Mel's Fantastical Insights

Well I have no pictures yet. Mostly because I am comfortable on the couch and don't want to get up and get the camera. Christmas was great though. Daniel didn't get up until 7:45, and then we waited until 8am to wake Alice up. Daniel was talking about his 'rocket ship from Santa' for weeks, like he already had it. Jason and I decided to hide it behind the couch instead of under the tree. Daniel opened all the presents and said, wow and cool at the appropriate times which was nice. Then he said, "well let's look around and find where Santa put my rocket ship." He was off and before Jason could grab the video camera he had found it. It was awesome. We spent the whole day in pjs, Daniel played with all the toys and rarely bugged either of us, and then Alice (still sick) slept for four and a half hours during nap time. It was great. Also great was that since we had taken part of a dinner to someone in our ward, we had half or our Christmas dinner a

We realized that it had been awhile since our last family pictures, like before Alice was born. Therefore new ones were in order. We went to Portrait Innovations in Provo, because it was just too cold to do ones outside. Here are some highlights. My kids did pretty good. Daniel loved having his picture taken and we told him he looked handsome, lovely, etc. etc. trying to encourage the fact that it is ok to wear jeans once in awhile. Alice thought that it was either a game and tried to run or break the back drops or hated it and screamed. The kissing picture came from us trying to get her to stop screaming and do something with Daniel. We are in fact convinced that our children will burn this picture later on in their lifetime. Our holiday preparations are going...still no tree but hopefully sometime this week that will happen. Daniel is trying to peak at the presents already here which is really annoying and funny since there are lots of unwrapped presents everywhere that he h

First: Happy Birthday to Brittany, woohoo on 21! It has almost been a whole week. We went to the zoo, not for halloween but about two weeks before. There were a few funny pictures. We were just in time to catch the elephant show and this is about how it went. Alice and Daniel were almost screaming they were so excited about the elephants. Then the elephants made their noise....the before and after pictures explain it all. Alice enthralled and then clinging to mom in fright of the elephants that might make noise. We watched the one elephant squirt water all over some people and then Daniel was afraid that we would get wet. It was awesome. Then there was Halloween. Alice discovered that she LOVED wearing that costume and being Nemo. Daniel always wanted to be spiderman. Eventually if the costumes were out and could be seen they were put on. But it kept them entertained for a long time. They loved trick or treating. We went with the Pooles to their ward halloween party and i

Last year we were living up in Idaho, well most of us, and were able to pick apples at Mom and Dad's house and then help make applesauce. This year, by random we were up in Idaho for the weekend at the end of the picking season and were able to help. Daniel was beyond excited, he Abby and Alice all wanted to climb into the trees with Steph and Bob. Needless to say we were not that desperate for apple pickers as to throw our small children in the trees. Only a few branches were broken off so I think we can go again next year. Jason and I celebrated our anniversary, finally, the weekend of Natalie's anniversary which apparently caused a controversy since we had already booked Grandma. Anyway, so we went to Idaho twice this month. Here is my favorite picture of all of us in Idaho Falls. The kids love the water, the geese and taking pictures. These three are adorable. Running on the newly fertilized lawn in their cute Sunday clothes. They posed for some other pictures but

My kids are really funny. Today we started with the battle of the bathroom. In the morning I usually have one of two battles with Daniel, one is making him go potty, the other is him eating breakfast. This morning it was both. Daniel needed to go potty which he said (not me), and that meant he had to take his pajamas off which meant he immediately got cold. Thus he proclaimed he no longer had to go to the bathroom. Seriously! Long, long, long story short. Eventually he did go potty and drink his shake for breakfast and it only took twelve minutes of screaming/crying and twenty minutes of pottying and breakfast. Then we went to story time with the Ockeys and we saw an old friend which was nice. Alice actually sat for a whole story, which was awesome. Then after story time we came home and made applesauce which was so yummy. The kids only cried for about half the time so that made things go smoothly. Eventually after two sinks full of dishes I took a nap while Daniel watched

We love summer weather and we spend a lot of time outside. To prove this, the other day, I was on the phone while we were outside and I turned around and saw Alice dressed like this. Apparently I weed enough that the kids know how to dress for it. Daniel started preschool. Knowledge Explorers Preschool has been a great place for him. He loves going and this is a picture of his first day. Some of the kids were hesitant while Daniel just ran inside and never looked back. Although he usually is the kid trying to beat the door down when it is over trying to get out. So far his favorite things are that they get to cut, he learns new songs, and he always wants to make sure that Alice and I miss him. Alice and I get an amazing amount of work done while he is gone and Alice is even starting to talk a little more, so what are the odds. Do you ever spend a lot of time telling your kids what not to do? We yell at our kids all the time to sit on their butts at the table. We kept telling

So our X Box broke. We got the red ring of death, and the kids cried. Jason immediately announced we were buying a new one but it will have to wait. See the problem with losing the xbox is that we don't have cable, satellite, or anything else that plays DVDS. All of our viewing entertainment comes through that machine. It was kind of sad. At first I was really grateful because most of me hates the TV. Then there is that part of me that loves the TV because my kids and husband love the TV and it makes it easy if I need to do something they will just sit there and get mushy brains. Today I thought I would absolutely go nuts without the TV. Alice and Daniel both woke up with runny noses and I needed to keep canning tomato sauce. But oddly enough we made it through the day, with no TV, fewer fits, and 11 more pints of pasta sauce ready to store in the pantry. So I guess we can survive without it, and hopefully tomorrow still goes well. Alice tried to turn on the TV, I told h

I cannot believe that so much time has passed. Obviously we have done more than just sit around the house. We went camping with all of us Daniels in July. I am sure I have pictures of Alice and Dax looking like coal workers somewhere. We spend a lot of time outside playing in the yard and weeding. Jason started a new job and so far things are going really well. We miss him now that he doesn't work from home, but not enough to want him back everyday. He and I have amended our lifestyle (we went on a diet) and both have lost a lot of weight so that has been nice. Being healthier and having more energy is nice when having young terrorizing children. Daniel starts preschool in two weeks and I am so excited for him to have this opportunity and for him to be someone else's problem for two hours twice a week. He can be challenging. Alice is still grumpy, hates people a little less, and is really cute. She loves to wipe up her tray when she is all done eating which is awesom

Now that it is officially July I guess I should finally post something. I am not sure why I have such a hard time updating my blog as of lately but something tells me it is the small children constantly screaming in my house that make it hard. June went by quick. We had some fun garden adventures like watching the sunflower seeds come up, and then watching Alice crush them all with her tiny size 3 shoes. We went to Hawaii which in a nut shell was fun but one always is left wondering is it worth the travel. Daniel claims yes, Jason and I claim no. If I recall that is what we also claimed last time yet we ended up there again anyway. Alice loved the beach and enjoyed dumping sand on all things. I found a sand dollar which was awesome and we saw turtles and seals so Daniel loved it. He now officially loves his aunts and calls them that as if they are just a group, no individuals. Alice is a pain, loud, messy and stuck to her routine like glue. Here is a classic meal time with Ali

Mom sent me this dress for Alice. It is beautiful, the picture is bad but hopefully you can get the idea.   Daniel loves Alice. He kept telling me that he looked handsome and he tells Alice she is so pretty. It is really precious.   Mom also gave her these cute pjs which she loves. My mother in law gave her some pjs with Disney princesses on it which she also loves but there are no pics of those yet.   Anyone else love that snow today? Anyone else loose a garden? Daniel just sloshed through the snow and had a blast. He kept hoping that the snow would be so bad that he would have to help Dad shovel the drive way. I am kind of glad that it never happened.

My kids love the dirt. They love being outside while I try to plant and do everything in the dirt. Alice rolls in, runs in, and eats the dirt. The grossest thing I have found lately is her with her mouth full of mud and a pebble in her hand and big smiles on her face. To beat that I have found her now three times with dirt in the mouth. Yuck! Today it rained. This has got to be the fifteenth day this month that it rained and my kids could not stand it. So eventually I told the kids to get their shoes (which makes Alice run to the door) and that we were going to IKEA. IKEA is a great way to spend the day. Daniel and Alice played in the kids rooms that were set up and ran through that little hole in the wall they have between two of the rooms. They loved it. One of the rooms had a slide in it which Alice discovered that she loved. Down the slide she went, over and over and over again. Then we came home and the crying and tantrums started up right away again. But for those two

April was full of fun. First my sister Stephanie and her daughter Abby came to visit. Abby and Daniel love each other so much so they just played and played. Alice can keep up now since she is walking. It was really fun to have them in our home for a few hours.   Then all my sisters with children went to the farm (sorry Britt, you were excluded by distance not by children) and it was a blast. The cow that tried to eat Alice's stroller put Abby's whole hand and wrist into its mouth. It was kind of gross and Daniel screamed but Abby just stood there and wasn't scared at all.   Some of the kids got to pet the sheep that they were showing to a field trip group. Kids are so funny.   This is random but apparently Alice wants to be wearing shorts and thus, walks around the house doing this to all of her pants. I was lucky to get such a good view. Last but not least we had a fantastic mother's day weekend of laying sod. Yes it is worth the money to have someone else do

Okay so I got a new calling. Yep, primary chorister. Funny story to go with it. I stressed so much about it this week that I actually went to church without my primary song book. Who does that? I had like four songs picked out to sing when I needed 50. The presidency member who did sharing time left me 35 minutes for singing time so I spent over an hour on my feet singing. It is much more exhausted than it sounds. Alice survived a day without primary but seriously missed her sunbeam friends and Jason followed her around the church as she tried to make new friends. We have started our garden and are keeping track of it at a new site. Dirt to Delicious . Can't wait to see our results. Anyone else enjoying the sunshine? My kids scream when we come in. If anyone really wants to lay sod and plant some bushes...come a knocking on May 8th. We will have a front yard finally. I will post some pictures eventually.

Alice turned one! Yes, it was awesome. I don't even think she noticed. The funniest thing that happened that day was I made bug cakes (I have a cake pan that makes bug cupcakes basically) and Jason was showing the butterfly to Alice. She leaned forward and just took a huge bite out of it. Hilarious. We went to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens for her bday. Lots of family and a few friends came. It was awesome and the tulips are beautiful. I walked the Gardens with Alice in the stroller for about four hours while Jason carted people around in the golf cart. But it was all worth while and the kids loved it. Looking back on this last year was hard. We have had a lot of changes, all for the good. I can't believe Alice has turned one. But here are some funny things that she does. She loves going outside and will bring me her shoes and sit down with them and then stick her foot in the air stating the obvious "mom come on, let's go outside." She is a total girl

Well I love when Easter and Conference coincide. It makes for a wonderful weekend. Even if the kids didn't love conference as much as I did. Although while Julie Beck talked about personal revelation and paying attention to the spirit I was cleaning our bath room. But hey it is finally clean right? Friday we went to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point for an Easter "class" where the kids did a few fun activities including getting to pet some animals. Alice loved this baby sheep.   Then over to my sister's for an Easter egg hunt. The older boys loved it and ran around the yard like crazy. The babies, Alice and Dax, hung out on the quilt. Dax accidentally opened one of the eggs for them and discovered goldfish which were a huge hit. Alice just complained about it being cold.     This is our sweet little girl enjoying her fish in the corner where no one could get them. I cannot believe how much she has grown.  

Well it was Daniel's birthday and he said he wanted blue barn cake, green balloons and a back hoe trailer. He got green balloons in his room, and a basketball hoop and then he turned to Jason and I and asked "Did anyone remember to get me a backhoe?" That kid. Here are some pics from his special day of turning three.   So I was determined to make the cake from scratch and so I did. I made two, one chocolate and a "yellow" cake that obviously did not turn out yellow. Putting the cake together had a few snags. The chocolate was not as thick as the yellow so the cake was slightly to very lopsided. Daniel, who helped me put it together, ate a huge amount of the chocolate cake and thus the layers were all messed up.         We went to the farm the day after his birthday because it was warm. He loved climbing in the tractor.   Alice liked all the animals. Not so sure about the goats but she will make a "goat" noise when asked and heavily prompted.

Well, I have really not kept up with my usual blogging schedule. Things have gotten just crazy and mostly, I have no permanent spot for my computer so the time I take to get it out and set it up and boot up...well I just have time for the super important things and not updating this. So here is a small recap. Alice has so many teeth. Six right now and two more that we can see coming up. Due to this her sleeping is all over the place and I am trying to wean her and she hates it. Daniel is growing up so fast. We did have to cut his seventies hair he had going on but hopefully it will grow out soon again. He is lounging with me watching tv right now. His new favorite movie is the Incredibles which he claims reminds him of our family. Jason and I are not sure if that is a good or bad thing. Daniel has also started getting himself dressed which is good and horrible since he never wants help. So if you see us and he has his pants and his shirt on backwards, just keep it to your sel