The BEST little 3 year old...

Can I Just post the pics and be done!? I think YES today.

Chels had on a pair of yellow Mr. Potato Head glasses and carson joined in. Too bad his sister wouldn't let me get a good pic of them together.

Stoked after riding his first roller coaster @ Sea World

Don't they look happy to be on a ride?! Yeah, Looked pretty boring to me too!

"Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam!"

He got a cut just under his nose and insisted on a band-aid...that was the night before! I could not believe he kept it on all night! Plus he looked so goofy, I needed a photo

I love him more and more every single moment! He is such a cool, cute, loving, adventurous little man!

My Toddler Girl

It is true, she is no longer a baby. It makes me want to cry. She is so independent about some things its a little scary. Note the pool sequence....

My Chels is a happy thing. She loves to laugh and makes me laugh at her laughing---ah hem, let me clarify. I am pleasantly surprised at what she finds to be funny and I can't help but laugh at what she finds humorous.

This was sent to me by my dad when he was watching them for a week in  April. Made me smile to know that they are my happy goofy kids...even when I'm not there.

She loves to accessorize with random things. You can't see it all, but in the above picture she has a regular outfit on, then a rash guard, swim bottoms, swim diaper, one rain boot and a rubber band bracelet. We consider this to be a normal outfit for her lately.

She will be officially 20 months old on June 12th. That is how old Carson was when she was born! That thought is CRAZY! Both kids are definitely ready for a new baby to come to our house. Carson asks regularly when (he) is coming. Chelsea has become VERY interested in caring for her baby doll. Pushing the doll in a stroller, wrapping it up in a blanket, and smothering it with kisses. Hopefully sooner then later we will have a baby in our house again, but until then, my little Chelsea GOO will just have to keep being my baby--so she better stop growing up!

Women's Conference 2012

Loved everything about this trip!

-Conference
-Girl Time
-No kids :-)
-Family Time
-Games
-NEWBORN!! (my little nephew Holden)
-babies
-best friends

Borrowed material

My friend Chantal wrote this on her blog and I wanted to remember it so I am posting it on mine. Thanks CHAN!

"Our Mortal Memory...or Lack there Of"


Do you know why it is so scary that our kids grow up so fast? Its because we forget... we forget the sound of their little giggles and the jibber jabber they carry on so constantly. We forget how they tuck their head down, scrunch their shoulders up and lean when they are trying their best to run. We forget how they point their toes so dainty like and spin circles why dancing like princesses. How they were in complete awe the first time they spotted an airplane out of the sky and have since been scanning the sky for flying creatures. We forget how big they honestly think they are when in our eyes they are so tiny. And how it feels to snuggle  and rock them to sleep or when they crawl in bed next to you in the middle of the night. We forget how it breaks their hearts when we tell them that something they did might make Jesus feel sad. And how squishy their little baby fingers are. We forget the joy they find in simple things like running or jumping or singing. We forget the words to all the millions of songs they make up as they sing all day long. And how they scraped their nose up after tripping over a rock because they would NEVER drop all the flowers they had been picking while hiking. Or how they cry for each other when they know the other is upset or hurt. We forget the way they tease when they are so little you would never believe they are already that clever. We forget how helpful they are and how funny, how sweet and how grumpy, how giving, how innocent, how loving, how easily frightened and how dependent. And even though we write these things down and take pictures... we will never REALLY truly remember them exactly how it was. I sincerely hope that God gives all those memories back to me when I reach the other side.

It is Time...

Time to blog again!

Wow, how time flies when you're living life. We really don't have much to report. A few things here and there but whatever it is that we do with our time...it sure keeps us busy!

I'm not at my home computer so pictures will have to come later. But maybe a little timeline will do.

March 3-13
         David and I went to Argentina. The kids stayed with my in-laws. The trip was filled with lots of hiccups. It was good though. Definitely an adventure for the books. (more details to come with the pics)

End of March
         Lots of swimming, A visit with our cousins, a lot of new recipes tried (thanks to pinterest), and some crazy storms.

April
        General Conference. My family came for a nice 24 hour visit. I'll take what I can get but it definitely was NOT long enough.

         Easter. It was a quiet weekend. Just David, me and the kids. They loved the egg hunts!

See...not a lot to report. My Chelsea is growing up WAY too fast! I am constantly amazed at what she is able to do by herself. She uses so many words together and is very good at communicating. Sometimes it is loud and annoying...but hmmm, she is her mother's daughter--Stubborn & insistent. Now, her insatiable curiousity is a little more hard for me to place. She has begun to pass it on to her brother too. Needless to say, I have two very busy toddlers to keep track of. Speaking of.....


......til next time.

11? about ME

Okay Chan, I will be happy to humor you. Plus, I thought your questions were interesting.

1. Were you named after someone and if so whom? Malerie Elizabeth...My middle name is my dad's grandmother's middle name. I only knew her as a baby.
2. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Are we using the term 'friends' loosely? I guess when I think of friends its like how close-knit my friendships were in highschool. I don't seem to find a lot of those in my adult years. But Anyway, yes I believe I would be friends with me. It would depend a little on what type of person I was. As long as I loved to talk, talk, laugh, watch movies, not shop, talk, and laugh some more...then yes, I would be my friend.
3. What is the first thing you notice about people?The way they talk and their expressions while doing so. If people are animated and interesting when they interact then I'm interested. If they're dull, quiet, or never move their face into any new expressions then I wonder what sadness or lack of excitement they've experienced to lead to such boringness. I also really like to look at shoes...not sure why.
4. Who do you miss at the moment? Can I change this to what?...I miss seeing and living close to all of my high school friends. They have kids I've never met. We are all experiencing the joys of motherhood and I would love to experience and share it with them. Maybe that's still a who.
5. Mountain hideaway or beach house? Mountain hideaway--Especially since this is an all seasons answer. I would prefer winter though.
6. What is the farthest you have been from home? South Korea. I say this because it really felt farther away then when I went to Australia since I was only 14 went I went. So I was missing my mommy. When I went to Australia I was married and went with my Hubby.
7. City or country?Country. I like the city but if its one or the other then always country. Its bigger to roam free and its quieter.
8. Would you bungee jump? Nope. Sounds like a cop-out... but I have kids. They need a mommy.
9. Favorite sport to watch? If I have to....BYU football. I enjoy it but I always think of what better things I can be doing during that 3-4 hour time period. Plus its a pain for me to try and engage in it when I've got my kids in and out and all around.
10. Favorite school teacher and why? Amy Smithson. Algebra II, 10th grade. I actually understood her. And she is quite funny.
11. What do you want to do when you retire? Retire? RETIRE? from what? I'm a stay-at-home mom. I will never retire. ANd I don't really think I want to :) But when my kids are grown and out of the house I want to go on a mission with my husband and I want to be crafty. I want a room where I can just create things without little hands trying to help. Its fine for now...I enjoy it a little, but I look forward to a time where I can just go and do with out planning and failing.

I don't really have time to make up my own version right now. But if anyone wants to continue this along....

 RULES

*You must post the rules

*Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you; then create 11 questions for those you are tagging.

*Tag 11 people and link them in your post

*Let them know you have tagged them

Still here...Just distracted

I've been MIA--at least when it comes to my blog. We've been busy potty training, keeping up with David's 2nd year at school, and trying to keep the house somewhat clean! I've done a few here and there in the past few months but its been pretty poor...and i don't think I've had any picture for awhile. SO.... Pictures is what you'll get.

Carson's 3rd Birthday 

Opening very carefully --This is how he approaches most things

My silly, but super adorable kids

On our cruise in December

Body surfing on the very top of the ship

Flow Rider surfing

At the end of the day

This was my day:

Woke up and started Potty Training Day 4. Not bad. I only had to wash out one pair of poopey underwear. No other accidents.

Watched 2 other little boys for a little while. The awesome part was that it kept my kids busy and entertained while I got to do a few things around the house. The not so awesome part was that it was quite a bit more chaotic, messy, and LOUD!

The day was filled with incessant whining from my teething 16 month old. She is getting all her molars in (has been for about 2 weeks--why is that always the case?). The sound coming from her was annoying. We're talking the kind of sound that makes the hair on your neck stand up and you don't think you could possibly stand to hear it one more time!

Of course we had tears, fighting, yelling, tantrums, and plenty of NO!s to go around.

It was (and still is) husband and fatherless.

To sum up...The day was hard. No that's not the right word. The day was difficult. No, how about tiring, stressful, nerve racking, possibly a disaster.


AND YET.....


Here I am, sitting on my bed, eating Bon Bons & sparkling cider (ok, gummy bears & water)--trying to relax and enjoy complete me-time; And yet, my first assessment of the day, before I even opened the lap top, was Today was a GOOD DAY. Seriously, I'm not lying. I had that thought first. [I may be finding it difficult to have that thought now after rehashing my day] But really. As I was holding my sleeping daughter just moments ago, I sighed that end of day sigh, and thought, "ahh, today was a good day."

That is a gift. A blessing from God. To end a not so great day according to "the books" and feel good. To have the weight of the good things that happened in a day (however small, few, and far between) to be all that I can remember. Its a blessing and gift that I know comes so that I can get up tomorrow and do it all over again.

3

Three years ago today,...

I was laying in the hospital bed, unable to move my legs, feeling EXHAUSTED, wishing the pain would be taken away, wanting so badly to be dressed in something other than a drab gown,... and yet completely & utterly euphoric.

Three years ago today...

I became a mom.

Three years ago today...

Will forever be one of the BEST days of my life.


Carson, Mommy loves you more than you will ever know. The joy you have brought into my life is greater than any I've ever known. Your sweet spirit, incredible intelligence, and unconditional love gets me excited to get up each day--just to see what you will come up with. You're the BEST!

Carsonisms

such a funny boy my son.

here are some of his sayings and interactions of late.

"mom, what's your deal?" --i guess I've said this a few times

carson: i need a thing mom.
mom: ok. what thing
carson: a thing I can use
mom: use for what
carson: cleaning this mess (there is no mess around)
mom: ok, how about a rag
carson: how about two. one for you to help.

"mom, stop being a butt!" ---seriously!? Ok, yes I do say this. often. to his dad. seriously though?! Ahh...

singing I am a child of God (loudly)  "Lead me, guide me, how I miss you!" he knows its wrong but thinks its hilarious

V.T. today: Carson what's your favorite show
carson: (barely audible) lewis
V.T: what, I couldn't hear you.
carson: oh, hmmm...
V.T: (to me) he's so cute
carson: (loudly interrupting) Meet the robinsons!
       He remembered that lewis was not the name of the movie and corrected himself. proud mommy moment

Carson is the language police at our house. he will call out anyone who uses a bad word. and then try and put them in time-out. unfortunately, he doesn't understand that but is different than butt. so most people say bad words around him.

mom: carson, here is your apple, come sit down.
carson: no thanks
mom: why?
carson: cause i don't like you
    says this to multiple questions that have nothing to do with his preferences of people or things. it also doesn't matter who is asking.

Love that little crazy. He really is super fun to have around

New Years 'goal' Numero Uno

As posted to Facebook yesterday,  "Ok, I'm ready for the new year to begin. So for me, Today is Jan. 1st."

Which would make today January 2nd. Before now I've still been in vacation mode and trying to get 2011 wrapped up. I just got back on Sunday from being in SA for my brother Garrett's homecoming. (YAY!) he was in Norway on his mission. We LOVE having him home!

Anyway so now that I'm not leaving in the near future and Christmas is packed and the house is back to normal messes....We can move onto 2012!!

Starting today I am going on a 7 day Cabbage Soup Cleanse. The holidays, my cruise, etc were not kind to me in the feel-good-about-my-body department so I want to start anew and get back on a healthy track. I made the cabbage soup last night and am ready to go today. My hubby is doing it with me so hopefully together we can do it! We are also having a competition of sorts with personal goals to lose some weight. (get in shape). More to come later.

But today is Soup & Fruit day. I can have all the cabbage soup and fruit I want. yummy?!

We'll see how it goes :)

Fall--Football, Pumpkins & Leaves

At the Pumpkin Patch



Waving to Grandpa at Jake's Football game



Goo was such a good sport!

There and Back Again....

I think maybe I'll just post the pics and basically be done from our summer trip.

Here is our last stop of World Tour '11
                  Spokane. With all the Daines' Family.

Some of us LOVED the tubes...

Others not so much.

The 'big kids' get a bit rough---

But Carson always wants in on the action!

After awhile he's content to just be in the boat

There was lots of great cousin time

Grandpa time at the helm

Isn't my Boy super cute!

We had 5 of us do our SCUBA diving certification. Emi, Nathans, Lindsey, Mindy, and Dad had completed theirs earlier in the year. David, Pam, Jake, Emily S., and myself all did it the first 3 days we were there. We started in the pool for beginning training and then passed the test in Coeur d' Alene Lake.

I might look really happy here...but it doesn't show how nervous I was about the whole thing.



David sailed through it all and I think enjoyed most of it!



We did it though, and we're ready for Cozumel and Grand Caymen!

We made it home just in time for everyone to start school. The kids and I were SO ready to be home after a month. It was a great trip though, with so much excitement and lot and LOTS of familY!