moving time..

 

This is what my house looks like when I DON'T have Geof.'s superhuman mom to help me move. A MESS! A lady from my old ward called me today and insisted on letting her come over and help with her son. I was a little hesitant because I wasn't sure what to tell her to do, but she came in and took over. She was just like Le Anne (Geof.'s mom)! It was great to have someone that had moved so many times and knew exactly what I needed.

 

Cole and Dayne are bored to death (yet somewhat excited at all the mess we're making), so consequently they spend way too much time in front of the T.V., causing me to feel a great deal of guilt. It's summer!! Kids do NOT belong inside. For those of you who aren't aware of our situation, we're moving to Washington to live in Geof.'s parents basement until either the airline industry improves, or Geof. finds a fantastic job worthy of giving up the 6+ years spent studying, paying for, and working towards his current profession as a pilot. So much work.., do we really want to give it all up??

First REAL sewing project

 I finally finished these baby blankets for my friend Heather's twins that she just adopted from Vietnam. The fabric is so cute, but my sewing job is pretty hideous. I've only hemmed pants once before, so I don't feel so bad about not being the best seamstress. I can't believe how long it took me!! My poor friend Emily who let me borrow her sewing machine not only had to deal with me calling her over every 5 minutes to fix a jammed machine, but she also helped me with my kids. I went over the 2nd time without my kids and she kindly (and patiently) showed me how to use her machine. I LOVED it! It was actually therapeutic (maybe it was just doing something without my kids). I'll have to look into getting one someday if I ever have room for it. THANK YOU EMILY!!
 

 This is what happens when the kids get bored while we're packing. Dayne had one on her head too, but we didn't get a good picture. Actually, they were surprisingly good. When we got their toys out (that they NEVER play with) to pack up, they showed a ton of interest and didn't want us to put them away. Maybe we should pack them up more often.
 We had Cole's best friend Michael over for their last "play date". That's what Michael said to Cole when he got in the car, "Cole, this is probably our last play date together." Cole LOVES Michael and only wishes that they lived closer so we could play more.
 I made cookies yesterday and all 3 kids wanted to help. Geof. said I take too many pics and don't live in the moment enough..., but I just HAD to get a shot of this!
 We went to an outdoor mall the other night and June was crawling all over the place, in and out of the fountains. She got quite a bit of attention for her lack of fear.

King's Dominion

 
 
 
 
My cousin Ivy and her friend Emily came down Friday night and we all went to our closest amusement park here, King's Dominion on Saturday. The airline union paid for it, so we had to take advantage of that. We had a lot of fun even though it was incredibly crowded. Emily took the pics for us and had a lot of fun "posing" Cole and Dayne for pics that she was actually taking of other people. I can't tell you how many guys (and a few girls) were carrying around the ginormous stuffed animals that they'd won. Crazy!! Some of them were as huge as them! I mean, come on!! Do you REALLY want to carry that around with you all day? I just don't get it. Some people seem to be from another planet I tell ya. (:

lovin' the bike trailer

I don't know why it wouldn't let me post with my pics, but here goes. We got this killer bike trailer for $40 off craigslist! I was so excited. I thought we were kind of done with bike trailers, at least while living in Richmond because it's not the best bike friendly town. But I saw this, and that it was a nice Burley brand, and I had to do it. When I went to pick it up, I thought of even offering $20-25 since it's such an old model, but I always wimp out with that. So, here it is and we LOVE it. It's in great condition and although Cole hates being cramped in with both sisters, it'll have to do until we can get a little seat to attach to mine or Geof.'s bike. We took them to a park the other day and it was so hot that Junie was sweating all over Cole and he almost had a heart attack! It's probably not too safe riding around with 3 kids in one...., I know.

I wrote up a pretty well thought out blog yesterday, with a nice quote and all..., and it got deleted last minute. argh. I'm too tired and unmotivated today to repeat it. Here's some pics. June does the cheesiest grin ever!! She's hysterical. She turns her head back and forth while doing this face. My sister freaks out because I allow my kids to feed themselves and they (and the carpeted, yuck, dining room get so dirty).
Dayne has gone from terrible 2s to terrible 3s!! My mother-in-law said something recently about your children's tough stages, "once one grows out of it, the other one is just starting it." Very true. Cole has turned into a very pleasant, sweet 5 yr. old. He still has his times, but it's NOTHING like when he was 2 and 3..., and even 4. And now Dayne. She is very head strong, and wants to do everything by herself. Geof. compares her screaming tantrums to his sister Meagan. Most of the time I'm quite sure she doesn't even know what she's crying about, but loves hearing herself get louder and louder. HOWEVER, she's probably the funniest kid around and I think we'll keep her.
June's been doing this lately. I can't believe that just over a month ago she was only sitting!! Now she's doing everything! I really don't want her to walk yet, though. I LOVe this stage.

Dayne reading her story

When I was little I distinctly remember memorizing a Sesame Street book that I loved. I would read it over and over again until I finally could cover the words up and say exactly what was written. My kids love to read and have a few books that they are starting to memorize as well. This was one of Dayne's favorites. I taped this a few months ago and came across it again. Oh, how we love our funny girl!

We are completely obsessed with this kid. She just started doing this little smile for us. It's almost as if she's a little embarrassed or shy when we look at her. How do you stop having kids when they're this perfect??

Not the best family pic (our fault, not the photographers), but it'll have to do. I'm not really into professional pics.
















Me, June, and my cousin Ivy who lives up in D.C.

I don't believe I mentioned our trip to D.C. last weekend. Geof.'s dad, Ellery, had a business trip up there so we were more than happy to join him and Le Anne in their 2 full bed hotel room (yes, all 7 of us). We LOVE D.C.!! There was an incredible rain storm the first day we were there. You've never experienced being soaked to the bone until you've been in an east coast storm. They're CRAZY, and they last forever! We were walking back from lunch toward the Smithsonian when we heard a loud boom of thunder, and right then the downpour started. We all ran like crazy to the closest museum (the Portrait Gallery Museum...my favorite, I think) and hung out there for a good 2 to 2 1/2 hours while it poured down outside.

I couldn't believe how long June stayed awake the first day. We were at the Natural History museum and although she was exhausted, she was loving every minute of it.





She finally collapsed outside the Portrait Gallery Museum. Not for long, however.






I tried getting Cole to put his arm around Dayne for a pic. It only lasted a moment or two. These two fight more often than not, but secretly they're crazy about each other. (:












Cole is obsessed with Geof. Funny Daddy.

How I love my beebs.......

I don't know how many of you heard or read the talk given by M. Russell Ballard in General Conference to young mothers. Very sweet. Very real. Anyway, loved the quote by author Anna Quindlen. Gonna share it. Here goes, "The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make.......I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

gotta love him...

Boy, do I love 5 yr olds. Cole is so dang cute right now. I was reading a talk out of the Gen. Conf. Ensign tonight (by the way, how do I highlight that?), and we were talking about when Cole would become a deacon and how he would be able to pass the sacrament like all the other 12 and 13 yr. old boys in the ward. He looked up at me and said, "No mom! I don't want to be like those boys. I want to be a superhero!" I said, "well Cole, what about a mission. Don't you want to be a missionary?", to which he replied, "Mom! You know I've always wanted to be a superhero." What do you say to that?