Kailadoscope

Accepted

2012-01-27T08:39:00.005-05:00

Life is about to change pretty drastically in my home. I just found out that I was accepted into the Master of Music education program at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music!!! This is a HUGE deal. The Jacobs School of Music is world renown and ranks along side Julliard. So, yeah, big deal!

The hope of my being accepted into this school was one of the driving forces behind moving the family out to Indiana. When Noah and I first got married I would sometimes throw out how much I would love to go to IU, but I didn't see it as a real possibility until Noah got a job offer in Columbus, Indiana (40 miles away from the school). And here we are!

In addition to the esteem this school holds, I have history here. My mom was a child in Bloomington while my grandpa worked on his doctorate. My grandpa's health is currently declining, so I feel especially proud right now to have this connection with him--to walk the same halls he walked many years ago. I got to talk to him yesterday and give him the news right after I found out.

YAY!!!

Holy SHIP it's Christmas!

2011-12-25T16:18:00.024-05:00

Thanks to mommy bloggers, Noah and I realized that we've been doing Christmas wrong all these years in our marriage--we've been buying our kids their presents at stores instead of making them.

So this year, we did it right. And we did it better than every mommy blogger out there.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... Let me start with Christmas eve:

Festivities began for us with the kids sprinkling magic Reindeer food on our lawn so Santa's reindeer would have energy to complete their long journey (for those of you living in the West coast, that basically means we single handedly saved your Christmas, so you're welcome).

then it was dinner time. This year, we went for a simple, but significant dinner of fish and honeycomb. If you're wondering why that's significant, it's probably time for you to start going to church.
honeycomb looks so cool, but boy is it powerful stuff!
This year, we decided to do eve gifts, which we do some years. I found pirate pajamas for Oliver and Saturn/ rocket pajamas for Alex (he's very into outer-space right now, and really loves the planet Saturn). Gabby doesn't particularly care about sock monkeys, but I couldn't find any PJs with a book pattern so that's what she got.
Bedtime. We read the Christmas story out of the bible, and a handful of other Christmas themed books before sending the kids off to bed. Alex and Oliver fell asleep without any problem. Gabby wasn't asleep until midnight. She was too excited.

My first Christmas gift this year was that my kids slept until 8:30 AM! Which was awesome because I stayed up until 2 AM finishing Christmas preparations.

Santa made it to the house, leaving the kids stockings filled on their beds. Oliver got coal in his stocking (coal gum), and a rock, which is exactly what he asked Santa for when we saw him at the Children's museum.

The tree was also loaded with presents below it (because I had stayed up until 2 AM wrapping them), but those had to wait until after breakfast.

For breakfast, we ate delicious Santa pancakes covered in whip cream and loaded with raspberries. But you know, the kids were so excited about the presents under the tree that they hardly ate anything.

And then it was the much anticipated present opening time

Oliver started things off. This was his first year of being excited for Christmas which made it extra special. He insisted on playing with every toy he opened before letting anyone open another present, which meant that Christmas lasted a whole lot longer.

My nerdy kids got exactly what they asked for...a kit for growing crystals for Alex, and...a DNA laboratory--complete with centrifuge--for Gabby.

If you're thinking that these gifts look surprisingly store bought for a homemade Christmas, you're right. The kids got Christmas money and gifts from their grandparents, uncles and aunts (Noah and I only bought few of the gifts under the tree).

The real present from us was in the basement.

... concealed by a paper barrier:
This is what the kids looked like (note the glum expression on Alex's face--after all the excitement from present opening wore off, the flu set in):
this is what they were looking at:
HOLY SHIP!

Initially, Oliver was a bit apprehensive about the ship since Noah put a rocking mechanism on the thing, so it literally ROCKS!

He has since warmed up to it

But wait, there's more!

Noah built an indoor half pipe--you know, for the kids.
The kids actually really love it-- what kid wouldn't! I however, have stayed off the thing remembering what happened last time I got on one.

Christmas night was spent at my best friend, Adrea's house in Indianapolis where we had the best Christmas dinner of my life. Seriously.

We got home around 2:00 AM, put the kids in their beds, gave Alex a drink of water, and watched as he threw it up violently (along with everything else he ate). I think he must have caught the flu bug that's been going around. So we got to clean up puke.

Next year, we're getting the kids each a pair of socks. That's it. And you can bet they'll be store bought.

Stitches and an Allergy

2011-12-25T14:40:00.010-05:00

A week ago Saturday, while I was painting the basement, Oliver said, "Hey Mom! Watch this!" I looked down to see Oliver dive head first over a toy basket. The basket flipped over (which I think came as a surprise to him). Then came the screaming--the kind a mom hears and knows something is wrong. I bent down to pick up Oliver and saw blood everywhere. When the basket tipped over, Oliver's head landed on a pile of wooden blocks. Immediately I started hyperventilating as I frantically grabbed my baby and carried him out to where Noah was. Noah took over since I was a little hysterical. We got Ollie cleaned off, and knew right away he'd need stitches.
Oliver was brave. He didn't cry, and held stiller than I've ever seen the boy hold as the doctor numbed him and stitched his head back together.
We were instructed to apply neosporin and hydrogen peroxide twice a day to help with the scaring and to come back in a week to get the 7 stitches removed.
However, two days later, Oliver's forehead started swelling. Noah first noticed it on Monday night at 7:00 PM, when the swelling was about an inch and a half in diameter around the cut. We got a hold of our after hours clinic, and they called in an antibiotic.
By midnight, the swelling had reached 4 inches in diameter and Oliver developed a fever of 102.5 F. I tried calling the after hours clinic again as I was a bit frantic with concern, but after waiting on hold for 25 minutes, I decided to take him to the ER.
The ER trip was a complete waste of time. They gave Oliver Tylenol. Had his cut been anywhere else but the center of his forehead, they would have opened it and drained it.

You can bet I'll be raising my fist to them when I get the $300 bill.

The swelling started improving over the next two days. It was so painful for him when I touched it that I stopped putting the Neosporin and hydogen peroxide on it--until the third day.

When the swelling had nearly gone completely down (Thurday), I put Neosporin on Ollie. Within ten minutes of application, his cut started swelling up and oozing blood and pus.
As it turns out, two of Noah's sisters are allergic to Neosporin. I guess it runs in the family.
Oliver is now doing much better. He looks [and acts] like his old self again. And you can bet I'll never be giving him Neosporin ever again.

The Halls are Decked

2011-12-05T13:52:00.006-05:00

This year, I am really getting my holiday game on. We have lights strung along our roof line (thanks to Noah, who is awesome) and our front porch looks amazing, especially at night.

Yes, that is a Halloween door mat. We keep my favorite holiday running all. year. long.

I made wreaths:

and even garlands (never doing that again!):
the tree is up, and the train is already broken (thanks Oliver):
And the elves are hard at work in the garage building something...

Thanksgiving

2011-12-05T13:35:00.007-05:00

During the month of November, we worked on a "thankful tree," where every night our family would write something we were grateful for on a leaf to add to our tree.

My personal favorite leaf came from Alex, who said that he was thankful for space, as in outer-space.

"I am thankful for trampolines"--Gabby

This year, I decorated our mantle (I even made the garland!):
Noah cooked the turkey in dutch ovens. He had trouble fitting one of them, so he literally had to saw the turkey in half. It was worth it though.
the spread:
friends and family (totaling 10 adults and 11 kids):
the quintessential "kids table"

Date Night

2011-11-18T19:11:00.006-05:00

Friday nights are date night at our house. Noah and I teamed up with two families so we get to go out two weeks in a row, and then on the third week we watch the kids--all ELEVEN!

Since they're all roughly the same age, they just play and make mine and Noah's job really easy.
Now that the weather is a little colder, we're stuck inside, but during the warmer months, we play night games, jump on the trampoline, jump rope, and rollerblade.
Best night of the week (especially when you're the one on the date!)

In an unrelated note, Oliver's Snoopy bed is lit up for the holidays (you probably already guessed this from the precious pictures, still I think it's important to bring attention to the details--such as Oliver's newly acquired Charlie Brown pathetic looking Christmas tree).

The Artists in my Family

2011-11-10T13:56:00.005-05:00

I am one happy mom today--even though I spent my morning cleaning up Oliver's poo, which miraculously found its way on two separate toilets, the kitchen tile, and his bedroom carpet (not to mention on his underwear and pants). But, all that is forgotten now because of a surprise package I received in the mail today:
Um...are you flipping out?! My wonderful [and obviously very talented] uncle Dell Blair made this breathtakingly beautiful painting of my daughter, Gabrielle. I asked him if he'd be willing to paint portraits of my kids a month or so ago after falling in love with his work at my grandparents house, and he accepted!
I wish you could see it in person, it really is incredible.

I've always wanted original artwork in my house, which accounts for one of the [many] reasons I married my husband, Noah--his dad, Wesley Lifferth, is an artist! We've dedicated our office to my father-in-law's art, which I absolutely love. This is what I see every time I sit at my desk (which, coincidentally is where I'm sitting right now):

this is one of my favorites:
This is a painting my father-in-law gave to my daughter, which she proudly hangs in her room:
now if you'll excuse me, I've got another painting to hang...

The Most Wonderful time of the Year

2011-11-07T15:30:00.004-05:00

HALLOWEEN

My favorite holiday has come and gone. This is how it went down this year:

I threw a little Halloween party for Oliver and his preschool group.
We tagged along with some of our friends to go trick-or-treating
Gabby was Dorothy (again, I got to remember how much I really hate sewing as I once again made her costume)
the group:
I'm throwing these next two pictures in of Oliver as Dwight (from the Office), even though he was Charlie Brown on Halloween (we dressed the poor boy up as Dwight for a party earlier in the month)
Gabby as Dorothy:
Alex as a Star Wars bobble head:
And here's one of Oliver's Charlie Brown costume (which Noah made!)

Why Hello October

2011-10-03T15:15:00.005-04:00

October is my favorite month, simply because Halloween is my favorite holiday. And this year, I'm really getting into it, and it's only just begun.

To start out, over the weekend, we ventured into the middle of nowhere to find this creepy stone head (an entire town was named after this--look it up: Stone Head, Indiana). On our arrival, Noah's truck tire went flat. sPoOky.
statue etiquette: always mimic statue poses for photo ops.
When we were finally able to get the spare tire on the truck, we ventured into the woods for a spooky hike to a run down house. This is the only picture I got during our hike:
Our timing was a little off, so on our way back from the "house" (a tree had demolished what was left of it), it got dark. Thankfully, I had been a smart mother, investing in those glow bracelets and necklaces (it's a rare thing that I'm the prepared parent) so we didn't lose a single kid!

The terrain was super rough; we had to scale ravines with kids in tow, slide down (or fall down) steep slopes. And Gabby was absolutely petrified--of everything! First it was mountain lions, then after seeing the house collapsed with the fallen tree, Gabby became convinced that a tree would fall on her at any second and crush her, then it was the fear of lime disease (tick territory, you know), and at last when we reached the cars in complete darkness, Noah honked the horn using his remote and Gabby nearly fainted with worry, assuming the truck would plow through the forest and run her over (never mind the fact that no one was in the truck).
But we made it. With dirt on our bums, we lived to tell the tale!
In other news, I've decorated my house! I kind of went all out this year (something I've always wanted to do, but never have). I finally feel at home in my house: the trim is painted, the walls have color, and now the bats are up!

Happy Halloween month!

September in Fast Forward

2011-10-03T12:55:00.010-04:00

The biggest event that happened in our family in September was that after only a few weeks, a lot of frustration, heartbreak, and countless tears, we decided to take Gabby out of public school and try out home schooling. It was not an easy conclusion to get to, but as it turns out, it was the right thing to do.

We found K12 (a home schooling program) and are absolutely loving the curriculum. During the first week of home schooling, we read about some ancient mounds in Anderson, Indiana. The following weekend, we took a field trip and brought along Katie (Gabby's friend) and the Bjorks.
We happened to arrive just in time for archaeology week so the kids got to dig for arrow heads and make petroglyphs.
We explored the two mounds on site.

We got in tuned with the ancient spirits of the mound the only way you can--by lying on the earth

...and by doing some yoga.
We went for a magical walk on a trail around the mounds
Oliver kept asking me to take pictures of him lying on the trail--he was really feeling it.
we even found some magic mushrooms (but don't worry, we didn't find out just how magical they were).

Noah discovered the mounds were only 20 minutes away from the ONLY radio control airplane museum in.the.world. So we took a gander and visited it. Honestly, it wasn't that bad.

We found a creepy manikin:
The kids found a hands on exhibit, which was a big hit.
And to finish the visit off, we bought all the kids little planes to fly.
The best was yet to come though...on the way home, we came across this on the side of the road:
A GIANT SHOE!!! You heard me!

August, in Fast Forward

2011-10-03T10:44:00.007-04:00

We started August the right way--with a road trip. It took us all of 24 hours to get from Columbus, Indiana to Provo, Utah. But family is worth it.
We hiked to one of my favorite places in Utah valley, Bridle Veil Falls. Seriously, it's beautiful, and the canyon that surrounds it is simply awesome.
Egon came along for the ride.
The kids got to see their favorite people: aunts and uncles (pictured below is Uncle Mish with Oliver)
We saw my beautiful and talented sister sing at open mic.
The kids got reacquainted with their old cousins:
as well as some new cousins:
We hiked to a cool place the locals call "the grotto" in Payson canyon:
And then of course there was more celebration to be had, it being August and all (Oliver's month).
We made it through the long drive home and decided to have one last hurrah before school started for the kids. On Oliver's actual birthday (August 20th), we took the kids to King's Island, which has Snoopy Planet (perfect for our little birthday boy).

Oliver was so cute meeting all his friends, the Peanuts characters. He would walk right up to them and hug them.
The rides were all geared just for our pint sized birthday boy.
And then just like that, summer came to an end and the kids started school, Gabby as a forth grader, and Alex as a first grader.

July, in Fast Forward

2011-10-03T10:36:00.002-04:00

July is of course Gabby's month, but Alex made sure to steel the spotlight from her momentarily by losing his first tooth:
We got special visitors just in time for Gabby's ninth birthday. My dad (Grandpa "Choo Choo") and step mom (Grandma Rene) stopped in to celebrate with us. The kids had such a great time and missed them terribly after they left.
Now to the main event...Gabby's 9th birthday. This year, we pulled out all the stops. Gabby decided she wanted a Paris themed party after following the blog of her namesake's aunt on designmom.com (you've probably heard of it).

I made a lemon tart in lieu of birthday cake and ordered French macarons from a local bakery.
We drank Parisian lemonade:
And I make the coolest birthday invitations ever--passports to Paris!
...complete with photo ID. We stamped the passport pages for every activity we did, starting with...
hat design:
followed by modeling:
We also had a baking class where all the girls helped make crepes, but since I was overseeing all that mayhem, I failed to take any pictures. For future reference, never, under any circumstances leave a giant bottle of Nutella unattended on a table full of girls with crepes. Furthermore, don't bother with making a cake (or in this case a lemon tart) when said girls are on such a sugar high from Nutella that thought of taking in more sugar is nauseating.
Party aftermath:
After Gabby's party, Alex realized that, although he got to go to Harry Potter land on his birthday, I never made him a cake or threw a party for him. So, I fixed the problem by letting him have a sleep over and making him a cake just about a month and a half after his actual birthday.
Favorite picture taken in July, completely unrelated to birthdays:

Don't Light Floating Lanterns on Windy Days.

2011-06-30T23:48:00.005-04:00

I've been wanting to let off one of these floating lanterns since seeing them for the first time two years ago.
Noah, on the other hand, has been a little wary of lighting something on fire and then releasing it into the air. But he indulged my curiosity.
Moments after lighting it, we recognized that lighting a sky lantern on a windy day was perhaps not the best idea.

then a few moments after that, we realized it was a very, VERY bad idea to light a sky lantern on a windy day in our neighborhood.
we got lucky... this time... and it cleared our neighbor's house.

Phew.

Legilimens (a glimpse into our summer vacation)

2011-06-14T20:08:00.024-04:00

If you haven't heard, we just returned from our east coast vacation.

We started off in Raleigh, North Carolina where my step-brother and his family live. They hosted us for two nights and we absolutely loved every minute of it.
Alex really misses being around family, so this was a special treat for him. He LOVES cousins!
Gabby simply adores her cousin David (as seen below) and was pretty much by his side through our whole visit:
Then, it was off to Charleston, South Carolina and the beach--a first for Oliver! Turns out he's a beach bum just like the rest of us.
We found a jelly fish (but weren't stung by any, thank goodness!)
the kids worked on their body boarding skills, which was tough because the waves were pretty wimpy.
Oliver bravely dressed in drag, and pulled it off quite well I thought:
Noah had to work for three days in Charleston (poor fellow), but the kids and I got to explore.

Some how, I summoned the courage to take all three kids on a boat to Fort Sumpter (the starting point of the Civil War), since history is way more exciting when you experience it:
Oliver was a royal pain in the $%#.
And of course, we checked out the market and walked around down town. I'm sure it would have been loads more fun minus kids and minus about 50 degrees (I cannot begin to tell you how hot and humid it was). SO HOT! And SO HUMID!!!
Luckily, someone noticed our sweat (possibly our stench) and let us in on a little town secret...

Fountain Park!
This picture gives you an idea of the lengths to which we went to cool off:
And then it was time to go home... or was it?

We packed the kids in the car on Thursday afternoon telling them we were headed home and that we would stay in a hotel on the way. We arrived at our hotel at about 11 that night with sleeping children who were unaware that we drove to Orlando, Florida (home of Harry Potter World at Universal Studios--have I told you yet that Gabby just finished reading the entire series?)

The following morning was Alex's birthday and we told the kids we would take them to breakfast and then to a mall to go shopping for Alex. We made sure the kids were completely distracted with DS's and battleship as we drove by billboard after billboard advertising The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The kids missed them all.

When we got into the parking lot of Universal, we let the cat out of the bag:

so long ipad 2:

The Three Broomsticks: where we blew $60 on lunch!
Hagrid's cottage:
Oliver wasn't a big fan of roller-coasters, but he got to go on them anyway:
Since it was Alex's birthday, he got to wear a magical pin that ensured special treatment and announcement of his birthday over the loud speaker on nearly every ride we went on (much to his approval):
The magical pin most likely also contributed to his getting picked by Olivander himself at the wand shop!
Turns out the boy isn't a squib after all!!!
And of course, there were other, non Harry Potter themed parts of the park we visited (Noah loves a good fish ride!)

Best vacation (and birthday celebration) EVER!!!

Reenactment

2011-06-14T19:45:00.003-04:00

School is out. Gabby finished third grade, and my little Alex finished kindergarten:
to celebrate the school year coming to a close, Noah and I took the kids to a civil war reenactment. We parked the car, heard cannons firing, and made it to the fight just in time to see the troops leave the battle ground. Apparently the North won (which, we heard isn't always the case in Indiana reenactments).
After the battle, the kids got to talk to the troops (we learned that the people who do these reenactments buy all their own uniforms, tents, guns, etc. and then they travel around joining groups who share their love of the civil war).
For Noah though, the highlight of our civil war adventure was finding an aqueduct:

What Matters

2011-05-26T15:48:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, we got a little taste of the record breaking storms that have been wreaking havoc in the Midwest.

The kids and I watched weather reports and knew that a super cell (a violent storm capable of producing tornadoes) was headed right for us--like RIGHT for us.

Gabby was extremely worried about our house, particularly her room, despite my efforts in explaining that everything in the house can be replaced--except our family and a few other things like pictures (but of course, family trumps everything!). She and Alex devised a plan to take everything of theirs that was "irreplaceable" to the basement with them while we rode out the storm. Here is what they brought:

Alex brough his four "Wimpy Kid" books, a pair of sunglasses, a watch, a magnifying glass, a lanyard (in case we needed to be identified?), a top that lights up, and silly bands (not pictured).

Gabby (who also organized her items neatly) brought: her ATM, a head lamp, an eye mask (because when the power goes out, it's just not dark enough in the basement), a Harry Potter trivia game, a journal, Beatrix Potter books, Les 101 Dalmations (French edition), scriptures (that's got to give us points right?), an extra scripture case (in case the first one doesn't make it?), medals, a book she made, and a piano music box (for when our real piano goes to Oz).
This is what the storm looked like from the outside (I missed it--the kids didn't let me see it).
We made it through the storm just fine. At least one tornado touched down (about 2 miles away from our house), and two other funnel clouds were spotted. During the storm, a good part of our town lost power (we were lucky and didn't). Trees were uprooted, some fell on houses, signs fell on cars, a semi truck flipped over on the freeway and hail the size of golf balls fell. A few people were injured, but fortunately there were no fatalities.

And thanks to Alex, if our house had been taken away, we'd still be able to light leaves on fire with that magnifying glass!

The Commons

2011-05-15T11:22:00.006-04:00

We've been waiting for more than two years (since moving to Columbus) for the Commons--a multi-million dollar indoor playground--to open, and yesterday it finally did. It is AWESOME!
Alex with his favorite baby, Ari (belonging to my BFF, Adrea).

Alex the baseball rockstar

2011-05-15T10:49:00.002-04:00

During soccer season, Alex told me what he really wanted to do was baseball, so this spring, I signed him up. And what do you know, the boy can play!
during his last game (which, sadly, I missed because I was in Bloomington with Gabby at her piano lesson), Alex hit the ball into the grass with the first pitch and got a home run!
Noah reported that Alex grinned from ear to ear with his eyes on his dad as he ran the bases.
Alex is always the funnest kid to watch because he likes to do super hero poses on the bases:
And because my little Alex is so awesome, his coach gave him the game ball.
And then Noah took him out for ice cream to celebrate.

C'mon Dover!

2011-05-06T20:38:00.005-04:00

I finally made it to a real, live horse race. We took the kids to Keenland over Easter weekend.
the key to having the most fun at a race is to bet $2 on a horse with 68:1 odds to win, and then watch that horse stay in second place right until the end. I can only imagine how much more exciting it would have been if my horse had actually won.
We taught the kids all about gambling and how if you pick the right horse, it can really pay big--for instance, on a two dollar bet, we made three dollars (we let the kids have the winnings just to teach them a lesson).
The following day, we headed to our state's capital for Earthday (it's like my 5th favorite holiday).
Gabby scares me some times:
The kids got FREE pedometers (those are the best kind).
But the highlight of the whole weekend was when Oliver's name was pulled in a drawing for a brand new composter (I was so proud I screamed when they read his name):
I think he was more excited about it before we started filling it with garbage:
Gabby didn't win a composter:
The next day was Easter and we were all so burned out from all the fun we'd had the days before that we kind of skipped it. But don't worry, Monday was Easter take II, and we made sure to observe it. P.S. Easter candy is 40% off on Monday.
The goods:
Oliver was shaking, he was so excited when he figured out that there was real candy in every single egg (in case you haven't heard, I've rid our home of all sugar). And yes, that is a Halloween ghost bag Oliver is carrying.
Easter take 1 had its challenges:
We got one good shot though:

Holier than you

2011-04-11T14:18:00.011-04:00

Last weekend, we celebrated Holi (The Festival of Colors).

we were clearly the palest people at the celebration and no doubt everyone was wondering what we were doing there (Holi apparently isn't that big with the Caucasians in Columbus, Indiana), nevertheless, we threw colored powder and water with the best of them.
After getting a mouthful of powder, Gabby informed us that it doesn't taste all that great.

And look, Noah, Oliver, and the back of my head even made it on the Indian Association of Columbus's website!

Hope your holi was as awesome as ours!

What? You didn't celebrate? Tisk tisk.

Snoopy Bed Unveiling

2011-03-24T16:17:00.006-04:00

Oliver is no longer sleeping in a crib. He has been upgraded (or downgraded, depending on how you look at it) to sleeping on a dog house. A Snoopy doghouse.

Yes, this is real. You are looking at Charles M. Schulz's vision come to life in the form of a toddler bed.
I know what you're thinking, "holy @#$% that's awesome."

If you're wondering where you can get one, you can't, because you didn't marry Noah. I did. And Noah made it.
Yes, I'm aware that my son's pajama top does not match his bottoms. But who cares, he has a Snoopy bed and your kid doesn't.

Senbazuru

2011-03-22T09:21:00.006-04:00

In wake of the devastation in Japan, the kids and I contributed to our community's senbazuru (a thousand paper cranes) project.
In Japan, when someone is sick, people bring a senbazuru, which is supposed to bring good luck and grant a wish.
We wish for healing in Japan.

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-19T11:23:00.005-04:00

Spring break this year started with a bang--the bang of my head into concrete while I attempted (for the first time) to roller blade on a half pipe. I wish I could say I was attempting some cool trick, like a back flip, but in reality I was just trying to turn around on the pipe. Lame. In any case, Noah was so proud of me.
Two days after cracking my head open, a picture of Oliver kicking me in the face made the front cover of the local newspaper. I had taken the kids to open gym at a gymnastics center and a news reporter and photographer were there writing a story about what to do during spring break.
The following day, I took the kids to Nashville, Indiana (15 minutes away) where they got to mine for gemstones. It was a big hit all around and totally worth the $15 I spent on two bags of dirt.
Thursday, we headed an hour southeast to a little town called Madison. We booked a room at Hillside Inn, where Shirley McLaine, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra stayed while filming a movie (call us snobs, but we only stay in hotels that have hosted famous people).
our view:
The next morning we played around the town. Oh, did I mention we were with Henry and Ari (and their parents)? This week could not have been better!

Then it was off to Squire Boone Cavern
are you totally flipping out? It was seriously awesome!

this is the oldest formation in the cave--it's over a million years old.
There was even a waterfall IN the cave, which I'm told is pretty rare.
Friday night, we partied on at our house. Gabby got to have a sleep over at the neighbor's house, and Alex and Oliver both got to sleep on a dog house...but more on that in another post.

Since we last spoke...

2010-12-31T12:06:00.009-05:00

Christmas came, and went. Here's a recap of our holiday:

The kids collectively decided they wanted a dog for Christmas, and Noah and I actually let them get one--from the pound. Say hello to Egon:

The dog was the big present this year, but thanks to grandparents and uncles and aunts, the kids got spoiled rotten.

Christmas Eve was spent with Noah's Uncle and Aunt who live near us. Every year, they host a "Bethlehem dinner" where they eat Middle Eastern food with their hands. I love the idea, and the evening was super fun.

Christmas morning, the kids lined up on the stairs after opening their stockings:

Noah and I were a bit sneaky this year. We only put a few presents under the tree, leaving the majority of them in the basement where Santa also left a PING PONG TABLE!!! I was worried the kids might throw fits when they didn't see piles of gifts, but they surprised me. They were happy with only a few presents.

One of the presents under the tree was a Wii game from Uncle Zach, which we had to try out and since our Wii is in the basement, the kids filed down.

And what do you know, there were more presents! Here are some highlights:

Gabby and Alex each got Rollerblades this year and pretty much left them on for the entire Christmas weekend.

Alex loves showing us his fighting moves, so we decided to encourage that by getting him some boxing gloves:
Oliver Kenevil got a power wheel. After figuring out how to work the thing, he lifted it up on a platform Noah built for the kids to play ping pong, and started jumping it. It was perhaps Noah's proudest moment as a father. In the past week, Oliver has continued trying daring stunts, such as: riding backwards, riding while standing, and holding onto the handlebars and dragging himself behind it (the Superman).
Gabby wanted accessories for her American Girl dolls so she can keep up with her friends.I outdid myself and got Noah a new Casio Pathfinder watch, which he LOVED. And he gave me the cutest purse ever (not pictured because I was behind the camera).
The highlight of Christmas though was that my life-long BFF, Adrea came over with her family. This is her son Henry:
We made Gingerbread houses, ate a fancy dinner, and partied all night long and since that wasn't enough, we kept the party going through the next day too.
Adrea made a Yule Log which totally impressed me:

One of our main Christmas traditions is that we buy ornaments that have something to do with events of the past year. We always wait to buy them until a day or two after Christmas because they're all on sale and we're cheap. Here's what we picked up this year:

Noah and I got an ornament commemorating our 10 year anniversary--I didn't blog about our anniversary because I didn't have a working camera but it was simply awesome! Noah's parents came to town and Noah and I had our first romantic overnighter EVER. We hit up Cincinnati, stayed at the Hyatt, explored the city without kids, got tacos from a street vendor, drank hot chocolate, almost watched the lighting of the down town Christmas tree (we got bored and left before they actually lit the thing), and hot tubbed. It was without a doubt one of the funnest times I've had in my life.
Gabby got a Hermione ornament this year because she has become a book worm, she loves Harry Potter, and she's a know-it-all [like Hermione].
Oliver loves Snoopy and requests every night to be read a "Moopy book." This year, he got a tap dancing "Moopy" ornament.
Alex learned how to read this year. One of his favorite books is Green Eggs and Ham, so he got this ornament:

Well, Happy New Year everyone!

The Long Awaited Post

2010-11-17T08:27:00.006-05:00

In my defense, both my little camera and my Nikon broke so I haven't had any pictures to document what's been happening. Luckily, Noah was able to fix it after discovering it would cost $300 to send it in to Nikon. There's nothing quite like the threat of spending money to bring out the fix-it side of my husband.

So here's a recap of the last few months:

Alex started kindergarten and is absolutely loving it. We started him on some books last spring to prepare him for kindergarten and he soared through the first two starter levels. He still loves playing the wii and being on the computer (surprise surprise).

Gabby has also turned into a book worm and is currently devouring Roald Dahl, J.K Rowling, and Beverly Cleary. At school they have reading goals where every book is worth a certain number of points. Gabby is at 429% of her reading goal for the term. She's also doing really well in piano and has finished learning a Bach minuet and a Schumann piece.

Oliver is still a mischievous little boy and has decided that we shouldn't own nice things, so he's kindly taking care of that problem for us. He loves dancing to music on his little electric piano and refuses to watch shows, despite my continued encouragement.

Noah is on his last rotation of the two-year MDP program (you can ask him what that stands for) and in February will have permanent position at Cummins.

As for me, I'm getting ready to audition at IU for their masters program in vocal performance. I've been so excited about this prospect, but now that it's upon me I'm totally anxious. I won't know if I made it in until some time in the spring. Wish me luck.

Our most recent bit of excitement was that Noah's brother, Zach came and visited us. Here are some highlights:

Uncle Zach brought the kids 5 lbs (6000 calories) of gummy bear EACH (the world's largest). That's 15 lbs, 18,000 calories in all. They were thrilled to say the least.

We stopped in at Cincinnati and walked around the city.

We saw the building that inspired the idea for the justice league headquarters

We went to the Speedway In Indianapolis
We also went to the Slugger museum in Louisville, Kentucky and saw how they make baseball bats, but that was before I had a working camera, so sorry, no pictures.

The kids were sad to see Uncle Zach leave, but the memories (and gummy bears) will last a lifetime.

family pictures

2010-09-28T10:08:00.004-04:00

Last week, Maddy Lucas came to town (I've known Maddy since she was born and she's pretty much family). Anyway, Maddy's is one kick-A photographer and since she was out, I asked her if she'd take our family pictures...guess what, she said YES.

when we finished the shoot, Gabby and Alex walked over this huge vent that was blowing and since Gabby was wearing a skirt, we had a little Marilyn Monroe moment.

Maddy lives in the Seattle area and she's super cool, so if you live out there you should totally call her for pictures.

Catching Up

2010-09-05T14:28:00.011-04:00

Hi, this is Noah. Kaila hasn't blogged much recently. I told her I wanter her to post something about my trip to the dunes with my new 4-wheeler:
It's a Yamaha YFZ-450 with all the add-on's available, for those who care. It was definitely the loudest machine at the dunes. We went to the dunes on two separate days. Once with my dad and my brother. The other day we took Kaila's brother and sister. We didn't get very many pictures (because we were busy riding!).

Below is a picture of my dad, he's 60-something, but it doesn't show. I wish I had a picture of him jumping it. He had a great time but he said he wished I had a motorcross bike instead.

The picture below is my brother jumping. We were hitting jumps in 5th gear. He jumped 45 linear feet (not sure on vertical), I jumped about 40'. Not bad for the first day out. I took all of the good jump pictures, so obviously I wasn't the one jumping. Here is a picture I took:

Here is a typical picture they took of me jumping:
(That's my wheel in the top left corner)

Kaila's brother had never been on a 4-wheeler before our trip. I was really nervous because this definitely isn't the type of 4-wheeler to learn on. Anyway, we started him out slow in some wide open areas and by the end of the day he was jumping around 15' (linear). At the very end of the day I told him he could take it out for one last ride. He was gone for almost an hour.

I'll try to get Kaila to start blogging regularly.

On Fire

2010-08-19T11:51:00.007-04:00

This week Noah and I had a break through. I think we had gotten to the point where were just y'know, used to each other (we're going on ten years here). After long talks over several days we both opened up and said things to each other that we'd never said, (I'm sparing you the details because, quite frankly, it's none of your damn business) everything has changed.

Let me put it this way, Bella and Edward, Kate and Leo, McAdams and Gosling, have NOTHING on Kaila and Noah.

P.S.

My chin is raw from all the kissing I've been doing. (I'm ignoring your gagging sounds).

Vacation 2010

2010-07-23T15:03:00.016-04:00

You might want to sit down, this could take a while...

Since we decided to move across the country, we've come to accept the fact that we will now vacation in Utah (our old stomping ground). It might not sound awesome, but it pretty much is. This time around, we decided to make the 24 hour drive instead of the 3 hour flight.

Thanks to Nintendo DS and Red bull, it was a relatively smooth trip.

First Stop: Denver, Colorado to visit the Sabey cousins (they're pretty much the funnest family ever).
While we were there, more cousins (this time, Lifferth ones) stopped in for a visit.
After Denver, we headed to Meeker, Colorado where we had to stay in this old shack:
Noah took the kids on a rock crawler which, he told them, "can go ANYWHERE."

Gabby's response: "Oh yeah? Can it go on water?" She loves crushing Noah's enthusiasm.
Uncle Gabe flew RC planes and helicopters.
The kids got to play with even MORE cousins.
And then we made it to Utah, our final destination where the fun didn't stop.

We threw Noah's youngest sister, Bridgett, a baby shower.

we ate this:
made these (instructions here)...
and these (instructions here). I think it's safe to say that it was the best baby shower ever.
The following day, we went on a bike ride with my dad and step-mom down Provo Canyon (one of my favorite places in the world). We stopped off at Bridal Veil Falls and Gabby decided to scale the base of the waterfall.
Alex followed close behind (barefoot).
This is me with the kids and my first ever BAD haircut.
This is my dad with a cute Oliver.
Gabby fell in the ice cold water which she thought was funny, until we got back on the bikes.
A day or two later, we celebrated Gabby's birthday by taking out her cousin, Hazel and friend, Anouk to Gabby's favorite restaurant, Zupas...
Then off to Color Me Mine, where we painted bowls.
Following that, we took the party to my dad's where we all swam in the pool.
in lieu of cake, we had ice cream sandwiches.
Some day later, my Mom and Step-dad threw a Bastille day party. We played the donut on a string game, which Oliver was a huge fan of:
Gabby's actual birthday arrived on July 16th and she woke up to a HUGE surprise... Lanie, the American girl doll.
She was pretty excited:
Hours later, all of our family and even some friends headed to a Provo chapel, where Gabby was baptized...
and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
And of course, we partied afterwards at a nearby park:
My dad brought along his rocket, which Alex thought was about the coolest thing ever:
The following morning, we headed home via Denver again, stopping in a cousin's wedding reception:
After getting home to Indiana, Gabby got to get her ears pierced in celebration of her turning eight.
They accidentally put in the wrong earings (Gabby wanted the red ruby, which is July's birthstone)

so I made sure they gave us the right ones free.

Oh Yeah...

2010-06-27T00:10:00.003-04:00

Noah insists that I make mention about his big win in the lawnmower race--he took first out of 2!

3 months in 5 minutes

2010-06-23T21:36:00.005-04:00

As you can imagine, a lot has happened since we last spoke. So here's the rundown at lightning speed...

Gabby rocked the science world with her tornado experiment (I'll post video of it--including the gasps of amazement from her classmates--when Noah shows me how).
The biggest bit of awesomeness to come out of the last two months was that my little sister, Julie, got to live with us while our parents and my youngest sibling went gallivanting out in the U.K. Sadly, she's now moved on and is somewhere in Paris missing us horribly I'm sure. Oliver today cried for the first time saying "JuJu" between sobs. I think he's finally realized that she's not here any more.
While Julie was here, she entered "Columbus Idol" and rocked it--making it into the TOP TEN!!! Truly, she deserved to win it, but who am I to say--I only have a DEGREE IN SINGING.
Miss America 2009 was one of the judges (she hails from Indiana). Noah was devastated his missed it.
Gabby ran her first race (1/2 mile) and was by far the happiest (dare I say cutest) child in it. When she got near the finish line and everyone started cheering, she grinned from ear to ear all the way to the end.
One June 10th, Alex turned 5. He requested a Mario party. And since you only turn 5 once, we went all out. Julie and I spent 2 1/2 days working on the Mario piñata--that's right folks, we MADE it--from balloons, newspaper, tissue paper, flour and water. . .

and then we watched it get destroyed in under 5 minutes. R.I.P. Mario.
I had high aspirations for Alex's cake, but it turned out looking pretty stupid and because I'd just spent 10 hours + making a piñata, I wasn't about to care enough to spend more time on something that was just going to get eaten.
And that pretty much sums up the last three months. My sister has way more pictures and I meant to get them from her, but y'know, now she's in Paris 'n stuff.

burned out or just plain lazy

2010-05-17T10:29:00.003-04:00

There is so much to post about since my last blog, which is perhaps why I've chosen not to post. My sister is staying with us for two months, so you think I'd have loads of time to blog, but I'm spending all that time bonding with her, stripping wallpaper, prepping and painting the wood trim, running after Oliver, holding Oliver after he bonks his head (a daily occurrence), attempting to practice the piano with Gabby, and finding things for Alex to do so he doesn't get lost in the shuffle and end up playing Wii all day.

So just know I'm still here. I'll post when I feel like it. I might even include some pictures of our adventures.

Surprised in Chicago

2010-04-05T13:03:00.017-04:00

On the spur of the moment, we decided to take advantage of having Good Friday off by heading to Chicago.

Friday was reserved for exploring the city. This is a gigantic bean at the Millennium park:
Can you see us?

Gabby and Alex were big fans of the bean.

Then it was off to see Lake Michigan--which is quite big I might add.

Then there was the token melt downs because the kids had to walk so much.

Again, Lake Michigan:

More of the city...

And then Gabby discovered the American Girl Place. Suddenly she became very excited about the TWO American Girl dolls sitting in her closet at home (which she has NEVER played with).

After prying Gabby away from the doll store, we let her hold the largest Hershey's Candy bar. All the while I was sending my little brother in Utah pictures of us to make him jealous. Somewhere near the Sears Tower (which is no longer called the Sears Tower by the way but I can't remember the new name so I'm sticking with tradition), my mom got wind from my brother that we were in Chicago. She called my phone.

"Are you in Chicago?"

"Why yes we are Mom," I replied.

"BRUCE [my step-dad] IS IN CHICAGO!!!"

"Seriously???"

So I called my s-dad and asked him nonchalantly where he was. He confirmed that he was in fact in Chicago for a Shakespeare conference. "Well that's only four hours away from our house." I said. "If we drive out there will you pay for dinner?" I added jokingly.

"Sure!"

"What hotel are you staying at?" I asked.

"The Regency Hyatt, why?"

"NO WAY!"

"WE'RE STAYING AT THE REGENCY HYATT TOO!!!"

So we got free dinner...at Giordano's which is apparently a big deal. AND we got to see family, which is an even bigger deal.

that is cheese folks:

Following dinner, we took "Grandpa Bruce" to see the big bean.

Then it was back to the hotel where Nadia, the receptionist had sent the kids night time snacks and drinks.

They were overjoyed. Now Gabby has informed me that she will only stay in Hyatts' from here on out.

Cheers!

Saturday we said our goodbyes to Grandpa and we headed to the Museum of Science and Industry (Gabby is fascinated with science-particularly with weather phenomena and they had a 40 foot tornado so we HAD to go). Some how I forgot to take a picture of Gabby with the tornado, but here are some other highlights:

Static electricity at work:
Ship deck:

Train set:

Bubbles:

Oliver was thrilled to find a river full of balls and an air pipe to shoot the balls up. He was bound and determined to get every ball up the pipe and was simply devastated when our time in that particular exhibit was over.

When first discovering the air pipe, and letting his first ball go, Noah made the mistake of telling Oliver to say "bye bye to the ball." Immediately, Oliver burst into tears until Noah showed him that he could just grab another ball.

Squirt gun for Alex:

That pretty much sums up one of the very best weekend trips we've ever had.

First Egg Hunt of 2010

2010-04-01T07:57:00.005-04:00

Alex's preschool had a little party. Here are a few pictures:

P.S. stay tuned, we've got some kick A weekend plans up our sleeve. You'll be totally jealous.

P.P.S. in a sad side note, El Gato has gone missing. Poor Oliver keeps waiting for it by the door to no avail. We think either it got taken to the pound or a fox got to it. But don't tell Ollie, he'll be heartbroken.

Spring Sprung

2010-03-26T15:35:00.007-04:00

I apologize for my absence. I've been in a blog funk--it happens. But now it's over and I'm back, for now any way.

So here's what's been happening in our neck of the woods:

The Spring fairy brought Noah a nice red ride-on lawn mower. EVERYONE who's anyone has ride on lawn mower in Indiana--they even race them.
Since getting the mower two weeks ago, Noah has mowed our hibernating grass once and is expected to do it again tomorrow. In addition, Noah is busy at work looking into modifications for said mower in preparation for the big race, which we WILL enter.
In the mean time, the kids and I are readying the house for Easter.

This year, for the first time, Alex helped blow out the eggs and paint them.

I was reminded why we haven't been doing a whole lot of crafting lately--Oliver. The boy can't wait to get his hands on each and every one of those delicate and breakable eggs.

So our Easter tree is up on our fire place mantle, away from little hands.
Happy Spring everyone, I've waited all winter for it.

Thirty-three

2010-03-04T08:57:00.008-05:00

I'm a day behind...yesterday my man Noah turned 33.

it's been a crazy year, but here we are--we've finally made it. Happy birthday!

Robot Attack

2010-03-02T08:57:00.007-05:00

Last night Noah and I got the kids together to talk about what to do in case of an emergency (i.e. earthquake, fire or tornado). We went through the various scenarios of what to do and asked if the kids had any questions. Alex spoke up.

"What happens if robots come?"

Noah responded with, "if they come, give them anything they want and run."

Maybe we should look into getting Old Glory Insurance:

El Gato

2010-03-02T08:40:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Oliver was desperate to get my attention while I sat at the computer blog stocking and facebooking. He kept tugging on my leg until finally I relented and followed him to the back door where the neighbor's cat stood on the other side. So, I let the boy outside (that's right child services, there's snow on the ground and the boy's not in a coat). Oliver was delighted and the cat was surprisingly attentive to the boy.

But then...tragedy...I got cold and took Oliver inside.

Of course I couldn't bare to see my child crying at the door for long.

So we let the cat inside and I went back to the computer.

Happy Hearts

2010-02-16T12:27:00.007-05:00

Valentines day in our house means flowers delivered to Gabby's school:And a romantic overnighter. . .to Louisville, Kentucky where we celebrated Noah's German ancestry at the annual German Dinner. The kids got to have a sleep over with their cousins and Noah and I got to have a sleep over...with Oliver. Can you say Romantic? Seriously though we had a blast. Germans know how to party.

Sunday (Valentines Day) was reserved for a special Valentine's dinner of...leftovers from the German gathering. To make the day extra special (and make up for the leftovers) I made a very cute garland out of felt.

Following dinner, Noah and I put the kids to bed early so we could...do taxes together. Might not sound like romance in the making, but if you could only see how we look into each others eyes with the soft glow of the computer screen reflecting our tax return, you too would feel the love.

Oh, did I mention that Noah got his Masters Degree diploma from UW? Even Nature celebrated Valentines day by giving Indiana a good snow dumping. Schools are shut down and Gabby gets to make up another two days (and counting) of school in the summer. Happy heart day everyone!

Dam, what fun

2010-02-11T09:53:00.006-05:00

It is snowy in Indiana. My back yard looks like an Ansel Adams photograph:
When it snows in Indiana, everything shuts down [schools included] and no one leaves their house. Sadly, I find myself adopting that same mentality, not because I'm afraid of the snow but because I'm afraid of Indiana drivers driving in the snow. Luckily we live about two blocks away from a dam that turns out to be the perfect sledding hill, so we don't feel completely boxed in.

Three days of school cancellation also allowed Gabby to finish the valentines for her class. They turned out exceptionally cute I think (they're made out of miniature match boxes and filled with pink M&Ms--idea from Inchmark). I'm sure all the mothers of Gabby's classmates who sent store bought valentines will totally feel inadequate upon seeing these, and that's really what homemade valentines are all about.

disclaimer: Alex is giving out store bought valentines because the boy doesn't have a crafty bone in his body, much to Noah's satisfaction.

As for our Valentines plans, Noah and I are taking a romantic overnight getaway to the exotic Louisville, Kentucky. Our kids will be with us which will make the stay all the more enchanting.

A Quiet Minute

2010-01-29T11:05:00.002-05:00

I actually have a minute to myself. Both Alex and Oliver fell asleep in the car on the way home from an emergency cereal run. I'm not sure how long this will last but I thought I should just quickly update the old blog for all my avid fans out there.

Not a whole lot going on actually. Life has pretty much returned to normal. I have loads of projects I'd love to start but there are way too many bad guys lurking around my house to focus on anything besides ridding ourselves of them. So instead of organizing or decorating, Alex and I ride spaceships around the house, firing at the bad guys. It's a difficult job as I'm learning. Alex is constantly correcting my hold on the spaceship steering wheel, or telling me how to make the proper shooting noises (apparently mine are too comical to actually kill anything).

Gabby started piano back up after having a year long break from it. We searched high and low for the most expensive teacher in all of Indiana and at long last found him in Bloomington (a mere 50 minute drive one way). Noah's absolutely thrilled about the money we're spending on lessons and looks forward to the day when Alex gets to sign up too.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Hug

2010-01-14T14:44:00.003-05:00

Oliver has taken a liking to his older brother.
He follows Alex around the house, arms outstretched until Alex accepts...

a hug.

Alex doesn't mind.

P.S.

I showed this to Noah and his response was, "if only they weren't dressed so homely." He's ready for those orange pants to go missing.

Christmas Part III: Indiana

2010-01-12T13:15:00.009-05:00

Santa came (we had to pay extra for him to make a special trip to our house after Christmas, but it was worth it).
The kids lined up on the stairs. Yes, those are skeleton pajamas on Oliver--in our family, we believe Halloween should be celebrated year round.

Santa was generous, dare I say too generous?

Even Santa loves Halloween. He brought Alex clearanced Halloween costumes:
After opening all the presents, the kids could hardly wait to... play the Wii.

**What???**

And then when Wii time was up, the kids got really cranky. I sat down with Gabby to have a little heart-to-heart and told her how hard it is to hear complaining after her dad and I had spent so much money on the Christmas gifts. Her response, "But you didn't buy the presents--SANTA DID!" I nearly broke the news to here right then and there. But I didn't. Instead I went and screamed into a pillow.

Can't wait to do it all again next year!

Christmas Part I: A Foxy Christmas

2010-01-08T11:47:00.006-05:00

Christmas was completely hectic, but quite honestly I love feeling busy so I didn't mind. We pretty much divided our time between three families: Noah's family and my two families.

Dinner with my Dad+11: One of the many family dinners that contributed to me and Noah packing on 10 lbs.

Aside from being with family, one of the biggest highlights was our trip to Soldier's Hollow--the lazy man's tubing run. What makes Soldier's Hollow so great is that there's no work involved--no climbing back up the hill after you tube down it. Nope, instead you hook your tube on a tow rope and it pulls you up.

That's my kind of tubing.

Home

2010-01-07T14:42:00.008-05:00

To those of you wondering where I've been for the last three weeks, I've been in Utah. But now I'm back so you can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Indiana is currently shut down due to 4 inches of snow (school is cancelled, the airport is shut down and no one is leaving their house) but luckily we didn't experience any delays on our flight home Wednesday. I was an awful picture taker in Utah because I left my nice camera in Indiana so I'm afraid pictures of our visit will have to wait until I get copies from those who took them.

While your Christmas may be over, ours has just begun. Santa will be stopping by our place tomorrow night, so on my calendar our Christmas card isn't late yet. And so folks, here it is--our first one EVER to make it out of my computer and onto yours.

Dear Everyone,

Here goes our 7th attempt at getting a Christmas letter out (none have made it to the mail box yet, but that doesn’t keep us from trying).

For those of you wondering why you haven’t seen us around lately, it’s because we moved to Columbus, Indiana in January of last year where Noah works for Cummins. We finally sold our Orem house in October, after having it on the market for one year and are now living in a beautiful house that we totally love, which is a big improvement on the small apartment we were living in.

Since our first attempt at writing a Christmas letter, we’ve somehow acquired 3 children. Gabrielle is now seven, Alex is four and Oliver is 1.

Gabrielle is a second grader at xxxxxx elementary (which looks strikingly like a prison from the outside). She loves friends, the color pink, climbing trees, and keeping her mom in line when she tries to break rules. For example: a few months ago, Kaila took the kids to a movie and brought her own drink in. She made the mistake of telling Gabby to “just keep quiet about it because it’s against the rules.” During the entire length of the movie, Gabby was beside herself with worry, convinced that at any moment the police would arrive and haul her mom off. It didn’t help when a few days later Kaila got pulled over for speeding. While waiting for the ticket, Gabby asked her if the reason she got pulled over was because she took her own drink into the movie theater.

Alex loves playing the Wii, fighting bad guys, being with friends, and riding his bike. Occasionally he carries around an imaginary boomerang, which Gabby loves to grab out of the air just before he catches it, so it gets taken away from time to time. As I type this, Alex is shooting lightning bolts out of Christmas ornaments, to give you an idea of the excitement he brings into our home.

Oliver loves breaking things, playing with outlets, turning the computer off when someone is using it, climbing on things and getting stuck, opening the dishwasher while it’s running and pulling out knives, hiding in cupboards, and finding balls. He keeps us busy and keeps our heart rates up.

Kaila spends most of her time on disaster control, but when she gets a minute to herself she blogs, decorates, sings, or goes for a run. She’s super happy about the move because it means she’s only 30 minutes away from Indiana University which has one of the top music schools in the country. She plans on auditioning in one year for the master’s degree program.

Noah has kept a pretty busy schedule this year by: continuing to be just plain awesome, working 3rd shift (a.k.a. graveyard) at Cummins as the production manager, getting totally sick during the move to our new house, and finishing his Master’s degree. That’s right, at the end of this month you may all refer to Noah as “Master Noah.”

Well that pretty much sums it up. We hope that you’re all doing well and missing us terribly. Merry Christmas!

Love,
Noah, Kaila, Gabby, Alex, and Ollie

Bring on the Holidays!

2009-12-08T15:18:00.008-05:00

The ornaments are on our tree (starting about half way up due to a certain one-year-old). The train was up and running but is now unplugged and de-railed (again due to said one-year-old). I even strung a garland around our front door and wound lights on a tree trunk outside our house.

As for presents, Noah believes in waiting until the last possible moment to buy them (in his mind he's saving money) so we have one gift for Gabby (an expensive set of cups) and that's it. The big present this year is plane tickets to Utah. Noah originally wanted to drive but I welled up some authentic tears and he folded.

This year's homemade siblings gifts are on their way to getting done. Alex is just about finished stapling Gabby's fabric covered bulletin board. As predicted, the staple gun was a huge hit with him.I've re-thought what Gabby's making after realizing that I'm not really up to helping her sew a tent so instead she's making Alex a batman growth chart which she'll have more fun making anyway. For Oliver, Gabby and Alex are going to help paint a picture of monkeys to hang in his room. Over all I think I've spent about $35 total on the supplies for the kids' gifts to each other, which isn't too bad.

For our neighborhood friends, we made hot chocolate-on-a-stick (directions here). Unfortunately, they were such a hit in our own family that none of them made it out the door to our neighbors. Maybe next year. . .hot chocolate-on-a-stick's biggest fan:Over the weekend we spent the evening freezing at the city parade. There were fireworks too apparently but Gabby (who was with a neighbor friend) was the only one in our family willing to brave the cold long enough to see them. This week, my goal is help the kids finish their gifts so we can all veg in front of the TV on Friday night and watch A Christmas Story.

Letters of Christmas Past

2009-12-03T14:07:00.004-05:00

Noah and I write a Christmas letter every year and if you've never received one from us, I'm not surprised. We've not once gotten around to mailing them. I came upon two of our old letters while cleaning up the hard drive for your enjoyment.

Christmas 2005:

Dear Family and Friends,

This is our third attempt at writing a Christmas letter, but hopefully the first one we’ll get sent out. (Last year’s letter started the same way).

This year has been pretty eventful for our family. The main event, of course, happened on June 10th with the addition of Alex Rafe, weighing in at 8 lbs 13 oz (though, as of November 18th, he’s tipping the scales at 19 lbs). Gabby was overjoyed, and announced through the halls of the hospital, “We have a brother!” He spends his days smiling and chewing on everything in his reach.

Gabrielle turned 3 this past July and has discovered princesses, the color pink, and that she doesn’t like being called “Gabby,” its “Gabrielle.” She recently started ballet and looks pretty dang cute in her leotard and pink tights. She had her ballet recital on December 12th, and was the cutest three-year-old on the stage. Gabby’s been a good help with Alex (most of the time), and affectionately calls him “[her] little squishy baby.”

Noah is finishing his second degree in school, at BYU in Manufacturing Engineering. He finishes in December (with about 190 credits) and is currently looking for a job--know of any? Also this year, Noah pretty much finished our 1000 sq. ft. addition, and the remodeling of the remaining 500 sq. feet of our house (see below). If that’s not enough, he is also finishing up rebuilding the engine of his “race car” that blew out a year ago. If anyone cares, in his spare time, Noah plays with CNC machines in our garage. If you don’t know what a CNC machine is, Noah now has the capability of making personalized key chains (I’ll finally get one with my name on it—says Kaila).

Kaila is also finishing her degree at BYU, in Vocal Performance, and had her senior recital December 6th. She really rocked the house (In an opera sort of way)—says Noah. She will have 5 credits left after this semester and will graduate in April (horary).

This past summer, our family took a trip to California where we visited the beach, and Mexico. We didn’t intend on driving in Mexico, but that’s the last time Kaila will be taking directions from Noah. We got out alive with an authentic Mexican Prada purse. Our $300 car made it all the way to Mexico and back. It died three days after we returned home, so we had to get another car.

This is such a fun time of life for us. We honestly couldn’t be happier. Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

Noah, Kaila, Gabrielle, and Alex

And then there was Christmas '06 that we started but almost as a joke, knowing full well it probably wouldn't make it out either:

Dear Everyone,

We had another great year. It started out with a January, went on through several more months, and here we are at December. I guess you could say we faced 2006 head on and kicked its ass.

Kaila went to school until April, at which time she graduated. Kaila then focused all of her efforts on finding a new house, buying it, decorating it, and then presenting it to Noah some time in the fall. She also raised two children and started a blog.

Noah found a job at a place called IntelliServ, he is a Quality Engineer. He began working on a master’s degree. He also started working on the new house.
Today I finished writing our 7th Christmas card. Maybe this year's our year!

Really Noah, You Shouldn't Have

2009-11-30T13:20:00.008-05:00

Not to make you feel bad or anything, but my Thanksgiving holiday makes your Thanksgiving holiday look like a really long, boring business meeting. For example--did you see the Parthenon? Well, we did (and not the crappy ruined one either).

This is me with the Parthenon (below). But wait--it gets better!
Noah drove me to this really dumpy part of Nashville, Tennessee to show me something.

That's right readers--it's the Noah Liff Opera Center (always thrifty, Noah didn't want to fork out the extra money to finish spelling our last name, so he abbreviated with "Liff") For me??? Oh really Noah you shouldn't have!

So did your husband build you an opera house for Thanksgiving? I didn't think so.

I'll let you all know when I do my solo debut there but I'm afraid you'll have to pay your own way, we're a little short on funds right now after building an opera house and all...

P.S. Thanks to the Tennessee Lifferths who let us crash at their place and eat their food--we had so much fun! I wish I had pictures of Thanksgiving day with the cousins, but Noah didn't realize the camera was on manual so all those pictures look like they were taken in a cave.

Kids' Room

2009-11-25T13:40:00.005-05:00

Alex's room is just about finished. I did his city skyline out of chalk board paint (a huge hit by the way), got curtains and finally got his bedding yesterday (still waiting on the batman sham which Alex will get for Christmas). When my decorating budget gets replenished I'm going to paint the remaining 3 walls light gray but for now I'm happy with it.
Here's Gabby's room again. Noah was worried that the Wayne's coating shelf he put in didn't show up well in the last picture I posted.

Here's a close up:

P.S.

I've actually kept my blog current this week so scroll down and make sure you're up to date.

Christmas '09 Preview

2009-11-24T23:13:00.002-05:00

In my extended family, one of the Christmas traditions is for the kids to make gifts for their siblings (sometimes saves money and it's more meaningful). Last year Gabby made Alex a Superman cape.

Here's the plan for this year's DIY kids Christmas gifts.

Alex is going to help make Gabby a fabric covered pin board (similar to the one we found at the Utah Parade of Homes pictured below). I figure it will be relatively simple, inexpensive, and Alex will have a ball using the stable gun [with supervision].

I have high hopes for Gabby's gift this year. She's going to help make a hanging tent (like this one) for Alex.
Oliver is opting out this year for obvious reasons.

Does your family have this same tradition? If so, what will your kids be making this year?

Birthday Wishes

2009-11-24T09:06:00.009-05:00

Yesterday I turned 29. I got everything I wanted which is what birthdays are really about anyway.

I got to have Alex's preschool friends [and moms] come over for Thanksgiving lunch.

Ollie happily ate more in one sitting than I have ever seen him eat before

My big gift: Noah gave me the funds and manly help to finish Gabby's room, after a considerable amount of asking if that's really what I wanted. Yes, it was EXACTLY what I wanted. One room down, ten to go!

side note: If you're wondering why Ollie is vacuuming, we've decided that he should start earning his keep, so have put him to work.

But perhaps the highlight of my day was the program Gabby wrote and directed. Noah and Alex each had parts.

Okay I swore I would never make fun of how my kids spell things because I felt constantly scrutinized for my terrible phonetic spelling as a child. That said, please take note of how Gabby spelled "daddy's" (above) This was the picture revealed when Noah followed Gabby's directions and turned the page over for me to see.

When I told Noah this was one of the best birthdays of my life, he didn't believe me. But quite honestly it was. I have everything I've ever wanted and more.

Lovin' Every Minute of It

2009-11-21T12:01:00.005-05:00

Today is the 9 year anniversary of the best decision I EVER made. I snagged Noah. Or rather, we snagged each other.
Noah is my compliment in every way. And he's seriously funny.

If I could have any wish for my children, it would be that they are as lucky in love as I am.

Happy anniversary Noah!

Mischief

2009-11-20T10:11:00.004-05:00

Gabby and Alex's rooms are nearly finished (pictures to come later). They're both are turning out just as I've envisioned for last 11 months. It's taken so much longer to get them painted than I anticipated though. The main reason for this is: Oliver is one rambunctious child. He's pictured here in his favorite hiding place--the cabinet (which he insists on emptying whenever I get a chance to fill it).

Weekend update: Noah fulfilled a 9 1/2 year long dream by cutting down three trees belonging to a tree-hugger (Adrea's trees).
Gabby even got to help.
That's if for now folks. Ollie's awake after a refreshing 10 minute nap. Back to disaster control...

Confessions of a Bad Blogger

2009-11-16T11:43:00.002-05:00

I don't feel like blogging right now. I've got walls to paint green, trim to paint white and dishes that can go to hell. I'll be back later.

Checked Out

2009-11-10T15:04:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the absence, but I've been on vacation. My mother-in-law came to visit and played the part of "Mom" while I painted.
Oh my gosh--if you don't have a mother-in-law you should really think about getting one {ahem Zach}. They are awesome!

Pictures of the rooms to come when they're finished (hopefully by the end of the week). In the mean time, please enjoy these instead:

Hallow's Eve '09

2009-11-01T10:52:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was perhaps the funnest Halloween of my adult life. Why you ask? Because I got to relive my childhood and trick-or-treat with the same person I trick-or-treated with when I was a young'un--Adrea (better pictures to come when Adrea emails me her pix hint hint). And Gabby's costume was a success. She wore it to school on Friday and told me how "annoying" it was that everyone kept saying, "oh Gabby, you look so beautiful. . ." and "Wow, I love your dress." Gabby's teacher took her around to all the teachers, office workers and even the school nurse, telling everyone that Gabby's mom MADE the dress. In reality, Gabby loved every ounce of attention, she just likes playing it cool.

In Alex's enthusiasm, he jumped out of the stroller to ring each doorbell, frequently forgetting his trick-or-treat bag.

Oliver wore my favorite chicken costume (the one both Gabby and Alex have worn). Henry (Josh and Adrea's son) was Max from "Where the Wild Things Are."

And Ari (Alex's favorite baby in the whole world) was a Wild Thing.

Adrea made both costumes so she beat me out for mother of the month since I only made Gabby's. There's always next year though. . .
For dinner, we had eyeball soup, sandWITCHES, smokin' cider and pumpkin pie while the kids watched a movie (Noah permitted them to eat when we were all done).

Best holiday EVER!

Breakfast

2009-10-30T09:17:00.006-04:00

Noah surprised us this morning by making us waffles.

Turns out Alex doesn't like waffles (even though he loves pancakes).

He does however love a mouthful of whip cream.

Costume Peak

2009-10-27T12:23:00.006-04:00

I remember more Halloween costumes than I remember Christmas gifts. Maybe that's why I tortured myself making another costume for Gabby--because I want her to love Halloween just as much as I did and do.

That said, I have finally finished Gabby's costume with 5 days to spare!
It took me one weekend of staying up until 2 AM so she better remember it forever and be a good teenager, otherwise I take back all the late nights.

Aren't you just dying to see what Gabby looks like in the dress? Well you'll just have to wait...

Oliver Rejects Safety

2009-10-20T17:33:00.005-04:00

Unless my memory isn't serving me right, Oliver is my most destructive child. This week, he has managed to break something every day. Today, he ripped apart a piece of foam covering a sharp corner--with his bare teeth.By the way I am still nursing this boy for reasons I can't explain. I know exactly how that piece of foam feels.

It's just so hard to get mad at a face this cute:

And in a totally unrelated note, our house in under attack by lady bugs.

Gabby thinks it's the greatest thing EVER!

What You've Missed Out On

2009-10-15T15:06:00.004-04:00

Columbus Indiana is a melting pot and every year they celebrate that with a parade and lots of food (as all things should be celebrated in my humble opinion). Noah had the flu so the kids and I went it alone this time. Bonus: rain= short lines for food.

And then there's this--I bought the kids snow gloves which in turn became boxing gloves. Noah and I were snickering behind walls when the kids donned their boxing alter-ego attire (Spider boy vs. Kitty girl). Alex proclaimed, "This boxing is more fun than Wii boxing!"

Gabby got her first shiner (not from the boxing match) just in time for school pictures. She was creatively getting off our office chair when she some how got her foot caught in the arm rest, landing head first on a fold up chair.

We also bought pumpkins.

No Time to be Sick

2009-10-09T00:05:00.014-04:00

A few hours ago, Gabby posed a question that made me cringe, "Mommy, whys is there so much water in the basement?" "I don't know Gabby, there shouldn't be any water down there."

The sump pump in our new home failed during a serious down pour. So, we bought a new pump which Sick Noah installed and we rented a Rug Doctor which Sick Noah used to soak up all the water in the basement carpet. Sick Noah is my hero.

And then because there was nothing sick Noah wanted to do more, he got to clean the carpets twice because a pipe connected to the new sump pump got loose and sprayed water all
over-- re soaking the carpets! Sick Noah was ecstatic and jubilantly declared words I haven't heard him say since his sailor days. Thank you Noah, I made you three loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip bread AND a loaf of wheat bread that will be hot just after you get home.

Under the Weather

2009-10-08T16:46:00.006-04:00

We're sick.
Lousy timing if you ask me. Poor Noah is scrubbing the carpet at our [soon-to-be former] apartment with the chills right now.

I'll be back with a vengeance once we're feeling a little better and things are at least partially put away.

In the mean time, please enjoy our latest family pictures taken by my very talented friend:

Dreaming

2009-10-04T23:04:00.005-04:00

If Noah and I were to buy a house, this is the one we would choose:

If we were to truck our belongings to the new house Grapes of Wrath style, this is what it would look like:

Resulting in this:

If Alex were to ride his bike in the cul-de-sac in front of said house, it would look something like this:

If my boys were to sit on the front porch of this house while Gabby played next door with a new friend, it would look like this:

May this particular dream continue. . .

Apple Works

2009-09-27T10:21:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was just another fantastic day--we're getting pretty sick of those around here. We went to Apple Works, which is a beautiful orchard about 40 minutes away from us.

Made me really want to plant my own orchard.

We had juice. . .

Carmel apples and apple dumplings. Oh my gosh, get over here right now and try the apple dumplings. Yumm.

Gabby and Alex couldn't get enough of the slide. . .

Or the rope swings.

I couldn't get enough of the photo ops.

Happy Fall everyone.

Drilled

2009-09-25T08:02:00.005-04:00

Gabby has to do two drills in school that Neither Noah nor I had to do as a child. The first is a tornado drill, which involves going into the locker room and covering your head like so:

Then last week I was surprised to learn about another drill. Code Blue. Code blue is for when a "bad guy" enters the school and tries to harm the students or teachers (reminiscent of Columbine). During a code blue, the teachers lock the doors and the students hide.
"Isn't that kind of scary Gabby--were you scared?"

"No mom, it was FUN!"

Now I know a lot of people who say, in response to things like this, that Times are worse now than they've ever been but I disagree. I mean have you read the Old Testament? Now those are some tough times! Scary things and bad people have always existed, but look at what we have now in the information age--we have. . . well, information!

That said, I do think it's sad that schools have to prepare for something like Columbine now but I'm also glad that Gabby goes to school in a prison-like fortress. What bad guy is going to enter that school!

Spiderman's Cavity

2009-09-23T18:26:00.004-04:00

It was discovered last month that Spiderman had a little cavity on his right canine tooth.

Lucky for him, he has a superhuman ability to resist pain.

The cavity was small enough, we decided to see how it would go without a numbing shot or NOS. Spiderman sat in the chair ("yes he is going to wear that" I had to explain to Noah) watching Clone Wars while his tooth was drilled, twitching his foot occasionally when sensing discomfort. After we were all done, Spiderman got to pick out a prize at Target-a Batman motorcycle.

Oops

2009-09-17T17:30:00.007-04:00

Today I made a small indiscretion and it cost me $50.

It all started this morning when Alex informed me that he would like a donut. I wanted to get out of the house and a trip to the store sounded delightful, so off we went.

The donut case was filled as usual with fried goodness. I grabbed a chocolate glazed morsel for my beaming boy and put it in the cart. Not one minute later, Alex informed me that he wanted a white donut--not a chocolate one. What a dilemma. I couldn't possibly put the chocolate one back and I wasn't in a mood to argue, so I decided Oliver could eat the chocolate one. We picked up the correct color and made our way to the cashier to pay for our little piece of happiness.

Turns out Oliver doesn't like donuts. This created a problem for me. On one hand, I have a policy of not making donuts feel unwanted, but on the other hand I am supposed to be off sugar... what's a girl to do? So I ate it--all of it, all the while thinking I just won't make mention of this to Noah.

There I sat munching away when guilt started eating at me. I just lost the contest. I've got to tell Noah. Crap. I don't want to tell Noah.

Kaila: "Hi Noah. I just ate some of Oliver's donut."

Noah: "You bought donuts? Why did you go to the store, you were just there yesterday? I thought we were sticking to a budget. Wait, YOU LOST! I just got $50! You lost! I won! I'm the winner, you're the loser!"

And that is how I lost $50 today.

By the way, We've started over on our sugar fast and have upped the ante with a pot of $100, which will increase by $50 every month. Winner takes all. I will not lose next time.

I'm an Aunt Again!

2009-09-14T07:56:00.004-04:00

We just got news that my brother Sam and his wife Emily adopted their second child. Everyone, say hi to Jacob. Isn't he beautiful? I can't wait to meet him in person and nibble on those cheeks in December.

I Love KY

2009-09-12T21:05:00.010-04:00

This morning, I was in my first triathlon with some fellow Lifferths in Kentucky (KY) and I totally rocked the casbah.
Apparently swimming is my thing. This could be due to the fact that I have incredibly high buoyancy thanks to Oliver who is still nursing. The advantage of buoyancy was however counteracted by the fact that my left bosom kept creeping out of my tank top every time I lifted my arm to take a breath. On the flip side, this could have also been an advantage as it may have caused a few fellow swimmers to lose their concentration upon seeing an exposed breast.

The bike trail was picked by a sadist. It could not have been more hilly.

The same person who chose the bike trail also designed the running course. It was brutal and on grass. I HATE running on grass. But you know, it was still kind of fun pushing myself. And like I said, I rocked it.

Rewind: Because the triathlon started so early, we got to spend the night at Austin and Erin's house (Lifferth cousins) and seriously it was one of the funnest weekends we've have since our move out.

The kids got to stay up late playing with cousins which led to inevitable melt downs today. All in the name of fun.

Bonus shot: Oliver loves oranges.

P.S.

You have no idea how tired I am right now unless you too were in a triathlon today.

Cheers to a good night's sleep.

9-11

2009-09-11T14:56:00.003-04:00

The morning the towers were hit, I was in a religion class at BYU. I walked in and was met by a somber expression on my professor's face as he relayed the message he had heard on the radio. I was in a state of disbelief initially, then I became anxious, wanting to get out of class and see the news. The moment class was adjourned, crowds of students clamored around television sets all over campus. I was one of them. I was watching the coverage in the bookstore when the towers collapsed. Everyone was shocked. It's a day I will never forget.

Where were you when the towers were hit?

Asleep

2009-09-10T17:32:00.001-04:00

It's exhausting being a baby.

Pajamarama

2009-09-09T21:00:00.002-04:00

A month ago we received a surprise package from Noah's parents: pajamas for the kids! I've been meaning to blog about it, but whenever I remember to pull out the camera, at least one set of Pajamas is in the laundry--do you see my dilemma?

So yesterday, when all the laundry was done (it is now inevitably stacking up again) I made a point to capture the event.

All the while, Gabby handed out piggy back rides to her adoring batman brothers who responded with squeals of laughter as they were flown around the living room, dodging toys and pillows.

Parkside

2009-09-08T10:30:00.004-04:00

Labor day didn't bring any vacations or exotic destinations (Noah's still on mandatory overtime at work), but it did bring a trip to our favorite playground:

This much fun and we didn't even have to pack a suitcase.

STARSHIP!

2009-09-07T10:49:00.007-04:00

Don't be jealous or anything, but guess who we saw live on Saturday. . .

Remember them? You know, "We Built This City on Rock and Roll" to mention only one of their stellar hits.

You must be thinking we 're rich or something to be able to afford taking all of our family to that kind of a concert right?

Well out here in the mid west, they believe it's every man and woman's God given right to enjoy certain things for free. Lucky for us, Starship is one of them.
So we splurged and bought the kids a hot dog (just one--to share between the three of them).

Don't worry, it was a big hot dog.

And then we got really crazy and forked out the cash to buy the kids neon light sticks (a.k.a. light sabers) so no one would think we were poor or anything.

Starship still rocks!

Yeah. So what did you do over the weekend?

minority

2009-09-04T07:56:00.003-04:00

One thing I love about our area is that it is a cultural melting pot. In fact, when Gabby gets on the bus in the morning, out of 12 kids, she is the only Caucasian.

Climber

2009-09-02T09:01:00.005-04:00

Oliver is a mischievous boy. This is what I catch him doing every time I leave him in the front room (I know, I know, "so don't leave him" right? If you're thinking that, you're NOT a parent because the truth is, if I stayed by his side every second, I would get even less done than I already do and I would probably lose my mind): What you're not seeing in the picture is Oliver shaking his head--because he knows he's not supposed to be climbing up on the table. Notice the fingerprints on the television--those aren't mine.

And of course he has to practice his balancing act by walking across the table--my heart leaps out of my chest every time I find him teetering on the edge.

Dear Santa,

please bring me a big house and a hutch for the TV.

To My Sister

2009-09-01T10:11:00.006-04:00

When I was 8 years old, I prayed for a sister--because lets face it, every girl needs a sister. And I got Julie. Julie is one of the most talented people I have ever met. She's a singer, song writer, hula dancer, my daughter's personal manicurist, and my friend. Julie is joy. In fact we used to call her "Julie Joy." Oh did I mention she's totally hot? Well she is. I've always been totally jealous of her dimples.
Little known facts: Julie has incredibly small pinkie fingers and she inherited my pucker.

Julie is the embodiment of fun and you can't help but be drawn to fun people. Her smile is contagious and I miss her.

I love you Julie!

Shuck it!

2009-08-30T08:51:00.009-04:00

Saturday morning brought fresh bread (or "favorite bread I love" as Alex calls it), blueberry jam, fruits and veggies from our farmer's market. Just our way of flipping off corporate America.

Saturday afternoon was reserved for the annual corn shucking spectacular (held at Noah's aunt and uncle's place)
We shucked, cut, silted, boiled, seasoned and bagged over 100 dozen ears of corn in 6 hours.
That's a lot.

Don't be frightened by the fact that the corn husks are in the garbage, they're all now happily sitting in a garden waiting to be turned into compost.

Oliver was the official corn taster.

I learned that when cutting corn, for optimal performance, stand up. If however you're lazy and tired, sit. The best part of the day: hanging out with friends.

Are you wondering where Noah was for all of this? Well, he's kind of a big shot at work now, managing a machine line at Cummins, and they're all on mandatory overtime until January. In other words, he's working 7 days a week now taking every 14th day off. It's tough being awesome.

Morning Ritual

2009-08-28T16:00:00.003-04:00

Alex always gets a little weepy-eyed before Gabby gets on the bus, which inevitable leads to a hug:
However, after school they can really get on each other's nerves.

Stamped

2009-08-26T20:21:00.003-04:00

Oliver found a stamp in Gabby's room during story time.
Harry Potter is to blame.

By the way, sorry for my lag in blogging, I've been in a bit of a fog. So here's me saying I'll do better: "I'll do better."

One Year Ago

2009-08-20T12:26:00.006-04:00

Dear Oliver,

One year ago right now, I was in the hospital finishing my last few hours of my worst pregnancy and getting ready to welcome you to the world.

My midwife, Kathrine, had agreed to induce me a week before my actual due date because of my insomnia-induced exhaustion that had started during my second trimester with you when I stopped sleeping completely. I underwent every possible test to find the problem (EEGs, ECGs, overnight heart rate monitors, and countless blood tests with everything turning up normal). Doctors were convinced I was depressed and wouldn't believe me when I told them I was really happy, but that I was crying because I hadn't slept. I broke down every time someone innocently asked me how I was doing, or how my pregnancy was going.

After going two weeks without so much as a nap, I came across Dr. Taylor in Provo, Utah who put me on iodine drops and gave me a vitamin B shot. That night I was able to fall asleep. When the B shot wore off after about a week and a half, my sleep would get progressively worse and your dad would have to give me another shot. And that's how it was until August 20th.

You know what? I'd do it all over again for you.
You weighed 9 lbs and 5 oz. That's big.
You put up with a lot, and rarely complain. You're frequently poked and sometimes even pushed down but you're amazingly resilient and you get right back up.

You are strong. You took your first steps at 8 months!
You are curious. You get into EVERYTHING--the toilet, the cupboards, the stairs, your diaper, the computer, anything with wires, anything liquid. I love watching you explore because everything is new to you.

You love making people laugh. You've learned to do a raspberry every time we say "Daddy" and then we laugh and you think it's the funniest thing ever so you do it again and again. You smile at everyone and play peekaboo with whoever happens to sit behind us in church. And that makes us all like church more.

You are loved. Your biggest fans live right in your same house (and even share your bed, much to your daddy's chagrin).
Happy birthday Oliver!

1st Day of School

2009-08-14T10:46:00.003-04:00

Today my [not so] little girl got on the bus by herself and rode to school as a second grader. Oliver and I waited with Gabby until her bus arrived while Alex (who I thought was sleeping) walked around our apartment aimlessly looking for us--don't worry parent police, we were right outside the front door.

New outfit for the occasion:
One last look. tear.

Cheers to a good year with a great economy and an even better housing market!

A Healthy Competition

2009-08-10T09:45:00.003-04:00

I am addicted to sugar. Totally addicted. I would happily eat a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast, half a batch of cookies for lunch and a few slices of pie for dinner. I've been perplexed as to why my running hasn't been paying off in shed pounds. The answer is simply my addiction. My body loves to maintain a very healthy weight (healthy as in hefty) and so it compensates--when I burn 300 calories running, I simply have to have a treat to balance myself out. My body doesn't like being a loser!

Simply trying to limit sugar has not been working. I'm terribly good at making excuses and exceptionally good at making treats. So I decided to go off completely. I also informed Noah that he would be doing the same. The one who lasts the longest gets $50 and a smaller waistline.

It's been almost two weeks since the competition started.

Sugar, you are no longer my friend.

Kashgar

2009-08-07T13:48:00.009-04:00

I just read a news article that made me sick.

The Chinese government is tearing down the city of Kashgar.

"Many expect the ancient quarter, considered one of Central Asia's best preserved sites of Islamic architecture, to disappear almost entirely before the end of the year. "This is the Uighurs' Jersualem" 'Noah and I occasionally toy with the idea of going back. Now we can't. I don't understand this at all.

Read the article here.

Why I Don't Get Much Done These Days

2009-08-06T11:29:00.005-04:00

The reason is a certain nearly-one-year-old who loves opening [and emptying] every cupboard and drawer in my tiny apartment. Oh and did I mention how much he loves it when I load the dishwasher? Well, for Oliver it's a race to see who's faster: the tired mommy who is loading the dishwasher or the tireless baby who is unloading it simultaneously.

In addition to my kitchen crisis, we have stairs. The stairs represent a never ending battle between myself and said baby boy. I stack a combination of two fully inflated inter tubes and 1 couch cushion, resulting in a 3 1/2 foot barricade that not only keeps Oliver from going up the stairs (and falling down them) but also means that the rest of us get to maneuver over the obstacle--we approach the stairs one of two ways: either we walk on my couch and climb over the banister, or we clumsily step over the 3 1/2 foot tower.
Yesterday, I was trying to digest my situation, feeling like I will never again have a clean and clutter free environment where I can sing my heart out without apartment neighbors being bothered. I looked outside and noticed a rare occurrence--my neighbors were not at home. So for the second time since moving here I sang, wishing I knew which box the disks to my player piano were. I said a half hearted prayer that they'd turn up--half hearted because, quite honestly, lately I've felt that my most earnest prayers are not being answered.

After putting the kids to bed, I went on my nightly run while Noah stayed home with the two sleeping kids and the one screaming baby.

When I returned Noah was sitting at the piano with Oliver, playing one of my disks I hadn't heard since we left Utah. Without knowing I was looking for them, Noah had rummaged around some boxes looking for an old text book. It was there he uncovered my missing disks--the very disks I had prayed to find.

I needed that.

4 Reasons to Smile Today

2009-08-05T11:02:00.003-04:00

1. Noah (not pictured)

2.Gabrielle

3. Alex

4. Oliver

The End of the World

2009-08-04T10:54:00.009-04:00

Last night, we experienced what the end of the world will look and sound like.

I have never in my life experienced such an intense storm. I heard it coming around 3:00 AM and Noah informed me that some really dark clouds [were] on their way. I lay in bed and waited, debating whether or not I should check online for tornado warnings. My sleepy self won over and I stayed in bed. At 3:45 AM, the storm was right on top of us. The lightning was touching down about 5-10 times a second, keeping the sky brighter than noon day continuously. And the thunder--wow--the thunder was deafening. By this point Noah and I were standing at our bedroom window filled wonder (and quite frankly, scared out of our minds). I saw what looked like an explosion by our apartment clubhouse and then the power went out.

I turned to bring Gabby and Alex in the master bedroom, only to find Gabby shaking with fear behind me. I gave her a hug and made her a bed next to mine. Then I went into Alex's room and lifted my sleeping boy (how he was sleeping through this was beyond me) out of his bed and placed him on the floor next to Gabby in my room. We didn't sleep. The storm grew more and more intense until it reached its climax and Noah announced that we were all going downstairs to sleep. The kids got the hallway (deemed as the safest place in the apartment) and Noah and I got the front room. We opened the blinds and watched for another two hours until the storm had past.

And that my friends is what the end of the world looks like. Sorry for those of you who missed it.

A Grand Visit

2009-08-03T10:15:00.003-04:00

Last week, Noah's parents (a.k.a. Grandma Lindy and Grandpa Wes) came out for a visit. Noah got some time off work so he wouldn't miss out on any of the fun.
After a driven tour around the "Athens of the prairie" (code for Columbus, Indiana), we took a trip to the motor speedway museum:

Then of course there was a tour of our neighborhood, via boat ride (I love my neighborhood).

We visited a cute little artsy town (Nashville, Indiana) and played around in Brown County state park.

And now we're experiencing withdrawal from all the fun, meaning that EVERYONE (but myself) is sick with a virus of some sort.

Cursed

2009-07-25T13:38:00.003-04:00

Noah and I are extremely lucky in many aspects of our life--cars, most certainly NOT being one of them. In fact, I would go so far as to say we are cursed in the car arena. Since Noah and I have been married (9 years this November) we will have owned 9 cars and one scooter. Don't believe me? Here's the list: '96 Pontiac sunfire (electric and major engine problems), '92 Mitsubishi Mirage (transmission went out), '96 Nissan Altima (cam shaft blew a hole through the valve cover), '74 Toyota Land cruiser FJ-40 (short in the electrical system), '88 Ford Escort Wagon (died), '91 Mitsubishi 3000 GT (spun a bearing, Noah rebuilt the engine, put 50 miles on the it and then a tree crushed it, God apparently said "no"), Yamaha Vino (not winter friendly), '05 Chevy Malibu (lost coil pack one week after the warenty expired, sold it to buy family car), '00 Ford Ranger (still works, knock on wood), and then of course there is the '96 Lexus LX-450 that blew the head gasket and bent a rod in the middle of Wyoming last year, just a month after we purchased it (read about it here). Noah rebuilt the engine and [to save money] put in an off brand head gasket. And now, we get to replace it again because it just blew last Friday during our first date since we moved out here. This time, we're forking out the extra money and buying the Toyota brand in the hopes that it lasts longer than one year. The silver lining of this is that I get a nice view of Noah from the screen door:

Walking

2009-07-23T09:27:00.004-04:00

This is really old news, Oliver's been walking steadily for over a month now, but just the same here's the footage.

P.S. we were on our way to the pool when I took this, so he's sporting his lovely florescent swim short and of course a cowboy hat to complete the ensemble.