tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35611515278297534112024-03-21T17:27:36.547-06:00The Cone FamilyMariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-29635925167003383222012-12-07T14:17:00.000-07:002012-12-07T14:21:52.074-07:00Money Money MoneyI haven't blogged in a while, but I need to vent a little. I know this blog is totally a downer, but it makes me feel better to write about what's bugging me. <br />
<br />
I have wanted a Kitchen Aid mixer for a long time, and have been watching the prices. There was a good deal at Costco last month, so I decided it was finally time to go for it. I have a hard time spending money on myself, but I knew that our finances were looking pretty good so I went ahead and bought it. <br />
<br />
Four days later my tooth completely broke in half. I had to get a crown which was $1000.<br />
<br />
Then James' car needed to be registered, but first it needed a new windshield and tires. $500.<br />
<br />
Then James got a new job which we are really excited about, but which doesn't pay for health insurance for me or the kids; we have to pay our own and go through James' work's group policy. (Which by the way my OBGYN doesn't accept.) I can't buy a personal insurance policy with any other company because I am pregnant, and pregnancy is a pre-existing condition. Insurance will be about $1200 a month for the next 4 months until the baby is born. (Plus a $4000 deductible and 20% of the bill in March) That is more than our mortgage payment. For the next 4 months. <br />
<br />
As a side note, I know that I have a lot of friends who are die-hard republicans, but let me just say that if the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) were totally in place, this wouldn't be a problem at all. It would be illegal for insurance companies not to sell me insurance because of my pregnancy. It is one of the main reasons that I voted for President Obama. <br />
<br />
It is enough to make me seriously consider forgetting all about the insurance, and going into the back yard, bite on a stick, and squat under a tree to get this baby out.<br />
<br />
Then our dishwasher started leaking water all over the place. I spent 3 hours yesterday taking it apart and cleaning it out, trying to see if I could fix the problem myself. No luck. The repair man came over today and charged me $55 to tell me that it couldn't be fixed and that the whole thing needed to be replaced.<br />
<br />
Within the next month there's Christmas, plus I have 2 kids with birthdays who have been promised friend birthday parties because I am a mean mom and only throw them every other year and we skipped them last year. <br />
<br />
And because the pay schedule at James' new job is a little different than the one at his old job we are only getting one paycheck this month. <br />
<br />
Maybe I shouldn't have bought the mixer. <br />
<br />James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-6863097548317526412012-05-06T21:24:00.000-06:002012-05-07T08:10:43.357-06:00Tantrums: The bane of my existenceTwo weekends ago I was able to spend three blessed days to myself in St. George. I went to the spa, went shopping, and read books outside by the fountain. I slept in, went to an amazing concert, and ate at restaurants. It was an absolute dream.<br />
<br />
Peace and serenity. No car seats. No diapers. No whining. No fighting. No children's programming.<br />
<br />
<br />
AND, NO TANTRUMS!<br />
<br />
Heaven.<br />
<br />
<br />
One afternoon I went with my Dad to Costco to get a few things. When we went to check out there was a woman ahead of us in line. She had one child in the basket of her cart, one in the seat of the cart sporting a hot pink cast on her leg, and one rolling around on the ground screaming. I said to my Dad, "Oh, that is me. That is SO me." I was torn between my feelings of sympathy and camaraderie for this woman, and my complete elation that it wasn't me with the three little blessings.<br />
<br />
<br />
Exactly two days later I found myself entering the Costco by my house. I just needed chicken. I could be in and out in 5 minutes. McKenna got into the basket of the cart, and when I went to put Wesley in the seat he started crying. Ok, maybe he wants to ride in the basket too. Nope. Well, I guess I'll let him walk. I think we can all agree that letting a one year old walk in the Costco is pretty much a recipe for disaster. But I JUST needed chicken. We can do it this one time. No, he doesn't want that either. He completely loses it.<br />
<br />
<br />
Just take it in with me now: Wesley is face-down and spread-eagle on the floor of the entrance at Costco. He is screaming. (Not crying, screaming!) He is banging his head on the floor. There are several people behind us waiting
to come in.<br />
<br />
Exasperated, I grab him with one arm and start steering the cart out of the way with the other. Wesley puts his little hands on the handle next to mine. He is instantly happy. Oh, he wants to push the cart! Well, maybe I can put him on the ground and let him push from the bottom. No, he HAS to hold the cart's handle. He is about three feet too short, and five years too young for that. Ok, I'll just hold him with one arm and push the cart with the other. That only lasts for about ten awkward steps.<br />
<br />
<br />
It is time for me to make an executive decision. Despite his protests (kicking, scratching, hitting, biting, etc. ) I fling him into the seat and strap him in. Oh the screaming! I take off like a mad woman on Supermarket Sweep, and run for the chicken.<br />
<br />
The trick is not to make eye contact with anyone. When you have a child in this state there are only two responses you will get from people. They are either sympathetic, or judgmental. At this point, both will make me cry.<br />
<br />
All the lines are long. Curses. Wesley has now gone completely limp and is slumped forward, appendages dangling from the cart. There is a slimy string of snot/drool hanging from his face to about 3 inches above the floor. Still screaming bloody murder. Now that I have time to wait, I begin to wax philosophical. Maybe the universe is punishing me for putting myself first the weekend before. Maybe I tempted fate by previously proclaiming McKenna to be my 'hard one'. Maybe this is Jesus' way of telling me that I should stop having children. Or Maybe (and this one seems most likely) my womb is actually a portal from Hell.<br />
<br />
I cried when I got to my car. Three days later he had another meltdown at Walmart. A lady, probably in her late forties, stopped me and told me that I was a good mom and that she knew exactly what I was going through. I cried again and gave her a hug. Not everyone has kids who can throw a tantrum like this. It is not what you imagine when you bring a sweet little baby home from the hospital.<br />
<br />
Wesley is my little boy and I love him. But man, I could use more weekends in St. George.James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-20831806116816450552012-04-16T20:26:00.002-06:002012-04-16T21:02:56.427-06:00The baseball pantsToday I just had one little errand I needed to run: buy baseball pants for JJ. Luckily, JJ was playing at a friend's house so it was just McKenna and Wesley with me. Wesley woke up from his nap with croup. If I end up taking him in to the doctor this will be the 4th visit in a week and a half for our family. I am stressed out. <br /><br />The whole way to the store, McKenna is crying/screaming/whining that she wants to play at her friend's house. I am trying not to yell. My friend calls me to ask if I've bought baseball pants yet. She is on her way to the store too. As I hang up the phone I realize that her car is right in front of me. A tender mercy. <br /><br />When I pull into the parking lot I turn around to see that McKenna has crashed. The girl does not nap, she enters into a comatose state. You can not wake her up. Crap. James took the stroller out of the van this weekend. Crap. My friend who is getting out of her car notices, and offers to wait by my car when she is finished. I love her. We wait for about ten minutes. <br /><br />I go in with Wesley, trying to hurry so I won't inconvenience my friend. What is that smell? Great timing, buddy. Pretend I don't smell anything. Keep shopping. Find the baseball pants. There are only two sizes left: XXS and XL. Crap. Ask guy for help- he will check in the back. Wesley falls. "Ouch, ouch!" Pick him up. He's good. Wesley plays with another baby while I wait. SMACK. Screams. The other boy hit Wes over the head with a baseball bat. I grab the XL and try to get the hell out of there. <br /><br />I get back to the car, thank my friend, and buckle Wesley in. Why is there blood all over his pants??? Lift up pant leg. Oh my gosh. Ouch ouch is right. Wesley wants his milk. Where is it? Run back in to the store. Get on my hands and knees like a jackass looking under clothes racks for the sippy cup. Found it. I run back out to the car. <br /><br />I start driving home. I have completed my errand. I want to cry. When JJ got home he tried on the pants. WAY too big.<br /><br /><br />It was all for naught.James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-44870488154925210102012-02-16T12:42:00.008-07:002012-02-16T14:17:20.979-07:00Missy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJbVtgXVYUfdLiOkRQUGGU-CU23MsV7omSe2XmbhZkP_D05SflNxNYTPmZ9VmZ3h8g2StlPxN1rqB1FjdJx8aSbX5Aouss9C-LTKXTBidDLFSZ_t664ys-TBJAfoe_HsM0p5eQHVJPwv3/s1600/DSC01172.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJbVtgXVYUfdLiOkRQUGGU-CU23MsV7omSe2XmbhZkP_D05SflNxNYTPmZ9VmZ3h8g2StlPxN1rqB1FjdJx8aSbX5Aouss9C-LTKXTBidDLFSZ_t664ys-TBJAfoe_HsM0p5eQHVJPwv3/s320/DSC01172.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709845406553046002" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This Valentine's Day James surprised me with a one pound box of hand-picked chocolates from Cummings. I surprised him with the news that the veterinarian recommended we euthanize the dog.<br /><br />After all is said and done, I am just really, really sorry. <br /><br />I am sorry to my children, who love animals. I am sorry to Wesley who doesn't understand where his puppy playmate is; much less why she is gone. I am sorry to McKenna who cried when we told her, and who now tells everyone, "We don't have a dog no more. She went to heaven." I am sorry to JJ, who loved to hold Missy and laughed when she licked his face. <br /><br />I am sorry to James for buying a cute dog that he fell in love with. He always saw the very best in her, and never gave up on trying to help her be better. I am sorry for the hundreds of dollars that I spent on her. I am sorry that I have caused more emotions for him to repress (probably the reason for the migraines.)<br /><br />I am sorry for myself. I am sorry that although I prayed and prayed to find the right dog for our family, I didn't get the revelation I was looking for. I am sorry that I am now one of 'those people.' I am sorry that I won't have a dog for a while. Life is hard when you don't have a furry little dog to snuggle up with at the end of the day. <br /><br />Most of all, I am sorry to Missy. I am sorry that you didn't go to a family who might have compensated for your poor breeding. I am sorry if you were in pain. I am sorry that you were so scared all the time. I am sorry that you spent so much time in your kennel. I am sorry that your life was so short. I'm sorry that I didn't love you more. I tried. Really, I did.James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-4923420089487429392012-01-26T20:18:00.003-07:002012-01-26T21:04:05.087-07:00January BlahsI have a serious case of the January Blahs. <br /><br />James went night time ice fishing on a weeknight during tax season in a snow storm while he is sick with a cold. He doesn't see my reasoning that it might not be a good idea. If he comes home dead I'm gonna be pissed.<br /><br />Our playgroup at the church was interrupted today by a group of five men who wanted to play basketball. There were 17 of us there (including kids). They were basically like, "Oh sorry that we didnt reserve the building, and usually we're here on a different day, but we don't really care that you are already here with all of your kids and all of your things and this is the first time today that you have had a moment of peace where your kids haven't been throwing tantrums at the Target/ wiping their noses on the couch/ spilling an entire box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios on the kitchen floor that you just mopped, but we're here now and so you need to go home, get barefoot, and make dinner for your husbands." (At least that's the way I took it.) I was NOT going to leave. We were going to be there until 5:00. But then all the other moms started packing up their kids. WHY? I think women are too nice. To a fault. It was wrong for them to ask us to leave, and it was wrong for us to be so willing to do it. <br /><br />I got a notice in the mail that Sparky's license is about to expire. GUESS WHAT DAVIS COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES? Sparky is dead. Thanks for the reminder.<br /><br />Today on Facebook I read the following 'words': Adorbs and Presh. Apparently these are short for adorable and precious. It makes me want to throw up a little bit. <br /><br /><br />I think that's about it.James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-23213238657876292932012-01-02T15:14:00.003-07:002012-01-02T15:42:25.623-07:00JJ turns six!JJ with his birthday crown from school<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrm7CFyDACD7j6462IAYZySevPc_hb9IAPuS5fAmXFPag6AhXQUBYVEt97RhgNLpOek1CGObkS23kTogyfd1UUc-zIQcCW19WFb_3zSZ_PNcWFQMBt_O4qwDbIuWs4JhWlJ3IBpT3CMAa9/s1600/DSC01604.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrm7CFyDACD7j6462IAYZySevPc_hb9IAPuS5fAmXFPag6AhXQUBYVEt97RhgNLpOek1CGObkS23kTogyfd1UUc-zIQcCW19WFb_3zSZ_PNcWFQMBt_O4qwDbIuWs4JhWlJ3IBpT3CMAa9/s320/DSC01604.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693162424736101698" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />He asked for a donut pyramid instead of a cake and I was happy to oblige! <br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVST5cm3uPP0oNKonneqco10d1rdf3b4Fh4sO_0rnKdHZ7zT9byslHyIDlGlZcfG14u_x3FP-FgRvF9FegFhC-V1uKpSUGytrXpYtFYJVKdhCHg4TQB0f_q14EIUCdgF9WfyIb2QVHBhW/s1600/DSC01611.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVST5cm3uPP0oNKonneqco10d1rdf3b4Fh4sO_0rnKdHZ7zT9byslHyIDlGlZcfG14u_x3FP-FgRvF9FegFhC-V1uKpSUGytrXpYtFYJVKdhCHg4TQB0f_q14EIUCdgF9WfyIb2QVHBhW/s320/DSC01611.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693162406392604274" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here he is with all of his presents minus the card he got from Grandma and Grandpa Brown- that came the next day.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3dl46TOhbI-8Oj1HKZzUXWBix5BztPM3CsHjdhIGCrEK3rO0GtrXlQcto6AHfYkHGfr9kmK0ECWKorOcXiqrvxGUus8KXKpiqD5AFGP-TFyV179H-3jwb0-N4XfbuzxLEBSVbczBGI3T/s1600/DSC01619.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3dl46TOhbI-8Oj1HKZzUXWBix5BztPM3CsHjdhIGCrEK3rO0GtrXlQcto6AHfYkHGfr9kmK0ECWKorOcXiqrvxGUus8KXKpiqD5AFGP-TFyV179H-3jwb0-N4XfbuzxLEBSVbczBGI3T/s320/DSC01619.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693162400154953490" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We didn't do a friend birthday party this year. I have decided to do those every other year. Planning and hosting a kid's birthday party is not my idea of a good time; it is one of the things I dread as a parent! After we opened presents we took JJ to Boondocks and then to Artic Circle for dinner. It was a fun day!James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-37976682572726448952012-01-02T15:02:00.002-07:002012-01-02T15:12:23.894-07:00Temple SquareWe went to Temple Square to see the lights last month. James and I both hadn't seen them in a LONG time. I think the last time I went was when I was in young women's- at least 15 years ago. I was so glad that we went. The kids had a lot of fun. We parked at the Trax central station and then rode in the free zone. It was a fun night! <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLecTcEwECqYb_UaVyNz8rYMgjDQoNwr5fpyfvNiCuGEXgNPKgzWffPC91sSQHCHocnj0dypSUsObZCC7HQuPzvJiagAtpXVjWbXOB5na3-DDjinTHwvLESzuVxjyFLM6PvwZ00unfOkuG/s1600/DSC01592.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLecTcEwECqYb_UaVyNz8rYMgjDQoNwr5fpyfvNiCuGEXgNPKgzWffPC91sSQHCHocnj0dypSUsObZCC7HQuPzvJiagAtpXVjWbXOB5na3-DDjinTHwvLESzuVxjyFLM6PvwZ00unfOkuG/s320/DSC01592.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693159906891398274" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4UCapjtvxJbne2PLfw1hCaX02HYhDvh9ZZr2AX9bsctorwIaD-eJzSS4Nc5AE_gkJAX_NI9qe_5eyWudzkX3LaSblIyhSRtejSiY6F5mpJlbTQL8Y7XF198futctN9EY5_LcKfpzIXRK/s1600/DSC01587.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4UCapjtvxJbne2PLfw1hCaX02HYhDvh9ZZr2AX9bsctorwIaD-eJzSS4Nc5AE_gkJAX_NI9qe_5eyWudzkX3LaSblIyhSRtejSiY6F5mpJlbTQL8Y7XF198futctN9EY5_LcKfpzIXRK/s320/DSC01587.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693159895197078354" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMDUZa3ghGoBBUR-CWzR1nE-i6SIEwDtlQftnO2xsMPXQ35rie9JrpU65SxvUAsx_ksTYU2Jb-ot_u3OFlHGOdhAibO38G5iNGidqUhY2EjyLxlzt3OPfhG4lRIpRJ-sUdtQOt6Sud-9f/s1600/DSC01581.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMDUZa3ghGoBBUR-CWzR1nE-i6SIEwDtlQftnO2xsMPXQ35rie9JrpU65SxvUAsx_ksTYU2Jb-ot_u3OFlHGOdhAibO38G5iNGidqUhY2EjyLxlzt3OPfhG4lRIpRJ-sUdtQOt6Sud-9f/s320/DSC01581.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693159879059068114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yZhry_B53BL64XX063m2d1pcHkUJPN1OOBqgypdKPVSmOi9fVYk6Ldsms1KjxuLsbuJDq3naJq_OqI8nJ3B90YjrJrGvs6xj8aM7vOniSfkRghMNTWd2-Ky-1KHS2r6CvyqXRaaVfUlT/s1600/DSC01579.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yZhry_B53BL64XX063m2d1pcHkUJPN1OOBqgypdKPVSmOi9fVYk6Ldsms1KjxuLsbuJDq3naJq_OqI8nJ3B90YjrJrGvs6xj8aM7vOniSfkRghMNTWd2-Ky-1KHS2r6CvyqXRaaVfUlT/s320/DSC01579.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693159875863707506" /></a>James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-25414573693438994832012-01-02T14:46:00.005-07:002012-01-02T15:00:24.521-07:00At the Ward Christmas Party...Wesley played dead...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8V5FzixK6xSNrtoBj_VL7YY2yv_KXx8A3-TC56bU9PN4EUidmiBYntgzXJidb1tKdwEQuZbAQdSaSO-PqJPz1kfH0wZJP1-T3MMVkm4arqvKXHJPrx2FE1BCZh07Bhqx9_Ymfe8sry80/s1600/DSC01575.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8V5FzixK6xSNrtoBj_VL7YY2yv_KXx8A3-TC56bU9PN4EUidmiBYntgzXJidb1tKdwEQuZbAQdSaSO-PqJPz1kfH0wZJP1-T3MMVkm4arqvKXHJPrx2FE1BCZh07Bhqx9_Ymfe8sry80/s320/DSC01575.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693154815321315682" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NNbCfLkEMe9-N25raL0A3qQbI83x-IqRFzZi5ti3R99vR1M9d5wG25wtzOB71lHUeyW506BCaty8NxixEahbdY0Lui8iQ6pCnF0K_dbBJCVd5XRatn8aIB6c3XZopQXeeMKsFQjSD_t0/s1600/DSC01576.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NNbCfLkEMe9-N25raL0A3qQbI83x-IqRFzZi5ti3R99vR1M9d5wG25wtzOB71lHUeyW506BCaty8NxixEahbdY0Lui8iQ6pCnF0K_dbBJCVd5XRatn8aIB6c3XZopQXeeMKsFQjSD_t0/s320/DSC01576.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693157393010549474" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />and then threw a big fit.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZwDSsm8OfURAGRadxRa9wuc817hGxDgrznZx-uDt1P3hq2jj3qPPurbZNMnrzaP6zXUqoEwMQI-sQw1eruNHf5zRNDOmGC1wPDVX5EQ17Kk-VEW6FTjj3130T13MQgckNMhUIZ933BKk/s1600/DSC01578.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZwDSsm8OfURAGRadxRa9wuc817hGxDgrznZx-uDt1P3hq2jj3qPPurbZNMnrzaP6zXUqoEwMQI-sQw1eruNHf5zRNDOmGC1wPDVX5EQ17Kk-VEW6FTjj3130T13MQgckNMhUIZ933BKk/s320/DSC01578.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693154821039011170" /></a>James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-12491914433879815672012-01-02T14:21:00.003-07:002012-01-02T14:44:27.261-07:00McKenna Makes Brownies<OBJECT id=BLOG_video-842f7d811dd53cb5 class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="842f7d811dd53cb5"></OBJECT><br /><br />With her pants on backwards.James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-72560467511301177852011-11-28T14:21:00.016-07:002011-11-28T17:03:20.611-07:00Thanksgiving 2011This year in kindergarten JJ's class each got Indian names. JJ's was Running Wolf. Here he is in his whole Running Wolf outfit. Each feather on his hat thingey represents something that he learned. One was 'I know my address', one was 'I know my phone number', etc. He worked really hard all month and earned every feather.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtbcWzDdZZgh6kgIOzeGpQ4Y0g5SDgNYKTRkmtm9fCQefz_TjcY7JGvix0NgDEK_wMlT7orjnS-T0Bs2TZ-HmDcWTkBhe4y6bZd8kEKtoaN5CQp9Vr2DdpDQaW39WAzyepJI89ESr3vWT/s1600/DSC01450.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680163831567997314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtbcWzDdZZgh6kgIOzeGpQ4Y0g5SDgNYKTRkmtm9fCQefz_TjcY7JGvix0NgDEK_wMlT7orjnS-T0Bs2TZ-HmDcWTkBhe4y6bZd8kEKtoaN5CQp9Vr2DdpDQaW39WAzyepJI89ESr3vWT/s320/DSC01450.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Cute Wesley 17 months old<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tRicQlBVvsgAhiu_p9o-XJe8BecwtJH6gQmmKvrvyzPknRS2s9oQqvv1JvNC6OyJG0yCQYntGx4_LLoWkxc0ry1KNBubKh3yA72pwAl4l7uMx_cG7aSOw8Sr0ZPPrJZyFb-PiW1O8jtC/s1600/DSC01451.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680163820206133154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tRicQlBVvsgAhiu_p9o-XJe8BecwtJH6gQmmKvrvyzPknRS2s9oQqvv1JvNC6OyJG0yCQYntGx4_LLoWkxc0ry1KNBubKh3yA72pwAl4l7uMx_cG7aSOw8Sr0ZPPrJZyFb-PiW1O8jtC/s320/DSC01451.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />JJ playing Operation with Caidin and Wyatt<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwrh5AYwu5CmnR9AIbw2e6kYY2rf0liid1o-n8TXbWwuwaxsuvbuef1_t87G4OO_c95llLy8Jqj09q7iy2ZIwvn9qlLxKGm0xrz7MbbONZo-wTOKl0auGXX9QnmSegoBJduIOftvzT1_N/s1600/DSC01453.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680176382777844194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwrh5AYwu5CmnR9AIbw2e6kYY2rf0liid1o-n8TXbWwuwaxsuvbuef1_t87G4OO_c95llLy8Jqj09q7iy2ZIwvn9qlLxKGm0xrz7MbbONZo-wTOKl0auGXX9QnmSegoBJduIOftvzT1_N/s320/DSC01453.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Jonathan carving the bird. (Next to the best damn mashed potatoes you ever ate. They worked FINE in the crock pot!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Dco_xpsDfJ_jhW3CU2DzjTjBCg_AvgeA1Yjc4Sy0xOOcoEOuaBXQE2BEsWCWiK37zSvHAbDJwDNKkFqaM7VrBk2zCniIOQAOP-7raA92pJ20tujbvh3wLUJUmA7EatwdaowUft4-4A_q/s1600/DSC01458.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680163808710601810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Dco_xpsDfJ_jhW3CU2DzjTjBCg_AvgeA1Yjc4Sy0xOOcoEOuaBXQE2BEsWCWiK37zSvHAbDJwDNKkFqaM7VrBk2zCniIOQAOP-7raA92pJ20tujbvh3wLUJUmA7EatwdaowUft4-4A_q/s320/DSC01458.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The kid's table!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLP1qugE56EXNIDP8-c96xlk0A5l-583-hPcAUw55GafjUlOZrm0nnHWKS4e_g4yPzYY3j3gQWctawiwmW8UnovQjIb0iSa1BTUEwz2FovOO8Brmkp0KjiRZ-i0pHuPvS0rYugWvinWKl/s1600/DSC01464.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680170012470236578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLP1qugE56EXNIDP8-c96xlk0A5l-583-hPcAUw55GafjUlOZrm0nnHWKS4e_g4yPzYY3j3gQWctawiwmW8UnovQjIb0iSa1BTUEwz2FovOO8Brmkp0KjiRZ-i0pHuPvS0rYugWvinWKl/s320/DSC01464.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Me and The Man<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNIVybGR9nVBCHUtgdbtvCEtikGSXtT_csh7lWH2FO6TO0LKG8NllWlvz-AxaIraFKCt1GDzBVyUb0l07VMoeCRlHLW6nshKJoEMPFaM5skXFin8iZ2mixLNkcbgkK2azTEk52IWdlXTe/s1600/DSC01468.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 232px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680170009301422338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikNIVybGR9nVBCHUtgdbtvCEtikGSXtT_csh7lWH2FO6TO0LKG8NllWlvz-AxaIraFKCt1GDzBVyUb0l07VMoeCRlHLW6nshKJoEMPFaM5skXFin8iZ2mixLNkcbgkK2azTEk52IWdlXTe/s320/DSC01468.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There aren't many Thanksivings where you can send the kids outside to play!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE01BFcHVaO2Gfajb8VFt_Gv3zYjIKa3SX-_FC_mL_vR_zQtrEisSoGI5C_SjQ03ov9wh8u6ROvtk9p0YTG5YRAMBo5mWOuCItjpiG22EV-TOIUSMVm_uS-p1byjgLLTZPzp1CrmY9LFk4/s1600/DSC01475.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680169458907586562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE01BFcHVaO2Gfajb8VFt_Gv3zYjIKa3SX-_FC_mL_vR_zQtrEisSoGI5C_SjQ03ov9wh8u6ROvtk9p0YTG5YRAMBo5mWOuCItjpiG22EV-TOIUSMVm_uS-p1byjgLLTZPzp1CrmY9LFk4/s320/DSC01475.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Cheri painted McKenna's fingers and toes. She LOVED it!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxIMnVDs5yMZnQtU47gq2WjIPTrEfwjrQ8AWkFY0b8W_wciWacaq0wKj24n2rJYQCzyfLMVJLXShp02RLcRBnn8bRt47VPw7PdJfF1LGJQ4Ri9SfVukG8zRf5lzBRBFw0KQ1Ojyg3WupJ/s1600/DSC01477.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680169076729312194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxIMnVDs5yMZnQtU47gq2WjIPTrEfwjrQ8AWkFY0b8W_wciWacaq0wKj24n2rJYQCzyfLMVJLXShp02RLcRBnn8bRt47VPw7PdJfF1LGJQ4Ri9SfVukG8zRf5lzBRBFw0KQ1Ojyg3WupJ/s320/DSC01477.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Showing Daddy her cute toes<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbWUY42fi32afM4CIsXQc1yCcA89L4qFQflcPn9eLdk-xUaZtC9Jy1Wc4CRuQmI_KWF6A84-5FhcjF2L0mH0vOubW3SLJ1YAvVyfCNgQ3Td4w5tCxhCA3sxxAftMe0YupK22iB2sOog6w/s1600/DSC01481.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680168765825735394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbWUY42fi32afM4CIsXQc1yCcA89L4qFQflcPn9eLdk-xUaZtC9Jy1Wc4CRuQmI_KWF6A84-5FhcjF2L0mH0vOubW3SLJ1YAvVyfCNgQ3Td4w5tCxhCA3sxxAftMe0YupK22iB2sOog6w/s320/DSC01481.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />That night I went Black Friday shopping. I was in line at Toys R Us at 8:00pm. The doors opened at 9:00, but I didn't get in the store until 9:30. Then I shopped for about 30 minutes and got in line to check out at 10:00pm. That line lasted for TWO HOURS! By this time I was really regretting the Dr. Pepper that I drank right before leaving! I finally emerged at midnight with almost all of my shopping done for JJ's birthday, the kid's Christmas, and McKenna's birthday which are all in the next month and a half. VICTORY!<br /><br />The next morning I hit up Shopko, Smith's Marketplace, Old Navy and Famous Footwear. It was a great Thanksgiving!James and Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932455067654353552noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-32612713244449364862011-11-03T21:45:00.004-06:002011-11-03T22:19:46.810-06:00Trunk or TreatWe all look forward to our ward's Halloween party each year. Here are the kids at the Trunk or Treat. <br /><br />JJ: Spiderman<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxt_QIHjX-000Zo4pTYxEQ3wNPReP9Ty_qx0v9sDOcr-h16laSPlJph-tEBBIucQOlPxjS75DeY9iZGxLZ09hKl779QJiM2oNrQDXfq_sRRYvn-zQk9fPSPageKv0LQrYbAhYumVlzHD8Z/s1600/DSC01381.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxt_QIHjX-000Zo4pTYxEQ3wNPReP9Ty_qx0v9sDOcr-h16laSPlJph-tEBBIucQOlPxjS75DeY9iZGxLZ09hKl779QJiM2oNrQDXfq_sRRYvn-zQk9fPSPageKv0LQrYbAhYumVlzHD8Z/s400/DSC01381.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670982820497130514" /></a><br /><br />McKenna: Rapunzel<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCOPyJ6sx2KINB64L9wURP7qqD3N-rxNVEIiWe2TUdCUkE3XULkvA2rk85Hzpdhm3uRZQT4od5h8fiFGfwRFHtaSyAXbENwYH52lMIvCq3To55N6uIB3WU3ImgQevOXW0xyS09tbwDI94/s1600/DSC01385.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCOPyJ6sx2KINB64L9wURP7qqD3N-rxNVEIiWe2TUdCUkE3XULkvA2rk85Hzpdhm3uRZQT4od5h8fiFGfwRFHtaSyAXbENwYH52lMIvCq3To55N6uIB3WU3ImgQevOXW0xyS09tbwDI94/s400/DSC01385.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670987551728673042" /></a><br /><br />Wesley: A Lion<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lB4x8QvpLjjtxM9e5Rq8X2BmiMzuJ7eQp1TaghIhNY3RpmixI84zDXGJ0lOM_aQNm0GPhQAOWR0dOKFCkaq8f4ZXaiRrBI1PDU1NJ8i-s9i5_mXjfoezD3zl3DnK_R3FhOMC0_YLAout/s1600/DSC01382.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lB4x8QvpLjjtxM9e5Rq8X2BmiMzuJ7eQp1TaghIhNY3RpmixI84zDXGJ0lOM_aQNm0GPhQAOWR0dOKFCkaq8f4ZXaiRrBI1PDU1NJ8i-s9i5_mXjfoezD3zl3DnK_R3FhOMC0_YLAout/s400/DSC01382.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670982802565086290" /></a>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-34116785277525938762011-10-30T07:44:00.004-06:002011-10-30T08:32:33.095-06:00The Pumpkin PatchThis month we went on our annual outing to Pack's Pumpkin Patch in Farmington. The kids love to ride in the wheelbarrow.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMD3WXwpSx0if8j76dGTTX7InSblps2PaCYDMHOO6eYZlHs-loPzJ8bS9CTp888cTvqdjEaiVogwLEcr4j4OwjpsQ5L6kyzUmPqknzrrHlvC5Nugv06QMdWvLaAn82LxHw0QzdOb_T7VFO/s1600/DSC01350.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMD3WXwpSx0if8j76dGTTX7InSblps2PaCYDMHOO6eYZlHs-loPzJ8bS9CTp888cTvqdjEaiVogwLEcr4j4OwjpsQ5L6kyzUmPqknzrrHlvC5Nugv06QMdWvLaAn82LxHw0QzdOb_T7VFO/s400/DSC01350.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669289629645606914" /></a><br /><br />Such a beautiful sunset! I love it that this is only 15 minutes away from my house.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Qpq02i3pBKkgiWwTY6GRCKu6bVtESihxNkV0whB9b-q0DwqLevtqou4hSNozlGfOupG8IB6sUYHtTkxL_6p-Tno4kl6v0qjDm3MhND2R1UJk1-24WS_BCJ-u-Q2jH75Fwmg2euGcmFFJ/s1600/DSC01352.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Qpq02i3pBKkgiWwTY6GRCKu6bVtESihxNkV0whB9b-q0DwqLevtqou4hSNozlGfOupG8IB6sUYHtTkxL_6p-Tno4kl6v0qjDm3MhND2R1UJk1-24WS_BCJ-u-Q2jH75Fwmg2euGcmFFJ/s400/DSC01352.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669289625855016210" /></a><br /><br />My little Wesley boy<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqy9v7DltyfsIa7d4rdC9cH_cArNF2KbeWUMVpow9IlCVTwXWmXt_S2Z_E-Gb4qUQm8SUAxwbxd_zO0-qE_kND4DQoGKIE4DyAM7cRl3xBZo-dVT3VJpQtrCrfLCjjNdRRwuzJ-ys_prZ/s1600/DSC01363.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqy9v7DltyfsIa7d4rdC9cH_cArNF2KbeWUMVpow9IlCVTwXWmXt_S2Z_E-Gb4qUQm8SUAxwbxd_zO0-qE_kND4DQoGKIE4DyAM7cRl3xBZo-dVT3VJpQtrCrfLCjjNdRRwuzJ-ys_prZ/s400/DSC01363.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669288006571548770" /></a><br /><br />JJ loves to do silly poses<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuu_ZfZKihjlIh4eeMIpeKNRegGlqLDeepYHflDkaP7a3hPv5cU6_30zIIPbJxtKLTgjIrN_rMnm24fKlmj9fOthRZsZc3vpXhVnkjkNN94z79DEN9WiOHALImsGo4OC1s1QDIcDZzfxi/s1600/DSC01357.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuu_ZfZKihjlIh4eeMIpeKNRegGlqLDeepYHflDkaP7a3hPv5cU6_30zIIPbJxtKLTgjIrN_rMnm24fKlmj9fOthRZsZc3vpXhVnkjkNN94z79DEN9WiOHALImsGo4OC1s1QDIcDZzfxi/s400/DSC01357.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669288003374189554" /></a><br /><br />Wes loved running around in the hay maze<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhtOQDy8w5lYOoPoVjCpTKwb4_JwWTYiNIYTRUor6-jLjhw3eFeSwXTgJbhFDUUCUasT1wOFfKRefT0hhHrFO09zHn2X2D9bMnLC3rBCvO_SQ7kvxow8g8clqQG3EHQgLHtw1QmapPtOW/s1600/DSC01358.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhtOQDy8w5lYOoPoVjCpTKwb4_JwWTYiNIYTRUor6-jLjhw3eFeSwXTgJbhFDUUCUasT1wOFfKRefT0hhHrFO09zHn2X2D9bMnLC3rBCvO_SQ7kvxow8g8clqQG3EHQgLHtw1QmapPtOW/s400/DSC01358.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669283248344339442" /></a><br /><br />I couldn't get McKenna to hold still for a good picture<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvO14qhhgpu109n1lrU_9ujBhbIlnXbI8UDot5wdcjMFPqCLWOJC-iZktPqXWQITzmE8zUZld-yWfGDLPO3ZJZalNbJRhCCjWbBHJpoUxRlY71Gp25B_ezVIl0RRgV58f4aXQNuS7YaNho/s1600/DSC01360.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvO14qhhgpu109n1lrU_9ujBhbIlnXbI8UDot5wdcjMFPqCLWOJC-iZktPqXWQITzmE8zUZld-yWfGDLPO3ZJZalNbJRhCCjWbBHJpoUxRlY71Gp25B_ezVIl0RRgV58f4aXQNuS7YaNho/s400/DSC01360.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669283229224637330" /></a><br /><br />And of course it wouldn't be a family outing without someone throwing a fit. Just as soon as some nice person offered to take our picture, McKenna got mad about something...I can't remember what. Oh well. This may be the only picture with all five of us in existence. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlpkJOAUtexy0oe4tdqNalxPIABUz_79QCZTIfUejHGLzeYEgvGQXZ_apK7k0zAE1m57h10rcRmLpiPUNNnLA03VQpYV-QwM5csoGXuPFYKo5k2Oph6Jho5qS0g9aY1m_GkviaLk7ZQC0/s1600/DSC01369.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlpkJOAUtexy0oe4tdqNalxPIABUz_79QCZTIfUejHGLzeYEgvGQXZ_apK7k0zAE1m57h10rcRmLpiPUNNnLA03VQpYV-QwM5csoGXuPFYKo5k2Oph6Jho5qS0g9aY1m_GkviaLk7ZQC0/s400/DSC01369.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669283224524253282" /></a>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-39123174110026562452011-10-29T21:02:00.005-06:002011-10-29T21:17:30.135-06:00McKenna's NaptimeThe other day McKenna fell asleep on the couch, which is not uncommon for her. But then I looked over and saw that she was sitting up... but was still asleep. <br /><br />At first I was totally creeped out. She sleeps with her eyes open a little bit.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fomHYr6VU3OqsyHtRLnp2rr3uNNHR9juuXKcSpYWXCh2Ni-6H1Z8YkXCyd1vhFq-NfSdhAfmVA6FCDktUwx6Fbn9gkMHWu31WzPO7FPqo5WmRigHlljuenmcEkgw1vpeXQiBASckt4Xs/s1600/DSC01307.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fomHYr6VU3OqsyHtRLnp2rr3uNNHR9juuXKcSpYWXCh2Ni-6H1Z8YkXCyd1vhFq-NfSdhAfmVA6FCDktUwx6Fbn9gkMHWu31WzPO7FPqo5WmRigHlljuenmcEkgw1vpeXQiBASckt4Xs/s400/DSC01307.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669116433549518706" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSSmACV5Iwwh5fy8Xek-81GtxeRVGiDoTPlciZrtmCyCcc1REf9yBDfHhI9kDKvSDVXrFOWcFmDItaqeBvbsZn0o9SWEOAz3G7igAbWUc6t5ba1p-jkCjMlbg6WTonL5VG51QHgtUUxC3/s1600/DSC01310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSSmACV5Iwwh5fy8Xek-81GtxeRVGiDoTPlciZrtmCyCcc1REf9yBDfHhI9kDKvSDVXrFOWcFmDItaqeBvbsZn0o9SWEOAz3G7igAbWUc6t5ba1p-jkCjMlbg6WTonL5VG51QHgtUUxC3/s400/DSC01310.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669116429267797106" /></a><br /><br />But after assessing the situation and making sure that she was not<br />a.)Dead<br />b.)A zombie<br />JJ and I decided that it was pretty funny. So we started posing with her. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmD8EWvO_vgX2Q8LV69fWT0aF2sKelSLP3l9x-3Nh4_6bTn7MN3JmZsyxw9y4hVbhq0yvlTAVcqF2WRow4zE_RuPn1cCHxfk_fs4ShfGa5h0EkN3AZTBCx5d3mU52KZe47RDizduvFwuPw/s1600/DSC01311.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmD8EWvO_vgX2Q8LV69fWT0aF2sKelSLP3l9x-3Nh4_6bTn7MN3JmZsyxw9y4hVbhq0yvlTAVcqF2WRow4zE_RuPn1cCHxfk_fs4ShfGa5h0EkN3AZTBCx5d3mU52KZe47RDizduvFwuPw/s400/DSC01311.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669116418741256034" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJos0nt8YSH2fRPkYejn0-KTOMaVACIHbtBZuAJm4yeOK9aJIqA3UQOAkF0I62Jfs2l1Qp3_xFukz9T2-4w-rDvOMWlJsuL34iqeFZNvsVzMMnhfty9WOz9lZVocd3SgSm1L4TgUap9q0P/s1600/DSC01314.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJos0nt8YSH2fRPkYejn0-KTOMaVACIHbtBZuAJm4yeOK9aJIqA3UQOAkF0I62Jfs2l1Qp3_xFukz9T2-4w-rDvOMWlJsuL34iqeFZNvsVzMMnhfty9WOz9lZVocd3SgSm1L4TgUap9q0P/s400/DSC01314.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669116409166976050" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Moa9BZ_gidGiQ2egSL_aXFiLPjzokWIGsgS36d_gljk-m_M5C5z293m1uRIrNZDBHGz8cW3yoGogYCswlVTX0OLvmf1nZItC9EAkN8sbWzL8EP6rT2b2sTvK4ZApeMnDkvoCyDpqsXHj/s1600/DSC01318.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Moa9BZ_gidGiQ2egSL_aXFiLPjzokWIGsgS36d_gljk-m_M5C5z293m1uRIrNZDBHGz8cW3yoGogYCswlVTX0OLvmf1nZItC9EAkN8sbWzL8EP6rT2b2sTvK4ZApeMnDkvoCyDpqsXHj/s400/DSC01318.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669117739679010674" /></a><br /><br />When she woke up she didn't think it was as funny as JJ and I did.Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-48648813478183591622011-10-23T20:33:00.004-06:002011-10-23T21:09:28.340-06:00My Mom Goes on a Mission!My Mom was called to serve in the Europe Area Office in Frankfurt, Germany. She will be serving for 18 months.<br /><br />Here we are in the Car pulling up to the MTC. Mom said that she wasn't nervous, but was very excited.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHneqZNlvk5z7S2gbDFkcezLjtplWijDq4duQIPm0lZPjgrXN8lUmu_8HzeaS8lnNJA6okZdEuNQUKDFKkl6TGwemUNcgAx1GmkgJvroRpVpjyfamdKAvThfKnCxaZBB6l5zbG76ifsDBu/s1600/DSC01281.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHneqZNlvk5z7S2gbDFkcezLjtplWijDq4duQIPm0lZPjgrXN8lUmu_8HzeaS8lnNJA6okZdEuNQUKDFKkl6TGwemUNcgAx1GmkgJvroRpVpjyfamdKAvThfKnCxaZBB6l5zbG76ifsDBu/s400/DSC01281.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666884650614242322" /></a><br /><br /><br />I like it that they make the young Elders unload all the bags for the senior missionaries.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dltvBWJvjnv8lSuqDiHMsoKMnS7a_dcUN5N9SUykIjFOPD5ljCGIAEr8s0YIrjk-Psl9sm8LrIVXL25udLfecX6lffzoFQ0sg4vIoVnnu2KgW-DDMfm2K2xiH41zMw4p8snmh1pkUMbs/s1600/DSC01283.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dltvBWJvjnv8lSuqDiHMsoKMnS7a_dcUN5N9SUykIjFOPD5ljCGIAEr8s0YIrjk-Psl9sm8LrIVXL25udLfecX6lffzoFQ0sg4vIoVnnu2KgW-DDMfm2K2xiH41zMw4p8snmh1pkUMbs/s400/DSC01283.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666884128670177138" /></a><br /><br />Here's my Mom in her little dorm room at the MTC. Ten years ago she dropped me off in a similar room at Utah State! <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggF9txtRINPtbURhUnFozQ26WQb9xFBpmowaTibZBHlxjyUzlBsk0J-rXWz7bEqpjcYPTfrDfiXGQDP6AJLVCTukAAoyeeYliKtxRcMN6hn7J9C3V9zZIhgF5HZgDbec20-AA2QReHWYNG/s1600/DSC01286.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggF9txtRINPtbURhUnFozQ26WQb9xFBpmowaTibZBHlxjyUzlBsk0J-rXWz7bEqpjcYPTfrDfiXGQDP6AJLVCTukAAoyeeYliKtxRcMN6hn7J9C3V9zZIhgF5HZgDbec20-AA2QReHWYNG/s400/DSC01286.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666884123236984930" /></a><br /><br />Kissing McKenna goodbye. Sad!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKAu6Uf3m3M7_HLCKgzffuTBLMBFQD-9crquUzbZRxYwRSJ6bvwR-hb08pfbWzn5MdStzC1d5NCp64I4m-uppQHxk4jpuyRo9g85R_I6fJKixLXIFI-RIycKmFTqm17smekMaXNcNqPdE/s1600/DSC01289.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKAu6Uf3m3M7_HLCKgzffuTBLMBFQD-9crquUzbZRxYwRSJ6bvwR-hb08pfbWzn5MdStzC1d5NCp64I4m-uppQHxk4jpuyRo9g85R_I6fJKixLXIFI-RIycKmFTqm17smekMaXNcNqPdE/s400/DSC01289.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666884115446820978" /></a><br /><br />Wesley's turn! *sniff, sniff* He won't remember her at all, I'm sure!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjLo9YRA4GniV3jBWlGwjfQVUGjOhRxAxmfzKWKOn8svWy_Vnv7qMJwUvM9YylV3W0kTi0TCDIKRBDiOWx0Z68VyFnquvpKNMCAVCGeupV-keGbc5yUgjwFSz0Ivy5Wem7yKVzJdOzkro/s1600/DSC01290.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjLo9YRA4GniV3jBWlGwjfQVUGjOhRxAxmfzKWKOn8svWy_Vnv7qMJwUvM9YylV3W0kTi0TCDIKRBDiOWx0Z68VyFnquvpKNMCAVCGeupV-keGbc5yUgjwFSz0Ivy5Wem7yKVzJdOzkro/s400/DSC01290.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666884106505585762" /></a><br /><br />One last photo before Mom goes in. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4_z-5xDTznpvvDXX0UmASu1hhsE8_Q3W13p36edyocCXN_gvJe6bFSWzar38rv0kls16Dx_qRaXfGhVDD2-I-l6_SmXHMWLy3P8rd2kZoqX8yJTnmKKubO9Q1WP9wNV3c4wB3C-Rjrh_/s1600/DSC01293.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4_z-5xDTznpvvDXX0UmASu1hhsE8_Q3W13p36edyocCXN_gvJe6bFSWzar38rv0kls16Dx_qRaXfGhVDD2-I-l6_SmXHMWLy3P8rd2kZoqX8yJTnmKKubO9Q1WP9wNV3c4wB3C-Rjrh_/s400/DSC01293.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666888944222254498" /></a><br /><br />It was exciting, but also really sad! We had an emotional goodbye and she was off to her new adventure....And then the next weekend I broke her out of there and we went to the Mall and out to lunch just like old times. :) Now she has been in Germany for a week. I miss her, but I love it that we can talk on the phone. Just yesterday we talked for half an hour! <br /><br />Good luck on your mission, Mom!Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-92158826778466228672011-03-01T20:39:00.003-07:002011-03-01T21:03:59.011-07:00Today when I was nursing Wesley at the Children's Museum he bit me. Hard. This is the third time he's done it. When this happens my policy is to yell a lot. And it just happens that yelling is pretty much a knee-jerk reaction to being bit on one of your pink places, so it's a good thing that it's my policy. Unfortunately for me, people generally tend to frown upon adults yelling at little babies. So I just cringed and held it in. Because I was in a public place, I wasn't able to fully assess the damage, but I did see blood. This is so painful I was blinking back tears all the way home. <br /><br />Right now I am grateful for the fact that Wesley only has 2 bottom teeth. Things surely would have been much worse if he had top ones too. If you are one of the moms who feels bad that you weren't able to nurse your babies, just remember this little story. I truly believe that there are just as many cons to nursing as there are pros.<br /><br />Now whenever I go to feed Wesley, this is all I can think about: <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3hd1yhvJHOCXc_N74OQ09CilyO-BYRsg7jEnnOxxMHZUOT-a_L3o8utG2tRhG2U_uokgVglDM9J7WJtFVpfqfedCZynoG4X3SfU9Az-gF__ZkgImXLgefSAsZeTyhU7aqmnJXKiU-aeP/s1600/piranha-normal.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3hd1yhvJHOCXc_N74OQ09CilyO-BYRsg7jEnnOxxMHZUOT-a_L3o8utG2tRhG2U_uokgVglDM9J7WJtFVpfqfedCZynoG4X3SfU9Az-gF__ZkgImXLgefSAsZeTyhU7aqmnJXKiU-aeP/s400/piranha-normal.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579327652755580690" /></a>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-8606740629692861412010-08-12T14:40:00.006-06:002010-08-12T16:00:06.712-06:00Sweet Baby WesleyWesley Cone was born on June 23rd. <br /><br />5 lbs 13 oz<br />18.5 inches<br />LONG dark eyelashes<br /><br />This was BY FAR my easiest delivery and recovery. I had the best labor/delivery nurse named Libby. When she came into the room she told me that pain was optional and that I could have what they call the 'Princess Cruise.' This is where you have your epidural placed right when they start the pitocin, so you are pretty much numb when labor starts. Sounds good to me!<br /><br />I got to the hospital at 10:00 am. By 11:00 I had all of my IV's, the pitocin was started, my water was broken, and my epidural was in and working like a charm. <br />The nurse checked me at 4:00pm and I was fully dialated. My doctor came in and about 3 pushes later Wesley was born at 4:10pm. <br /><br />Everyone was quoting the movie, The Princess Bride, because of the name Wesley. Actually, the character in the movie is named Westley with a T, I believe. That's ok, it was still pretty funny. <br /><br />Dr. Terry: Ok, Marianne give me a big push. <br />Me: As you wish!*<br />Nurse: I'm not a witch, I'm your wife!<br />Other nurse: My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.<br /><br />*Ok, I wasn't actually witty enough to say that. I had other things on my mind at that particular moment. (Like, I hope I don't die, I hope the baby is ok, and I hope James isn't inadvertantly taping my crotch with the camcorder.) But I DID think of it later...<br /><br />Don't let the smile fool you- I was truly terrified as I was waiting to be induced<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0ZFRn_jePs1JI25r1Ca1eQAaIf_UZkqDhNyUk0N_6YI6VP583ZeyZfzXX7v1RRnxX-TGz8Tg5q0_iIx4J2EaprGiaS9B77M3QHT3-IbsaM9cbvQhq7XAfiASUaKky-QAhWGDr3dk6ifX/s1600/100_0131.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0ZFRn_jePs1JI25r1Ca1eQAaIf_UZkqDhNyUk0N_6YI6VP583ZeyZfzXX7v1RRnxX-TGz8Tg5q0_iIx4J2EaprGiaS9B77M3QHT3-IbsaM9cbvQhq7XAfiASUaKky-QAhWGDr3dk6ifX/s400/100_0131.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504637599959023698" /></a><br /><br />My sweet boy<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkRIuKwkW_wWNSGOLyLVzTdqVXsNtedYM9oox5hrO1KsDpr2Z26Xx_2RzRUgJ-MsDO0vTy43Q9XOGCZKjIscoj_ibjwlustPaIhWemcxXAOeUnipAkv9thvH6IDhTGG2JCR1rh5KtGC5u/s1600/100_0135.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkRIuKwkW_wWNSGOLyLVzTdqVXsNtedYM9oox5hrO1KsDpr2Z26Xx_2RzRUgJ-MsDO0vTy43Q9XOGCZKjIscoj_ibjwlustPaIhWemcxXAOeUnipAkv9thvH6IDhTGG2JCR1rh5KtGC5u/s400/100_0135.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504632757001047698" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4KaJClojqYacmkMauC8CCP2jLBH0yRgWLZKC8KHGSDN9oMCqpaAnSJrOsOKKdNB9yresvFg0eiKG5k-1j-fEkvsdbnIueQPGrbQNpfyORddNQbqX1Bh8WfioVeNCv5GTGL1qr8yOyeem/s1600/100_0160.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4KaJClojqYacmkMauC8CCP2jLBH0yRgWLZKC8KHGSDN9oMCqpaAnSJrOsOKKdNB9yresvFg0eiKG5k-1j-fEkvsdbnIueQPGrbQNpfyORddNQbqX1Bh8WfioVeNCv5GTGL1qr8yOyeem/s400/100_0160.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504632762847987554" /></a><br /><br />So Tiny<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkt6jpN86igb6eCsYGIF4lmtL1xMQXbuP9JVegqOc7Nctk3KQrkq0fTfIBuSLZ-EZO_D_GLgH-svAN7sjAKbBdXADJ1NYRcmf3RwfDy7Pa-yOhmL9kwPOuEud7X48IdbWhO6DGQj_bFwp/s1600/100_0178.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkt6jpN86igb6eCsYGIF4lmtL1xMQXbuP9JVegqOc7Nctk3KQrkq0fTfIBuSLZ-EZO_D_GLgH-svAN7sjAKbBdXADJ1NYRcmf3RwfDy7Pa-yOhmL9kwPOuEud7X48IdbWhO6DGQj_bFwp/s400/100_0178.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504632769807099570" /></a><br /><br />All Ready to Go Home<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3DOLK1hNxp1Vw51CgkU3nAm8-t1Mq26y7xyjZplppooVr44XmGo5z1SUTJ7woD7rQoCvbL4xy_ld63HnVUgTiPI-XXqoCJ-YiRNN0fgkrhNHHWks_UtncKF8hFAENUyyPs8JFw9sbjDr/s1600/100_0195.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3DOLK1hNxp1Vw51CgkU3nAm8-t1Mq26y7xyjZplppooVr44XmGo5z1SUTJ7woD7rQoCvbL4xy_ld63HnVUgTiPI-XXqoCJ-YiRNN0fgkrhNHHWks_UtncKF8hFAENUyyPs8JFw9sbjDr/s400/100_0195.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504632778671471122" /></a><br /><br />Now it's almost 2 months later. And I think things are going as well as could be expected. My biggest problem is feeling like I don't have enough time to enjoy Wesley and give him the attention he needs and deserves. I feel so bad when he is crying and I'm scrambling to get everyone out the door, or dinner made, or whatever and I can't help him right then. My time is stretched so thin. I want to just climb in bed with him and snuggle all day. But I guess that is how it goes for the third baby in a family. I still feel so guilty about it though. <br /><br />Wesley is adorable and is starting to smile and coo at me. That is the best reward for all the work that a new mom does. It's how the baby says, 'Thanks Mom, I love you!'<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-b1etTki9xYDXdXaXvHsu_DNRx63zbVTfC_jKD512ECwa8_QTRPZBFJMk639fdyk8m08iKhXTaCUp3g5Mz89dqQa19XHaEzFaz7bJRr18F1DNRSUkt7TF3_p_k3b8QJG3fkNemXvNcmE/s1600/IMG_6131_rt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-b1etTki9xYDXdXaXvHsu_DNRx63zbVTfC_jKD512ECwa8_QTRPZBFJMk639fdyk8m08iKhXTaCUp3g5Mz89dqQa19XHaEzFaz7bJRr18F1DNRSUkt7TF3_p_k3b8QJG3fkNemXvNcmE/s400/IMG_6131_rt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504644096121428866" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSn0LP8XIMB2vJwG0pWzV88tEIpwGnhuOm8-OM5TjrSYM5zVq6iIGrqYzsSN74fsAQaC9rrKMTDjaPXI-aGHhoISnTR_kLSqoywWRmv7p5Td6QyC7zr9iPMcHYb2XmUeuWbYMbHCJDSeHg/s1600/IMG_6111_rt+vintage.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSn0LP8XIMB2vJwG0pWzV88tEIpwGnhuOm8-OM5TjrSYM5zVq6iIGrqYzsSN74fsAQaC9rrKMTDjaPXI-aGHhoISnTR_kLSqoywWRmv7p5Td6QyC7zr9iPMcHYb2XmUeuWbYMbHCJDSeHg/s400/IMG_6111_rt+vintage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504644080646384002" /></a><br />(Photos by Dana Willis)Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-85790030635237936262010-06-09T14:59:00.002-06:002010-06-09T15:41:50.910-06:00JJ's Joyschool GraduationJJ had his preschool graduation a couple of weeks ago. It was such a cute party for a cute group of kids. This was the perfect thing for JJ this year and I'm so glad we did it! Thanks to Emily for putting the graduation together- we loved it!<br /><br />All the Graduates<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkkLBOYfKgr9fPwGAVSAfrxR4Ez91KoLrIuXcluJx-LcqAwYZjDWA8a7nP1tpf6mE_NOO-QmhyMhgy5p1nkMYfmJnwn52nxk4JgbhJ-jyBCGJpoSxidRIFe2XKXNIlFfP1IED7Oy3neUM/s1600/100_0058.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkkLBOYfKgr9fPwGAVSAfrxR4Ez91KoLrIuXcluJx-LcqAwYZjDWA8a7nP1tpf6mE_NOO-QmhyMhgy5p1nkMYfmJnwn52nxk4JgbhJ-jyBCGJpoSxidRIFe2XKXNIlFfP1IED7Oy3neUM/s400/100_0058.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480889939559759634" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cs7rVyg-wavN1ANO0MADGryoRYHOtHSDfb20w0mzubuLAoruv-4xaSWftYLAKC18Im91CU7eAEkECxP5wGf9FC2xbxA5Hfw6KleFdMkjMObW6gdaM1wt_8Fcg-nBQXlAxY6D8hvEXdsj/s1600/100_0057.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cs7rVyg-wavN1ANO0MADGryoRYHOtHSDfb20w0mzubuLAoruv-4xaSWftYLAKC18Im91CU7eAEkECxP5wGf9FC2xbxA5Hfw6KleFdMkjMObW6gdaM1wt_8Fcg-nBQXlAxY6D8hvEXdsj/s400/100_0057.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480889932005409794" /></a><br /><br />Me presenting JJ with his diploma<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GoEXe2C9GVLRdlKolo-Xt1bXRNl2pHWEJB0qIAEBv2IUqA1HXjRAi4yG83nZctJdPLrCIc85qK7Brj9-vviZecVRmoyfZRAFbENFVhCW6gFzSfuZ7M6DpSiUZdkKr1mQXRUnCmmVQEif/s1600/100_0064.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GoEXe2C9GVLRdlKolo-Xt1bXRNl2pHWEJB0qIAEBv2IUqA1HXjRAi4yG83nZctJdPLrCIc85qK7Brj9-vviZecVRmoyfZRAFbENFVhCW6gFzSfuZ7M6DpSiUZdkKr1mQXRUnCmmVQEif/s400/100_0064.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480889953940741554" /></a><br /><br />Cute little friends!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaFswAlaGpHa6yjIeZCK10ils8qrz2Iq5-GwmZNzLSpyBUthRnoHCUaw4YGXY3nG-aFjtRN4YJhClEB34eHZ8LPf4ugEqeUW4y8uZ6BdgAIDPscNpRacX6NPUSV1WvTErtIpvCNaa-JOD/s1600/100_0054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaFswAlaGpHa6yjIeZCK10ils8qrz2Iq5-GwmZNzLSpyBUthRnoHCUaw4YGXY3nG-aFjtRN4YJhClEB34eHZ8LPf4ugEqeUW4y8uZ6BdgAIDPscNpRacX6NPUSV1WvTErtIpvCNaa-JOD/s400/100_0054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480889914206139778" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUI8mxXxT1mo2EhjvzdEW4TS3Sxr-NJ5N5v1PfFUyaSOD9RuTZ2GRdGOrDEKpijCs9MAnnsEetoAjELhFKpyC-brW9Sm_NDF4XarPMS8Tg3w1VBZFgb02VeW1H4nKOy9RoWRehIwc3OZ-6/s1600/100_0052.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUI8mxXxT1mo2EhjvzdEW4TS3Sxr-NJ5N5v1PfFUyaSOD9RuTZ2GRdGOrDEKpijCs9MAnnsEetoAjELhFKpyC-brW9Sm_NDF4XarPMS8Tg3w1VBZFgb02VeW1H4nKOy9RoWRehIwc3OZ-6/s400/100_0052.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480889901785424178" /></a><br /><br />I will miss having these kids in my home. It was a lot of work, and was exhausting at times, but I love each of them and hope they'll still come over to play every now and then!Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-8060592041567013822010-06-09T14:42:00.003-06:002010-06-09T14:59:10.016-06:00Feeling Better About ThingsI have had another non stress test since my last post and it went well too. The doctor assures me that he is probably being overly cautious by having them done. I am feeling so much more relieved. At my visit on Monday he really made it sound like he sees no reason why I would be induced before the 23rd. So that is the plan for now. I have one more non stress test and two more doctor's visits before I will be induced. <br /><br />Thank you so much for all of the nice comments and offers to help. I am so lucky to have such good family and friends to help me out! I am feeling really good and have even deep cleaned 2 of the rooms in my house. Hooray! <br /><br />During the year that McKenna was about 12 to 24 months, she was in the 4th percentile for height and weight that whole year- but her head was in the 85th. (Like an orange on a toothpick!) So I am reminding myself that even babies who don't measure up the way they are 'supposed' to can still be perfectly healthy, and adorable to boot! So that is what I'm hoping for here. <br /><br />Anyway, things are looking up!Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-50831543294469102252010-06-04T21:14:00.003-06:002010-06-04T21:28:50.896-06:00Pregnancy UpdateThings with this pregnancy have become a little crazy lately. I have been really lucky in that I have never had problems with high blood pressure, or really any of the complications that can pop up during pregnancy before now. <br /><br />But lately, the baby isn’t growing at the rate he should be. I was right on track until somewhere around 30 weeks, at which point my stomach stopped growing at the correct rate. As of right now, I’m 37 weeks but am measuring 33 weeks- a month off. At first the doctor and I figured that I just ‘hide’ a pregnancy well. This is actually true- I never got REALLY big with JJ or McKenna, and they were both about 7lbs when they were born. But as the growth has continued to slow, the doctor is taking more precautions. <br /><br />I had an ultrasound last week that showed that the baby has a good sized head but that his abdomen and femur are measuring about 32 weeks. The estimate of his weight from that ultrasound was 5lbs 10oz, but because the head is bigger that estimate could be off quite a bit. Plus, ultrasounds become less and less reliable as the baby gets bigger anyway.<br /><br />So now I am having weekly non stress tests too. If anything looks funny on one of these, they will just induce labor right away. I am full term, so I guess this isn’t really that big of a deal. My first non stress test was yesterday. I was so worried that something was going to go wrong that I was in a panic trying to scramble to do last minute laundry, packing my hospital bag, getting the house cleaned up, etc. But luckily the test went just fine and I wasn’t induced.<br /><br />First, they measure how much amniotic fluid there is via ultrasound. The number needs to be between a 10 and a 26. The first time she got a 9.6 and since it was so close to 10 she decided to try it again. The second time she found a bigger pocket of fluid which bumped the number up to 10.5 so that was ok. <br /><br />Next, they put a fetal monitor on you to measure the baby’s heart rate for 20 minutes. The rate needs to go up at least twice within the 20 minutes for you to pass. As that was probably the first time I had sat down all day, the baby was very active during the test and his heart rate went up 5 or 6 times. So he did really well on that. <br /><br />I am supposed to do kick counts every day too. (Actually a good idea for all pregnant women.) But I just laughed as she explained that I needed to feel 10 movements within an hour- I probably had 10 movements in the time it took her to tell me that! That is the one thing that is very reassuring- this baby is VERY active. He keeps me up all night and it seems like he is constantly moving. So that is good. <br /><br />My next test and Dr.’s appt is on Monday which is also James’ birthday. I am still worried about the baby’s size, but there just isn’t anything I can do about it, so I’m trying to keep my mind on other things for now.<br /><br />When I had JJ we had just moved into our apartment 4 days before. I spent those 4 days sleeping (moving is SO exhausting, let alone when you do it at 40 weeks gestation) and getting the nursery put together. When we brought him home I didn’t know where ANYTHING was. It was a bad recovery, and I had such an awful time because I couldn’t find anything. I remember one day I really wanted to make some pasta but I couldn’t find my pots or pans yet. I was crawling around on the floor opening and moving boxes all around in my search. All the while completely exhausted, in pain, and with a jaundiced baby whom I didn’t really know how to take care of yet. It was really bad.<br /><br />So now I have this totally irrational impulse to have EVERYTHING in its place, cleaned, organized, folded, prepared, in good repair, and ready for when I go to the hospital. Yeah, that’s not really feasible with a 2 and 4 year old in the house, but I still have to try! Apparently my logical inner self doesn’t yell as loud as my neurotic one does. The world will not end if I go to the hospital without having mopped the floor first!<br /><br />Anyway, here is a recent (blurry) picture of what I look like. We’re still trying to figure out how to get our new camera to focus. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvmGMEns_upj3BrX9Ly83t5c_wGmEyyGbQzbHsigvts63neUKIDIQI0nWvjLgPJWuweeh8Sbst7qj2QeKuO3M4HCeG-KdzIeYbzAu0FDQ0cu_ih1gBlE3NHiOfP-0gT7S8Xn44mxs-GTq/s1600/100_0044.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvmGMEns_upj3BrX9Ly83t5c_wGmEyyGbQzbHsigvts63neUKIDIQI0nWvjLgPJWuweeh8Sbst7qj2QeKuO3M4HCeG-KdzIeYbzAu0FDQ0cu_ih1gBlE3NHiOfP-0gT7S8Xn44mxs-GTq/s400/100_0044.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479125669299602242" /></a>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-16320169556224855242010-04-06T10:37:00.003-06:002010-04-06T12:54:42.775-06:00As RequestedI thought I'd post a little bit about this pregnancy, and show you what I look like at 7 months. A couple of weeks ago at enrichment, someone told me that I still don't look pregnant. I get this a lot- especially when I have on a coat or jacket. I'm never sure how to take these comments because...really?? Do I really look like this when I'm not pregnant??? <br /><br />In these pictures I'm wearing a tighter shirt so it should be obvious!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIbIkDKQyk0l_TnvaCEEI6P_CnjeuyEcql-9ePy0dt8lYeLV5s8C7mUHg2ENG3I2IRjZ6tVTKszdOLG2FD9Nf8UzxjZpCtj6VOnEXMyEbR0b8x09fWN1MDBLTPMw8Wmdf2ifY4ru-CU_0/s1600/100_2670.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIbIkDKQyk0l_TnvaCEEI6P_CnjeuyEcql-9ePy0dt8lYeLV5s8C7mUHg2ENG3I2IRjZ6tVTKszdOLG2FD9Nf8UzxjZpCtj6VOnEXMyEbR0b8x09fWN1MDBLTPMw8Wmdf2ifY4ru-CU_0/s400/100_2670.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457065914217311922" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BOMGyrV19mdw22VLN0XMm09Ccp0okBNbD1uxCQEWdvfpucgAGSyEQM-stsVEvT76PJUeKjw9YMCUf57gbeAspn3s0jo2JPdepyVnJ8giGrSxiLT6o-A0IpcKKJszgL0p8ixZU5pW6-w6/s1600/100_2674.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BOMGyrV19mdw22VLN0XMm09Ccp0okBNbD1uxCQEWdvfpucgAGSyEQM-stsVEvT76PJUeKjw9YMCUf57gbeAspn3s0jo2JPdepyVnJ8giGrSxiLT6o-A0IpcKKJszgL0p8ixZU5pW6-w6/s400/100_2674.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457065907847325026" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-F52cUkd6aAouu5hihUi7GP78H4LcNQ-1WZveeArvWxZG2ULIbzE7WPnFA7StN9mlYPWRvnWTMEVBJmZ2GToWjX1kZUfFgMluerAQzeik5C7_okFgHAV2hFS6Ggu5eIHpOONMGUjkVWTc/s1600/100_2655.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-F52cUkd6aAouu5hihUi7GP78H4LcNQ-1WZveeArvWxZG2ULIbzE7WPnFA7StN9mlYPWRvnWTMEVBJmZ2GToWjX1kZUfFgMluerAQzeik5C7_okFgHAV2hFS6Ggu5eIHpOONMGUjkVWTc/s400/100_2655.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457065897904752546" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4SGcThgawM394zP_YzOVtQy3pfSnNbQSPYa-KtlQQpEBe49ej5HNhb98zcoPJMDrn0EL-2coHugLfVpNbqR0erhyphenhyphenPhoSCrVIgGGtNeuU6ZZsk9PGUx-vlFMmO6VHofFBVoFzx-TE4FFA/s1600/100_2662.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4SGcThgawM394zP_YzOVtQy3pfSnNbQSPYa-KtlQQpEBe49ej5HNhb98zcoPJMDrn0EL-2coHugLfVpNbqR0erhyphenhyphenPhoSCrVIgGGtNeuU6ZZsk9PGUx-vlFMmO6VHofFBVoFzx-TE4FFA/s400/100_2662.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457065887385324674" /></a><br /> <br />And yes, this baby is a BOY! We are so excited! I can never remember what I've said on Facebook and what I've said on the blog but it isn't a secret. I have been going through all of JJ's tiny little baby clothes and can't wait to use them again. There is nothing better than a new little baby. I think it is my favorite phase and it goes away so quickly. I know that this baby will eventually be getting into everything, throwing tantrums, and running all over the place- they all do! This just makes me enjoy the tiny baby days even more- even with all the sleepless nights. It is just a sweet, special time. <br /><br />We have a name picked out, but James likes to keep it a secret until the baby is born. <br /><br />We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We stayed home all day and watched conference, had a lot of good food, let the kids eat WAY too much Easter candy, did puzzles, and just enjoyed being together. I don't remember the last time the four of us were all home for the whole day together. I'm feeling a lot better about things. Sometimes you just need a day off! 10 more days to go!!!<br /><br />I hope that everything is going well for all of my friends and family in the blogosphere!Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-39219283688517170532010-04-03T09:54:00.002-06:002010-04-03T11:06:13.385-06:00An UpdateI have neglected my blog for a long time! So I thought I'd give an update. <br /><br />Marianne: <br /><br />Lately I've been incredibly stressed out about having enough time for all of the obligations and projects that I am in the middle of. I am scanning and organizing all of the Brown family photos clear back from 1970, I've been called as the 2nd counselor in the primary presidency, and then there's always the bills, cooking, cleaning, teaching JJ's joy school, etc. It just never ends. There are so many things that I can only do once the kids are in bed which leaves me with very little free time. James is almost never able to help me with anything at home or with the kids because of tax season. And once tax season is over, I'll be probably be nesting like a maniac and then I'll have a new little baby to take care of. I have missed going to the ward book group, I feel guilty that I can't attend all the meetings that I'm supposed to for my calling, and I feel just plain isolated. When your husband is a tax accountant, that is just a part of your life and you have to get used to doing everything by yourself. I know that I am lucky to have a husband who has a good job that he generally enjoys doing. And I know that there are women who really are single moms- That has got to be the hardest job ever. So I know that I really don't have it that bad. I'm trying to remember that at this time of year.<br /><br />I spent most of this last week in St. George visiting my Dad and Jane. For three nights in a row I didn't have to make dinner which pretty much qualifies as the best vacation ever! My Dad went shopping with me at the outlets and helped to wrangle the kids so that I could shop, and the next day Jane watched them for a couple hours so that I could get out for a while on my own. It was a MUCH needed break!<br /><br />My pregnancy is going well and I'm generally feeling great. Of course there is always the heartburn, tired feet, inability to bend over, etc. But as soon as I feel a little knobby elbow or knee moving across my stomach, or feel those tiny hiccoughs, I am reminded of what a miracle pregnancy is. I never want to take it for granted. I know how lucky I am and wish that every woman could have this experience.<br /><br />James: <br /><br />James has been working 12 hour days and is seriously burned out. When he comes home from work he changes, eats, and then studies for the CPA exam. He is such a hard worker and I love him so much for this. He is a wonderful provider for our family. We're all looking forward to April 15th, but once it comes he has warned me that he will still be staying late and going in on Saturdays to study. He will take the last section of the CPA exam in May and then will go out of town on an audit for a week three days later. We hope that things will calm down in June so that we can get ready for the arrival of our baby.<br /><br />JJ:<br /><br />JJ has gotten over a bad illness from a couple of weeks ago and had a great time in St. George. He got to play outside in the nice weather, make fires with grandpa, play with toys, catch ants in the driveway, blow bubbles, flew airplanes with grandpa, make forts with grandma, and eat LOTS of junk food! A four year old's dream come true! As we came home and pulled into the garage, he asked if we could go back to grandpa's house. He is a cute boy, and we love him. (And he has just informed me that conference makes him feel boring- we'll get out the play doh.)<br /><br />He is growing and maturing and getting better at so many things. I am so happy to say that we no longer need to buy pull-ups for him. I was totally planning on buying three sets of diapers this June, but am thrilled that this won't be the case.(Although I'm still holding on to a bit of cautious disbelief.) He has done a lot of hard work, and I'm proud of him.<br /><br />McKenna: <br /><br />McKenna is also feeling better from her ear infection/cough/fever thing from a couple weeks ago. And she also had a great time in St. George. She loved running outside by herself and sitting on the patio furniture and running across the rocks in the backyard. She always wants to be independent and do her own thing, and since we could see her from the windows, we let her go in and out all she wanted. She was in heaven!<br /><br />She is talking more and more, and we are having a fun time trying to figure out what she is saying, and repeating her mispronunciations. It is just a really cute age. We have found that when she is around men (except for daddy) she becomes totally mute. In nursery she doesn't say anything. Ever. This is so funny, because at home she talks a blue streak. <br /><br />I hope to update more often, but won't make any promises!Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-6773367863573048042010-01-22T15:33:00.004-07:002010-01-22T16:04:13.663-07:00McKenna's BirthdayWe celebrated McKenna's 2nd birthday earlier this month!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUcl5mDziGMLGBPZ-y5F9sSER6o2yIdGZknf97xLZC20uFODFc2dDs19relh4gU5FLk8sEARbz6-txdL6Fc5G6vicRoVsEyUHZmP3eBkRW-8h-jZ1NUUU2IRT7oyvBh3AHFwxPE83Vtkb/s1600-h/100_2562.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUcl5mDziGMLGBPZ-y5F9sSER6o2yIdGZknf97xLZC20uFODFc2dDs19relh4gU5FLk8sEARbz6-txdL6Fc5G6vicRoVsEyUHZmP3eBkRW-8h-jZ1NUUU2IRT7oyvBh3AHFwxPE83Vtkb/s400/100_2562.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429697138305163906" /></a><br />We indulged her balloon obsession. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGWjPr7sqtG7dNGm4TQ-cenOndcZ2JRx3p9rsx-I0DQ7XujDZqs9qlkKtROeq0VZEXCE89wtsMJRykojEg-vDfrnobPD-VzqwFfjlUsf6nFg_V9tjWb1erWN3ioYBDehrwdsawIfBNnGl/s1600-h/100_2565.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGWjPr7sqtG7dNGm4TQ-cenOndcZ2JRx3p9rsx-I0DQ7XujDZqs9qlkKtROeq0VZEXCE89wtsMJRykojEg-vDfrnobPD-VzqwFfjlUsf6nFg_V9tjWb1erWN3ioYBDehrwdsawIfBNnGl/s400/100_2565.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429698597000934210" /></a><br /><br />The butterfly cake was a great success thanks to the advice I got from James' Mom: Freeze the cake just before frosting it and it won't crumble. Thanks, Ma!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL75iBW7IEjOeNlomKci-f6VjY7R9DVZw2AZ28y0Vdyj_gsEfCLZvMrmuQKb6rMm8q3b-qmwl7Vw41wknXWHDw7H9hTVFL2a763FP3eabvJwuQOIauGvDUX9TTvRVf6I5EjboWriSXjY5I/s1600-h/100_2568.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL75iBW7IEjOeNlomKci-f6VjY7R9DVZw2AZ28y0Vdyj_gsEfCLZvMrmuQKb6rMm8q3b-qmwl7Vw41wknXWHDw7H9hTVFL2a763FP3eabvJwuQOIauGvDUX9TTvRVf6I5EjboWriSXjY5I/s400/100_2568.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429697150219162722" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyd3X39nsacddmjXBV_xYgq1jnu8rQaFZDZKPr8OQ2ThHDpniarLqtIeh2yTZcP1VpSb-8q-paF5JhxoGmyCkzXNL_fBmRnUgW5PlyIzD2ExObLhyphenhyphen6Ipq7hu10OtaQh4rtMdWFHiqy0Bx/s1600-h/100_2573.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJyd3X39nsacddmjXBV_xYgq1jnu8rQaFZDZKPr8OQ2ThHDpniarLqtIeh2yTZcP1VpSb-8q-paF5JhxoGmyCkzXNL_fBmRnUgW5PlyIzD2ExObLhyphenhyphen6Ipq7hu10OtaQh4rtMdWFHiqy0Bx/s400/100_2573.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429697155951734466" /></a><br /><br />Opening Presents.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOXiq_K1kD093McX8tzF_JDMzNpOiV5GsXAF3FtVYvuaDdbOqRGkM_ZmUF3pzAGnmNScTvTCiexSqI5yFfaNdl6gjR3JBnJ_7_JyxFykmriVtw2cpFzLnmaYDpYAIPvcpZPUcQby_K4ab/s1600-h/100_2578.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOXiq_K1kD093McX8tzF_JDMzNpOiV5GsXAF3FtVYvuaDdbOqRGkM_ZmUF3pzAGnmNScTvTCiexSqI5yFfaNdl6gjR3JBnJ_7_JyxFykmriVtw2cpFzLnmaYDpYAIPvcpZPUcQby_K4ab/s400/100_2578.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429698578356472130" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXYRJbhKZfrjf7ZL4gp0YqPHLb7KoROPVAZfh7s1cO_bxhwCVG6xbO0t5QKL36_NYMr_JsILEnaMgwJf0e6_P2GZgmnzLfQby63vaoHbi6nOwoM0FXaLoXqCsTs1YDCVSikTFKEGQEu-y/s1600-h/100_2576.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXYRJbhKZfrjf7ZL4gp0YqPHLb7KoROPVAZfh7s1cO_bxhwCVG6xbO0t5QKL36_NYMr_JsILEnaMgwJf0e6_P2GZgmnzLfQby63vaoHbi6nOwoM0FXaLoXqCsTs1YDCVSikTFKEGQEu-y/s400/100_2576.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429697165213604850" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJko67LMWIeUYa6gruMa1wsd4UmOJbMgTn5poCkOZgyYO6S3x9Q5klulrxCIW_zqw4LHOPfk2_aR7RMiRXW72Bqnx2W4Kj1fyZX5BcGOsbzrC6t0OEKRu15hE-uvispIMkcHMHi1CxVeJR/s1600-h/100_2582.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJko67LMWIeUYa6gruMa1wsd4UmOJbMgTn5poCkOZgyYO6S3x9Q5klulrxCIW_zqw4LHOPfk2_aR7RMiRXW72Bqnx2W4Kj1fyZX5BcGOsbzrC6t0OEKRu15hE-uvispIMkcHMHi1CxVeJR/s400/100_2582.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429698583609348658" /></a><br />McKenna got: Some Little Miss books, (Thanks, Nana and Grandpa!) a shopping cart, a see and say, the little mommy playset with a baby, and some play food.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONmSfrqPZr12wnhh0gZ7nzvBmfr9XSP-icnUmo1EKypXNtY7CXK8upDI0MXZ8oMmWRCRwOvPWMKXi11_Lxc9Sg6JfLpRmB7G7QO73lqecq1psU0ohHohyphenhyphennjXDIu4BWnVHABWsF6BPVbyj/s1600-h/100_2583.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONmSfrqPZr12wnhh0gZ7nzvBmfr9XSP-icnUmo1EKypXNtY7CXK8upDI0MXZ8oMmWRCRwOvPWMKXi11_Lxc9Sg6JfLpRmB7G7QO73lqecq1psU0ohHohyphenhyphennjXDIu4BWnVHABWsF6BPVbyj/s400/100_2583.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429698595472406754" /></a><br /><br /> <br />My Mom came over later in the week with some more presents! A piano with a microphone from Grandpa Brown and Grandma Jane, and a trike from my Mom. She loves them both!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5aii0T4eaktOYtzvZDn07Dv_Z48SPpaad6jVwPW_-FbYPUNn6-11xXG8y0veajD_Bxdbsxma5mo-cnr_6e27CQaphsAiqye3Q9GSmuNZzJ2oIdFs7EnuLseOBJ3f3pvmxCFELj9g0ZNON/s1600-h/100_2590.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5aii0T4eaktOYtzvZDn07Dv_Z48SPpaad6jVwPW_-FbYPUNn6-11xXG8y0veajD_Bxdbsxma5mo-cnr_6e27CQaphsAiqye3Q9GSmuNZzJ2oIdFs7EnuLseOBJ3f3pvmxCFELj9g0ZNON/s400/100_2590.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429698904441996498" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1_nc9v8slAVb_0gNk1f_prRWrF9biRGgpGC3pR-9DfH-k8ZAlQon57XKf1dWLo6aIyxKDuT15AC-Zn-7_yADgDFNk_J2cIv__gv3JimLeTX6VntTeKz-d24vRXJrJ30Zjruz2Tuy3BKs/s1600-h/100_2592.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE1_nc9v8slAVb_0gNk1f_prRWrF9biRGgpGC3pR-9DfH-k8ZAlQon57XKf1dWLo6aIyxKDuT15AC-Zn-7_yADgDFNk_J2cIv__gv3JimLeTX6VntTeKz-d24vRXJrJ30Zjruz2Tuy3BKs/s400/100_2592.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429698605420605394" /></a>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-13206365406298015172009-12-29T21:02:00.006-07:002009-12-29T21:40:27.037-07:00Christmas DayI feel like a really bad mom because as I sat down to start blogging about Christmas, I realized that there is not a single picture of JJ opening or playing with his presents on Christmas morning! :( We did get it all on video, though. Sorry, JJ! He did get lots of cool toys: a transformer, a bionicle, racetracks for his hot wheels, a couple board games like Hungry Hungry Hippos and Elefun. We had a great morning.<br /><br />Santa Came!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjku-S1dWX584LSvJdGoVThWYjlf1Zwggq_kbA92zpPYxLx88xRhv94uuW4kcCDzAgLrYkNRraC91Ic5Agr_CFBLeglZzGOr30NBDQThZPbtY1vrXB8s_5pZtzyNyG3A1hFhC5ypUvQMyBk/s1600-h/100_2508.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjku-S1dWX584LSvJdGoVThWYjlf1Zwggq_kbA92zpPYxLx88xRhv94uuW4kcCDzAgLrYkNRraC91Ic5Agr_CFBLeglZzGOr30NBDQThZPbtY1vrXB8s_5pZtzyNyG3A1hFhC5ypUvQMyBk/s400/100_2508.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420877545728100306" /></a><br />Here is JJ's bowling set that he got from Santa. As soon as the kids came downstairs, they immediately started fighting over it. And we were worried that JJ would feel bad that he didn't get a big playhouse like McKenna!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2Th_rOx3jsybMILv1lBXSmnVn3TeTVpFT0Knp_R_pdcn4cGmtnvW15Vfp2_khD52ehwazhF2g1ok009IVM4JjGqDVd8pdzhpdylupd_OSsDSCWycG-8V5oadS4vhrOQ1hOzPovjKvFY4/s1600-h/100_2507.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2Th_rOx3jsybMILv1lBXSmnVn3TeTVpFT0Knp_R_pdcn4cGmtnvW15Vfp2_khD52ehwazhF2g1ok009IVM4JjGqDVd8pdzhpdylupd_OSsDSCWycG-8V5oadS4vhrOQ1hOzPovjKvFY4/s400/100_2507.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420878684214485410" /></a><br /><br />The Rose Petal Cottage has been a big hit!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FffzyDXk0WVMoTjnuA4lzQ1pbLc9WmyGO24V4OULUxvnmNJ248-gx140laUyonvD6exEKyAqGLrYw-qVT6aD_tcfHWkNZuLmR2Wo0eyU4rTOZ_uftQJev14oY2zhlFFuu91B5zJBFSlP/s1600-h/100_2511.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FffzyDXk0WVMoTjnuA4lzQ1pbLc9WmyGO24V4OULUxvnmNJ248-gx140laUyonvD6exEKyAqGLrYw-qVT6aD_tcfHWkNZuLmR2Wo0eyU4rTOZ_uftQJev14oY2zhlFFuu91B5zJBFSlP/s400/100_2511.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420877555001664738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2i9aax1tbnXAIejtOvHB6W9yCUffc6tGVRCA6DAH9X7MqjcJPLKj0KJKe7LzDBZE4yZInDC2ERWnKElmqBDDp4SuwbJhkaRbKmPuqX9uDOANcqP3ANmkerSDMn3vdCNZLaGZFEwOXtT3/s1600-h/100_2516.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2i9aax1tbnXAIejtOvHB6W9yCUffc6tGVRCA6DAH9X7MqjcJPLKj0KJKe7LzDBZE4yZInDC2ERWnKElmqBDDp4SuwbJhkaRbKmPuqX9uDOANcqP3ANmkerSDMn3vdCNZLaGZFEwOXtT3/s400/100_2516.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420877567903960562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgmEvNbURVRWBT5ihDtz5Ar8YBSegm-pC1038z4Rl44gcXsUTCEpLXBuhqHp-9m1Ye5-3IBT4R3Vi7_FB4pxi-2l4XJkdmuFP9mrTejuFVRucgUWmnYz2HQEgW7ofi_xtZP0nm9GEmL9r/s1600-h/100_2515.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgmEvNbURVRWBT5ihDtz5Ar8YBSegm-pC1038z4Rl44gcXsUTCEpLXBuhqHp-9m1Ye5-3IBT4R3Vi7_FB4pxi-2l4XJkdmuFP9mrTejuFVRucgUWmnYz2HQEgW7ofi_xtZP0nm9GEmL9r/s400/100_2515.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420877559203758002" /></a><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-6116e3cea51d2f2e class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="6116e3cea51d2f2e"></OBJECT><br /><br />Santa even remembered Sparky<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotBbS-IEHuG2fft8A9ZOZmkS0DmUeeLSzS_lzQ8JhdH-iLWVsmxJTvFrEKNQcvEinuYZffpticgQFqeYm3U7DLldshyphenhyphenvyjqit3uANbhF_KUNsiMpatHPcrCKZZJG75T7qRes8brwVs_yf/s1600-h/100_2513.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotBbS-IEHuG2fft8A9ZOZmkS0DmUeeLSzS_lzQ8JhdH-iLWVsmxJTvFrEKNQcvEinuYZffpticgQFqeYm3U7DLldshyphenhyphenvyjqit3uANbhF_KUNsiMpatHPcrCKZZJG75T7qRes8brwVs_yf/s400/100_2513.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420877572206160498" /></a><br /><br /><br />We always go to my Mom's for lunch on Christmas Day. All of the cousins come too- it's a lot of fun!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACNE5iKKC7yY8uzUlETQJ5MluQtfbMPQbLExVrmcvz8i7C3XUHakWZHbdJHNri39lF2u-3VSFttKlbGJa2O-kWqsVFaYkMV_EMoTG8C84IEyo5wNv3zv9T6Rx5M0Skdar0sft5cmPUO3_/s1600-h/100_2523.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACNE5iKKC7yY8uzUlETQJ5MluQtfbMPQbLExVrmcvz8i7C3XUHakWZHbdJHNri39lF2u-3VSFttKlbGJa2O-kWqsVFaYkMV_EMoTG8C84IEyo5wNv3zv9T6Rx5M0Skdar0sft5cmPUO3_/s400/100_2523.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420879152320169794" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8U6hw5Rwty7v4d6Hw3xeKHWBlBWgh7Cbeu0o9UduldnayAG7UymqIDB_JB75Hkc5R3aXQzMtBYFYLYnAeLiaUeG3sqPq0oDzg4pxMTCkC541jab8ct0-cV1Zy0KsPhSsw2H2VQNPrF271/s1600-h/100_2525.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8U6hw5Rwty7v4d6Hw3xeKHWBlBWgh7Cbeu0o9UduldnayAG7UymqIDB_JB75Hkc5R3aXQzMtBYFYLYnAeLiaUeG3sqPq0oDzg4pxMTCkC541jab8ct0-cV1Zy0KsPhSsw2H2VQNPrF271/s400/100_2525.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420879146468685298" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsnd1WRFO-Wh5Kxhi_y9Zpt6aHtHqqhfCTbWefFJtW2Q5Fp8Gu4U3VVLTZsbPqm_uitT3vj2MKE2oTlTrisyY9eWDEBRAIcT-cTwlTlgmLVtMsGt6YJwefefOYV9aeHEgOMkZqYfwtW1Y/s1600-h/100_2524.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsnd1WRFO-Wh5Kxhi_y9Zpt6aHtHqqhfCTbWefFJtW2Q5Fp8Gu4U3VVLTZsbPqm_uitT3vj2MKE2oTlTrisyY9eWDEBRAIcT-cTwlTlgmLVtMsGt6YJwefefOYV9aeHEgOMkZqYfwtW1Y/s400/100_2524.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420878709172345266" /></a><br /><br />Moms on Christmas. We were worn out!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzult-aeDDh1wRtczR36deZoDeiKm4vVf6o4esazqW0nftu5e9JlgG5k7Aa8m6g0FRFIW0mv1ag6F8wwgboEh9-ztCcOsC-weuym-03sCl5yuVbsq_zzkSZ2meScatvcscw3yDuabJ9Na/s1600-h/100_2526.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzult-aeDDh1wRtczR36deZoDeiKm4vVf6o4esazqW0nftu5e9JlgG5k7Aa8m6g0FRFIW0mv1ag6F8wwgboEh9-ztCcOsC-weuym-03sCl5yuVbsq_zzkSZ2meScatvcscw3yDuabJ9Na/s400/100_2526.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420878708448251890" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_D_mqEqYWMMsgBO14i4OB51vdZnylOmL_NOKLyv5MasT6s_yohz3FFLouwtT_wfPUsnqRKUBNPdrgvzXqsW4HSMq0cDuLWAZ1_yObrMmDo4ac2qawaJtrS5VOh4sxyl4t1L0u1H82X3h/s1600-h/100_2518.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ_D_mqEqYWMMsgBO14i4OB51vdZnylOmL_NOKLyv5MasT6s_yohz3FFLouwtT_wfPUsnqRKUBNPdrgvzXqsW4HSMq0cDuLWAZ1_yObrMmDo4ac2qawaJtrS5VOh4sxyl4t1L0u1H82X3h/s400/100_2518.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420878698284855618" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpSqQteSCdL5arJVcFlNjvBbqoVSfS-7f4pyWmphAMG-_oH5u9aN6KBbAVzp5lAkPRfBuns_x3RZuF2QFTYrwZe-4NRgcKOa2KupT5TpSbWHpLCDsMmwD44u7ELCSD65BB-mVbfeq1oMV/s1600-h/100_2522.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpSqQteSCdL5arJVcFlNjvBbqoVSfS-7f4pyWmphAMG-_oH5u9aN6KBbAVzp5lAkPRfBuns_x3RZuF2QFTYrwZe-4NRgcKOa2KupT5TpSbWHpLCDsMmwD44u7ELCSD65BB-mVbfeq1oMV/s400/100_2522.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420878692389343666" /></a>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-79102780532482753742009-12-29T20:25:00.003-07:002009-12-29T20:58:11.340-07:00The Brown Family Christmas PartyOn the 26th we had our annual Brown Family Christmas Party!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaHIOPVeSaLbWz-h53fOZuEovVaXxdR4Do7ZBT1ZthBuB2gQjXSe05kd8IZCPIlQiFWsLiHLO36EyJfwdQFEK5KLa5daTkk7rlQmIe3ioDJJCC9FTPn97q7Th0eWCWFQcH20DFKk6731i/s1600-h/100_2534.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaHIOPVeSaLbWz-h53fOZuEovVaXxdR4Do7ZBT1ZthBuB2gQjXSe05kd8IZCPIlQiFWsLiHLO36EyJfwdQFEK5KLa5daTkk7rlQmIe3ioDJJCC9FTPn97q7Th0eWCWFQcH20DFKk6731i/s400/100_2534.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420871081653368946" /></a><br /><br /> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGqZrJK1SNUp0jeXHq44yujrTRJMkHHCToJqQFoEkW1eAfnGSuEYGY-FvGCvEsvD10lV6QH7mAwzy1MXFZkPqDqo0PGr9V97BI6Ww7IM0AO_FxIlrzkrA0aFvvEQZHM19U1ahwTaOpmx5/s1600-h/100_2528.JPG"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420867088439728018 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGqZrJK1SNUp0jeXHq44yujrTRJMkHHCToJqQFoEkW1eAfnGSuEYGY-FvGCvEsvD10lV6QH7mAwzy1MXFZkPqDqo0PGr9V97BI6Ww7IM0AO_FxIlrzkrA0aFvvEQZHM19U1ahwTaOpmx5/s400/100_2528.JPG"></A><br /><br />We gave my Dad a book of all of our family pictures from 1970 to 1979. <br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Zg4jXlIZaojkW_Os05FAg1b1DkPX9Myx4-AAHyzcpII5TYweAS1NHJrW7zffEa9N-UdoVU17-aQzsLm3NyoTdYFMX3Q3Sml2EwYK5lph0PiwtuMig2sVashVi3wMQnQmzz_ww3Hu23bd/s1600-h/100_2547.JPG"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420867116975489618 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Zg4jXlIZaojkW_Os05FAg1b1DkPX9Myx4-AAHyzcpII5TYweAS1NHJrW7zffEa9N-UdoVU17-aQzsLm3NyoTdYFMX3Q3Sml2EwYK5lph0PiwtuMig2sVashVi3wMQnQmzz_ww3Hu23bd/s400/100_2547.JPG"></A> <br /><br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8ZEOrmTiYr5Zq1wVsE_bVt5zAI_2dyDnIVoBnHgiIH9D4vXQ3f0bBr4jW5sxc5c2fP1yWtmXY0KmGOUgsgnYaBfGop4Sa5_mlOB-9UnIe23u9wpmFH815Y0CZIfp68ayY0mK3TBexd8W/s1600-h/100_2538.JPG"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420867108003453874 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8ZEOrmTiYr5Zq1wVsE_bVt5zAI_2dyDnIVoBnHgiIH9D4vXQ3f0bBr4jW5sxc5c2fP1yWtmXY0KmGOUgsgnYaBfGop4Sa5_mlOB-9UnIe23u9wpmFH815Y0CZIfp68ayY0mK3TBexd8W/s400/100_2538.JPG"></A> <br /><br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cC62MusW3gmH3uEVccmp4PoOLvVUl-LRSeQTyFJIzkBBJIjn5tb_AAHWSFE3yj7SvjWQMEnt1TGBfG3k76hV-v5w9Vnxe0fyiJmMXlUVkJOId_C8OTWG7Gna5fS_Eri4zANDHkZDYWt9/s1600-h/100_2536.JPG"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420867092820551810 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cC62MusW3gmH3uEVccmp4PoOLvVUl-LRSeQTyFJIzkBBJIjn5tb_AAHWSFE3yj7SvjWQMEnt1TGBfG3k76hV-v5w9Vnxe0fyiJmMXlUVkJOId_C8OTWG7Gna5fS_Eri4zANDHkZDYWt9/s400/100_2536.JPG"></A><br /><br />We sang Happy Birthday to JJ. He was really shy about it, but you could tell he really loved it too.<br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-a15e12f8cf78d1c9 class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="a15e12f8cf78d1c9"></OBJECT><br /><br />McKenna got an Elmo from Grandma and Grandpa Brown. He sings the ABC's which is perfect for her. She has been learning the alphabet and can recognize and pronounce most of the letters now.<br /><br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3pN5-Mipes3896BQI2GaAeez3WR87gi9ClAiOitrbESRp5BsHfr_ggJ250Eox7Otl6YnOmpZ4fDaVnih325srHukWTmobbYsyLy4HINp0muulzlcr-DJrgpXgHpa0naIUNYNC1GF4tZX/s1600-h/100_2541.JPG"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420867101274524722 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3pN5-Mipes3896BQI2GaAeez3WR87gi9ClAiOitrbESRp5BsHfr_ggJ250Eox7Otl6YnOmpZ4fDaVnih325srHukWTmobbYsyLy4HINp0muulzlcr-DJrgpXgHpa0naIUNYNC1GF4tZX/s400/100_2541.JPG"></A><br /><br />She calls the Elmo toy "Melmo." And she loves her Melmo. He has joined her entourage of 'gigi's- her blankie, bunnie, and chocolate milk are all gigi's too. <br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-2d5a98a16003f3ff class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="2d5a98a16003f3ff"></OBJECT>Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561151527829753411.post-56707797665733366882009-12-15T15:42:00.004-07:002009-12-15T16:16:53.794-07:00JJ Turns 4Happy Birthday to my big boy yesterday. He had a great time and kept saying, "This is the best birthday, EVER!" <br /><br />I like my sister's idea of not doing friend birthday parties until they are 5, so we didn't do one with his little friends this year. Honestly, that's one part of parenthood that I am dreading: friend birthday parties. Not my idea of a good time.<br /><br />Another thing that I'm not so excited about? Making cakes that are not in the shapes of squares or rectangles. Here is my first attempt at making something different. Frosting it was such an ordeal that I was about ready to throw the whole thing out the window. Luckily, James stepped in and finished it before I got to that point.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK81UcdnT-GNXOHGrSvlNF8MipE-qOEgOPxbjjdZNXprY0vQEMOWHu9UkKEAPg7BN2WnzUR4DHHSyOT5b-0xBCYTgyPTLpH0DSp_GZKw6ZVGQJRYY2uu376qLKAg9yxHrT7C1cJjitVxLO/s1600-h/100_2483.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK81UcdnT-GNXOHGrSvlNF8MipE-qOEgOPxbjjdZNXprY0vQEMOWHu9UkKEAPg7BN2WnzUR4DHHSyOT5b-0xBCYTgyPTLpH0DSp_GZKw6ZVGQJRYY2uu376qLKAg9yxHrT7C1cJjitVxLO/s400/100_2483.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415598589155956130" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeCJXsNOsYTCBFbc1itYRxvZHHWQG6Aw2ndXIdTrY5LrSZ5YlFWZeHPyqJXWsvvGMXmUcGHf7ugvxuFDYoqhOcFkcmoBmraInuXoIwF4tvfymREve0WIq_mbjIGEENKjaCyJrYEFOwPWp/s1600-h/100_2485.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeCJXsNOsYTCBFbc1itYRxvZHHWQG6Aw2ndXIdTrY5LrSZ5YlFWZeHPyqJXWsvvGMXmUcGHf7ugvxuFDYoqhOcFkcmoBmraInuXoIwF4tvfymREve0WIq_mbjIGEENKjaCyJrYEFOwPWp/s400/100_2485.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415598599227255746" /></a><br /><br />James lifted the balloon ban and I think that was a good thing. McKenna didn't care at all that JJ was opening presents. I swear, to her, balloons are like crack.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzyuJAgwog6B78Nsam61qsGw3TM4Ntqgx74BWCPZXtaKmPjqan7L5OQsJTnckdqVT1ZaW_PtSZPQkYqMD0rQ7rFyFySsEIT6HNz63yboBd3tba6b_2I5rwpCy9rW8U3DHHeu7W_wXgdC0/s1600-h/100_2487.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzyuJAgwog6B78Nsam61qsGw3TM4Ntqgx74BWCPZXtaKmPjqan7L5OQsJTnckdqVT1ZaW_PtSZPQkYqMD0rQ7rFyFySsEIT6HNz63yboBd3tba6b_2I5rwpCy9rW8U3DHHeu7W_wXgdC0/s400/100_2487.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415598602958252530" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBW5Nd6qdvNXwK10DS0bIPLoIj_3xPJF8vnsipeGaq3ee6wOIyiB4HYmRfLQfCCxPH3kZeZ_YBq4JyvmkflSSDC7gn3qx-uBftZ1V9PWIumw1njpEH7yCFTr-ZGStJkLhkN3R9uVh-PSv/s1600-h/100_2491.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBW5Nd6qdvNXwK10DS0bIPLoIj_3xPJF8vnsipeGaq3ee6wOIyiB4HYmRfLQfCCxPH3kZeZ_YBq4JyvmkflSSDC7gn3qx-uBftZ1V9PWIumw1njpEH7yCFTr-ZGStJkLhkN3R9uVh-PSv/s400/100_2491.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415598610572718370" /></a><br />JJ was really happy with all of his presents. Each year his Nana and Grandpa in South Dakota give him some of the Mr. Men books for his birthday and Christmas. I think that by next year he will have the whole set. (McKenna gets the Little Miss ones from them too.) Missing from the picture are the Bionicle and Viewfinder from my Mom. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03nNc76H3MVRr1xFyaQ-YYhoV_RAMncmBgC9Iwcq5IK9eZ8acKMEykngmI6Gz-hLZdp2MesC8MC6G_DLzkGqA_yWtSL6hMXsqP7hnDHt8ueCuUEIMFxlacO6Gkm8SoGnCrdhN4EgvPTOK/s1600-h/100_2492.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03nNc76H3MVRr1xFyaQ-YYhoV_RAMncmBgC9Iwcq5IK9eZ8acKMEykngmI6Gz-hLZdp2MesC8MC6G_DLzkGqA_yWtSL6hMXsqP7hnDHt8ueCuUEIMFxlacO6Gkm8SoGnCrdhN4EgvPTOK/s400/100_2492.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415598616766284578" /></a><br /><br />We let him stay up late to play with his toys. He had so much fun. And I will admit it: I've always wanted a viewfinder. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiky7NjJwHzMLau0wBIKn2QKnNqupZqaNUCUOYPM-OovDKKHIf3G0_CeJSuA2-yaP4vQRtLl4IZRIJ7BqSx4I7Jllk5HcXh-8ZoUuccWCAk4YZJeqXrmsP4BUnxtFlAPUCgqCbDlUlO5tP4/s1600-h/100_2494.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiky7NjJwHzMLau0wBIKn2QKnNqupZqaNUCUOYPM-OovDKKHIf3G0_CeJSuA2-yaP4vQRtLl4IZRIJ7BqSx4I7Jllk5HcXh-8ZoUuccWCAk4YZJeqXrmsP4BUnxtFlAPUCgqCbDlUlO5tP4/s400/100_2494.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415598920196891826" /></a><br /><br />In the meantime, we're all looking forward to James coming home from work so that I don't have to be a Bionicle while JJ is a Transformer. That's what dads are for. (And brothers. Maybe JJ will get one of those this year.)Mariannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00565083639379926451noreply@blogger.com7