Lovejoy Family

Hot Springs

2011-08-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

To divide up the drive home from Utah we stopped in Glenwood Springs. After finding out that the traffic back home would have taken us 3 extra hours, we were really glad we stopped!
The diving board and slide were a highlight of the pools.

Wedding

2011-08-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

A visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa Rose started out the day. My fond memories of playing games and doing puzzles with Grandma were repeated for my own girls. Then we headed to Salt Lake to see cousin Elizabeth come out of the temple. All the memories of my own wedding day came flooding back. Seeing all of the brides made me realize I'm not 20 anymore. Really? I still feel like I am...OK, maybe not 20, but definitely not 30.

Then thanks to Uncle Jeff, Peter and I were able to attend the wedding luncheon. The girls went with Jeff to McDonalds and Kung Fu Panda. The girls asked if Jeff could go on every trip with us. I wasn't sure if it was because he is so much fun to be around-which he is- or if it had something to do with waiting outside the temple for 2 1/2 hours.

We finished the night with the reception and a fun day ended with cousins. We spent the next day with them before we left for home.

A New School Year

2011-08-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

This summer we would find the girls all snuggled together quite frequently. (Each of them does have their own bed.)

Now that summer has gone, although it really doesn't feel like it...It is back to school and these girls are very excited!

Hannah (7) couldn't be happier starting school. She loves her Spanish immersion teacher and thanks me every day for putting her in the program. Katie (5) who is in half-day kindergarten, loves the idea of going to school but actually going is a bit scarier. She has a hard time transitioning to new things. Luckily her teacher realizes that attention just causes problems to escalate, so they give her the time she needs to transition. I love that her teacher will do that for her. She comes home every day talking non-stop about her day. She has started walking with Hannah to school without mom and dad and that seems to be helping. Madi (4 in one month) was not so excited that her preschool didn't start for 3 weeks. She has an endless amount of energy, swims like a fish, and can usually be found in a bathing suit or leotard and flip flops. It has been fun to spend time with just her and see how cute she is on her own. All the girls love being with friends and jump at the chance to have someone over to play.

This will be my last school year with one child home all day since Katie is in morning kindergarten and Madi is in afternoon preschool. I am trying to soak in the time I have with them and use it so that I can give Hannah the time she needs.

So with just one daughter around most of the time, what am I doing with my time?

Teaching 6 classes/week, leading 1 run and coordinating Run Club at Life Time Fitness
PTA President at the girl's school
Compassionate service leader at church
Helping Hannah practice Suzuki Violin
Reading with the girls for 40 minutes every day-20 minutes with Hannah/20 minutes with Katie and Madi reads to me as I pass out on the couch
Reorganizing all of my closets and cupboards-it is going very slowly but is lookin' good.

I am still managing to cook a handful of meals a week (usually in the crockpot) and keeping things presentable though not always bright and shiny at home. So, if there is not another post for quite some time you will know why!

Peter's work is keeping him busy. He has seen some major improvements in his speed and ability in the past 3 years. Owning your own business comes with many struggles but he seems to be taking them in stride. Peter's humor is definitely a plus in those more trying times. We are so blessed to have healthy children, time to spend with each other and sufficient for our needs.

I love being surrounded by family, friends, the school, teaching, church and the neighborhood. I love having so many great people be a part of my life. If you are reading this-you are definitely a part of my life! Thanks for the impact you have made on me, the memories we have shared, your smiles, and your friendship!

4th of july

2011-08-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Annual Pancake breakfast followed by parade!

Gilroy Gardens

2011-08-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

June included a trip to see my parents in CA over the Father's Day weekend. We spent a day at a theme park nearby. The greatest part about small theme parks like these is that you get to ride the rides as much as you want and you don't have to wait in lines for too long. Some good friends--the Kendalls--joined us for the day. The kids absolutely loved being with old friends. It totally made the day. Thanks for making the trip to spend the day with us Travis, Jenn, Gloria, Grayson, Cami and Livee!

Hannah and Grayson on the swings. I remember the swings being one of my favorite rides as a kid. Now as an adult I had to pass the last few times. The kids rode this ride more times than I could handle.

What kid doesn't love to drive a car!

Peter and Travis and the kids

Grandma and Madi

Katie with Grandpa-getting ready to ride the swan paddle boats.

Grandpa and Grandma Rose's house is famous for the snails. The girls look forward to hunting for them when we visit. This time was no different, although Hannah's "bravery" seems to have increased.

We also visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Sunday was father's day. It has been a long time since I have been with my dad on Father's day. It was great to be with him. He took the next day off to fill and throw water balloons with us in the yard. I think we must have tied balloons for 3 hours. Thanks for the memory Dad!

Great Sand Dunes

2011-08-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

We started out the summer with a trip to the Sand Dunes. Uncle Jeff came with us. We were so glad to get to spend some time with him. We played in the water run off, hiked to a waterfall, camped for a night and then Madison fell on a cactus. She wasn't too happy after that, so we decided to head home.

Christmas Creche

2010-12-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

Since Hannah was sick tonight, Katie and mom bundled up and headed to the Creche exhibit being put on at the church. We had some hot chocolate to stay warm and watched a live nativity, then headed inside to see all of the nativities that had been donated. Katie had a great time taking pictures of lots of them. Then we made a trip to the store where Katie got to push the cart! Katie and I don't have lots of chances to be together one on one so it was a great night for both of us.

(Pretty decent photos for a 4 year old.)

Who doesn't like a chocolate nativity. This wouldn't last long in our house.

Sleeping Beauty

2010-12-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

It isn't very often that our kids fall asleep in positions like this, so I had to get it on camera. Poor girl-I should have known something wasnt quite right if she would fall asleep at the kitchen table. She ended up waking up sick in the middle of the night.

Air Force Volleyball

2010-12-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to an Air Force Volleyball game and it brought back so many memories. If you have only known me since post high school days, you might not know that my life pretty much revolved around volleyball. I played for school in the fall and then played club the rest of the year and usually attended at least one camp each summer. There were plenty of social events I gave up to go to tournaments on the weekend. As I look back I realize that Volleyball is one of the palces where my confidence grew. Well I haven't touched a volleyball in years and actually it is porbalby best that way. I would just be disappointed in my lack of skill now. What a fun game to watch! I hope we get to see a few more.

Lady Antebellum Concert

2010-12-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Peter and I attended a Lady Antebellum Concert in Denver with our friends Dan and Cumorah. To me Lady A sounds a bit more rockish than countryish in person. Great Concert if you ever get a chance to see them in person. Guess who's going to be featured on my next spinning class playlist?

Farewell Cousin Mitchell

2010-12-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

We got to spend a weekend with cousins to celebrate the upcoming mission of cousin Mitchell. We "cooked" in the garden, chased after the pigs and rode the ponies.

Thanks for spending your last few days at home with us. You are going to be a fabulous missionary Elder Hyde!

Summer

2010-10-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

It was a fun filled summer...
with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa,

a trip to the North Pole (a local children's amusement park), playing with friends

lots of hiking, playin int he water, hunting for bugs and frogs

a 4th of July parade

Airplane museum

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a wonderful Father's day today as a family. We topped it off with Strawberry Cream Trifle

The girls wanted to dress up in thier fancy dresses, so we took some pictures. It was a beautiful day.

Strawberry Cream Trifle
1 pound cake (frozen and thawed) or homemade
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 (16oz) frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 (8 oz. each) blended strawberry yogurt
1 pkg (3.4 oz) cheesecake instant pudding
1 (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine fresh and frozen strawberries in bowl. In another bowl, whisk lemon juice, yogurt and pudding mix. Fold in 1 cup of the whipped topping.
To assemble alternate layers of cake, strawberry mixture, and yogurt mixture. Top with whipped cream.

Summer Time

2010-06-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Now that it's summer I have to find a few more things to keep my kids busy. They love to cook and so I bought a lot of peppers when they went on sale and my girls spent an hour dicing some up. It's safe -I promise-as long as Madison has a plastic knife.

Having a Ball!

2010-06-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the latest treasures from Grandma Lovejoy. It was only going to get blown up once, so we had to share the fun with friends. The kids had a blast pushing each other around in it.

HairCuts

2010-06-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

THANKS for the skirts Grandma!!!!

Aren't holidays fun?! Here is Hannah's class on their way to put valentine's all over the principal's office. This has to be one of the best kindergarten classes. The kids are always very well behaved and so quiet for kindergartners and I know that they aren't always this quiet at home!

Happy New Year!!

2009-12-31T15:39:00.000-08:00

Children's museum

2009-12-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

We spent Saturday afternoon at the children's museum.
The girls played in the store

Built with dad

Painted

Worked at the Vet

Then they got to spend a couple of hours with cousins at Grandma Lovejoys. How much better could the day get?! Hannah was in heaven!

Our christmas tree cord-A little ridiculous?!

2009-12-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

After putting 5 of these tags on in the factory, the guys must have thought, why not a few more?

It's Beginning to Look a little like Christmas

2009-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

I fall in love with the Christmas season more and more every day as I see our girls get excited about EVERYTHING.
While the girls were on Thanksgiving break...
We set up our tree

Hannah made a special treat for our family night with M&M's and a beautiful decoration she had made with some of my scrap paper. Only a mother can appreciate such beauty in a 5 year olds creation!

Hannah and Katie painted some wooden ornaments

We made star sugar cookies and then with our extra sugar cookie dough, we added cranberries, walnuts and white chocolate chips. YUM!

Fun with Dad

2009-11-30T18:50:00.000-08:00

Peter made a work bench and let the girls help stain it. He won the Best Dad Ever award that day!

Halloween

2009-11-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

Hannah Fairy and Katie Cat. Couldn't catch Madi for a picture

Surprises at Parent Teacher conference

2009-10-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year-parent teacher conferences. Did you have anything surprise you when you went to your most recent parent teacher conference?
Well, this was my first parent teacher conference of formal education, if you don't count the one I went to last year with Hannah's preschool teacher. I really like Hannah's teacher and am pleased that Hannah seems to be learning some new things and making great friends. It is nice to know that Hannah is well adjusted and having no problems in school. I was surprised however to find that one of the required shapes for the year was the Rhombus. What?!! By the end of the year Hannah should be able to recognize what most of us know to be a diamond as a rhombus. I don't remember when I learned that, but it was probably Geometry, so maybe freshman year of high school, although I'm sure I had to have been introduced to it earlier, but surely not kindergarten. I have been very impressed with Hannah's school and I think she is perfectly capable of learning what a rhombus is, but when Hannah has her testing at the end of the year, is rhombus going to be the first thought that comes to their mind when she sees a diamond? I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

A Fun Filled Summer

2009-09-13T18:22:00.001-07:00

We have had a fun summer, so fun that I haven't managed to blog for the past couple of months so here is a recap of what kept us so busy.

I painted the pillars and one wall in our front room and am trying to decorate the mantle in our family room.

Planting a caring for our garden that didn't fare well after too much hail.

I trained for a half marathon that I didn't run due to an injury I got with one of my feet.

1-2 hours of pool time each day (weather permitting-it seemed to be fairly cool this summer with a lot of rain showers in the afternoon, so we didn't see the pool as much as we would have liked.

Las Vegas for Peter and Kim: all expenses paid trip included airfare on a private jet. We saw the Blue Man Group, Cirque de Soleil "O", Jersey Boys, The Bodies Exhibit, and ate a lot of really nice food.

Flying W Ranch where we saw a horse being "shoed", Indian hoop dances, ate a chuckwagon meal and watched a show. One of the highlights of the summer. The girls keep asking when we can go back again.

Buckskin Joes railroad and cowboy town by the Royal Gorge. Not worth the money or the drive by me, but the kids had fun with their cousins and the scenery was beautiful. I'd like to go back if we could go hiking or white water rafting.

Canning Peaches, Pears and Peach Jam: Yum-Yum, We'll see how long they last.

Hannah started Kindergarten and Katie is in preschool. They both love school and we have all enjoyed the time that Mom has with each of the girls by themselves. Hannah and Katie are in a soccer clinic for a couple of weeks and love it.

A whole new world

2009-07-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Lately, every time Madison eats yogurt, she takes the first few bites with the spoon portion of the spoon and then switches to the other end. It must be a whole new world to eat with the other end of the spoon, because it happens every time. I finally was able to catch it on camera.

Photos of the girls

2009-06-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally posting some new stuff. Thanks to Joyana we have some new family photos. I love the ones of the girls and thought I'd share a few.

Dinner ideas

2009-06-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

My sister is trying to make a recipe book with photos, so together we are compiling the things we make each day with photos. If you're interested in some cooking ideas, check out our recipe blog at http://rose-myrecipes.blogspot.com/

This was our dinner tonight (spaghetti pie, french bread and a green salad, along with a sour cream cake for dessert (pictured on the blog).

SALIDA

2009-06-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Peter and I spent the day together in Salida last week. We rented some quads, which only made Peter wish even more that we had some of our own, but without a truck to haul them or a place that we could drive them, he'd be pushing snow with them all winter and the next thing you'd know he'd be riding them on the lots behind us, which we have seen people do, but also know of people who have gotten in trouble for that.
It was a great day. It was beautiful. Even despite the rain, mud, and cool temperatures. Who would you guess is the speed demon?

Yep, Kim has the need for speed. Peter enjoys the scenery at a nice pace, but Kim likes to go fast!!!! So if you ever want a fun activity, let us know and we'll come along.

How do you like our renovations

2009-05-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

We are getting a new driveway today. After moving into our house, we realized the driveway was covered with footprints. We had to wait until it was warm enough for the concrete to set really well and this is the week. We wanted to make sure that if we ever sold our house, the new buyer wouldn't want us to replace the driveway due to the footprints. It is a very pricey venture. Now we should be covered.

A Good Laugh

2009-05-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

We were going to have pancakes for dinner and we have a mix that we make up and use. Peter put the mix in a bowl and I added an egg, some water and oil. They seemed kind of thick so Peter added some water. Then he tasted them and said they were weird. I just mixed up the mix this week and we had it once already. I took a taste and spit it out. They were gross. How could the pancakes taste so bad? Then I looked in the cupboard and started laughing. Peter had used wheat flour instead of using the mix We weren't fans of the wheatcakes you see below.

This is what a good pancake looks like. Here is the recipe we use. It is really tasty!
Wheat Pancake Mix
6 cups wheat flour
1 cup sugar
3 cups white flour
¼ cup baking powder
1½ cups powdered milk
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups shortening
In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. With pastry blender cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal in texture. Store in airtight container. Use within 10-12 weeks. Makes about 13 cups.

Wheat Pancakes
1 egg, slightly beaten
1½ cups water
2¼ cups wheat pancake mix
Combine egg and water. Stir in wheat mix until just moistened. Cook on hot oiled griddle 3-4 minutes. Makes 15 (4 inch) pancakes.

Peter went on Hannah's school field trip to the zoo and took Katie along as well. They had a great time.

2009-05-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

They can be such good sisters when they want to.

The girls helping plant seedlings for our garden.

Can you tell someone is having a good sunday?

Children's Museum

2009-04-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the Children's Museum in Denver. The girls had a great time, so if anyone is interested in taking a trip there with us, let me know and we'll plan a date.

Hannah built a car with Grandpa Rose.

The one and only place I'd attempt painting with Madison.

Hannah's all-time favorite spot for the day was in the grocery store and restaurant counter.

Madison

2009-04-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

These shots are a perfect depiction of Madison at this time in her life.

She is always up for adventure. We're never surprised to find her climbing up/on something.

She loves food. Two spoons make eating twice as exciting.

She's going to get every drop of that homemade chicken noodle soup!

Spring Break

2009-04-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

We had a fun visit by Grandma and Grandpa Rose and Aunt Kristen, Uncle Shawn and Cousin Parker for spring break. We tried to get a good shot of all the cousins together. It was rough, but we managed to get a good shot of all the kids with grandma and grandpa.

Happy Birthday Hannah, Kim and Katie

2009-03-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

We had a week of birthday fun celebrating Hannah, Katie, and Kim's birthdays with some friends and family. We've had enough cake to last us until May when we will celebrate Peter's birthday.

Happy Birthday Hannah, Katie and Kim

2009-03-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

We had a fun week of birthday fun. Hannah and Katie were able to celebrate with some friends and then with both sets of grandparents. We are all partied out now, until May when we will celebrate Peter's birthday.

A visit from Grandma Rose

2009-02-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

It was so fun to have Grandma Rose come visit. We didn't do a lot of special things, but we had a very special time with her as she played and snuggled with each of the girls. I was so glad to have her here, since it let me spend some alone time with each of the girls that I don't always get to in the rush of the day and mess of the house. I was even able to go to Hannah's science day at school and volunteer.
Thanks for coming Grandma!!!

Lysol Rebate

2009-01-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

You can get a $5 Rebate when you buy 2 Lysol products and take your child to the Doctor, so if you have plans between January and March to take your child to the doctor, take advantage of this rebate. You can print out the form at
http://lysol.com/pediatricianrewards/pediRewards08.pdf
or if this doesn't work for you, just google: "Lysol Rebate with doctor visit".

Madi Monster Makes a Mess

2009-01-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

How could something so cute, make so many messes? Madison is into climbing and destroying anything and everything in her path. She is up on top of the table every time I turn around and she will find food, no matter how well hidden. It is a good thing she is so cute!!!!

How many kids are you going to have?

2009-01-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

The other day Hannah and I were chatting while Katie and Madison were asleep. Our conversation went something like this...

Hannah: "Did Anna's mom have to go the hospital to have her baby taken out"
Kim: "Yes"
Hannah: "I'm not going to have any kids. Maybe Katie will want to have some kids"

Just 2 weeks prior Hannah told me she was going to have 5 or 6 girls when she was a mom. I wondered why she had had a change of heart in about 2 weeks time, so I asked Why. Hannah told me she wasn't going to have any kids because then she would have to go to the hospital. She truly is my child==I try to avoid/get out of any pain as quickly as possible. Maybe she will be blessed like me and have what I consider to be relatively easy deliveries. I'm grateful my pain tolerance goes up during that time in my life.

FREE photo album from HOORRAY

2008-12-29T07:56:00.001-08:00

So I tried out the Free photo album that HOORRAY is offering. I got the 34.95 album for free. Just enter THANKUALBUM and FREESHIP in the promotion code. You will have to enter one at a time. You might also have to enter in your billing and address information 2x even though they are the same. I'm not sure how long the promotion lasts, but my guess is it is through January 1. You should give it a try. Just be prepared to spend a bit of time. It took me about 4 hours to complete my album with pictures and text. You can change the layout and colors on the right hand side. Just go to www.hoorray.com

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

2008-12-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

Hannah was a shepherd for her school program.

Santa's Personal Visit
Santa (Grandpa Lovejoy) made a visit on Sunday. The girls were very excited to see him, but wouldn't normally be interested in visiting with a stranger Santa. Madison wasn't quite so sure who the jolly man was.

Nuts

2008-12-15T14:53:00.001-08:00

I don't seem to have much luck with nuts- One of Peter's classmates in dental school often came to our house for dinner in Ohio. Once I forgot that he had a nut allergy and I made something with nuts, I think they were muffins, but now I can't remember. He went home a little itchy that night. My dad is the same way, so I really am sympathetic to nut allergies, but since I have none of my own I often forget. Just yesterday I fed a peanut M&M to a child at church who had a nut allergy and I even had been told he had allergies to them. Thank heavens it was not life threatening.

The new suggestion is to not give peanuts/peanut butter to your child until they are 2. Katie gave Madison a great head start in that department by giving her a Reese's peanut butter cup when she was 5 months old. I tried to keep peanut butter away from her until she was one, but I gave up after that. She loves peanut butter sandwiches. Today she cried for about 2 hours. Whenever I can't figure out what is wrong with my little ones I always blame it on teeth, which maybe she is getting a few new ones. Nothing would pacify her until I gave her a big spoon of peanut butter. It did the trick! Personally I am a big fan of peanut butter. I think I ate more peanut butter sandwiches when I was pregnant with Katie than I had my entire life. I usually ate 2 or 3 before noon. It was the only way to keep from feeling super sick.

So, if you ever leave your kids with me or we invite you over for treats or dinner and anyone is allergic to something, remind me every time. I won't be offended.

Thin Mint Cookies

2008-12-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we made homemade thin mint cookies. They remind me of the girlscout cookies. You just take Ritz crackers-or the cheaper store brand version and dip them in melted bark chocolate that has a few drops of mint extract (It is not an exact science. You'll just have to taste it.) One year I tried to get fancy and drizzle some white chocolate in stripes over it. I thought it was way too much work. This year we tried sprinkles on top, but we needed different sprinkles-ours were too see through. These are definitely a favorite.

We also made peanut butter balls but all of them were eaten before I took a picture. I have some of the balls that are not dipped in chocolate yet, so I'll take a picture when we get around to dipping them. Here is the recipe for those. What a great way to use some of those Rice Krispies we are stocked up on.

RICE KRISPIES PEANUT BUTTER BALLS
2 c. peanut butter
1 stick butter, melted
1 (1 lb.) powdered sugar
3 c. Rice Krispies
1 lb. chocolate, melted (suggested Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate bits)
Mix first 4 ingredients; roll into balls; dip into chocolate.

We had a great morning before church today. Everyone was very cooperative. Hannah even picked out her own Matching Outfit. Yeahh!!!

Today

2008-12-12T17:36:00.000-08:00

Today we made one of our favorite treats that we traditionally only make around the holidays because they are sooooo good, you can eat soooo many, and then feel soooo sick.
Just unwrap Rolo candy and place on top of a twisted pretzel. Place in 200 degree oven for a couple of minutes until chocolates are soft, but not totally melted. Then place a pecan on top and smash the rolo slightly. YUM YUM and soooo easy

CANDYBREAD HOUSES
So that is Hannah's name for Gingerbread Houses, which she got to make at school today. Here she is with her good friend, Allie from school.

SAFEWAY CEREAL for $.29-$.50

Until Tuesday Safeway is having a deal on Kellogg's cereal. When you buy 5 you get $5 off your purchase. If you combine it with recent coupons from the paper (I believe there were 4 coupons in one paper for $1 off plus you can print 2 coupons out from the Kellogg's website-print one and then press the back button on your web browser.
The cheapest are the cornflakes that will be $.29 and then up $.50 for mini wheats, rice krispies, etc. I actually managed to get my hands on 25 coupons for the cereal, so we stockpiled 25 boxes of cereal for $12.50. Sweet Deal! You'll have to ask me if we have any left in a couple of weeks.

Santa's Sweeties

2008-12-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Santa's sweeties that live in our house. I couldn't believe that the girls would actually put on dresses for the Church Christmas party, but it was Hannah's idea.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

We went to Peter's parent's house for Thanksgiving and Katie and Hannah wanted to stay the night. So this is the project that I worked on while they were gone. I was trying to copy something I saw on the Pottery Barn website. You can check it out here- http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/am450/index.cfm
I misplaced one of my boards so for now this will have to do.

I hate sickness

2008-11-23T16:08:00.001-08:00

So we've been pretty non-existent from everywhere lately. It seems like someone has a fever, yucky nose, pink eye or needs a handful of trips to the bathroom each hour quite often for the past week. But we are hoping that we are on the mend. I was loving Colorado and how my kids seemed to be able to get better all on their own without a trip to the doctor. Well, we managed to not have to go to the doctor thanks to some eye drops from a friend and we are hoping to enjoy more friends and outings for the holiday break. My goal for my kids this week is for only one of them to wake me up one time in the middle of the night. One night this week I think I slept an hour-not in one session either. I have had less sleep than I do when I have an infant.

Chucky Kong Pie

2008-11-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

Chucky Kong was Peter's least favorite missionary food. It was a little bit of everything and I mean everything a family could find to put in a dish for dinner-it was not limited to meat, bread, dairy, vegetables, fruit.
Well I made my own Chucky Kong Pot pie tonight and it turned out great-It must have been good because there was none left and Peter didn't use BBQ sauce on it.

Here is the recipe-all the ingredients were leftovers

2 pork chops cooked with season salt and cut into small pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 can corn
1/4 cup beans
1 can veg-all mixed vegetables
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
1 pie shell(cooked)
1/2 cup red pepper chopped(only in half-the girls don't like them)
cheese

Mix all ingredients together and put in pie shell. Top with cheese and cook at 350 until hot.

I've been tagged. Seven things about me

2008-10-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

1)I'm a good friend. At least I like to think that I am. I can keep in touch from far distances. I'll do something even if it is an inconvenience for me, because I truly love my friends and hope they love me back. NOTE: I don't remember birthdays or any date for that matter (I missed my own anniversary one year). So if you want me to remember your birthday, you have to remind me the day before.

2)I love to workout. I have to exercise at least 5 times a week or I start to go crazy.

3)In my dreams I could go to an icecream shop and try a sample of all of the flavors and then decide which flavor I want in a cone (not a bowl). I'm just a bit indecisive.

4)I'm predictable-very much a creature of habit.

5)I thrifty or I try to be

6)My favorite sound is the laugh of my kids and husband.

7)I am very blessed-I have a great family, excellent health, and no pressing worries beyond those of the normal day grind.

I tag Emily Hansen, Whitney Heap, Jennifer Kendall (whenver you get around to it)

Crockpot Tinfoil Dinner

2008-10-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

I was trying to throw something together for dinner tonight. I had a few things in my fridge that I needed to clean out and this is what I came up with. I was a little worried it was going to be a flop, but it tasted great I don't love frozen beans, but in the crockpot they turned out nice. The meal reminded me of a tinfoil dinner.

Crockpot Tinfoil dinner

1 lb ground beef cooked
5 small potatoes washed and cut up (skins on)
1 package Lipton beefy onion soup mix
1 lb package baby carrots cut up
1 cup celery cut up
1/2 bag frozen beans
salt (I like lots of salt)

Taco Bell-Free Taco

2008-10-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

Taco Bell is giving away free tacos today from 2-6. For more details check out their website
http://www.tacobell.com/stealabasestealataco/

Giveaway

2008-10-28T06:14:00.001-07:00

So many blogs have free giveaways and I was thinking about what I could give away on my blog and I've come up with it...
I'm giving away an hour of cupboard cleanout in your home. Here's the deal: I'll let Madison come to your house for one hour and I guarantee every cupboard you want emptied will be. So anyone whose interested, let me know. This morning at 6am Madison emptied our cereal cupboard and dumped Raisin Bran all over the carpet. She did help clean up (eat) all of the Raisins. She left the flakes for me. It's all yours for one hour this week!!!!

Making Money at Walgreens (Deals 10/26-11/01)

2008-10-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

So I have been following a few other blogs and trying to figure out how I can go to Walgreens and not spend a penny. Well, today I finally did it-at least I will have after I get all of my rebates back. I actually will have made $6.15 and I even bought 2 things of sidewalk chalk for my girls with no rebate. Yeah!!!!

So if you clip coupons here are a few deals you can find there...

Loreal age Perfect Moisturizer Procal 19.99-free after Easy Saver rebate (ESR) and $2 walgreens coupon (RP 10/05)
Almay One Coat Mascara 6.99-free after ESR + $1 Almay coupon (10/12 SS)
Thera flu Warming Medicine 6.49-free after mail in rebate and $2 coupon
Listerine sale 5.49-buy2 and get 5.50 RR (register rewards) +2 (.75 coupons)
Puffs tissue .99 in store coupon (limit 2) plus 2 (9/28 PG) coupons .25 They expire 10/31!!!
Sidewalk Chalk 2(1.00)=2.00

I used $8 in RR (Register rewards) from a previous trip
Total OOP: 34.01

Rebates: 29.67 ESR+5.50 RR+4.99theraflu rebate-OOP=
PROFIT 6.15

Who ya gonna call?

2008-10-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

GHOSTBUSTERS!

This weekend we went to Coffin Races in Manitou Springs. Carrying on the tradition of a woman who was carried up the mountain to be buried, many businesses and other groups built coffins and raced a woman inside up the hill. My favorite coffin was a hollowed out log, pushed by some dwarves. I didn't manage to get a picture of that one. There were tons of people, but we had a fun time and saw all kinds of interesting people. Hannah commented on all the different colors of hair we saw.

We also stopped at a park nearby to let the girls play. It reminded me of the All Children's Playground my mom would take us to as kids.

Dad's Nite

2008-10-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hannah had dad's night at school this week. They carved pumpkins, ate icecream and gave their dad's a picture. Hannah's picture said "I'm batty over dad because he runs with me". She had a great time and talked about it every day.

Best Deals in Colorado this week

2008-10-24T11:15:00.001-07:00

Albertsons
Powerade-buy 10 get 5 free. This makes them .53 cents each
Hansen's Apple Juice .99c limit 2
Bananas .39c/lb

Walmart
Bell Peppers .50c
red grapes $1/lb
Red/bartlett pears $1/lb
Butter 1.99

ALL YOU magazine

2008-10-19T10:42:00.001-07:00

The freebieblogger.com is giving away a 2 year subscription to ALL YOU magazine-filled with tons of coupons.

Winter is coming

2008-10-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

We have had a few cold days, but they seem to be interspersed with some really nice days that make me love Colorado. I captured a few pictures of Madi while we were playing outside. She is a full time walker now.

Silent Sleeper

2008-10-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

I few months ago I posted a picture of Katie falling asleep sitting up on the couch during a time out. Well it happened again, just a little differently. I gave her a snack to eat and when I came back in the kitchen she had fallen asleep next to her nectarine. This is a first. My kids love to eat and when it comes to food they will give up most anything for it. I guess she was tired.

Saving Money-free doll giveaway

2008-10-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have gotten into couponing lately and I'm still trying to stash up a store of coupons to use in the future, so anyone out there I see before your coupons expire, you can pass them on to me. One of the sites I frequent is
http://thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com
She is doing a giveaway for a doll this week, so if you're interested, try it out.

My favorite things that happened today

2008-10-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

In no particular order...
1)I gave the girls icecream after dinner, each in a cone of course with sprinkles on top. I never liked sprinkles but they sure make most kid's day. After handing Madison her cone, she would giggle every few seconds. It was the sweetest thing. She probably had 1 Tbsp of icecream in the top of the cone. She'd put her fingers inside and then put it up to her mouth, covering her nose so that she had a chocolate ring around her face. Her little giggle made me smile.
2) My great friend Jonelle called today to tell me the gender of their upcoming twins-a boy and a girl. Congratulations Cripe Family
3) Our computer is functioning. Last night we thought it would be making its way to the dumpster, but through the help of a neighbor it is working great. I wish I were more technically savvy.
4) All of the girls behaved amazingly the entire afternoon and evening (Maybe it had something to do with the icecream.)
5) My house almost looks clean (minus all of the laundry that needs to be put away) Hannah cleaned up all of the toys today.
6) I had a great visit with one of my neighbors.
7) My lettuce didn't freeze last night because I remembered to cover it up with a sheet.
8) Hannah told Katie, "That is an adult job, like for a 4 year old or something" I'm going to try and use that one next time I need some help.
9) I'm grateful for all of my freedoms, for my family, my home and all of my blessings. To support marriage and Proposition 8 visit http://www.preservingmarriage.org/

Helen Hunt Falls

2008-10-10T10:58:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Grandma Rose for making a visit to our house. We all had a great time. One day we went on a few hikes, including one up above Helen Hunt Falls.

Madison's first birthday

2008-10-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

So here is finally a picture we took of Madison's first birthday.

I also thought it would be fun to post what each of the girls looked like at their first birthday.

Top: Madison
Below:Katie & Hannah

Update

2008-09-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

So I needed to update. We are doing well. Peter had this afternoon off so we went to Manitou Springs and walked around (a little family celebration we pretended was for Madison's birthday which is today. We just needed a little family time away from home). The girls thought it was great. It is a tourist trap full of trinkety stores and the girls had a great time seeing different sales on the sidewalks. I failed to take the camera so no pictures (sorry grandma! You'll get your fill of us next week.) We felt like we went on a trip, even though we were only gone for about 2 1/2 hours and were less than 30 minutes from home. We topped it off with some icecream from Sam's club. It has to be the coldest icecream I have ever eaten. I gave Madison a taste and she got the worst look on her face and almost started to cry. She never cries when we feed her ice cream. I'll try and post a picture of her tomorrow. She is tons of fun. She loves being outside. She can walk, not really great and she doesn't prefer that mode of transportation right now. Crawling is just too fast. She is really speedy. She throws fits when she doesn't get what she wants. She likes to hit your face when you hold her. She gives kisses, claps, and likes to imitate her sisters when they scream.

Activity Day

2008-09-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

I'm help with the activity days for the 10-11 year old girls at church. Today we talked about modesty and made modest dresses out of newspaper and duct tape. The girls came along with me and we made a dress for Hannah. She wore it home and sat so still and quiet for about 15 minutes so she wouldn't rip the dress. Maybe we should do this more often!

A good Start

2008-09-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hannah started preschool last week. Today she told me, "You picked a great preschool mom". She loves every minute there and only wishes that she could stay all day. It usually takes an hour from the time she gets home to realize that there is only mom and Katie to play with.

Katie also has had a great start to potty training. I can't believe how lucky I am. We started potty training on Friday and she hasn't had any accidents for the past 2 days. She won't go to the bathroom on a big toilet, but luckily our church and YMCA have small toilets for kids. I think I need to install one in my house.

The girls having a great time together.

A good Reminder

2008-08-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

This week our FHE focused on Prayer:what we say when we pray, how we pray, all the things we can pray for. We read a story about a little girl in the friend who was frightened and decided to pray. We talked about how we can pray if we are sad or happy. Later in the week, Madison was sad and I was trying to console her. Katie walked right up to her and said, "It's ok Madi, Jesus will help you." I'm so glad that I have the gospel to teach my children.
In preparation for a talk I have to give tomorrow I was reading through some of the talks from April's conference. Elder L. Tom Perry said, "I believe that if we could create in our minds a clear and true picture of eternal life, we would start behaving differently. We would not need to be prodded to do the many things involved with enduring to the end, like doing our home teaching or visiting teaching, attending our meetings, going to the temple, living moral lives, saying our prayers, or reading the scriptures. We would want to do all these things and more because we realize they will prepare us to go somewhere we yearn to go." Sometimes I have to be prodded. I think if my scriptures looked to me like my messy house did, maybe I would read them more often!

I want to be a vampire

2008-08-23T18:01:00.001-07:00

So I've been reading the latest book in the Twilight series: Breaking Dawn and I've decided that I want to be a vampire. According to Stephenie Meyer's account of vampires, they don't need to sleep and my list just doesn't end of things that I could be doing instead of sleeping. Today I was able to attend a Super Saturday for our ward. It was a lot of fun to get to know a few people a little better. While I was gone Peter headed to his parents with the girls so that they could have fun with their cousins and so he could work on a project he is designing to get his office more organized. I'll try to include pictures of it later. They ended up staying at grandma's longer than planned and I had 3 hours of time at home to get what I wished was tons of stuff done. While I did do all of the laundry (at least the washing and drying part), I mopped the bathrooms, organized FHE for the week, and updated our budget, there are still a million more things I need to get done. I'm trying to Treasure the doing a little bit more and the getting done a little less.

Seeing Friends

2008-08-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

While we were in Utah, we were able to see some old friends. It was great to see Garrett, Leah and Dani Gross; the Maner family, the Pyne family, Whitney Heap and her boys and Kristy Heaton and her kids. I wasn't great about getting pictures, but I managed to get 2. Thanks to everyone for making some time for us to see you!
Top: Brynn Bottom: Shayla, Cole, Katie, Hannah, Madison, Cooper
Heatons, We wish you the best of luck in Texas! Come visit us in Colorado.

Whitney and boys, Kim and girls-Although my girls had never met Whitney's boys, they had a great time playing while we got to visit.

Road Trip

2008-08-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

In all of living have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed not just endured.-Gordon B. Hinckley

The girls and I set out on a trip to Utah this morning. I was prepared to endure about a 10 hour trip alone with the girls. I wasn't even sure how I was going to use the restroom without another adult with me (I should have thought to bring a stroller for Madison, but it was just another thing to pack.) We started out early and left Grandma Lovejoy's in Denver at about 6:30. Sadly, I was the first to have to use the restroom, so after winding down the mountain about an hour we stopped at a gas station where I hoped they had a clean restroom. As I opened the van door, Hannah threw up the bag of cheesy sunchips she had chosen for her breakfast. I was almost ready to turn around and go back home. It would only be about an hour and a half back to Peter's parents and then I could make the 1 hour trip home whenever I wanted. After watching Hannah, Katie threw up the same breakfast. I wasn't sure I could make it all the way to Utah with that smell in the car. I decided to push on since it seemed like the windy roads, the quick change in altitude and the fact that the girls were watching a movie was the culprit of the first less than pleasant event of the trip. Hannah's excitement for the trip quickly faded and every 15 minutes she asked if we were almost there. She started to cry and say she wanted her dad. My prayer out loud while I was driving seemd to help a little and a few funny songs on a cd changed her gloomy spirits for a while. We stopped at a McDonalds playland for about an hour and then all the girls fell asleep for the following hour. Then we stopped at a park in Price, UT and made it to my Aunt Sherries around 5. It wasn't a bad trip since I was going it alone and we really wanted to support Grandma while she graduates this week! The girls had a great time playing with our cousin's dogs and swimming in the pool this evening. They really were angels once their feet hit the ground. The saddest part is that I don't think they will ever remember the trip, at least I don't have any memories at their age and I'll have noone to reminisce about the drive with.

Our Yard is Finished!

2008-08-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

We ar emissing the street tree, but other than that, the yard is done. A week after it was completed, it started to rain a lot, so we are having some issues that need to be fixed in the back-so envision it without the tarp. My attempt at a very late garden. The lettuce seems to be doing the best, we'll see if anything else grows. Next year will be better.

Finding some Consistency

2008-07-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying life in Colorado and trying to get to know more people. In an effort to get some consistency in my life (I'm a creature of habit) I started exercising every morning before anyone in the house wakes up. I got a job at 24 hour Fitness and right now I'm just subbing classes there until they open a class for me. I also got a job at the YMCA where I will be teaching 1 class 2 mornings a week. On Mon/Wed/Fri I run with a neighbor,Michelle, or I try. The elevation here has me feeling like such a wimp. I get breathless really easy and I feel like I run at a tortiose pace. Michelle is really fast and she usually ends up leaving me at some point in the run. Lucky for me she injured one of her legs so she has slowed her 7 minute mile pace to almost 8. She asks me at least one time every morning if I can run a little faster. For most people running with someone like her just wouldn't be fun, but she is one of the first friends I have made here and I figure maybe I'll get a little faster if I run with her. Michelle took me on a hike up the Incline (it is the initial climb up to Pike's peak). It is 1 mile almost straight up. I think it is a 60% incline, then we ran a 4 mile trail down. The next 2 days my quads were dying. I felt like I had done lunges all the way up the mountain. The view was beautiful and next time I'll take a picture.

Peter's Passion

2008-07-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

I noticed that Peter's notoriety on our blog is pretty nonexistent, so I thought I'd give everyone a glimpse into Peter's life right now. He is loving his job and I will spare you pictures of that. When he is not working, he is daydreaming about what our yard is going to look like when it is finished. The day the rocks were dropped off at our home, Peter called 5 times to ask how the yard was coming and to ask if I had seen the huge rocks that had been dropped off. I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference in the yard the first day. He is in love with the Rocks, which is a good thing because we have a lot of them in the yard. (Colorado is a desert and xeriscaping is a great way to conserve water. I couldn't give up grass completely, so at least 1/3 of the yard will have grass for the kids to play on.)

Originally we had planned on doing most of the work of installing our yard. Then we looked into it a little more and found out we would have to get a permit just to install a sprinkler system. (We were perfectly happy to put sprinklers on the lawn, but our HOA requires an installed system. Now we understand why that doesn't fly here. The people who don't have sprinkler systems don't water and their yards turn to dirt and weeds). After speaking with a landscaping company, it turned out the labor was the cheaper part of the landscaping. While Peter thought it would be really fulfilling to do the yard himself, I thought the few hours we had him home would be worth the price. We have had 5 guys working on the yard for 10 hours of the day for the past week and they will probably have about one more day of work left. Needless to say, I'm glad we paid for the work to be done. Otherwise we would probably not have a yard for at least another year.

We have spent a lot of time visiting stores to find plants to put in the yard. The plant part is something we wanted to do ourselves. We hit the plant season perfectly. Most stores are discounting their perrenials now so we have gotten most of our plants for 2 or 3 dollars. While I'd like to think I will get some say in the layout of the plants, I've pretty much given up hope on that. Peter's converted me to tall grasses. I used to hate them. They reminded me of these grasses we had when I was growing up. I thought they were ugly and they would cut your hands if you ran your fingers on them. Peter has a good eye for things like this and I am sure our yard is going to look great. I love that he has found a hobby to keep him busy and happy when he is not working. We'll post some pictures when our yard is finished. Right now we are waiting for the sod certificate that was suppose to be in the papers when we closed on our house.

Look at the size of that Rock!

Trouble

2008-07-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

I came home from the grocery store the other day to find Katie and Hannah in a time out on the couch because they had been fighting. Our kids are not the type to fall asleep just anywhere, so I was surprised to see that Katie had actually fallen asleep.

Despite the girls ability to fight constantly, they can be pretty good friends for about an hour of the day.

Today Hannah and I made a pie together to share with some of our family. After taking the pie out of the oven I went upstairs to give Madison a bath. When I came back down, Katie had something in her mouth. I asked her what she was eating and then I looked on the counter. The beautiful pie was just within the reach of her little hand. Katie is notorious for doing things like this. We talked about always asking Mom if she wanted something. She just looked at me and stared. Later in the day she kept telling Hannah, "we always ask mom if we want someping".

A different kind of Tag

2008-07-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Memory Lane...the tag that gets everyone involved
I got this from my friend Laura's blog. I thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along. Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Garden of the Gods

2008-07-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

Mike (Kim's brother) is an avid rock climber and has all of the equipment, so we headed to Garden of the God's for an afternoon of climbing and hiking. It has been a few years since I have gone rock climbing and my last climb was a little scary. I wasn't sure I was going to make it.

Have you ever been kissed by a giraffe?

2008-07-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

-Hannah didn't want the giraffes tongues to touch her. She preferred feeding the baby giraffes.
-You would have thought Katie fed giraffes every day. Cousin Parker too.
-Uncle Jeff won't need hairgel for a few weeks.
-And Uncle Shawn will forever be able to say that yes, he has been kissed by a giraffe.

One Spoiled Face

2008-07-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

Hannah is eating up every minute with her grandparents. We went to the zoo where she fed giraffes, rode a pony, rode a train, rode a carousel, pet a bearded dragon, and saw hundreds of animals. When she was asked what her favorite part of the day was, she responded "the chocolate ice cream".

Colorado Family Reunion

2008-07-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

Kim's whole family joined us in Colorado for a family reunion.

Today we went to
Seven Falls.

Hannah and Katie even climbed the 244 stairs up to the top of the falls and back down again.

One of the highlights of the day was all of the chipmunks we saw. Hannah and Katie loved spotting them and then seeing how close they could get without scaring them away.