Snow day!

Anicka has been dying to make a snow angel ever since it first started snowing Tuesday night. Today there was finally enough snow for us to play in. As soon as she woke up this morning she looked out the window and then jumped on my bed to wake me up, yelling "There's enough, there's enough, there's finally enough snow!" So we went out at about 10:30 this morning and she was able to make her snow angel.



Ryker was not as interested in playing in the snow.


I didn't think that Anicka would last long out in the cold, but she really had a blast playing in the snow. She made a snow castle:


She tubed down the hill on her tiny little pink life saver:



And we started to make a snowman, but Anicka lost interest. It was really funny watching her try to push the big snowball.


Photo opportunity:

Here's one of Anicka pouting after we had to go inside to eat lunch:

But three hours later we went out to leeds to play with my little sisters, since the schools were closed because of the snow. They had over a foot of snow in leeds! It was crazy.
Anicka and Sienna played inside of an igloo that the older kids made:


And I helped the little girls make a fort. We only got about halfway done before the sun started to go down and it was too cold to finish.


I've got to say, I love playing in the snow, but I'm so glad we don't live somewhere where it snows a lot. Snow is fun when it's a novelty, not when you have to live with it every day during the winter!

For Nana

fotos para mi abuela:



El Gordito:







Y la Flacita:




los ninos jugando:

100 things

I was tagged, and I have to write a hundred random facts about myself. It's actually really hard to come up with a hundred things to write about yourself, so some of these are actually about my husband and my kids, as well.

1. I am the oldest of seven children.
2. Adam is the youngest of eight.
3. Adam is four years older than me.
4. When we first met I was seventeen and he had only been home from his mission for about four months.
5. I had my first baby, Anicka, three months before I turned twenty.
6. Anicka was three weeks early because
7. I had to have my gall bladder removed.
8. I spent my first mother’s day in the hospital because of it.
9. I’m not really sure how many kids I want to have.
10. Usually I say four, but at the moment I can’t imagine having more than two.
11. I want to write a book.
12. I think almost everyone wants to write a book.
13. All of my teachers used to read my stories and essays out loud to the class, and it made feel as if I was an amazing writer.
14. Now I know that I’m just average, but I still want to write a book.
15. Actually, I’ve started writing three books, but I have yet to finish one.
16. I just haven’t found a story that feels promising enough, yet.
17. (Really I’m just bad at finishing projects)
18. I get really excited about a project, and then by the time I’m halfway through it it’s not exciting enough anymore, and I’m on to something else.
19. Sometimes I go back and finish projects.
20. But not usually.
21. I am participating in NaNoWriMo in order to get a jump start on a story that I’ve had in my head for a while. Maybe I’ll finish this one.
22. Once I had some of my poetry published in a hokey anthology.
23. It felt like an enormous accomplishment at the time.
24. I started taking college classes when I was fourteen years old,
25. but I still haven’t finished my associates degree
26. because I didn’t take classes all that seriously.
27. Now I wish that I had tried harder, and taken advantage of the opportunity that I had to finish early. Sorry, Mom.
28. I am planning to finish school as soon as we either have the money to spare for tuition or are able to get a grant.
29. Sometimes I think that won’t ever happen.
30. I want to get a teaching certificate.
31. But I don’t know if I still want to be a teacher.
32. I think it’s very rewarding to be a stay-at-home mom.
33. Maybe I’ll want to teach once my children are all grown and don’t need me anymore.
34. That’s a sad thought.
35. When I was growing up my family always had horses, and I spent most of my free time on horse back,
36. but ever since I had Anicka it terrifies me to be on a horse.
37. It’s very frustrating, and I wish I wasn’t such a wimp.
38. I go crazy if I can’t do something artistic at least once a day.
39. I like writing, oil painting, digital art, pencil drawings, jewelry making, crocheting and scrap booking.
40. I also love to read.
41. I devour books, and Adam is always amazed at how many books I read during an average month,
42. which is one a week, at the very least.
43. and that’s if they’re really big books, or if it’s a really busy week.
44. It’s not that I have tons of time to read, just that I read very quickly.
45. I’m really glad that Anicka loves books, too.
46. I know she’s only three, but I hope I can share my love of reading with her.
47. I love helping other people find books that they’ll like.
48. I am a homebody, and would usually rather curl up and read a book or watch a movie with my hubby than go out and socialize.
49. I am a bit socially awkward, but I love people.
50. Sometimes people think that I’m stuck up.
51. I’m not, I’m usually just thinking, or trying hard not to say something stupid.
52. I love the idea of parties, but feel uncomfortable once I am actually there.
53. I don’t do well in large crowds.
54. I get embarrassed very easily, and tend to think that people are always laughing at me.
55. I am a night owl, and I’m really grumpy first thing in the morning.
56. I love to watch musicals and go to plays.
57. I’m really lucky that Adam is nice enough to go with me, even though it’s not his favorite thing to do.
58. But he doesn’t even complain, because he knows how much I love theater.
59. He doesn’t complain when I want to watch a chick flick, either.
60. He even watches Moulin Rouge with me when I ask him to.
61. He’s really good at fixing and building things.
62. And he loves gardening.
63. Adam is amazing.
64. He always knows how to get me out of a bad mood and make me laugh.
65. Usually by doing something absolutely ridiculous.
66. like making up a really cheesy secret handshake and refusing to leave me alone until I help him perfect his technique.
67. He built a really beautiful entertainment center,
68. but it’s being used by his parents until we move into a house
69. because it’s really big and heavy and he doesn’t want to move it until we’re in a more permanent place.
70. I love to bake, but I hate cleaning up afterwards.
71. Adam always offers to do the dishes, but I always feel bad because our counters are really low and he has to bend down really far to reach the sink.
72. So I usually do the dishes.
73. Because I'm one foot and two inches shorter than him.
    
74. I don’t really mind washing the dishes, as long as I can listen to my mp3 player while I’m doing it.
75. I don’t like being interrupted when I’m washing the dishes, because I lose my momentum.
76. My least favorite chore is cleaning the toilet.
77. I had to clean the toilets every weekend when I was growing up.
78. Now Adam cleans the toilets.
79. He also takes turns changing dirty diapers when he’s home.
80. Ryker has really bad poopy diapers that tend to go clear up his back.
81. I’m sure you all really wanted to know that.
82. Ryker likes to have something soft against his face when he’s sleeping.
83. He likes it when his sister sings to him.
84. He started rolling over on soft surfaces (like the bed) about three weeks ago.
85. Yesterday he rolled over for the first time while he was on the floor.
86. He is very different than Anicka was as a baby.
87. Ryker is very easy going, and Anicka was very stubborn.
88. Anicka is still very stubborn.
89. The most stubborn person I have ever met, actually.
90. But she is also very sweet and she loves to make people laugh.
91. Her favorite game to play is ‘Pirates’. She will fill a box with ‘Treasure’ and then dress me up as a pirate, draw a map, and take me on a treasure hunt.
92. She has a really great imagination.
93. She is very friendly and takes to people easily.
94. Her favorite movie is Wall-E
95. Her favorite song is twinkle little star
96. She really loves bath time, until it’s time to actually clean her.
97. And then she really hates bath time.
98. Especially the part where she has to get her hair wet.
99. Ryker really loves baths and splashes around a lot when he’s in the tub.
100. Giving him a bath is a good way to calm him down when he won’t stop fussing.

And that's a hundred. Wow, that really took an inordinate amount of time.
I am now supposed to tag three people. I know Ash already did this a while ago, so I'm going to tag Tiffany, Evie and Heather. Get on it, girls!

I can't seem to think of a title for this post

I don't have too much to say, just a few pictures to upload.

Ryker found his thumb yesterday. He has always liked sucking on his fists, and once when he was just a couple of weeks old he got a hold of his thumb on accident, but yesterday he realized that he can stick it in his mouth whenever he wants to.


And it looks like it is becoming a habit:

I know, I know, thumb sucking is a bad habit and it can cause problems later and all that, but... it's just so cute.

And here is Ryker illustrating his passion for television. He arches clear around to try and watch cartoons with Anicka


And yet another picture of my goofy daughter dressing up in random things... "look, mom! I'm sooo bootiful!"

Halloween pics

Anicka was a cute little cowgirl
She fell asleep on the way to leeds.


Eric pretends that he has hair like Jesse's:




My dad even got into the halloween spirit. His make up looked really awesome in person. And he did it all himself!
And toward the end of the evening we happened upon one of the Knights Who Say 'Ni'. He had wandered into the village looking for a shrubbery...

And the rain came tumbling down...

Well.
Yesterday they layed off 30 people where Adam works. That's about 40 percent of the company.
Today they cut everybody's hours. No one can get more than 32 hours a week.
And if things don't pick up there will be another round of lay offs in a couple of months.
If things still don't pick up they might cut benefits.
yay.

We put in an offer on a little fixer-upper house yesterday. Now I don't know if we'll still be able to afford it. Especially because we'll have to put some new flooring in at least a couple of rooms before we move in. Ideally we would like to replace most of the flooring in the house, since it's a foreclosure and it's pretty hammered. But it's not looking ike we'll be able to afford that. luckily even if they accept our offer we still have ten days to back out. So we will have to do some major praying and budgeting to see if buying a house is still even possible. Adam is talking about looking for a part time job, but I would hate that. When would I see him if he was working two jobs? ugh.
Wish us luck, everybody.

aimless cogitation

Item the first:
NaNoWriMo starts in approximately three days! I'm very excited. If you've never heard of NaNoWriMo here's the quick and dirty explanation: A bunch of crazy people get together and support each other in trying to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Yes, we're all insane. Or will be by the end of the November. I've attempted NaNo noveling twice in the past, and I've never hit the 50,000 word mark. But third time is the charm. I have a word count widget over to the right. I'm supposed to write 1667 words per day in order to stay on track.

Numero dos:
House hunting sucks. I mean it really, really, really, really sucks.

Item number C:
Ashlie and I have started an online book club! You should join, if you haven't already. It's going to be fun. the book club blog is located at www.mixedbagbookclub.blogspot.com
I know, it's a long web address. But all of the short and clever ones were taken.

Also: I have a clogged milk duct and I've been feverish and achy the last couple of days. I'm afraid that this will turn into mastitis. Crappy.

Ramble Ramble: Adam was told that lay offs were going to happen at his job today. Does that sentence even make sense? I can't even tell. My brain is buzzing.
He said he felt sick to his stomach when he went to bed last night. He's not in the running for this round of lay offs, since he's in a leadership position, but he's losing three members of his team. And who knows who will be next if there's another round of lay offs later. I'm worried that the company is failing. Plus, the owner was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, and I don't know whether the company can stay on its feet if he's gone. I'm not sure what we'd do if Adam lost his job, there is nowhere in St. George that would pay him what he's making now. I mean, I'm sure we would cope, I would have to find a night job and we'd cut back on a lot of things, but... does that mean we should stop looking for a house? Sucky, sucky. And I love being a stay at home mom. I would hate to lose that. I guess we could always move to Fillmore and live in his parent's basement and he could work at the mushroom plant or the cheese factory. Yay.

lastly: the 'l' key on my computer is broken, and I have to copy-paste every 'l' that I type. It's getting really irritating.

I was tagged by Ashlie and have to answer the following questions using only one word:


1. Where is your cell phone? table
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? varies
4. Your mother? busy
5. Your father? tired
6. Your favorite thing? kids
7. Your dream last night? psychedelic
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? cluttered
10. Your hobby? art
11. Your fear? needles
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
13. Where were you last night? couch
14. What you're not? energized
15. One of your wish list items? house
16. Where you grew up? leeds
17. The last thing you did? shower
18. What you are wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? cartoons
20. Your pet? fish
21. Your computer? on
22. Your mood? blah
23. Missing someone? Hubby
24. Your car? Dirty
25. Something you're not wearing? socks
26. Favorite store? Robert's
27. Your summer? short
28. Love someone? many
29. Your favorite color? blues
30. Last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? yesterday

I'm supposed to tag 7 other people... but I don't know 7 people that will do it. So. If you read this and you're interested, go ahead.

I just wanted to give my blog a new look for the week leading up to Halloween, but it turned out to be a big pain in the butt to change things. Now I have to re-add all of my widgets. Crappy. Oh well. Happy Halloween, everybody.

My day so far:

"Don't lick your brother."

"Get your foot out of your mouth!"

"Ryker is not a pillow."

"You're not supposed to eat paper."

"If you and Shadow Sienna don't stop fighting you're both going to go sit in time out!" ( ...I never thought I'd have to discipline an imaginary friend.)

Wow. Today is going to be so great.

I should really be folding the laundry...

Well first off here's a cute tag that I stole from Heather:

Hubby Tag

1. Where did you meet your husband? In my home ward. We were literally shoved together by his sister-in-law, Dusty.
2. How long did you date before you married? one year.
3. How long have you been married? Four years
4. What does he do that surprises you? Changes diapers and scrubs toilets.
5. What is your favorite feature on him? Pretty blue eyes
6. What is your favorite quality he has? Kindhearted and genuine
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Babe
8. What is his favorite food? Mashed potatoes
9. What is his favorite sport? Soccer (or 'Footie' as he calls it)
10. When and where was your first kiss? In the parking lot of the singles ward where I went to visit him. (Tiff, remember when I made you go with me so I wouldn't feel so stupid?)
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Relax together after the kids are asleep
12. Do you have any children? 1 boy and 1 girl
13. Does he have any hidden talents? He's very good at building things
14. How old is he? 27
15. Who said I love you first? He did, it was so adorable
16. What is his favorite music? Alternative rock.
17. What do you admire most about him? His sincerity
18. What is his favorite color? blue
19. Will he read this? Probably not
20. Who do you tag? Whoever reads this

And then a short update:
Ryker's blessing was on Oct. 12th and we had a lot of family and friends come to visit. It was great to see everybody!The luncheon went well, we had tons of food. Ryker just barely fit in his little tux. He's 2 months old now and weighs about 13 lbs. What a little chunk! I hope he slows down soon, he's getting really heavy!



We forgot about taking family pictures until almost everyone was gone, so we only got pictures with one set of grandparents. And, as usual, we can't seem to take a picture where everyone is looking at the camera at the same time:





Also, some of you may have heard that my great grandfather went in to surgery on the 12th. We were afraid he might not make it through the surgery, but he seems to be doing well and is up walking around now. I know that great grandma and grandpa are very old and tired, but I can't help hoping that Ryker and Anicka have a chance to know their great great grandparents.

...anyway. That's all for now, because I really should be folding laundry.

Ciao, everybody.

Tagged

well, I've been tagged. So here goes:

8 TV shows that I love to watch:

1. Prison Break
2. The Office
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Scrubs
5. So you Think you can Dance
6. That 70's Show
7. Nightly News with Brian Williams
8. Friends reruns

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Iggy's
2. Basila's
3. Applebee's
4. Jimmy John's
5. The Golden Spoon (not really a restaurant, it's a frozen yogurt place)
6. Bajio
7. The Bumbleberry Inn (just for the pies!)
8. Blue Sky

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:

1. Adam stayed home from work
2. I had a really good day
3. We ate at Durango's with Dusty's family
4. I washed dishes
5. I played 'kitties' with Anicka
6. I started a new book
7. I played a word game on Facebook
8. Anicka slept in

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:

1. NaNoWriMo
2. The weekend
3. Making Halloween decorations
4. Finding costumes for Halloween
5. Halloween!
6. Thanksgiving!
7. Christmas!
8. meeting my weight loss goal

8 Things On My Wish List:

1. a house
2. more patience
3. a babysitter that lives closer to us
4. a raise for Adam
5. an end to this economic crisis
6. more time
7. a really great plot for NaNoWriMo
8. more sleep

8 People I Tag:
I... don't have eight people to tag. So if you happen to read this and want to do it, go ahead.

Annnd, hopefully I'll have time to write a real entry tomorrow!

Craziness

So Ryker's blessing is this Sunday, and I'm just a little bit stressed. Why? I don't know. I've got everything planned, I've given everyone food assignments for the potluck lunch, we've purchased all of the deli meat and cheese... I'm pretty sure I've got everything covered. All that's left for me to do is make some rice krispie treats and a pasta salad. Easy, easy. So why do I have to drive myself crazy worrying about everything? I hope Ryker's blessing tux fits. I hope there isn't another gathering at the park that afternoon. I hope everyone gets along. I hope Ryker isn't fussy during sacrament meeting. I hope everyone brings what I've asked them to bring. I hope we have enough food. Seriously! Every time there's an event like this my stomach ties itself in knots because I'm so worried about stupid, stupid things. Ugh.

Other things I plan to do this weekend:
-Clean my apartment
-Give Adam a haircut
-Give Anicka a haircut
-Get a haircut
-Dye my hair
-Watch Moulin Rouge with Crystal and Evie
-Go to Kaycee and Sienna's party
- Go on a date (sans kids) with my husband

And, on a totally unrelated note: Anicka has an imaginary friend. It kind of weirds me out. Her friend is named Shadow Sienna. She only calls her 'Shadow Sienna' for my benefit, though, because I get confused sometimes wondering whether she's talking about her imaginary friend or her aunt.
When we were going to the store the other day:
"Is Sienna coming with us, momma?"
"No, Sienna is at home, sweetie."
"No, mom. Not Sienna. Shadow Sienna."
Anicka is constantly chatting with Shadow Sienna. Sometimes she even does Sienna's part of the conversation out loud as well, in a high, soft imaginary-friend- voice. She asks for extra candy so that Sienna can have one ("sorry, but you and Sienna will just have to share"), she berates me for sitting on top of Sienna, she gets indignant when I don't seem to realize that Sienna is trying to have a conversation with me, annnd she's started to blame things on her little friend, too. "I didn't color on your papers, Sienna did it!"
Wow. I mean really, wow.
It's actually pretty funny.

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A Million Pictures (and very little else)

Sorry it took me so long to make good on my promise of pictures. But hopefully this post will make up for my tardiness.

Ryker is growing so fast, and getting really chubby:






Apparently Adam has a very calming presence:



Here is Anicka just being Anicka:



On Saturday we drove up to Fillmore and had a picnic in the mountains with Adam's family. It was so beautiful, we took a ton of pictures. Here are a few of my favorites:







Some pics of my cute nieces and nephew:






Going for a walk to pick leaves:




Ryker snoozing in his comfy carrier:

Adam getting beat up by his sisters:


Adam and Heidi torture Mindy:



A giant wasp nest that was in a tree next to our picnic table:

Mindy's husband waited until everyone else was safely in the car (except for Adam, who wanted to film the event) and then he shot it full of holes and ran like mad.


And, finally, here is an uber cute video of Anicka trying to sing to Ryker. She keeps forgetting the words.

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