Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone's holiday is bringing lots of fun. My girls have been spending it by watching new movies that Santa brought, playing new Play Station games, and our new family favorite...Wii. What a hoot those games are. Aside from the bowling, tennins, golf, boxing, and baseball games that it came with...we have been laughing our insides out playing Rayman Rabbids 2. Who would of thought that adults and kids alike would have a fun time trying to deliver ice cream on an icy pond trying to avoid the holes, or playing around while "the boss" is out of the office only to have to hold still before he comes in and catches you. All I can say is HILARIOUS.

Another thing the girls have enjoyed doing is playing in the snow...and we've gotten plenty of it. I decided to take Oakley out to play in it (her first "real encounter" with the snow) eventhough I had plenty to do inside. I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. And I'm glad I did. I got precious photos and video of them sliding, climbing, making snow angels, and, of course, eating the snow. Oakley got so cold she started whimpering, but when I'd ask her if she wanted to go in, she'd say, "No!" I guess she loved it. Below is the video followed by some photos.

Have fun everyone. I'll post more pics from Christmas when I get a chance to edit them.

Blogging, again!

I'm back to posting, although it be brief. The presents still need wrapping; the house needs to be picked up; babysitters coming tonight so I can take Brooklyn to a play she won tickets for; Darin's in Vegas for the BYU Bowl game; lunch still has not been picked up; laundry is piling up even higher; the floor needs to be mopped...you get the idea...life is on hold so that I can reconnect through blogging. I finally got Christmas cards sent out yesterday with the link to my blog, so I better get a recent post up...Welcome to any new visitors and hello again to those who thought I dropped off the end of the Earth.

Attached are a few photos highlighting the last several weeks. I better go clean now...bye!

Brooklyn and Makenna after receiving medals for their 1st place entries in the Reflections Contest:















Our brief visit to Disneyland (the day after Thanksgiving 2007):
































































Miscellaneous shots of the girls at their various dance venues (including backstage shots of performances):

Sickies in the House!

So, two out of the four girls have strep throat. The doc did a culture on Brooklyn and when the results came back positive he thought he'd better do one on the other three. He was surpirsed to see the baby, Oakley, had it too. So, antibiotics for the both of them. He's sending the other two girls swabs in for a more definitive test...we're waiting to hear back. No time yet to post pics from our vacation and Reflections contest. I am too busy playing nurse. Bye for now.

Back from Vegas

I haven't posted lately because we've been busy "playing" with family. We went to Las Vegas for the Thanksgiving Holidays and stopped over in St. George on they way down. We also managed to fit a one-day trip to Disneyland in there. Some of the girls were not feeling their best and now all of them are sick and home from school. We will go to the Doc today to see if we can't get them all on something to "kick" this thing once and for all. Dakota and Oakley have had this "thing" for over 2 weeks. We need to get them better because the three oldest girls have a dance performance this weekend at "The Festival of Trees". Anyway, needless to say, I haven't had much time to post or even read e-mails. Hopefully soon, I'll find a break from playing nurse and will be able to post pics from our fun adventures at Disneyland.

Reflections Contest Winners and Dakota-ims

YAY! Both Brooklyn and Makenna won the Award of Excellence (1st Place) in their division for their Reflections entries. We went to the Awards Ceremony last week where each of them received medals and cool prizes. Makenna received a $20 gift certificate to Mapleton Floral and Gifts. Brooklyn won 2 tickets to the Utah Regional Ballet to see "La Coquette" on Saturday (the 17th) and 2 tickets to the Art City Playhouse to see "It's a Wonderful Life" during the Christmas Holiday. The donors were very generous this year. The lady in charge of collecting donations received over $5,000 worth of prizes. WOW! The participants and winners all got several other coupons from various places for free stuff, as well. But, Brooklyn and Makenna were most excited about their medals. Darin has pics of the event on his camera. I'll try to post them soon.

Until then, I have some more Dakota-ism:

This morning I was pouring cereal (Honey-nut Cheerios) into Dakota's bowl. After I added the milk (and no sugar) she said, "We can't put sugar on this cereal because it has holes, right?" I said, "No, it's because it already comes with sugar on it." "But we don't put sugar on it because it would fall through the holes," she concluded.

Two nights ago, Darin found Dakota sleep walking in the middle of the night. She was downstairs wandering around the family room in the dark. He said it took him a few minutes to wake her up, and then he put her back to bed. Last night, I questioned Dakota about it. I told her that she was sleep walking and asked if she remembered it at all. She said, "Did I have my eyes open?" "Yes," I responded, "but the lights were off and you were downstairs walking around in your sleep." "Oh, I was just looking for my bear blankie, my leopard, and my baby. And I scooped them up in my arms and went to bed." I said, "No, you were just walking around mumbling in the dark, by yourself and Daddy had to come get you and put you to bed, but he had a hard time waking you up." "I was all by myself? downstairs in the dark? with no one else?" she asked surprised. "Yes, you must have been sleep walking," I responded, because she wouldn't be caught dead in a dark room all by herself. She gets too scared. Dakota could not understand the concept of sleep walking. She kept saying that she remembered getting up and doing this or that (all with the lights on) and some re-tellings even included her sisters playing with her, knocks at the door, Liam walking behind her, real people on the couches, and lots of people bringing cereal into the house. "No," I said, "you were all alone, in the dark, walking around and talking to yourself. You were sleeping with your eyes open and walking around in the dark." "No! I wasn't sleep walking!" she finally yelled! "I was trying to find a drink of water!" I decided there was no need for further questioning. Dakota could not accept it, nor do I think she could really understand the concept of sleep walking.

Halloween has come and gone! Yay!

Although Halloween is over, the candies and sugar highs still linger. I have put the girls' candy bags up high and allow them only 2-3 pieces a day (if that). Many times they have had none...out of sight, out of mind. Am I a mean mother?

I remember as a child stashing my trick-or-treating loot under my bed, and keeping it there to be "dipped" into to my heart's content. Between me and my 6 siblings, there was a lot of candy lying around. However, not all of us inherited my mother's "sweet-tooth". My brothers, Mike and Dave, went through their candy so fast; it was gone before Thanksgiving. Other siblings still had theirs past Christmas. And even others had treats left to add to their Valentines. I, more often than not, still had Halloween candy well into the Easter season. I don't know if it was a dislike of eating a ton of sugary candy, or if it was because I liked the look on my brothers' and sisters' faces as I savored my candy, partaking slowly, in front of them, after their goodies were long gone. (Yes, that sounds like something I would do, being the oldest. I was quite bossy, they tell me.) But regardless, I know I am among the few over-protective parents who hand out daily rations of the well-deserved Halloween candy to their children who walked uphill both ways to search for their treasure.

On the Today Show a couple of days before Halloween, an expert guest appeared on a segment called, "The Good, the Bad, and the Scary" high-lighting points of interest about the healthiness (or lack, thereof) of Halloween treats. It mentioned a study showing that an average sized Halloween bag comfortably stuffed with candy contains over 14,000 calories, which is equal to 10 cups of straight sugar, which is equal to 47 cans of Coke. YUCK! An additional study showed that children eat an average of 10-15 pieces of candy on a typical Halloween day. This contains 950 calories, 113 grams of sugar, 37 grams of fat, 20 grams of saturated fat ...all of this equals 28 cubes of sugar and 1/3 stick of butter (fat). Again, YUCK!

So, I told Brooklyn these statistics a few days before Halloween. When she was assigned in class to write a paper on what she likes about Halloween, she mentioned these stats in her story (although exaggerated). Her paper turned into a health-conscious article about the truths of eating too much candy and a proclamation that she would not do so. (I doubt too many other 8-yr-olds were concerned with caloric, sugar, and fat intake on a day like Halloween.) She makes her mother proud!

On a more child-like note...the girls had a blast on Halloween. The four of them dressed up like the Cheetah Girls (from the Disney Chanel). We got most of their costume parts at D.I. and then supplemented with things from Wal-mart, Dollar Tree, and their own wardrobe. All in all, they were pretty cheap costumes and they all looked darling. The girls each donned a cheetah print somewhere in their costume. They went around saying "Cheetah-licious" (a catch phrase from the movie).

After trunk-or-treating, we came home. (We were done by 6:15 p.m. NICE!) And they finished the night out by answering the door every time other trick-or-treaters came to the door. Brooklyn thought that was fun, since she's never been on that "side" of Halloween before. Also, Darin and I hosted Holly and Heidi's Famous Couples Halloween Party at our house. I was amazed at how creative people are with costuming. It was a crazy night, but a lot of fun. (I still have yet to upload a photo of Darin and I in costume.)

Happy Friday!

Just some thoughts quickly before I make dinner. You may have noticed a whole new slideshow at the top of my blog. I spent some time downloading new photos to the slide.com web site and made a new one to post here. Most of them have not been edited yet, but I thought it would be better than you waiting umpteen years to view them. So, there they are in the raw. It includes pics from the pumpkin patch and carving pumpkins. I didn't upload everything I had on my computer. I would've been here all day. (Well, I was just with the 140+ pics that I did add). Anyway, enjoy.

New "Dakota-isms":
The other day, our friends Dave and Rhonda Ebel were over for dinner. A discussion came up of what they wanted to be when they grew up. Brooklyn said "a ballerina or an artist or maybe an animal saver", Makenna said, "a singer/dancer", and Dakota said, "a Barbie". (Wouldn't all of us gals want to be a "Barbie" when we grow up?) I didn't have the heart to tell her she'd have to lose her chubby belly. She's proud of her belly.

Brooklyn caught a tiny minnow in a nearby pond. We got rocks, plants, and some brothers and sisters (10 cent goldfish from Wal-mart) for it to go in the little aquarium. We had 7 goldfish total a few weeks ago. Today we only have 4 left, plus the minnow. We found the 3rd dead fish this morning. I scooped it up into a cup and headed for the bathroom. Dakota wanted to help, but first she looked at it. "Mom," she said, "It looked at me!" (You know how fish float on their sides with their big dark eye "staring" up at you?) I had to laugh! She cracks me up. She flushed it down...after all, all toilets lead the the "ocean".

Have a Happy Friday and a good weekend!

Reflections Entries

Last week, Brooklyn and Makenna completed their Reflections projects and turned them in. The theme for this year is "I can make a difference by...". Brooklyn choreographed a dance and Makenna did a painting. We don't know when they will announce winners, but the girls are anxiously waiting. The good thing is that every participant gets something. We really hope they both win because they worked extremely hard on their projects. This would do a lot of good for Makenna. Anyway, I uploaded video and pics of their projects below. (The quality on the video is not great. It was compressed for video streaming, but you'll at least get the idea.)

Brooklyn's dance is entitled, "The Beautiful Butterfly". Her artist statement reads something like this: "I created this dance because I like butterflies. They are so beautiful. Each of us has butterflies inside of us waiting to get out. I can make a difference by helping others find the beauty within them."

NOTE: Her interpretive dance shows the life cycle of a butterfly, from egg to caterpillar, from chrysalis to butterfly. She dances around exploring the world, trying out her wings, gathering nectar from the flowers (a.k.a Makenna), laying eggs, and going for one last flight before dying. (The life cycle is only about 2-6 weeks for each butterfly. Something we learned while researching butterflies together.) She metamorphoses back into a chrysalis, caterpillar, and finally egg to end the dance, symbolizing the end and the beginning. It turned out cute.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Makenna's project turned out darling, too. I was so impressed with not only the final project, but also her determination to get it done. She did it all in one day (not including the concept drawing done by her a few weeks earlier). Her piece is entitled, "Sharing My Love". Her artist statement reads something to this effect: "I love my sisters. I want them to be happy. I can make a difference by sharing my toys with my sisters." (I should have written it down before we turned it in.)

Long time, No hear

Yes, the Ashby's are still alive and well. I haven't posted for a long time because we have been extremely busy. Darin and I went to NYC October 2-5 and left the girls in the care of 6 capable people/families. While trying to organize the babysitting, I was reminded why I don't leave the girls very often. It's too much work. Anyway, I will write more later. I posted a couple of recent photos of the family taken last Sunday.

Dancing Sweeties

The three older girls started dance classes again a few weeks ago. They are loving it. (We went back to Miss Denna's dance studio.) But, driving to Provo every Thursday, twice, is turning out to be quite the adventure. I leave with the younger two girls at 2:30 for Dakota's 3:00 "Mom and Me" Dance class, which lasts an hour. Oakley stays in her stroller watching, but now she's clueing in that that's not so fun. She starts yelling and wiggling about 1/2 way through so that she can join the class for tumbling. She already knows how to do somersaults. Anyway, we leave shortly after 4:00, race back home to Mapleton to get Brooklyn and Makenna (at Lynne's house - who picks them up from school for me on Thursdays). They have about 5-10 minutes to change into their dance clothes before we are off again to Provo. Dakota and Oakley usually just stay in the car during their "costume change". With Pop Tarts and bottled water in hand, they snack on the road before arriving to dance class. Usually, I go back to Mapleton after dropping them off to get dinner ready and Darin picks them up at 6:30 before coming home from work (unless he's out of town...then I get to run errands or whatever during their hour and a half long class). Darin and the girls are lucky to be home by 7:00 from their commute. They scarf down dinner before I help Brooklyn with her homework, which usually entails "cramming" for her Friday spelling test. Then it's off to their rooms to get the four girls bathed, dressed in p.j.'s, get their hair done, brush teeth, listen to their personal prayers, have family prayer, lay out clothes for the a.m., and fit in a few bed-time stories. And don't forget the endless, kisses and hugs, "Mom, I gotta' go potty", "Mom, I need a drink", "Mom, where's my teddy bear?" etc. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it! Needless to say, it is a crazy day. But, it makes it all worth it when you see how happy they are to be back with Miss Denna. Denna came to visit us on Sunday with fresh rolls that she had just baked. As she was driving to Mapleton, she thought to herself, "I can't believe Alisa does this drive twice (really four times back and forth) every week." I told her it was worth it. Especially when you capture cute pics like the ones below. (Their dance costumes make for sweet dress-ups after their recitals...even little Oakley can get in on the action.)

Brooklyn's Spotlight

This past week has been a busy one. Between trying to keep up with the laundry, cooking, cleaning, running errands, homework, etc., I had to create a spotlight poster of Brooklyn for her 3rd Grade class "Star Student of the Week" program. Below is the finished project. (If you click on it, it will get bigger for viewing purposes. The original is poster-size 22" x 28".) Brooklyn took it to school yesterday and shared it with her class. It is now hanging in her room on display for the remainder of the week. Her classmates loved the photos and think that she was a very cute baby. Makenna's spotlight doesn't come around until February. Her teacher must have decided to go backward with the alphabet (last names), which was probably good. If I had had to do two of these simultaneously, I would have gone crazy...they take days to create. Anyway, thought I'd share. I'll post more later, as it is very late. I will have a few more pics to upload then. Good-night to all!

Sweet Advice

GRANDMA ASHBY-ISM
In keeping with tradition of adding "ism" onto the end of a person's name who has said something that makes me laugh, I share with you a "thought" from Grandma Ashby (Iris). She related to me on the phone yesterday (while checking up on me during hubby's absence), a time in her life that was just plain "crazy". She had 3 young kids with number 4 on the way; Dad was busy with his teaching job; they had house struggles, money issues, other stresses, etc. When she went to her next doctor appointment, he asked how she was doing. Upon hearing her "issues", he just shook his head and said, "Oh my...what are we going to do with you? Hmmm...I think you just need to take an 'I don't give a damn' pill." She chuckled at this response and has remembered it to this day.

So, Grandma's advice for me was to find 5 minutes in my day to escape into another room, throw up my arms and take my "I don't give a damn" pill. (Of course, there is no such pill...if there were...I'd need a lifetime supply. She suggested a sweet piece of candy.) Point taken...there are some things in life you can't control. It is those times when you need to take a step back, give yourself some "ME" time (even if it's only 5 minutes), take some deep breaths, realize there is nothing you can do about it, and plunge forward.

This idea of having such pill made me laugh hard, especially coming from my 80 yr-old mother-in-law. I appreciate her wisdom and will definitely take it to heart. (Now, where are those Jelly Bellies?)

Celebrity Look-a-likes

This is hilarious! I uploaded pics of Darin and myself to see which celebs we most look like. I think it's a bit of a stretch...But hey, if my hubby has Johnny Depp and Gerard Butler (Phantom of the Opera movie) on his list...I'll take it. I'm sure Darin wouldn't mind if I looked like Demi Moore. (Maybe I should dye my hair black, or go bald...hasn't Demi sported that "do" before? Hey, if there was a pic of Demi with a bald head, maybe it would come up on Darin's look-a-likes! Ha-ha-ha!)

Where does time go?

How does time fly? Where does time go when it's long gone? Why does it seem to go by faster when you are older? How can we slow it down? Can we ever get it back? Is there more where it came from? I wish we could save it up a little at a time (like in a time bank account), so that when we have family gatherings, vacations, important events, "good days", we could cash out on all those saved up minutes and make those "fun" moments last longer. But, unfortunately, it's impossible to "invest" that spent time. We just have to make the best of it while we are in the moment (and take lots of pictures to help us remember.)

This was a busy, yet fun weekend for our family as we celebrated Brooklyn's baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I can't believe she is 8 years old! It seems like yesterday that Brooklyn started Primary as a bright-eyed, busy-bodied 3 yr. old. Now, she is a member of the Church, has her own set of scriptures, wants to wear fancy shoes with heels to church, and carries a purse. Wow! The really scary thing about this, is that it won't be long before all the rest of my girls are 8, too. Time goes faster once one child has reached a milestone. The same goes for sending kids off to school. Once one starts school, it doesn't take long before your last is leaving for college. YIKES!

This year, Makenna started kindergarten. It seemed not too long ago that Brooklyn was heading off to school for the first time. I was much more anxious when Brooklyn started than when Makenna started. I guess it was the whole new idea that my oldest was heading out into the "great, big world" where she would have "experiences" that I tried so hard to protect her from during her first 5 years of life... teasings and tauntings, prejudice, labels, challenges, failure (not to mention the homework and germs that kids bring home to the rest of us). I just had to buck up and hold back the tears, knowing that there was nothing I could do about it. Luckily, I have found that not many of those "things" have come to fruition (yet); and that the important thing is to keep the bridge between home and the "great, big world" wide open, so that they feel comfortable talking to me about what's happening "out there". I can't "carry" my children through their life experiences, but I can help them and teach them at home, so they'll make good decisions, react appropriately, and get through the situations that come their way.

So, when Makenna (on the second day of school) said, "Mom, you can just drop me off. You don't need to walk me into my classroom anymore."...I didn't get as nervous. I didn't tear up. I wasn't so worried. I just took it as a job well done in preparing my little girl for her next big adventure in life...the "great, big world" of kindergarten. Go get 'em Makenna!

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

I know some of you have heard these already, but I had to document them anyway. I think you'll get a kick out of them anyway.

Makenna-ism
Makenna's new teacher was taking her down the hall after her assessment last Tuesday to see the speech and hearing ladies. She told Makenna that they were going to check her eyes and ears. Makenna said, "Oh, I know my ears are fine. I wash them everyday." Her teacher laughed and came to tell me about it, because it was so darn cute.

Dakota-ism
I was giving Dakota a bath the other night and she was trying to tell me something about Mike, but she couldn't remember the word for uncle. She said, "Hey, Mom, you know my...(long pause)..."Boy Aunt" Michael?" I giggled and told her the word was "uncle" and she continued with the sentence. (I don't remember what the rest of the comment was about.) Anyway, I was amazed at how her mind works. She couldn't think of the word so she found a very creative way to express it.

Oakley's Room

Here's a little something out of the "Ashby vault"...our little darling Oakley playing in her room. She shows off for the camera. So cute! Enjoy. (This is off of my little Sony camera, so quality is not the best, but still fun to watch. I edited it in i-movie first and the downloaded it to the OneTrueMedia site to share it. Cool, eh? I'm learning new things everyday.)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What's the capital of Montana?

So, I was sitting in Primary with Makenna (I'm one of her teachers) as class was winding up and an interesting realization came to me...

One of our visiting 5 yr. olds said out of the blue, "I know all the states and their capitals."
"Oh, that's great," said Sister Ash (the other teacher) "So, what's the capital of Hawaii?" "Honolulu," replied Ellie.
"Wow! What's the capital of Nevada?", Sister Ash asked.
"Carson City," Ellie said.
"Wow! I didn't remember that. What's the capital of Montana?"
"Helena," mumbled Ellie as she munched on her saltine cracker.
Makenna bursts in, "Oh, I know that movie. I've seen 'Hannah Montana' on T.V." (It's a Disney Channel original series about a girl who's stage name is the same as the title.)

O.K. ...I thought...Ellie, here, knows many of the states and their respective capital cities and my child can only associate "Montana" with a T.V. show. YIKES! If that's not a sad commentary on how differently these two children have been made to spend their summer vacation. Being a teacher by profession, I was left with a little pang of guilt, feeling that I had not worked with her or Brooklyn enough to get them ready for school. With summer nearly over, "coulda', shoulda', woulda' " is very appropriate.

However, I'm telling myself I shouldn't feel too bad. These past several months have been crazy for us. Keeping our family afloat has been accomplishment enough. And then I start remembering a couple experiences from within the last week. My teaching skills have not gone to waste.

As I continue to sub occasionally for the music leader in Primary, I often tell the kids that I know when they are singing with the spirit, because I get goosebumps. That means I can feel the Holy Ghost teaching me through their music. Last week at church, one of the young women played "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" on her violin. During the song, Makenna leaned over to me and said, "Mom, she's playing really good. Do you know how I know? I've got goosebumps on my arms." She had felt the spirit and I had helped her to learn how to recognize it. Nothing to feel guilty about there. And it didn't stop at that. Today, during another musical number, a child sitting behind us said, "I feel goosebumps. Their song is pretty." Hey, I must be doing some things right! How great it is to reap what you sow even if it is something as simple as helping a child's testimony grow.

So, maybe my daughters won't be the "brainiest" of their classmates; maybe they won't get straight A+'s - but, they will go to school everyday knowing who Jesus Christ is, that he is with them, that the Holy Ghost testifies of him. And they'll know all that because their mother taught them.

Capital of Pennsylvania, anyone?

New pics

I saw a cool slide bar on another blog showing favorite photos. So, I went to check it out. I uploaded a few of my recently edited pics and put them in the same format (slide bar - there's lots of different formats, skins, themes, etc.). Then I attached it to my blog. Anytime I make changes in my slide show, they will be reflected on my slide bar on my blog. Cool, eh? I just can't figure out how to shorten the white sidebar to the left so that the slide bar can stretch a little more and show more pics. But, until then, this will do. More pics will be added soon. Oh, you can slow down or speed up the "flow" of the pics by putting your mouse over the - or + signs respectively (or pause). You can also stop the flow by putting your mouse over the pic (the name I gave the file when I saved it comes up.) And, if you want to see the real deal, click on the pictures (or the "View All Images" tab) and another window will open with a gallery view of all the pics I have uploaded to the site. (You can choose to view them in the "Gallery View" or click on "Original View" to see them displayed in the format they've been set up in - in this case - a slide bar). Love ya!

If you're Happy and you know it...

So, yesterday was "melt down" day. Things have been extremely stressful at our house these last few months and I just had to vent. A famous movie scene played out in my mind...and I have to admit, I felt just like him when Howard Beale raves,

"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE! I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta' get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore.' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: [Howard screaming at the top of his lungs] "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

Hubby was the recipient of all my rantings. And I didn't feel much better after I was done.

As I drove around town afterwards while running errands still teary-eyed and fuming, I looked back in my rear-view mirror and could see my sweet little angels' faces sitting in the back. More tears flowed. Brooklyn's wide blue eyes, so full of wonder and life and hope. Makenna's peaceful countenance. Oakley was sitting quietly in her car seat. I wished that for just a moment, I could be them...untouched by all the chaos of life...uninterrupted by the worries and stresses. Then, Dakota broke out gleefully in song, "If you're Happy and you know it, clap your hands..." I thought to myself, "The girls are Happy. They are safe. They feel loved." I realized what a blessing it is that they are ignorant (in a good way) of all the "problems" and challenges we adults have to deal with on a daily basis. I've successfully protected them from all the "madness" around us, thus far. They are what is most important in life. They mean the world to me.

And so, to cheer us all up a little bit, and to see life through the eyes of a child, I am posting some paintings and drawings from the girls...

Brooklyn's watercolor...




















Makenna's watercolor...




















And, my favorite...Dakota's drawing of her Daddy.
(He was wearing an orange shirt that day.)

Ode to the "wipee"

Sundays, as usual, are crazy. I so wanted to get out the door and arrive at church on time, but "accidents" do happen. And, as usual, it always happens as you're walking out the door. Nothing a few "wipes" can't fix. I told hubby that if anyone asks what I do for a living, to tell them I'm a professional bum wiper. I've gotten pretty darn good at it. If I could get paid every time I wipe a bum...I'd be a rich mommy. (Alas, I'm "rich" in other ways). But, if it weren't for the "wipee", I don't know what I'd do. They are awesome! As my grandmother would say about anything nifty, "These are the neatest things since the paper bag." Ditto! I think I'll continue to have a package of wipes within arms' reach forever.

Anywhoooo, I'm in the process of "color-coding" and attaching "symbols" to each of the chillins. Beezer's is a BLUE FLOWER (because her middle name is Rose - a flower). Macaroni is a YELLOW SUN (because she's my little "Rae" of sunshine). Doda's will be a RED HEART (because Dakota is a Native American word meaning friendship - which describes her to a tee.) And Oakley's will be a GREEN LEAF or TREE (I haven't decided...because her name's origin is "from the oak meadow".) Somehow, this is supposed to make my life easier, but it just might complicate it more. We'll give it a trial run.

Onto our other adventures. Macaroni learned to ride a two-wheeler this last week. Daddy worked with her for just a little while and off she went...and she's still going. The next day she was riding in the dirt around the house and over the hills and into the field behind us. YIKES! She's a dare-devil. Just a few days later, she was showboating on her wheeler and went over a jump...only she crossed over it and flew a few feet in the air. Her wheeler took a nose dive into the dirt. She kept holding on, dragging her legs along side it until she could stop it. After Daddy checked to see if she was o.k., he gave her a high-5. I told him not to encourage that. Luckily, she wasn't too hurt, just a little shaken up. Makenna only scraped her knees and scratched her hand and was fine. She was off and running and going over jumps again within a few minutes. (Meanwhile, Brooklyn...putt,putt...was slowly traveling over a hill or two a couple of times...my little "wimp".) She's definitely not as brave as her little sister.

Off to wipe another bum.......

...O.K. I'm back.

I'm going to try and post a few pics now. I'm a novice at this blog thing so if you don't see any photos, it's because I haven't been successful. We'll see what happens. I need to find a way to post all the other fun shots I've gotten. I might just have to get myself to fork up $40 to get a membership with a photo sharing site that doesn't come with all the "extras" (ads and stuff). Anyway, until then...enjoy.

Welcome to Keylimer & Kin!

This new blog was created as a platform for me to share photos and fun with my family and friends. I hope it works out!