Our weekend

First of all I lost 2 pounds!! Total=4. I was a little bad this week... I need to figure out some sweets that won't kill all of my points. I am thinking jello and pudding with cool whip! I also weaned little Brooke. I was supplementing all the time and I was just tired of the fact that I couldn't produce enough. Oh well.
I will tell the rest of the weekend with the pictures. :)

Ahhh! Isn't she so cute?! Well, I officially boxed up all of the 0-3 month clothes and pulled out the 3-6 month stuff! It's about time...she is almost 5 months! So cute, huh?! I bought this for Tori at the end of her wearing this size and it was too small for her after she wore it once. I think it was meant for Brookie! Looks great with her coloring.

Anyway, I had to get the girls all cute because we went to a game night at a friend's house (we are making friends!!!). We went and had treats and played Scotland Yard. It was fun! There were 6 adults and 6 little girls!

Tori had to wear her Elmo outfit. I hate the way they size these things. She got 2 outfits one in size 24 that fits her just right with some room to grow and then this little shirt is 36 months and barely fits. I think it might be because I put a shirt under it...modesty starts early! Anyway, Tori was a little scared this time with everyone at the game night, but she loves our friends' play room because it has a pretend kitchen! Anyway we had a lot of fun with both families!

Tori's "Easter Dress"! Thanks Grandma Frann for the dress and the Elmo outfits! You are the best!!!

Oh the blur! And a hug.

It is hard to get a picture of Tori...her hand is in the way, or I get this...CLASSIC!

Don't let the angel fool you! She turned 23 months! Only one more month as a 1 year old!

Ahhh! Brooke and me! She wore white. This dress is beautiful. Lora's sister in law, Katie gave it to me.If I ever have a bigger baby girl she will wear it to be blessed in!


I know...blurry! But look at Brooke's cute faces!

Here is a Brooke photo shoot! I did some in black and white to take away the blur...they turned out cute.

with a little color...oh what I could do with photoshop! (But that is way out of my budget!)



So yesterday I left the baby on her playmat and went about my business. I came back to find her about 5 feet away crying because she had rolled herself to the rocker and couldn't go anymore! Ha ha ha! I can't believe she already is rolling across the room! I think I am doomed to have a mover and a shaker way earlier than Tori was!

I don't know why, but I really like this picture! She is getting so big!

Random Sampler

Wow! I am not posting until Thursday! That explains my free time! I have been really busy lately with the ending of one calling, the beginning of a new one and then stuff around the house, visiting teaching and the lawn!
A lot has happened since the last post...let's start with last Thursday. I had my last assignment as Activity Day Leader. We had the girls' Recognition Night. It was a lot of work (3 hours at least of cutting blankets to tie) but they sure turned out really cute. The girls and their families had a lot of fun making them. I will miss those cute girls, but good thing I will still get to see them at church!

Activity Day Girls and the cute blankets we made! Back: Lindsay, Abby, Izzy, me, Kourtnie, Brittanie (the last two are identical twins and I always have to guess their names....), Brittanie (she is one of the other leaders). Front: Katie, Paige, Kaitlynn, Lexie and Lexie's friend.

We got ourselves a Wheel Barrow! Saturday it was outside work day. We let the inside of our house take a weekend off (literally both the outside and the inside of the house needed cleaning, but we chose to work outside this week...you can only do so much!) You may be asking yourself why there is a little boy munchkin in the wheel barrow too. Our good friends the Braithwaites came up for a sealing (Daniel served his mission in Boise) and we watched cute little Jacob (he is just under two months older than Tori). They both had a blast outside especially when Jason gave them rides in the wheel barrow!

Our job: pick up all of the willow branches, mow the lawn, pull out the Forget-Me-Nots (I think the last owners thought they were a good filler, but they spread like weeds and literally were all over our flower beds! We still have some work to do and I was on them for 3 hours!!!), mowing, and spraying weeds! That is not even half of what we have to do outside, but it is a start!

Aren't they both so cute? Ready, set, GO!
Then Monday rolls around...I am out all morning visiting teaching and when I get home I get a call from my sister explaining that my mom has had a mini stroke! I think that my mom is a magnet for health problems, but we now know why...Tuesday she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis also known as MS. The doctors believe that she has had the disease for 8-10 years and has been treated for the symptoms and never diagnosed for this long! I immediately went to wikipedia to look it up (click on the link above and it will take you there), and sure enough the symptoms describe my mom's suffering over the years! This mini stroke was the key to unlocking the mystery and I think that my mom will be better treated now. It is genetic (20% or 1 in 5 members of the same immediate gene pool may have it) and it has no cure. With MS you are treated for the symptoms (sore muscles, bad nerves, depression...etc.) but it has to do with a deterioration of the myelin sheaths in your brain. All in all I feel really at peace regarding this diagnosis. I really hope that the doctors can work together and help my mom with a good "cocktail" of medicine that will help with what she has been suffering with over the years! The stoke did cause some mild damage: her handwriting is "horrible" as my mom describes it, one of her legs is a little limp and she drags it a little, and her speech is a little slurred. She is doing well and the Spirit is comforting her and she is being really brave!I love you mom! and I wish that I could be with you! If only money grew on trees!
But life must go on. I went to a YM/YW combined activity last night. It was an Etiquette Dinner. It took a lot of preparation, but it turned out great and I think the kids had a blast! Who wouldn't like an activity with a whole dinner and dessert! I LOVE the ladies that I work with. Oh and I was asked to be the Camp Director's Assistant!

Here is a cute picture of Brooke. she is so fun! Tori is having a lot more fun with her too! It is cute to see them play (when Tori doesn't hit her in the process...where did she learn that?!). Oh and week 1 on Weight Watchers: lost 2 pounds... if I had an elliptical machine it would be way more! One day!

Brookie's 4 Month Stats

I didn't write these in the last blog...I forgot. So here they are:

She is 12 pounds 6 ounces
22 1/2 inches long

Sorry, I don't know the percentiles. I forgot to ask...I am guessing she is small because she still fits in 0-3 month clothing! She weighs exactly as much as Tori did and she is 1 1/2 inches shorter! But I am not exactly sure about that one. The nurse's measuring isn't that accurate. The first time she made a line she was 24 inches (which is exactly Tori's stats at this age) and the second time she was 22 1/2! Maybe I will measure her and then it will be official!

A New Calling and Our Backyard

So I got a new calling. I used to be the Activity Day Girls' Leader, and now I am the Young Women Secretary! I am so excited!!!! This is my first time ever in a YW calling and I am so lucky to be the secretary because I am not assigned to a specific group, I just get to go and hang out with whatever group or go where I am needed! And I get to go to Girl's Camp too and I already have babysitters! Thanks Gwen and Dennis (good ol' Grandma and Grandpa Dinger! I had to book them in advance...you never know about those travelers!)
I joined Weight Watchers on Saturday so get ready for hot Kendra soon to be appearing on the blog! :) I wanted to wait until I get the elliptical machine that I have been dying to get since we were married, but they had free registration so I went for it. Too bad I started on Saturday (the day when Marie sent me chocolate covered macadamia nuts from Hawaii!!!). So I started off the new program with 46 points on my first day! (I am only allowed 32!) Ha ha ha! Wish me luck and hopefully you will see a new healthy me soon!
Well, this week is a busy one. Monday I organized myself in my new calling and got everything I needed on my computer and such. Tuesday I had the Relief Society Birthday Dinner and service auction. I got a plate of Cinnamon Rolls and a knitted towel with my 170 tickets and my dinner and game night sold for 195 tickets! There were even a lot of bidders! I am so loved! Tonight I have Mutual for the first time. Tomorrow I have my last Activity Day Girls' Recognition Night and Saturday we have a ward Pasta Potluck! I think that the ward decided that it was a good week to get everything done!
Funny story: I was thinking that this would be a great weekend to go out in the backyard and get some yard work done. Then it snowed on Saturday! Crazy weather! It has been in the 50s and 60s since!!! I guess it was not to be! We also wanted to visit with some friends of mine, the Howells, but we just couldn't coordinate a time to get together! We have 2 kids and they have 2 and between naps and activities, we just couldn't get together. Our Saturday was so crazy that I didn't even get to my Costco run until today! So, sorry Emily and Danny! Maybe next time!
Well,on to the pictures! They are from one our new favorite pastimes: playing out in our backyard and patio.

This is how Brooke does the great outdoors: in her playpen with toys. It was still a little chilly, so she just spent an hour in the nice air, feeling the breeze and taking a snooze!

Miss Tori loved exploring the yard again. Now she isn't as afraid and walks a lot better on our not so level grass!

Sticks and leaves (she calls leaves "eves")

Oh...this is a left over pile of leaves from the fall... ha ha ha! She loved them!

Ahhh...the curly willow tree (Tori calls it a "ree"). It is where Bobby and Bob (Tori's pet squirrels) play. In the first picture she is trying to find Bob and in the second one she is pondering the joy of nature. She is so philosophical!

Looking up!


Jason likes this one because he says it looks like the tree is a hand holding her.

Chasing her new Sesame Street ball, yet another present from Grandma Frann's Target shopping spree!

And lazing around on the patio with sidewalk chalk! What a fun 2 hours! She only watched an hour of Sesame Street that whole day! (Oh...and when I write her name she listens and I say "T" and she says "O" and then she sometimes says "R" and then I say "I". So cute huh?) She also sings a new Sesame Street song. It goes "ah ah ah ah ah ah ah apple. buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, bubble." She is such a hoot!

Hope you see all 4 Blogs!

Sunday photo shoot! We dressed the girls in their matching dresses (Tori and Livy wore these once upon a time when Tori was in the small one!). I hope that you see all 4 other blogs! Click on these links below and they will take you there!
The zoo!
All about Tori
All about Brooke
Fun shots of Brookie:



Getting a shot of the two of them was crazy...

First they were on opposite sides of the couch...

Then Tori didn't want anything to do with Brooke

Tori's look...constipation?!

I think this one is so fun!

This one is the cutest, and even with flash it is blurry!

Prepping for my close -up! Check out my cool hair!

Ahhh!

And a rare one of Jason and me! (It took us 4 takes!)
ENJOY!!