Camel?

This post has nothing to do with a camel. It has to do with what Harper calls a camel.

One day Harper and Ryan made a fort while I was gone. I came home to this.

I guess Harper called it a camel because it looked like it had humps. Not really sure. She calls them forts now.

Boo!

I'm way behind. Here's the Halloween post.

Halloween is so much fun for us! Our kids got to dress us three times this year. The first time was for trick-or-treating at Ryan's office. (Yet another reason for us to love Walmart). The second time was for the church trunk-or-treating. And the third time was for actual trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.

**I have to put a disclaimer on here. Harper picked out her costume. She has a new fascination with Ariel/The Little Mermaid. She wanted to dress up as Ariel for Halloween. I looked at patterns to make her a costume and it was a little too advanced for me. When we took her out to get a costume. She picked this dress out. It doesn't resemble anything that Ariel ever wears. It just has a picture of her on the dress. It was good enough for Harper.

The first two pictures were taken before trick-or-treating at Ryan's office. So cute. Rigs was a lion. Same costume as last year. Don't judge.

The next two pictures were taken either before or after trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. We did trick-or-treating with some friends and then had them over and had yummy soup. The second pictures is of all of our kids. Finn is the tortoise and Myma is the hare. How cute is that?!

New Year

Oh, I just love the feeling of a new year. I am a big goal setter. (That doesn't mean that I'm a big goal achiever, but let's just go with it). I love what a new year brings with it. New calendars, new goals, new everything. I've heard people say that they don't like to set new year resolutions because they know they won't stick with them and they're just setting themselves up for failure.

I disagree.

I love the feeling of goals.

I think I'm that way because of my parents. I have a memory of waking up very, very early one New Year's Day (was it New Year's day, family?) and going with my parents, brothers and sister to our church building. We went to the high council room, which is just like a conference room with a big long table and white erase boards. My dad sat us all down and told us that we were going to write out our family mission plan. None of us except for my parents were very enthusiastic about it, but we did it. We also always had a special new year family home evening where we wrote out all of our new year resolutions. It's good stuff that goal setting business!

I have a few resolutions for myself this year. I'm not going to put all of them specifically on here. Maybe I will at the end of the year and I'll let you know which ones I accomplished. You can probably tell that blogging more often is one of them. I wrote down how frequently I want to blog and hopefully I'll be able to stick to it!

Wish me luck!

I have a few family happenings to catch up on so be looking for those. In the meantime, here's a cute picture of the little ones.

Thankful Catch Up

I'm totally behind on this thankfulness thing. Sorry!!! Here goes...

#5 - I'm thankful for modern medicine. I'm pretty sure that Rigley wouldn't be here if it weren't for the doctors, nurses, surgeries and medications that have helped him so much. There are definitely pros and cons to it. Today I put a check in the mail to pay off the medical bill from when Rigs had to stay overnight at the hospital when he was four days old. It's expensive and things don't always go right, but I am very thankful for it!

#6 - My bed. Ryan and I got a new king size bed back in April. Before this bed we were sleeping on a full size bed. It was a fairly comfortable bed, just so small. Now on our new bed I can hardly even reach Ryan sometimes. And it is oh so comfy! I just love it so much!

#7 - Walmart/Bentonville - Ryan has been blessed with a great job at Walmart. And thanks to Walmart (mostly) Bentonville is a pretty cool town. We really love it here! We have made some awesome friends and had some really great times.

#8 - Book Group - I have recently become in charge of our book group and it is such a great group. The books are always great and even if I haven't read the book I can still go and have a good time! Any good suggestions for us to read?

#9 - My Parents - They are seriously the best! They are such great examples to me of how I should live my life. They are very good at being self sufficient. They have a garden, exercise regularly,, compost have tons of food storage, and the list goes on. I really look up to them a lot!

#10 - Ryan's Parents - They sure did a good job at raising Ryan. They are amazing people. They are always thinking of and serving others. And they're coming to see us for Christmas! Yay!

#11 - I would have written this on Veteran's Day. I'm thankful for Veterans. Namely my Dad, Grandpa, brothers Zach and Abe, Uncles Dick, Jim and Russ, my cousin Tucker and Ryan's Grandpas Bob and Johnny. My brother, Abe, will be getting home from Iraq in the next week or so (hopefully). It really helps me appreciate it a little bit more when I have servicemen in my family. Thank you!

#12 - My job(s) - Being a stay-at-home mama is (in my humble opinion) one of the most difficult but most rewarding jobs a person can have. It is such a joy to be with my kids and teach them and learn from them. Also, I have been put on the schedule to teach at a gym. I can't wait to start teaching classes. It's going to be a great experience!

#13 - Good friends - I mentioned that we have made some great friends here. I really love my friends here! I'm also grateful for long time friends. I talked to an old roommate on gmail chat yesterday. I like the friendships that remain no matter how long you go without talking. They're nice to have.

#14 - Cars - We are lucky to have two cars. I am able to go to the gym or library or go grocery shopping during the day. I really admire people who can figure out how to make it work with just one car. I also like that cars can take us places far away. We'll be driving to Georgia in a couple of days for Thanksgiving and I'm thankful that we have a car that can get us there!

#15 - Hair - This may sound silly but I am really thankful for hair. Particularly mine (and Harper's). I know a lot of people who have hair that they don't love. Harper and I are complimented on our hair probably 95% of the time that we go out in public. And let me tell you, it never gets old! It always brightens my day when we get a hair compliment. I'm not the best at styling my hair or doing cute hair-dos but I have great color, it's thick and it grows fast. I really am luck to have good hair.

Toyland

Our Toyland First Friday this year was so much fun!

They had life size models of Lightning McQueen, Mater and Finn McMissile.

Harper got to ride a pony.

 

And Rigs got to watch.

We enjoyed the evening by getting all kinds of fun samples and seeing a bunch of fun characters!

Dr. Crentist

"Your dentist's name is Crentist? That sounds a lot like dentist."

"Maybe that's why he became a dentist."

Harper's dentist's name isn't Crentist. I just love that quote from 'The Office." Harper's dentist's name is Dr. Caple and he is great! Harper had her first dentist appointment and she did such a great job! It really helps that they have a waiting room full of fun stuff: TV, train table, video games, etc. Also, they have TVs above each chair. When Harper was called back the dentist came and said hi and showed her what he was going to do on a stuffed frog. It was so cute! They cleaned her teeth and gave her a fluoride treatment. She doesn't have any cavities. Yay! The dentist said that the spaces in her teeth are a good thing. It will help with cavity prevention and when her permanent teeth come in. Here are some pictures.

Thankful

I have a friend who is writing a daily post on her blog about what she is thankful for each day. I also know of people who are doing this on facebook. I figured I'd jump right in. I know some people might think this is silly or cliche (like my big brother, Zach) but I always feel like Thanksgiving is a little overshadowed by Christmas and this will be a good way to focus on and remember Thanksgiving. Since today is November 4th, I'll write four things I'm thankful for.

#1- Ryan. Man oh man, do I ever love him! We are getting ready to celebrate our fifth anniversary this month and I am so excited. I have these moments sometimes when I look around myself and think about how lucky I am to be living so comfortably in a home with two kids and it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for my hard-working husband. He works so hard for us and does so much for us while also keeping up with his church calling and making time to have fun with the kids and me. Such a great man!

#2- Harper. She is like a little sour patch kid. She does have her sour moments but she is such a sweet little girl.. I remember being pregnant with Rigs and worrying about how she would respond to him. There was almost no jealousy. She loved him so much! She is such a good helper and she is so smart. It is crazy for me to think that she is three years old. She is my little angel and I am so grateful to have her.

#3- Rigley. Our little miracle baby. This little boy is our happy, fun, flexible, strong, super-kid. He is at such a fun age right now. And oh my goodness does this kids love sports. It is definitely in his blood. Have you met my husband? If he sees sports on TV or anything that is remotely round (i.e. pumpkins, apples, etc.) he immediately points and says "BALL." He has quite an arm. His favorite thing to do is play catch/roll. The relationship that he has with his sister is precious. Harper is by far his favorite person. Love that little boy.

#4- First Fridays. Our town does something called First Friday the first Friday of each month. It takes place at the Bentonville square. Today is the last one of the year and it is the Toyland First Friday. A whole bunch of Walmart suppliers come and give a fun preview of what the hot toys are for the year. It's perfect timing with Christmas coming up. There are always fun vendors and shops and music and yummy food and fun stuff for the kids. We love First Friday!

Typical Tuesday

Recently I met the friend of a friend. She and her sweet family moved to the area not too long ago. Her name is Rachel and she's pretty cool. I was looking at her blog and she does these really cool posts called 'Typical Tuesday.' She has people come and guest post on her blog and write a post about what a typical Tuesday would be like in their lives.

I LOVE that idea!

I am going to start doing the same thing here. I am so excited!

First, I'm going to share with you a typical Tuesday with our family. 

Our Typical Tuesday:

Mornings start pretty early around here. First with Ryan getting up most days around 5:30 to get ready for work.  After he wakes up, I try to fall asleep as fast as I can because Harper's average wake up time is between 6:00 and 6:30. Our nights are still a little unpredictable with at least one kid waking up at least once or twice. So, when Harper wakes up we go to the living room and it looks like this:

Yes, it's still dark outside. She comes out with her blanket (Nee-Nee), pillow-pet and a stuffed animal/doll. I get her a cup of milk and we watch cartoons for a little while. She usually only watches one or two shows. Usually Martha Speaks and Curious George. After those she's awake enough for breakfast and playing. (This is starting to change. I have started to take her straight to the kitchen where we have breakfast and only after she eats her whole breakfast is she allowed to watch anything. We've done this for 2 days now and it's working well).
This morning her breakfast was strawberry applesauce.

My breakfast is usually cereal. Sometimes I'll treat myself to a breakfast that would have syrup involved, but that would be a Special Tuesday not a typical one. This is my most recent favorite cereal.

The other kid in the house, Rigley, wakes up around 8ish. It really varies every morning depending on how his night was. Yes, he is almost 16 months old and yes he still has rough nights. They have been getting much better lately (thank you, ear tubes). He wakes up and has yogurt for breakfast (sorry no picture). After breakfast we get ready for the day. Harper has Joy School on Mondays and Wednesdays so on our off days I try to take the kids to a park. The night before this particular Tuesday was rainy so a park was out of the question. Too wet. So we went out and ran some errands and then headed to Chick-Fil-A. Oh, how we LOVE that place! The kids usually share some nuggets, fries and fruit. My favorite thing to get is the soup. Especially since the weather is starting to get cooler.

The picture of them playing is so cute. I took it through the glass. I love the look on Rigley's face. He loves playing with his big sister. After lunch and playing we head home for some naps. I did a little bit of laundry while they napped and then I took a short nap myself. After the kids wake up from their naps they usually have snacks and we just play. I also try to get a few more things done and get dinner ready. I worked on making a Halloween banner.

It turned out really cute. I'll have to share the final project, huh? Then Daddy comes home! One of our favorite times of the day! He plays with the kids while I finish up dinner and then we eat. Dinner on this Tuesday was Chicken Noodle Soup (I'm in a dinner swap where me and four other women swap dinners every week. Meaning, on Mondays we make four families worth of dinner and swap them with each other. Then we only have to cook once or twice a week. It's great!). After dinner there is a little bit more playing.

Then we read scriptures and have family prayer. Ryan usually puts the little boy to bed and I put the little girl to bed. After the kids are asleep out evenings sometimes look like this.

For some reason this picture won't rotate. Sorry.

We just like to relax on the couch and watch some of our shows. On Tuesdays we usually watch 'The Sing Off' that was recorded on Monday. After that it's bedtime. Goodnight.

So that is a typical Tuesday for us. If you're interested in sharing a typical Tuesday here, let me know. Or don't, I'll probably email you and ask you to anyway.

Stay Tuned

 This post is to tell you all to check back here tomorrow for a post that will introduce a new thing that's going to be happening regularly around here. I'm pretty excited about it!


My silly children.

Goldilocks

Our sweet little boy has beautiful hair. He is a blond through and through. Some might call him a toe head. We do. It is so blond and so cute! This summer it was especially cute because it was a little curly. Especially in the back. He had the beginnings of a little curly mullet. Which is totally acceptable here in Arkansas. Well now that the humidity is almost gone so are the curls. It was becoming just wispy in the back and straight up top. It was so long that it would get in his eyes and while it was still so cute it was starting to get a little out of hand. Ryan has been saying that Rigs needed a hair cut for a few months now. I have been resisting and resisting. People always commented on how cute his curly, blond hair is. Well, when your son is mistaken for a girl three times in one week, it's time.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: The First Hair Cut!

The before:

 The during:

Can you see my tears mixed in with the hair?

The after:

So handsome!

It was a team effort. Ryan did some and I did some. We used both clippers and scissors. I feel like we did a pretty decent job. It's really hard to get a 15 month old to keep his head still. The haircut makes him look so much older. Everyone has commented on how handsome he looks. I totally agree with them!

Mommy's Little Helper

While Harper is at Joy School, I do my best to get some things done around the house. The other day I was working on some laundry and Rigs decided he wanted to help me out.

He climbed right on in and got real cozy with the nice warm clothes. Would you look at that face? It's melting your heart isn't it? It melts mine every day!

If you look closely in the picture you can get a feel of his sweet, luscious little curls. Well, enjoy them because they are all gone now. Stay tuned for a post about that.

When did this happen?

Time just needs to slow down.

I remember the first day we brought her home from the hospital. My mom was with us and we walked in the door and she said that she would watch Harper for us while Ryan and I took a nap. We agreed and went upstairs to sleep. I think we napped for a couple of hours. I came down the stairs so anxious to see her. My mom asked us how our nap was. I said, "Fine, but I missed her." I was crying. I missed my little angel baby.

It blows me away how fast they grow up. I hope that I can always remember and cherish moments that are so dear with my little ones. How I love them so much!

I got RIPPED

About 6 months ago I started taking a group fitness class called RIPPED. I immediately got hooked to the class. It is such a great workout. About a month and a half after taking the class, my gym advertised that they were going to have an instructor training for RIPPED. I knew I wanted to do it. After being postponed a couple of times because of low registration numbers it finally happened today. It was an all day long training class: 9 am to 5 pm. We did two (that's 2) full 50 minute classes and the rest was lecture and practice. It was exhausting but awesome! The master trainer that taught the class puts the Energizer Bunny to shame. She was amazing!

Sorry it's kind of weird my phone is a little slow at taking pictures.

I can't wait to start teaching! Wooo!

Kansas City

Playing a little catch up.

A little while ago, I want to say in May, we met up with Ryan's parents in Kansas City for a fun weekend. We got connecting hotel rooms, which Harper loved. It was a packed weekend. I can't remember the order that we did everything, but here's some pictures of the highlights of our trip.

At the Kansas City Royals game. This is one of the rare happy moments for Rigs. He did not like all of the noise and cheering.

The red heads at the zoo.

Rigs and the grandparents.

This hippo was so cool. You can see the top of the railing at the bottom of the picture. He swam right up to us. The kids loved it!

While we were at the zoo it started raining. It didn't ever come down  super hard so we just stuck it out. This is at the end of our zoo visit and we were all pretty wet.

Liberty Jail.

Kansas City Temple. This might be our new temple.

We did see a couple other church history sites and the Community of Christ temple. We are so glad that Ryan's parents drove down and met up with us. It was a really fun weekend!