Southern Wonderland

This one's for the girls

2011-02-20T17:23:00.000-08:00

My camera has been lost! No, really, it has! It sounds a lot like "the dog ate my homework", but it's true! We finally found it - hooray! It had been accidently laid on top of an open camping bin in the garage and then packed away. After a month and a half, it's back!

After looking through all of our recent pictures and taking some more, I decided to dedicate this post to my beautiful girls. Here are a few of my favorites:

Our little blue-eyed elf! Those eyes are amazing! Kate is a great helper in the kitchen. She actually does help, even though she is only 3 (well, now she's 4). She especially loves making bread because she can eat the dough. Bread dough is one of her favorite treats. Gross, strange, weird, I know. But she loves it.

Kate loving her Snow White dress that she got for Christmas (can't you tell?). Actually, she really does love it, but she's being weird about getting her picture taken.

Kate has loved the trampoline that Santa brought for Christmas. She asks at least 3 times a day to go out and jump on it. She usually wants me to go with her, but Hayden is a much more entertaining jumping buddy.

This baby LOVES her baths. She can't get enough. And, she drinks enough bathwater to last until the next bath. Eww.
I introduced Kate to the world of foam rollers. Every girl has to experience the pink foam rollers at least a couple of times, right? I did when I was little, so I'm passing the tradition on. Pretty silly since she has naturally curly hair, but she was a good sport.

Kate was so happy to get this Rapunzel doll for her birthday. It's not the kind of thing I would ever buy, but a friend took her to see Tangled and she loved, loved it! So, we surprised her, went against our instincts and bought her a Disney doll. Just look at her face. It was worth it.

Elaine finally started crawling at 9 months - yay! Now she's on the move and is trying to keep up with her big sister ... even when she's crawling on scratchy brown grass.

We had a Valentines picnic with Cletus in a field behind his office. The girls love getting to see him in the middle of the day (and so do I). It's a treat. And, he was happy to have 3 Valentines to celebrate with.

Kate will not just smile for the camera - on purpose. She insists on making silly faces with silly poses. Oh well, we love her anyway.
For some reason, the tongue always comes with the smile.

Thank goodness for sweet, talkative, imaginative, cuddly, bossy, rosy, loving, beautiful girls. What would I do without them?

For Cerah

2010-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

I have a fan out there! These pictures are for Cerah who keeps patiently asking for a new post on my blog with pictures of the kids. I've gotten slack with my blog posts because life is just so busy (I know, likely excuse). Maybe this should be one of my New Years Resolutions along with exercising, not eating after 8:30 pm, and writing in my journal. Unfortunately, my track record for all of those resolutions is not very good.

These pictures are of Halloween, Great Wolf Lodge (Williamsburg, VA),
snow in NC in December (!?), and our sweet Christmas elf.

Surprise at the Mall

2010-12-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

This is the coolest thing ever! I wish I'd been there. Just wanted to share.
(I know, I know. I don't post in forever and then I post a video. Trust me. These people are more entertaining than me).

Standing O

2010-09-13T10:43:00.001-07:00

After a long and arduous WalMart shopping trip for two weeks worth of groceries, after listening to crying from two little girls and additional whining, after keeping a smile on my face and a good attitude in the mix, after saying "no" with a smile to a 3 year old who would like to buy everything in her line of vision, after getting good deals and not buying or spending too much while all of this is going on, I often hope to roll my full cart out into the parking lot to a standing ovation.

Family Picture Time

2010-09-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

A sneak peek at our family pictures we had taken yesterday. There are lots more to come ...

www.elainebellaphotography.blogspot.com

The Sound of a 3-Year Old

2010-08-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Our kids have really gotten into The Sound of Music. They love it! We have the CD and they listen to it in the car, in the house ... in our sleep. I have chuckeld to myself as I hear Kate sing, "I need someone older and wiser telling me what to do" or "totally unprepared am I, to face a world of men". Wise girl.

Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo

2010-07-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

We took our three little sweet crazies on a trip to Nauvoo last week. We were lucky to be able to fly instead of drive. Although honestly, the airports have gotten to be such a traumatic experience that maybe it wasn't easier at all. Here we are in the Chicago O'Hare airport on our way. This is by the exhibit of Mr. O'Hare himself. (Kate is showing off a "funny band" as she calls them)

Elaine was elated to be on a family vacation at her young age. You can see that she took every advantage to enjoy her surroundings in Nauvoo.

Hayden and Kate LOVED the Pioneer Pastimes area where they could dress up and play pioneer games. Kate is looking westward preparing for her journey across the Mississippi. (Actually, the sun was in her eyes and she was trying to look at me)

The stick pull was a favorite game. Guess who won this match? Hayden challenged me to a game of stick pull. After I easily won, he then challenged me to use just one hand. I still won. It's always fun to humble your children. We took the opportunity to go to several vingettes put on by members of the pageant cast. They were excellent! One was in a grove of trees and (the cast member playing) Joseph Smith came and gave part of the King Follette discourse. Afterwards, in jest, Cletus challenged him to a game of stick pull. Everyone gathered around to watch. I won't embarrass Cletus and say that this guy won in about 2 seconds both times with Cletus flying over his shoulder. I'll just say that .... Cletus was a good sport. Wish I had a picture of that, but we'd left our camera in the car.

Here is our little domestic pioneer. She loved doing housework in this little log cabin. Her favorite activity was making strawberry jam and strawberry lemonade. She and another little boy pretended that theie log cabin was on fire and started throwing the furniture out the front door. How cute.

We were excited to take Hayden to Nauvoo because I think he's finally at an age where he'll remember this trip and where it actually meant something to him. He absorbed a lot of historical information as well as feeling the Spirit several times through our activities. It's amazing to think that boys his age were leading the oxen alongside their families' wagon and some of them were drivign teams of horses.

Elaine was a trooper most of the time on our trip. She was taxi-ed around all day and night and had to eat and sleep on the run. Still, she was all smiles a lot of the time. When I took this picture, she was talking to me. I love hearing her "talk". She is such a little beauty.

We attended several performances: The Nauvoo Pageant, of course (3 times), Sunset on the Mississippi, High Hopes and Riverboats, and Just Plain Anna Amanda. Here we are at Sunset on the Mississippi: the pioneer version of a Stake Variety Show. It was so much fun! One of our favorites for sure. If Elaine looks a little worried in this picture about who is holding her, she probably is. And she should be.

Kate loved being pulled around in this handcart. And, I thought it was pretty fun as well - she only weighs about 30 lbs. I don't think this experience was anywhere close to what it was really like to pull a handcart.

Hayden is learning how to dance a Scottish jig. He picked it up pretty quickly. There were so many activities to do! We were there a week and still didn't manage to see and do everything. We introduced ourselves and our family so many times to people that Kate said in her sleep one night at the hotel, "My name is Kate". Which is ironic because she was playing shy and wouldn't talk to anyone, dance with anyone, and hid her face if anyone talked to her. Strange for a little girl who, a week ago, went to our neighbors house at night (without us knowing, of course), and asked them to help her put on her pajamas and her diaper.

Cletus finally lured Kate out on the dance floor with a jealousy tactic. He danced with me and then she was very eager to get out there and dance with her dad.

I bought Kate a pioneer bonnet while we were there and she wouldn't wear it! However, the dress-ups in the Pioneer Pastimes house were the neatest things she'd ever seen. Oh well. Here she is tending to her sheep.

We walked down Parley street reading the signs and ended up at the Mississippi River. It was amazing to be there in that very spot where so many people made such sacrifices. I was grateful to be there and to have the perspective of being a wife and a mother, leaving my home and taking my children into the unknown. I am awed by the faith that was required for such a trip.

We quickly dropped by the limestone quarry where the Saints got their stone for the temple. Here are our two Nauvoo boys. Hayden's shirt doesn't say "Mountain Dew", it says, "Mormon Dude". Probably one of his highlights from the trip was getting that shirt.

It was a wonderful, busy trip. So glad that we went and so glad to be home.

I can't think of a creative post title

2010-06-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

So, for all of you bloggers who can witty and funny on all of your posts ... I'm jealous! I barely have time to upload pictures and type out a few sentences. There is no way I can be funny too. You'll just have to bare with this humor-less yet informative post. Here's what we've been up to:

Kate had her first real haircut! Yes, she has beautiful blond curly hair. And, yes it seems a crime to cut it. But it only seems fair that the person who washes it, brushes it, fixes it, and battles the daily hair battle should get to pick the length. It still looks beautiful. I mean, look at that face ... any length of hair with that face will look cute.

We took a trip to the beach as a family a few weeks ago. It's probably half-insane to go to the beach with a (then) 5 week old, but we did it anyway. I bought this tent thinking it would be great to shade Elaine at the beach. But, it just couldn't hold up to the beach wind. Either one of us had to be sitting inside of it or we had to weigh it down with all of our stuff. We need longer tent stakes .. or we need to bring some bricks next time. But, the kids had a great time anyway. They always do. And, yes, that's our baby in the laundry basket.
Hayden continues to be a great big brother. He is such a helper with Elaine and can calm her down with his voice. He even has the "baby bounce" down and can get her to stop crying by holding her and walking around. I found him multi-tasking here and took a quick picture before I rescued the baby.

Elaine is such a sweet baby and we all compete to see who can get her to smile. She loves being outside!

Kate loves helping her dad in the garden. Her favorite activity is picking the potato bugs off of our plants, putting them in a plastic sandwich bag and then squishing their guts out. I don't see the appeal, but she loves it. Here she is with .. well, a tomato cage on her head, of course.

Hayden finished yet another year of piano lessons. He continues to do a great job and is getting really good. His recital was a bit traumatic because I drove him to the wrong church building, realized what I had done, raced him over to the right building to arrive 30 minutes late. Poor kid. His mother is a bit distracted and flustered. Thanks for being such a great piano teacher, Leah!

And, finally, Elaine was blessed in church this Sunday and was surrounded by LOTS of family and friends. I don't think I've ever seen that many men standing in the blessing circle before. She sure is lucky.

We had a few quick pictures taken after we got home from church. I liked this one the best. Cletus and I are about to celebrate 11 years together ... it just gets better (and busier) all the time.

Other than the squinting, this one is also a good picture. I'm squinting the worst, but everyone else looks pretty cute. When I asked Cletus if he was nervous about blessing Elaine or if he was use to doing a baby blessing after the first two, he said: "no, I'm not nervous. I'm just trying to decide what to name her". Ha! For any of you who know us well, you know that we had a ridiculously hard time naming Elaine. My great-grandpa actually did surprise everyone - especially his wife - in the baby blessing and named the baby something different than what they'd decided on together. Cletus wasn't quite that brave. Smart man.

Feeling Appreciated

2010-05-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of baby Elaine, my workload seems to have quadrupled. I find myself wondering in my 30 minutes of free time whether to shower and brush my teeth or to sleep. Life has gotten busy enough that I have found it necessary to prioritize things that came to me so easily before. Our house is rarely clean, laundry is a mountain, and it seems that everybody needs me. The result: a sulky me feeling unappreciated.

I read this in the Ensign today and I thought I might share it with all of you who also might feel unappreciated once in awhile ... or, every day.

Women should be women and not babies that need petting and correction all the time. I know we like to be appreciated but if we do not get all the appreciation which we think is our due, what matters?We know the Lord has laid high responsibility upon us, and there is not a wish or a desire that the Lord has implanted in our hearts in righteousness but will be realized, and the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennoblingto qualify us for those responsibilities. -Eliza R. Snow (Quoted my Julie B. Beck)

That was exactly what I needed to hear. Nobody knows the sacrifices and the difficulties I have every day, but nobody needs to. The Lord knows and He is making me into what I need to be through my efforts, my struggles, and my faith. My responsibilities, although they might feel heavy at times, are mine to bear and to value. I am thankful for the respobsiblities that I have. They are where I have found my greatest happiness.

Announcing ...

2010-04-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Elaine Ruth Simpson

7 lb 2 oz, 20 inches

After waiting a week after my due date, we welcomed a planned induction. She was still the smallest baby we've had and looks so tiny to us. There are a few things I've learned in the week and a half since she's been born:

3 children feel like about 10 children a lot of the time

oatmeal can clog up a toilet

people who are willing to bring food to us are truly lifesavers

a 3-year old who is being ignored will find interesting and sometimes destructive things to entertain herself, like coloring with crayons on our bathtub

if i'm sleep deprived enough, i can get drenched from spit up in the middle of the night and roll over and go back to sleep - wet

an 8-year old feels the changes of a newborn baby as much as a 3-year old does - and he's going to show it

there's no way i could do this by myself. i'm going to be more proactive in helping other people when they need it from now on. people who help - not just offer - have been angels to me the past week or so

a husband who is a bishop and who owns his own business is seldom home, even with a new baby, and even if he wants to be. this makes both of us stronger (darn it)

elaine is a sweet, sweet blessing and we all love her to pieces.

The Name Game

2010-03-22T08:28:00.001-07:00

I realize it's been 4 months since I last posted. I just lost my enthusiasm. I have still loved reading all of your blogs, though. I read them, I enjoy them, but I don't comment. Sorry to be so lame. I guess I'm a selfish blogger. This picture is from a spontaneous trip we made to the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. It's the only picture I have of being pregnant. I should probably take a more flattering picture of myself as an expectant mother. Although I think that now I've waited too long. We are in the two week countdown!
Cletus and I have had many discussions about the name of this baby. We still haven't come to a definite conclusion. So, I was thinking that it might be fun to get some feedback. The following is a list of baby girl names. Some are ones we've talked about and some are totally made up: the decoys. Let us know which ones are your favorites and which ones you don't like. Be brutally honest. We can take it. The more honest your feedback the more fun it will be. And, if you are family and you've heard us mention some of these names, don't give it away for anyone else. We're interested in everyone's vote.
Here they are:

1. Emmeline Mae
2. Emma Pete
3. Hazel Sue
4. Lula Mae
5. Elaine Ann
6. Bella Christine
7. Alice Ann
8. Claire Alice
9. Ruth Marie
10. Samantha Rae
(11. Cinderella Baby, for those who have Kate's tase in names)

... or any combination of the names above.

What's your vote?

A Whole Lotta Stuff

2009-11-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

We've been getting pickup truck loads of mulch to till into our garden this fall. It's always a family project getting the mulch from the truck to the garden. My job usually involves taking pictures and making sure everyone takes their shoes off before they come inside. This last load turned into a playground for the kids ....

Maybe mulch makes children grow as well as vegetables.

Way Up There

2009-11-19T06:14:00.000-08:00

Who came out of the shower saying they had a surprise?
Hayden

What was it?
A pencil eraser

Where was it?
He had just blown it out of his nose

How long had it been up there?
A week

Who thinks that is cool?
An 8-year old boy

How many people can say that they've run a half-marathon with a pencil eraser stuck up their nose?
A mighty small number

I'm with them!

2009-11-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

I hope that having athletic people in my family makes me look athletic too ...
We headed off to Richmond, VA last weekend for the Suntrust Richmond Marathon. This is Cletus' fourth marathon and his second time running in Richmond. As a cheerleader, this is by far the easiest marathon to watch. They make it quite an experience. After all, it is called America's Friendliest Marathon.
Hayden had also trained to run. He was planning on racing in the 8K. The 8K started at 7, the half-marathon started at 730, and the marathon started at 8. Even though we left the hotel at 6:30 and it was only about 6 miles away, we way underestimated the amount of time it would take to maneuver our way around in downtown Richmond with several roads blocked off. So, after quite a lot of stress and some tears, we got Hayden to the starting line about 10 minutes after the 8K group had left. He was devastated. While I was parking the car, Cletus convinced him to run the half-marathon! What a brave boy ... here he is with the deer-in-the-headlights look. He took a cell phone with him, and off he went!
Meanwhile, Cletus got ready to run his marathon. The shorts he is wearing are some that I made for him to wear around the house as pajamas. They have brightly colored frogs all over them. Anyway, it turns out that they're super comfortable to run in and he got lots of compliments on them along the way.

After 5 or 6 phone calls along the way (mile 8: "mom, I'm doing great .. I don't even feel bad at all! mile 10: "mom, I'm starting to break down" mile 11: "mom, mile 11"), he finished! I was so proud of him! As I saw him coming down the last stretch, I started crying. He got a huge cheer from the crowd as he finished. As people were remarking on his age and being quite surprised and impressed, I was crying and saying, "That's my boy!". For those of you (like me) who aren't runners, an 8K is about 5 miles and a half-marathon is 13 miles. Quite a difference. What a trooper!

After Hayden finished his race, we still had about an hour and a half to wait until it was time to cheer Cletus over the finish line. Luckily, there was food, music, and a juggler/magician that had my kids entertained for about an hour.

Hayden was so transfixed watching this man, it was quite entertaining for me. His favorite was when this guy juggled batons that were lit on fire. He just couldn't get enough.

He is the parting shot before we headed on home: Greg (a friend that came along with us and ran the marathon with Cletus), a freezing cold and sore Cletus, and a tired Hayden. It was a fun (and busy!) day and we were all happy to get in the car and head home.

By the way, where is my medal for entertaining a 2-year old for 7 HOURS in downtown Richmond while we were waiting for our boys? See those blue porta-potties in the background? We made too many trips to visit while we were there. Kate was really interested in them and wanted to touch and explore inside. I have been in many porta-potties in my life, but I have to say that those were some of the most disgusting, over-used potties I have ever seen. Kate touching anything inside grossed me out so much that I made her fold her arms the whole time we were inside - hopefully she doesn't relate this at all to praying. I started making her fold her arms after she pointed to the urinal, touched it inside and said, "what's that?". Hand sanitizer was our closest friend.

So, after Cletus finished running and he was in quite a lot of pain and discomfort, he asked me to remind him how he feeling right then in case he ever wanted to attempt running again. He compared how he felt to childbirth.

The comparison must have been quite far-fetched, because he's already signed up for his next race.

The many faces of an 8-year old

2009-11-12T14:00:00.001-08:00

Hayden has always loved putting on a show for us. He is our drama boy. Anything that will make us laugh is his agenda. He is pretty entertaining ....

His pretending to fall out of his chair while we were camping face,

His Harry Potter spell-casting face at Halloween,

His Halloween Busch Garden trip with dad face (also called, mom would never let me get my face painted like this if she were there face)

Looking polite over his birthday cake and getting ready to blow out these cheap candles that melted down to the cake in about 20 seconds face,

My favorite, his sweet baptismal face,

And, finally, his Cub Scout face. He has been a scout for two weeks and has already memorized that scout oath and the motto.

Happy Birthday, Hayden. We love all of your faces.

Great Dad

2009-10-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

So, today is Hayden's birthday! (Where did the past 8 years go??) As a surprise, Cletus took the morning off of work and he, Kate, and I went to have lunch with Hayden at school. Hayden got to choose 2 friends to come and sit with us at a separate table. We were talking and visiting with the kids, and Cletus was attracting more and more students over to our table to visit with us, to practice his Spanish, and to learn all of the names of the kids in Hayden's class. They LOVED the attention. Hayden's best friend looked at Hayden and said, "You've got a good dad". Then Hayden said, referring to his friend, "he doesn't have a dad". His friend told me that his dad is in prison, that he did some "bad stuff" and that they kicked him out of the house. I thought about how I was feeling guilty for making a cake mix in a 13x9 pan for Hayden's birthday, how I'm just not that creative when it comes to birthdays and celebrating, etc. How all of us give ourselves guilt trips. But when I listened to Hayden and his friend talking at lunch today, I realized that I did one pretty important thing right. Hayden has a great dad who loves him, plays with him, teaches him, sets a good example for him, holds the priesthood, wrestles every day when he gets home from work ... The other little things like a boring cake don't seem so important. I get to give my kids a great dad for their birthday.

Off to Medoc

2009-10-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

We headed out for our fall family camping trip last weekend. We waited until the last minute to decide where we were going to go in hopes of finding a place where there wasn't a forecast of rain. We settled on Medoc Mountain State Park, north on 95 just south of Roanoke Rapids. It's a beautiful park. Despite some cold weather, and a few reservations on my part about strapping things to the top of the car (I trust my husband, I really do ....), we were off. Luckily, it's only about an hour away. Cletus is the man with the camping skills! He does all of the hard stuff - and he likes it! He made several great campfires for us. Kate didn't like the smoke getting in her eyes, but the rest of us enjoyed it. There's just something about sitting around the campfire with a bag of marshmallows and a cup of hot chocolate!

I chose to put in this picture of me, because the others that Cletus took resembled someone who had just been wheeled out of surgery. Camping and pregnancy mixed don't bring out my most beautiful qualities. But luckily, my family doesn't care. They think I'm beautiful - or they just don't care - I don't know which.

Hayden and Kate had so much fun playing together in the tent right before bedtime. The older Kate gets, the better of friends they are getting to be. Hayden is learning to be more patient, and Kate is learning not to scream so much. They were very sweet snuggled together in their sleeping bags.

Kate was just a picture of beauty this day when we went hiking. Her pink shirt and her little pink cheeks were too cute with her long curly pig tails. She had so much fun exploring and finding treasures along the path. We quickly learned, however, that taking a 2 year old who has been potty trained for 2 weeks on a camping trip with underwear on is a recipe for disaster. After an incident with poop that probably should have resulted in a bathtub, and another with wet clothes (including shoes) on a cold day, we resorted to the few diapers that we brought. Luckily, she was okay with that.

I love this picture of Hayden! He is .... not the most photogenic child. Don't get me wrong - he is handsome in every way - he just doesn't smile well for pictures. But this time, he was asking us to dare him to jump off of this bridge into a pit of leaves quite a ways below, and he was loving it. I caught a real-life Hayden smile. He did jump, by the way. And, he also set up our tent all by himself!

Here is the afore mentioned packed car. Notice the two bikes, scooter, tent, and various other things strapped onto the top of the car. And, the extra firewood we found on our hike packed into the back of the car ("for next time, of course" is what Cletus said when I asked him WHY we were bringing home firewood). But, honestly, Cletus did a knock-out job packing the car. Let's just say that I said a few prayers as we were driving home.

It was a great trip - the fall colors were amazing, the kids had fun, and it was heaven to be home in a heated house.

Our sweet campers.

An Explanation

2009-09-15T07:03:00.001-07:00

First, I need to nominate myself for lame blogger of the year award. Unfortunately, I do about as well writing in my journal as I do updating my blog. But there is an explanation ....
We are expecting a baby! I've been miserably sick for weeks and weeks. Maybe months ... I've lost track. Maybe I never really felt well. I can't remember. It's all a blur. But my mind tells me that I'm only 11 weeks along so I really couldn't have been sick for most of my life, like it feels. We are all really excited! I'm due April 7, which seems like a really long ways away. But we have a lot of getting ready to do. We're going to bunk the baby in with Kate, so we need to get their room ready. We will need to get a bigger car ... and, the baby is the size of a fig right now, so I guess it needs to do a little bit more growing.
Kate talks about the new baby every day and Hayden is really wishing for a boy and not "another boring girl".
So, I've been lame at blogging, but at least I have a good excuse.

Taking a Moment

2009-08-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

This post is about my friend, Tami, and her family. I hope she doesn't mind if I talk about her for a minute. We've been friends for almost 25 years, so maybe she'll forgive me if she really does mind.
Tami is expecting their 4th baby later this month. That is amazing in and of itself ... only because 4 children is so much work and I admire women who seem to do it so effortlessly. She is one of those. I've also heard that the 4th child is the turning point in a house of chaos. (Cletus' mother told me that and he was the 4th child, although I've heard it from others as well). The real reason that i wanted to bring up Tami is that her husband is set to be deployed for Iraq a week before the baby is due. He's going to be gone for 12 months. They are hoping and praying that the doctors will induce her so that Grant can see his baby before he's gone for a year.
After he's gone, Tami will be holding up the homefront with 3 children and a newborn. I know her and I know that she will be positive, that she will carry on and show a brave face, and that she will do singlehandedly what most of us complain about doing every day. Think about a year alone of: famiy home evenings, dinners, birthdays, outings, holidays, anniversary, children's firsts, evenings at home, prayers, and everything else that we share.
I don't feel sorry for her, but I respect her and the decision that both of them have made to be so brave and strong. I am so grateful for the sacrifice that she is making to create a safe country for me and my family. Her sacrifice, and many others like her, make is possible for me and my family to be together, to live and breathe, and work and play every day in a free and safe country.
So, thank you Tami. I value and honor your example. Soldiers aren't just sent off to war. They are left home to be a little scared, and brave, but to carry on with a smile.

On my way to Hawaii (in my dreams)

2009-07-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

So, I've been expanding my homemaking talents by canning this year. And, wow is it a lot of work! I've burned myself several times, it makes my kitchen the temperature of a tropical rain forest, and I despise the sight of fresh vegetables when I'm done. It's difficult to spend hours chopping and cooking to produce a jar of salsa when there's a Food Lion just down the road. And, honestly, I've wondered sometimes if it's really even financially beneficial. But, I think after I build up my jar supply and I grow (or bum off of other people) what I'm canning, it really is cheaper than buying it. So, here is the tally for this year ...

41 quarts and

30 pints of ...

peaches

green beans

pickled okra (yee-haw y'all!)

pickled banana peppers

tomatoes

salsa

peach jam

strawberry jam

and we have stocked an ample amount of peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and okra (an "ample" supply of okra isn't very much for us - I don't even know why we grew it this year, but it's producing like crazy!) in our outside freezer.

So, it seems crazy to spend so much time and money on canning. But, when it's all over, I have to admit that it's quite satisfying to see all of those jars lined up on the shelf: red, green, and orange. They're beautiful in a way. And, I'm passing on the art to the next generation: Kate carries around my jar-lifter-outer thing and tells me that her pretend food is "too hot".

And ... it's satisfying to know that my family will have lots of healthy canned food to eat while I'm recovering by myself in Hawaii.

I Need Your Honest Opinion

2009-07-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have this urge to get my hair cut short. I mean, pretty short. Does anyone know Britt Brostrom? I love her hair! I want to get my hair cut like hers, but I don't know if I can pull it off. Not everyone has the face for a really short cut. You have to have just the right features, angles, whatever to look good. I just don't know if I do. I'm not asking if I'm pretty or attractive or anything like that. I know lots of beautiful people that wouldn't necessarily look good with a short haircut. I just need to know if I have a short haircut kind of face. Just tell it to me straight. I can take the honesty. I prefer bluntness, actually. It makes life so much easier and more refreshing.

You Missed Me, Didn't You?

2009-07-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

So, my last post was June 5 and it's now July 17. Yikes! (I'm afraid my journal writing habits are shining through here)

My last post was titled "Playing Catch Up", so since I've already used that title ... I'll have to think of something else. Apparently, I'm having a hard time keeping up my blog on any kind of regular basis. I don't know how you amazing people who update your blog all of the time do it .. I mean, I'm impressed. I secretly feel better about myself when someone else takes a long time to update their blog too. Silly, I know. It's like seeing dust, old Cheerios, and a few toys under some else's couch. It makes them seem real. So all of you people who find it hard to write on your blog all of the time, I'm just helping to keep it real.

I really feel like life has been a whirlwind since Hayden got out of school in early June. Does anyone else feel like life is in fast forward? I've heard many people say that the older you get, the faster time flies. I say "amen" to that! (I'll be 32 in a few weeks, so maybe I qualify for the "getting older" group). Here are some things that have been part of this crazy, chaotic fun summer so far:

We started off the summer with a bang at the Simpson Family Cousin's Camp. There are 24 (I think?) cousins in all and the oldest is 9. That's a crazy good time! We even had matching shirts this year. The kids had a great time and I think we've decided to make it an annual tradition.
Cletus and I headed off to Ocracoke to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been 10 years! I mean, I feel like it was just yesterday that we were being awkward and sitting in the corner of a singles' dance telling each other we just wanted to be "friends". How time flies! It was a fun beach trip - we rented bikes and rode around the island.

We took a ferry to get over there and Cletus told me he was taking me on a cruise ... not quite. We enjoyed being together without the kids and spending so much time together. I am so happy to love him more than I ever could 10 years ago. It just gets better all the time ....

Hayden showed off his hard work at his first piano recital. He's been taking lessons for only 4 months but he has learned quickly and has really taken to the piano. (However, if I ever have to hear "Woodchuck" or "Daydream" again, I think I'm going to jump out the window). We are proud of him! Thanks, Leah Steelman, for being such a great teacher.

Me and the kids took off to the Blue Ridge Mountains to enjoy an extended family camping trip. Despite a rough start (Kate cried, freaked out, was delerious, and talked about grasshoppers until 4:15 am the first night in the tent), we really enjoyed ourselves. My favorite part was the visit to Alta Pass Apple Orchard off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you're up that way and have never been, it's well worth the stop.

And, how could I leave out our new baby, the dental practice? You'll notice that the sign looks like there was suppose to be a date after "Opening July ...". That's because the date has changed a few times. Cletus has worked countless hours on this new office. He has worried and stressed and planned. The office looks cute and harmless, but oh the sweat and tears that have gone into it. He is actually opening tommorrow and we are excited/anxious to see how everything goes. If you're ever in Bunn and you have a tooth ache ...

Cletus (aka Old Man Simpson) turned 34 at the beginning of July!

My brother, Aaron, and his family flew in from Texas a few weeks ago and we've been enjoying some time with them. The "boys" took a river rafting trip to Tennessee and had a blast! They did it all in a day - about 9 hours total in the car. I heard it was worth the trip.

After the rafting trip, we all went to the Outer Banks for 4 days on the beach in Corolla. The weather was amazing and we had such a good time. I love the age our kids are at - perfect for all day beach play. They really could have stayed all day every day. Kate was a trooper and spent 8 hours on the beach one day.

We really loved getting to spend time with Aaron, Lynda, Todd, Autumn, and Audrey. We only get to see them once a year at best, so it's always a fun time when they come. I have to admit that hosting 5 extra people in our home was a little stressful, but it was worth it. We love them and are glad for our kids to spend time with their cousins.

And, how can you go without a family picture? We had planned on hiring someone to take the pictures for us, but when that didn't work out, I just did it myself. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I just set up my tripod and then jumped in at the last minute. The little girls aren't really smiling, but I didn't set my expectations too high.

Well, that's it. Thanks for joining us on the Simpson Family Tour. I hope to write again before it's been another month and a half ... but you never know. I'll leave you all on the edge of your seats.

Playing Catch-Up

2009-06-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Wow - it's been almost a month since I posted last. I don't expect that anyone is too upset by that (except my mom), but it shows how lame I've been at posting. Part of the trouble is that every time I download pictures from my camera, the program downloads ALL of my pictures, including ones I've already saved on our computer like 10 times. So that is frustrating and takes forever. Also, I guess part of me feels like updating my blog is like writing in my journal: it should be fun but often ends up feeling like a chore.

So, to take a short-cut, I'm going to post what I wrote as our latest entry for the Simpson Family Quarterly Newsletter (the "I Declare"). I'll post some pictures to make it a little more exciting.

Cletus and Alice and family:
I usually start out by saying that things have been busy at our house. I really mean it this time! Cletus’ new dental practice seems to be the background music to which we are marching lately. He is in a constant state of finishing and then making a new to-do list. We are looking forward to his opening date of July 7 (Happy Birthday to him!), not necessarily because we think it will get easier, but because it will mean that we have completed this part of our adventure and we are ready to move on to the next phase. I realize that we have all been spoiled in the past with Cletus’ schedule. He used to arrive home at 5 to eat dinner and spend time with us as a family. After all, that’s one of the reasons we chose dentistry – the family- friendly schedule. Well, dinner with Cletus at home has turned into a treat instead of the everyday “norm”. He often has people to meet with after work, then goes straight to either more meetings or church responsibilities. A few days in the past weeks he has been gone from home from 6:15 am to 10 pm. However, through it all, he is learning to make decisions quickly and confidently. (And if you have time, stop by and see his great crown molding project in progress). So, if he has not returned phone calls or emails, or if we seem more protective of our family time, just know that it is the chaos of our lives right now.
Hayden is about to finish second grade! He is very excited about summer break and is going to be involved with swimming lessons, a short outdoor day camp, camping and beach excursions, and according to him: his favorite, “hanging out with mom and dad”. He is a great big brother to Kate and I think that they will have a fun time playing together this summer. We are thinking about starting Hayden on the “Rosetta Stone” language program in Latin. He is still progressing in his piano lessons and loves to play. We are looking forward to his piano recital on June 20.
Kate is still the sunshine of our family. We all race to be the one to get her out of bed in the morning. Whoever wins is usually rewarded with a kiss, a hug, and a big smile. She loves laughing at Hayden, nursery, reading books, playing in the sandbox, dancing, singing songs, coloring, and running outside. It is easy for me to tell that she is a 2-year old by her tantrums and screeches, but she turns into an angel the minute that Cletus walks in the door. We are worried that she is getting quite vain about her hair. She gets compliments on it wherever we go and she has started telling me that her hair is “pretty”.
I am just trying to keep up with everyone else! I am trying to happily hold down the fort so that Cletus can accomplish his goals with the practice. Although we only have 2 children, I have to admit that between our garden and yard, housework, church callings, and other daily tasks, I often feel overwhelmed. However, I am learning to take care of myself so that I can better take care of my family. Sometimes I just need a break and I’m learning that it’s okay to take one sometimes. I am looking forward to an online photography class starting in the fall. I will need some practice, so if you’d like some pictures taken of your family, then let me know!
Despite our challenges, and maybe through them, we feel the love and the guiding hand of the Lord in our lives. We are so thankful for the blessings of the gospel. As we look at others in the world, we are increasingly grateful for the piece of heaven that is in our home. We enjoy happiness and peace and we know that these are fruits of living the standards of the gospel.
We love you! Cletus and Alice

Small Miracle

2009-05-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

So, to start out this story, I need to explain about Cletus' "planner". He has a Franklin Covey small black planner that he has used for the past 10 years to keep track of dates, times, phone numbers, etc. He also keeps his license, his credit cards, and everything else important in there. (This planner was a gift to me from a guy I dated a long time ago. How ironic that Cletus and I used to to plan our wedding ..). Anyway, Cletus is making efforts at being organized, but is constantly thwarted because he loses his planner. He means well and tries hard, but that darn planner is just too evasive. I hear at least (I mean, at the minimum) two times a day, "Have you seen my planner?". However, as Cletus gets closer to opening his practice, his planner has become quite valuable to him. Things have become so busy that his brains are really locked up in that little black planner with contact numbers, cel phone numbers, and other odds and ends that are, to him, are quite necessary.
When Cletus told me that he couldn't find his planner about three weeks ago, we weren't too concerned. This was a common occurance and we were sure that it would turn up soon. Well, days went by. Cletus did a search of both of the cars - under seats, in the trunks, everywhere. Nothing. A few more days and he did a thorough search of the house. Nothing. He started getting a little frustrated. I looked up our credit card and checking accounts to make sure that there was no funny business going on. We prayed about it and felt at peace. We waited. Nothing. More searching. No planner.
Late last week I got phone call that set my heart at ease. A lady from a recycling company in Raleigh said that she had a little black book with my husband's information, his cards, etc, in it. Hallelujah! I was so excited! I asked her where she was located and she told me that Cletus had taken a tour of her facility and had left the planner then, so he should know where it was. Well, I called Cletus right away at work and told him the good news. The only confusion was that Cletus had never been to a recycling facility to take a tour. He had no idea where the place was. Luckily, I still had the number on my phone and so he was able to call and get directions.
When he arrived and retrieved his precious planner, it looked like it had been through .... a recycling machine. Our only guess is that we somehow accidently threw his planner into our recycling bin, it got dumped into the big truck, taken into Raleigh, and saved from being shredded and turned into paper pulp. Then, this nice lady who could have stolen all of our private financial information, found my number inside and called.
All of that seems so improbable, yet it's really the only explanation. That, and prayers are most definitely answered. This was a small miracle, but it was a testimony to us that we are watched over and cared for, even in our daily struggles.
This morning, Cletus set off to work, but only after asking me, "have you seen my planner?".

Priceless

2009-05-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

This morning, Kate put her two little hands on both of my cheeks and said,
"Love dis face".

What more could I ask for?

A familiar story (with pictures)

2009-04-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my mom, who mentioned today that she is tired of "Uplifting Words". Actually, I hope she doesn't mind, but this post is dedicated to all moms. I think that my plight is probably a familiar plight to all of the moms out there.
It is the plight of getting a good picture of yourself among the family photo archives. I am usually the one taking pictures, capturing family memories and making my family members look like models. And then, every once in awhile, I realize that I'm not a part of the family photo archives.
So what do I do then? I mention to my husband and my children (in a manner that induces guilt), that it's too bad that there aren't more pictures of me, that my children won't know what I looked like when they were young and that my husband won't remember me when I was young and skinny and cute.
Then my husband snatches the camera over the next several family activities and takes lots and lots of bad pictures of me. Pictures where I look like I have a double chin, where my eyes are half-closed, pictures where I am so far away that you can't really tell it's me, pictures where there is food in my mouth, pictures where I am in the middle of talking, etc.
After these pictures are taken, I sneak off and delete all of them from our camera (yay for digital cameras!). I mean, I don't want bad pictures of myself remembered, brought out in years to come, and becoming the fuel for family jokes.
Several months later, this whole process is repeated again.
So, here are some fun family pictures and activities from the past several months (you will notice one member of the family who is missing in all of them ....)

Kate has finally fallen in love with the Thumbelina dress-up that my sister gave her for her birthday. At first she wanted nothing to do with it, but now she wants to wear it every day and calls it her "pretty dress".

We participated in the Raleigh Stake Day of Service this past Saturday and enjoyed doing the 5K together. Cletus and Hayden ran and Kate and I strolled. Hayden ran the whole thing! He is quite a little athlete.

A couple of weeks ago we went to the NC Zoo. (Now for a little negativity: The day was really hot, the zoo was super crowded, we didn't see very many animals, my allergies kicked in unmercifully, and to be honest ... I don't really like our zoo.) The kids had fun though, and that's what matters.

And, finally, Kate helping with the laundry as only 2 year olds can!

Uplifting words

2009-04-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

You might think that I was going to comment on General Conference. Not yet. Just wanted to share some words from our sweet 7-year old.

Me: "Hayden, what do you think Dad is going to say when he sees my new hair?"
Hayden: "It looks ugly, babe."

Hayden during sacrament meeting to me: "Mom, when you die, can I have your diamond?"

Hayden after school Friday: "mom, a kid offered me $2 to let him copy an answer off of my worksheet, so I said okay."
Me: "What?!? Hayden, that's cheating and it's not honest."
Hayden: "It's okay mom, it wasn't a test."
(I guess all of the examples on cheating, honesty, etc. in FHE and Primary lessons are about a test. Apparently we're going to have to be a little more specific with this kid)

Hayden last week: "Mom, you know those things you can get where a school pays for you to come there?"

Me: "A scholarship?"

Hayden: "yeah, I'm going to get one in magic"

Hayden in the middle of a chaotic afternoon: "Why do I have to do all of the work around here?"

Hayden at the waterpark with me last year waiting in line for a water slide: "I wish I had a mom who didn't have fat legs."

He also started crying several months ago when he discovered that all of the money we've been saving for his mission wasn't his to spend on whatever he wanted (video games and candy).

Hayden asked us recently if, since his birthday was at the end of October, if we could decorate the church in a Halloween theme for his baptism.

Well, he's a gem. He just keeps us on our toes.

Before and After

2009-04-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

The Game

2009-03-31T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've been playing the Grocery Game for the past several months and I love it! For anyone who doesn't know, the Grocery Game is a website that matches up Sunday paper coupons with grocery store sales (www.thegrocerygame.com). I was skeptical at first, but made myself commit to 3 months of really trying it before I made any decisions. At first, I really hated it. It really takes a lot of time, cutting out coupons, organizing them, and then shopping the sales. I didn't really understand how to shop at first, and so with all of the time I was spending and the mediocre results, I was pretty frustrated. But now, I have limited myself to two stores (Lowes Foods and CVS) and it really is a game. I can't wait for the beginning of the week when I can head out to ... CONQUER HIGH FOOD PRICES AND SAVE THE WORLD! Just today, my trip to Lowes was quite sucessful. I spent $56.94 and at the bottom of my reciept, my total savings were ..... (drumroll in your head) ... $77.90! $36 of that was coupon savings and the rest were store sales. Some of my favorite good buys have been:
A 6-pack of Bryers Disney yogurt for .50
Cinnamon Chex cereal for .43
Stride Gum for .08 a pack (I got that today!)
Barilla whole wheat pasta for free
Crest toothpaste and toothbrushes for free

There are a few rules to the game:
1. Sometimes it's a team sport. I take Kate with me every time I go and we're learning to shop together (umm ... I bring fruit snacks and an I-Pod)
2. You can't be brand loyal. If you'll only eat Jiff peanut butter or use Tide laundry soap, then you're not going to get super-great deals.
3. It takes awhile to learn the ins and outs of the system. For example, when Lowes foods has something on "buy one get one free", that really means it's 50% off, so if you have a coupon for the same item that says, "buy one get one free", then you can use the store sale and the coupon for an excellent deal.
4. Sometimes store clerks don't know their own policies. I have CVS's 1-800 customer service number saved on my cell phone in case I need it.
5. You have to stock up on things when they are on sale. Diced tomatoes might be on sale one week, but not again for another 2 months. So, if you buy as many as you can, you'll have what you need until they go on sale again. (I get 3 Sunday papers a week to get an optimum number of coupons)
6. Choose your cashier wisely. If she looks like the wicked witch of the west on a bad hair day, you might want to choose the clueless 16-year old.
7. Make it fun for yourself or you'll never survive
8. Some things are often on sale and some things are never on sale. We have enough cereal and granola bars to last us for months, but I don't remember ever seeing ... actually, I can't think of anything that doesn't at least go on a store sale. Never mind.

Well, that's my Grocery Game report. It is quite fun and satisfying. I keep telling Cletus how much money I'm saving him, but I don't think he fully realizes how awesome I am. Maybe some day when we're old, we'll shop together using the Grocery Game and then he'll realize ...

That are funny!

2009-03-26T08:58:00.001-07:00

My cousin, Heather, shared these with me from a website called http://www.engrishfunny.com/. It shows some hilarious errors in translation. (Beware if you visit the website. Some of them are a little crude.) I don't know where she finds these crazy things. But, hey, they is make you laugh!

Steaming Pile of Stench

2009-03-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Do you like that title? I can't claim it as my own ... it's a quote from Kim Butterworth. Back when I had to beg rides to Broughton after seminary, Kim was kind enough to give me rides every now and then (we were almost always late for school). We parked by Fred Fletcher park and several times they had just dumped big piles of mulch to spread in the park. Kim would always laugh and say, "look at those steaming piles of stench!". It was true. They were steaming and they were stinky. Well, just recently we got our own steaming pile of stench. The town where we live delivers mulch for free to anyone who wants it. (Sometimes I love living in a small town!) So, we signed up for a load. Little did we know how much a load was! This pile is only part of what we got, and what we got was only half of a load! So, we have spread it in any and all parts of our yard that could use some mulch and the rest we dumped on our garden spot. We'll till it in sometime in the next couple of weeks. Cletus has been my Superman and has shoveled many, many wheelbarrows full of stinky mulch. Although, strangely, he thinks it smells good (?). Does anyone need some mulch? We have some to spare.

Saturday is a special day

2009-03-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday was quite a busy day for us. And, despite my very diligent efforts, the pictures aren't in order. I would try again, but since they took fooorrreevveerr to dowload the first time, I'll just let them be unorganized.

We spent some time at the Simpsons celebrating the February and March birthdays. Kate loves getting sung to (which is good since the Simpsons have a 3-verse birthday song) and she enjoyed being one of the centers of attention. She calls it "happy Kate's party" when we sing to her. She is enjoying it with two of her cousins. Look at that family resemblance!

Cletus and Eric being good sports and looking at the camera when what they really wanted to do was look at the TV and watch the game.

Hayden and Scott - good friends (and cousins too).

Before the birthday party, we took a family trip to Western Lanes bowling alley on Hillsborough Street. We had fun bowling, and Cletus and I always enjoy walking down memory lane at NC State. Here are Cletus and Kate keeping score (Kate's making sure that Cletus doesn't cheat).

Hayden took this picture of us and I'm quite impressed. He did a great job. We don't have very many pictures of us together that are decent. I guess we're just not photogenic.

Who would have thought that twelve years ago amidst the drama of the singles ward .....

Kate enjoyed pushing her bowling ball down the ramp onto the bumper lane. We just couldn't keep that mouth off of the bowling alley ramp (nasty!).

Hayden is always a fun model for pictures. He was trying for three strikes and didn't quite reach his goal.

So, Cletus and I have wanted pictures of our parents to put in our home and we just don't have any good ones. I was determined to get some yesterday and I had willing models, so we went outside for a photo shoot. I didn't realize why my pictures were so bright until I was looking at them later and remembered that I had set my manual settings on my camera to let in lots of light at the bowling alley and that once I was outside, it was way too much light. (Arrggh!) I think it's the aperature that I didn't have set correctly for outside pictures. Anyway, the result is too much light. But, I still think they turned out pretty well. Hopefully my sweet in-laws don't mind me posting some of the pictures I took. What a good-looking couple!

What we've been up to lately ...

2009-03-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

So, other than other than having a fun time just hanging out together, this is what else we've been up to: Kate has decided that she is ready to potty train (me: No! Not yet! I'm not ready!). She asks to go use the potty and then (shock) she actually does. We give her applause, a high-five, and of course, a treat. Her little face just lights up and it's very sweet. Hayden gets the big brother of the year award for cleaning up when I was in the shower and Kate had an accident in her underwear (and it wasn't pee ...).

I bought her some Elmo underwear and she was so excited about it that she put all 7 pairs on at the same time. I think that 7 pairs of Elmo underwear is about as safe as a diaper for catching little accidents.
Kate is also developing her own sense of fashion sense. She decided that she wanted to wear her skirt with her pajamas to bed. Hey, I'm not one to argue with a 2-year old. I guess they kind of match ... they both have brown in them ....
Hayden was so excited about the snow that he woke up at 5 am, and he and Cletus were outside building this mammoth of a snowman by about 6:45. His name is "Nuthead", because we used pecans for the eyes and mouth.
They made the head so big that they couldn't lift it onto the body, so Cletus made a ramp using long pieces of wood propped on our lawnmower. Sometimes I wonder what the neighbors think and sometimes I don't want to know. In the end, it turned out as the biggest snowman in the neighborhood. I think he's so big that he'll be in our frontyard until June. Come by and take a look!

6th in my 6th

2009-03-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

So, I've been tagged. This picture is the 6th picture in my 6th file. This is my dad on the day before Christmas (it was Christmas for us) holding sweet Kate. She loves both of her Granpdas so much and .... they love her! (She actually loves men in general - all of them, strange or familiar. It's sweet and scary at the same time. I need to keep an eye on that girl)

I tag Angie K, Mary, and Heather P.

Happy, Happy Birthday Katie Dear

2009-02-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Say What?!

2009-01-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

I have never been one to make fun of someone's name. I mean, Alice WAS in the top 10 list of names (for 1910), and Cletus is surely to be on the list for next year, but we try not to be snobby about our names. I draw the line, however, at some of the names that Cletus tells me about from work. They are just asking to be made fun of .... so, here we go!

GMaster (that's right - pronounced G Master - it's legal and everything .. poor kid)

Myreekole (pronounced Miracle)

La-ia (can anyone guess this one? I couldn't! It's pronounced La"dash"ia!)

And then my favorites, the twins:
Orangejello and Lemonjello (put the emphasis on the "range" and the "mon" in the two words and you'll get close to the pronunciation)

And then, there is Female (pronounced fe-mall-ee ... I can only guess the story behind that one - something about the hospital labeling the baby as female, perhaps??)

Well, hope you enjoyed. I'm sure that Myreekole is writing on her blog right now about her dentist with the crazy name - Cletus!

Opposition

2009-01-26T12:50:00.000-08:00

I got one of my New Year's Resolutions delivered to our front door just in time ...

For a tsunami called the stomach virus to hit us. Luckily, it was only a 24 hour bug and luckily Kate apparently has a stomach of steel. Unluckily, we discovered that Hayden was sick on the way home one night in the car ... what can beat the aroma of throw-up in the car ... on a cold night when the windows are rolled up? It is quite memorable.

Waterpark in January?

2009-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

We headed north to Williamsburg to visit ... no, not anything historical, just the Great Wolf Lodge. It is a hotel/indoor water park that is an awesome way to spend a few days in January. We had such a fun time! Kate was too little last year to enjoy it, but was pretty brave and quite the independent little fish this year. We invited Hayden's cousin, Scott, to join us and those two boys played themselves into exhaustion for two days. I know that you don't want to see pictures of Cletus and I in our bathing suits, so I'll try to stick with pictures of the kids. They're cuter anyway.
We also headed to Yorktown for a little bit of history. The kids had the most fun, though, with this frozen pond. We don't see that very much 'round these parts (Raleigh). Some of the pictures look a little strange ... like they are standing on water. I mean, unfrozen water. If it looks cold, that's because it WAS! I was a party pooper and stayed in the warm car. Boys don't seem to care about temperature when it comes to playing outside.

Since you asked ...

2009-01-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

I am: trying to cut back on the time I spend on the Internet
I know: how to make good homemade wheat bread
I won: the best catch in the Single's Ward 9 1/2 years ago
I want: jeans that fit me
I have: a car in the shop that I am missing terribly
I hate: the neighborhood cat that poops in our sandbox!
I miss: New Kids on the Block (just kidding ... kind of. I miss the beach)
I feel: so tired. It's the end of the day and I always feel drained by the kid's bedtime
I hear: Hayden practicing the bottom hand of "I Am A Child of God" on the piano
I smell: my citrus and sage candle from Yankee Candle
I crave: frozen pizza almost every night
I search: bargains wherever I go ... I even found some discarded poinsettas in the dumster behind Lowes awhile ago. They were still good! (don't tell the ladies I visit teach)
I love: being with my family when we are all happy and laughing together
I care: what people think about me, even though I'm trying really hard not to (so much)
I always: cut my boys' hair
I believe: that being home with my kids is the most important place I could be
I sing: a lot better than I use to
I write: in my journal not very often
I lose: Scrabble to Cletus most of the time
I win: Rummikub
I never: want to own a pet
I listen: to lots of crying and lots of laughing every day and I wouldn't change a thing!
I am scared: of losing somebody close to me
I need: to exercise more
I am happy about: my life.
I tag: Jessica Simpson, Kristy Simpson, and Crystal (Simpson) Barger

Cletus and Whitney

2009-01-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Cletus has always had a special relationship with Whitney Houston (only Tina Turner takes a close second ... I'd never even heard of the song Private Dancer until I met Cletus). If Cletus and I ever run into anyone who knew him in high school, inevitably, the first thing they bring up is Cletus' performances in running for school leadership offices. At the end of his sophomore year, he dressed up (from what I can gather) in a pretty crazy outfit involving suspenders and sang MC Hammer's Can't Touch This to win the race for Junior Class President. At the end of his Junior year, he sang Whitney Houston's Greatest Love of All to try and win the Senior Class President office. Surprisingly, he didn't win. But, the did succeed in prompting a new Garner High School Rule that students running for office couldn't perform in any way to try and get votes (I guess he was the only one who had thought of singing or dancing their way into student office .... until Napoleon Dynamite). So it should not have come as any surprise that on New Years Eve at Chuck and Linda's annual party he and Whitney were reunited again. Cletus performed a side-splitting rendition of I Will Always Love You that had us all in tears we were laughing so hard. We also played the dreaded Celestial Companions game that had some couples (including us) arguing for several days over our answers last year. And although we didn't win this year, we had fun playing and didn't have any residual arguments (yay for us!). Who says that Mormons can't have fun on New Year's Eve?

Pictures to Accompany the Last Post

2009-01-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a family picture in front of this small, quaint little cottage that has .... 125,000 sq ft. That's 4 acres of actual living space! It was an amazing house and we were amazed the whole tour.

Hayden and Kate in Santa's sleigh at the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville.

Another family picture at the Grove Park Inn. We are sitting in front on a stone fireplace that is roughly the size of the side of our house.

Our sweet Hayden as the Nutcracker in his school play. He was awesome!

Cletus was a shepherd in the live nativity at the Raleigh Stake Creche Exhibit. We're pretty sure this is why they had a record number of visitors this year.

Playing Catch-Up

2009-01-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid I've lost the enthusiasm for posting very often on my blog. I would aplogize to all of my loyal readers, but I don't think I have any. My mom was a big fan, but her computer has been out for quite awhile. So not even my mom reads my blog any more. I'm just not one of those bloggers that gets 20 comments per post (Allyn Boney!). But I won't give up hope. I'll be like Bill Murray on What About Bob, "I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful ... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful". Perhaps I just need to give myself a good pep-talk to get my posting commitment back up again. So here goes ...

Christmas was a whirlwind that I still feel like I'm recovering from. We took a 4 day trip to Asheville and came home (in a sputtering, sick car) on Christmas Eve. We stopped on the way home to buy stocking candy (umm ... just guess who was in charge of buying that - me or Cletus?) and found WalMart to be closed at 6:30 on Christmas Eve. Come on! Can't WalMart be open when you actually need them to be? We found a KMart that was open and joined the throngs there buying last-minute Christmas surprises. Although, I have to say that it was kind of depressing seeing all of the parents that saved their Christmas shopping until night before and were just buying whatever was on the shelves for their kids. Lots of them had their kids with them! Hmm ... nothing dispells the magic of Santa like being with your mom as she buys your presents on Christmas Eve. So we got stocking candy at KMart without our kids knowing somehow (did I mention that Cletus was in charge of buying the candy and he procrastinated?). We arrived home on Christmas Eve and Hayden and Kate opened their new matching pajamas that I had made for them. Yes, I know, I'm amazing.
And, from Christmas morning until now has been kind of a blur. We have visited much, opened lots, eaten way too much, and driven many miles. But, the kids had fun, we have lots of new toys to play with, and I have a new camera! That's right, expect to be blown away by the pictures that will start to appear on my blog. I LOVE it!
I can also now say that YES, I am from North Carolina, and YES, I have been to the Biltmore, thank you. Twice in two days, with kids in tow. Boo-yah!

Santa's Crazy Reindeer

2008-12-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here are our little reindeer. Isn't the reindeer on the left just the picture of Christmas cheer? The other reindeer (underneath) looks a little manic. I have to admit that I made him put on the antlers and pose in front of the tree.

And, here is our little cheerful reindeer. She is singing to the tree in the picture on the left. I loved that! She was just going around to all of the ornaments and singing to them. And, this picture (underneath) is my all-time favorite. I could just eat up those cheeks!

Christmas Cards

2008-12-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

It's that time again (we're kind of late this year) and if any of you would like to receive a Christmas card from us, just email me your address. I know I have some, but I'm not always great at keeping up with them from year to year. (If you're family, then you can safely assume that I have your address). a1wonderland@yahoo.com

In Tune

2008-12-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

I had a piano tuner come to the house today to .... tune our piano. We have heard that it needs to be tuned after it is moved, so we waited a couple of months for our piano to settle into it's new home before we had it tuned. I just looked online to find a tuner and just randomly selected one. It turns out I picked quite a character. This man's name is Billy and he showed up at my house wearing a fishing shirt that says, "Your Bait Sucks". Wow ... interesting first impression. He took awhile tuning the piano and then he started playing to hear how everything sounded. He started rocking the house! He had told me previously that he owns a studio where they record gospel music. So, he started jamming on some gospel tunes there in our living room, without any music, of course. He was really almost shaking the walls he was playing with so much gusto. Kate loved it! She got out her little hymn book and climbed onto the couch and started singing. We were both dancing a little after awhile. That music filled our whole house. It was awesome. He asked for a request and we suggested "Jingle Bells". He played a mean "Jingle Bells"! We clapped for him when he was done. He told us that he lives in Dunn and had driven an hour to get to our house. After he finished his concert, he took his check and left. All in all, it was quite an interesting morning. Who knew that getting your piano tuned could be so much fun?

This guy's information is:
Kane Kreek Recording Studios
Billy Lancaster
919-291-8228
(He does live kind of far away - Coats, NC - but he seemed willing to drive to come and see us!)

The Rules

2008-12-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

So, if any of you are planning on coming to our house and playing in Hayden's room any time soon, I wanted you to know that there are some rules.
Hayden recently posted these rules for his room:

Hayden's Rules
1. Be nise to aliens.
2. Play with (Lego Secret Agent) truck 2 times a day.
3. Go to sleep at 7:00.
4. Let Kate in only if she's doing something nise.
5. Eat candy only on Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sun.

There you have it. If you can't keep the rules, (especially rule #1, which some people have trouble with), then you can't come in Hayden's room. And, if you don't like candy, then you might want to come on a Tuesday, a Thursday, or a Saturday.

HOW MANY people are in your family?

2008-11-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a video that Christian put together of the Simpson Family, Fall 2008. He did an fabulous job. If you can name everyone in this video, I'll give you 20 bucks! (12 kids, 8 in-laws, and 24 grandkids (I think ...))
Also, I thought we could play a little "I Spy"!

A boy in a dryer and in a plane,
A handsome couple at a football game,
Kids in the leaves and big kids at the fair,
Two funny faces - who is under there?
Buried in the sand with only a face,
How many Hayden's are in this place?
Dad and son in a cart that can GO!
Three pretty princesses all in a row.
A family at Disney,
And one on a ride,
Then one at the zoo with an elephant's hide.
Batman, a pirate, and Tinkerbell times two,
Two faces looking crazy to scare you!
A sweet little smile on a baby who's not lean,
And the littlest scarecrow you've ever seen.

Good luck in your spy-ing!

Quirks

2008-11-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that I never did the requisite kids-in-Halloween-costumes-looking-super-cute post. Our computer has been on the fritz and then the time just passed. Let's just say that my kids were really cute in their costumes and we had a fun Halloween. And, also, that if Eric Carle who wrote The Grouchy Ladybug ever needs a mascot, we've got his girl!

So, I've been tagged! Allyn Boney tagged me with a quirk challenge: 7 quirks that nobody knows about me. This has been pretty fun ... although I don't know if I'm going to be able to come up with that many interesting quirks.

1. I have always wanted to clog (as in clogging, not as in wearing them or in getting something stuck). It's my secret dream to be really great at clogging and to wear that frilly dress and the whole get-up. I just don't have the guts to do it. And, if I'm really great at it, clogging seems like kind of a nerdy talent to have. Still, don't be surprised to see me one day up on stage ...

2. I like fried chicken livers. I've even ordered them when we're out to eat, much to Cletus' dismay. And, the Simpsons say that I'm not really Southern!

3. I prefer to have all of the doors in the car locked when I'm driving. A long time ago someone told me that it was safer, and it has just stuck. I realize that if you were in an accident and you were trying to get out of the car, or if rescuers were trying to get in, then it wouldn't be safer at all. This quirk just won't listen to reason.

4. I hate getting water splashed on my face. Even when I'm in the pool, I like having my face dry all of the time. I enjoy water games, pools, sprinkler, etc as long as I don't have water splashed on my face.

5. I can't remember anyone's birthday to save my life. Even family members. Sorry everyone. I'm lame.

6. I hate dogs. I'm actually pretty scared of dogs. I was taking the kids on a small walk down our street a few weeks ago and a stray dog was just walking down the street not paying any attention to us and I was in a panic. My heart was racing, my legs turned to jello, and I had to breathe slow to get myself back in control. I actually don't take walks with my kids around in our neighborhood because I am scared of wild or stray dogs.

7. I'm allergic to fresh fruit. Especially fruits that have an edible skin like peaches, apples, and pears. Peaches are the worst for me. I get a rash around my mouth, the inside of my mouth gets itchy and I've even had my throat get a little swollen before. I haven't always had that problem. I think it's a post-Hayden issue.

Well, that was suppose to be fun but now I just feel like a weirdo. You're all going to have to write comments to reassure me of how normal I am.

I tag Heather Pollei, Tanya Smith, and my sister, Mary.

Lego Maniac

2008-10-27T08:24:00.001-07:00

We took Hayden to Toys R Us on Saturday to let him pick out a Lego set for his birthday. He picked out a huge set (the same one as cousin Scott) that he just couldn't wait to get home and put together. We have heard from several people that Legos are great for 7 year old boys and that they will play with them for hours! Hayden has a small Lego set that he doesn't really play with, mainly because there weren't really enough to play with. So we got home too late Saturday night to play with Legos (there was much crying involved). Hayden informed us Sunday at church that 3 hours was WAY too long for us to expect him to go without his Legos. He didn't even want to stay for the Linger Longer and eat! When we got home, he played with them for about two hours. After we went to my grandma's and had a little birthday celebration (where he got more Legos - thanks Grandma, Grandpa, and Kathy!), we again got home too late to play with his Legos (more crying). Well, this morning, Hayden got ready for school as he normally does - all by himself. We expect him to get dressed, eat, pack a lunch, etc. and be ready to leave at 8:45 when it's time to go. This morning when he came out to the car to leave, his little face was very excited and he said,
"Mom, guess what?"
"What Hayden?"
"I started my first fast!"
"Ummm ... a fast? What do you mean?"
"I wanted to play my Legos this morning, so I didn't eat breakfast! I wanted to play instead."

What can I say? The boy loves his Legos.

If you think your family is weird ....

2008-10-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

...then just go to the State Fair. What you see there will convince you that you really are quite normal. At least, that 's what Jeff Foxworthy says and I agree! We went to the fair yesterday and had a great time (and yes, we saw some pretty strange specimens of North Carolinians). Kate was just amazed by everything and we stopped often for her to admire something that none of us even noticed, like a man blowing bubbles or a stand of balloons.

We saw some friends there ....

The picture of Hayden and Arthur is suppose to be next, but our computer is being stubborn, so the pictures are out of order. We saw some friends that weren't wooden cut-outs too. Here's a shout-out to our peeps we saw at the fair - Sarah and Devin Gilreath, Jeremy and Michelle Aycock, the Huband family, and Chad and Jessica Simpson. It was fun to see them, but it's difficult to have a meaningful conversation on the midway with children.

Kate was completely amazed by the animals! Cletus and I had the most fun watching her watch the animals. This picture captures her cute face looking at some sheep, but unfortunately, it also captured this green, peeling metal post.

We topped off the evening with a family ride on the ferris wheel. We bought tickets ahead of time, so it wasn't as expensive as it could have been. It is always an amazing sight to be up so high, to see the lights, feel the breeze, and to push away those thoughts of news stories about ferris wheel disasters where a mother is hanging for her life with one hand on a metal bar and another holding onto her child. But, other than those paranoid thoughts, it was a fun ride. (I also have to say that in about 30 minutes around 7;30 or 8 pm, the atmosphere quickly transformed from a family atmosphere to one of teenage hoodlams. It was then that I noticed that fair ride workers truly look and act like the dregs of society).

I really do love the fair: the smells, the food, the animals, the Village of Yesteryear, the exhibits, the tractor-pulls, and everything else that you can only find in such abundance at the State Fair. Depsite the fact that we come home and disinfect our clothes and our children, we can't wait until next fall when we get to head back to the fair again!

Camping and Cousins and Rain, Oh My!

2008-10-22T07:37:00.001-07:00

We headed west Thursday night to Stone Mountain State Park to camp out for the weekend with Cletus' sister, Celeste and her family, and our friends, the Beaumonts. We arrived Thursday night and set up camp before heading to bed. (Kate slept through the night without a problem! Yeah!) Early Friday morning it started raining .... and it didn't stop. So, the kids played in the rain, had fun, got soaking wet, and then started to shiver and to be miserable. And, hey, what is more fun than packing up wet camping gear while it's still raining? Friday afternoon we headed to the Beaumont's house (they never showed up to camp because of the rain) and spent the rest of the weekend. We took a fun hike Saturday (12 kids in all!) in the beautiful weather. The Beaumonts live in Huntersville, just north of Charlotte. Cletus and I actually planned on moving to Huntersville right after dental school and even picked out a house. But, it wasn't meant to be. As we were driving around Huntersville (in the fall, my favorite time of year!), I couldn't help but feel another longing to move to this beautiful part of the state. It was a fun (and tiring) weekend!

Hayden and Holly
Wilford, Lillie, Hayden, Lucy, and Holly waiting for breakfast
Tim, Cletus, and Celeste making a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs, and hot choloclate
Kate is ready to eat!
Are we having fun yet?

Slow ... Children Playing

2008-10-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

Although Cletus and I usually laugh at this sign and look for the slow children that are suppose to be playing in the neighborhood, I think that this phrase describes my recent thoughts. I am just too busy. I don't have to be too busy, but I let myself get that way. The words to this song have been running through my head lately: "I'm in a hurry to get things done, Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun. All I really want to do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why". There are lots and lots of good things to be involved in, but it's so easy to be involved in too many of them. We only have two children and only one of them is in extracurricular activities, but I find that I am running here and there so often that I am not enjoying my day, I'm not enjoying being a mom, and I'm certainly not stopping to enjoy the little pleasures in life. I get to be unhappy and frustrated and I feel that my schedule is out of my control. But, I know that that's not true. I am in charge of where I spend my time and whether I am on the go too much. I realized recently that it had been a week since we slowed down to have family time together - all 4 of us just being at home with nothing scheduled! Children grow up way too quickly for this to be a norm in our household. I want the house to be clean and for things to be orderly and nice, but when it comes down to what is really important, who cares? I want to play with my kids. I want to laugh with them, to get down on the floor and read to them. I want to be able to do something spontaneous and silly because we have nothing going on. I want to be able to leave dishes in the sink so that I can go and play kickball outside with my family. I want to slow down. Our prophet, President Hinckley, said something one time that I loved. I tried to find the exact quote but couldn't. It said something like, "enjoying the time of just being at home together as a family is an art" and that it is necessary for our children to have that constant in their lives. So, here is my public promise now to slow down, to breathe, to play and to laugh, to leave chores until later so that I can enjoy my children while they still want to play with me.

Running just as fast as we can ...

2008-10-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

Cletus ran in a 10K this past Saturday in Carrboro. It was so much fun! He did a great job and came in right over 44 minutes. As a cheer-leader and care-taker of the little cheer-leaders, a 10K is much more fun and manageable than a marathon. At a marathon, we would cheer and applaud at the beginning of the race (usually in a city not very close to home) and then try and find something to do for 4 hours. But a 10K is perfect. We cheer and watch him run off, then play and visit with friends and then, viola! The time is up and we get to cheer again. The winner of the race ran it in 30 min 34 sec. For those of you not great at math, that's just over a 5 minute mile! I was pretty amazed. We spent the night Friday with our friends in Chapel Hill, the Polleis, and Heather ran in the race also. She is an exercise machine! Two of Cletus' sisters, Crystal and Candice, also joined in. Candice had never actually run 6 miles straight and decided at the last minute to run. She did really well. I think it inspired me to run. I have never run on purpose. I don't even like the thought of running for exercise. I'm an elliptical machine fan. But, being at the 10K inspired me and I think I'm going to start training for a 5K. It may sound easy to some of you, but I probably can't run 10 minutes straight without passing out.

After the real race, they had races for the kids by age group. Kate's age group (3 and under) was pretty cute to watch. Kate didn't get what was going on at all at first and just stared at everyone trying to figure it out. But once the lightbulb went on, she was off! She ran with all her might and loved it. In fact, since then, she'll stand against the wall, say "go!" and run as fast as she can to the other wall. That is her new favorite game. I'm hoping that our kids get Cletus' athletic talent and not mine (or lack thereof).
Hayden's age group (7-8) was much more competitive. He also ran with all his might and came in second. He is a fast runner. He might have come in first if he was actually in his real age group. He doesn't turn 7 until later this month. He likes to run with the big kids. We have a picture of Hayden crossing the finish line with Cletus at the end of the Richmond, VA marathon. It is priceless.

A new baby!

2008-09-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

No, not that kind! (How presumptuous!). This kind:

Isn't she a beauty?! We have been looking for a piano for awhile and had convinced ourselves of all of the reasons to buy a cheap old piano for ourselves while our children are young. Then, Cletus' sister called one day and told us about this piano. I have to admit that we didn't think about it very long. It is a Yahama console about 20 years old with excellent sound and in perfect condition. (and yes, it's black and coincidentally matches our decor) It seems to have been meant to come to our family. We love it! Hayden hasn't started official piano lessons yet, but he has learned the first few lines of "We Thank Thee, Oh God, for a Prophet". Cletus and I play a lot more than I thought we would, and we are just giddy to have it. We are both trying to relax and realize that sticky fingers and a little banging will happen. I got pretty nervous when I asked Hayden what he thought the family rules about the piano should be and he said, "no painting on the piano, no eating or drinking on the piano, no shooting the BB gun at the piano, no throwing hard stuff at the piano ...". Ah! I guess I didn't realize we needed to get so specific. Anyway, it has brought a whole new spirit of music into our home and we love it. Our goal is to have both of our kids accepted into Juilliard by the time they are 16 ... they'll have to refuse so that they can attend NC State, but the acceptance is really what we're looking for. I might even start taking lessons just for fun! Those 2 years when I was in elementary school have stuck with me, but I could use some polishing.

Music Advice

2008-09-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

There is nothing quite so astonishing as hearing your 6-year old sing "hold me all night" or "you make me lose control"! We always thought we were pretty picky about the music we listen to as a family, but obviously not picky enough. One of those phrases came from a Beach Boys CD and the other came from an LDS acapella group that we thought would be perfectly family-appropriate. I guess not. So, .... help! What do you listen to as a family that is fun ... and wholesome? We love music - all different kinds - and we want good music to be a part of our children's lives, but it seems a bit scarce! And, I'll just say now that kid's songs sing-along CD's make me want to jump out the window. Any advice?

Pam-ish?

2008-09-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

I've had a few people tell me that I look like Pam from "The Office". I don't think I do that much (although Jenna Fischer is quite beatiful in real life). I think that my sister, Mary, definitely looks more like Pam. Here are a few pictures for comparison purposes. Excuse the ridiculous self-portrait - why doesn't anyone ever take pictures of me? When my children grow up,they will wonder what I looked like when I was young(ish). Maybe I could just tell them to watch old re-runs of "The Office".

Farewell, Summer!

2008-08-29T10:02:00.001-07:00

Farewell to beach and camping trips, to long rides in the car, to bug bites galore. Farewell to ice pops, runs in the sprinkler, and baseball games. Farewell to summer heat and humidity that makes fall one of my favorite friends. Farewell to having squash, zuchinni, and tomatoes in great abundance from our garden. Farewell to fireworks and daylight that lasts past bedtime. So, farewell summer. We will greet you again next year with great anticipation.

Dr. Dad

2008-08-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to get a cleaning before school starts and schedules get crazy. Hayden always gets a kick out of seeing Cletus "all dressed up" as a dentist (I do too). I think he forgets that Cletus actually goes somewhere and works during the day. One of the assistants asked Hayden, "so, does your dad talk about teeth all of the time at home?" and Hayden looked at her like she was crazy and said, "umm, no". I guess she assumes that he is interested in teeth at home as well as at work. Not true. Anyway, I'm glad our kids are getting a good introduction to a friendly dentist and a good experience with their teeth. I had awful dental experiences growing up and I still tense up and clench my hands when I'm in that chair. We all got new toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss, so the day was a success. (and, no cavities!)

Cletus

2008-08-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

If laughing really takes years off of your life, then this video has made Cletus and I years younger! Sorry Carrie Underwood, but I almost like this version better. (First, go down to the bottom of my blog and pause the music so that you can fully appreciate and enjoy the video)

(Hayden thought that this was actually Cletus in the video ... with a beard and an extra 100 lbs ...?)

Does anybody smell that?

2008-08-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

I have pretty much decided that most of my job as a homemaker is to make sure our home doesn't stink. Almost all of my jobs center around this one goal.
Laundry? Making sure our clothes don't smell bad
Dishes? Dirty dishes definitely smell horrible. Especially greasy ones.
Diapers? Obvious
Cleaning the bathrooms? The smell of bleach is so much better than other alternatives.
Bathing children? Obvious again
Cooking? There are few smells better than the smell of fresh baked bread or homemade cookies. And I think that cooking broccoli could be up there with one of the worst smells of all time, along with various burned items. I guess burned broccoli could be the queen of bad smells.
Cleaning out the fridge? I always dread this job, but my nose convinces me that it will be well worth it after the dirty task is finished.
Vacuuming and mopping? Questionable, but it sure seems like the house smells better when the floors are freshly cleaned. And, now that I've started mopping with vinegar and water, somehow vinegar has become a pleasant smell.

And, along the theme of smells, I have always wanted to be known among my loved ones for a certain sweet smell. Whether it's a perfume I've worn my whole life, or fresh homemade cookies, I picture my husband, children, or grandchildren smelling this sweet smell, smiling, and thinking fondly of me. It seems that old women are usually remembered by a floral perfume that they've worn forever and which seems to waft after them wherever they are and wherever they've been. I learned in some of college psychology classes that the part of the brain that senses smells is right next to the one responsible for memories and that smells bring back memories more strongly than any of our other senses. Can you pick this smell that others identify with you or does it choose you? All of the more reason to have a lovely-smelling house. I don't want to be remembered one day as the grandma who smells like burned broccoli.

The Essentials

2008-08-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

I laughed as I walked by our kitchen counter a few days ago and noticed this:

Our nutritional essentails all lined up: rice, wheat, pasta, and wild cherry M&M's.

Response to Last Post

2008-07-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun reading all of those memories! Thank you, ladies, for sharing those with me. And, for the ego boost! I should do this more often - you were all so kind. I think I need to set the record straight, though. It isn't true that all the guys wanted to marry me! Not at all! In fact, I think Cletus was the only one standing in that line. He did ask me twice, so maybe that's where the confusion was. And Heather, I still have that black dress.

Memory Blog

2008-07-21T04:48:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the time.... I saw this on a blog that I stumbled across and thought it looked fun.
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. I think it will be pretty fun to see the responses.

Todd's visit ...

2008-07-17T10:07:00.001-07:00

My nephew Todd is visiting for a few weeks from Texas. We've had a lot of fun so far. Aaron and Lynda, here are some pictures just for you!
(Above: Todd and Hayden posing by the Andy Griffith statue at Pullen Park. Hayden makes a pretty good Opie, but Todd doesn't really pass for Andy.)
(Below: We did the paddle boats at Pullen Park. It was hard work! Todd said that his legs were sore the next day. We had fun chsing down ducks and taking turns pedaling. It was a beautiful day, but it felt hot out in the middle of the lake!)
Hayden and Todd surfing at Ft Fisher beach. It was a PERFECT day at the beach - not too hot, breezy, and sunny. The water was even warm. We had a great day!
So, I don't know that I think Todd and I look that much alike, but we've gotten comments since he's been there. Someone at church turned around and said to me, "That has to be your brother! He looks so much like you". Interesting. I hope Todd takes it as a compliment. He was smiling kind of weird in this picture because he has a Slim Jim in his mouth, his snack of choice.
Jumping on the trampoline in the rain at Grandma Cunningham's. Is there a face under all that hair?
This is a huge dirt mound at the back of our neighborhood. We like to go out there and climb up. When we really want to have some fun, we roll old tires up to the top and then roll them off to see whose can go farthest .... "you know you're a redneck if ..."
This is suppose to be a 4 generations picture. Aaron, we are just mentally picturing you here as well.
Todd worked on this puzzle for over an hour and then finally conquered!
Aaron and Lynda, thanks for letting us borrow him for a couple weeks. It's been fun. Wish you could all be here!

Two little monkeys, jumpin' on the bed ...

2008-07-08T11:07:00.001-07:00

Old Man Simpson

2008-07-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

Cletus is 33 years old today!! Happy Birthday to the handsome, crazy and wacky, sweet, determined, hard-working, creative, and fun person who makes our world go 'round. Here are 17 things that you might not know about Cletus:

1. His middle name is Helms, his mother's maiden name. She (and he) are distantly related to the late Jesse Helms.
2. He has a webbed toe.
3. He ran for Junior Student Body President at Garner High and won with a MC Hammer dance. (He ran again for Senior President singing, "We believe the children are the future" by Whitney Houston, but surprisingly, he lost)
4. He has had 6 years of piano lessons.
5. He went on a mission to Equador for 2 years and one time was so poor that he had to eat bananas (every meal!) for a week. He actually gained weight. He still likes bananas.
6. He has run 3 marathons and done 1 triathalon. (The marathons were: Deseret News marathon in Salt Lake, Richmond Marathon, and the Grandfather Mountain Marathon in Boone)
7. He wakes up at 5 am every morning so that he can have time to read. He is a determined reader and read the unabridged version of Les Miserables with a dictionary in hand. He also loves reading Revolutionary War books and President's biographies.
8. He is a talented woodworker and has made an entertainment center, a coffee table, 7 side tables out of his grandpa's old barn wood, and a beautiful cedar chest.
9. He chooses a patriotic song to sing every week at Family Home Evening.
10. His goal is to hike the Appalachian trail with Hayden at his side. (He wanted to do it for our honeymoon, but I wasn't game)
11. He asked me to marry him twice, with about a year in between the proposals.
12. He recently won the Simpson Family Putt-Putt Tournament: the first time in 10 years!
13. He is a bocce fanatic.
14. He thinks that Sonic's Happy Hour is the best thing ever invented (at a fast food restaurant, at least).
15. He has his contractor's license and has formed an LLC (Liahona Construction). His dream is to build houses one day.
16. He took a tap dancing class at NC State with me.
17. His favorite candy bar is Butterfinger.

Happy Birthday, Cletus. We love you!

Daily Guffaws

2008-07-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of the things that have made us smile lately:

Today I found Kate alternately dipping her banana in the toilet and then taking bites. Yum!

Conversation with Hayden in the sandbox the other day:
Me: Hayden - don't throw sand! We don't do that.
Hayden: Yes, mom. People up north do that.
Me: What??
Hayden: Yeah. In North Virginia. It's a tradition.
(he was totally serious. crazy kid.)

My nephew Todd (my brother Aaron's son) is coming Tuesday and will be staying here for two weeks. Hayden is beside himself with excitement. Hooray for older and cooler cousins!

Our garden is producing large amounts of zuchinni and squash. However, our huge and beautiful tomato plants refuse to produce anything. Cletus has a pet watermelon plant that he checks on daily. Just between us, I think he's going to love it to death - literally. (Does anyone have any tips on killing pesky garden insects without using something that would be harmful to children? We are under attack.)

Cletus and Hayden went on the Raleigh Stake Pioneer Trek. They had a great time and came home alive and pretty much unharmed. Hayden proved his pioneer skills by eating a grasshopper (he then threw up, but we'll leave that part out). He said that it "squirted in his mouth and tasted like blood". How lovely. But, don't feel bad for him! He earned 11 pioneer dollars (??) for doing it. It was totally worth it. I actually enjoyed seeing Cletus at the end of the trek with his mountain man beard and a bandana tied around his head. What a good-lookin' pioneer!

Kate got her cast off. This was celebrated by us all. Hooray for baths without a plastic bag! Hooray for sprinklers and pools! Hooray for a right arm that doesn't smell moldy!

I got a wheat grinder and have started grinding the buckets and buckets of wheat that we have. I love it! I'm trying to make all of the bread that we eat, but we'll see how that goes. I'm turning into a food storage nerd, but that's okay. I'll embrace it.

We went to a cabin in Boone a little while ago and enjoyed the 40-50 degree weather in the morning and in the evenings. It was so nice! While we were there, we lit the wood furnace, then went outside to play in the creek. After awhile, we heard a beeping and looked up to see smoke billowing out of the cabin and to realize that the fire alarm was going off. We rushed inside and found that Cletus had left the bellows on top of the furnace. It was a mess! Everything turned out okay, except that the owners charged us $60 out of our security deposit to replace it (and, I got a stomach virus and was miserably sick for 2 out of our 4 days there).

Cletus and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary last month! I can't believe it's been that long. Man, we're old.

We finally installed a celieng fan downstairs in our living room. It is so wonderful! I love it! It makes such a big difference in the air temp downstairs.

Hayden (with the help of my mom's musical talent) has memorized the first 20 presidents of the US. He's pretty awesome.

And, finally, we enjoyed a fun 3rd of July in Garner with the Simpsons and the NC Symphony with an amazing fireworks show.

That's it for now. Life is sure fun. And hard, but mostly fun.

Help!

2008-06-29T18:54:00.001-07:00

I am trapped in computer-illilteracy land and I can't get out! My computer refuses to let me download pictures onto my blog. And, it also won't let me email pictures to anyone who could do a post for me. I know that all of you computer people out there may laugh at my saying that my computer won't "let" me. But, that is just the truth. So, I am stuck here behind an uncooperative computer and I've just lost my blogging spirit. I have loads of pictures to share and no way to share them. I've always been told it was nice to share. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to write about our hilarious and stimulating day-to-day activities which will include hitting our computer with a baseball bat.

Miscommunication

2008-06-02T07:50:00.001-07:00

Kate's new favorite word is "NO!". She walks around the house saying it constantly and answers all questions with that same answer. At times, she can sound like a broken record (or, a scratched CD to be more up- to- date). So, here is a phone conversation that I was trying to have with our automated credit card menu this morning:

Automated robot voice: Are you calling about a payment, your account, purchases ....

Kate (walking through the room): NO!

Automated voice: Did I hear you correctly? Are you saying good-bye?

Me: No.

Automated voice: I'm sorry. Are you calling about a payment, your account, purchases ....

Me: Customer Service please

Automated voice: You would like to speak with someone in Customer service?

Kate: NO!

Automated voice: I'm sorry. I didn't understand you.

Me: Customer Service!

Automated voice: You would like to talk to someone in Customer Service?

Me: Yes, yes, yes!

Kate: NO!

Automated voice: Did I hear you correctly? Are you saying good-bye?

Me: No!

Automated voice: Okay, let's try something else. Please say your account number.

Me: 8345778... (Kate:NO!)

Automated voice: I'm sorry. I didn't understand that number. Please say your account number.

Me: 834 ... (Kate: NO!)

Automated voice: I'm sorry. I didn't understand that number. Let me connect you with a customer service representative.

Me: Thank you, thank you!

Kate: NO!

Real customer service person: Hi, how can I help you?

Kate: NO, NO, NO!

Real person: I'm sorry, can I help you?

Me: Forget it.

And the winner is ...

2008-05-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

I've nominated myself for the Mother of the Year Award. Last week I let Kate toddle over to the lawn mower and grab a metal part on the top right after I had finished mowing the yard. I didn't realize how hot it was and she burned her hand pretty badly. She screamed (top of her lungs, writhing on the floor and shaking her hand in pain) for two hours. She now has large purplish blisters that are just starting to peel off on the end of her index finger, on part of her palm, and all the way up the inside of her middle finger. Then, Tuesday afternoon I was cooking and puttering around in the kitchen when I heard her fall down the stairs. She has only done that once before. Cletus and I have never been super cautious with our children when it comes to letting them do things on their own. We want them to be independent and confident in themselves, so we let them learn their limitations on their own (instead of what I commonly hear at the playground, "get down, you're going to fall!"). So, after we taught Kate how to go up and down our stairs, we felt okay about letting her do that on her own without having one of us holding her hand every time. Back to the story! I heard Kate fall down the stairs. I rushed over to her, picked her up, and almost immediately got a call from Cletus that his car had broken down in Rocky Mount and he needed us to come and get him. I noticed that Kate's right arm was hanging funny, but she wasn't screaming all that much (compared to the burning experience the previous week). So I popped her in the car and off we went. On the way, I called my sister-in-law Celeste who is a nurse (and who has 6 children, who makes her even more qualified) and asked about bad falls. For anyone who needs to know, when your child has a bad fall and may have hit their head, you should shine a light in their eyes and make sure that their pupils are dialating. If they are not dialating or if they are vomiting, then it could be a sign of a concussion. Well, Kate cleared both of those without a problem. She still wasn't using her arm and she seemed a little bit out of it, but she had been sick over the weekend and like I said, she wasn't screaming. So, we put her to bed early. The next morning, her arm was really swollen and really sore. So, off the the pediatrician I go. I found out that Kate had roseola (that was why she had had a fever on Sunday and wasn't feeling so hot) and the doctor gave us a referral to Raleigh Orthopeodics in (suprise) Raleigh for an x-ray. Once there, they found that she had a fracture in the growth plate in her elbow. Translation: we let Kate go to bed with a broken arm! What a tough little pooper! She isn't crazy about the cast at all and is having trouble using her left arm for everything. But, the pediatric orthopoedist assured me that it will heal quickly and completely in about 3 weeks (his actual words were, "kids at this age are so resilient and she's going to heal like a gangbuster". Interesting. I wonder if he learned that in medical school). So I nominate myself for the award. Are there any other nominees?
And to help my nomination: Kate was bringing me a book to read to her when she fell down the stairs.

Teva Time!

2008-05-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

We strapped on our Tevas this past weekend and headed to the Outer Banks with our friends, Jason and Heather Pollei (by the way, toddler Tevas are my all time favorite hand-me-downs). We had such a fun time! Just one tip for anyone who might go to the Outer Banks over Memorial Day weekend: don't go to church in Nags Head! I have never experienced anything like attending church at Nags Head. Little did we know that every Memorial Day weekend, hundereds of singles head to the Outer Banks to spend time with other singles. There isn't an official conference, but they just all go that one weekend to be together. So we showed up at church and found people directing traffic from the street next to the church. We walked in and found that their small ward building was STUFFED with people. There were chairs along every available open wall. There were people crammed into the foyer, along all of the hallways (both walls), in every room, and in any extra space. We were sitting in the Primary room, and there were people filling all of the seats and people along the walls standing. There were even people standing in the little alcoves by the restrooms. Someone finally opened a window in the Primary room, and people gathered OUTSIDE of the window to be able to hear. They announced that there were close to 1,000 people attending sacrament meeting that Sunday. I have never seen anything like it. Just three words: claustrophobia and fire code. We had a great time! Our friends from our 4 years in dental school in Chapel Hill, Jason and Heather, and their three girls, Madelin, Halle, and Meagan, were fun beach companions. Cletus and Jason enjoyed bocce on the beach (even though they scared away a lady sunbathing by throwing those heavy wooden balls over her) ...

Hayden and Madelin were raised almost as siblings in Chapel Hill since they lived next door, saw each other every day, played and grew together. They were fast friends again and enjoyed playing together. We hope it lasts!
We shared a house together in Nags Head - 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. We had a game night every night we were there after the kids were in bed. We ate so much junk food: M&M's, popcorn, chips and dip, cookies, ice cream ..... Hey - it was vacation!
Some of the other fun things we did were:
Putt-putting at night,

Visiting the Wright Brother's Memorial (with Hayden the airplane),

Saw the Outer Banks aquarium,

Played on the beach,
Saw the Bodie Island lighthouse,
Flew kites at Jockey's Ridge state park and played on the dunes,
And finally, had our family pictures taken on the beach. I don't know why I put our family through the stress of trying to get that perfect family picture on the beach. We've tried before. I guess my goal is to have all of us dressed in coordinating outfits, looking beautiful, and to have the picture look like someone just came along and happened to snap a picture of us walking along together on the beach looking great. Unrealistic and silly, I know. The process involved a lot of crying and a spankin. But, here we are smiling .....

I like the one of Kate screaming best. Well, it's good to be home, but I love going to the beach and I hope this summer holds at least a couple more beach trips.

Person of Interest?

2008-05-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

So, I have had several people make the comment that I don't post very often anymore. To which I relpy, "I don't have a camera"! And, they say, "Just write about what's going on in your life". Although that seems a bit boring to me, especially sans pictures, I will give it a try. So, you tell me, is my life interesting enough to write about?

Last Simpson family gathering, I was assigned to bring the rolls. No big deal, right? Well, I'm not good at making rolls; I can make bread I can make biscuits. But, why make a bunch of little tiny breads when you can just make one big loaf in half of the time and just serve that? So I made rolls and I burned half of them. In addition, I didn't let them rise long enough. Not many people ate the rolls and the few that did probably didn't enjoy it. So, what a surprise when I was assigned to bring rolls again to the Mother's Day dinner. I was told that I was being given a chance to redeem myself and could try and try again until I brought yummy rolls. Well, I determined that I would bring the best rolls ever to a Simpson family function. Yesterday I called and got the famous refrigertor roll recipe that my family loves. I made the dough ahead of time, doubled it (to feed the masses at the Simpsons') and put it in the fridge. Well, a few hours later, I opened the fridge to find that the dough had overflowed and basically exploded over everything on the top shelf. Frustration number one. I took the dough that had been recovered out of the fridge today after church, turned it out onto the counter and found that it was the consistency of chocolate pudding. Frustration number two. I added flour and managed to plop portions of dough onto four cookie sheets. I then covered it with saran wrap while it rose. Well, just a few minutes ago I came down to put the rolls in the oven. I pulled the saran wrap off, which was stuck to all of the dough, pulled some of the dough off of the top of each roll, and watched in horror as they all deflated to a lump of chocolate pudding on the cookie sheets. Oh well. I'm cooking them anyway and I will take them with my chin held high. My other thought? Let them eat cake.

I asked Cletus to build our kids a sandbox for our new house in our new backyard so that we could be one of those fun houses where all children want to come and play. So, he built them a great sandbox. It's huge: 8x8! As I started calling around to find a place to buy sand, I realized that this was going to get expensive quick! My highest quote was $288 and my lowest was $174 (including delivery). I figured that is what we would pay for sand, so I almost forged ahead and ordered 2 yards of sand from the cheapest place. Then, I rememebered a little voice in my head (called Cletus) who suggested that we call a concrete company and ask them since they have sand to make the concrete. I called and they quoted me only $30! Hooray! I drove over there and they loaded up the back of our pickup about twice as much as it should have been loaded. As I went to pay, the guys there said, "Ah, don't worry about it. You can just have the sand. We have kids too. It's alright". I was quite pleasantly surprised. As I drove away, I realized that Kate and I looked quite disheveled since we had left early in the morning. I was pretty much wearing pajamas and flip-flops and Kate definitely had pajamas on, hair in the face, and was eating a banana. I wondered whether they thought ... "oh, there is a poor single mom, who just wants to give her neglected kids a place to play in the sand ... let's just give it to her for free". Whatever their motivations, I was grateful and a little embarrassed. I got home and shoveled almost a ton of sand out of the pickup by myself! It has turned out to be great sand. The only strange things we've found in it have been a rusty hanger and a turtle skull.

Other potentially interesting things:
Cletus, Hayden, and I got to go up in an airplane flown by a member of our ward. He flew out of the Franklin County Airport, took us up for about an hour, did a "rollercoaster move" that left me screaming with eyes closed, and then brought us safely back. It was quite a fun time.

I painted our downstairs bathroom Friday night while Cletus and Hayden were at the Raleigh Stake Father and Son

I got a Japanese Maple tree for Mother's Day.

Kate now has a repertoire of about 10 words of which "mama" is still not included.

I killed another black widow. Single handed.

A few more ...

2008-04-29T18:09:00.001-07:00

Here is sweet Kate all dressed up at the reception:
"So, what am I suppose to be doing?"

Another one of Mary and Christian ...
My sister, Laura, her husband Obed, and their adorable baby, Lara (or little Lara)

A family picture ... we had a few flashbacks of getting endless pictures taken of us at our reception. Maybe it was because it was the same photographer.

And, one of "the girls". We're so happy because the night is almost over and we can go home.

Mary's Wedding

2008-04-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

So, the wedding is over! Actually, it's been over for a couple of weeks. It was quite a whirlwind. But, Mary and Christian are officially married and enjoying wedded bliss (at least, that's what they say). Here are some pictures to enjoy:

This isn't a great one of Christian, but Mary looks pretty,

I love this one of Mary looking at her bouquet. My cousin, Tessa, did the flowers and did a wonderful job. Hats off to Mary - I don't know many people who can pull their hair back, tie in a ribbon, throw on a wedding dress, and look so beautiful.
I put this one in for anyone who knows my brother, Aaron. People ask me about him all of the time, so here is the update: He and his wife, Lynda, are living in Texas with Aaron's son, Todd (almost 13), their daughter Autumn (2) and a baby to arrive in June - another girl. They are happy and doing well. Todd is comoing to visit us in the summer for a couple of weeks.
Here is another one of Aaron with my parents. Who are all of these good-looking people?
And, here is a family shot right before the reception. Again, not a great one of Christian. Sorry, Christian. And, my little sister Sara never likes to partcipate in group pictures. I can sympathize.

Tagged!

2008-04-24T05:43:00.000-07:00

So, I have been absent from my blogging world for quite awhile. I've lost my spunk since our camera was stolen at the beach two weeks ago. Without a camera and cute pictures, I don't feel like I have much to contribute. I feel like I've lost one of my best friends - my camera is gone! But, Juli tagged me, so I finally have something to share. Enjoy.

A-Age: 30! (31 in July)

B-Band listening to right now: The Sesame Street Platinum Album (from an Ipod that Hayden is listening to while getting ready for school - don't tell anyone that Hayden listens to Sesame Street. He'd be embarrassed)

C-Career (plan): Stay at home with our 2 kids (and the 6 more that will come (: ...), learn the skills of gardening, food storage, cooking and baking, decorating, exercise, and organization. When the kids are older, I would like to puruse a hobby/career in photography. If I went back to school to get a job, I would do nursing.

D-Drink or Smoke: Not in that way, but my favorite drink is lemonade.

E-Easiest friend to talk to: Cletus

F-Funniest moment of your life: That is quite a title! - I don't know that this is THE funniest moment, but it is one of many: when my sister, Sara Joy, who has Down Syndrome, called my sister, Mary a "retard".

G-Gummy bears or gummy worms: Bears

H-Have a significant other?: Yes

I-In love: With my husband - Yes! I'm also in love with our baby, Kate. Can you be in love with a child? I just love her every minute - she is chubby and sweet and I want to eat her.

J-Junk food you like: Cheetos, Kettle Cooked chips, Reeses Cups

K-Kids: 1 6-yr old and 1 14-month old

L-Longest ride ever: Family vacation when I was about 9. We drove from NC to CA in an OLD car with not enough room. There were three of us in the front seat (bench seat) and three of us in the back (two car seats and one squished person in the middle). The AC broke, of course, in the middle of the Mojave Desert and we had to turn the heat on to keep the car from overheating. It still did and we broke down on the side of the road on a day when it was over 100. My dad had to hitchhike into the next town to get water and help. The rest of the trip was not so adventurous, but still quite squished and really, really long!

M-Man/woman you love the most: My love, Cletus

N-Names for your kids: Hayden James (named after his two grandpas) and Kate Goldie (Kate because we like it, and Goldie after Cletus' great-great grandmother - the wife of Cletus Frederick Martin)

O-One wish you have now: That our newly planted garden will grow and produce bushels of beautiful, fresh vegetables and fruit this summer.

P-Phobias: heights and small, enclosed places

Q-Quote (favorite): That which you persist in doing becomes easy, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that your ability to do has increased.

R-Reasons to smile: I just let Kate go outside naked (in the backyard) and she pooped on the porch. I'm painting the living room Friday while Cletus is at work and he doesn't know.

S-Sleeping hours: 10:30 ish to about 7:30

T-Time you woke up: 5 when Cletus got up, then at 7 when he got in the shower, then 7:30 when I finally got up.

U-Unknown fact about you: I have an extra rib

V-Vegetable you hate: Collard greens (I keep getting told that I just haven't had them cooked right)

W-Worst habit: Not exercising and putting off reading my scriptures until it's late and I'm tired

X-X-rays you’ve had: dental (do ultrasounds count?)

Y-Yummy foods: A really great steak, cherry pie - homemeade, asparagus - fresh and sauteed with parmesan, a bleu cheese burger

Z-Zodiac sign: Leo

I tag Angie K., Lani (because she hasn't posted in forever), and Allyn.

Creepy-Crawly

2008-03-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

We had a fun night tonight. We all spent time outside in the backyard. I mowed the grass (until the lawnmower ran out of gas), Cletus worked on the fence, and then Hayden and I watched Cletus till (sp?) up our new garden spot! I'm excited about having a garden this year! And, I love our backyard. I have really caught spring fever and have gotten so excited about planting! Anyway, at the end of our outdoor time, Hayden went in to wash his feet and then came back out to find us. He went out the back door, put on a pair of my shoes that were out there, and walked around to the garage where we were. We came into the hosue through the garage and he said, "there's something in this shoe." So, I turned the shoe over, shook it, and out came a freshly-squeezed black widow spider. There was a black widow in my shoe! And, Hayden put it on barefoot! I don't know how or why he didn't get bitten, but we're just glad that he didn't. Some of you may question my ability to recognize a black widow. But, let me assure you that this was, indeed a black widow: black (obviously), shiny, round body, and yes - a red hourglass shape on its squished tummy. Hayden and I looked at each other and kept shuddering. It gave both of us the heeby-jeebies. Especially when I thought of how Kate was playing with those shoes earlier today outside. I don't like black widows. They are very, very creepy and that is the second one we've found in our backyard near the patio. New rule: no shoes left outside on the patio.

Bunnies, Eggs, and Birds

2008-03-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to two different Easer Egg Hunts this year (lots of fun, but way too much candy in my opinion). Kate was ready to go for the first one with her little bunny ears. She actually wore them the whole time! Her smile didn't quite last, however. She enjoyed the kids, the sun, the eggs, the candy, but ........I found her gazing in horror across the field at ..... the Easter Bunny! She started crying a few minutes after this picture.
Somehow I was able to distract her long enough to get a picture with Hayden and the Easter Bunny without screaming being involved. She looks pretty skeptical. (I agree that huge pink bunnies with purple hair and bow ties are pretty scary)
Hayden LOVES easter egg hunts. And, he wants a challenge! None of this throwing-them-out-into-a-field kind of stuff. He wants to have to work for his candy! He actually wanted to go and hunt eggs with the older kids because it would be harder. But, in the end, the desire for more candy won out and he went with his own age group. And, he is always a trooper when it comes to taking pictures.
The easter egg hunt on Saturday was so fun! It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time (even Cletus, who stayed home to work on the fence, ha-ha). However, the warm day meant liquid chocolate in the eggs that were out in the sun. This was fine with Kate - the easier to suck the chocolate out of the foil.

We also enjoyed a nice Easter Sunday. Church was nice (with a great choir), and we spent the rest of the day at the Simpsons, with lots of good food, fun company, and cousins galore! We didn't see Hayden for an hour or two at time. When we arrived he disappeared into the cousin crowd and he only re-emerged for food, water, and the bathroom. We love it! It's nice to be so close to family.
One random thing happened to make Sunday morning a little more stressful than it usually is. As I was rushing out the door to get the kids in the car (it was my turn to set up chairs in the Primary room before church), I left the door between the house and the garage open. Then, as I opened the garage door, a bird flew into the garage and then into the house! Ah! A bird in the house! But, I yelled to Hayden to run and open the back door. Luckily, he did it quickly and the bird flew right out the back door. I was so glad I didn't have to leave for church with a bird flying around inside our house! Maybe it just wanted to wish us a Happy Easter.

Say cheese!

2008-03-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

I took Kate to get her 1 year pictures today (even though her birthday was over a month ago). She did so beautifully last time for her pictures that I had high hopes for this time .... Well, now that she can walk, she didn't think that sitting still for a strange lady yelling her name sounded all that fun. Plus, she was hungry and tired (she missed her morning nap - my fault). So, the pictures didn't turn out great, but here are some that I thought were cute. The last one where she is in a white outfit is a tradition that we started with Hayden. This cute little white outfit is one that Cletus wore when he was a baby, and that Hayden wore in his 1 year picture. I have grand visions of having all of our kids in this outfit when they are 1, framing them to look fabulous, and then hanging them all up on the wall in a grand display. But, Hayden's picture has poinsettias in it (because it was close to Christmas-time and I didn't think about the fact that I probably wouldn't want a seasonal picture 5 years later!), and as you can see, the best one they got of Kate is not-that-great. She wouldn't sit or stand still by that point, and so the back of her was the best we could do. But, her 1 year mark has been officially recorded by Sears. Thank you, Sears.

Rad Missionary Song

2008-03-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

And you are..?

2008-03-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

Hayden caught a really strange looking toad on Saturday. It was red, bumpy, and had golden, shiny eyelids. I have never seen anything like it before! He did a great job posing for this picture!

Dogs!

2008-03-10T13:56:00.001-07:00

The kids and I had a scary experience on Saturday. I had taken them to an Easter Egg hunt at Zebulon Elementary, which had be canceled and rescheduled, and then decided to stop at the pond in our subdivision to let them play and throw rocks in the water. I remember hearing dogs barking in the background, which I thought was kind of weird since nobody around us owns dogs. A few minutes later, we saw two dogs coming towards us - no collars and definitely acting like wild or stray dogs. They started barking at us, so I thought it wise for us to immediately head back to the car. The dogs got in between us and the car and began acting aggressive. I didn't know what to do! There was NOBODY around - even if I had screamed, I don't think anybody would have heard me. I told Hayden to say a prayer and I began praying as I looked around for a stick or something - anything! I started walking a different way and picked up a stick. They ran around and blocked us from going that way too. I screamed at them (this is when Hayden got scared - he hadn't ever heard my voice sound like that before). But, the screaming only made them madder. I had always heard that you are suppose to yell at a dog and act "in charge". Well, this didn't work. Then, I threw the stick at them and this really set them off, baring their teeth, putting their ears down, and lunging forward at us. I was almost crying by this point and totally out of ideas. I hadn't noticed that we were in the street because I was too involved in being terrified. But, Hayden noticed that we were, and by instinct, I guess, ran across the road. The more aggressive of the dogs took off after Hayden and I remember looking at Hayden and thinking, "he's going to get bitten in the leg". Just at that moment, however, a car came down the road and started honking their horn, as they saw what was happening. Then, they let us get in their car and they took us to our car. We hopped in, locked the doors (which was unnecessary), and called 911. We waited for an officer to come, told him what had happened, and showed him the dogs (they were still hanging around). He then called animal control. The rest is kind of a long and uninteresting story except to say that both of the dogs have been caught and taken by animal control - my heroes. I relive that in my mind and still get shivers thinking "what if ...". It's a mother's worst nightmare come true. At least, one of my worst nightmares. I've never been very fond of dogs and this only confirms my probably irrational fears. But, all is well that ends well. We are safe.

The Secret Life of a Happy Mom

2008-03-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

I watched a show the other night called, "The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom". I don't know if any of you have seen it or heard of it. But, after I watched it, I was offended and irate! Here is what happens during the show (it's one of those reality shows on TLC): the hostess whisks a stay-at-home mother away for a week, supposedly to a spa to relax and enjoy herself. At least, this is what the husband and children are told. Really, she is given a chance to "live a week in the career that she has always wanted, and that she sacrificed in order to stay at home with her kids". This episode was a woman who has always wanted to design clothes. So, she gets to work with people associated with famous names and brands in the clothing industry. They put on a fashion show and one of her dresses is chosen by (again) a famous buyer to be worn by Jennifer Hudson. She is exhilerated by the experience, flattered by all of the praise, and woo-ed into this "new life" for a week. She is shown some video clips of her husband and kids at home, and she gets a little emotional from missing all of them. However, she "pulls it together" and "remains focused" (ha!). So after this week of glitz and glamor, she is taken back to her family. Her and the host of the show sit down with her family, she tells her husband and her kids that she lied to them about where she had been, and then shows the video clips of her designing clothes. I guess if this is where the show ended, it wouldn't have been bad at all. But no! Next comes the disgusting part. This famous fashion designer shows up and, in front of her family, offers her a full-time position! In the excitement, it showed her three kids (1,3, and 7) getting caught up in all of it and hugging their mom and jumping up and down and she accept the job. All I thought was, these poor kids are beginning a life of daycare, babysitters, dinners without the whole family, and not much mom time. This woman mentions that she wants to be a good role model for her girls, but I was shocked at how easily she gave up her priorities as a stay-at-home mother for the self-fulfillment of this glitzy career. I was offended because: 1. I do not stay at home with my kids because I don't have career options and more exciting things that I could be doing. 2. I do not stay at home because, so far, no one has offered me anything better. 3. I do not stay at home because I am always fulfilled creatively and emotionally. I stay at home because I think it's the most important place for me to be. For my kids and for my family. Staying at home is NOT easy and often not rewarding (at least, not in that glitzy kind of way). But, as I held Kate today when she was sick and had a fever, I was so happy that I get to be the one holding her and kissing her. I wouldn't ever pay anyone else to do that job.

The fence!

2008-03-01T06:19:00.001-08:00

The time has arrived to begin on the fence project! Last night, Cletus meaured and marked out where the fence will go, today he has the auger, and when he is ready, there is a pile of lumber waiting for him!

We decided shortly after we moved in (November) that we would like to have a fence to keep the kids in, the animals out (of our future garden), and for a little privacy. To save some money, Cletus decided to do it all himself.

Our lot is only .24 acre, but when you mow it or fence it, all of a sudden it seems huge! I mowed the grass a couple of Saturdays ago and it took almost an hour. It must surely be because our yard is so big and not because I'm a bit of a wimp. Anyway, we are anxious to see how the fence progresses.

The search continues!

2008-02-27T08:02:00.000-08:00

I am so frustrated with the job of finding a pair of jeans that fit! Perhaps it is because I have the figure of a SlimJim, but I cannot find jeans that look good on me. They are either too loose and baggy, or too tight and clingy, or too short (if I buy petite), or too long (if I buy regular), or really, really too long (if I buy tall). If I buy petite, the jeans look good when I'm standing up, but they come up halfway up my leg when I sit down - horray for cute socks. If I buy regular, they drag on the ground when I'm walking outside. I've rolled them up, but have been informed that this is way un-cool. Perhaps it is also because I'm not willing to spend $80 on 1 pair of jeans. That is crazy! I can't get myself to do it. Although, I wear jeans every day, so I guess a pair of jeans that look and feel fabulous on me might be worth $80. My mom uniform consists of jeans and casual shirts of various colors. A great pair of jeans could be life-changing! I understand the inspiration for the book, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It must be every woman's dream to find the perfect pair of jeans. Well, for me, the search continues ...

The lovebirds

2008-02-27T04:52:00.000-08:00

Mary and Christian are getting married April 12 .... I think all of us are anxious for April to arrive! I never realized the work that goes into putting on a wedding: bridal showers, reception planning, invitations, etc. I was completely oblivious when Cletus and I got married. We were on another planet, which is the way it suppose to be, I guess. We pretty much showed up to the temple and the reception and enjoyed ourselves. Ahh. .. young love. Aside from the stress, I have loved seeing my little sister so happy. It's a side of her I haven't ever seen and I am glad that she has found her "soul mate" (for all of those Uncle Rico fans) . We really like Christian - he keeps all of us laughing and he seems perfect for Mary.

It's my party ...

2008-02-26T09:52:00.000-08:00

Cletus and I are getting a crash course in the life of little girls. I didn't realize how accustom we have been to living in a boy's world. Kate is showing her dramatic side quite early - earlier than we expected. She will throw herself down on the floor and cry if she doesn't get what she wants (offer her what she wants and she can turn it off in a second), and she puts her head down with her lip sticking out and makes eye contact to make sure the message is getting across. Kate also loves jewelry and sparkle-y things. I bought some necklaces at Target for her to play with, not realizing that she would wear them all at the same time! I'm afraid she might tip over forward with the weight of them all. She is also turning into a little mommy and takes care of anything or anyone that might be in need (be it a toy or an actual person). There is nothing like a snotty-nosed kiss right on the mouth when you're having a hard day. She in certainly stirring things up at our house ... and we wouldn't want it any other way.

To the beach!

2008-02-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

I took a spontaneous beach trip with the kids yesterday when Hayden was out of school. The weather was great and we had a blast. Hayden was even so brave as to strip down to his bathing suit and get in the water! I told him I would video tape him going in all the way (head under the water) to show Cletus when we got home. He took the challenge and plunged in .... but, alas, the video camera cut off right before he went under. Cruel. Kate chased seagulls and ate sand. All in all, a fun day.

Family Bowling

2008-02-20T18:32:00.000-08:00

We took a family trip to the bowling alley by NC State to celebrate Hayden saving up 30 stars on his star chart. It was fun! Alice scored an amazing 163 over Cletus' 111, but who's keeping score ....? Yes, we had bumpers, but I didn't really use them! Hayden worked hard and we enjoyed his efforts.

February is full of fun!

2008-02-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

We're online! Since everyone else is doing it, we decided to do it too. We've always followed the crowd, so here we are! Actually, it seemed a good way to keep in touch with our long, lost friends.