New glasses and new purse

I have realized the last several months that I can't read street signs from far away. I used to be able to. So after several weeks of deliberation, I decided to go to the eye doctor. And I learned that I needed glasses. So I got glasses. They've taken some getting used to, but I sure like having them. Here's a picture of what I look like with them.

Yesterday I was wasting time at the mall, and I found myself a new purse. Now I have been looking for a new purse for a while, but haven't been able to find one thats the right size and cute and has 3 pockets... I know I'm picky. But yesterday I found one and I love it. Here it is.

You may not like it. Thats fine with me. But I love it, and thats what matters.

March (okay, half of February too) update

I am a terrible blogger. I know. I don't need you to tell me. I do check other people's blogs, although I rarely comment on them, but I never take the time to compose things for ours. So I will write a few posts and add a few pictures. We went to Pocatello for spring break. It was GREAT!! We hung out with Granny and Gramps, went swimming, played with cousins, went to the temple, and of course played Mexican Train dominoes. It was so fun and a great vacation. I think sometimes when we take "vacations" we are so busy getting to certain places at certain times that we never really take time to relax. But we did this time. Of course, I forgot to take pictures because I always forget to take pictures. But I promise we had fun.

Chad got a new church calling. He has been the executive secretary for a little less than 2 years, and now he's the ward mission leader. He's really excited about it, because missionary work has kinda been stale in our ward, so he's going to do some stuff to hopefully get people more excited about it. He's going to do a GREAT job.

While we were in Pocatello, Claire decided that she wanted to start walking. So she's walking everywhere now. She can't run, but she sure walks fast. She has also decided to take over Natalie's toddler-sized bed. That would be fine, except that means Natalie has to sleep on the floor because we don't have a big bed for her yet. And she actually prefers the floor. I think she's been feeling crowded in the little bed.... Maybe one of these days we'll break down and get something comfortable for her to sleep in.

Natalie is starting to read. Even when I'm reading to her, she wants me to point to the words. My kids have inherited my love of books. She's so smart. I think she gets a little bored staying home with me during the day. She could start Kindergarten this fall, but because of her birthday she has to wait another year. But I'm going to put her in a preschool that I think she'll enjoy.

Caleb is doing great in school. He has a goal to read the whole Book of Mormon before the end of the summer. He's already somewhere in Mosiah. I think he's more dililgent than I am. I don't know how much he's actually get out of it, but I think establishing the pattern of reading regularly is as important as learning from it. Plus he's feeling the spirit of it. One day I asked him what he was reading about. "I'm not really sure. Its kind of hard to understand," he told me. So I asked him where he was reading. Jacob 5. The Parable of the Olive Tree. "Well, Buddy, that is really hard to understand for me too. Its okay." He's great.

Magical Cream

The following conversation took place a couple weeks ago when I picked Caleb up from school. He had eaten the school lunch that day.

Caleb: Today I had a chicken sandwich for lunch. Aspen (a classmate) told me to try that white stuff on it... What's that white stuff thats kinda like mayonaise? Magical Cream?

Mom: Um, Miracle Whip?

Caleb: Yes! Thats it. I tried it on my sandwich and it was SO good.

So I guess we have a Miracle Whip fan... although I do like his name for it.

Free Audiobooks

To find free audiobooks I just googled "free audiobooks." The site I've used is librivox.org. They have a 10 second thing at the beginning of each chapter, but its only 10 seconds, and you get the book for free. So go find some free listening!

The Influenza

This weekend I had the Influenza. I didn't go to the doctor and have the test done or anything, but I had all the symptoms. It was miserable. Caleb and I both had it, and all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and sleep. My entire body ached. I had a fever, a cough, and head congestion. I alternated between shivering and sweating for 5 days. It was horrible. Chad said he'd never seen me so sick. Today I am feeling about a million times better, although I have some lingering congestion. But today Natalie and Claire have started with the fever. Ugh. 5 more days of going nowhere. I am not exaggerating when I say that there have only been 2 Sundays since the beginning of 2009 when my entire family has been at church together. I feel like I'm going inactive. I am SO tired of being sick and having sick kids. Yesterday I started wiping all of our toys with Lysol Disinfecting Wipes. I'm washing all the sheets. Chad is cleaning the bathrooms. I've washed the door handles. What else can you do to eliminate household germs?

Loose teeth

Caleb lost his first tooth last week. Thus begins the first akward-looking phase of a child's life. But it begs the question--how much does the tooth fairy give per tooth? What does the tooth fairy do with the teeth once she collects them? Caleb was expecting a Thomas Train. I hope he wasn't too disappointed.

We've been busy

Things have been busy but pretty normal at our house lately, but I wanted to add some pictures so you can see some of the fun things we are doing.

Caleb's birthday was good. I wanted to do a birthday party, but I didn't want to have too many kids, and I didn't want to go to a lot of work. So Caleb chose 3 friends to come over, we made pizzas, they watched "The Little Rascals", and ate cake and ice cream. Then the kids just played for a little while before I took them home. (As a side note, that movie is so funny. I don't know if the kids liked it or not, but Chad and I sure got a kick out of it.) Since we had pizzas to eat, I made a pizza cake. It was really fun.

Chad's birthday came and went. We went out to dinner to On the Border, a sort-of Tex-Mex restaurant. Pretty good. Chad had the fajitas and they were quite tasty. Then we went to the mall and got Chad a new pair of hiking shoes. They are quite comfortable for him, which is good. Last night we were asked to go on the Trek with the stake youth this summer. We will be a "Ma and Pa" to a group of 8 kids, and we'll push/pull a handcart for 15 miles before hiking back into the cove. We'll be gone 3 nights, but, Chad's parents are going to watch the kids for us. We are really excited to be going. I can see how this experience can have a really important influence on the kids, and I don't understand how some parents can just not make their kids participate in this. I am so glad that youth activities weren't an option for us. I see so many of these kids choosing not to participate in these type of things, and they are really just missing opportunities to have their testimonies strengthened. So anyway, we are really excited to be going. I am going to make myself a pioneer dress with matching bonnet and apron. But I'm trying to decide if I want to make a dress or a skirt, and then buy a blouse, although I need to decide soon because its probably going to take me the next 6 months to get it made.

Chad and I went to a stake activity last weekend... It was a "Regency Ball." We learned several dances (think Pride and Prejudice type) and then went to the dance where people were all dressed up. Many of the men were wearing tuxedos, but Chad just wore a suit. I borrowed one of Erin's formals and dressed up. We had a fun time. (That makes 2 dates in one month!)

Chad and Caleb are taking tae kwon-do together. Its great for them to have that time together, and get some excercise. Caleb is really getting the hang of things--he doesn't have perfect technique, but he's doing great. He can even count to 10 in Korean. Last night they got their uniforms. We got Caleb's a little big so that he can wear it for a few years. But he is very proud of it.

The girls are doing okay. Natalie is really good about wearing her glasses. She loves preschool, singing, reading books, and dancing in her ballet class. Claire has been sick, it seems like forever. The other night her fever reached 104.4. The fever seems to be gone now, but she has a runny nose and lingering grumpiness. She might be getting her molars, but I'm not sure. She's becoming a picky eater, and she won't drink milk or formula. But she's so cute and makes us laugh with her busy-ness.

I'm keeping busy with preschool, YWs, spending time at Caleb's school, and all the other stuff. And of course reading... I have started downloading (free) audiobooks to listen to on the IPOD while I'm cleaning house. My dishes are usually mostly done now that I have something to occupy my mind while I do it. I listened to Jane Eyre last week. I love that book. This week I am attempting to get thru Emma, but I'm surprised to say its tougher to listen to because there is more dialogue. I get lost. But its still a fun thing to do.

Well I've gone on a long time. Just thought I'd share.