Emily got her ears pierced!

*In an effort to get more on top of my journaling, I have decided to not allow myself to feel the pressure of writing down every. little. thing. I found that by becoming overwhelmed and feeling like I would never catch up, it prevented me from writing down even the most important things. Here is the beginning of what will hopefully be more consistency. Whether the quality is good or bad, at least it will be something.

When my girls were real young I was sure that I wanted to wait until they were 8 years old to let them get their ears pierced. When Gracey was turning 6 years old (2 years ago) she really wanted her ears pierced and I kind of reevaluated my reasons for waiting until they were 8. The only valid reason that I could think of for wanting them to wait was because that is how old I was. That was all. So with that, 6 years is now the golden age of getting ears pierced IF the girls want. And Emily wanted...

Her birthday itself was somewhat low-key. Corky took her to breakfast, she played at a friends house, and then we went down to Bartlesville, Oklahoma where there is a Claire's in the "Hall" (tiny mall that is literally a hall!)

Emily was so nervous that she was shaking, but trying so hard to be brave at the same time. I kept reminding her that nobody was making her do it and if she wanted to change her mind that would be fine. No deal, she was determined, even when the grumpy employee informed us that we would have to do one ear at a time since she was the only employee working. 

After a few minute of filling out paperwork, drawing dots on Emily's ears, and me trying my very hardest to bite my tongue and not rip off the head the employee (seriously, Corky thought I was going to start clawing), it was time to pierce. 

It was easy! Once it was done and Emily realized it didn't hurt, she just started laughing and was totally ready for the other ear to be done, no problem.

We celebrated with dinner at the Golden Corral, Emily's choice (gag!), then drove home to have a late night of birthday cake and presents!

I love seeing my kids be nervous about something, put on a brave face anyway, and just go for it! Emily can be such a feisty little thing, but is also so determined, tender hearted, and sensitive that it just melts my heart. I love my little 6 year old!

Gracey's Baptism

*In an effort to get more on top of my journaling, I have decided to not allow myself to feel the pressure of writing down every. little. thing. I found that by becoming overwhelmed and feeling like I would never catch up, it prevented me from writing down even the most important things. Here is the beginning of what will hopefully be more consistency. Whether the quality is good or bad, at least it will be something.

On November 23rd, Miss Gracey Mae Whipple was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This was something that she has been preparing for and anticipating for a while, especially this past year.

A few months ago we gave Gracey the option of doing it in her home ward in Independence, KS, surrounded my her ward family and friends, and whatever extended family would be able to join us. Or she could choose to be baptized in St. George where we knew there would be a greater amount of family in attendance. She thought about it for a few weeks and decided to do it in St. George.

It was a gorgeous day all around. It was a small, intimate setting, and Gracey was surrounded by family and cousins that love her so much.

Grandma Joyce and her Aunt Bailey each gave a little talk on baptism and the Holy Ghost, and Gracey and Emily sang a special hymn, "I Am a Child of God," accompanied by myself.

She was baptized and confirmed by her dad, Corky, while Grandpa Scott, Grandpa Ron, Great-Grandpa Madsen, Uncle Jared, and Uncle Skyler stood in the circle for her confirmation.

It was a special day for everyone, but most importantly for Gracey. She was grinning from ear to ear and on the drive to Grandma's house from the church she told us how good she felt.

We sure do love our Gracey-girl. She has some beautiful things in store for her as she continues to make right choices in her life. She touches so many people and is a kind and loving friend. We are proud of her and hope that she remembers this day forever.

A few weeks before her baptism, Gracey had some portraits taken. Here a few of our favorites from that session.

Just me and the little one

I thought it would be fun to ask Janie the same questions that I asked Gracey and Emily. 

 Since it is just me and Janie (and Buster) during the day, everyday, we have a lot of time to discuss these things in length.

Favorites: 
Food: Mom's milk
Game: Any game with Mom
Toy: Mom's hair clips, brushes...pretty much anything that Mom has
Thing to do:  Play with Mom
Book:  That one book Mom reads me
Color: Whatever Mom likes
Movie: Baby Einstein (I only say that because my mom desperately wants me to happily watch it while she folds laundry)
Song: "My Heavenly Father Loves Me," Mom sings it all the time
Primary Song: see above


My best friend is: Mom (occasionally Dad, but mostly Mom)
Other friends I like to play with: nope
Things I like to do with my friends: nope, just want to play with Mom
What is your pet's name?  Buster
What do you love most about him?  He lets me pull his cheek and fur
What people like about me:  They love my dimples, but I mostly only show them if my mom is holding me and I am happy.
Things I can do really well: Get my way with Mom

As you can tell she is a little attached...but I absolutely adore her.

Emily - Kindergarten

Pretty sure Emily has been waiting for this day since the second Gracey started school full-time 2 years ago.  She loved preschool so much and would have chosen to go every single day had it been an option.  It is finally her turn to go to kindergarten and not a tear was shed.  She did tell me prior to school starting that she was kind of afraid of missing Buster and me during the day, but I knew if that were true, it would only last a day or so.  I was right.  She loves school!

Favorites: 
Food: Broccoli
Game: Yahtzee
Toy: Dollies
Thing to do:  Hang out and watch tv
Book:  Puppy Mudge Takes a Bath (she can read it all by herself!)
Color: Pink
Movie: "Horton Hears a Who"
Song: Cupid Shuffle
Primary Song: I Like to Look for Rainbows


My best friend is: Fiona
Other friends I like to play with: Breyanna and Brooklyn
Things I like to do with my friends: Play and talk
What is your pet's name?  Buster
What do you love most about him? That he smiles
What people like about me: "I think people think I am kind to them"
Things I can do really well: "Mostly swim and run."  

Gracey - 2nd Grade

Little Miss Gracey is now in the 2nd grade.  Her teacher this year happens to be one of my good friends, and our neighbor, Mrs. Chickadonz. Gracey's first day of school was pretty exciting.  She knew right where to go and was eager to help Emily know where to go as well!

As tradition goes, here is this year's interview.

Favorites: 
Food: Tacos
Game: Yahtzee
Toy: Barbies
Thing to do:  Play at the park
Book:  Green Eggs and Ham
Color: Purple
Movie: Horton Hears a Who
Song: The Star Spangled Banner
Primary Song: I Love to See the Temple


My best friend is: Riley and Kaylea
Other friends I like to play with: Ashlyn, Ashtyn, Carma
Things I like to do with my friends: Pretend to be horses
What is your pet's name?  Buster
What do you love most about him?  I like that he can do cool tricks
What people like about me: "I think people think I am nice, kind, and I am honest at school."
Things I can do really well: "Swim, make farting noises, play games, play piano." (Dad jokingly thinks she should add "make my sister cry!"  

"Harry Potter's Tent"

Last Friday I stripped the girls bed sheets off to wash, thinking of how domesticated I was.  (Kidding!) They were washed and dried by lunchtime, but for whatever reason I got busy doing other things and didn't have a chance to put them back on the bed.  I swear, it had nothing to do with how much I absolutely HATE putting sheets back on the bunk beds. Lucky for me, the girls requested that Corky build them a fort to sleep in for the weekend.

Corky has some mad fort-building skills, but this one was up there as one of his best.  Using the bunk beds to get one side really high, he made it pretty cozy in there.  Using our large sleeping bag as padding, our girls were pretty comfortable.

The girls are bundled up in there somewhere.

It is nearly impossible to get a picture without them pulling these goofy faces.

Saturday morning after waking up, Gracey said this fort reminded her of the tent on Harry Potter.  She said, "You know Mom, the one that is totally huge on the inside!"

Best news for me, I could put off having to place the sheets back on their beds for 2 whole days!  :)

Another one bites the dust

Gracey lost her 4th tooth on May 10, 2012. Her front, left tooth has been loose for probably 6-7 months.  However, she barely would touch it to make it looser so it just sat there.  Finally the last few weeks it began being really wiggly on her own and that got Gracey a little more motivated to play with it often.

Thursday, I picked her up from school where she immediately handed me my Mother's Day card and flower.  She was all giddy and said she had another surprise for me.  I was thinking that it was another gift or something, and Gracey loves giving gifts and surprises so I didn't press too much. I just wanted to let her do her thing.  A little bit after we got home, she yelled for me to come see her surprise.  I walk in the living room and she is grinning from ear to ear.  I look around, looking for whatever it is that she is surprising me with, but didn't see anything. She started laughing and pointed to her mouth!  Her tooth was gone and I didn't even notice before!

She said that her friend from school, Damarius, tricked her into pulling it.  He said if she pulled it by the end of the day then he would give her $5.  When she actually pulled it, he said, "Gotcha!  I don't have $5!" (That story makes me laugh!)

She wasn't too upset about the money because she was too excited that she lost it at school.  If you lose a tooth at school, you get a fancy tooth box!

CherryBerry

It's no secret that I LOVE frozen yogurt, particularly the self-serve types that are all the rage these days.  On our trip home from Dallas, Texas a week ago, we stopped in Tulsa at CherryBerry as a treat/dinner.  We had a later lunch than normal, so the girls thought it was so funny that frozen yogurt was their actual dinner.  Every kids dream come true, right?

Because I am nursing Janie, I try to stay away from the dairy as much as I can, so I enjoyed a mango sorbet with a tiny bit of vanilla fro-yo.  Janie had a little taste of it and was unsure of it all.  I don't plan on adding any solid food to her diet for a few more months. But the little tastes here and there, and the faces she makes, is simply for our entertainment.  She is unsure of just about everything that we give her a taste of that isn't her normal meal of mama's milk.  

About 40 miles before we were home, Janie decided she was done in the carseat!  We decided to stop and fill up the gas tank and let her stretch her legs a bit.  She was all smiles then, but the second we were back on the road, she was mad.  

So I crawled in the back seat with her and let her suck on my finger.  Have you ever let a baby suck on your finger for an extended period of time?  Ladies, that is why the first few weeks of breastfeeding make you want to jump through the roof.  Those little babies sure can suck hard!  My finger was absolutely raw....but we made it home!

Weekend in Dallas

A few months ago, some dear friends from high school started planning a weekend trip to Dallas.  I knew that Janie would only be about 2 months old for the trip and I also knew I would be nursing her.  First of all, I didn't want to have to be the only one that brought a child.  My friends insisted that they wouldn't have minded, but I knew it would be somewhat of a burden.  Second, I didn't want to make the drive to Dallas all by myself with an infant.  I was afraid that a 5 hour trip would turn into an ALL DAY drive.

I kindly suggested to Corky that we all go down together, stay in the same hotel as my friends, and he could have a daddy/daughter weekend while I hung out with the ladies, still being available to feed Janie. Corky was game!

The whole weekend was wonderful.  Not only did I get to see some of my best friends but I still feel like I had quality time with my family as well.   I know for sure that my kids had a blast.  As we were packing up to come home Gracey said,

"Mom, are you going to do this every year with your friends?"

I said, "Oh, I don't know.  I wish I could, but probably not."

Gracey responded with, "Well I hang out with you all the time, and it is fun, but I had a really great time hanging out with Daddy!"

It was pretty sweet.

And just as sweet as my kids are, it was pretty sweet doing grown up things too.  We all got massages and pedicures, and eyebrow waxing.  And when we weren't doing our spa treatments, we were shopping or eating.

As much as we played, our age and lifestyles certainly showed at night.  We were all hunkered down in our pajamas, chit chatting and sleepy, around 11:00pm.  And when it was time to go to sleep, all I had to do was walk down the hall of the hotel and be with my family.

 It was so fun to catch up with these ladies.  I am so glad that we have managed to stay friends after so many years.

Easter Eggs

Kool Aid Easter eggs are all the rage on Pinterest this year, so I thought I would give them a shot too.  Unfortunately, the Walmart here in town is super lame and didn't have a blue kool-aid.  And I am super lame too and thought I was getting the lemon-lime flavor (for the green color) when I actually got strawberry kiwi (which is red).  So our colors consisted of reds, yellows, and purples. I can't blame Walmart on that one.

My girls thought it was way fun, and I loved how it didn't stink like vinegar.

There was much concentration going on, as you can see from the tongue.

And how can an evening of decorating Easter eggs be complete without the classic game of kool-aid poker, you ask?  It can't.