We are Californians!

I thought moving around a lot would be annoying and hard, but I LOVE it. It is so much fun to just live somewhere for a little while and then have another adventure somewhere else. We will be here in Sacramento until spring and then it's off to a new adventure in some other state.

John and I started P90X this week. It is super hard but fun. I don't have much time for anything else since we start it a little after the kids go to bed, it takes and hour, and then we go to bed. I am way behind on Christmas shopping, cleaning, laundry, and pretty much everything. Hopefully the next time you see us we will be super fit/buff. My parents have been doing P90 and my dad lost 22 pounds in the first two weeks. They look and feel great!

We went on a walk up to the Sacramento Temple last week and Beth took a couple of family pictures for us. We didn't get any "perfect" pictures but I love the way they turned out. It's way to hard to get two toddlers to hold still and smile all at the same time.

A Great Thanksgiving

My great great grandpa studied animal husbandry at Cornell University and started a turkey and chicken farm. The Mixa Chick Hatchery was in my family for several generations and my Dad worked there when he was a kid. One of the things that has been perfected and passed down through these generations was how to barbeque a Thanksgiving turkey. My dad is a master barbequer and his turkey recipe is to die for. We usually have barbecued turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year and we have been enjoying leftovers since last week.

Highlights

The best parts of this past week:

John sent me to get a massage and a pedicure!

While I was getting my massage John let the kids play outside in a dirt pile, they had the time of their lives.

The kids fought over the broccoli at dinner.

Mae learned: to dance, go down the stairs backward, play and say peeka boo, say daddy, say up, say bottle, sign more and sign all done!

Tons of support and success for Faire Houre. So exciting.

John took me on a date, we had a fun drive, a fun lunch and we saw New Moon.

Nathan and Chelsea had their baby, Luke!

Almost all of our things are packed and in storage and we are moving to California tomorrow!

Faire Houre

Ok guys, I make clocks! I have been working on this project for the last year and a half, but mostly just the last few months. I have had SO much fun putting together my site and shop and taking pictures and just making beautiful things. It has been a much needed and enjoyable creative outlet for me. If you know anyone who is in the market for a good clock or is looking for a great Christmas present, send them my way! I will keep my blog and shop updated with new stuff so check back if you are interested.

Brush

We thought it was probably about time we started brushing Mae's teeth. She didn't like it very much.

little patient

Mabel had ear tubes put in on Wed at 5:30 in the morning. I took her in to the surgery center, got her dressed in her little tiny hospital gown and then they took her away. Tons of thoughts went through my mind, but less than ten minutes later they came and got me and said she was waking up and everything went well. It was funny to see her coming out of the anesthetic, she was acting all floppy and confused. She wouldn't open her eyes but she said "Mommy" in a cute sad voice, it was precious. She already seems more comfortable and I am hoping this means the end of ear infections for Mae.

Love it

Last night while I was putting Wes to bed John came in and sat down on the bed. Wes was so excited that we were both in there he put a hand on each of us and said "you guys are beautiful!"

John was talking to Wes the other day about how big he is getting and he said "Wes, someday you are going to be a man" and Wes said "I'm not going to be a man I'm going to be a train conductor!"

Wes tells Me and John daily that we are his best friends, it's the best. He has also learned to empty the dishwasher . . . just the beginning of chores . . I can't wait till he can clean the whole house, mow the lawn and make us dinner.

Party!

We had so much fun with family and friends for Mabel's first party! She loved all her dollies and her cupcake. She is such a sweetie pie!

extra pictures

These are from the last few weeks. Mabel sick, Me and Mae in Carmel and the kids at the farm.

Halloween

Tons of fun, tons of candy, tons of food. And the next day, tons of hyperactivity.

Happy Birthday Mae!

Can you believe Mabel is one?! She has changed so much. She said her first word last week, "doddie" which she calls any animal along with dogs. She is still the sweetest, easiest little girl. We love her so much, and are so glad she is part of our family!

Happy Halloween!

Highlights

Best things this week:

Dinner with Josh, Rose and Grace

The pumpkin patch and Thanksgiving Farm with Friends and Family

Washing the van for family night

Mae eating three times as much food as Wes

Mae yelling out this morning, "Mommy!"

Wes saying daily in a sad voice, "Mom, I'm sick for candy"

Wes saying twenty times a day, "I got for bout it." (I forgot about it)

And tonight while I was making Wes' bedtime snack of raspberries he said, "Mom your a best friend"

I love my kids, I have the best life.

Inspiration

I have been inspired by so many things lately, good books, friends, family, and conference. Here are some of the things that I want to work on and incorporate:

I want others to walk away from me feeling good about themselves

My favorite quote from conference: "Never suppress a generous thought" Elder Uchtdorf

Pick one thing a month to change and work on it for that month

Organize my freezer, stock it with premade meals

Pattern

Look at this cool pattern that John designed for me. I can't decide what to use it for, there are so many fun things I could do.

Teeth Time

Update:

Mabel has six teeth.

We took Wes into the dentist a few weeks ago and found out that he has an extra tooth. he has two incisors next to his left front tooth, which kind of makes it look like he has three front teeth. Mel was missing an incisor, maybe he got hers.

Family Time

We spent last weekend in Idaho having fun with the Petersens. We had a fun picnic, went to the zoo and did a little shopping. Then they came down this weekend for conference, Wes had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa after such a long summer without them. (check out the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head that John had growing up, they cracked me up.)

Wes' mind

Last week we were at a drive through where the guy helping us had pretty shaggy hair, hat and beard all the same color. While we were waiting Wes was looking at the guy and said "Dad! (long pause) Oh! Dad, he's a sheep!"

While we were in Idaho Wes asked Steven "what is on your face?" Steven said "a beard", Wes said "a weird?"

The other day while we were driving Wes said "Hey Mom! There's a contact in my eye!" (while he was holding his eye open and poking it)

Another time in the car: "Mom, where is Travis?" (Huh? I've never hear of or talked about a Travis) "I don't know, is he from nursery?" "No, he's from Wesy's house" (I still don't know)

A visit home

We took a fun trip home to celebrate my parents 30th anniversary. We got a great beach house in Monterey and spent time on the cold beach, eating delicious food and the highlight was the 17 mile drive around Pebble Beach.

This is how Wes feels about sand. He could spend all day playing in it.

We also spent some time just hanging out at home, the kids loved playing with cousins, dogs and in the sand pile in the yard.