Ode to the many tags that I have avoided....

Am I really doing all of these???

Tag #1- (courtesy of AnnaMarie)

The rules are this- you must take pictures of the following things, as is, no straightening up etc.

My fridge- We definitely have a condiment problem. I have about 5 different types of mustard, marinades, ketchup, mayo....well, you can see for yourself.

See that bag of chocolate chips in the freezer that is almost gone? I probably made one single batch of cookies with those, the rest were eaten by me grabbing a handful here and there! See the 3 cans of frosting in the fridge? That is Corky's favorite snack on graham crackers. They are thrown away now...we don't need that much frosting.

My toilet. Killing two birds with one stone here since another request is a picture of my pet.

My kitchen sink that is LONG overdue for an old fashion sink-shining. At the moment, serving as my defrosting platter. (this was just before lunch so I had just washed my hands...too bad I didn't take it right after. The girls put their own dishes in the sink and that gets messy!)

My favorite room in the house I suppose is the living room. It is the easiest to keep straightened up and the first thing people see as they walk in so there is the motivation. It is dire need of a valance and a rug though. Add that to the other gajillion projects that I have lined up.

My closet. So embarrassing. Did you know I used to color coordinate my closet? I loved it so much, it was beautiful. Now I just have a million shirts and I swear I only wear about 5 of them. About 20 pairs of jeans and I only wear 2...maybe 3 of those. Who wants to fund my new wardrobe????? HAHA And I just noticed something so stupid. Those are my clothes hanging up, but Corky's shoes underneath. His clothes are behind the door and can't be seen in the picture, but MY shoes are underneath them. Is that totally stupid or what??


My laundry room. It is just outside of my kitchen into the garage. Nothing spectacular which makes me sad. I think super cute laundry rooms are the best.



My kids are currently doing two different things at this moment. Emily is sleeping off her tantrum that she threw when I dropped Gracey off at school. This happens every time. Emily would love nothing more than to stay there and play too. And Gracey is at school. (this picture isn't of today, it was taken last week)

My dream vacation, and it has been for years, is to go to Machu Piccho, Peru. It is so gorgeous and fascinating.

My favorite shoes. My crocs that I wear only at my house because I am the first to say how ugly they are. Then my heels...which I have had for about 2 years but gave me monstrous blisters for the first time last weekend. That hurt my feelings, I thought that me and these shoes had an understanding.

And then the stupid self portrait....you know you want some of that!

And now let's see Abby, Candice, Sariah, Janna, and Stacey. Your turn!

A few matter to discuss.

Friday was Gracey's first day of dance class! Leaps, jumps, skips, hops, and leotards are now consuming her mind and life! I love it! And Emily follows right along. (don't mind Em's bed head...she had barely gotten up from a nap!) Little girls are the best!

Sunday was Corky's birthday. At his request, I attempted my first homemade angel food cake. It wasn't too bad for my first time but I definitely need more practice. Darn it, right? More angel food cake to be made at our house. Happy Birthday Corky! We hope it was a good one and we hope you liked your birthday present that you were totally surprised by!

Another happy day to take note of....today. (its easy to remember because it is the day after his birthday!) 7 years ago was the happy day that Corky and I met. He was a skinny, barely post-mission, cute, funny, blonde cadet. I was a blonde, long-haired, barely made my way out into the world on my own, recent high school graduate. We became fast friends but took our time in the "lovematch" department.

After 7 years, and luckily some low-rise jeans for me, I still think he is pretty cool.

blabber mouth, Gracey

(I wish I could write this in a way to make it as funny as it truly was tonight at dinner.)

Just the four of us were sitting at the table for dinner, enjoying some stir fry, jasmine rice, and catching up on each other's day. All of the sudden, Gracey's face lights up like she just remembered something and says "Dad! We bought you a shirt for your birthday today!"

I just throw my head back in defeat! I NEVER can surprise Corky with a gift, somehow he always has a hunch....this time, when I finally think he might be surprised, Gracey just blurted it out.

We laughed about where this conversation had gone, especially Corky. He thought that was the funniest things he had heard all day. Finally I say, "Oh well, at least you don't know what it looks like!"

Gracey says very matter-of-factly, "Dad, its striped."

Emily is starting to speak sentences and the husband and I couldn't be more proud!

"My ball."

"My dress."

"My block."

"My goggles!"

"My wattie-bottie!" (translation: "my water bottle")

"No, my cup!"

"My horsey!"

"No-no penny"

(and the poor kitty is only laying there snoozing)

"My kitty"

"No, mine!"

Anyone seeing a trend here?

Coincidentally I write this on the same day my friend Aimee wrote about her daughter Jilly and the TODDLER LAWS of PROPERTY on her blog.

I sit here at the computer, starting my timer over for the 4th or 5th time, while Gracey is starting her 15 minutes of time out alone in her bedroom. I even went to the trouble and mess of clearing out all of the things in her bedroom that make it fun, just so she wasn't confusing this sentencing with a trip to Disneyland!

It all started as I was finishing my "getting ready" regime...although I am not sure exactly WHAT started it. We were preparing to go to the park for a couple of hours when Gracey began kicking the side of the bathtub, flailing her arms and legs in every direction, and screaming what I can only imagine were 3 year old obsenities in my direction. Looking back, I am pretty sure all I asked of her was to brush her hair.

These tantrums don't happen very often but I can't help but hide a snicker at how ridiculous she can be sometimes. After I told her she lost the priviledge of going to the park, you would think that she had just witnessed the murder of one of her favorite princess dolls. She was running around the house and hiding behind furniture, all while I was taking advantage of the moments she was hiding her face so I could sneak a laugh out.

During all of this, Emily sat happily on the bathroom floor playing with a comb and a cup of water....which is now spilled everywhere.

Hopefully Gracey can earn back her right to the playground this evening, but I am not making promises. I need to get out of the house everyday as much as the girls do and lately the park has been our only place to go. 2 weeks ago, I vowed that I will NOT take the girls to the grocery store, or any store for that matter, for at least a month. It got THAT BAD!

I hear the crying in the other room finally calming and my kitchen timer telling me it is time to spring the kid. Hopefully we can have a rational conversation....and when I mean rational, all I am asking is no more kicking and definitely no more screaming from a certain 3 year old.

Emily's first haircut.

Sunday night I finally committed and I cut Emily's hair. I have been saying that I would do it since she was about 12 months old because she was kind of sporting a mullet. I just couldn't stand the thought of cutting off her cute curls in the back of her hair so I always wussed out. This last week though I noticed that you could finally see layers of hair and the mullet was getting a little out of control. Sunday, we saddled up on the kitchen table, comb, water glass, and scissors, and we finally did it. I cut a little more off than I had hoped but it is all even now and is an adorable little bob.

Now if only the front of her hair would grow....



Yes, that is her hair on the plate being saved for baby-book purposes! I haven't been good about recording her teeth coming in, but you better believe I am keeping that first lock of hair!

A week in review.

Last week Corky had to go to Georgia for work. It worked out perfectly for us because my little sister had a bridal shower. (But she hasn't loaded any pictures from the one I attended!) We had a really fun visit.

Ready for a picture overload??? Here it comes.

On our way, the girls and I decided to take a quick break and look at the Hoover Dam. For once, it wasn't overly crowded with tourists and I was able to ease myself right into a parking spot. I took a few pictures and then we were on our way once again.



In St. George we swam a lot, jumped on the trampoline a lot, then swam some more.


One of the days, my dad took us and we went and fed the ducks that live on the St. George Golf Course pond. Did you know at the Bakery Outlet, you can get 20 loaves of bread for $2? They are listed as "not for human consumption" because they had either expired or the bag had been sliced open. Perfect for our feeding frenzy. (and if you didn't notice the quality before, just know that these were taken with my phone because I am an idiot and forgot to take my camera.)

Here are the girls just starting out.


I couldn't believe how brave Emily was. I thought she would be glued to my lap but she was putting herself right in the middle of all the ducks and geese.


We spotted two turtles poking their head out of the water. They were only lucky to get a few pieces of bread from us. Those ducks are pretty greedy!


Here is Emily trying to be like Grandpa. She watched him feed a piece of bread to a duck that was hanging out of his mouth. (the bread...not the duck!) She surprised us all by copying.


This is the only picture that I dare post of my sister's bridal shower. Her friends put on quite the party! Hilarious and so much fun!


She was answering questions from a video of an interview with Skyler. It was freaky how these two know each other. Just one example from the game, Skyler was asked "What is Bailey's favorite color?" Bailey then answers in a not-so-short answer, "Well, my favorite color is red. But my favorite color to wear is teal. So its a toss up between those two I guess. Do I say my favorite color is red or teal? Etc. Etc. Etc." She finally decides that red is her final answer. Lo and behold, Skyler's not-so-short answer consisted of "her favorite color is red but her favorite color of shirt is teal....." and so on and so on. More often than not were both of their answers long and explanatory just like that. It was freaky and funny all at the same time.

Friday, Corky flew into Vegas from his business trip. He took the shuttle to St. George instead of going straight home. Not only did we miss him, but it was great to have him watch the girls while I went to the bridal shower. Of course he got a golf game in beforehand so we all were winners!

Last but not least, my mom won tickets to the Roadrunner's final baseball game of the season. (I didn't even know there was a team like that in St. George!) It was a lot of fun and they had a really great fireworks show following the game. Gracey was really excited to get the Roadrunner's autograph on her ticket. Then without asking, but seeing all the other kids do it, she get another autograph on her arm!


Straight after the game, it was time for us Whipple's to hit the road to come home. It was a fun trip and we look forward to it again in a couple of weeks when Miss Bailey Faye gets herself hitched to Skyler.

HA!

Two weeks ago I was sitting in sharing time with my Sunbeams, as always, trying to keep them focused and calm. If you remember my post from a few months ago, I mentioned my desire to NOT become a Sunbeam teacher. I was selfishly afraid of how stressful it would be to deal with that age group. Anyway, back to my story...I was sitting in sharing time and the thought occurred to me "You know Morgan? You are really lucky to have a calling that you only have to really deal with 2 hours out of the week!" I always prepared my lesson during the week but nothing extravagant for 3 years old. So in that instance of recognition, I was very happy and satisfied with my calling.

Fast Forward about an hour and a half, Corky and I are leaving the church building and someone runs out after us "Whipples! Bishop wants to talk to both of you!" My first thought is that perhaps Corky is getting a new calling or another calling. We walk into the office and the bishop sits us down. We make small talk for a second and then he says "Sister Whipple, I would like to extend the calling of Primary President to you."

SAY WHAT???????

First thing I say in response is "Are you sure you prayed about that?"

Apparently he had. Wish me luck!

How can two little girls be so destructive in only a matter of minutes it takes for me to do some layndry??

I think it might be time to make a D.I. pile!

For the Record

Gracey, in a few years you will read this and think "did I really say that?"

Yesterday as I was putting on my make-up, Gracey sat on the counter and watched as I applied cover-up on some unwanted blemishes.

Gracey said "Mom, when I grow up and become a mommy, I am going to have pimples too!"

I reply, "Sadly, you are probably right, but maybe by that time they will have found a cure!"

Gracey, "Its not sad. When I get older I want them, so I can wear make up"

Me, "You say that now...."

Gracey, "But I do-oo!"

Happy notes.

This morning I went outside to water some of my plants and the breeze actually felt a little chilly. Not cold, just cool and nice. I love the fall season and get excited when even the earliest signs of it arrive. So then the wheels started cranking in my head and I text messaged Corky to see if he wanted to meet me and the girls for a picnic at the park for lunch. He agreed so I went and made some sandwiches and put on my exercise clothes. That was actually part of my plan, getting Corky to watch the girls at the park while I ran the perimeter a few times and got a much needed exercise out of the way.

The weather was perfect outside, only about 93 degrees and a cool breeze. Usually it is really WINDY here, so not having gusty winds was enough to make my day.

The girls ate their lunches and played on the park for a while. The sun was beating down but not in a dreadfully hot (like usual) way. It felt so nice in the shade.

On our way home, I heard one of my favorite artists, Secondhand Serenade, on the radio and that made me happy too. I had to text Corky about it. We have been big fans for a couple of years, so to hear him starting to get more recognized and become popular is pretty cool.

We got home and because I had Emily skip her morning nap, she and Gracey went down for their afternoon nap easier than ever.

So far today it has just been one of those good days that is worth noting.

And just to show you that even though the Olympics are on, I still do like my kids.

My girls fight about 90 percent of the time and it makes me crazy!!! But then every once in a while they share, play nice, and have fun together and it makes my day.

On a totally different note, yesterday Corky and I spent the afternoon in our front yard (if you can call it a yard) and dug out 3 of our 5 oleander shrubs. They can be pretty if you are looking for some privacy. A lot of people use them so neighbors can't look into their yard. At Fort Irwin, there was a whole row of them along a road and they looked nice there. We didn't want them though for a couple of reasons. First reason was that our porch is always covered with dead leaves and flowers from them. Second, they were placed right in front of the two bedroom windows that are at the front of the house. I wasn't going to have a nice, big bush in front of my windows, giving anybody the perfect hiding place at night to peek into my house. Lastly, and most importantly, they are poisonous. They are one of the most toxic and deadly plants...I have tiny kids, no thanks to that.

Well those bushes are strong, and their roots run deep. Even with me and Corky both using a shovel, it was some work. Luckily we HAD two shovels because Corky broke one. It snapped right in half. That is how strong those bushes are when they are big. After that, we took turns and finally got them.

We really want to make our front yard look nice. It looks like whoever built the house just put bushes and planters wherever. Maybe they threw darts or something to decide where to put things because there really isn't any structure, symmetry, or organization.

Anyway, so that is the beginning of our newest project. Want to take bets on how long it will take to finish?

8 is Great!!

Hmmm...do you think we are fans around here?

Is there anything more I can really say? He made history! Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal last night and was so gracious by thanking and acknowledging his teammates who helped him do it. I thought that was awesome.

And a little shout out (like they'll see this!) to my next favorite sport in this Olympics! They are on a winning streak like no other. I think they have won 104 games in a ROW!! Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are on a roll in beach volleyball.

I'm not gonna lie...

I cried just a little tonight when Michael Phelps won his 7th gold medal of this Olympics!! What an acheivement. I still can't get over how close the race was. He truly won the 100 metter butterfly race by a fingertip. You can't get closer than that.

I am so excited for him, he truly makes America proud!

Men's gymnastic

Yes, another Olympic post. We still have a few more weeks of this to go, so get used to it people!

It was a pretty exciting night last night for the US men's gymnastic team. Exceeding all expectation, they snagged the bronze medal. It was fun to watch how excited they were.

Who knew though that men's gymnastic could be so "gangsta"???

Some of the more laughable quotes from the boys last night after completeing the competition...

"thas what I'm talking bout!"
"Yeeeeaaaahhh baby!"
"Dats how we roll!"

Seriously? Did they really say all that to the camera?

Still love them.

Guilty Kitty!

For a house-warming gift, our realtor gave us a house plant when we moved into this new home. I had never had one before and going by previous experiences with plants in pots....I wasn't feeling too hopeful. We have had it more 4 months and have kept it high on the shelf. Honestly, I forget about it often. I rarely water it, like every 3 weeks (if its lucky). And the only time it gets some direct sunlight is when I take off the book shelf for a couple of hours if I actually think about it. Today I thought about it, thinking it would do the plant some good. Despite my neglectful ways it seemed like it is a pretty happy houseplant. As my girls napped I was dusting the master bedroom (and watching Olympics) when I heard what sounded like papers being scattered. I go out to investigate, thinking I would find one of the girls out playing, but this is what I found.
Is there any hope for my plant? I tried tying some string around the middle but it all plopped back over. Any suggestions or is my first house plant doomed?

AMAZING!!!

My FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE moment of the Olympics so far! The 400-meter freestyle relay was won by fractions of a second! It was incredible and I am so happy for them, especially because of all the trash-talking that was being done by the French team. So happy for those guys and I loved the reactions of the entire team!

Go boys!!!!

I LOVE the Olympics!!

Do you remember 4 years ago during the Olympic season, there was a commercial of a guy who was watching the diving competition from a floaty in the pool? It seems he was also running along some guys running track. Then it kind of goes out of his little dream sequence and he is really just sitting in his living room, watching the Olympics on his tv and another event on his computer. That is SO ME! I turn into the biggest couch potato during the olympics (but its okay, I am watching sports so you don't get fat, right?) and I am constantly online checking on updates and everything else.

Last night was the opening ceremony and it was g-o-o-d!! The opening ceremonies are always usually excellent, but last night was spectacular. Corky was away on a Young Men's campout and so I got the girls to bed, made myself a makeshift craft table on my bed, and I worked on some bridal shower invitations as I was dazzled by the Chinese and their show! I even watched all 200 and something countries and their athletes as they entered the stadium. I always get so excited for the atheletes, especially from the small countries that are most likely not going to win a medal. You can tell that they are just ecstatic to be there and it makes me happy for them. Even the U.S. team, dressed up in their Ralph Lauren sports coats and 8 piece outfits, were looking so excited! (Go Team!) (okay, so this picture nobody is smiling, but its all I got...and who's the fool in the dark kahki pants? he doesn't match!)

I can't help but watch the ceremonies, or the entire olympics for that matter and just wish it could go on all the time. Not very often does the world come together and cheer each other on like during the olympics. Isn't that ideal?

Did anyone else watch at the end of the show when they were lighting the torches from one athlete to the other? The very last guy was lifted into the air, hundreds of feet so that he could light the cauldron. I got butterflies for him, it was so high. Then, after he was hoisted all the way up the suspension had to loosen on one side so he could run on an angle. I about peed my pants, I thought that the sudden jolt was because something went wrong! Scary! (the older I get, the more heights frighten me!) It was incredible though. Don't watch the whole video, its pretty long. It just gives an idea of how high that guy was in the air.



My favorite events to watch are beach volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, track, soccer, basketball, and softball! If I had to choose one though, probably swimming....or beach volleyball. Hmmmm, don't make me choose okay?

The highlight of my weekend!!

As you all know, I am big fan of the Twilight series and so was totally excited to be in St. George for my brother's wedding on the day there would be a release party for Breaking Dawn. My sister, Bailey and I went straight from the reception to the party at Barnes and Noble. I got my bracelet and she got a schedule of events. She said that they were giving away Bella's charm bracelet at 10:00pm. I said "Oh, I want that so bad!" I know that I would never fork over the 75 dollars it would take to buy one but I also knew I wasn't lucky enough to be the ONLY person to win it that night.

Bailey and I worked our way over to where the designer of the bracelet was telling us a little about it and why she wanted to make it. I could barely hear anything, let alone see, so I just stood there on my tip toes trying to get a good look and wondering where I can put my name in for the drawing to win the bracelet. Not being able to find anything, I thought I was too late. Then they said that they were going to give away a bracelet by giving everyone a chance that wanted to, time to tell their most Twilight Fanatical story. I knew this was my chance and I knew what I was going to tell, even though it had potential to be a really bad idea.

So I work my way up to the front and listen to all these stories, feeling relieved AND nervous that none of them are at all like mine. Some girls said they should get the bracelet because they read the entire book while in labor, or another girl should get it because she share's Bella's birthday, etc, etc. So it is my turn and I say,

"My name is Morgan, I am wife and mother to two kids. The last straw came for my husband when I woke up one morning and told him jokingly that after last night's dream about Edward, I might have to go to the Bishop!"

I was so scared that I would hear gasps of judgement or even worse, crickets...but people were laughing in hysterics! I was so relieved. I figured, being in Utah, that at least half of the people would get my joke, I just wasn't sure if it would be funny or sacrilegious. Luckily for me, people liked it.

The winner was determined by the audience and I was so excited that people cheered for me, enough for me to WIN!!!!!!! Ladies were coming up to me all night asking to look at it and also telling me that (to my relief) that I am not the only one to have had a dream about Edward! :)

I was on cloud 9 for quite some time and I now wear my bracelet with pride!


From Left to right: 1- The bracelet. 2- Me up front with the top 5 storie tellers (but I won!) 3- The designer of the bracelet awarding me the prize. 4- Me and the designer (don't remember her name!)



Here is a collage of what the outside of Barnes and Noble looked like. I wish I had a panaromic camera. These picture just don't show exactly how many people were there.

Dallas and Jessica's big day!!

Everything about it was wonderful! They both looked gorgeous and happy!

Congratulations to you both! We love you.