Impatient

Do you ever feel like you really just can't wait a whole weekend for something? I know on Monday it won't seem like such a big deal. Kendall had a really great job interview yesterday. The job seems to have been fit around Kendall and his experiences and would be everything that we want (we think). We hoped they would call today, but no such luck. So I guess we will have to bite our nails until Monday (or even longer!).

Slow Corruption

When Kendall and I were dating he swore that he didn't like chocolate, not really at all! I'm not the choc-a-holic that many women are, but if it's dark chocolate then I really can't resist. A couple of years after we got married Kendall admitted that he really likes brownies. I said "But those are chocolate" and he said "They are different." The other day though, I caught Kendall snacking on a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips! HA! Caught ya liking chocolate! I love you sweety. :)

Why I like Summer

For this...
and this...
and THIS...
The garden just keeps going and going. I'm starting to get tired of preserving it, but SOO glad that we did it this year. This was the cucumbers and squash that we picked in one day. We had picked only 3 days before!
Here is a picture of our first crop of banana squash. I thought this was supposed to be a "winter" squash, but it sure doesn't feel like winter to me! In fact, when I went outside to take this picture it was so humid that my lens fogged up and I got this misty picture. Yuck! I very much dislike humidity! But I very much like this squash!

Swimming Lessons

The last three weeks have been swimming lessons galore. Avri took two weeks of lessons. She is my most skittish in the water. But her lessons have really made a big difference! She will blow bubbles in the water, go under the water, lay down on her back or her belly in the water, and the big one...jump off the side into the water! This is the funnest part for every child but mine. She refused and cried the whole time! But then one time she did it and it just clicked. Now she's decided that it is fun!
Avri with Miss Mariah. She was a cute teacher and GREAT with the kids.
Avri blowing bubbles in the water.
The beginnings of back floating. Now she does much better!
Then this past week Talmage and Mercedes had swimming lessons. They are young enough that we had to be in the water with them, so Kendall took Talmage and I took Mercedes and Avri sat on the side and watched like a good girl. Improvements were made by all!Sadie was the youngest in the class, but she did great! She was so cute with it all.
Talmage LOVED jumping in and could hardly wait to get up and do it again!
The last day we got a free day and so we were able to take the kids down the big slide. They don't let anyone shorter than Avri down the slides and no lap sitters, but they made an exception for us and the kids thought that was so fun. Talmage didn't like the idea at all until he went down once and then he wanted to do it again and again.

I've Been Tagged!

I haven't done a tag in a long time! Here goes:

What is your current obsession?
gardening/preserving the harvest and the Twilight series
What do you hate the most that everybody else seems to love?
Cherry pie filling
What are you wearing today?
t-shirt and jeans
What's for dinner?
We had Kalua pork over rice with broccoli and banana squash from the garden, pineapple banana slush and carrot cake for dessert. (I'm trying to clean out the freezer a little!)
What would you eat for your last meal?
Steak with Kendall's special seasoning, strawberry shortcake and a yummy green salad. Notice dessert before salad. :)
What's the last thing you bought?
Groceries
What are you listening to right now?
The fan and the whir of the computer. All 3 kids sleeping and Kendall at a meeting!
What do you think of the person that tagged you?
I think Pam is an extremely talented and patient person: two qualities that I greatly admire and want to work on myself!
If you could have a house, fully paid for, and totally furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be?
It would be near my family, wherever that may be.
What is one of your hobbies?
Making hairbows
What are 3 things that annoy you most?
1. The house being messy right after I clean it 2. Whining! 3. People being dishonest
What is your favorite color?
PINK! This is why I love newborn girls!
What is your dream job?
Mom. I've always wanted to be that above anything else!
What are you going to do after this?
Catch up on my blog stalking while there is quiet in the house.
What inspires you?
Mostly the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also my family and friends and their good qualities.
Who was the last person you kissed?
Either Talmage or Mercedes as I was putting them down for naps.
What are you currently reading?
I am in the middle of Eclipse, and also working on the Fabelhaven series and Harry Potter 6.
What delighted you most today?
When Avri got up and got herself completely dressed for church without being asked! Or there was the time that Talmage sang the hymns during church VERY LOUD and VERY WRONG! It was pretty hilarious. Even the deaf people in front of us were laughing!
By what criteria do you judge a person?
What they do with the life they have been given. Are they making the most of it, or at least trying?
What is one project that you want to get done right now?
Only one? Probably learning how to can/bottle squash for food storage.
If you could pick a talent, what would it be?
I would love to be an excellent seamstress.
What is at the top of your "To Do" list for tomorrow?
Cut Kendall's hair! It's looking pretty shaggy!

The rules: Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own. Tag eight other people!
I tag: Sunny, Janie, Heather, Martha, Kendra, Amber, Aubrey, Kristen, Debbie

Just a few short weeks

Isn't it amazing that in just a few short weeks a garden can go from this...
to this!
Amazing! I never knew how gratifying it would be to start a garden and grow your own food! I've just loved doing it!

Date Night!

Kendall and I received one of the most appreciated gifts we've ever had this past week: an all expense paid date night! One of the families in our ward has quadruplets who are now 17. Three of them are boys, all of them are working on their eagle projects. To say thank you to Kendall for all of his help as the scoutmaster they gave us a gift card for the movie theater, Avanti's (an Italian restaurant in the area), and gift certificate for babysitting. Two of the boys came over on Thursday night and watched the kids for quite a few hours while Kendall and I went out on the town. We went to see Harry Potter and loved it! We haven't read the book yet because anytime we read the book first we don't really enjoy the movie. So now we have the book on hold and should be getting it this week. As a side note, when Harry Potter first came out I thought it was such a ridiculous fad that I didn't want to read them at all. I thought it sounded dumb. So now here I am totally hooked on it and a total fan. Obviously not obsessed though since I haven't read the last two books yet. I've started the Twilight craze too, and I think I might even like those better, believe it or not! Anyway, back to the date. It was so nice to have some time with Kendall, uninterrupted. Thank you so much to the wonderful Sadler family!

Wow, What a Birthday!

I know I've been a lame blogger, but I didn't realize just HOW lame I've been until I realized I still haven't finished Avri's birthday post!! That was a month ago!!

My Independence Day girl had a grand birthday celebration! Avri turned 4 on the 4th of July. Funny story: We were at the store a couple of weeks after her birthday and she was asking when her next birthday would be so I explained how far away the next 4th of July is. Then she told me that next year her birthday was going to be on the 5th because she will be 5! I laughed and then went into another explanation.

Anyway, the day started with with a very large breakfast at the church. Avri came home and was telling her Great-Grandma all about her "birthday party" where "all of my friends came." I tried hard not to laugh as she explained to my grandma all about how the ward breakfast was a birthday party for her. We had planned to go to the zoo, but it was raining all day, so we came home and opened presents instead.
She was being quite silly about getting her picture taken, so I didn't really get any decent ones of her.
She got a bunch of new clothes, a sing-along CD and book, a new game (shown below), a new swimming suit complete with lessons at the pool,
and the grand finale... a new bike.
She was obviously not riding since since 1) she is wearing flip-flops 2) she is wearing short shorts and 3) she is NOT wearing her helmet. I'm a little paranoid about bike riding I guess.She loves her new bike though and picked up on riding very quickly!

The rain actually did stop in time for fireworks. We had figured they would be cancelled, so we started a movie and were going to have a "movie party" at Grandma's house, but then decided to head to fireworks instead. I'd made the traditional Carmel corn (gooey as can be of course) and Muddy Buddies. When the fireworks started we were saying things like "Happy Birthday!" and other little shouts of joy. I think Talmage was feeling a little left out because he started shouting "Happy birthday to ME!!" and "Happy birthday Talmage!!" I guess one of these days we will have to explain to them both that the fireworks aren't for Avri's birthday, otherwise Talmage is going to feel a little gypped that he doesn't get any on his birthday. Happy belated birthday Avrianna! We sure love you and enjoy having you and your bright little spirit in our home and family!

County Fair

The County Fair was held during the week that Kendall was at scout camp. So I didn't really want to take the kids by myself, and the cost was a factor as well. But my parents decided on Friday night to keep the kids over night and take them to the fair on Saturday. I got these pictures from them. It looks like they had way too much fun!
It looks like Avri is flashing the "peace" sign, but I guess she was really saying that she wanted to go 2 more times! What a negotiator.
For some reason this picture cracks me up.
This was one of their very favorite rides. Talmage talked about the boats for days.

My parents got caricatures done of both kids. They were pretty cute. I didn't think they looked much like the kids, but maybe to a stranger that's what they look like. :)
And of course, this was the reason my Dad decided to take them, simply to ride the ponies!
They said neither one of the kids were even nervous about feeding the animals.

Sometimes Grandparents make us parents look just plain boring!