Beautiful Autumn

It's no secret to my blog readers that I love my flowering pear trees in my backyard. They're pretty all year round, but this is my favorite time. Can you see why? It almost takes my breath away....

Family Pictures

Why, why, why is it that my girls, who are normally generally agreeable and happy, tend to show their worst behavior when we decide to do family pictures? It was a beautiful day so we decided to do some family pictures after church - and what a pain! Someone was whining that their hair was ugly; someone else whined that we weren't taking the picture the way they wanted it; another whined that it was taking too long. Now, our girls should be pretty dang used to having their picture taken. Their dad is notorious for taking tons of pictures, and I've really started enjoying photography lately and love to experiment by taking pictures of the girls. You would think they would be used to this by now. But there is always one of them whining during our family photo shoots - when one stops, another one starts. It's like they have an agreement to take turns so that someone is whining at all times!

Now that it's over, I can say that we took about a hundred pictures and got a handful of pretty decent ones. So I'm happy. But I think next time I'll have to bribe them to not whine!!

Funny

You know your kids are being raised in a "computer and technology generation" when your 4-year-old daughter wants to watch a video from a VCR and exclaims when it's done rewinding that "It's done loading!"

Halloween Spooktacular

Kind of at the last minute, we decided to go to the Halloween Spooktacular at the South Davis Rec Center last night. We've gone other years and had fun, but it's also quite crowded and crazy. But the girls wanted to go, and I figured Kiera's getting older and might not have too many years left of wanting to do stuff like this. So we went, and we met Eric and Mischelle and their kids there. And we did have fun! We went fishing, went to the duck pond, went through a spook alley, found our way through a labyrinth, played carnival games, had a canoe ride.... Good times!


Jordyn and Kasidee waiting to go in the bounce house

A canoe ride in the scary "swamp!" (Quentin went with Kiera and Makenna)

Pumpkins

We had been wanting to go to the Pumpkin Patch for a couple of weeks but hadn't gotten around to it when our backyard neighbor called and told the girls they could each pick a pumpkin from their garden! By the time we got out there, she had lined up over a dozen big pumpkins between our two yards - how fun and easy is that, to be able to walk to your very own pumpkin patch?! That was so sweet, and the girls had fun picking out their pumpkins. But we ended up going to Pack's Pumpkin Patch anyway because we've been craving spaghetti squash, acorn squash and butternut squash. Don't you just love Fall? It looks and feels and tastes soooo good!

Geode Hunt

The girls didn't have school Thursday and Friday (UEA), so Quentin took those days off work too. We had talked about going on a little trip close by, but then we decided to stay at home and do a few day trips. On Thursday we went to the Dugway Geode Beds. It was a little over 3 hours away, but it was worth it. I think the girls (especially Kiera) take after their Great-Grandpa Johnson and have the rock-hunting bug in them.

So...after driving over 3 hours, we consulted our directions which said to look for recent diggings off of the turnoff. We saw some small holes about 2 feet around and a foot or two deep. We started searching but found nothing. So we drove around the corner and found holes about 6 feet around - but nothing was there either. Feeling quite disappointed (and like we wasted a whole bunch of time and gas), we decided to drive around a bit before heading out. Then we saw it - a "mini gravel pit" that had been dug out by an excavator. We also saw another family (from Bountiful) who showed us all the geodes they had found. As we were walking into the pit, we literally couldn't take a step without stepping on geodes or geode pieces. We were so excited! We all had fun digging and trying to find whole geodes, finding geode pieces, and even smashing geodes on rocks to see what was inside - Kiera even found a geode with pink (rose) crystals inside! After a few hours of digging and "treasure hunting," we lugged home a 5-gallon bucket and a 2-gallon bucket full of geodes. We're excited to cut some with a tile cutter and polish some with our rock polisher!





In the pit with the other family

Close-up of embedded geodes

Late

Last week we were running a little late for school and arrived just after the first bell rang (the tardy bell rings 5 minutes after that.) Kasidee exclaimed, "Yay! We're the first ones that are late!!"

Fernwood Park

For a couple of weeks now, we've been wanting to go on a "Leaf Drive" to see the brilliant Fall trees! Today was free after our Stake Conference, so we took a little drive up to Fernwood Park in Layton. The sun disappeared by the time we got there, but it was fun to see the pretty leaves and take a small hike. I love Fall!

Gardner Village

Friday after school we met Nikki & kids, Mischelle & kids, Barbara and Shlenae at Gardner Village. Nikki began this annual tradition when Kiera and Marina were just little. We like to go out in the Fall, enjoy the good weather and a yummy cookie from Aunt Nikki, maybe look at a few shops, and try to get a few pictures of the kids. So fun!

Big 5-0

Our bishop (we just love him and his whole family!) turned 50 a little over a week ago. The girls wanted to do something special for him, but I was stumped for ideas. One day we walked down the candy aisle at the store and had a brainstorm. We had so much fun making - and delivering this - as a family!

Happy Thoughts

you can't buy happiness
but you can buy potato chips
which is pretty much the same thing

Countdown

The girls ask me every day how many days until Halloween - they can't wait to wear their costumes! But today we'll be doing a "trial run" at Gardner Village, plus tonight the girls are going to a birthday party where they can wear their costumes. Kasidee squealed, "I'm just so excited! I feel like I can't wait in my tummy!"

Miss Librarian

It just occurred to me that libraries have 3 things that I love: books, organization, and quiet. Maybe I'll be a librarian (oooh, I'd love to be the storyteller during the children's storytime) when I grow up!

Crafty Girl

Lately Kasidee has been fascinated with tape and scissors and paper. She has finally figured out how to tear the tape off the roll (safely!) and she just loves cutting out and decorating her own cards - with matching envelopes that have tape all over. It's so cute!

She also likes ripping up a piece of paper and then taping it back together in a different way.

The other day she spent an hour - yes a whole hour, non-stop - cutting up a box that was in the recycling bin. She cut a hole in the middle, colored it all over and taped it everywhere. Then she stuck her body through the hole and said she had made an airplane! (I'll have to post a pic soon.)

Today while she was working on her art project, I noticed she had used up nearly a whole roll of tape. I said, "Kasidee, I just can't keep up with you and all of your tape!" And she responded, "Tape is healthy - it's good for your body!" and then she laughed and laughed!

Quack

After General Conference on Sunday, we decided we needed to get away from the TV and stretch our legs. So we went to Barnes Park in Kaysville to feed the ducks. I love this pic of Makenna - she's our little animal lover!

Welcome Home

Though I'm not sure I'm very good at it, I love home decorating and design. I prefer simplicity, but I enjoy "analyzing" how a room looks and feels by what furniture and textiles and decor are in it, as well as how they're arranged. {sigh}

But the garage - that whole space has always stumped me. To me, a garage is a "man's space" with tools and greasy car stuff and small machinery. There's nothing real pretty about a garage.

But I've been intrigued and inspired lately by some blogs - and neighbors! - I've noticed. Their garages are spotless, painted clean white.... I'm wondering where their cobwebs and masses of dead gnats and piles of dry leaves are. And I'm also wondering where their STUFF is. I've seen garages with 2 cars, a rake, a shovel, and an extension cord in it. That's it. Where's all their junk?

Besides that, I've also noticed some garages that have been "prettied up." I'm in love with the shiny black door to the entrance of the house idea, and I love the idea of having shelves with matching storage bins, all in a row.

Well, even though we tried to "de-junk" our garage last spring, it's still millions of miles away from being pretty and organized like I would like. However, I'm happy to say I made a step in the right direction.

Last weekend when the girls and I visited Just A Thought in Bountiful, we got to pick out a vinyl lettering thing just for coming in - for free! I found this one and thought, "How cute would that be on the door coming in from the garage?" So that was that. It seems like we almost always come in the house from the garage, so this is perfect!

Hola!

So...our school is offering a Spanish class a couple of times a week before school. I have asked Kiera 4 years in a row if she is interested - big no. But this year Makenna said she wanted to do it, but only if Kiera did it. I think Kiera has been a little overwhelmed with fourth grade this year and was concerned that a Spanish class would be one more thing to do and one more thing to learn and one more thing to remember. But, well, we sort of made Kiera and Makenna sign up for the Spanish class. And they are loving it! Even though they have to get up almost an hour earlier a couple of times a week, they usually bound out of bed when they realize it's for their class. Yay!

Funnies

* Kasidee exclaimed: "Makenna teached me so I knowed!"

* The girls sometimes get their "energy clothes" on so they can "do energy." (exercise)

Girls Night Out

When the girls found out that Quentin, his brothers and cousin were going to attend the Priesthood session of General Conference last night, they were so excited. In their cute little voices, they squealed, "That means we can have a girls night out with Mommy!" So...that's what we did! Each girl got to pick something to do: My choice was to go to the sale at "Just a Thought," one of my favorite stores; Kiera wanted to go to the library but changed her mind and wanted to do a craft (we made magnets and necklaces out of some tokens we found at the store; Makenna wanted to get ice cream cones; and Kasidee wanted to come home and do yoga! Silly girls - but it's so fun setting aside some "real" time to just be with my girls!

Four Forever

Kasidee and I were walking home from dropping her friend off from a playdate when she asked me to pick her up and hold her. She put her head on my shoulder and gave me a squeeze with her little arms. She said, "I want to be 4 forever."

I wish she could, too!

Chore Charts - Again

I love lists. I have an obsession with lists and writing things down. I have been a list maker since I can remember. I have lists for all sorts of things.

BUT I have made several attempts for "listing" chore charts for the girls but for some reason it just doesn't seem to work. I bought cute little magnet boards with magnetic stickers; I made fairy house posters, where behind each window or door is a chore; I've made simple lists. None of them work after the "newness" has worn off. Then I realized something. The things we tried before were too complicated (who wants to read a list of 20 things that need to be done?) and the girls got overwhelmed. Furthermore, Kasidee was sort of left out because she couldn't read yet.

So I had an idea that will hopefully work this time. I noticed that our "chores" (which also includes things to remember and do) fell into specific times of the day - Morning (before school), After School, Dinnertime, and Bedtime.

So I made a pocket for each of those times - check it out:


And then each girl has a list inside each pocket - see:


It was so easy to make - just paper, stickers, clear contact paper, and some clipart from Google Images. When the girls wake up, they each get their "Morning" checklist out and are excited to check off each thing - they just use a washable marker to "X" right over the image. Kasidee likes being included, and she knows exactly what she needs to do because of the pictures. The same goes for each time of the day. At the end of the day, I note how many things each girl has crossed off, then wipe them clean for the next day. Saturday is when we pay them allowance for what they have accomplished that week.

Here's hoping to an easier, smoother chore chart strategy!!

Wish Blossoms

Kasidee and I went to Smoot Park (she calls it Smooch Park!) this morning for a little bit. She saw a white dandelion (she and her sisters call them Wish Blossoms) and wanted both of us to each make a wish on it. So in my mind I began wishing for health and safety of my family and me, world peace, etc. When it was time for both of us to blow, Kasidee shouted out, "I wish for...gum!"

Touch of Fall

I was so excited to look out my window this morning and see my favorite trees just starting to turn! I think I've mentioned before how much I love our flowering pear trees - they are so pretty every time of year! But my favorite is when they start turning firey red in the Fall! Love it!

Little Beauty

The other morning Kasidee told me that she didn't need any help getting ready for the day. She got busy and was quiet for about 10 minutes and then she wanted to show me how she did:

10 Years

Happy Anniversary to Quentin! No, it's not our wedding anniversary (by the way, we'll be celebrating our 14 1/2 year anniversary next month!), but it's Quentin's 10-Year WORK anniversary! Yep, he's been at Fidelity for 10 years!

Over 10 years ago, he had been working at a company that does computer programming for credit unions but the department he worked in dissolved and he was laid off. We were just a few weeks pregnant with our first baby. I was working in the management office of Trolley Square at the time but planned on quitting when our baby was born. So...it was a little nerve-wracking during the 2 months he was out of work. But Quentin was majoring in business-finance and had always had his eye on Fidelity.

Long story short - he ended up getting the job and has been there for 10 years! He enjoys what he does (for the most part) and it is a good company to work for. Lots of perks and pretty good stability. And what he has learned has really benefited our lives. I'm so proud of him! Congrats, Q!

Ode to My Dryer

Isn't it funny how we take something for granted until it's not there? Well, last week I became acutely aware of how much I appreciate my clothes dryer - and I will never take it for granted again!

Last week I had done 3 loads of laundry but since it was a preschool day I didn't have/take the time to fold/hang up/put away all of the clothes and towels and socks and underwear. Thinking that I would be able to fluff up the stuff and put it away later, I made a mountain of clean clothes in my laundry room. Later that afternoon when I went to do attack it and get it put away, my dryer wouldn't work. Wha---? I had just dried 3 loads and now it won't work?! Weird. So when Quentin got home, I asked him and he had fun taking it apart and checking it out. He wasn't sure what the problem was but said he'd look at it again over the weekend. This was on a Tuesday. What was I supposed to do with all of the clothes that were clean and dry, but horribly wrinkled because they had been squished in a big, mountainous pile? (P.S. I have a horrible secret - the only time I ever use my iron is do melt those perler bead crafts that my girls and every other kid in the neighborhood come over to do!) It's so much easier to just throw things in the dryer to "iron" them, even though it probably isn't the "greenest" option!

So... I tried my best to ignore the pile of clean clothes and to ignore the laundry basket of dirty clothes that began piling up. But - Saturday morning Quentin figured out the problem, got the 5 dollar part and fixed it. Easy-peasy. Quentin can fix just about anything - yay!

I got to work, and I swear I will never complain about doing laundry again. I'm so happy to have my dryer running again. I have tried in the past to hang things to dry, but they get as stiff as a board! My dryer just makes my life easier and...I (heart) my dryer!

Harvest

It has been fun having a garden this year. We planted corn, carrots, onions, peppers, zucchini, cantaloupe, honeydew, peas, and tomatoes (Early Girl, grape, cherry and yellow pear.) Some things did better than others, but we were happy that we got at least some of everything to grow.

Last weekend we harvested all of our corn - 15 stalks gave us over 3 dozen ears of corn. What we didn't eat we cut off the cob and froze - we got almost 2 gallons of corn! It will be fun to have a taste of summer in our winter soups!

Also last weekend we made fresh salsa.... (Quentin couldn't wait - can you see his spoon in the picture?)



And we harvested lots of tomatoes - Yummy!

We've been enjoying some of our cantaloupe, and tonight for dinner we had fajitas made with our zucchini and carrots and onions and peppers. Oh man, garden fare is the best!

Preschool

So...I just finished my third week of teaching preschool (this is my third year of teaching.) Can I just say how much I love it?! Sure, there are days when I can think of something I might rather be doing and of course there are days when I feel like a horrible teacher. But overwhelmingly IT IS SO FUN! I think 3- and 4-year-olds are so cute and so fun - they're so sweet and they just crack me up. I love their curiosity and sweetness. They're just fun to be around!

I've told people before that I wasn't looking for a career when I go into this, and I wasn't needing to do this for the money. It was just an opportunity that sort of presented itself and I wanted to make it work. I've had so much support from my family (especially Quentin, who shares the theater room with the preschool!) and if I ever had to have a career this would certainly be it. I love being able to prepare and work AT HOME and only "work" about 6 hours a week (including prep time.) I also love that it's a creative outlet, it doesn't eat into family time, and the money isn't bad. And it's just so fun!

When I was a teenager, I used to do a free, fun preschool in the summer months for some of the neighbor kids and kids I babysat. It was just fun, but I never dreamed I'd be doing it in "real life" when I got older. I feel like this year I feel much more confident than I was last year and I'm just having fun with it - I have a really great class of 12 kids (6 girls and 6 boys.) I especially love having Kasidee with me, and I'll sure miss her next year when she goes to kindergarten.

But I just love preschool and had to share!! :)

Wow

Can I just say I have the sweetest husband and kids ever? I know I'm biased. But boy, do they make me happy! They are thoughtful and supportive and genuine and soooo sweet!

It's been a busy week and I've been feeling sort of guilty for having lots of things to do without them. I know it's probably good for them, but I've been spending a lot of time away from home and away from them - and I've sure missed them!

Friday night, Quentin and I went to a play and had his mom watch the girls for over 3 hours. Saturday I was gone to a far-away funeral (Quentin stayed with the girls) from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm and then came home and went to a bishopric social till past 10:00 pm. Sunday after church I had a Young Women's Board meeting for a couple of hours. Last night I went to Book Club from 8:00 to almost midnight (yikes!), and tonight Quentin and I will take a class for a couple of hours.

Like I said, I know it's good for Quentin and the girls to be together. But I figured in the last week, I spent about 24 hours away from either Quentin and the girls or just the girls (and that's not including the girls' school and being apart at church, etc.) That's a long time, and I've really missed them.

So...imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning with a sign on my bedroom door that said, "My wife Kellie is...." and over 100 "dots" on the floor all over my house! The dots said different things like "special," "considerate," "beautiful," etc. Then at the door to the garage there was a note that said, "You are everything to me, my Kellie!" and 3 little notes from the girls! I think I could literally feel my heart melting! I've been out gallavanting this week, feeling guilty for "ditching" them, and they took so much time to let me know much they love me. Wow - I am blessed!

Sweet

The other night as Kiera was saying our family prayer, she said, "Please bless our worries...."