Pre-Christmas Festivities

Yesterday was our first annual Christmas Tea Party at my Aunt's house. She went all out with little cupcakes, scones, and brownies to go with our tea (hot chocolate). Here is the big girl table... and the little girl table. Brooke and Kaylee were in heaven with cupcakes in reach.

Cousins and Aunts all dressed up for the party.

Thanks Angela, we had a wonderful time!!

Jake and I went on a date to temple square. It was really cold -I'm not used to the cold weather.

Cute Brooke enjoying the snow.

We are off to Logan soon for Christmas!!

First Semeter Done!

Jake finished her fist semester of Grad school today!!! We are so excited for the break! School doesn't start again until the 11th of January so we get a whole month off! We fly to Utah next week for 3 weeks of visiting family and friends! I am so excited. I already have a Temple Square date planned for Jake and I (I don't remember the last time we actually went out on a date.)

Brooke and I have had a cold this past week. Poor little Brooke couldn't breath very well. I held her all night one night and didn't get much sleep- but at least she did. Now that Brooke and I are on the mend Jake and Kaylee are getting sick. At least we'll get it over with before we get to Utah.

Jake has another internship interview before we leave with a company in Iowa. I wasn't too excited about the prospect of moving to Iowa even just for the summer until I found out that Cedar Rapids is only about 3 hours from Nauvoo! I would love to visit Nauvoo!!

Finally- a picture of Kaylee's best friend. She got this bear from my grandparents for her 1st birthday. As you can see he has been well loved. His fur is matted, and he is missing an eye. "Teddy" gets to wear bows and dresses (despite the fact Kaylee calls Teddy "he"). She can't sleep at night until she has Teddy. Santa wonders if a new Teddy would be acceptable.... but Teddy is probably irreplaceable.

SNOW!

It rarely snows in Texas but we were lucky enough to get some today!! It was really coming down with huge flakes for a while, but it has turned to rain now. We got some good playing in while it lasted.

Kaylee had a great time making "snow castles" with her bucket and shovel. She didn't want to go inside.

This was Brooke's first real experience with snow. She kept saying "ooohhh!"

Cute family!!

We decorated the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Notice Kaylee put all the decorations on the same branches.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment again this year. We had 2 other couples from our ward over. I forgot to take pictures. We had lots of good food and ended up with with 6 pies for 8 of us (including Kaylee and Brooke) and 5 of them were pumpkin.

Jake just received an internship offer with Lockheed Martin in Forth Worth (by Dallas) this summer. That means we move once again after a year of being in Lubbock. That seems to be our tradition- we've moved every year for the past 4 years, but we'll come back to the same apartment this time.

Cloth Diaper Savings!

I originally started cloth diapers as a way to get Kaylee potty trained. I thought maybe feeling wet would motivate her to use the potty (it might have helped- she is potty trained now!) I hadn't researched the cost of things much - I just started using them for Brooke because I had them, but I didn't use them all the time since I only had 2 diaper covers. I wasn't sure if the cost of doing laundry made all the effort worth it. Finally this past week I did the research and this is what I found....

• Using the national price of electricity and water- a load of laundry using cold water costs 14 cents, 32 cents with warm water. http://http//michaelbluejay.com/electricity/laundry.html
• I wash cloth diapers 2 times per week = 30-64 cents a week
• Sun drying is the best way to get stains out (luckily I live in sunny Texas -this would have been a little harder in Washington.) This means I don't have to pay for dyer electricity

This past few days poor Brooke has had diarrhea (not fun!) Yesterday we used 10 diapers. If I would have used disposable it would have cost $1.50 (15 cents per diaper) . Instead I used cloth and did 1 load of laundry - 14 cents.

Alright, cloth diapers are a little more work and the poopy diapers are not much fun, but as collage students I think the savings outweigh the work. One more interesting website....http://www.csgnetwork.com/elecenergycalcs.html

Look what I made!

I had never sewn clothes (or anything really) before but I found a blog that showed how to make a dress from an old sweater. It looked pretty simple so I went to the thrift store and bought a sweater to try... and here is the result! It turned out pretty good, not nearly as good as the one from the blog, but for a first attempt I think I did alright. To make your own go to http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/11/re-purposing-sweater-to-sweater-dress.html This dress will be great for the winter!

• I did my last flu shot clinic on Wednesday. I just have to say I have never seen so many tattoos in my life!! I'd say 85% of the arms I gave shots in had tattoos. It was funny so see all these "tough guys" with tattoos and piercings afraid of a flu shot. Most of them couldn't watch and a few moved when I was getting ready to put the needle in their arm. After the shot they realized it wasn't so bad. I got several compliments on my shot giving skill "I didn't even feel that- you're good."

It was nice to leave Jake in charge to be Mr. Mom. I wouldn't want to go to work everyday, but it is a nice break every once in a while.

Daddy's Buddy

Kaylee loves to "help" daddy shave. Here she is getting ready shave off her "pink whiskers."

Happy Halloween

Our ward had a Halloween Party yesterday. The girls couldn't get enough of the bounce house.

Cute little pumpkin and pretty ferry. No trick-or-treating for us. It is stake conference this weekend with the adult session at 7:00. The girls don't know they are missing out on the candy and they don't need it anyway.

She didn't want to touch the guts. We turned the job over to dad. Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Painting Pumpkins

Since the girls are a little to small to carve pumpkins we painted pumpkins instead!

Look at the joy on her face. She LOVES to paint!

After cleaning off the paint....posing with the finished products.

Weight

I saw on the Today show this week that there was a family with a 2 year old who weighed 22 lbs and the insurance company wouldn't cover her because she didn't weigh enough. I thought Kaylee weighed about that and sure enough...

My 3 year old weights 22.8 lbs

My 1 year old weighs 18 lbs

Brooke is quickly catching up to Kaylee in weight. I guess it is a good thing we are poor college students on medicaid so we don't have to worry about insurance companies!

I figured it is about time for another post but I don't feel like much has happened here lately. Here are a few pictures anyway... I was trying to do a photo shoot of Brooke but she wouldn't cooperate. Most pictures are the side of her head as she walked away. I guess we'll have to go to a professional. Brooke really doesn't like strangers so I don't know how the pictures would turn out.Kaylee is always turning her head and running from the camera!

Cute girl in cute boots.

I got my haircut this week. It had been a year since my last haircut! (I know that is terrible- I meant to get it done before we moved but it didn't happen and Jake is always so busy I kept putting it off.)

I have my first flu clinic next week. I am a little nervous since I haven't worked for 4 years. It will be just me doing everything too- the set up and clean up, all the paperwork and shots. (By the way we were told there is a shortage of flu shots this year so if you haven't got one yet do it soon!)

BIG NEWS!!! Kaylee is finally starting to the hang of potty training!!!!! She used to resist anytime we tried to get her to use the potty, but now she'll do it!! She still has accidents but they are always at home and she stays dry when we take her out. She even went to church in panties on Sunday!!!

We have been trying cloth diapers lately. I always thought it was crazy to use them but since there is no Costco here and diapers were more expensive I decided to give it a try. They aren't my favorite, I prefer the convenience of disposable but we are using less diapers. We'll see if cloth diapers motivate Brooke to potty train earlier than Kaylee did :)

Party Girls!

Yesterday we celebrated Brooke and Kaylee's birthdays. Brooke turned 1 on Sunday and Kaylee turns 3 on Friday. I didn't want to make 2 cakes so we had one big party.

Brooke figured out how to open the presents. She did get a little distracted by the ribbons and boxes though.

Kaylee loves this present. Jake wasn't too excited about it (he is worried about the mess it will cause) but he did buy it. I made tutus for the girls and they wore them almost all day.

Check out these cute boots the girls got from Grandma and Grandpa Williams! Every Texan girl should have some boots. Too bad Brooke's feet are too chubby for them.

We had a big candle that was like a sparkler and played happy birthday. It was really cool until it set the fire alarm off which scared Brooke.

Brooke had no problem eating her cake. When Kaylee was1 she wasn't so sure (she hadn't had cake before.) Brooke being the second child had her taste of sugar at a young age and obviously enjoys it.

Happy Birthday Brooke and Kaylee!!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Brooke turned 1 year old today!!

She is such a fun little girl. She has quite the vocabulary already "outside, food, mommy, Jesus, shoe, sorry," and her favorite word "doggy" to name a few. She is very energetic and takes off up the rows at church anytime she gets a chance. She is a very good eater and can really pack in the food. She eats as much if not more than Kaylee does. She likes to spin in circles and say "wheee!" She sure is a sweet fun little girl.

I saw this poem on a friend's blog and thought it was very appropriate. There are often toys all over my floor and I get a little embarrassed when people come over. This puts it into perspective.

Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there. Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere. For smears are on the windows, little smudges on the door. I should apologize, I guess, for toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read; and if the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead. For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other, I want to be a housewife...but first I'll be a MOTHER. ~ Author Unknown

Yesterday we found the dress up clothes Grandma gave Kaylee for Christmas last year. They had fun dancing in their pretty dresses. Brooke actually wanted me to put the dress on her and was mad when I took the red ridding hood off her. I think Kaylee is going to want to wear the ferry dress all the time now.

Last week was my birthday. This is the only picture we got from the day. Jake had class all day and then a class that night so there wasn't much of a party. Kaylee and I made cupcakes though and some nice girls from our ward brought me some treats -one a cake and the other brownies.

The swimming pool at our complex is closed so we've had to bring out the blow-up pool on the porch. There is a really nice pool on campus that we went to on Tuesday night. I forgot my camera but the girls love playing in the water. I got a gym pass so I can use the campus pool and gym. I'm pretty excited about that. I haven't been able to use a gym since we left BYU-I. I have been getting workout DVD's from the Library, but they can get a little boring. I think we'll head to the pool again tonight!

Rain

Since I lived in Washington I thought I knew all about rain. The rain in Washington was nothing compared to the rain here though. When it rains it pours!! The street was like a river although you can't tell so well in the video. Brooke thought it was very entertaining.

Texas Update

I guess I should give a little update. We've been so busy unpacking, and getting all settled. Things are getting better here. Our ward is very friendly. We have been invited to Sunday dinner the past 2 weeks and have another "appointment" this Sunday. I've also joined a walking group and have been to playgroup. Kaylee still doesn't have any good friends yet and keeps asking if she can play with Nathan and Sam (her Washington friends -she has also asked to play with Chris and Danielle too).

• Jake has survived his first week of school. He is still trying to decided if he just wants to get his Masters or his PH.D. He is able to take the bus for free to school everyday so I don't have to take him. There is a guy from our ward in his classes so they go to the gym afterward.

• I just got a job with Summit Health! I am an independant contractor for their flu shot clinics and heath screenings. It should be a good job that won't take me away from the girls too much.

• Kaylee and Brooke want to play outside all the time but it is way too hot outside. I'm looking forward to fall for the cooler weather. It is actually raining today so it seems like home.

• Brooke is walking all over the place. She takes off out the front door any chance she gets. Kaylee has become our dishwasher (our dishwasher here is terrible so we wash dishes by hand now) and she really enjoys it.

Well that's our update for now. I'll post some pictures of our place once I hang all the pictures up.

Beware of the Desitin!

When you are moving things are in places they wouldn't normally be. Kaylee was supposed to be sleeping, but this is what we found- along with Desitin on the carpet and on her bed. If you have had any experience with Desitin you know it really does NOT come out. Spray and Wash did not work, detergent did not work, dish soap did not work, and wipes did not work. Her clothes and bed still have Desitin. Dish soap did work on her hair at least. Just beware and don't let your children get hold of it!

Vistors

My mom and little sister flew from Salt Lake to Lubbock with me. It was so nice to have them there for the 5 hours we were on an airplane. I think I would have gone crazy alone. They were also a big help unpacking once we got here. My brother and sister-in-law also stopped by on their way home from Dallas. (My brother fixed our washer/dryer for us!! Thanks!!) We decided to check out some of the sights of Lubbock. One of the area attractions listed online was the Prairie Dog Town and this was it. Nothing exciting- just a bunch of holes in the ground. There are actually a bunch of them in the field right behind our apartment complex so we didn't even need to go to Prairie dog town. There isn't much to see in Lubbock.

At least there is a temple and it is pretty!

At the temple. It was nice having our visitors for a short time. Kaylee cried when we dropped Kelli and Grandma off at the airport. Thanks for coming to visit! We met some new friends at church today. It seems like everyone we met has kids younger than us. We went to dinner tonight at our neighbors/ward member's house and Kaylee was a little bored. She is used to kids her age to play with and there was only babies. There were kids in nursery her age so we'll just have to find out who their parents are and make friends. School starts this week for Jake. His classes are broken up into blocks so it doesn't seem like he has that many classes right now. I am sure I'll still be shocked at how much he has to study when I've been used to just having him home.

Vacation in Utah

While in Utah we went to the Davis County fair to check out the animals. Kaylee was a little afraid of the aggressive goats. It was really hot too so we didn't stay long.

The girls got to play in the sprinklers for the first time. Apartment dwellers don't get many chances to do that. They loved it.

And when you don't have a pool what could be better than a big bucket?

We also got to go up to the family cabin just past Heber city. I hadn't been there in at least 4 years so it was fun to spend the night there. We saw 4 or 5 deer and a great big moose. The girls enjoyed being outdoors there.

We had a great time in Utah. Kaylee loved being close to Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Kelli and Uncle Kevin. It was nice for me to have 4 extra people to help watch them!

Lubbock

My first impression is that is it going to be a LONG 3 years! After living in beautiful green Washington- Texas is... well, Ugly (sorry if that hurt any Texas pride.) It is completely FLAT here. The freeway that goes all around the city has no exit numbers or street names so you have no idea where you are exiting to. As for the apartment. It is ok except for a few things that happened today. I went to get some clothes out of Brooke's closet only to find them and everything else in the closet CRAWLING with ANTS! I vacuumed and washed all of her clothes to get rid of them and sprayed and the manager said there is someone coming by Monday to spray for bugs. Just now I was going to make dinner and as the oven was preheating I started smelling smoke. I opened the oven and there was a FIRE in my oven!!! I quickly poured water in there and got it out (I don't even know where a fire -extinguisher is). All the smoke detectors in the apartment were going off (at least we know they work) and the whole apartment now smells like smoke. I think we'll eat out tonight. I'm sure in a few months I'll actually like Lubbock. It's always hard at first. It can only get better from here right? I have pictures from our time in Utah and some from here to post but I'll do that later. Now that I have vented I'll get back to unpacking.

Walking Girl

Brooke is 10 months old and walking! She doesn't walk every where yet but she is pretty close. She is also talking a bit. She says "hi" "teddy" "doggie" "mom" and sometimes it really sounds like she says "Kaylee." She's getting so big so fast!

Welcome Home Kevin!

My little brother came home from Halifax, Canada last night. The flight was supposed to get in at 8:00 at night but the radar wasn't working on their airplane so they were sent back to the Chicago airport and changed planes. They ended up landing at 11:30 at night instead and we didn't get home until almost 1:00 in the morning. It was probably kind of an anti-climatic homecoming since everyone was so tired. We are happy to have him home.