Pretty

I will miss these flowering bushes! The flowers only last a few weeks, but they are great, great fun when they're in bloom!

Energizer Bunny

I've been meaning to capture this for a while...I don't know how he moves so fast!

Seven

It's hard to come up with random things about myself that people may not know, that I haven't already put on here. I guess I feel pretty transparent. :) But I'll give it a go for my cute sister-in-law Amelia!

1. I hardly ever iron clothes. It's so rare that if my family needs something ironed, they've got to ask me to do it. Jason is a dear and gets mostly wrinkle-free dress shirts--the only trick is to get them out of the dryer and not let them sit overnight. ;)

2. I am really digging a book of Anne Perry's right now. I never wanted to read her stuff because I had this mental block and thought she was Anne Rice or something. But historical fiction is COOL.

3. Friends often comment on how organized I am. Is that a nice way of saying I'm obsessively compulsive or analytically retentive? :)

4. Yesterday I read a Doonesbury cartoon that made me laugh uncomfortably, basically taking a crack at bloggers who resort to chronicling their kids' achievements because they can't say anything about their own. Well, I tried not to let it get me down because, really, what's better than raising two wonderful kids, right? It's an eternal achievement, one for the record books. That said, I DO need to be better about improving myself and learning new things.

5. I'm the opposite of a pack rat. I love to get rid of stuff. That didn't use to be the case, though. Moving out here helped me make the leap.

6. Jason and I are going to see the new Star Trek movie next month for our anniversary, and, yes, I'm excited about it. "It's not your father's Star Trek!" And I can't wait to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, too. It's nice to have other movies to be excited about that aren't related to all things Twilight...

7. Blogging makes me happy!

If you actually read this, post a comment sharing a random thing about yourself, or feel free to do a post of your own on your blog and let me know you did it. :)

Chin up!

Okay, I don't play ALL day. I DO get things done. But what's work without a little fun mixed in, right? Today I played camera-woman--enjoy.

(Warning: make sure your sound isn't turned up too high...)

Discovering an old favorite

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you."
--Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie

Every time the trilogy comes on TV the kids want to watch it. This time they watched a bit of the last one with us (with HEAVY editing/switching to commercials at scary parts). Both Rhiannon and Wade were so concerned about Frodo and wanted to make sure he'd make it to the end, so I got out the DVD and let them watch the last couple scenes with me. Man, those movies are AMAZING. I think I'm going to commemorate our exit from VA by reading the books again... The book I read on our way out here in '07 was Great Expectations, and it definitely hit the spot. Any other suggestions for an exit book? :) The Book of Mormon would be my next choice, followed by Harry Potter...

First day of t-ball

First off, happy birthdays this week to Grandpa Rich, Grandma Nan, and Uncle Derrick!!!

Wade's first "game" day was rained out last week, so we were ready to get out this morning and hit the field. Luckily he's got plenty more games--I need to redeem myself in the picture department! I guess I was too busy making sure Wade stayed focused and didn't get nailed in the head like a little boy did on the other team. Wade did a good job--he didn't play in the dirt or pick dandelions, and for the most part he listened to his coaches, so we're happy!

Coach Michelle gives Wade a few pointers before he bats.

Playing left field. Yeah, that's pretty much how he looked the whole inning. I don't think he moved at all--we'll work on that. ;)

Wade's on the left with the silly face. He got along really well with Jared, the boy sitting next to him.

I wonder what he's raising his hand for?



Practicing catching

Wade happened to get the #1 uniform. Pretty cool!

After his game we came home and did a TON of yard work. We didn't even think about lunch until almost 2pm, so we were busy! Hurray for gorgeous weather--it was fun to be outside and soak up some rays.

Funny and not-so-funny

Funny, Exhibit A:

The kids got some cute little chicks from the Easter Bunny, the kind that "cheep" when they're in the palm of your hand. I think Rhiannon named hers "Bunny." Wade went a little further and said:

"I'm going to name mine Love-Bunny and call him LARRY for short."



Not-so-funny, Exhibit A:

I don't know yet if it's food poisoning, too much candy, or a virus, but Wade was one sick little dude last night. Around 1am we were in the bathroom and as he's doing his thing and I'm rubbing his back, he looks over at me and says, "Mom...you should put this on your blog." Poor little guy. It reminded me of Elder Cook's "Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time" talk. :) Thankfully he's doing much better this morning, munching on saltines and "sick soda" as he reads some library books. We've already made a trip to the laundromat and the library, without "incident," so we're doing good!

Happy Easter!

Eggs-tra, Eggs-tra, read all about it!

Yesterday we drove to Glyndon Park to join some friends for an Easter Egg hunt. It was a blast, and I don't think I've ever seen so many plastic eggs in one place. :) Thank you to Edit and her girls for having us! Today we decorated eggs and made some cute little snacks out of Peeps chicks and Rice Krispie treats--yum. I'm already starting to feel a little sick from all the candy around, so hopefully the Easter Bunny will keep it simple when he visits!!!

The only bummer this week was that I got my first ever (and hopefully my LAST) speeding ticket. I am really bummed about it.

Gettysburg Museum

It was unseasonably COLD the day we checked out Gettysburg, so we didn't go outdoors too much. The new museum there was very nice, though. I loved the Gettysburg Address area. The Cyclorama was a bit of a let-down (only because I'm short and couldn't see over everyone's heads), but everything else was really neat!

Library "treat"

This was one of our first "Spring Break" activities. The kids had a blast doing the "Read to Dogs" program at the library. Rhiannon brought along her Warrior cat books to read and "hoped the dogs wouldn't mind that." I think the dogs just liked the attention!

Rocky Acre Farm pics

Some good friends recommended this place to us. I can't thank them enough--we absolutely loved it. Our room was charming, the breakfasts were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G., and the kids were so happy. Rhiannon said, "I want to LIVE on a farm!" We stayed there two nights and also had easy access to some other fun things nearby.

Fort McHenry pics

This was a fun place to visit in Baltimore. I didn't know what Fort McHenry was until one of our hometeachers suggested it. Think Francis Scott Key and the Star-Spangled Banner, and then the whole Fort McHenry thing is pretty awesome. Someone asked the guide why he'd volunteered at the fort. He said he'd moved to the area and had visited Fort McHenry, and, well, he thought it was really cool! I think the kids liked climbing down into the "bombhouse" at the end. I loved that most of the fort was open access so that you could climb up and around and walk all over, and the tour guide was excellent, too. He kept it to 30 minutes and wasn't boring. :)

Holy cow!

It's almost 4:30pm on Tuesday, not even halfway into our official Spring Break week, but I feel like we've been going, going, going for days (in a good way). If I had to sum up the last 3+ days, I could do it with only 3 letters. Here goes:

W.O.W.

Seriously! I'm going to have to do another post about it later with gobs of pictures, but for now a list will have to suffice.

1. Saturday sessions of General Conference. AWESOME.
2. Reading to dogs at the library
3. First t-ball practice
4. "Girls and Kids" Night Out while Dad's at priesthood session
5. Drive to Baltimore to tour Fort McHenry (uber cool)
6. Drive to Lancaster County, PA for Amish adventure.
7. Arrive at Rocky Acre Farm Bed and Breakfast. Don't walk, RUN to this place. Amazing.
8. Cats, kittens, COWS, cows being milked, pony, goat, henhouse, meadow, creek, kid-size house, basketball, porch swings, more cows, more cats. Drag kids away from cats and cows to go to dinner at TJ Rockwell's in Elizabethtown.
9. Enjoy charming room with loft but DO.NOT.ENJOY.kids'.snoring.
10. Next morning, enjoy amazing farm cookin' breakfast with a little bit of everything, followed by...
11. Rides for kids on miniature pony Cookie and then "tractor" ride. Too cold and starting to rain so we ditch hay ride.
12. Drag the kids away from cats and cows and head out to explore the county. Forget map (my fault) and drive aimlessly through farmland. See lots of...
13. Plain People (Amish folk) in buggies on the side of the road, laundry hanging from lines and porches, long beards, one young man with a team of horses, young ladies on scooter-type bikes. Kept thinking about President Faust's talk on forgiveness.
14. Stop by fabulous Old Candle Barn (smelled SO good in there!) followed by Dienner's Family Restaurant for lunch--got the buffet and felt like it was Thanksgiving.
15. Another good-call-by-Jason-move: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. LOVED this place.
16. Outlet shopping to kill a little time followed by Olive Garden for dinner.
17. Stop at Target to buy ear plugs for Night #2 with kids. (It helped quite a bit).
18. Get back to farm in time for Jason to take the kids on a golf-cart ride. It got cold fast so we called it a night.
19. Enjoyed a final delicious breakfast and a bit more play time outside before checking out. 20 minutes before we leave, we watched a calf's birth. Whoa. Kinda gross and incredibly cool at the same time. I'm proud of Rhiannon for sticking through it!
20. Say goodbye to Rocky Acre Farm, cats, and cows, and drive to Gettysburg.
21. Spend time at the Gettyburg Museum--very new and very impressive.
22. Friendly's for lunch and then head home!

The rest of the week should be quiet. I'm so thankful for this fun, memorable trip! Pictures coming soon. :)

Bathroom humor

While I was cleaning up after dinner and thinking about the day, I started laughing all over again at something Rhiannon said today. We were outside, taking the neighbors' dogs for a walk up the street; Wade and I were in the lead with Ginger, and Rhiannon followed behind with Cleo. A few minutes into the walk, Rhiannon started yelling:

"Uh...uh...she's digesting! She's DIGESTING on the SIDEWALK, Mom!!!!"

I looked behind me, and, instead of parking it in the grass, Cleo had done her business all up the sidewalk. After getting it cleaned up I asked Rhiannon about her use of the word "digesting". She said, "Well, I..uh..just didn't want to yell the other word and have the whole neighborhood hear me."

How ladylike! I could learn a lesson or two from her. :)

FOR SALE

First off, this is NOT an April Fool's joke! We put our Ridgecrest home up for sale yesterday, so spread the word! We loved this house and had amazing neighbors there, but we've been spoiled here in VA and are ready for something bigger when we move back.

We've never sold a house before, so it is a bit of an adventure for us. Luckily the housing market in Ridgecrest is pretty steady, though. We'll keep you posted on how that goes, and, of course, if anyone is interested or knows someone who is, LET US KNOW! :)

Front of the house, taken in June '07 before we moved to VA

Our realtor took this one for us this week.

Listed! Hurray! :)