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Trip to The Broce's in NC

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Last week Eliza went to her first YW camp. She had a great time, by the way.

Sadie, Levi, Grant, and I went to Boone, NC to visit my very dear friend, Alisha Broce. She lives in the mountains. The kids loved running around her country yard till late at night with the kids. We stayed two nights. Alisha took us tubing down the river. It was nice with temps in the 80s and a cool, slow moving river to float down. We tied 6 tubes together and floated as a group down the river. It was super fun. I am glad my kids could benefit from Alisha's adventurous nature!

The kids were sad to leave and tried to make plans for more sleepovers with their new friends. 

While in Boone, Alisha and I went to lunch at Indian lunch buffet. Then we went to a touristy general store. I did not expect to spend any money. But nostalgia took over when I saw Melody Pops. 😆 I loved them as a kid and I had told my kids about them before. I bought them each one and gave it to them after Family Home Evening tonight.

https://youtu.be/ML7woa5DwJg

https://youtu.be/AreciZtkdCs

https://youtu.be/MUUKw9h48j0

Eliza is in the middle with the turquoise bandana. 😍

Eliza is on the right with the turquoise bandana again in these two. 💕

Ward Time with Bishop Ferguson. 

Pancake Love

This morning Eliza woke up extra early to make pancakes for Sadie so that she could have a good breakfast on the day of her SOL testing. 💗❤️💗❤️😍

Sadie feels so touched by the love Liezee  has shown her. She seems more optimistic about the testing. I am so proud of Eliza for being so thoughtful and serving her sister. 💗💕

Mother's Day 2016

Grant painted a flower pot at preschool. It is decorated with butterflies made from his fingerprints. 🌺🌸

Sadie used her birthday money from Grammy to buy a Fondue set that the neighbor's were selling at their garage sale. She made me chocolate dipped strawberries and bananas! 😋🍓🍌💗🍓

Levi was so excited to give me this coupon book! Right after I looked through it, he said, "I know what you want me to do, Mom! Clean my room!"

I quickly responded, "Yes! That

is right!" He ran upstairs and cleaned his room enthusiastically! It was a Mother's Day miracle! And the best part... Levi insists that I can use each coupon an unlimited number of times! 

Sadie's 3rd Birthday

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My Babies

Earlier this week I had another ultrasound because at my last visit there were a few parts of the baby's anatomy that the ultrasound tech was unable to get a good look at. The first thing the tech said was, "Whoa, yep, thats a boy!" Then she said, "Whoa, this boy moves a lot." He sure does. He moves around so much more than Sadie did. Is this an idication of how active he will be outside the womb? My mother-in-law says David was active in and outside of the womb. My sister, Molly's, firstborn moved a lot in the womb and then he proved to be a very active child. Her second born was not nearly so active in the womb and he is a much more calm child. Well, having energy is good, hopefully he can grow up and put it to good use by being a very hard worker. This time the tech had no problem seeing his heart, spine, nose and mouth. She said he couldn't have been more cooperative. She would capture the view of the needed body part and then he would move and she could capture the next thing.

A couple of days ago Sadie fell asleep on the family room floor. Its the first time she has done that so I snapped a picture. Sadie still loves the blankets Grandma made her and her milk.

Wishes Fullfilled

For a few years now I have dreamed of owning a Toyota Sienna. I really wanted an eight passenger mini van. I just couldn't rationalize the expense. Now that we are expecting baby number three, we have to get a bigger car. Three car seats will not fit in the back seat of my Honda CRV. Since learning of my pregnancy we have been checking out listings on these mini vans. There really isn't a big selection of used 8 passenger Siennas (The 7 passenger is more popular).

Well, over the weekend I found a couple of Siennas on eBay that I was interested in. Our very good friend, Mike, is the manager of a Toyota dealership in California. He has been looking for a Sienna for us. He also offered to negotiate a price for us if we found one locally. Well, David emailed the two listings to Mike on Saturday. Mike told us which one he thought was the better deal. In fact, he told us that he has been looking for us for months and hasn't been able to get one at that good of a price. He said he'd call the salesman and try to negotiate the price down a little but even if they didn't budge $1, it was a great price. He figured that there wasn't much room to move the price but he may be able to get it down $500. Well, Mike called. He got the price lowered $487.

We made a deposit on the van through paypal after talking to the salesman. We booked a flight for David to fly to Ohio Monday morning to close the deal and drive the van home. David shows up at check in and presents his drivers license to the TSA agent. The agent asks, "Did you know your drivers license was expired?" David answers, "uh... no.." They ask him for other ID like a passport or military ID. He has none. They have security check him very carefully. They went through every pocket of his backpack. Fortunately they decided to let him fly. Phew!

The salesman picked David up at the airport and drove him to the dealership. They completed the paperwork. Thankfully everything came together because that van was David's ride home.

I am now the very happy owner of a New Toyota Certified Pre-Owned mini van. :) I love driving a mini-van. I love being up high. My first trip out was to Wal-Mart. When I went to back out of the parking space, I was so excited to find that I could actually see if a car was coming! It was amazing! I find myself reaching for the clutch with my left leg a lot. This is the first time I've owned a car with an automatic transmission so I have to get used to it. I love driving stick shift cars, but I conceded this time because I really wanted a mini van. Its a good trade. :)

The girls were also really excited about the mini van. When we went outside, the sliding door opened and I instructed Eliza to climb in. She gasped, "The door opened by itself... that is so cool!" I showed her how I opened it with the button on my key chain. She climbed in and looked around and kept repeating, "This is so cool." That's not even a phrase she ever uses.

BTW, David went to the DMV on Tuesday and renewed his license. I guess that's something they have those over the hillers do when they turn thirty. :)

OTHER RANDOM STUFF

Another wish of mine has been fulfilled... Sadie had bronchitis last week (um... that's not what I was wishing for). She was given two presciptions. She doesn't fight me to take her medicine! I don't have to feel like a jerk as I force it down her. In fact, all she wants is to be able to administer it to herself. How wonderful!

Here's a photo of Grandpa and my girls enjoying some watermelon together. This was on Monday afternoon when my dad delivered a twin bed to my house. It has a very comfortable generic Tempurpedic mattress. My mom and I traded. We are giving my dad David's old 1994 Toyota Corolla, which just yesterday hit 200,000 miles. Its hard to believe, but its actually a step up from the old two door Toyota Tercel my dad drives. I mean, I know he grew up in the depression and all, but the guy just won't give up on his car. This interesting trade is the only way we can get him to indulge in driving a four door car with all the seats in tact and no holes in the floor. We will all miss seeing blacktop below us when he drives. :)

Dental Check Up Time

Eliza and Sadie went to the dentist today. Six months ago, they had their very first dentist appointments. I didn't even think to bring my camera to record such a milestone. Then today, I took my camera with me to the dentist office. I felt a little silly taking pictures but I was going to do it anyway for my blog. I took a couple pictures when I realized that while I actually remembered the camera this time, I didn't check to make sure the memory stick was in it. So, no cute sitting in the dental chair pictures after all. Eliza was SO good for the hygienist and the dentist. She opened her mouth wide and did everything they asked. She was so brave. She cooperated so well that they were even able to give her a little fluoride treatment. Sadie did better than the last time. She did open her mouth and let the hygienist clean her teeth with a toothbrush, so thats good. Plus the last time she cried when the dentist wanted to look at her teeth and this time she hesitantly let him.

I REALLY like the pediatric dentist. I was so impressed the first time I went with the patience they show these little ones. The hygienist showed Sadie all her tools and said she didn't have to try them this time but she was going to let her see them. She called the water sprayer thing, Mr. Water and she let Sadie see it squirt on the floor. Then she asked Sadie if she wanted to try it. Sadie let her squirt water into her mouth. Then she showed her Mr. Thirsty. Mr. Thirsty, she explained is like a little vacuum that drinks the water in her mouth. She let Sadie feel the suction on her finger and then asked her to kiss it. She meant for Sadie to open her mouth, let Mr. Thirsty in, and then close her mouth around it, making a kissing pucker face. But Sadie just leaned over and actually kissed Mr. Thirsty. Then the hygienist showed Sadie Mr. Tickle. He is the tool with the round spinning head that polishes teeth. She let said feel the spinning on her finger. Then on her tooth. Sadie let her clean only one tooth with Mr. Tickle. Eliza got to wear sunglasses during her treatment so that the light wouldn't get in her eyes. She was so cool and relaxed!

After their cleanings, the girls picked out a toy. They both picked a plastic watch, the same prize they both picked six months ago. :) They each got a balloon and then Dr. Wood, the dentist, took a look at their teeth. Sadie said that Dr. Wood's puppy mask was so silly. Good news, they both are cavity free!!! Hooray! Also, the doc warned me to save my money because they will both need braces. :)

Sadie's Favorite Things

Little 2 year old, Sadie, has some very favorite things. Here they are in order:

1. Milk - Sadie's first love, milk. When she was an infant she had NO desire to move onto solid foods. She refused them and exclusively breast fed for nine months. At nine months she got bronchitis and it became difficult to breastfeed. She finally at the point tried baby food. The ONLY baby food she would eat was pears. She hasn't changed much. Now when I serve her a meal she may look at it or maybe even take a bite. Then she pushes it away and asks for milk.

2. Blankets - Sadie loves the blankets her Grandma crocheted for her. It is not unusual for a toddler to become attached to her blanket. When Grandma visited a few months ago she noticed that Sadie was outgrowing her little crocheted baby blankets so she crocheted her a couple of bigger ones. Sadie drags all of them around the house. I hide the two little ones she has in case she soils her other ones at night and I need to trade them out. If I didn't hide them, she'd insist on dragging all four around. Sadie talks about how "blankets are for smelling." She sometimes invites me to smell them.

3. Swimsuit - After breakfast this morning, the first thing Sadie asked me for was her swimsuit. She loves water play! When given the chance, Sadie will wear or simply carry her swimsuit around. She has done this since about a year and a half old. She used to cry whenever I took it off.

4. Backpack - This is a new interest. Dora has a backpack... need I say more?

Sneaky...

At least its washable...

My back was turned to Sadie for a minute while I cleaned Eliza up after painting. Sadie took the opportunity to get creative.
The damage was done, so I helped Eliza paint a heart on her face.

They clean up real nice.

Park Pics

The ice cream man is quite savvy. He drove up to the playground at the Park and he just parked their for 15 minutes. The music played its alluring tune even during temporary lags in business, giving kids a chance to beg their parents for money, I guess. Eliza was happily playing when she noticed kids run for the truck. She insisted on getting ice cream too. We tried to stall her for awhile because we don't carry cash very often and the ice cream man doesn't take debit cards. Finally David came up with a dollar and Eliza took off toward the ice cream truck. She excitedly picked an ice cream treat from the menu posted on the side of the truck. How did she know just what to do when she had never before seen an ice cream truck? She gave the man her dollar and she and Sadie shared an ice cream sandwich.

We all remember the joy of getting a treat from the ice cream truck when we were kids. Its fun to have little ones to remind me of the little pleasures of life. I love to see their smiling faces when they are having fun and experiencing new things. Toddlers are the best!

Sadie's 2nd Birthday

Sadie's turned two a couple of weeks ago. We had a little birthday party for her last weekend. I made a Dora Ice Cream Cake. Sadie loved blowing out the candles! We all had a fun time! David and I gave her an easel because she Loves to color. Grandma gave her (and Eliza) a big dress up box full of costumes. Some of it she bought and some she had sewn herself. They have really enjoyed playing dress up every day since. After the little party we went to the pumpkin patch. I hope to post more about that later. I have tons of material I want to blog about, I just haven't taken the time lately. :)

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Great Vacation!

This is a quick update from David. Everything is going well. We just got back from a great vacation! We went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA. It was so much freakin' fun! The girls had a blast. My mom had just flown in, so we had extra help watching them swim. Eliza, only three, and swimming like we had a pool of our own! She dog paddled all over the wave pool and other pools. She and I went on the waterslides together so many times I don't want to see another stair for a long long time. We'll post more later, but here is a picture or 2.

Puters

David bought a new laptop a few weeks ago. Eliza noticed these portable DVD players sitting on a shelf. She was so excited to see a "little puter like Daddy's." She and Sadie sat so axiously as they watched Barney on their "little puters."

Portrait Montage

Last Friday David and I took the girls to get their portraits taken. We went to Portrait Innovations. I recommend this studio to anyone who has toddlers who don't like having their pictures taken. The kids can pose on the floor and the photographer follows them around and takes lots of photos. We have posed and candid shots that turned out well. (Well, really they are all sort-of candids because my kiddies don't like to pose). Our photographer took 69 poses. We bought 8 poses and we went home with a free photo cd that included all 69 shots. Thats nice. The photos didn't fit in the space allowed on onetruemedia.com so keep in mind they are better in real life. :) Oh, and I don't expect anyone to watch this except for maybe Grandma. :)

Halloween in August

This year my mom decided to start a new tradition for my kids. She is going to buy them a Halloween costume each year for their birthdays. I think its great! Halloween costumes can be pricey and with the way kids grow, you have to buy a new one every year. Eliza discovered the new Teletubbie Halloween Costumes hanging in the closet. She insisted on trying them on immediately. First she tried on Laa Laa and the Po. Sadie, of course, joined in.

Its a little like the Halloween we had last month.

Oh, and try to pretend you don't see how messy my family room is. It often like that in pictures but I really do clean it everyday, several times a day. :)