FYI

Because I am a chronological order freak, because of the way I post-dated some entries and the blog put them in date order... we have new posts that are older and can only be seen in the archive (really, only back through July) including a trip to seven peaks, a trip to the state fair, etc... I guess thats what I get for trying to "back log" our lives onto blogspot.... :)

Enjoy.

Pumpkin Patch

On Tuesday Amber's preschool class went to the pumpkin patch and were able to invite friends to come too. Sarah and Amber were nice enough to invite us (and since I was on my call week I was able to go). They had lots of fun stuff including multiple play grounds, animals to look at, and a light exhibit (that really appeared to be a .. "I was told to empty out this storage shed and make an exhibit out of it all, so here you go: including Cinderella's/Santa's sleigh, Mickey Mouse, Charlie and the Pumpkin Factory, etc.-- mostly adult oriented by the tongue-in-cheek captions)-- the girls had lots of fun and were able to take pumpkins home too. We'll have to carve them another day.  :)

BIKER CHIC!

I'm a pretty cute biker chic, don't you think??!

Norah's 2nd Birthday

Happy birthday Eleanor! and thank you to all of our family that helped celebrate and for your generous gifts! It was nice to have you all over!

The girls really liked the candy corns on the cake... I think they ate more of those than anything.

She is growing up SO FAST!

Bridal Veil Falls

So, we tried to take the girls up the canyon to enjoy the fall colors. We stopped at Bridal Veil falls thinking it might be a good photo shoot-- why is it that little girls don't cooperate during photo opportunities... This was the best we could get of Eleanor-- she was showing me where her ears are.
I took this one of Quincy and was glad we had at least ONE picture where she had somewhat of a smile on her face. What a punkin-- do you like the belly hanging out! She is growing SO FAST!
Peace dude.
Daddy and his girls... I should probably turn this black and white... oh well. -- the fall colors were pretty.

Missouri Independence Mission Reunion

President and Sister Rogers (his mission president) with Brandon. President Rogers got a kick out of the way Brandon had turned out. :) It was worth missing the BYU Football game!
We enjoyed meeting up again with Brandon's mission friends. The girls and I tried to keep ourselves entertained while Brandon wandered down memory lane. In a row.... Elder Stevenson, Elder Lenier, Elder Haslam, Elder Birt
This was Eleanor's favorite pass-time while we were there... She carted it around forever and fought off the other kids in order to "keep her claim"-- she mostly liked to watch her feet as she pushed it across the room.
A few more companions.... Elder Johnson, Elder Haslam, Elder Budge
Quincy: the entertainer. -- Future American Idol contestant.

(It's hard to hear, lots of background noise, but its cute...) Don't you love how distracted she gets during her performance.... "I gotta, I gotta go...." -- great exit kiddo!

Mmmmmm, Chocolate!

So, I tried to make cupcakes to take for my neighbor's birthday. They totally didn't work.... But the batter was good, and the girls enjoyed licking it off the beaters.

thoughts

So, I've been thinking.

Last week, Jerry died.

Jerry, Amber's dad.

Jerry, Sarah's old boyfriend.

Jerry, a person I didn't like very much.



In all honesty.

I didn't.



I didn't like him because he hurt Sarah by calling off a wedding for what seemed to be very selfish reasons.

I didn't like him because he wasn't the kind of DAD I think Amber deserves.

I didn't like him because he trashed our scooter and returned it to us without even an apology for the condition it was in.

I didn't like him because he didn't seem like a person who took responsibility for his actions and seemed like he expected to be exempt from the consequences of his actions.



Maybe its inappropriate of me to even write these things down.

but

I've been thinking.



On Sarah's blog, (after Jerry had been in ICU on life support for over a week and it had been decided to let him go, she wrote):

how do you say goodbye to the person that you though you would never have to live without? how do you let that person know that you love them even though you haven't said it for years? how do explain to your child that she's never gonna get to see her daddy again?
how do you make sure she doesn't forget him?
how do you make yourself live and love again?
i know you've heard it a million times, but really do it. LIVE EACH DAY TO THE FULLEST. never stop saying i love you. kiss your kids always, even when you're mad at them. make memories and take pictures so your memories can live on forever. don't take the little things for granted, like how someone's hand feels in yours, the way they smell when you hug, the way their eyes look when they smile.
keep your friends and family close. talk to them everyday, spend time and laugh with them. make friends with your enemies. it's not worth it to hate or hold grudges. it's easier to love. don't go to bed angry with anyone. before you say goodbye to someone ask yourself, what if i never see them again?
life can change so quickly, and in an instant your whole world can fall apart leaving you with a part of your heart missing. a part that will never grow back but can be filled with the memories you made, and the hope that things will one day get better.

Even though I didn't like the guy, I didn't wish any harm on him. But that doesn't make it any better. Watching Sarah struggle with the role she is forced into at this time, especially with having to explain to Amber what has happened has made me think. I talked to Quincy about Jerry dying and explain why Sarah and Amber were sad and I tried to be sensitive yet truthful. I was amazed at how receptive she was to my explanation. How she seemed to understand the finality of it all but to accept it without question. Brandon was requested to administer a blessing to Jerry the night before life support was removed and I struggled with the request. For his own reasons which may or may not be the same as mine, I know Brandon didn't like Jerry either. I knew that if I held the priesthood and this request had been made of me I wouldn't have been able to do it. I talked to Brandon about this fact last night for just a few minutes and we both came to the conclusion that holding a grudge against Jerry was not something that should have been going on for so long (and Brandon told me he had dealt with his own feelings before he had been able to give Jerry a blessing)

Not liking Jerry didn't make me a better person. In fact, it most likely hindered any progress I would have made in understanding him.

So, I've been thinking.

I know its a little too late now, (at least until later) but. . . Jerry, please forgive me.

Utah State Fair

These were the three pictures that Brandon entered into the State Fair Competition. He didn't win, but it was fun to see them on display and know that I knew the photographer... I think they are COOL and should have won!
We had lots of fun at the Utah State fair. The girls enjoyed riding the ponies.

This slide was awesome. Eleanor was hilarious. Each time we would get to the bottom she would immediately stand up and hold a hand and say "Nain" -- meaning "again" and lead the way back to the ticket booth. I love to see her enormous smile in these pics.

More Quincy quotes

The other morning Aunt Mandi came over to watch the girls while Brandon left for school and I was already at work. The girls have been sleeping in little if any clothes other than panties/diaper. After the girls woke up Mandi was ready to "switch shifts" with Sarah. Quincy asked if she could go with Mandi and Mandi replied that it was "too cold outside and you don't have on any clothes" Quincy replied:

"Its okay. I will go put on a hat."

Sarah was again babysitting and had brought pizza over to feed the girls for lunch. Sarah was putting Quincy in the car to go for a ride and Quincy commented:

"It was a great day today. I had pizza!"

about 45 minutes later, at Heather's house Quincy said "I think it is time for dinner." When Heather reminded her that she had eaten pizza not an hour earlier Quincy said something like:

"Oh. I think it is time for some icecream."

Daddy, I'm playing with your dirt!

So, apparently Eleanor thinks pepper is dirt. Maybe we should enroll her in some sort of sand art class or something.

Girls Night Out

I was excited to be able to spend an evening with my best friends last weekend, without kids or husbands or other interruptions. Something about that time together just does a lot to lift my mood. However, I do have a confession to make. I lied through my teeth during a few moments of conversation during the evening. 

So, knowing full well that I will have some people wanting to hit me, Brandon and I are now announcing that I am 7.5 weeks pregnant and expecting our third child in April 2009. I usually don't make a pregnancy announcement until after 12 weeks, but there have been too many situations requiring explanation to hold out any longer. This makes me nervous as I have had more "problems" with this pregnancy than my previous two-- so I'm praying I don't lose this one and have to retract the announcement... but I had an ultrasound done last Friday morning and saw a teeny peanut of a baby with a fluttering heart, so.... so far, so good.

Seven Peaks

So we went to Seven Peaks to celebrate Brandon's parent's anniversary. We had a fun time-- lots of sun. The gift we presented to Price and Susan was very nice: Their pre-paid burial plot located in the Cemetery up in Edgemont.
I liked this picture... I thought it was a cool visual effect. Quincy sitting in a stacked tower of 6 water tubes.

Imaging sitting on the beach, staring into the sunset.
This kiddy slide was dumb-- it didn't slope hard enough or something and so the kids would get stuck, mid-slide, and could stand up and walk around and pretty much just causing problems... it definitely needed help.
Same slide... This is the end... it was like a 90 degree drop into 3 feet of water.... Gee, hope a parent is standing close by... :)

Quincy's quotes

So, Brandon and I are always amazed at some of the things that come out of our children's mouths-- mostly Quincy right now cause Eleanor's speech is still a little sketchy-- word like "mon" for "Come on" and "han" for "give me your hand" (as she drug us around to where she wants us to be...

But, in Quincy's case-- its just pretty much funny. So..... We've decided to post "Quincy Quotes"--

The top three for this week:

1.  As Brandon was saying goodbye to a neighbor the other day he said "Catch you later." A few minutes later Quincy surprised us by asking 

"Why are you going to catch him later?"

2.  Quincy's Aunt Sissy is expecting a baby. As we tried to give her a reason not to rough-house I explained she had to be nice because Aunt Sissy has a baby in her tummy and we don't want to hurt it.  A few minutes later she asked, 

"Did you eat the baby all gone?"

3.  Brandon's dad inherited the Haslam gene for a large, rotund, hard tummy-- right in front.... (In his case a "bowl full of jelly" during the holidays.)  This morning "Papa" was watching the girls while Brandon and I were gone and she sat up on his lap she turned around, patted him three times on the belly and asked,

"Is there a baby in there?"

How Simple

I don't get it. I doesn't matter what other toys and fun things there are to play with in the house-- a large cardboard box will trump all. (at least for a period of time!)

So, apparently my husband is one of the favorite men in our ward. I guess pictures tell all. I love you Brandon! :)

Look Mom!

I laughed! This is what happened when Eleanor opened the fridge and tried to open the ketchup bottle with her teeth.

The last 6 weeks in a blur

So, Its been forever since I last posted. I jumped on the FACEBOOK bandwagon and have since been re-connecting with old high school friends and acquaintances. Which in all honesty has been pretty cool! Its amazing the variety of lives we have all diverted to after once having lots in common!
I enjoyed Girls Camp the first week of August and then Brandon returned the "single parent" favor this weekend as he left on a backpacking trip as a priesthood leader for our YW program up in the high Uintas. Apparently they had fun, but Brandon didn't pack very warm and said he froze at night. The girls and I did fairly well while he was gone, with only a few hiccups (its easy for me to say that, I worked for two of the three days and the girls got to play with Sarah and my mom!) While Brandon was gone Quincy got a hair cut.... her first significant one. I thought it turned out pretty cute-- but Brandon was a little frustrated at how short it is- I think it will grow on him though. :)

Other that that.... GO USA!!

She is so lucky it was washable!

THe Haslam Princesses