Aunt Randy's Visit

The Adults

The Children

Ryan's Aunt Randy came to visit from North Carolina. We all got together at Ryan's parent's house. We had a great time visiting and eating. The kids all had a blast playing together. There are five grandchildren so far, but this will soon be six. Tiffany and Karl's third baby is due in two weeks. We can't wait for that baby to come so we can play with her.

Whew the first day is over

Bridget made it through the first day of school, and so did I. Next to her in this picture is her first page of homework. they sure get started early these days.

First Day Of School

Bridget started second grade today. I am so excited and nervous for her all at the same time. You would think I would be used to this by now, but I still got emotional this morning. I wanted everything to go perfect today. I wanted to take pictures before she left , but I could not find the camera. I was going to make her a special breakfast, but she wanted to eat breakfast at school. Then she missed the bus and I had to drive her. She barely made it on time. Luckily I found some granola bars in the car and made her eat it on the way. (Thanks mom for leaving those in my car). At least she made it and Ryan gave her a fathers blessing last night. That is probably better than a big breakfast. But I will not win the mom of the year award. Abby will start pre-school next week. I hope her first day goes better.

I cannot believe that summer vacation is already over. I remember when I was a kid it seemed to fly by, but I thought when I was an adult I would be happy for school to start again. I actually prefer having them all home, even when they are fighting, than to have them gone so long. Well at least this week they get out at 1:00 everyday. I love my kids so much and hope the best for them this year.

Also Known As....

This little girl has many nicknames.
I used to swear that I would never give my kids dorkie nicknames or talk baby talk to them, But since I actually had kids I have repented of that silliness.
Anna Banana- a staple for girls named Anna.
Anna Pants- I am not sure why, but it fits.
Peachy Head- She has never had much hair, just peach fuzz. Now that she is getting more hair we sometimes call her Coconut Head, but peachy sounds better.
Pistachio- Ryan calls her this. He says she is just a little pistachio.
Punkin' Face- Just look at that face. What more can I say.
Biscuit- This is another one of Ryan's.
Princess- This one is obvious.
Squishy Baby- I just love squishy babies.
I know there are more but this will do for now.

Liberty Park

On Top of the World.

Playing on the jungle gym with Jade and Lucy

Splashing in the water with Jade and Lucy.

Banished from the water with mom.

We had so much fun at Liberty park. They have fountains for the kids to run through, and a big playground. Bridget and Abby especially like the water. They have little streams that run down into ponds. These are patterned after Utah's streams and lakes. Anna played in it for just a minute before someone came and told me she could not be in it. I guess because of the sickness that was spread through water last year they require babies to wear a swim diaper and plastic pants. Anna only had a swim diaper. So I kept her out of the water. I was not her favorite person that day.

18 Months Old

"Mom, I am Hungry". This is why she has gained weight.

Anna Sophia is 18 months old today. She had a check-up today. Luckily she did not get any shots today. The doctor said that her weight and height have both gone up to a higher percentile. She is 32 inches tall and weighs just under 22 pounds. This seems really small to me considering that this is what Bridget weighed when she was 6 months old. The doctor also said that she is right where she should be in motor skills. The Doctor also asked how many words she says. I didn't know, I usually don't count these things. But maybe if I write them down here we will know. 1) "No", this is her favorite. 2)"owie" This may not even be a real word, but she uses it a lot. 3) "Mama" 4) "Daddy" 5) "Hi". 6) "Bye".7)"Hello" 8)"Cheeks" 9) "Cheese", she says this whenever I get out the camera. 10) "Teeth", (These three sound about the same but I can tell the difference by the context). 11)"nose", This sound like no, but she points to her nose. 12)"Arff", yesterday she was crawling on the floor barking like a dog. I am sure I am forgetting something, but this is a good list.

This is the Place

Sitting on a bail of hay with our friends Jade and Lucy.

Playing Pioneer Games.

Doing Pioneer Chores. (Why don't they do chores so easily at home)?

We have had so much fun going to "This is the Place Heritage Park". We got a pass to go there this summer. I was a bit ambitious though. I had plans to walk there once a week. It is just up the street, but it is also uphill. It is funny how close things seem when you are in an air conditioned car, and how far when you are walking on a summer day with three kids. The first day of summer we packed up and set off. It took about 45 minutes to get there. This really was not that bad. The bad part came after we had walked around the park for about 4 hours and then started walking home. Anna fell right to sleep in her stroller. Bridget and Abby wished they could do the same. Every time we came to a shady spot of sidewalk we had to stop and rest. On the way home we stopped at the Post Office. The girls sat down on a bench while I stood in line. By the time I was done the girls were both asleep. I didn't know what to do. I was so close to my house but I had three sleeping children and didn't know how to get them home. I had to wake them up and make them walk. We were all so exhausted when we got home. Well all except Anna, who was very well rested.
Needless to say we always drive there now. It is fun to learn more about how people lived in the old days. I always feel grateful for all that I have. I feel like I should not complain so much about living in a small apartment with three kids, especially after seeing some of the small homes and cabins that families with ten kids lived in. Bridget once asked me if I lived like that when I was young. I said "No people did this back in the old days." She said" but mom you lived in the old days, you were born in the 70's". I said "yes but not the 1870's". It's all the same to her though. I guess when you are seven everyone is old.

Camping Fun

Last Monday the girls and I went up to Mill Creek Canyon with my parents. My nieces Autumn and Markelle and Autumn's friend Hayden came too. They had a wonderful time playing in the creek, and roasting marshmallows in the camper. We all had a great time.




Anna and Grandma play together while Grandpa took the older girls hiking.




Markelle, Bridget, and Abby play in the creek.

Its Showtime!

Abby is always planning some kind of show. Here is her latest production featuring Bridget and their friend Liza.

Moab

Grandpa Steed

Bridget at Dead Horse Point

Grandma and Grandpa Steed

This was the girls favorite arch. It is called Pine Tree Arch

The had so much fun playing in the sand

Sleepy Anna

Another fun trip we have gone on this year was over spring break. We drove down to Moab Ut with my parents. We went to Arches National Park, and Dead Horse Point. After driving and hiking in Arches one morning the girls said they wanted to go back to the hotel and swim in the pool. We asked them if they were sure they didn't want to see more of the arches. They said that it was just a lot of rocks, so we went back and swam.
The next day we spent the day at Dead Horse Point with my parents. One thing I learned on this trip was never take Anna anywhere without her crib. We thought she would just sleep with us, bit this was not the case. She wanted to run around on the bed all night.

The Grand Canyon

Over the Fourth of July weekend this year we decided to drive down to St. George with Ryan's family. On Friday we drove to Hoover Damn, then went to Las Vegas. We ate at a delicious buffet and went to an aquarium.

The next day we drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The girl's favorite part of the trip was swimming in the pool at the hotel in St. George. They looked at the Grand Canyon for a few minutes and then wanted to go back and swim.

Bridget and Abby had new outfits. This was because Abby packed herself , and mom forgot to check and make sure she had everything she needed. They were also wearing new beaded hair clips that Grandpa Paulsen bought them at an Indian jewelry stand by the side of the road.

The girls loved spending so much time with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Dylan and Uncle Christian. They loved to go visit them in their hotel room. Anna especially loved spending time with Dylan.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

During the summer the girl's dance teacher, Miss Julie, has a summer class she calls girls camp. the girls come for two hours a week for five weeks. They do crafts and play games. They learned a dance to perform for their parents at the end. The theme was "Girls just want to have fun". They really loved it. Abby would ask me everyday "how many more days until girls camp". Miss julie is really cute with the girls, and even helped Anna feel like part of the group.

Water Wednesday

Even the Moms got in and Abby took the picture.

Three Little Cuties.

"Say Cheese"

Every Wednesday during the summer all the moms in our ward get together and fill up kiddie pools. The kids love to splash in the water. Today we were late, and they were done. So Heather and I used her pool and the girls had a great time with her son Stuart.

Random Thoughts

It seems that lately I am always popping awake at about 4:00 a.m. and then I can't get back to sleep. This is what happened this morning.

I have just been thinking a lot lately about life and death. The presidency message in the Ensign this month is about death and how it will happen to all of us and we have to be prepared for it to come at any time. I thought quite a bit about my Grandma who died a few months ago. Yesterday I attended a funeral for my Aunt Annie May Durrant. She died last Tuesday after battling Alzheimer's for about five years. The funeral was so nice. It was great to learn more about her and her life. Her son Ronnie said "I don't know if I was so good in pre-earth life to deserve the best mother in the world, or if I was so bad that I needed the best mother in the world. Either way I got the best mother in the world." This made me start to think about what my children would say about me at my funeral. Will they feel the same way about me as Ronnie feels about his mother? I don't know.

The last few weeks I have struggled with being patient with my children. I have been told that when I was a little girl if I was told "no" I would burst into tears. Now I have three little girls just like me. Anna is already doing this if she is told not to do some thing she cries and cries. Yesterday we were outside, and after she tore all the bloom off one of my mom's petunia plants, I told her "no" and took her away from it, She was very upset. Abby has started to yell at me first and then cries. Yesterday she was bouncing a ball and it hit her cousin Autumn in the head. I told her to be careful because when she threw the ball it hit Autumn. She turned and yelled that she did not trow the ball she bounced it, and then she cried. Bridget cries quietly, but it takes her a long time to stop. In church last time she was laying across all the chairs and her underwear was showing. I asked her to please sit up, and she cried for at least thirty minutes. I know that girls are emotional. (after all I am a girl). I just sometimes don't know the best way to deal with it. I love these girls so much. I hope they can be patient with me as well.

Mary Harper Moses Durrant

Today is my grandma Durrants birthday. She would have been 104 today. She passed away in February of this year. She was an amazing woman. She taught me the worth of hard work. she always told me to clean things as I go, not to step over a mess. I still don't always follow this advice, but it is good advice. I am so glad that she lived so long and that my children were able to know her. Anna was abut a year old when she died, so she won't remember her, but Bridget and Abby will. Grandma loved it when I brought Anna over she would brighten up whenever she saw her. After awhile she was under the impression that Anna was a triplet. She would always ask me where the others were, and why I only brought this baby. she always liked to hold her, and look at her.

I really miss her, but I know she is happier now. She is with her sweet husband Earl, Who passed away about 40 years before she did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA MARY!

Memory Lane

I got this idea from my friend Brittany's blog.

Okay, here is how you play.
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 haw many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I will assume you are playing the game and I will come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or you don't have a blog, I will leave my memories of you in my comments. The memories can be whatever, just make sure they are nice and won't hurt my feelings. If you do have a blog, make sure I have the address so I can leave one in your comments.

Lazy Summer Days

We have spent a lot of time swimming this summer. This is the girls very favorite thing to do. We have been swimming at Ryan's aunts house, my parent's house, and a Ryan's sister Tiffany's house. These pictures are from Tiffany's house. It is so much fun to live so close to cousins.