If the potatoes poison us...

One of these days I really will have some new pictures to post--but we just haven't taken any lately. But Natalie keeps saying funny things, so I have to post them. The latest was our dinner prayer tonight. I made stir fry for dinner. Ours is pretty plain--consisting of chicken, noodles, and potatoes. When Natalie was Kelton's age, she loved this meal. A few months ago she started refusing to eat it at all. Recently, she has started eating the noodles and sometimes the chicken. She all out refuses the potatoes. In fact, she won't eat any potatoes at all. (unless they are french fries) So here is Natalie's blessing on the food:

"Dear Heavenly Father, we're thankful for this day. Do not bless the potatoes. Bless the noodles. In the name of Jesus Christ amen."

FHE--Strike 2

Okay, since last week's family home evening went so well....Natalie is at it again. Tonight it was her turn to say the opening prayer. Here's the gist of how this one went. What Natalie said is in red and what I said to help her is in black.

Natalie: "Dear Heavenly Father, we're thankful for our blessings. (Then unintelligible stuff that included the word 'barbie' somewhere in there) (We're thankful for our family) Help us to get presents. (help us to be reverent) Help us to get presents. (Help us to be reverent) Help us to be reverent. (help us to listen) Help me to get presents. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Apparently, Natalie has one thing on her mind right now. Ask and ye shall receive, right?

Easter FHE

We had a home evening about Easter tonight where I hid an egg with a picture of Jesus in it for Natalie to find and then we talked about what Easter is really all about. Here is our ending conversation.

Me: "So Natalie, is Easter all about candy or is Easter about Jesus?"


Natalie: "Candy."


Me: "No, Easter is all about Jesus. The candy is a lot of fun, but we have Easter because of Jesus. Natalie, is Easter about candy or about Jesus?"


Natalie: "Candy."


Nate: "She's not paying attention to you. She's just kinda doing whatever."


Me: (taking Natalie's face in my hands and looking right at her) "Natalie, Easter is not about candy. Easter is about Jesus. We like to get candy at Easter, but Easter is all about Jesus. Natalie, is Easter about candy or is Easter about Jesus?"


Natalie: (very definite) "Candy."

Oh well, we will try again next year...

ANOTHER new table

Like I said before, we've spent a lot of time lately at American Home's going out of business sale. One of the first times we went in there, we saw a table we really liked. We've been wanting a new table for a while now, but there was nothing wrong with the table we had, and we figured we would just wait until Nate finished school. Anyway, this table was still there every time we went back. As the days went on we started thinking more seriously about it. We finally offered a price for it--$500--which they refused and told us the lowest they could go was $675. Its regular price is just under $2,000. So we decided against it. But the table was still there day after day and we finally decided after looking around to compare prices that there was no way we would find a deal like this again for a table of this quality and size (5 ft plus a leaf and 6 chairs). So after days of debating, we bought the table. I listed our old table on craigslist and had it sold and gone within a few hours. (I had so many people call and email about that table, it was crazy!) It was a glass table that we bought when we got married and I am so glad to have it gone. It was impossible to keep clean. (Sorry about all the pictures--they are mostly for my mom's benefit. I've been talking to her a lot about the table. Also, the wood is not as dark as it looks in the pictures and there is one more chair still in the garage and the leaf too.)

Sometimes you just gotta cry

Kelton's been having a rough time lately. I don't know what's up but he seems to be crying a lot lately. We always take pictures of our kids when they are happy and smiling, but when he was crying the other day, he just looked so cute so I had to take a picture. He does this cry sometimes and the face he makes is just so cute. His eyes get wide and he pulls his eyebrows together and sticks his bottom lip out. It lasts for a few seconds before he starts all out crying. I didn't get the camera quick enough to get a picture of that face, but this will do.

New table

We've been at American Home's going out of business sale a lot in the past few days. They had these really sturdy little tables for sale for really cheap. I think they were used as display tables for lamps and such. Anyway, we decided to get one for Natalie's room. She is always monopolizing our kitchen table with coloring stuff and puzzles and more puzzles. This nice little table was only $36. So today I rearranged Natalie's whole room and put the new table in it. She was so excited. She sat down and just rubbed her hands across it. Then she immediately set to work on some puzzles.

Just playing

Nate pulled out the camera and took some pictures of me playing with the kids the other day. I thought they were cute so I figured I would post them.

Okay, so I don't think this one is too cute, but Nate really liked it...

I was touching Kelton's face with Natalie's barbie and he thought it was hillarious. He was so grumpy he was just crying all the time. I'd touch him with the barbie and he would laugh and then he would go back to crying like two seconds later. Crazy kid.

Nate said Kelton wasn't too happy about the flash on the camera from the picture right before this one, and this is the face he got.

Goodbye to over 13 inches!!!

So, I've been wanting to cut my hair for a long time now. And now I finally did it! I wasn't going to last through another hot summer of blow drying my hair every few days. I was so ready to have it gone--it was always being pulled by every member of my family (including myself) and a few days before I got it cut, I actually burned it on the stove while I was cooking dinner. We are in Snowflake this weekend so I had someone here cut it for me. I'm still trying to get used to it. I haven't had bangs since my Junior year in high school--so that's a bit different. The after picture isn't real great; you can't really see the layers. The picture makes it kinda look like its all one length, but it's not. Anyway, I had over 13 inches cut off. I'm not sure that I really love it, but I am glad to not have it long anymore.

Before

After

My Beautiful Princess(es)?

So the kids were having fun playing outside today. (For those of you who don't know, Tucson was the hottest spot in the whole nation yesterday-91 degrees! Insanity!) It was pretty hot today too so I realized that my kids probably needed some kind of protection from the sun. (What month is it again? I forget.) Kelton has a really cute U of A baseball cap so I tried to put that on him. He wouldn't have it. It would barely be on his head before he was ripping it off. So I remembered that we had an old flowery hat of Natalie's from when she was a year old--and it has ties. I knew he wouldn't be able to take it off. So without dad here to protect his son's dignity, I won the hat battle. After I got it on him, he just looked so cute that I had to take a picture, especially because he was just smiling away in his girly hat.

Bowling

A few weeks ago Natalie went bowling at her cousin Bryce's birthday party. She had so much fun. Although, after I showed her how to throw the ball down the lane, she immediately proceeded to run down the lane to chase the ball. She actually got about five steps before she slipped and sprawled out on the floor. She was so confused and then she was scared when she realized that it was too slippery to get back up. I felt so bad. I didn't even think about telling her not to cross the line to chase the ball. It just didn't occur to me that she would! (Yes, I admit, I should have known better.) Kelton had a lot of fun too. He loved the ball rack and watching the balls come back. He was entertained with the ball rack for almost the full hour we were there. It wasn't until the very end that he started making a run for the lanes.

These last two pictures I had to put on because I think Natalie just looks so pretty in them. I really love this first one. She just has such a beautiful little face even when she's not smiling. And she is just looking so grown up. I asked her the other day if she could stay little and be 3 forever. She told me, "No, I'm getting bigger. I have to be 4." So sad. But I guess that's the way it goes.

Fun in Primary

So just real quick I wanted to post a conversation I had with Natalie last Sunday after church. Oh, how this little girl keeps life interresting. And just in case you can't figure it out, Edison is a little boy in Natalie's class.

Me: " Hey Natalie did you have fun in Primary today?"

Natalie (not really paying that much attention to me): "Uh-huh"

Me: "What did you do?"

Natalie (looking up at me with a michievious look and sly tone of voice): "I kissed Edison. Right here. (pointing to her cheek) And Edison kissed me right here." (pointing to the other cheek)

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY TEACHING THE SUNBEAMS??? :)

Marker Face

As I was waking up this morning, Natalie came and got into bed with me. Then Kelton woke up and started crying. As I was getting up, Natalie said, "Go back to bed momma. I will go get my baby brother. Go back to sleep." Kelton always stops crying when she goes in to play with him. So I figured, why not? Well, I will tell you why not. Because when I got up a few minutes later (because it was much too quiet) and opened Kelton's door, Natalie very rapidly slammed shut a drawer of my craft stuff that she is not supposed to play with. Then I looked at Kelton, smiling a huge smile up at me with black marker on his face. And marker on his hands too. I have to say that the normal reaction would probably be to get mad, but I thought it was pretty funny. I had a hard time not smiling or laughing as I explained to Natalie that we don't color on each other. (She also had marker on the back of her hands.) I also discovered that washable markers are not as washable as I would like them to be. Oh, well. I guess it will all come off eventually--and it could have been much worse (or funnier!).

**Update: Okay, so it was a bit worse. I just discovered that the black marker was actually a Sharpie. (permanent marker, yes.) I got it off of Kelton but have now found that she scribbled all over the crib bumper and a little on the crib slats. I don't think any of that is coming off. Not so funny anymore...

Kelton is 1 year old!

Today is Kelton's birthday. I can't believe that he is already one year old. He is such a happy little thing. He loves being able to walk and loves to laugh at his sister--as long as she isn't making him cry. :) Happy birthday baby!

New toys

Cake

5 Years!

On January 2nd, Nate and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. How time flies. We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate. We did go out to dinner, although we did take the kids too. Pathetic, I know, but I can't bear to spend $20 on a babysitter to then go out and spend $30 on dinner. So this year, just like all the rest, the kids came too. But hey, at least this was one anniversary that I didn't spend being pregnant! (okay so it was technically the 2nd one, but still)

So in our 5 years....

We have moved only once--from Tucson to Sahuarita. One of the best decisions we've made. While it takes Nate longer to get to U of A, we love living here soooo much more.

Nate has been in school and is STILL in school. (1 1/2 years to go and then never again!)
He finished his undergrad at UofA and is now in law school there.

I have done some schooling, worked at Wells Fargo, taught piano lessons, and now have settled into just staying at home with my kids.

We have had the joy of bringing three children into the world; Natalie (3 1/2 yrs), Kelton (almost 1 yr old), and Kaitlin-our angel baby who would be almost 2.

We've purchased three cars--04 Dodge Stratus, 04 Ford Focus, and 07 Dodge Durango. And we sold the Stratus to make way for the Durango.

We haven't traveled much but have sure seen a lot of beaches--Rocky Point, California, Bahamas, and Puerto Rico (technically before we were married)

Christmas

Okay. So here comes the overload of pictures from our Christmas holiday. We spent a week in Snowflake with our families and had a lot of fun. We loved Christmas but were a bit disappointed when Natalie reacted to absolutely NOTHING that we got her. It was really sad. But we woke her up at 7:00 to open presents and I don't think she felt very good. She would just open a present, look at it, and then put it aside with no change in facial expression on every single thing that she opened. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when we massively deprive her of sleep on vacation and then wake her up before she's ready. But, she loves all of her stuff now.

So it managed to snow everywhere in the white mountains except for Snowflake. Show Low got quite a bit so one morning we went up to Melanie's house to play in the snow. Natalie had soooo much fun. She knows what snow is, but being a Tucson baby, she really has never seen or played in it. I thought she would get cold after a few minutes and want to go inside. (This is my child who runs for her blanket when the air conditioner comes on in the summer) But that wasn't the case. Who knows how long she would have stayed out there if the rest of us weren't freezing and wanting to go inside. She was having too much fun throwing snow at grandpa.

This next picture is Kelton and Hudson. I think the idea was "let's get a cute picture of the two boys in the bucket." I don't think the two boys approved very much. But I still think this picture is cute.This is Natalie being waiting to be an angel in the Webb nativity scene.

And here are some random ones of the kids. Natalie wanted a dog and she got the only one I was willing to get her. There are also some pictures of new Christmas outfits.

So this is another thing Natalie got for Christmas although she didn't get it until after we got back because we sure weren't strapping this onto the car. She's totally outgrown her toddler bed so we bought some bunk beds. She was so excited to get a "bigger bed."

And I just really like this picture. Maybe it's just because this is what they both do when I get the camera out--they attack me. I expect it from Natalie, but even Kelton charges when he sees the camera. I don't know if the picture shows up big enough to really see this, but I love to look at their eyes. You have really brown on one side and the bluest of blue on the other. You've got the dominance of both mom and dad showing through. Who would have thought...