Did I mention we're moving?

4 months from today we will be settled in a new home(hopefully), in a new state (Georgia), and plan to settle down. (Insert gasp here) This upcoming move will be our 12th in 13years. I'm not sure how I feel about actually being settled but I'm sure once we are settled in it will be wonderful. I'm sad about leaving a place I have worked hard to call "home". We have a fantastic ward, I have made good friends, found my niche and now we get to start all over...again. This upcoming move is what has consumed most of my thoughts lately and I finally decided it was time to make the "announcement". I think it makes me nervous when things are not all done and signed for.

We are driving down to Alpharetta, Georgia the 3rd week of April with the kids. It's Spring break for them and we are going to go house hunting. My parents have even offered to meet us there to help with the kids. Isn't that fantastic? I've watched my share of house hunters and I'm really excited that it's finally our turn. I have dreamt about this all my married life. Do you realize we will actually have a garage? Or two or 3? The prospect is very exciting and yet VERY overwhelming. I'm excited that our children will finally be able to really put down roots, for good. And yet even while I write this it scares me because you just never know what life is going to bring and what will uproot us again. For now I'm just trying to focus on the many positives that this change will bring. Randall and I didn't used to like change but look at us now! Everywhere we have been we knew it was just temporary and that we just had to make it work. Not now. This time we are choosing our future, and thankfully it's looking bright. (and sunny!)

A new craving

Usually when we speak of a craving we are talking about food. Well, when I'm talking about a craving it almost always involves food, although I have been known to crave a rabbit, and a bird. Not to eat mind you but to own as a pet. Thankfully those "cravings" were fleeting, because I really have no desire right now for a pet. We had a fire belly toad for a short time and after finding live crickets somehow all over my house, the pet was given a new and much better home. Anyway... Recently my craving has been to write my own history and read the history of others. For some time I have thought about writing my own personal history but when I think back I fee like the memories of my childhood are fleeting. Which means I should probably write some things down while I still remember something. My Grandma Barrett wrote about her life and some of my ancestors before she passed away. I remember the forward she wrote when she gave us that book of memories for Christmas many years ago. She wrote something about how maybe we wouldn't care and were possibly not very excited about her gift, but I find myself now really wanting to read again all those stories of many years and lives ago. My Grandma Christensen also wrote her life's story and sadly we tease about that book at times. But, I'm glad she wrote it and it gives insight into the person that she is today.

I have always been a journal writer. Started way back in the 7th grade. It is interesting, hilarious, and embarrassing to read those journals from way back when. I was so dramatic about some of the most ridiculous things. Especially when I wrote about dating Randall in high school. We were such good kids, and truthfully I loved him as much as a 17 year old girl could, and yet I certainly didn't dare write those words in my journal. What if my mother or someone else had read it for heaven sakes!?! I'd like to think that this blog is now a journal of sorts. But I suddenly have the desire to do more. I have seen those books that ask you questions about your life and I think I will get one of those soon and start writing about my life. I'm not a gifted writer by any means but I've decided to embrace who I am and just go with it. I'd like to think that getting my memories down on paper will someday be a blessing to me and my children in years to come. And if nothing else this is one craving I can indulge in guilt free!

Winter break

The first week of March the kids had Winter break. Why would anyone want to have a break to be home in the middle of the cold and dreary winter? Well I forgot that since almost everyone around is is wealthy they use the break to go to the islands for a reprieve from the cold. We on the other hand are not rich so we stay in and go crazy! So for one of the days Rand took the day off so we could do something fun. We drove to Pennsylvania to the Crayola Factory! It had snowed the night before but the roads seemed clear enough so we went ahead with our plans. It was actually a beautiful drive with the freshly fallen snow on all the trees. It only took us about 50 minutes to get there. It's hard to believe all that is so close to us and yet in a different state. I drove since Randall had a client call even though he had the day off :) When we drove into Easton, PA it reminded me of a little German village and was so charming. The kids had a fabulous time and loved everything they did. They had tons to do. There is even a museum above the crayola factory but we didn't even have time to get to that with all the fun project the Crayola factory had. We got to see a live demonstration of how crayons and markers were made. Got to use every crayola product made. The kids made paper dolls, and paper bag puppets, scrolls with sponges and paints, and their very favorite is a new product similar to play-doh that is white and you can use the markers to color it any color you want to create whatever you want. The possibilities were endless. It was really fun to see with the kiss for several hours and actually participate with them in the different activities. At home that is not often the case with other things that always need to be done as they sit and work on a project. They had a side walk chalk area too, and a fun clear tunnel that you could use special markers to draw with. The kids love that one. Who wouldn't want to draw all over the walls? I even participated in that one. It was a really fun place and a great time together as a family.


Some of the buildings in the town


Kate on the chalk walk, I hope she isn't licking her fingers here!



The clear tunnel where you write on the walls

Coloring of course with hundreds of crayons

Ethan and the Talons

Ethan just finished up his first basketball season yesterday.His team name was "The Talons" . I guess that's pretty scary or something ;) He just had games on Saturdays and really no practice so it was the perfect time commitment for all of us. He learned a lot and got better and better each game. I think he enjoyed it and takes after his mother being a rather "scrappy" player. He was not afraid to be a tad aggressive and loved to steal the ball. His coach was nice and low key so it was all just for fun. A few of the coaches acted like this was high school ball and were kind of ridiculous so I was glad that Ethan had a positive coach and experience to begin with.
Ethan practicing his dribbling skills
Intently listening for coaches instruction

The supportive spectators
Our cute little athelete

Poor Baby

Several weeks ago poor Jane got sick for the first time. She got the stomach flu and kept throwing up over and over, poor thing. As a parent you never want to see your kids not feel well and be sick, but when it's your baby it's really heart breaking. In the pictures above Jane was playing and by the end you can see she was getting sick and a second later she threw up again. She got so sick and threw up so many times that she started throwing up blood. The Dr. said that she must have burst a vessel somewhere from straining so hard. It certainly makes you appreciate when you have a happy, healthy baby!

Way to go Ethan!

Each week Ethan's class is given a sheet of "math facts". Some weeks it's addition some subtraction, and last week it was a sheet of 47 facts of addition and subtraction. Each day he has to practice these facts for a timed 2 minute test on Friday. Usually Ethan scores somewhere in the low 30 range which is great, but this Friday after working hard all week he was up to 42 facts. On Friday for his official test he scored 47 out of 47 in 2 minutes! That's lightning fast. I'm not sure even I could do them all in 2 minutes. Ethan loves school here and the challenge it gives him. He takes his homework very seriously. The other night we got side tracked and had forgotten to do his math facts worksheet. He woke Randall and me in the middle of the night in a panic. We told him to not worry about it and to go back to bed. Instead he got his worksheet and his clock and timed him self and and came down at 3:30 am to tell us he had gotten 33 facts. Ethan was also named musician of the week for the 2nd time this year in his music class. Keep up the good work Ethan, you are amazing!

Terrible 3's

Her beautiful, blond locks...
I'm hoping this is her I feel really bad about what I did look.
Like the mullet?


Yesterday I was hoping to have a little "quiet time". Jane was a sleep and Kate was quietly watching a movie while I was upstairs reading. That is until Kate came upstairs with a handful of hair and said "My hair came off". While I know that most kids cut their hair at some point in their young life, none of mine ever have. Surprisingly I didn't really get upset. I think I was shocked that Kate was just calmly standing there with her hair in hand. I couldn't decide if not getting real upset was good or bad. Part of me thought maybe she was looking for a big reaction and didn't get it and that's good. But, part of me thought maybe I should get really mad so she would know how bad this really was. I walked her to her room for time out and she yelled, "I hate you Mom and Dad." I know she's 3 but boy do those words bother me. I don't remember ever saying that to my parents, at least not out loud :) My older kids have NEVER said that either, I'm not sure where Kate has picked that up, but it come up every once in a while. I made her stay in there for awhile and she ended up falling a sleep for a few hours. When she awakened we assessed the damage, and really it could have been a lot worse. While she cut off about 6 inches it wasn't at her scalp or anything like that. I looks kind of like she was cutting herself "bangs" on one side. She didn't cut all the way through so I did cut the little bit of strands under her "whack" and it's long enough to pull up into a rubber and so all in all I'm considering myself pretty lucky. I recently heard that it's the trying 2's and the terrible 3's. I couldn't agree more. Between hair cuts, mouthing off and jumping off the top bunk (twice) This 3 year old is giving us a run for our money.