Family Update

I have totally been a blog slacker lately, sometimes it just takes me forever to do a recent post so it gets put off. Here is a bit of what our family has been up to lately:

Allie: 13 months old- not quite walking on her own yet, but seems to be getting closer as we practice with her. She will walk holding someones hand, but quickly sits down as soon as we let go of her hand. She loves to climb up on stuff though; I frequently find her sitting on top of our "coffee table" (train table). She is starting to talk more and more, first word was "hi" and loves to wave at random people, and seems to make friends everywhere we frequent (gas station, gym, library, etc.) She's a popular kid and the girls that work at the gym day care fight over her every time we go. I love that. Other words she says are "dog" (she is beside herself with excitement every time she sees one ("gog! gog! gog!") another word she likes is "milk," (which sometimes sounds like "mo") "uh-oh" (funny that they learn that one, I don't think I ever say that.) Of course, she loves saying Bubba, mama, dada, etc.

She loves being Drew's shadow and doing all the stuff he does/messing up his stuff (isn't this what siblings are for?) She loves to climb up the stairs, but is too scared to come back down and will sit at the top of the stairs and yell at me until I come and get her. As is the case with most, if not all, kids her age, she loves getting into things and making messes! As a result, I have had to make some adjustments to my home decor. Things will have to be a bit bare for a while. She sometimes likes to follow me around and try to cling while I am busy (we call her a Klingon [sp?] when she does this) and has a lot more attitude than Drew ever did. (Is this a girl thing, or a personality thing?) She likes to tell it just like it is...(might sound familiar to those of you who know her mother...)

We love her "mad scientist" hair, that is so strongly reminiscent of her brother's when he was this age (the wispy remnants of baby hair that are trying to grow out into real hair but really just flip and curl randomly around the base of her head.) We love our little girl so much. It is such a joy to have her around, and to watch her grow.

Drew: 3 1/2 years old now. Still loving those trains. Wants someone to "play trains with me!!!" all the time. This gets wearying since I can't stand playing trains, (please don't tell him I said that...!) and even when I relent and do it, it is never for long enough "Hey- you are supposed to be playing trains with me...!" (as I try to sneak away after 15 minutes or so of playing.) Also loves, loves, loves his best friend next door, Ethan. The two are practically inseparable. He is also at that age where I am not sure how much supervision he really needs; he wants to go outside and play with the other kids all day, but I hardly have the time to sit around watching him, so I have to let him go off on his own. This is hard! I am stuck somewhere between worry and guilt, worried that something might happen to him and guilty for doing my own thing while he is off doing who-knows-what. Letting go is hard sometimes! (Truth be told, mostly it's the other kids that worry me. Let's just say that some of the kids around here don't have the keenest judgement sometimes.) But I suppose it only gets that much worse as they get older and the trouble potential exponentiates... He also loves books; he loves to read and be read to. I love this. I try to plan weekly trips to the library to expose him to as many books as possible, and we try to read to the kids as much as we can. He knows the alphabet very well, and knows what sounds most of the letters make. We work on spelling a bit while he is in the tub (stick on letters) and he can spell a few things. He can count to 100 with a little bit of help here and there, and is excited to start preschool in the fall. He can ride his big boy bike very well (with training wheels) and loves zipping all around the cul-de-sac and riding to church each week. Still has the ongoing love affair with his "cat," the (now quite ratty and stained) stuffed BYU cougar Nana gave him for his birthday a few years ago, and he tries to take it everywhere with him. Let us not forget, the cat's companion, the "B." (baby blanket- also a gift from Nana) I have offered to wash both items many times, but such offers are usually declined. Funny boy. He loves to play hide and seek, it is hilarious looking for him as he is stifling a giggle from his hiding place. He is starting to get some freckles across the bridge of his nose, but curiously enough, he doesn't burn easily- he tans (which is kinda unusual for a redhead, I think.) Both Drew and Allie are sporting some awesome farmer tans this summer. It is adorable.


Marshall: Still working as a controller at Exevision. (I still don't really understand what the company does, so don't ask me!) As for what a controller is exactly, I don't really understand 100% either, but basically he handles their money.) Last year, he was able to hire a full-time assistant, so things have gone much more smoothly for him since then. He seems happy with his job, and a smaller company seems to suit him much better than the huge firm he was working for in NYC. He is also getting adjusted to his new calling in the ward as EQP. In my opinion, this calling has been such a relief from his last one with the YM, and he has much more free time these days, which has been so nice for our family. He goes to play b-ball some weekday mornings with some "old men" as I like to call them, (in reality I think they are in their 40's or something; I'm sure they would love it so much if they heard me call them that.) And of course he plays ball with the EQ each week. He loves his children so much and I am always in such awe at the time and attention he gives them each day. I am so grateful for his hands-on approach at parenting, playing with them and reading, singing, wrestling, etc. with them every night after work, even when I know he is dead tired and when he could instead be zoning out in front of the TV. My children will always grow up knowing that their father loved and cherished them. I appreciate this so much more that I think he even knows.


Check out our garden these days! The other day I pulled out some zucchinis the size of my forearm! I didn't even bother to go look to see if we had anything started, and much to my surprise, there they were! We ate them for dinner that night, they were great. I have a feeling there will be much zucchini bread around here in the near future. Anybody know any other good recipes for zucchini?


Krista: Has been keeping busy running the show. Have been enjoying the outdoors as much as possible this summer, and have tried to find ways to do things with the kids outside where I can. We take a picnic to the library weekly to watch a puppet show/storyteller outdoors and then venture in to get some new books. I have been busy trying to take care of the house and yard, trying to keep everything alive. The garden is doing great (see picture), and the lawn is surviving somehow. (Never buy a house without automatic sprinklers! What a pain.) I have gotten back into my reading groove (took a few months off due to hecticity) but this week finished Harry Potter #6 and now am almost halfway through the last one, #7. (It is hard to be a reader with 2 small children! I need total quiet and that isn't easy to come by around here!) But it's a treat when I do get to read. My next read will be the Twilight vampire books (I'm a sheep, I know- who cares? My mom is reading them, so I have to too, then!) I am still going to the gym most days, which I really enjoy as me time (plus I get to watch TV, total bonus there!) I am getting adjusted to my new calling as the Primary Secretary (who knew how much crap they do behind the scenes? I had no idea.) It is really time consuming, but I feel like I am suited to the job and am slowly adjusting and figuring things out. Oh- and I finally went and got the blond back in my hair again- and...exhale. I feel like the blond suits me so much better. Sad that my natural color makes me look (in my opinion) ill. I spent the last 9 months with the brown, but I think I will probably be blond and short from now own. Much easier for me. Hey, it's like I always say, some people are born blond, and some people are born to be blond...

Things are good. Getting ready to travel down to Cedar City next week to visit my family, which we are really excited for. I miss my family and haven't seen much of them this summer. Goodbye for now!