February in Review

 

February was a fun month, and I don't mind admitting that I have loved hibernating this winter!  It seems like we haven't had a lot of snow in a few years and this year made up for it.  I love it getting dark early and having snowy days where everyone is content to stay home!

We did venture out a bit, though.  We did our annual trip to Lava Hot Springs with Quentin's brother's family.  So fun!  The air was so cold that the hot water produced a lot of steam so pictures were a little foggy.  But we got a few good ones:

 

Quentin's grandma (our girls call her "Butterfly Grandma") celebrated her 98th birthday.  She told everyone she hopes she can make it to 100! 

(See the cute picture of Grandma behind her?  She looks the same she did 60 years ago!)

 

(Grandma and her 4 kids - Dennis, Dale, Susan and Richard)

 

On President's Day we took the girls to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden.  Santa had given our family free passes, so it was a good excuse to go!

 

(Makenna and Kasidee playing baby doctors)

 

The fifth graders got to do a "wax museum" and each student was a President of the United States, or their wives.  Kiera got Andrew Johnson's wife.  I think she had fun doing the presentation.

 

On Valentine's morning when I went to take my shower this is what I found on the bathroom mirror - tons of Post-It notes from my Quentin!

 

I thought this picture was sweet - Kasidee was showing her great-grandma (Nana) a game.  I love their sweet faces!

 

 

I think my girls are always cute, but the other morning I had to snap their picture before they went to school:

 

More Funnies

• Kasidee was saying the family prayer during one of our latest big snowstorms.  She said, ""Please help no one to fall on the roads with their cars."
• Kasidee calls nachos "Cheetos."
• The girls love having "Original Bugles" as a treat at Granny's house.  But Makenna pronounces them "Oh-rig-i-nul Blurg-lers."  Yum.

Funnies

• Kasidee told me she forgot Kiera's middle name.  I reminded her that it's Dawn - and that her great-grandpa was named Donald, her granny is named LaDawn, I am Kellie Dawn, and Kiera is Kiera Dawn.  Kasidee looked surprised and said, "What?  Granny's middle name is Granny Dawn?"
• I was tickling Kasidee's legs and inched up closer to her knee when she started to giggle and squirm.  After tickling both of her knees for a little while, she said, "One knee is funnier than the other."
• We've been looking at getting a dog someday - don't hold your breath because we've been talking about it for years.  Anyway, as we looked at some pictures of Bichon Frise's online Makenna tried to read the name of the dog (Bichon.)  She said, "I like the bitchin' one."  Then she said matter-of-factly, "I don't want to get a married one because then she'll have babies and we'd have to give them away." 
• Kasidee and I were looking at some pictures in her scrapbook.  She pointed to one and said, "Oh, that's when I graduationed from preschool!"
• One of the girls' favorite treats is pizza.  One day they asked if we could buy a pizza for dinner and I was a little hesitant.  Kiera said, "It's only five dollars."  And Kasidee piped up and said, "Oh, I've got that much dollars!"  (Wouldn't you love to just say something like that at a dinner party or something?  "Oh honey, order whatever you'd like - I've got that much dollars!")

This Year So Far...

Part of Quentin's mom's Christmas gift to the grandkids was a trip to Build A Bear after the holidays.  They each had a dollar amount to spend and they each got a bear and an outfit.  It was a fun idea and not only did they each get a great gift that they picked out, but a fun and memorable experience with Grandma as well!

 

 

In January we get LOTS of birds that fly around our neighborhood - they're just thick in the air!  I love that they like to hang out in our trees and have some berries from our flowering pear trees.

 

 

After a few years of hardly any snow, we've been hit hard this year.  On January 11 we got lots of snow - we measured 11 1/2 inches in under 12 hours!  Added to the snow that was already on the ground, we had 28 inches of snow!  Schools were closed and Quentin stayed home from work.  So fun!

 

 

Kiera's awesome class does lots of skits as they learn about history.  Kiera was able to play the part of Elizabeth Harrison during the Boston Tea Party play.

 

A few weeks after we got all that snow, we got freezing rain (which we never get in Utah!)  It was weird - and horrible watching the kids come out of school at the end of the day and slip all over each other!  This first picture is what our backyard and our neighbor's backyard looked like when their car lights were shining on the icy snow.

 

The ice measured about 1/4 inch.

 

This is a picture of snowflakes on my garbage can - so pretty!

 

Funnies

• Makenna was asking which day we did something, and I told her I thought it was on the 21st.  She looked at me for a moment before she said, "Don't you mean the twenty-oneth?"
• My brother- and sister-in-law were so kind to watch our girls while Quentin and I went to a movie.  After we picked the girls up and were on the way home, I said, "Oh, I sure missed you girls today!"  Kasidee piped up and said, "Did you miss my cuteness?"
• Makenna had almost lost her voice a few weeks ago but never had a fever or a sore throat.  She asked if she should go to church.  I told her I thought she would be fine going.  She said, "I would hate to contage anyone...."
• Kasidee walked into the bathroom as I was getting ready for bed one night.  She saw me taking out my contacts and asked me if having "itonks" hurt.
• You know the song "Soak up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow?  I heard Kasidee singing it one day...at the top of her lungs she sang, "I wanna syrup the sun!"

End of Year Catchup

I haven't been blogging as often as I would like.  It seems like most of my friends aren't blogging anymore - maybe it's already outdated and Facebook is the preferred way of social networking.  But I do love blogging and the idea that I can have a journal with pictures all in one place.  Anyway I want to do a quick catchup from where I left off.  And then hopefully I can be more consistent next year!

For Thanksgiving this year, Quentin did french braids in the girls' hair:

People may wonder what a vegetarian's Thanksgiving plate may look like - I think it looks pretty and yummy!

The girls have been begging to go to Get Air - they had a lot of fun!

Quentin's work had a family Christmas party - games, make ornaments, eat cookies, and we got to hang out at his desk for awhile.

This is on a big wall at Quentin's work - so proud of him!

We went to see Santa at Secret Haven (Rock Loft) this year:

It was Kasidee's turn this year to put the star on the tree:

Kasidee's kindergarten class made gingerbread houses:

We took Front Runner from Downtown Salt Lake all the way to Provo and back.  It was was free and it was crowded, but it was a fun experience for the girls!

On Quentin's birthday, we picked him up from work, took him out to dinner, and rode the trolley to Temple Square.  We looked at the lights there, looked at Deseret Book's Christmas window, browsed at City Creek Center, and checked out the candy windows at Macy's.

We saw the cute little houses at the Ogden Village:

Our traditional "Twas the Night Before Christmas" story on Christmas Eve at Mom's house:

Christmas morning, waiting to go downstairs:

 

Funnies

I haven't blogged for quite awhile but I've been saving up some funnies that my girls have said:

• Kasidee wanted to play with one of her friends from preschool that she hadn't seen for 2 years.  I wasn't really in the mood to make arrangements for that that day, so I asked her if she could pick a different friend to play with.  She asked why she couldn't play with her old friend.  I said, "Well, you only have an hour to play and you haven't played with her for 2 years.  Wouldn't it be awkard to call her up and say, 'Hey....'"  Before I could finish, Makenna piped up to finish my sentence and for some reason said, "Got any grapes?"
• Makenna has been really into cleaning lately.  She makes her bed right after she wakes up and likes to go from room to room straightening up.  One day she said, "Daddy told me that there are people who feel like they always have to clean and it can be a problem."  Kiera said, "Uh, yeah - people like maids and they have to otherwise they'll get fired."
• About a month ago I got a call from one of my preschooler's moms letting me know that her child had lice.  Aughh!  Thank goodness we weren't affected, but for the week after we got the news we checked the girls' hair.  Makenna said, "Oh, I kind of wish I had lice - that could be our pet!"
• Kasidee is such a good sharer and is not satisfied until everyone has something and everything is equal.  One night Quentin finished off the soda that we had bought as a treat.  I jokingly said, "Oh, I guess I didn't need any  more!"  Quentin apologized and we didn't think about it anymore.  About 30 minutes later Kasidee came in to me and asked if I was okay.  I said, "Of course...why?"  She started to cry and said she had bonked her head.  I held her as she cried quietly.  Then she said, "Actually, I'm not crying because I bonked my head.  I'm just sad Daddy took the rest of the pop and you didn't get any more."  Oh, my heart melted!  Something that was not even an issue made Kasidee so upset because she was worried I felt bad!  Quentin overheard and quickly went to the store and got another bottle.  She was so happy and all was well in her sweet little world!   

Thanksgiving Eve

I've recently realized that, while Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, there simply is nothing better than Thanksgiving Eve. I absolutely love it! I love spending hours baking and cooking and making some of my favorite harvest dishes. I love having the girls home from school - they are such good helpers and are becoming confident little chefs. I love making my house look festive, and it smells soooo good! This is my favorite time of the year, and I believe that Thanksgiving should be a sacred holiday. A holiday to focus on the blessings from our Heavenly Father, our beautiful world, and the ones we love....

Happy Thanksgiving (Eve)!

Misc.

A couple of weeks ago the girls had a Monday off from school. We went to the Church History Museum with their cousins - they had a blast playing!

Last Saturday was the first big snow of the season. Kasidee was so excited to try on all the gear - and she loved being funny by putting gloves on her feet!

Kiera made a little sled for her bears

Sledding with Daddy!

The kindergarten classes got to have a Thanksgiving Feast - they wore pilgrim costumes and had an early lunch in the school cafeteria! (Kasidee chose grapes, chocolate milk, and a roll.)

This morning the school had a "Grandparent's Breakfast." The girls were so excited that Granny could come and be with them, see their classrooms, and meet their teachers.

Kiera and her class also had a Thanksgiving Play - I just love that they are learning so much while having fun!

Funnies

Makenna's favorite toy is a little monkey that has a face only a mother could love. She adores Georgia (and insists that's a boy's name) and loves to take him around with her. Just in the last 2 weeks, she left him at her cousin's house for 5 days, left him at her piano lesson, and then left him at school when we were at SEP conferences. She didn't realize she left him there till 9:00 p.m. Of course the school was closed by then, and all 3 girls were worried that he would be scared, that someone would take him or throw him away, etc. Makenna's little heartfelt prayer that night was so sweet. I sat by her bed as she tossed and turned and tried to fall asleep. All of a sudden, she popped her head up and said, "Mama, did you know that it's a family tradition that if someone loses a toy then they can't sleep all night?" It took her awhile but then she drifted off to sleep. Daddy was a hero the next morning when he went to the school early in the morning and found Georgia, right where Makenna left him. Thank goodness!

The other day Makenna asked me how much money Quentin and I have. Without giving specifics, I thought it would be a good time to have a little lesson about the importance of saving money and preparing for the future. I asked her if she knows what the word "retire" means. She said, "Yeah - it's when you're, like, 60 and you're not useful anymore so you don't work."

Makenna ate some yogurt/fruit/granola for breakfast - she couldn't seem to get enough and had 2 servings. As she was walking around, she said, "Oh - I think my yogurt's on the move!"

Halloween!

Funnies

It seems like I am constantly posting funny things my kids say, but they just don't stop cracking me up - and I want to make sure I write these things down before I forget.

Anyway, Makenna has been saying the funniest things lately. Here's a few from the last couple of weeks:

* One day Makenna told me about her substitute teacher. She said, "She has traveled everywhere in the world.... Well, except for the Ice Age."

* Makenna asked me why I don't like to sew. I told her that I learned how to sew in Home Ec and in 4-H and did a lot of sewing as a young teenager. But now that I'm older I just don't have any interest in it, and it just drives me nuts. She said, "Do you have anger issues with string?"

* Makenna's BFF Sophia (who is just about 2 months younger than Makenna) got baptized today and we were excited to be there. As we got into the car to go home, Makenna very seriously and thoughtfully said, "I just can't believe how fast Sophia is growing up."