I said, "What"

"My tooth just came out."

She had been chewing gum, and her second front tooth just came out in the gum. Pretty funny, and a very non-traumatic way to loose a tooth.
The next episode came just before bed time. The girls were in their pajamas and were supposed to be getting in bed. I had gone out to put water on a tree. Steve came out to turn the water on, and so the girls followed. Now some background. At the end of the last school year, the girls planted little seed in cups and brought them home. Only one of the four seeds lived. Juliana's Sunflower grew and against all odds, which included not getting watered all the time. Well it got big enough to transplant and put outside in a pot. We put the pot on the back porch. As the sunflower grew, it started to grow out and then up to follow the afternoon sun as long as it could. So first it grew towards the pot side, and then it grew up. Anyways on this particular day, it had just bloomed it's first little full flower. So Juliana was out on the porch, suddenly I heard Steve say, "You just broke it." I turns out she thought she could pull it and set it straight. She tried and snapped the sunflower right at the base. Once she realized what had happened she was heart broken. It was very sad. She thought that I would be upset with her, but I just felt bad for her. She learned the hard way that you can't bend plants, or at least not most plants. Just minutes after it was broken, I took pictures. It was already starting to wilt.

Harvesting

With the end of summer comes the fun part of the garden, harvesting. Starting with the peas (which I forgot to take pictures of) then onions and peppers. On sunday we picked an ear of corn as well. When the girls and I went out and dug up all the onions I did get pictures. It's a lot of fun to see the very literal fruits of our labors. We are looking forward to out beans, potatoes, a few carrots, and tomatoes.

One week latter

I was about to go to bed when I realized that I have not posted in a while, and I needed to add at least one thing. Although we have had a fabulous summer, I am not going to write about that right now, maybe another time. I forgot to post that Juliana lost another tooth exactly a week after her sister. So that have matching smile again for a while at least. Here is a picture, and yes it's a hair cut picture, so if I find the time I'll throw up some more pictures of all of our adventures.

Teeth

Our summer is zooming by. We are having fun and keeping busy. I had to post that Kathryn lost her first upper tooth. It makes her look so different, and made me realize that I have to document things, because kids don't freeze so we can remember all these moments. So last Saturday the 2nd, it finally came out. It had been wiggling around for more that a week. Here is a picture of her new look. Come back in a week or so for pictures of the girls room, I am in the middle of painting, sewing and designing. I can't wait to see how it all comes together. I found a preview picture of the girls and I painting enjoy!

Springtime in Utah

I get that weather in spring can be a bit unpredictable, rain sun, chilly weather. However, it is almost June so I was seriously offended Monday morning when we woke up to snow. It was rain that had just turned to snow, but it kept coming down and eventually we had snow on the ground sticking. When I came home for lunch and it was still on the ground I grabbed the camera. This is proof for future generations, this was taken on May 24, 2010.

Then on Wednesday, we had sun, and ate salad for dinner. I needed a scallion, but didn't find any in the fridge. So I went out into my garden and dug one up. I know that doesn't sound that amazing, but it was the first thing we have harvested EVER. It wasn't a huge scallion, but it was tasty, fresh, and I knew exactly where it had been grown. It was a really cool experience. after all the hard work, things are actually growing and they are edible. To commemorate the occasion, I took a few pictures.

Busy

Life is busy right now. I just had to write the quote of the day from Juliana. I walked into the bathroom where she was waiting for her morning shower. She was standing on the toilet. I lifted her down, and then she said, "Seems like I'm always busy doing my mischief when you walk in." Where does she come up with these things?? Hilarious. I replied, "Well if you wouldn't be busy doing mischief then I would never walk in when you are doing it." I am pretty sure the mischief will continue. This post is so I remember that she is learning and eventually will probably stop the mischief.

A parenting moment

Last week all the girls in the family got our hair cut. Nothing major, just a trim. Kathryn was first. She settled into the chair as I was getting Juliana started on her reading. The person who cuts our hair is a friend from a previous ward. She lives in the neighborhood over, and it's very easy to get to her. Since we last went, some changes have occurred at her house, and she is now cutting hair in her kitchen as her other space has been taken over for another use. So back to Kathryn in the chair. . . we were discussing renting vs. owning. They are renting right now, and the house they are in is pretty old, and is a little hammered. Kathryn decided to enter into the conversation with her opinion. She said, "You should change some things in this house, (pause) and clean it." I was of course mortified. They do live differently than we do, but I had thought that we have discussed what to say out loud and what things to keep to ourselves. My friend took it like a pro, and admitted that afternoon was a crazy time at their house. I apologized, and she said, "Out of the mouth of babes." It was a moment in parenting where you realize your teaching has come up short. We'll be discussing the nuances of what to say out loud and what to leave unsaid this next week.

A new look

Last spring as we were looking forward to owning our own house, one of the things I was most anxious for was to be able to actually choose color, design, etc. Since life never really goes how you plan, we are still living here in a neutral colored house. There are a few reasons for this, one being that we didn't have any time from when we had to move out of our rental place and into this house. Thus there was not any time to do any painting before all the furniture was moved in. The other main reason, is that one of us (who will remain nameless) get nervous when the subject of paint is brought up. So, last Saturday we ventured to at least start decorating one room. We chose the bathroom. Small enough to get our feet wet. The subject of paint was briefly addressed, and then quickly dismissed (after all marriage is all about compromise). We went out found matching towels, rugs, curtain, the whole shabang. It was a lot of fun. It's nice to have one color scheme and not random colored towels that were given to us when we married. So here it is the first "official" decorating in our new place. I know it may not be too interesting, but hey it's the first time I've had a bathroom that all coordinated, so it's exciting to me! :)

Green eggs and.....

It wasn't quite Green Eggs and Ham, but at least it was green eggs. Sunday we had breakfast for dinner. Steve whipped up some delicious buttermilk pancakes. (If you have never actually made pancakes with actual buttermilk, you are missing out. I will happily share our recipe if you want to try them, they are heavenly.) I was slaving away on a fruit salad and scrambled eggs. The girls insisted that green eggs taste better than your everyday yellow variety. Last year in Kindergarten they had green eggs and ham to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. So I thought why not? Dr. Seuss was born in March and we just celebrated his birthday at school, and St. Patrick's day is not far off. As I was dripping blue and green food coloring into the eggs, I couldn't help remembering my mother. She is famous, or perhaps infamous, for dying food around a holiday. I remember one St. Patrick's Day when we had green potatoes, milk, anything that could be made green was. I said to myself back "in the day" that I wanted to be just like my mom. Unfortunately my present self is often too busy, worn out, or forgetful to remember to stop and dye the food every now and then. It was nice to have a reminder. Here are the green eggs, and before you knock it, you gotta' try it!
P.S. I had to add the picture with Steve and the eggs. I did say that I made them, but really I just whipped them and then somehow he was the one who actually cooked them, and yes he tucks his tie in when he is cooking. Maybe I should get him an apron....

Just a thought

My friends posted this a few days ago on Facebook. It made me laugh so I wanted to share it.

"Women are angels. And when someone breaks our wings, we simply continue to fly...on a broomstick. We are flexible......."

Have a great day!

A Funny Conversation I Just Had

I just had a hilarious conversation with Juliana. She had been upset at her sister because Kathryn had eaten the last bite of her(Juliana's) cookie. There had been some yelling and maybe bodily contact, I wasn't in the room. So I called her to my side. Asked her to take a minute to cool off, and then launched into my very beautiful speech about how she will get to eat several cookies in her life, but she will only have one sister. At the end of our enlightening conversation, she posed this question, "Mom, when are you ever going to have a baby?"

I replied, "Well I'm not pregnant yet, I know that for sure."

"Yes but, what are we going to have for dinner?"

How these two thoughts are connected you got me, but it just hit me funny. I hope you enjoy it.

Painters Half Marathon

Steve ran the Painter's Half Marathon on Saturday in St. George. It was a quick trip, but still fun. Somehow we ended up with no camera so there are no pictures of the actual event. He did really well despite the cold weather, finishing in just under 1 hour 27 minutes. There was just one little hitch, he slipped and fell on a bridge around mile 7. So he ran half of the race with an injury. When he got done, his leg was all bloody and gross looking. Once it got cleaned off it wasn't so bad. The girls were really concerned. So for all you runners out there, just remember bridges freeze, and even if there is salt all over it, you can still fall. Here are a couple of pictures. He got his lower leg, and upper thigh.

Saying hello

Yesterday, Kathryn came home with wet and slightly dirty knees. I asked her what she had been up to. She said, "Something." I replied, "How did your pants get dirty?"

"I was kneeling on the grass."

"Why?"

"I was saying hello, because I missed it."

I kid you not. She cracks me up. Life is never boring with children.

Something to Ponder

The other night I flipped on the TV and it was on a public station. I don't remember which one, but the program was about how we learn to relate with others, and the importance of different relationships in our lives. It was fascinating how many different studies have been done. I used to think these kinds of programs were for "old" people. That brings up the question of am I old, or has my perspective just changed a bit...that's a subject for another day. For the concluding thought at the end of the program the "voice" said this profound thought, "Wether we like it or not, our happiness is in each others hands." I had to sit and think about this. We often tell children and young people that happiness depends on yourself. You alone can chose to be happy or not. I think that's not entirely true. We were made to be with others, family, friends, partners. So for today, just think about who out in the world is depending on you for their happiness, and who you depend on. It's really quite profound, or at least it was for me. Go out and spread the joy.

This week in a nut shell

It's bee a busy week. It started with me taking a final for my class on Monday. I did really well, and was relieved to know that my brain still works. We made treat plates, enjoyed a little Christmas concert at the school, and still have a few parties up our sleeve for this weekend. The other big project we accomplished is our Christmas letter. This year we were too cheap to send our cards, and so we made a blog. It was a lot of fun and a lot easier to share pictures. Here is the address. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

http://nordstromholidaygreetings.blogspot.com

Monday Morning Adventures

So the plan for this morning was to get the kids off to school, go to my water aerobics class and then putter around getting things done. First wrinkle, snow. No problem; I got up early and went to shovel the drive. Steve was getting a ride with a neighbor because of said snow, and didn't have time to shovel. The girls were excited because a neighbor lady gave them a kid sized snow shovel. So they got booted up and came out to help. About 8:00 am we were done, and I started herding everyone in for breakfast. We had already happily waived goodbye to Steven. We put the shovels away, and continued onto the house. This is when wrinkle number two comes in. The door was locked and we have no spare key hidden or at a neighbors. So I started knocking on doors. We finally found a neighbor home. She was in her rob, but she let us in. Thankfully she gave the girls some breakfast so I could at least get them to school on time. Meanwhile I called Steven so he could borrow a car and bring me keys. I got the girls off to school, then jogged in place by our door until Steve came. This is where we discover wrinkle three. He did not bring his set of keys. He remembered his wallet but not the keys. He carries them in his backpack and so that's where they were. I get in the car, and think quickly of a good plan. We'll stop by a friends house to see if she can follow us in to campus and bring me home so that Steve will at least get a minimal amount or work done before his day is over. She is glad to help, but her husband had taken the kids to school and hadn't come back. She calls him, he's on campus working, even though she thought he was working from home. I did however find out that he was coming home mid-morning to work from home. So I drive into campus with Steve, call our friend and ask to hitch a ride home with him when he leaves. He is glad to help out. I finally arrived home at 10:45 am. Then I had to make lunches for the girls and take them to school so they wouldn't starve. Wow!

Gingerbread Train

We have a tradition of making a Gingerbread House at the beginning of December. This year the girls saw a picture of a gingerbread train, and really wanted to make one. So I googled it, and found a pattern. No problem I thought. So I started making gingerbread on Friday night. It's best to let the dough refrigerate for several hours, so Friday night it went in the fridge. After a few errands Saturday morning, I cooked my first batch. Once it's cooked you have to cut it into the shapes you want quickly because after it cools and hardens, you are out of luck. So I had all my pattern cut out of card stock and ready to go. I cut up the first batch, and then came to the realize several things: 1. The train was going to be a lot bigger than I had thought. 2. I was going to have to make at least two more batches of ginger bread. 3. I should have scaled down the pattern, but it was too late to look back. So I proceeded bravely onward; three batches of gingerbread and a double batch of royal icing latter we have a giant gingerbread train. It was a lot of fun to put together and decorate, and it only took about 1 1/2 hours. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Happy Birthday Uncle Sean