Finally!! Enough Snow for....

One eyed snowman!  Wahoo.  Carl came home from school and was ready and willing to take the girls outside and play.  The girls choose building him vs. sledding.  Seriously though, this has been the most snow we have gotten all season long.  And it wasn't really that much snow.  It is very sad and depressing in some ways but I have to admit that it has been nice not to have to drive or walk in snow day after day.  I got to stay inside and bake the cookies Carmel and I made today.  Oatmeal chocolate chip with about 6 dozen more uncooked in the freezer.  Speaking of freezers, I love mine.  I was able to take a previously made container of enchilada soup and pop it into a pot and heat it up as we made the cookies.  The idea of cooking dinner and making a huge batch of cookies was a major turn off.  Thank you freezer.  And one more thanks... to my food processor.  You grated that Hershey's bar like it was nothing and then processed the oatmeal into a fine powder for me.  Modern day conveniences you are my hero's today.  

Celebrating Fifty Years of Frieda

Saturday, the actual day my sister turned 50, we threw her a birthday bash.  She wanted to celebrate being 50 rather than seeing it as something depressing.   We all pitched in and made the food and decorations.   The cake was made by the same lady who made Kristen's and I have to say, it was delicious.  Kristen flew in from Texas, and then people from the temple, work and church came to celebrate with us.  Although a small party, you can not imagine how much work goes into making it happen but it was fun and you learn a lot while doing it.  

These are the best of the pics on my camera.  I know there are a ton more pictures out there but at this time....this is all you get.  

Happy 50th Frieda!

The Tooth Fairy and....

I took this picture jic there wouldn't be another opportunity to see her mouth with just one tooth missing

This was taken this afternoon because I forgot to take it this morning and unfortunately...

.....ANOTHER TOOTH LOSS!!!  And the picture above this one was taken AFTER the 2nd tooth loss.  Dang it for missed opportunity.

Both my girls making crazy eyes cause they saw how funny Carmel looked in the picture above.

Nana gets her ears pierced

Frieda mentioned that she was thinking about piercing her ears for her birthday.  That was all it took for Mandy and me to say, it was being done right then and there and we were going to witness it.  Fun fun fun.  

She has preached to her girls the woes of getting your ears pierced and banned them from doing so while they were under the age of 18...Kristen did it I think right at 18 and I can't remember how old Ash was and Mandy said maybe when she is 30 but since she is going to be 25 years old for the rest of her life, well, she'll never get them done.  

Carmel was watching and we asked her if she wanted them done and she said NO.  For some reason, she thought she had to get them done, so she pitched a fit and bawled her eyes out.  This didn't help coming so close to the 4 shots in the leg she has recently gotten.  Anyway, she is fine and I have to say, Frieda looks GREAT with pierced ears.  Who knew?! 

It's Carmel's Turn

Carmel's two bottom teeth have been loose for awhile now.  But lately, I have noticed them becoming increasingly so, which lead me yesterday to say 'hey, we need to get a picture of your teeth because I bet today will be the last day with a full set of baby teeth' and sure enough, it was.  That said, I have to admit I played a hand in the loss.  She asked me to help and after a few wiggles...out it came.  It was only holding on by a thread and the other is going to be out by the end of the day tomorrow, mark my word.  And not at my hand. :)  She was so proud and could not stop looking in the mirror and telling Claire that they were twins...that one cracked me up since of course...they are!  lol  Claire being the rotten thing she can be said they weren't since Carmel had only lost one.  Oh siblings...sometimes you just want to strangle them.  The tooth fairy has money and letter on hand so all is well on a Saturday night.

Presenting....the most silliest person's of all

The donettes in the back - my vday present from the girls.  Not sure where the bib comes into play but you can see they have make up and such on.

These girls are CRAZY!  They came into my room and stated "presenting the most silliest person's of all."  trying to understand what they were doing or why they were doing it is unknown.  But funny it was.  Good thing I know those panties are clean.  

Valentine's Day

Pears

Peas

I worked Monday so I missed their school party but we 'signed' the valentines the night before - Granny was all worried it was going to take hours and they would be exhausted and I'm like they can bust them out in a few minutes...they only had to sign 16 each.  It went well and they brought home a ton of  candy and the like.  Then for Valentine's Day, we had a playgroup party with 21 plus kids in attendance so I bought two different Valentines and had all 3 girls write their name on each one for practice sake.  Even 56 times of each girls name didn't take too long -but it can make you a bit frazzled since there is limited space to write.  They did awesome and I am so proud of them.  On a side note, going to a party where there are 21 plus kids with the mean age being about 3, in a home...not really a good idea.  The noise level put my stress level up to about its breaking point and I couldn't wait for the valentine exchange part to be over (after lunch and some playtime).  

We did not decorate at all this year - getting home on the 7th and not really getting back into a routine until yesterday...does not bode well for holiday celebrating.  On a funny note, I bought dolls for the girls back at Christmas, determined they didn't need them but a friend convinced me to get them and Mandy was along and suggested I buy them and determine later if we keep them.  Anyway, I kinda forgot about them and then remembered them the other day....still not sure they would love them since they don't play with the dolls they currently own on a regular basis.  My mom mentioned wanting to get them something and then I didn't have anything for them so we decided to give them together.  The original doll for Claire was a bottle drinking, tooth brushing doll and diaper changing but she did not appreciate it because it didn't eat and poop like the one Carmel got.  She let us know before it came out of the box and Carmel was kind enough to share for the first day so there wasn't any sadness or tears.  It worked out nicely and I was able to get the requested doll - brown like her that eats, drinks, poops and pees.  It has only been 24 hours but so far they are a big hit - I have to make some diapers and find the clearjel they suggest online to make homemade baby food so the cost of caring for them is cut considerably.  

Last Day - Headed Home

We had planned on going to the beach our last day but it was a bit overcast, breezy and not a day you'd really want to spend at the beach.  The girls and Carl went swimming, and mom and I chilled (I updated the blog) in our room.  We also had to pack up, we had 5 carry on's, 1 suitcase to check, two huge carseats and two strollers.  It was a ton of stuff and Long Beach airport has you walk a mile to reach your plane without any carts - on the way home, we were able to snag a w/c and put the carseats and strollers on it.  It made a big difference on the speed at which we were able to make it to the plane.  Then at the SLC airport we were able to snag two very different type of w/c's which we were able to put everything on and at 7 at night, it was nice to have some assistance.

Nightly Swim

Every night after we get back to the hotel, we head down to the pool/whirlpool for an hour or so.  The girls beg for it and love it.  Carl loves the whirlpool and hated having to go into the pool because although heated, it was still cold.  I told him dads do the fun stuff, moms do the nurturing so I didn't have to go in.  I stayed in the whirlpool which was very nice.  All but one night we had the pools to ourselves.  It has been super nice.

Coronado Beach

After the day at Sea World and then lunch/dinner at Olive Garden, we headed to Coronado Beach based on a recommendation from my friend Erin.  It was a short drive and over a bridge.  We cruised there and spent an hour or so.  In just a short stroll on the beach, I found all those sand dollars and more... unfortunately, I did not find any that were not broken.  It made me sad but I got over it.  It was too cool to change into swim suits but they still had fun playing in the sand.

Sea World 2nd Visit

Shamu

Shamu standing with his hand over his heart for the National Anthem

A Beluga Whale coming right at me....then it pressed its face on the glass and stared me down and took off.

Pete the Penguin...

Looking tired (allergies too) holding a Scarlet Ibis - yes I was selected and the only person to get to have the bird fly onto his/her arm.

Cats doing tricks 

We fed the sea lion and it was so funny - Claire begged to do it and she was so brave because these white birds - hoover and snatch the food from you as you try to feed them.

Claire was on one and would not go by the aquarium to see the turtles and get her picture taken.

We went back to Sea World today and are very glad we did.  We rode the Atlantis Ride, looked at sting rays, penguins, dolphins, turtles, watched the Pet Show, learned a little more about Shamu and his/her relatives.  Not to mention getting Carmel her much loved churro.  She is a freak for them.