Pickett Family Fun

Last Day of School

2011-06-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

On June 9th Emmeline had her last day of school. She had such a great year in pre-school. We were so blessed to be able to get into the public preschool program. She made a lot of friends, had a lot of fun and had a great start towards learning to love education. I am really proud of her and all her accomplishments so far. And I cant believe how fast my little girl is growing!!

First Day of School

Last Day of School

Birthday Review

2011-06-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Brett and I had a couple of great birthdays. The celebrations started on the 5th. We invited our gaming friends over to hang out with us after the girls went to bed. We watched the Mavs game (which they lost) then Brett blew out the candles of his Boston Creme Pie. That is his usual birthday cake request. We also played a fun board game, Rail Baron, and Brett won. So that was good. I had fun watching Brett blow out all 30 of his candles.

Then on June 6th, Bretts actual birthday, the girls and I set up all 30 of his birthday posters and made 30 cake balls. The girls also had fun wrapping the presents they picked out for Brett at the dollar store.

When Brett got home he saw his posters and I think he liked them. Brett also unwrapped his presents (a Cars washrag from Mabel, a toy dart gun from Emmeline and a fire wallet from me) we went to a Mexican restaurant that we have been wanting to try. It was pretty delicious. We had a fun night.

Then on the 7th it was my birthday. The girls and I took it easy in the morning. Brett came home from work early and after dropping the girls off at a babysitter we went to see X-Men First Class. I thought the movie was AWESOME! For dinner we had some yummy Panda Express and played some Mario Party as a family before the girls went to bed. Then Brett and I watched the Mavs game and yeah. . . they won!! Happy Birthday to me :). Brett and the girls also got me some beautiful flowers.

The next day some of my girlfriends took me to Chick fil a for lunch. mmmmmmmmmm.

We had a wonderful birthday time and both Brett and I really appreciate all of the calls and facebook/email birthday wishes from so many of our family and friends. Thanks for making our birthdays so special!!

Happy Birthday Brett!!

2011-06-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Brett!!

You've had a birthday shout HOORAY!! We want to sing to you today! One year older and wiser too. Happy Birthday--to YOU!!

I love you honey!!

The Return of the Tooth Fairy

2011-06-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, on June 1st, Emmeline lost her first tooth and it was very exciting. Well tonight imagine my surprise when she runs out of bed (again. . .it was after she went to bed) yelling, "I lost another tooth!!" Man, at this rate she wont have any left!! But the tooth fairy came again and left another dollar. Emmeline was thrilled!

Getting Ready

2011-06-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Bretts 30th birthday is in a couple of days, on June 6th. I asked him how he wanted to celebrate his big day and he said he would be happy just doing something with our family. hmmm. So how am I supposed to make it special?? The girls and I decided to use an idea I read about in FamilyFun Magazine (the idea was ironically submitted by a friend of mine in my ward here in Flower Mound). We made 30 posters to surprise Brett with on his big day. Okay, we actually only made like 9 BIG posters. The rest were just done on regular construction paper. . we dont have a very large apartment to display 30 big posters. The girls and I have been working on them all week and we are excited to see how he likes them on his birthday.

We All Go Traveling by--Emmeline Preschool Follies

2011-06-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

As unbelievable as it seems, Emmeline's first year of school is just about over. For the end of the year her school put on the Lillie J. Jackson Follies, where each class presented a song they had been learning all year long. Emmelines class song is "We All Go Traveling By." It is a cute little song and it was really fun to go and watch her perform it with her class. A couple highlights from the video: Emmeline trying to take over another boys prop, much to his dislike and then for a quick second there at the end, Em decides to dig for gold. Yup, thats my girl. :)

The First Tooth--Gone

2011-06-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Well it happened. Emmeline finally wiggled her tooth out. We had put the girls to bed and were about to settle down for the night when we heard triumphant screaming from the other room. "MOM. MOM. DAD. Come quick. My tooth. It's out!!!" She was so excited. She immediately had to call her Grandma and her Nana. :) Congrats Emmeline. And the tooth fairy came. And left a dollar. Awesome!!

Another fun Nana Visit

2011-05-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

Nana came to visit over Memorial Day weekend and we had a great time. We went to HOP at the dollar theater, ate at our traditional restaurant, Angelina's, and went birthday shopping. Mostly though, it was just nice to visit and spend time together. Thanks for coming Nana! We'll look forward to your next visit!

Bak to Primary

2011-05-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

I served in the primary most of the 5 years that I lived in Birmingham and loved it!! Here in Texas, Brett and I have been teaching the Young Single Adult Sunday School class. That has been a great calling and we got to know some really great people and have some good lessons. I learned a lot and it was actually really good for me to be out of primary for awhile. Well, as members of our class have left on missions, went to school, and moved away it has gotten so small that it has been disbanded. I guess they thought we were doing okay team teaching though because we were immediately put in as co-teachers of a primary class- -the 9 year olds. It looks like its going to be a fun class and I am very excited to be back in primary again!!

Emmeline-Dancing Queen

2011-05-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

On May 21 Emmeline had her first dance recital. It was a pretty big affair. She had to go to a dress rehearsal the night before and the recital itself lasted almost 3 hours. Emmeline got to sit in the balcony with her class and watch the other dancers and she really liked that.

She looked beautiful in her little costume and she loved getting all dressed and makeuped up. I also let her sprinkle glitter over her hair and shoulders.

Her dances were really cute and she did a great job! Her tap dance was to the music "Who Wrote the Book of Love" and her ballet dance was to "All the Pretty Little Horses." She also participated with Brett in a Daddy/daughter dance. (They had several practices before hand which was neat for Emmeline. Brett told me how she held his hand the whole hour for each extra practice and one time they stopped and got ice cream. So those were neat little daddy/daughter date opportunities.) On the night of the recital, they had all the dads assemble near the front 5 dances before they were to go on. Then I got to watch Em and Brett dance together to the song "Cinderella" by Steven Chapman. The song is about a little girl who is growing up and dances with her dad throughout various important moments in her life, starting as a young girl playing "princess at a ball" and then finally leaving after her wedding. The dance was sooo beautiful. The girls who participated waltzed with their dads and did various lifts and stuff. Then at the end the dads each gave their dancers a rose. Watching Emmeline dance with Brett and seeing how fast she is growing up and listening to these beautiful lyrics. . .I was bawling through the entire dance (as anyone who knows me will not be surprised to learn.) It was really neat and I'm so glad that they got the chance to do that together.

A quick note on Mabel. She also did very awesome. I thought she might get a bit jealous at all the attention that Emmeline was getting. . .but she didnt act sour at all. She was happy to hold the flowers throughout the recital and give them to Emmeline at the end. Granted, three hours is super long for a three year old and Mabel did get a little bored by the end. But despite being bored out of her brains, she was good and quiet. I was really proud of her and her willingness to support and cheer for her older sister. (We got a babysitter for Madelyn :) )

Overall it was a fun afternoon.

Emmeline Dance Recital 2011

2011-05-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here is Emmeline in her first dance recital, which was on May 21, 2011. She has really enjoyed taking ballet and tap lessons this year. (This is actually the dress rehearsal since we couldnt film at the recital).

Joseph Smith History Verse 17

2011-05-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Mabel (age 3) recited a scripture in primary. I blogged about the experience in another post but thought I'd include a video. Here it is. Isn't she awesome!! :)

Family Walk

2011-05-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of a family walk we just took. We love to walk across the street and walk around the duck pond. I especially love to do this during May when there are so many baby ducks and geese swimming around. Spring is the perfect time for our family walks.

First Field Trip

2011-05-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Emmeline had her first school field trip on May 12. Of course I had to volunteer and go with her. :) We went to the Children's Museum in Fort Worth. I think that Emmeline was especially excited about the bus ride and since we were driving to Fort Worth she had a pretty lengthy, hour long ride to enjoy. On the way there, she rode on a seat with two of her classmates and I sat with another mom. However, on the way back, Emmeline and I sat together at the very back of the bus. It was soooo bumpy. I almost fell off the seat a couple of times. I think that "roller coaster" bumpy ride was the highlight for both Emmeline and me.

There were several fun things to look at in the museum. (However, I didn't like it nearly as much as the old McWane Center in Birmingham.) And I did have to run around after one of the boys in our group who liked to wander. . . Overall we had a great time and it was especially fun to see Emmeline with her school friends.

Girl Trip!!

2011-05-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

My sister Lucy has been working at DisneyWorld for the past 5 months and as a perk she got some free entrance tickets. She graciously gave some of those tickets to my sister Lydia, my mom, and me. Yeah. Girl Trip. We all flew to Orlando on Thursday May 5th. We all arrived late at night, my mom was the last to arrive at midnight. We rented a car and drove to a cheap hotel for that night. Originally the plan had been to pick Lucy up the next morning, but we decided we wanted to get her that night. After we got Lucy picked up and back to our hotel and finally settled down to sleep it was about 3-4 in the morning.

On Friday we went to Universal Studio. . .particularly to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Being a huge Harry Potter fan myself, I have wanted to go see it ever since it opened. My girls are to young for Harry Potter and I was thrilled to go with my sisters who also love Harry Potter and could really enjoy it.

Before we went to the wizarding world, we got on the Hulk ride. We were in line for an hour but it turned out perfect because about 5 minutes after we got in the line it started raining. The line waits inside so we didnt get wet at all. I was afraid they would shut the ride down, but they didn't, and by the time we got off the ride the rain had stopped. Perfect. The one problem. . .after we got off. . .my mom had to throw up.

She felt pretty sick for awhile but we went and had a long, leisurely lunch at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmead and chatted until she felt better. That leads us to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. :)

We had a great time. For lunch I got the meat Pasties (they sounded the most Harry Potterish) but I think Lucy's dish of bbq pork ribs tasted the best. We also had tons of ButterBeer (in the souvenir mugs of course) and Pumpkin juice. Both beverages were absolutely delicious and I will be searching the web for mock recipes. :)

The Hogswarts ride is AWESOME. We had to ride it twice and I would have ridden it many more times. (I'm not worried, I'll be back). We also rode the dueling dragons, which was really cool. Overall, it was just fun to walk down the street and see the "wizarding world" come to life. I had a fun time looking through Honeydukes sweet shop. It was neat to see how they created all the magical treats from the books. I didnt buy any because I wanted some different souvenirs, but they were really fun to look at. And Lucy did buy a chocolate frog.

As we were leaving we stopped in to see a magic show. We were all impressed by levitating money, disappearing balls, moving lights and everyday items bursting into flame. We also enjoyed walking through the whimsy of the Dr. Suess section and I had to take some pics to bring back home to my girls. They would have loved it.

Universal closed at 6:00 (it was Grad night throughout the weekend. . .so things closed a bit earlier then usual for the public). We headed to our disney hotel, the All Star Sports Resort. It was the cheapest. Lucy was able to get a 50% off discount so that made it doubly the cheapest. :) After checking into the hotel we found an Olive Garden for dinner. Hey, when you're there, you're family.:) After that we just hung out at our hotel. Lydia brought her wax and waxed all our noses. That was interesting and quite hilarious at the same time. Even my mom did it.

On Saturday we headed to Disney. We started out going to Hollywood Studios. I was pretty excited because while we were waiting in line for the shuttle, the worker asked us some trivia questions. She asked who was Mickeys older brother. . .I didnt remember his name (Oswald) but I did remember that it was a rabbit so she gave me a "Disney Triumph" pin which I wore with pride for the remainder of the day. Later I answered another trivia question right, much to the surprise of the disney employee who asked. That question was-what was Mickey's first name. . .the answer is Mortimor. Anyway, enough trivia. At Hollywood studios we rode the Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster. I had never been to Hollywood Studios before and I enjoyed trying out those new rides. Then we shuttled over to the Magic Kingdom to have lunch at Columbia Harbor House, Lucy's restaurant. We were quite disappointed when we tried to enter and they wouldn't let us. Apparently it was a Magic Kingdom blackout day for re-entry's. Weird. Lucy felt so sad (and so did the rest of us.) She decided to go in and get lunch and bring it out to us. She went in and talked to her supervisor who kindly gave her three of his personal tickets to get us in. It was sooo nice of him!! It was a classic disney "Magic Moment". It was really fun to see Lucy in her element and meet lots of her friends. They also hooked us up with free chocolate cake!! I had the fish basket and it was quite delish. Once again, we had a long, leisurely lunch filled with laughs .

Once we were done we rode the haunted mansion. Lucy told us a "historical" story about the place, apparently they told it to her at orientation, and we were all convinced it was true. Something about this lady who married then chopped off her hubby's head. And then did it again and again before she was finally caught and hung herself. It did make the ride really interesting. Afterwards she told us it was a joke and I couldnt believe it. I totally fell for it. :) We spent some time shopping after that (I certainly took advantage of Lucy's 20% off discount!!) then we shuttled to Epcot. We probably shouldn't have done this (we were super exhausted) and everyone did it for me. (So thanks guys). They had some phenomenal bush sculptures left over from the flower festival.

We had dinner there and then booked it back to Hollywood Studios to watch Fantasmic. We were all impressed with the cool effects and video on water. Very cool and worth the wait. We finished up the night by going on the Toy Story ride. We used fast passes which we had gotten earlier in the day and we pretty much walked right on. That ride was very fun and I'm way glad we got to it.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were all exhausted and a bit grumpy, but it had been a great day.

On Sunday we had a little breakfast and headed to the airport. I was really worried that I wouldnt make my plane. It was one of those mornings where everything seemed to go wrong. I got off the wrong exit for gas, I got picked for a random screening check, they also searched my bag, my boarding pass wouldnt print right and I had to get a new seat. . which happened to be in the back of the plane so it took me 20 minutes to get off and I had about 10 minutes in Atlanta to catch a shuttle, run up the super steep escalator, and run down the terminal to make my connection. I didn't get a chance to get lunch or go to the bathroom, and I was all red and sweaty, but I made it. So I guess not everything went wrong that day.

I had a great time on my girls trip. I loved the rides and the food. But mostly I just loved talking to and being with my mom and sisters.

With Relish

2011-05-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

We received 10 cucumbers with the co op last week. Neither Brett nor I love cucumbers and even if we cut up one for a salad, there is no way that we would eat 10. Not wanting those cucumbers to go to waste, I decided to try my hand at making relish and canning. I've never canned before and it is something that I've been wanting to learn. It turned out to be very rewarding. It was fun to make something that we'll eat out of something that we wouldn't. It was fun to try something new. . .and now I'm excited then ever to do peaches in a couple of months.

Its a loose tooth!!

2011-05-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

There are many firsts in a persons life. Some are more important then others. Well a very important one just happened for Emmeline. Today she got her first loose tooth. :) She has been waiting for a loose tooth for years. As soon as she discovered it tonight she started jumping for joy that she had a loose tooth. She had to call her Grandma and her Nana. It really was pretty hilarious. We will see what kind of declarations she makes when the tooth actually falls out and she gets to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. That will be a very exciting day!!

Tummy Butterflies

2011-05-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today Mabel got to give her first scripture in Primary. She did such a good job. Perhaps it is all of my years serving in primary and seeing what those little kids are capable of or perhaps it was my mom making my siblings and me memorize all of our scriptures and talks when we were little, but I have a firm "memorize your talk and scripture policy." Emmeline has always memorized her stuff and I expected the same from Mabel. However, I thought I might let go of my policy when I saw the scripture Mabel had to memorize. She was assigned Joseph Smith History verse 17, which reads, "It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.One of them spake unto me, calling me be name and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" That is a lot of BIG words for a little 3 year old girl to memorize. Despite my skeptism, on Tuesday I started teaching it to her. I was astounded as she actually began to memorize it. We left off the first sentence, and as I suspected, no one in the primary minded. They were all to floored that this little 3 year old was quoting the scripture by herself. She got the whole thing right and I was so proud of her.

There is another part of this story that I want to remember so here it goes in the blog. Little Mabel was soo nervous!! This morning when she got up she mentioned that her tummy didn't feel good. She had not exhibited any signs of being sick and I suspected it might have something to do with being nervous about giving her scripture in front of everybody in the Primary. She declined breakfast and refused to practice her scripture one more time before we left to go to church. (Which was odd, because she had been practicing it nonstop for the past several days). We talked about how her tummy wasnt really sick but she just had "tummy butterflies" which sometimes come when you are nervous about something, like quoting a scripture in front of a large group of people. We said a prayer together and got to the church. She sat on my lap all during the first meeting without saying much at all. When it was time to go to primary, she told me she had to "spit up", which is code for throw up. I told her it was those tummy butterflies again and said they would go away as soon as she was done with her scripture. We stopped by the drinking fountain on the way to the primary room and I let her get a drink. I was hurrying her into the primary room. . .when bless her sweet little heart, she began to "spit up." I rushed her right back out into the hall and into the bathroom (which luckily was one room over) and let her finish emptying her already empty stomach. When she was done, I asked her if she felt better and if she was ready to go give her scripture. She said she didnt really feel better but that she was ready to go do the scripture. We went back into the primary room and she went to sit next to Emmeline (who was giving a talk) up in front of the room. The group finished the last two lines of a song they were singing and then Mabel was up. She went up (all by herself--I just sit in the audience and watch) and recited her scripture perfectly. After she and Emmeline had both finished, I let Mabel come out into the hall with me to make sure she really was feeling better. Brett gave her a little snack and within about 1 minute, she was chatting away. She spoke more then she had all morning and within one minute more the color began to return to her cheeks. I was convinced that the throwing up incident was her nerves. I'm glad I know this about Mabel now and we can prepare for it in the future. :) I was so proud that despite her tummy butterflies, and throwing up, she still got up and recited her scripture. What a wonderful little girl!!

Emmeline got to give the talk today. She went right after Mabel, and she was holding Mabel's hand to support her while they were sitting up front together. I thought to myself that she is such a great big sister. Emmeline doesnt get a whole blog with two giant paragraphs like Mabel does since she has given talks and scriptures before and has always done a good job. Today was no exception. She made her own pictures and she told the story of Joseph Smiths first vision. Her talk was memorized and I enjoyed being able to sit back and listen instead of feeding it to her line by line or having her read it.

Kids really can do amazing things if we give them the opportunity and take the time to help them along the way!!

Good job girls!!

Veggie Tales

2011-04-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

For the past 8 months or so I have been part of a veggie/fruit co op. It has been awesome. I have loved getting fresh produce for a reasonable price. I've had to go to the farmers market twice to pick up, but that has been surprisingly fun. The last time I went I took my family with me. The girls got a kick out of running around in the big warehouses and seeing all the produce. At one place we went, the owner cut up the largest apple I have ever seen for my girls to sample. mmmmmm. delicious!! Every other friday when the produce is delivered, its like Christmas, going through the baskets/bags and seeing what we get. Its fun to see what other people pick out and there have only been 2 or 3 things that we havent liked/used. Generally its just fun. I would totally recommend a co op for anyone!!

Check out what I got for 20 bucks this past week. (I was not the pickup gal this time around.)

-8 large zucchini
-10 cucumbers
-3 heads cauliflower
-8 corn on the cob
-14 potatoes
-2 honeydew melons
-4 boxes strawberries
-3 12 oz. boxes blackberries

(Not pictured: the berries, a cauliflower and a honeydew melon)

Brett and I dont eat a lot of cucumbers so I think I am going to try and make some relish. I've been wanting to try my hand at canning (I was going to wait and try it out with peaches this summer). I've decided "why wait". Might as well start with some relish. Hopefully I'll have some good things to report in a couple of days!! I'm off to go enjoy my veggies!! :)

April Project: Chair Covers

2011-04-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

My project for April was to recover our kitchen chairs. This is something that has needed to be done for a couple of years. lol. I've heard that is was easy, but was hesitant to do it by myself, not knowing what I was doing. After watching a couple how-tos on the internet I decided I would give it a try. I grabbed some fabric that I had on hand and went to town. As my friends had told me, it was surprisingly easy! I'm really happy with the end result. A little change can go a long way!

Before:

After:

And a Happy New Year

2010-12-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

We had a really fun New Years Eve. We spent the evening having a radical dress up/ dance party. (Even though I'm taking the pics, you better believe I'm dressed up too!) Around 8 we toasted in the new year with the girlies. They enjoyed the sparkling grape & apple juices and of course shooting off their confetti, or if I may "funfetti" guns. After the girls went to bed a nice fellow in the class Brett and I teach at church came over. He, Lucy, Brett and I played Settlers of Catan while enjoying my favorite party snacks. . .pot stickers, spring rolls and little smokies in blankets. Yummy. And the outcome of Settlers. . .I won. No wonder it was such a fun night. :)

Good Bye 2010-you crazy, change filled, warp speed year. I will miss you. Perhaps 2011 will be a little more calm but hopefully filled with just as much excitement.

Yes, You're in Texas Now!!!

2010-12-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

While my family was here visiting us, we decided to try out a new restaurant recommended to us by some of our friends. We drove over to Fort Worth and spent some time at the stock yards. We were just in time to see the daily cattle drive, which my daughters LOVED. Then we tried to find the restaurant. Somehow we got turned around and ended up on the "wrong" side of town. It was early enough that most things were closed but we got a laugh out of some of the saloons and dance halls we passed. We finally got pointed in the right direction and ended up at our destination, Riskys. What did we eat you ask?? All you can eat beef ribs for $9.99. Let me just say it was $9.99 well spent. Most of the ribs were fabulous and if I came across one that was to dry or to chewy for my taste, I just let it be and waited for my next basketful. After dinner, we had fun walking back to our car. Every other store was either a Stetson store and other cowboy gear or a steakhouse. Giddy up! After living in the suburbs for 8 months it was fun feeling like we were really in Texas now!!

Thanks for coming out Ma, Adam and Lucy!! Come again soon!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We got up and went through the presents left by Santa :) and the girls watched "The Grinch" multiple times. That evening my mom, my brother Adam and my sister Lucy flew in. It was so great to have them with us!! We played Disney SingIt with the kids and then they were all good sports and played Settlers of Catan with me. Mostly it was just fun to celebrate the birth of our Savior with family. What a wonderful day.

Hoot Hoot & Christmas Eve Traditions

2010-12-26T12:18:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve this year. Of course we had to do our nativity tradition. I put all the pieces of the nativity in a box and everyone draws out a piece or two. Then we take turns putting our pieces into place and telling how/why that particular piece mattered in the story of Christ's birth. We also sing a related song for each piece of the nativity after it is placed in the scene. I love this retelling of the birth of Christ and it is really fun to see and hear my girls get involved in the story.

After the nativity portion we did our next big Christmas eve tradition and opened all of our family Christmas presents. I love having our family give and open gifts on Christmas Eve. Emmeline and Mabel both get so excited about choosing the perfect gift for each other. Since they are not overcome with their gifts from "Santa", they are really able to appreciate the giving and getting from each other on Christmas eve. I dont know what it is exactly, but it has been a really special tradition for us.

The girls also got matching pj's and that includes mama. I bought Maddie these adorable owl pj's at Target back on black friday. Well, I was at Target later in December doing some last minute Christmas shopping and I found a matching pair in my size. I couldnt believe it. Of course I had to go and check out the little girls section and low and behold they had the matching set in both Emmeline and Mabels sizes as well. What can I say, I am a sucker for matching stuff like that.

The girls loved their swimming suits from Mom and Dad. And they were so thoughtful to each other. Mabel got Emmeline a new little jar to put her "collections" in. Emmeline is always finding little treasures and looking for places to put them. I'm impressed that Mabel would think of that when we were at the store. Emmeline got Mabel a new crown with Pink stars on it. Also a perfect present. And the really funny part. Both Emmeline and Mabel chose the same present for Madelyn. She ended up with two identical collidescopes. I just think it is funny because they did their shopping completely independent of each other. Brett took Mabel and I took Emmeline. I didnt even know they had chosen the same gift for Maddie until later when I helped each of them wrap. lol. Hilarious.

The Grinch Scramble

2010-12-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

Our city, Flower Mound, hosted a community Grinch Scramble. I have never participated in a Grinch Scramble before and it was surprisingly fun. Parks and Rec scattered hundreds to thousands of candy canes, of all sizes and colors, over a large playing field. They also hid a few stuffed grinches which if found could be turned in for some awesome prizes. All the lights in the park were turned out and participants had to use flashlights to hunt for the goodies. We did not find a grinch. However we got lots of candy canes and had a lot of fun.

A Christmas Treat

2010-12-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd try out cakeballs this season. I have never made them before but I've been wanting to try for a long time. I had a couple of events I needed to take a treat to and decided this was the time. I found the idea for little Christmas trees online and gave it a shot. I think mine turned out pretty cute. However, I dont love working with candy coating and it was super thick on my little trees. After rolling out so many tree shapes, I did the other half of cake into regular balls which I dipped in regular milk chocolate. Those were so delicious. . .I didnt even get a picture. mmmm. So, cute factor-trees win, taste factor-regular chocolate balls. mmm In fact, my girls loved these so much they asked if I could just make cake balls for their future birthdays. We'll see. :)

Family Night

2010-12-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

We all love a good game. Here we are playing a fairy tale "go fish". Very fun :)

And no family night can be complete without a good tickle torture/dog pile with dad.

What a great night!! What a great family!!

A Girl and her Boots

2010-12-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

This is my sweet Mabel Jane. She loves pink. You can find her sporting her pink cowgirl boots pretty much All the time!! Gee I love this girl!!

Just Some Cute Picketts

2010-12-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Emmeline and our stay at Great Wolf Lodge

2010-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

My Baby turned 5 on December 6. I cant believe how fast these last 5 years have flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was heading to the hospital, all nervous and excited to have my first baby. Brett and I went out for a pancake brunch that morning. In the afternoon I took a long luxurious bubble bath. Then we headed off to the hospital. And now 5 years have passed. It has been so much fun (fun might not be the right word. . .wonderful, incredible, . . .) to watch Emmeline grow. She is becoming so independent and smart. She is kind to others. She works hard at projects. She loves to dance, sing, laugh and enjoy life. What a special girl.

Brett and I planned to take the kids and stay at Great Wolf Lodge for Emmelines birthday. The lodge has an indoor waterpark and we'd heard that it was a super fun place to take the family. We were all so excited for the trip. We would be staying at the hotel Monday-Wednesday (we got a super sweet deal but it didn't include the weekend). Since the hotel is only 20 minutes from our apartment we were still planning on taking Emmeline to school in the morning and Brett was going to go to work each day.

It turned out we didnt need to worry about taking Emmeline to school. On Sunday she started throwing up and she continued to throw up through the night. On monday (her actual birthday) she laid around all morning and watched movies. . .when she wasnt throwing up. Brett and I debated whether or not to even go to the hotel. But we had all been so excited and our reservations were non transferable. We decided to go. After Brett got home we settled the girls in the car. . .Emmeline with an emergency "spit up" bucket in her lap.

We were so glad that we just decided to go. We had so much fun. We brought Em's cake with us and sang to her in our room. She didnt want to eat any that night so we saved it for the next day. She opened two presents and then decided to save the rest for the next day as well. (just goes to show you how crappy she was feeling to not open all of her presents!!) Then Emmeline camped out on the bathroom floor for the rest of the night. Mabel and I went to the lobby and enjoyed the indoor snowstorm and the storytime. We also looked around a bit.

The next day Emmeline was feeling much better!! We hung out at the waterpark for awhile and then had lunch at the hotel restaurant. The girls each got a pair of wolf ears with their lunch and they were pretty adorable if I do say so myself. After lunch, we were so tired that we all slept during Maddies nap. Brett woke us up when he got back from work and we took him to the waterpark. He was able to take Emmeline on some of the BIG waterslides. She felt like such a grownup going on the BIG waterslides.

While we were there, the lodge was doing a fun Christmas activity for the kids. They called it the North Pole Academy and if the kids accomplished certain tasks (attending the storytime with Roundy the Reindeer, coloring a picture in the Kid area, going on the wolf walk, etc) they got a prize. The prize included some hot chocolate and 10 free tokens in the arcade. The girls were so thrilled about this. They had wanted to go play some of the games before but I had said no. With the free tokens, however, we got to go in and win some prizes. :) The lodge also had a show three or four times a day with music and "snow" falling throughout the lobby. My girls LOVED this. Especially considering the fact that snow is just about nonexistent here in Dallas.

We had a wonderful time. And despite the sick beginning, Emmeline had a wonderful birthday.

A Series of Unfortunate Events. . .sprinkled with several fortunate miracles

2010-12-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a doozy. The week started off slow. I knew the weekend would be busy so we just sort of enjoyed the quiet. On Thursday night things started to pick up. Thursday was the RS Christmas dinner. It was a nice event and I'm glad I went.There were some musical numbers and then a short lesson on freezer cooking. As a Christmas present, the RS presidency prepared a yummy chicken-white bean soup for us and we also each got to take a big gallon bag home to put in our freezers. Very nice.

On Friday morning, it was my turn to drive downtown to Dallas and pick up the produce from the farmers market for the produce co op that I'm currently a part of. The drive was fine and picking out the produce was actually kinda fun.(but that is a subject for another post!) I was on my way home with what I thought would be plenty of time to get the produce up to my apartment and sorted before I had to go pick up Emmeline from preschool. Everything was going quite smoothly when all of the sudden I realized that I could not turn my steering wheel and my fix engine light was on. This happened while I was still on the freeway. I got a little concerned, however, I was luckily just passing an exit which only required a "veer" to get off. I was able to veer off the exit onto a frontage road with no other traffic. It was pretty miraculous that there wasn't any other traffic since this particular road led into a large mall. Due to the lack of traffic I was able to make a three point (or 5 point) turn into the mall parking lot. . .which again, miraculously, was pretty empty. Okay, closer to the mall was full of cars, but on my side of the parking lot was a big space that primarily served two big restaurants which were closed because it was still morning. (Coincidence?? Is there such a thing?) Anyhow, I called Brett, who miraculously didn't have any meetings that day and he left work to come and get me. I also called Triple A Roadside assistance and they sent someone to come tow the car. Brett and the tow truck arrived at about the same time. We moved all the carseats and the produce over to the little car. Then Brett went with the tow truck while Mabel, Maddie and I left to pick up Emmeline from preschool. We got to the school, miraculously, just in the nick of time to pick her up on time.

By the end of the day we got the produce delivered and everyone was safe and sound. The car would need some fairly extensive repairs. . but it was the weekend so we really didnt need two cars.

Saturday was the ward christmas party. Sunday Emmeline got sick. The kind of sick where she was throwing up all day. Miraculously, no one else in the family got sick. Monday: Emmeline was still sick. It was also her 5th birthday. (more details in another post).

It was certainly one of those weekends.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

2010-11-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

Brett agreed to let us set up and decorate the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving this year. What a good sport. The time couldn't come soon enough for me. Of course the girls loved helping. They sorted out the decorations while Brett and I got the lights on. Even Maddie "helped." She certainly loved being with us anyhow. We have been collecting an ornament to represent each year since Brett and I have been married. It was fun to pull those out and talk about the different memories and stories that go with them. What a fun day. And a great way to start off this Christmas season.

P.S. The funniest part is that the tree was decorated numerous times throughout the season. I'm not sure a day passed with the decorations in the same place. Apparently decorating the tree is so fun that one time is not enough. The girls continued to undecorate and redecorate throughout december. I thought it was very cute.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

This was the first year in a long time that our family did not go to Atlanta and have Thanksgiving with my aunt and uncle, Sara and George Parker. It is always hard to give up a much beloved tradition. Despite our initial melancholy, we ended up having a very nice holiday. In the morning I enjoyed my drugstore shopping, scoring all sorts of free stuff at CVS and Walgreens. The girls enjoyed watching the Macy's parade with Brett. We spent the afternoon preparing food to take to dinner. A kind family in our ward invited us over to share their Thanksgiving meal. They had a delicious turkey and heavenly rolls. (I tried to make some rolls and they were a flop. I'm going to have to practice.) We brought the green bean casserole, orange yams, and a banana cream pie. We had a nice dinner and the girls were reasonably well behaved. After all the food was served Mabel asked us to go around the table and say what we were thankful for. It was very sweet of her and of course nice to talk about what we were thankful for. After dinner our hosts; Cameron, Rachael and Olivia Tiede, had a fun activity planned. We decorated gingerbread houses. The girls loved it!! I'm thinking that decorating a gingerbread house may become a new Thanksgiving tradition for our family. :)

Fire Fighters??? TBD

2010-11-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

After Halloween, I love shopping for discounted costumes. That is how the girls have gotten most of their dress up clothes. Generally I focus on the "princess" selection. This year, however, in an effort to let my girls be exposed to more then just the world of "princesses" I bought these super cute fire man costumes. I thought perhaps the girls could have a lot of fun playing firefighters. Well my idea was a grand success. . . .

For a day. They put their costumes on and played firemen. The next time I caught a glimpse of the fireman costume, it was of the hat which Mabel was using for a bowl. She was playing kitchen. . .not fireman. Oh well, I tried. :)

Professor Pickett

2010-11-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

Last month Brett was going through the mail and he came across a flyer for NCTC (North Central Texas College). They are opening a new satellite campus in Parker Square. . .which is about an 8 minute walk from our apartment. Had I been the one checking the mail I'm sure I would have thrown this away with the junk mail. No one in our family is currently looking to attend community college. However, Brett noticed a small notation at the bottom of the flyer announcing that the school was also looking for a few adjunct professors and to check out the website for more info. Being the on top of things, proactive man that he is, he jumped right on it and checked out the website. They happened to have an opening for a biology professor. Brett immediately fixed up and sent in his resume. The following week he got a call inviting him over for an interview. The next day, they offered him a position teaching a biology class and an accompanying lab starting in January. I am really proud of Brett for doing this. He has talked about possibly wanting to teach and now he can see if he really likes it or not. And if he does like it. . he is getting the experience that future employers are looking for. I also thank my Father in Heaven for guiding my husband and our family everyday and providing opportunities like this one.

Good Luck Brett (or should I say Professor)!!!!

WINNER

2010-11-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Over the summer, Sobe Lifewater was having a fun sweepstakes. You could enter everyday and win various prizes. I really only played because you would always win a B1G1 coupon. For some reason CVS was having a lot of Sobe B1G1 deals. . so when I paired the two together, I got a TON of free Sobe. The girls really like it, and I like it and I couldnt not get it for free. Anyway, I entered the sweeps everyday to get all my coupons. One day I played and the screen looked different then usual. I didnt see my "print coupon" button. At first I was irritated. . .where was my free coupon?? Then I actually read what was on the screen and it said "Winner. You have won an Ipod Nano." What? Seriously?!! I decided not to believe it until it came in the mail. . .because I do not win sweeps like this. Well, guess what arrived in the mail the other day. Thats right. My new Ipod nano. Yeah for Sobe. and Yeah for winning. :)

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween.

Passin Out Me Loot

2010-10-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Because we had Stake conference scheduled over Halloween weekend, we had our Trunk or Treat on Saturday morning. For the first time in 5 years I was not involved with a fairly extensive and fun Halloween carnival in conjunction with the trunk or treat. . .so I actually had the time (and desire) to decorate my trunk. I opted to go for a pirate themed trunk since I already had the decorations. It was really fun for me to pass out candy and talk in my pirate jargin. I also played halloween and pirate music through my car speaker which I think added to the atmosphere (especially since it was broad, blaring daylight out). The girls had fun gathering candy. . .and quite the haul they made too. They got plenty and I didnt feel bad that we weren't going to go out again on Sunday night. Gotta love the trunk or treat!!

ZZZZZZZZ

2010-10-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

I was watching Emmline at her dance lessons. Mabel had gone off to the child play area to watch a movie with the other kids. When the lessons were over and I went to round Mabel up. . this is what I found.

Mustn't have been a very good movie!! :)

Rapunzel Rapunzel, Let Down Your Hair

2010-10-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

When I asked Emmeline what she wanted to be for halloween this year she enthusiastically replied, "Rapunzel!" It sounded good. . .but I was not sure exactly how I was going to pull it off. Lucky for me, I received my Family Fun Magazine in the mail a few days later, and there, right on the cover was a neat Rapunzel wig with easy to follow instructions written out inside. I decided it must be fate. This is the first year I've actually made something cute to go along with my kids costume. They always just want to be "princesses" and choose a dress from the dress up box. It was fun to make something this year to go along with Em's costume. And if I do say so. . . it turned out super cute!! Emmeline (and I) got numerous comments at every event we went to where she wore her wig.

P.S. I didnt find out until after the wig was made that Disney was soon to be releasing a new Rapunzel movie. I'm sure that now Rapunzel wigs and costumes will be all the rage. I was glad that Emmeline and I beat the crowd this year. :)

Fly Away Butterfly

2010-10-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Apparently Monarch butterflies migrate through Grapevine, a neighboring town to us here in Flower Mound, on their way to Mexico. To celebrate, the city hosts an annual butterfly festival. When we showed up we saw that everyone was dressed in their butterfly and fairy finest. Plus there were several wagons and strollers decorated also. Unfortunately we missed a parade and costume contest for the kids. (Now that I know, I'm already planning for next year :) ). But there were still a ton of other activities going on when we arrived. They had venders, booths with info on butterflies, face painting and butterfly crafts. The girls made butterfly puppets out of brown paper bags and also got to make butterfly antenna with headbands and pipe cleaners. A family in our ward (I didnt know this before) runs a face painting company and they were working this particular festival. Being friends, they kindly offered to paint my daughters faces for free. That was really neat and special for the girls, since we usually dont splurge on that kind of stuff. Then, the big event, was the butterfly release. They had hundreds of butterflies in envelopes which they distributed to the families. At the appointed moment, after a big countdown, everyone opened their envelopes at the same time and watched as all the butterflies flew off into the sky to continue their journey south. It was actually very awesome to be surrounded by all the butterflies. And it was great to find a free, fun event that I know my girls will look forward to year after year. :)

Makin Me Eggs

2010-10-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mabel has been really into scrambled eggs lately. It is so cute. She'll get everything ready all by herself. She'll pull the eggs, cheese and milk out of the fridge and line them up on the counter. Then she'll get out the pan and put in on the stove. Then she makes sure she has a fork (for cracking the egg), the stirring spoon and the cheese grater. Once everything is ready, she'll come get me and tell me she's all ready to "make me eggs." It is so freaking adorable. Then we'll go into the kitchen. I'll turn on the stove and she'll crack the egg with the fork. I'll pull the shells apart and let the egg fall into the pan and Mabel will start to scramble it while I poor in a little milk. She shakes in the pepper and I shake in the salt. Then she gets to stir the eggs up until they "puff up." I'll grate some cheese in while she gets out her bowl or plate and then we get to enjoy eating them together. I think it is so cute how she gets everything all ready and how we have a whole process that we follow. I love makin me eggs!! :)

The Big Cut

2010-10-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well I finally did it. I chopped Mabel and Emmelines hair. I finally convinced them that it would be easier to brush out, easier to take care of and all together easier to keep out of their faces if it was all just a little shorter. I decided to try and do it myself. That way, if it turned out cute then we saved a few bucks (yeah) and if it turned out horrid, I could still take them somewhere for damage control. As it turned out, I didn't need to take them anywhere afterwards. Despite a bit of unevenness here and there (which sort of look like layers. . . .) I think that both of the haircuts turned out really cute and the girls look great. They both really like their cuts to. They both also love that their hair is easier to brush and keep looking nice.

Pretty Pickett Pumpkins

2010-10-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

For the past three years we have been going to the same Pumpkin patch out in Birmingham. I loved it. We had really settled into a fun family tradition. Well, this year we had to find a new pumpkin patch here in Dallas. The one we went to was fun and the girls liked it. I dont know that I like it quite as much as our old one. . . .but there were pumpkins and a hayride. . .so I guess its all good. We certainly had fun together as a family anyway. And it helped us get excited for Halloween and fall!!

My First Parent Teacher Conference--as the parent!

2010-10-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

I got to attend my first parent teacher conference today. I was glad for the chance to talk to Emmelines teacher, Mrs. Torres, and hear how she is doing in school. She is doing great. She has a couple of things to work on. . .mostly just behavior related to being a 5 year old. . . but she participates in class, plays well and knows all of the academic things they are working on. (In truth she knew most of the stuff they are learning before she started. Shapes, numbers, counting, letters and sounds. . .check, check, check. :) ) I'm proud of my little Emmeline and I cant believe that she is growing up so fast.

My first parent teacher conference. . .only. . .who knows how many hundreds left to go. :)

Pickett Family Pictures

2010-10-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well I finally summand up the courage and took my family to get some portraits. Seeing as the last professional pictures we got were when Mabel was a baby. . .I decided it was time to have Maddie represented. All in all it turned out okay. Sure, we got a lot of bored, silly, and "fake" faces, we also got a couple pretty smiles and in the end, I was very glad we did it. Here is a sampling of some of our pictures.

Sisters

2010-10-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

Getting "Inside the Box"

2010-10-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Marshmallow En Garde

2010-09-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Here is one of our favorite family activities. The girls love to roast mini marshmallows over a candle. Okay, "roasting" marshmallows is the wrong term. Really they hold them over the candle for 2 seconds. Maybe 4 if they are feeling adventurous. Hilarious. The marshmallows are still cold when they enter the girls mouths. After a few minutes of "roasting" we begin the battles. The object of the game is to hit off your opponents marshmallow. Good times.

Messy. . .but Worth it!!

2010-09-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

I love chocolate. Apparently so do my daughters. mmmmmmmm.

Coupon Crazy

2010-09-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

On the 22, our ward had a lunch activity with a short coupon presentation/discussion at the end. They asked me to share my mad skills. lol. j/k. They aren't really mad skills. . . but thanks to some fellow couponing friends in B'ham, I've had a little practice. It was fun to put together a short presentation and share a few things that I've learned about coupon clipping and cost cutting. To make things fun we played a little "The Price is Right" Game. I guess if I peaked an interest in anyone at all, then it was a successful presentation. Either way, the lunch was good and the company was better. :)

Total Retail $65
Total OOP $6

A Rainy Day

2010-09-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

It makes perfect sense to water the grass when its raining. Good thinking girls!! Way to help out! :)

Summer 2010 Highlights

2010-09-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

I realize that I have not been the greatest blogger the past little while. Considering my recent baby coupled with the move to Texas, I am giving myself a pass. However, we did have a fun summer with a few things worth mentioning. So here is a quick recap of some of our summer highlights here in the Metroplex which have not yet been blogged about.

-Random street carnival. It seems as though there is always some sort of carnival or festival going on around here. This one happened in May. The girls loved winning blowup hammers which they used to bonk each other for the rest of the evening. FUN. They also enjoyed all the little rides that we did. What can I say, so did I. I'm a sucker for a good carnival.

-Chick-fil-a. We've spent many great evenings this summer at Chick-fil-a. They've been having Tuesday night = Family fun night where you get a free kids meal for each adult combo purchased. Plus there is usually some other sort of activity going on. A few that we've participated in have been cookie and cupcake decorating, a balloon artist and a bounce house. After the girls finish eating they go play while Brett and I enjoy lesiurely chatting for awhile. Plus, the workers come around and ask if we want refills on our drinks. And to make things even better. . they serve diet dr. pepper. Yeah, its just an all around great place!!

-Free crafts and projects at Michaels, Lowes and other places. We LOVE all the free crafting projects available. We've taken advantage of several throughout the summer. And will continue to throughout the year. :)

-Library summer reading programs. We enjoyed attending and participating in several different library summer fun programs. We live pretty close to several libraries so there were always a lot of things going on. A couple of our favorites were a dance dance party and a clownin around show.

-Bass Pro Shop. Who knew that a hunting sports store could be so fun. Turns out that the Bass Pro Shop is. They host several family friendly events throughout the year and we went to their "family summer camp". The girls got to make leather key chains and we enjoyed shooting rifles and arrows.

-Nash Farm. We headed out to a historic farm a couple of times this summer. The farm is a cute little place which hosts different theme days throughout the summer. We went a couple of times but our favorite was on "Milk" day. They had a bunch of dairy cows there with their young calves. As one point we even watched the young calf go to nurse. She hit up against her Mama a couple of times and then grabbed the udder and started nursing, slurping loudly. This reminded me of my little Maddie. The whole process seemed oddly familiar. . . . Anyway, they also had goats for the children to milk. Emmeline got a kick squirting milk out but Mabes decided she wasnt quite daring enough to give it a try. Maybe next year. The girls also enjoyed looking through the garden and playing amid the corn. Good times at the farm.

When we weren't out and about exploring, we were swimming. We spent a lot of time swimming at the pool in our apartment complex and also the girls continued with their swimming lessons at the YMCA. Mabel and I did a "mommy and me" class. At first I wasnt thrilled because Mabel had taken lessons by herself in Birmingham and I didn't think she needed to have me with her in the pool. And really she didn't. But it was fun to swim with her anyway. It was really fun to have some time just with Mabel and to sing the little water songs and play the little water games. I was really happy for the swim lessons because when we did go swimming all together, I could hold Madelyn without having to worry about Emmeline or Mabel, who are both happy to swim out on their own.

We had a really busy, fun and adventure filled summer. And now on to my favorite season. . . .the Fall!!!

Happy Birthday Mabel

2010-09-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

Well, my sweet little Mabel turned 3 on September 6, 2010. I cant believe how big she is getting.

I spent the night before her birthday blowing up balloons. A long time ago I read an idea in a magazine about blowing up a bunch of balloons and putting them in the birthday child's bedroom while they are sleeping. I've been hanging onto this idea ever since and decided this was a good time to try it out. Brett and I filled up a ton of balloons, enough to cover the girls entire room. And just as I anticipated, we were awoken the next morning by squeals of delight from Mabel and Emmeline both. They were in balloon heaven.

Earlier in the week, when I asked Mabel what she wanted to do to celebrate her birthday this year, she had a difficult time deciding between going to a movie or to a water park. But on the actually day of her birthday, it was sunny and bright and made the decision fairly simple.

Off we went to a small water park in the area. We got Chick-fil-a (Mabels favorite) for lunch and ate it there at the park. After we finished eating the girls splashed around in the water. Mabel loved going around the lazy river and we did that several times.

After a fun couple hours of swimming, we went home and settled Mabel and Madelyn into their afternoon naps. While they were sleeping, Brett and Emmeline hung pink streamers and other birthday decorations. The only thing my girls love more then their actual birthday is decorating for someone else's birthday. . .so Emmeline was thrilled.

While they decorated the room, I decorated the cake. It was a pink castle cake. It was not nearly as fancy or intricate as Emmeline's castle cake on her 3rd birthday, but I was going for flavor. I made a "from scratch" strawberry icing to coat the cake with. Although it wasn't as smooth and clean looking as a buttercream frosting. . .man oh man was it delicious!! After naps, the girls played with balloons and Mabel opened her birthday presents.

She got a couple of little things this time around like a miniture teaset, a blue dragon stuffed animal, a book, a Strawberry Shortcake dvd and other various nick nacks. (Her favorite present actually came a few days later when we took her to the store and let her choose out a new nightgown. I'm sure you can guess more or less what her nightgown looks like. It is very pink and has princesses on it :) ).

After the presents and some playing we had Mabels favorite dinner. . .shepherds pie with cheetos and an assortment of berries. Then we devoured the cake.

At one point in the evening her Nursery leaders dropped by and gave her an ice cream clown and a cute little necklace with her name on it. They also sang happy birthday. That was really special for Mabel. She enjoyed the calls from Nana and Grandma. I think that overall, Mabel had a special day.

I love my little Mabers so much!!

Emmeline: Firsts

2010-08-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how big Emmeline is. I know that she is still small. . .She wont be 5 until December. Perhaps it is that she is so big next to her sisters. Perhaps it is the way she talks. When giving a story it is not uncommon for her to use phrases like, "continuing on" and other random transitions. Perhaps its that shes always asking me questions if I use vocabulary she doesn't understand. In reading from the scriptures tonight she asked, "Mom, what does Mercy mean". Or maybe she seems so big to me right now because of all her recent "Firsts."

Emmeline just started Pre-K on August 23. She is in the Turtle class. I was a little bit worried to put her in the program because it is everyday. But it is only a half day. Infact, it is sort of like the old Kindergarten. Brett gets her up and ready and drops her off at the school on his way to work. I love that they get that special "Daddy/Emmeline time" in the morning. She plays until school starts at 7:45. She gets to have breakfast there at the school and is thrilled that she can choose chocolate milk every day. Mabel, Madelyn and I pick her up from school at 10:50. It is always so fun to hear about her day. After two weeks of school I can only say how much she loves it. It is fun for me to hear about this activity and that game and this new friend and that new friend. I am reminded of how much I loved school growing up. Even though I was a bit wary at first, I am very excited that she gets to start this new adventure.

Another first for Emmeline is ballet/tap classes. Emmeline has wanted to be in dance classes for a long time and I finally decided that this was a good time to start. I found a Christian dance studio which advertised clean music and clean costumes. When I went to check it out, there was a great feeling about the studio and a sense of community and friendship among the people there. So I signed her up. She had her first lesson on Tuesday the 31st of August, and no surprise. . .she loved every minute of it. I loved getting her ready. She looked so beautiful with her hair pulled back and her slippers on.

This is such an exciting time in Emmelines life right now. It is fun and exciting for me as her mom to watch her and help her begin all these new adventures. I am so thankful to be blessed with such a smart, kind and outgoing daughter.

Mabel Moments

2010-08-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

Mabel is a beautiful, sweet little girl who has a way of warming the hearts of everyone she meets. She has a beautiful dimple in her right cheek that she knows mom adores. I'll say, "Mabel show me your dimple" and she'll give me the biggest smile and point right to it--definitely showing off. It is so cute.

I've mentioned before how much Mabel loves her nursery class. Well she came up with this song called, "How Mabel goes to Nursery". Pretty much we just repeat this line 4 or 5 times and end with "on sunday afternoon". She requests that we sing it every Monday for Family Home Evening and often other times as well. She loves to sing, dance, play and eat. You would be very hardpressed to find Mabel in shorts or pants right now. Most likely you will find her in some sort of dress or skirt and it will most likely be pink. She loves being a big sister and will run to Maddie at the smallest cry.

Here is a funny comment from Mabel that I feel should certainly be recorded for future reference. This was a conversation she had with my sister Lucy when we recently visited them in Virginia.

Lucy: Hey Mabel. Are you picking your nose over there??

Mabel: (very indignantly) NO!! I am picking my boogers!

Hilarious!! I love my little Mabel so much. I cant believe that her third birthday is fast approaching on September 6. She truly fills my home with sunshine! :)

P.S. I've included a picture of Mabel on the toilet. (Yes she will hate this picture when she is older). Yes. . .she is asleep. We sent her to go to the bathroom a couple of weeks ago. She was taking awhile, but that is not necessarily uncommon. Brett finally went in to check on her and she was asleep. Another hilarious moment in the life of Mabel!!

Maddie Milestones

2010-08-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Madelyn has been growing, growing, growing. She has four little teeth poking out now with more on the way. She is handling the teething pretty well, just the usual-snot, drool, a little clinginess, more snot and then more drool. :) We are all more comfortable when I remember to apply a bit of baby orajel.

Maddie has also discovered the joy of real people food. Not to be confused with baby food. When I try and feed her baby food at mealtimes, she stares over at Mabels plate and lets me know with her eyes exactly what she wants and seems to wonder why in the world I would feed her such strange, mushy goop when she could be having chicken nuggets or whatever else happens to be on the menu. It is hilarious. She is happiest when I give her pieces of whatever we are having; bread, fruit, meat. She really doesn't seem to care as long as she can pick it up with her little, chubby fingers and put it in her mouth herself. Oh, heaven. :)

Maddie has also started sitting up and playing/exploring by herself within the past couple of months. She knows which toy box is hers and she will pick and chose the toys she wants. As long as I put the box within arms reach, she is happy and I can go about my other various activities. Again, hilarious!!

I cant believe how fast Maddie is growing and even though shes only been in my family for 8 months, I cant go back and imagine life without her. She has a beautiful smile and a wonderfully sweet spirit.

Nana Visit

2010-08-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Nana came to visit us on August 26-August 29. We had a really nice visit and were so glad that she came to see our new place in Texas. We showed her around the duck pond, park and of course we went swimming in our pool. On Friday the girls were thrilled to stay home with Nana while Brett and I went on a date. (Brett and I were pretty thrilled also!!) On Saturday we stayed busy going to a free Lowes children workshop and then the dollar movies. We also tried out a new Mexican restaurant called Angelina's which was pretty delicious. Mostly we just had a great time visiting and chatting. Thanks for coming Nana!!

Making the Train: A Personal "Tender Mercy" from the Lord

2010-08-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

On Friday August 13 (during a trip to visit my parents in VA) I took the train to meet Brett, who was attending a work conference in Philadelphia. On my way to the train, I had one of those "Tender Mercies of the Lord" Moments. I decided to take the Metro to Union Station. I love the Metro and it would take me right there so I thought it would be a good idea. Anyway, the first metro took a little bit longer to catch then I had anticipated and so I was running a bit behind schedule. I was on the blue line and had a couple transfers to make to get to the red line which would take me to Union Station. I was planning on stopping at Kings Street but I just had the most yucky feeling that I was going to miss my train to Philadelphia. I know that I could always buy another ticket for a later departure and it wasn't the end of the world or anything. . . but I just felt yucky. Anyway, I said a prayer to my Father in Heaven asking for some comfort and possibly a miracle to make my train. When I finished I thought about my plan to transfer at King Street . I still felt hopeless. Then I thought about transferring at the Pentagon stop instead, which is a bigger station and so I thought it might be more hectic, but it felt better. I still wasnt convinced that I would make my train, but I didnt feel so yucky either. When we stopped at Kings Street and I saw what a small, non confusing stop it was, I was once again tempted to get out. . .but decided to trust the feelings I had after I prayed. I made my first transfer at Pentagon station then made my next transfer at chinatown and finally arrived at Union Station. I ran. I had about 5 minutes before departure time and I had no idea where I was supposed to go or how difficult Union Station was to navigate. I found an automatic ticket kiosk and checked in and printed out my ticket. I still wasnt sure where to go so I went into the first gate I saw and asked the person at the desk, who pointed me to a gate clear down at the other end of the station. Once again I ran. But I got through the line and on the train. I sat down and not more then two minutes later. . .maybe less. . .the train started up and pulled out.

When I first got on the metro that morning, I really doubted that I would make the train. I really believe that the Lord was watching out for me and helped me to make choices which would help me get to the train on time. . .I am so thankful for His "tender mercies" for me and my family.

A visit to VA and a getaway to Philly

2010-08-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

Brett had a conference in Philadelphia and I decided to take this chance to go visit my parents in Virginia. The girls and I flew out on Wednesday August 11. We had a nonstop flight (pretty much a requirement for me flying by myself with the three young girls :) ) and it went really well. The girls were great and we got through it without any trouble.

I really enjoyed my trip to my parents' house. It was great to play games, chat, relax, and eat food cooked by someone other than me. :) I know that the girls also had a wonderful time. They loved watching "grandma" movies. Their favorites include, The Heffalump Movie, Strawberry Shortcake Moving Day and Big Paw. They also loved playing with their aunt Lucy and uncles Leland and Adam. Leland was very considerate to take so much of his time and devote it to playing with his young nieces. They pulled out the large blocks and built a castle in which the "mean guy" locked the princess. Then the prince would have to fight the "mean guy". After dramatic battle and death scenes (the mean guy always lost) the prince would knock down the castle and free the princess. This play was reenacted multiple times; each time with the roles being switched up. It was quite hilarious.

On Friday I took the train to meet Brett in Philadelphia. My parents graciously watched my girls--yes, even Maddie--so I could have a romantic getaway with my husband. (Thanks mom and crew!! I really appreciated this getaway! We owe ya!!) Getting on the train was a little crazy (read about the adventure in my post Making the Train: A Personal "Tender Mercy" from the Lord). But I really enjoyed the ride once I got on. It was nice to be able to read my book without being interrupted every other paragraph by my children. :) Once I got to Philadelphia, it was a short walk to Bretts hotel. He met me and got me a philly cheesesteak sandwich which was delicious of course.

We spent some time walking around U Penn and the surrounding area. It was really nice to just be together. . .alone. We spent Saturday morning in the historic district taking tours of Constitution Hall and the Betsy Ross house and of course enjoying another philly cheesesteak. That afternoon Brett caught his flight home and I took the train back to VA.

My Parents met me at Union Station with my girls, Lucy and Leland. We had a fun dinner at Union Station and then we went to the Lincoln and Washington Memorials. It was a beautiful evening to spend on the National Mall.

It wasnt to hot and there was a slight breeze. It was perfect. It was fun to climb in the trees and watch the kids run around and play. Washington D.C. really is one of my most favorite cities in the world.

On Monday we were planning to drive down to Virginia Beach. After two hours in traffic. . .we decided our beach trip was doomed and we turned around. Going the other way, we covered the distance we had gone in 15 minutes. lol.

Instead we went swimming at a neighbors house and then had a popcorn movie party. Tuesday we went to the National zoo. It was fun. . .but it was hot. The girls did really enjoy riding the Metro ("the train that drives underground") and they liked seeing the Panda.

A couple highlights of the trip for me other then what I've already mentioned were going on a couple of house calls with Adam at work. He is a pest control man and it was fun to watch him in action. Also, spending so much time with Leland. Leland was 5 when my family moved to Virginia and I stayed in Utah. So in my mind, he's always been the little kid. But he has really grown into a nice and funny young man. Now he will stay and talk with the "adults" and contribute to the conversation. It was really fun for me to spend some more time getting to know him. And finally, the creation of a super fun game we aptly named Power Play. The game uses Uno cards but it is much more exciting then Uno. Along with the usual skipping, and draw twoing that take place during traditional Uno, Lucy had to massage my dads feet, Leland had to put ice down his pants, and I had to make Lucy and Ice Cream Sunday. . .along with several other things which made the game interesting. Maybe you had to be there. . .but it was certainly a keeper. (Lyds, you are gonna love it!!)

We had a wonderful trip and cant wait until our next chance to get together.

What would you buy for $1.57

2010-08-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have been getting some great deals at CVS lately. Here is one of my favorites. I bought everything pictured for $1.57. Yes, that is a giant box of Pampers diapers!! YEAH.

Mabel loves Nursery

2010-07-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Mabel has always loved nursery and she has always loved her nursery leaders. She cant get enough of her new leaders here in Flower Mound. She tells us everyday, "Brother Gunter is sooooo funny!!! Sister Gunter is not funny she is just nice. But Brother Gunter is sooooo funny!" Then she sings a a little song she made up called "How Mabel Goes to Nursery". She insists that we sing it for every FHE. I think it is adorable that she loves it so much. Thank you Brother and Sister Gunter!

Mr. Fix It

2010-07-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

I just want to give a shout out to Brett for fixing all of my car problems the other day. Perhaps some of you ladies are super car savey, but I am not. Recently my power outlets died leaving me gps-less, and I had several lights go out. Brett spent an afternoon and changed the lightbulbs and fuses. Now I have all my lights and all my power. Thanks honey. (and he showed me where and fuses were and how to change them . . so next time I can do it myself . . .maybe) :)

Family Reunion 2010: Nauvoo

2010-07-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a guest post written by my Dad-Ron Jorgensen. We recently had a wonderful family reunion and he wrote up all the details. He did such a great job I thought I'd just post it here rather then rewrite it. Thanks dad.

We just finished our family reunion in Nauvoo, Illinois. It was a challenge getting ready for it. Thursday, July, 1, Jeannine drove to Maryland to pick up Adam and Leland. Adam, as an adult leader, and Leland had been biking down the C&O canal with the older scouts for the troop’s high adventure. Adam and Leland had already biked about 120 miles when they left to come home and get ready for our trip.

Friday, July 2, 2010. We got up early. Adam and Lucy left first and drove to Fara and David Sneddon’s home in Normal, Illinois because it was reasonably close to St. Louis where Lydia and Devin were flying in to. About a half hour later, Jeannine, Leland, and I left and drove about 12 hours to Kathy and Ralph Anderson’s home near Chicago, Illinois. Ralph is Jeannine’s brother and Kathy our sister-in-law. Fara is Ralph and Kathy’s daughter and Dave is her husband. Kathy and Ralph graciously put us up Friday night. Fara and Dave graciously put up Adam and Lucy.

Laura left her home in Flower Mound, Texas with her three children, Emmeline, Mabel, and Madelyn. Unfortunately, husband Brett had just started a new job and had to stay home to work. Laura made pretty good time but followed the back roads plotted out on her GPS and managed to get a speeding ticket.

Andy and Amie with their children Kristine and Riley had the longest distance to go. They left Provo, Utah, and started their two day drive to Nauvoo. So for most of us, Friday was an all day drive.

The exception was Lydia and Devin. They planned to fly into St. Louis on Friday, spend the night in a hotel, and be picked up by Adam and Lucy the next morning. Alas, their plane from Salt Lake to Denver was delayed and they missed their flight from Denver to St. Louis so they spent the night in Denver.

Saturday, July 3, 2010. Jeannine, Leland, and I started out with a relaxed day. We spent the morning watching soccer with Ralph on their new big flat screen T.V. This gave Leland an opportunity to voice one of his favorite complaints, when are we going to join the 21st century and get a big flat screen T.V.? Kathy prepared us an eggs, sausage, toast, and hominy grits breakfast. About noon, we left for Nauvoo.

Adam and Lucy visited with Fara and David, waiting for Lydia and Devin to arrive. Finally, Lydia phoned and told them that their flights were messed up again, and they would not be into St. Louis until 10:00 pm. I told Adam and Lucy to go to Nauvoo and I would pick up Lydia and Devin. (Thank goodness for cell phones. That is the second of Leland’s favorite complaints, that he doesn’t have a cell phone. He has told us that his friends consider him the ghetto-est white boy at his school. I am not sure what this exactly means, but it is related to hand-me-downs and other indications that his parents have not purchased items consistent with being white middle class in 2010 America.)

At about 3:00 pm, Adam and Lucy arrived at the house we had rented. His GPS had navigated him to the middle of a field near Nauvoo, but he asked for directions from a farmer and finally arrived at the house. The farmer actually lived next to the house and had “Go back to Utah” written on his truck. About an hour later, Jeannine, Leland, and I were in the same field as we also used the GPS. We phoned Adam and he guided us in. Laura made it to the field about 7:00 and we guided her in.

The house had two stories with enough bedrooms so that the married couples had a little privacy. The kitchen was huge and had a table that was almost big enough for all of us to eat at the same time. In the kitchen was a cast iron spiral staircase. This staircase was a favorite of Kristine and Riley who climbed up and down it risking a deadly fall, much to the worry of their parents, Jeannine and me. Outside was a bunk house with four bunk beds. Adam, Leland, Emmeline, and Mabel slept in the bunkhouse.

For dinner, Jeannine fixed her famous tasty baked enchiladas. After dinner and a nap, I left and drove about 3 ½ hours to the St. Louis airport to pick up Lydia and Devin. I found that if I drove about two miles along the road next to the house, it went right up to the LDS visitor’s center in Nauvoo. I phoned back and told Jeannine to have Andy navigate to the visitor center, not the address. It was a long drive to St. Louis, but I listened to music and a tape and watched fireworks in the small towns I passed. Mostly I just drove through empty miles of plains and farmland. Just as I was arriving in the St. Louis airport, Andy phoned me to tell me that he was in a field near Nauvoo. I had him phone Adam to get directions and they spent some time trying to find each other in the dark.

At the St. Louis airport, I picked up an exhausted Lydia and Devin. They had proved that in 2010 it was actually faster to travel by car from Salt Lake City to St. Louis than to fly, but between Lydia’s tears and Devin’s demand, they had managed to have their motel room paid for and acquired almost $1400 in travel vouchers. Finally, at 3:00 am, Sunday morning, the whole family of fifteen people was together at last.

Sunday, July 4, 2010. We all woke up late, exhausted from our trips. Some of the more early arrivals woke up in time to go see the movie about Joseph Smith at the Visitor’s Center. Afterwards, all of us went to the 2:00 pm Nauvoo ward. Since it was the week of the Nauvoo pageant, the ward building was set up like a stake conference with seats to the back of the cultural hall. They actually set up a second sacrament table at the side of the cultural hall. It was a testimony meeting and most of the testimonies were given by Nauvoo pageant members, so the testimonies were well delivered and very dramatic.

After church, we all drove up to Carthage to visit the Carthage Jail. We had to take all of our cars, but that was great since no one was crowded. We took the tour but Laura had to drop out due to the demands of a hungry Madelyn. I picked up Laura afterwards and we made the next tour while everyone else played on the grass, then left for home. Fortunately for us, the second tour guide was better and since it was only the two of us, we had a delightful visit driving back to our house near Nauvoo. (Technically, the house may have been in Niota, Illinois but who has ever heard of Niota? By the way, the contract we signed had perfectly clear directions from the Nauvoo temple. A GPS is not always better.)

That evening, Adam and Lucy fixed dinner. Adam grilled hamburgers, bratwursts, hotdogs, and corn on the cob on the outside barbeque grill. Lucy fixed a great Jell-O salad. Laura fixed a strawberry birthday cake for Lucy. We ate great dinners during our trip.

Later that evening, we had a two day late birthday party for Lucy including the special hat and the traditional off tune Happy Birthday song sung most loudly by Adam. Our little girl is now eighteen years old. After dark, we lit sparklers and pulled poppers to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Monday, July 5, 2010. The next morning all of us, except Andy and Riley, went on a short handcart trek from Nauvoo. Since Riley was feeling sick, Andy stayed home to take care of him. It was raining. We chose one handcart and off we went up and down muddy, slippery trails, and across creeks, pulling and lifting our handcart. We had one nursing baby, and three other children under the age of four, so those who weren’t pulling the handcart were holding and carrying babies, lifting the little ones over the mud. Often the mud covered our shoes. Most of the adults had done youth handcart treks with our stakes back home, but it was an order of magnitude more difficult with the little ones wet, muddy, and crying. We did the short one mile trail but we were exhausted, soaking wet and muddy when we finished.

We rested and washed at the house. We cleaned our shoes but they were still wet when we left nearly a week later. I had a great nap, one of the many great naps that I had on the trip. After the nap, most of us, except Leland and Andy’s family, returned to Nauvoo to tour the bakery, the Nauvoo Cultural Hall, and the Pioneer Industries Hall where we learned about rope making, candle making, bread making, and weaving rugs. All the guides were senior missionaries. When I was younger, I assumed that such missionaries had learned these skills in their youth. Now I am almost the same age as these missionaries.

We had another great dinner, this time prepared by Lydia and Devin. They made “Tinga Tacos” which were excellent. We drank the Old Nauvoo Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Red that had been left for us in the rental house. The little ones had adjusted and there was less crying. Still, it was hot, humid, and raining most of the time we were there.

In the evening, Lydia gave haircuts. By the time we left Nauvoo, almost everyone had a haircut and looked much better than when we had arrived. Thank you, Lydia.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010. Jeannine prepared a blueberry pancake breakfast. We were scheduled for a 10:00 am session in the Nauvoo temple. Ron, Jeannine, and Adam made it. Lydia had left her temple recommend in Provo so she and Devin waited until the temple could get a hold of her Bishop. The rest were running late.

The Nauvoo temple is beautiful. Even the locker room had cherry wood lockers. Though we saw the movie, we moved from room to room during the endowment. I sat next to a painted flower in the creation room and enjoyed looking at it because I have been painting flowers and have a secret desire to paint a picture to be displayed at the Washington, D.C. temple.

We were almost finished with our session when a temple worker called out my name and told me that the rest of our party was in the 11:00 am session. So when we finished, Jeannine and I did some sealings and Adam did some initiatories. We then returned to the Celestial Room to greet Lydia, Devin, Laura, Andy and Amie. (Lydia and Devin did some sealings and Laura some initiatories before they went through the session). Thank you, Lucy and Leland, for babysitting while we went to the temple.

In the afternoon it was rainy but we went through the Webb blacksmith and wheelwright shops. Jeannine and I took Riley, Mabel, Emmeline, and Madelyn for a walk so that the rest of the family could go through the Browning Gun shop. Riley, Mabel, and Emmeline found a puddle to play in. Riley laid right down in it. This puddle may have been the highlight of Riley’s trip. The rest really enjoyed the Gun shop.

On the way back to our house, we drove past a tugboat named the Lydia Marie pushing a barge up the Mississippi River. We took pictures but my camera’s setting was off and I didn’t get Lydia in a picture that showed the tugboat's name. My camera is waterproof and easily survived the handcart pull but Jeannine’s camera, which takes great pictures, may have been ruined.

Amie and Andy fixed dinner, a chicken sauce on spaghetti. It was great. The one thing we had was great meals.

In the evening, Lucy, Lydia, Devin, Jeannine, and I went to the opening night of the Nauvoo pageant. Mormons do great pageants: flags, parades, dancing, marching bands, believers, doubters, prosecutors, a little schmultz, testimony, preaching, and bag pipes. The Nauvoo temple was dramatically lit up in the background at finale. And of course, the pageant had charismatic, visionary, stick pulling, child loving, Joseph Smith, perhaps the most interesting character that could ever appear in a pageant. We really enjoyed it even through it rained during some of the performance.

The rest of the family walked down to play in the Mississippi and discovered that the River has leeches, one of which latched on to Emmeline. Yuck!! That was creepy. We saw lots of raccoons with their angry little eyes staring at us as we drove along the Mississippi. We also saw deer, possums, and a fox. Nauvoo is a swamp.

Although Jeannine and I went to bed early, Andy taught Leland and Adam to play DOOM, a board game with vicious weird alien invaders and defending marines.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010. At 10:00 am, the family went on a wagon ride through Nauvoo. We enjoyed the ride but Leland was really stuffed up and not feeling well. We thought he might be having an allergy attack from the horses, Old Joe and Jerry. He was still sick and exhausted from the bike ride down the C&O Canal. Jeannine drove him back to the house.

The rest of us went to the brick factory to get our Old Nauvoo bricks. (Later when I got home, I compared it to the Nauvoo brick I got about ten years ago. The new Old Nauvoo bricks have shrunk and are about half the size of the old Old Nauvoo bricks.) We then rode the ox cart.

Jeannine phoned me and told me that she had called 911 for an ambulance because Leland was getting worse with a terrible headache and vomiting. I drove Adam and Laura back to the house to pick up their cars and then drove to meet Jeannine and Leland at the hospital in Ft. Madison, Iowa, where the ambulance had taken them. At the bridge over the Mississippi, I had to wait about 20 minutes for the drawbridge to close. Finally I arrived at the hospital.

I found Leland in an emergency room bed looking pale and Jeannine looked exhausted. The staff had put an IV in Leland’s arm, but when the technicians took Leland to the X-ray room, they had a mix up and the IV was pulled from his arm, squirting blood over one of them. They bandaged him up and gave him some pain medicine. Finally, the doctor came in and told us that Leland had acute sinusitis, a bad infection of his sinuses. He prescribed antibiotics and anti-nausea pills. I asked the doctor if Leland could travel and the doctor decided to hurry the process by giving Leland a shot. Although Leland had a sore bottom, he started feeling better that evening.

When we returned, we had to clean up and get ready to leave. Laura fixed dinner, pork in barbeque sauce and a spinach salad. Again, we had another great meal. After dinner, Jeannine and Laura played their flutes and Lydia played her violin. Jeannine also set up her keyboard. They played classics and hymns together. We enjoyed listening to them. I understand that Andy later induced several others to play another round of DOOM.

I went to bed early since I had to get up about midnight to take Lydia and Devin to the St. Louis airport. I went to sleep in the bunkhouse which had housed Adam, Leland, Emmeline, and Mabel. It was cool, almost cold in the tiny room with an air conditioner. I fell asleep listening to the rain on the roof.

We were ready to go home, but sad to be parting from each other. I have missed writing about so many magic moments at our reunion, the time with our grandchildren and children, the hugs, the kisses, the holding of hands, the blowing of soap bubbles, the excitement of daddy longlegs and other bugs scurrying across the kitchen floor, the marching with sticks, the dancing with the wands with streamers that Jeannine gave the granddaughters and Riley jealous because he wanted a wand even if he was a boy, the conversations, the jokes, the coloring books, the bedtime stories, Devin and Lydia finding a restaurant and Amie shopping in uptown Nauvoo, the grocery runs, the games, the moments that make family so sweet. A writer can only take a sampling of life as the universe passes him by, the writing canonizing into a pale historical truth while the reality is lost, unrecorded, unseen, and unnoticed.

We wish we didn’t live so far apart. We really enjoyed each other’s company, and other than the little ones, everyone was pleasant and upbeat during the whole reunion. Sometimes we had a hard time getting going, but this may have been because we had so many little ones. I had to be patient during these times, but I must admit I may have been part of the problem since I tend to move at my own pace. We all agreed that it was a great reunion, but we decided that the next reunion in two years will be a little less touristy and little more relaxing. We will probably go to the beach. We might be able to get a great deal on a beach house on the Gulf.

Thursday, July 8, 2010. Devin, Lydia, and I left for the airport about 1:00 am. Their flight was at 6:00 am and we had a 3 ½ hour drive. Devin and Lydia had reserved a hotel room near the airport but they didn’t have time to stay in it before getting to the airport. Still, Devin checked in since he had already paid for the room but I delivered them directly to the airport. Then I went back to their hotel room and slept there for a few hours and ate the complementary breakfast.

Back in Nauvoo, the rest of the family packed and cleaned in the morning and then parted for their long drives home. Andy, Amie, and family started their two day drive west to Utah. Adam, Lucy, and Leland went up to Chicago to visit Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ralph. Friday, Adam and Lucy went waterskiing with Kathy and Ralph while Leland stayed home and slept all day. Saturday, Adam, Lucy, and Leland left for Virginia, arriving safely home early Sunday morning about 2:00 am.

I left from the hotel room near St. Louis and drove down to hit I-40 near Memphis, Tennessee, driving primarily through Missouri and Arkansas. Near Memphis, I did a little shopping, and checked out the visitor’s center in Memphis, and ate dinner. I went back into Arkansas and found a Best Western motel with two available rooms and a swimming pool. Then I watched television, read, napped, and waited.

Laura, Emmeline, Mabel, and Madelyn left late morning to drive back to Texas. Jeannine went with them to help drive. They followed the route I had taken from Nauvoo, to St. Louis, to where I was waiting near Memphis. I phoned and text messaged them the location of the motel. With both Jeannine and Laura taking turns driving, they made the trip in about ten hours. Once they arrived, we put on our swim suits and jumped into the pool. Emmeline swam like a fish and Mabel, although a little more cautious than her older sister, swam like a tadpole. What water babies!

Over all, the trip was a great success. Thank you to everyone who came, especially to Amie and Devin who were such great sports. I also want to thank Brett for allowing Laura and their children to come without him. We missed him. Most of all, I especially want to thank Laura who made most of the arrangements for Nauvoo. Without her and Jeannine, this reunion would have never happened.

****
A few additional comments by Laura--
Whew! Thanks dad for that detailed account. I just have to add that I also played Doom with everyone. It was surprisingly fun. What a great and exhausting reunion!! I cant wait until 2012.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival

2010-06-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my birthday a week early this year and did something that I have never done before but have always wanted to do. We took our family to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. It happens each weekend throughout the spring here in Dallas with Memorial day being the last day of the season. Despite the heat and humidity we had a wonderful time! Since it was my birthday we got to rent costumes and dress up. Of course the girls (and I certainly am included in "the girls") absolutely LOVED this part. (Even though if we go next year we'll bring our own costumes :) ). Mabel won over the hearts of everyone who saw her in her pink maiden outfit. What was really great was how Brett decided to participate as well. He really doesnt like dressing up (I have a hard time convincing him to dress up for halloween) and he wasnt going to originally, but then I came out in my dress and since it was my birthday. . .he went for it. What a great husband. and so handsome!! :)

A few highlights.
-The girls really loved riding an elephant. I remember when I was little I went to Wildlife Safari with my family in Oregon. I dont remember much about it except I do remember, and always have, riding an elephant. I'm glad that my girls will get to hold on to a similar fun memory.

-The Joust. This was really neat. Before it started they gathered up about 10 little kiddos to be "young riders" and the special guests of the Queen. Somehow I managed to get Emmeline and Mabel in the group. After the great war horses, knights and ladies all rode out, the queen and some other nobles entered the stadium. Then they had the "young riders" ride through the stadium. Each child was on a stick horse, but Emmeline and Mabel were sharing one. As they were "galloping" through, they kept tripping over each other and a sweet lady who was in charge of the kids picked up Mabel and galloped with her through the stadium. This, and the fact that Emmeline has short little legs (all of the other kids who participated were older 7-10 or so) left Emmeline galloping several feet behind the other riders. As she past the crowd, by herself, everyone oohed, aahed and cheered for the cute little fairy princess trotting along after the others. It was very cute and I'm sure that Emmeline just loved the attention. Then the girls got to watch the joust in a special shaded box seat with a couple of lords and ladies leading them in the cheering and explaining the joust to them. It was perfect because Brett and I were stuck in an unshaded bleacher and we were scorching to death. I was glad the girls were in a cool, fun place. Anyway, it was really neat. And despite the hot bleacher I was on, I enjoyed the joust myself.

-The parade. Everyday of the festival at 1 there is a grand parade throughout the park. On this day, they allowed all veterans to participate in the parade and wear a yellow sash. It was actually really neat to see all the veterans honored and even though we were not in a traditional patriotic setting, I felt very proud to be an American and of my heritage. It was also fun to watch the different venders come through all dressed up having a good time. One character came up and put beads around Mabels neck (which Mabel graciously shared with Emmeline). As I mentioned before, Mabel won over every heart she met that day. :)
-The atmosphere. Music, laughter, fun costumes, dancing. It was so fun to walk around and pretend to be from another time, just for a day.

Thanks Brett for the fun birthday present.

New Ward Update

2010-05-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I said I would post when I had more info on our new ward. It seems to be just great!! The people are very friendly. The girls and I have been invited to several playdates and activities. There is a huge primary and youth program which is great!! There are a lot of little kids for Emmeline and Mabel to play with. Also, the bishopric, RS presidency and Elders quorum presidency have all come to our house (separately) to welcome us. Needless to say, we feel very welcome. :)I am excited to continue to meet new people and have exciting new opportunities here in Flower Mound.

New Ward

2010-05-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have been asked by several people in my family how my new ward is here in Texas. Well if anyone else is interested let me tell you. I don't know. Today, our first sunday here, was stake conference. LOL. It was pretty sad. The girls were really looking forward to going to their new primary classes. But they will get to next week--it will be okay. Just funny and a little sad for us. So to answer your question about our ward, I'll let you know next week (I'm sure it is awesome by the way they were willing to help us move in :) ). Oh and in case you were wondering, Stake Conference was nice.. :)

Good Question Emmeline

2010-05-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

Emmeline likes movie previews almost as much as the movie shes gonna watch. She happenes to have all the previews memorized on her favorite shows. Here is a question she asked Brett yesterday.

"Dad, when Poohs Heffalump movie comes out in 2005 can we get it??"

Hilarious!!

Life in a Park

2010-05-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a park. Where you walk outside your front door and step out onto a grassy knoll interwoven with sidewalks for biking and walking. Perhaps just down the path, there would be a little playground complete with slide and toys to climb on. And if you are really lucky, this park will also include a pool just a hop, skip and a jump from the park. Well, it turns out that this is exactly how our apartment complex is. I feel like we are living in a park. All of our windows look out over this grassy courtyard, so I dont have a problem letting Emmeline and Mabel wander out by themselves. Plus there are always several other children out and about. It is very cool to live in a park. :)

This is the view of the park from my front porch.

Another Reason to Love Aldi

2010-05-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

We really needed some groceries and since I havent decided which grocery store I am going to shop at yet (I have to find out which has the best sales and coupon policies. . .oh how I will miss Publix) we decided to head over to Aldi. My mom told me about Aldi at least a year or more ago, but did I listen. . .no. (That will teach me not to listen to my mamma) I finally tried out the Aldi in Brimingham a couple months ago and was blown away by their cheap produce. Not only is the produce way cheaper then other places, it is generally fresh and delicious. They often have good deals on other items too. Anyway, we thought we'd check out the local Aldi here in the Metroplex. Little did we know that we would be showing up at the open house. Apparently this Aldi is opening tomorrow and today was a special "come and see" day. As we walked through the store we got lots of free sample and as we exited we got a couple of free big reusable shopping bags. The ones that generally cost a couple bucks each. And each bag was filled with samples including; a candy bar, water bottle, fiber bar, and gummy snacks. I also got 2 $5/25 coupons which I will totally use and we each got a free hot dog and soda. Yup, just another reason to love Aldi. :)

Congratulations Dr. Pickett

2010-03-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

On Friday, March 26, Brett presented the public defense of his dissertation. I was happy to find a babysitter so I could be there. Bretts mom was also able to fly out from Utah. It was so nice that she was able to come and support Brett in this final hurdle before graduation.

Brett did a great job. He has worked very hard during the last 5 years and I am so proud of him for finishing everything up and graduating.

After the presentation, Brett's boss, Elliot, had us all up to the lab to celebrate. We picked up Emmeline and Mabel to come to this celebration with us. Elliot provided a nice cake and champagne for Brett and another grad student in the lab who also defended a dissertation that morning. We were a little worried until Elliot announced that there were two types of champagne available. Mary had the alcoholic one and Brett the non-alcoholic one. :) Emmeline and Mabel were very thrilled to get some of the "fancy drink" with us adults and they were very proud of their daddy for being able to open the bottle.

(Note to Brett- I love you so much. You are such a dedicated man--dedicated to your family and to your career. Thank you for taking such great care of me and our girls. And for working so hard. I could not ask for a better husband. I'm so proud of you. Congrats Dr. Pickett!!) If you want to see it, a pdf version is at: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5dMd3Pt60HQNjk5ZmUwM2QtYWI4Mi00MTA4LTg0NGEtMzMwYWE2MTUwYWZj&hl=en

Brett Dissertation Private Defense

2010-03-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

On March 23 Brett defended his dissertation to his graduation committee. Brett passed with flying colors. Each member of his committee signed off on the dissertation requesting only a few minor changes/additions. This private defense was a major milestone for Brett and having it done is a huge stress reliever. After he finished we went to celebrate at the Cheesecake Factory (Where else :)!)

Legend of the Seeker

2010-03-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

This month I have gotten into the t.v. show Legend of the Seeker. I blog about it because it has taken up a fairly significant amount of my time and I love it. In a nutshell, the show is about a hero named Richard Cypher who, with the help of his friends--Zeddicus Zu'l Zurander (a Wizard) and Kahlan Amnell (a Confessor), must save the world from the evil Tyrant Darken Rahl and later the almighty Keeper of the underworld. The show is filled with magic, beauty and forbidden love. If you like fantasy, its worth a try. You can stream the entire 1st season from Netflix on demand.

My aunt Sara recommended the show to me. After I had checked it out I wanted to call my brothers and sisters and tell them about it since I thought they would also really like it. I called my brother Adam and it turns out that he and Andy were already watching it. They have even read the books that the show is loosely based on, the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. (I have yet to read them, but after watching this show. . I might just have to check them out). Anyway Adam spent an hour on the phone telling me differences between the show and the book (I actually like spoilers). It was really fun to talk to him about it. Just goes to show that even though I have lived far away from my siblings for so many years, we still all like the same stuff. Family is the best!!!

All Through the Night

2010-03-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm really proud of little Madelyn. She started sleeping all through the night this month. I put her to bed about 10:30 (give or take a half hour depending on the night) and she doesnt get up until 7:30 or 8 the next morning. It is AWESOME. It makes mom a much happier mom. We moved her into the crib in the girls room. It's pretty cool that all three girls can sleep together in the same room. I suppose I'm really lucky. This is my third baby, and all three of them have been great sleepers.

Wedding Cake and Garbage Disposal Issues

2010-03-12T18:06:00.000-08:00

Recently a gal I know had a wedding and I volunteered to make her a cake. It was fun for me to do and not have to worry about having a big cake in my house for me to eat afterwards. The only problem occurred when I first got started and realized that the garbage disposal in my sink wasn't working. Both sinks filled up half way with dirty water when I tried to use it. Brett was working at the science center so he couldn't come home and help me sort it out. I didnt have time to try and figure it out myself (not that I would have been able to if I had tried) since I needed to get the cake finished before the wedding. So I decorated the cake without the use of my sinks. I had to stack all my messy dishes and stuff on the counters instead of in the sink. It was interesting but it worked out fine. When Brett got home he was able to fix the problem with the disposal without much effort. Mabel enjoyed being his special helper (flashlight holder) as you can see in the pics. And although certainly not perfect, I think the cake turned out pretty decent. So it was a good day. lol.

Swimming Lessons

2010-03-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

Swimming lessons have started up again. This time we signed up Mabel as well as Emmeline. I dont think that they are as much fun since they are private lessons instead of group lessons. Apparently, private lessons are the current trend right now and there were not enough kids signed up for group. Luckily, the Y gave us the group discount even though the lessons ended up being private. We'll try for the group ones again when we get to Dallas.

In the mean time, Emmeline has been working on swimming with her head under the water. She has made good progress and its fun to watch her skills develop. Her teacher discovered what an imaginative child Emmeline is. Miss Lindsey was trying to get Emmeline to look forward when swimming and not up at the ceiling. Emmeline was having a difficult time with this. After several attempts at getting Emmeline to look forward, Miss Lindsey finally told Emmeline to pretend that she was an alligator with her eyes forward just above the water. This did it. There wasn't any more trouble after that. After the lesson Emmeline excitedly told me about how she was an alligator looking for fish. I laughed. Mabel has progressed to swimming by herself--with a noodle. This is a big step and she is so proud of herself for swimming "all by myself." She had a couple hard lessons but is doing better in her brand new tinker bell swimming suit. I'll try and get some pics of their upcoming lessons and post some soon. :)

House for Sale

2010-03-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

It is official. Our cute little townhouse is on the market. I dont think the idea that I am moving really hit me until I saw it--the big FOR SALE sign posted up in our front yard.

I am excited to move. I am excited for a new adventure and hopefully a bigger home for my family, however, I will miss this townhouse. When we bought it, it was a disgusting mess. But together, Brett and I cleaned it up and turned it into a home. This is the place where I have brought home each of my three babies from the hospital. This is where we've lived and loved for the past 5 years--and I'll always look back on it with fondness.

So if you're in the Birmingham area and you are in the market for a nice little townhome close to the University, I know of a good one that is available. :)

Hibernating

2010-03-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

It has been cold throughout January and February this year, and with a new little baby in the house, we have been hibernating. Granted, I have been tired, with the new baby and the lack of lengthy sleep. Overall Emmeline and Mabel have been good sports about staying in and hanging out at home.

But now the sun is starting so shine and I am starting to wake up and feel an energy that I havent had for almost a year. I am getting excited about exercising (YMCA here I come), shopping, starting new projects, taking the kids outside, and just getting involved with others again. It feels so great to be ready to get out into the world again.

Our Snow Day

2010-02-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

It seems as though we get about 1 good snow day a year here in Birmingham. There may be a few other days when a flake or two may fall, but those can hardly be called "snow days!" Here are some pictures from our snow day this year, February 2010.

Dallas Texas

2010-01-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

Brett just had an interview for a Post Doc position at South Western in Dallas Texas. He had a great time. He really likes all of people in the lab where he would be working and he thinks that he will be able to learn a lot from his new boss. The day after Brett returned home to Birmingham, Richard (the name of his new boss) emailed Brett and told him that they would love to hire Brett on in the lab. Richard knew that Brett had to finish graduation first, but he was happy to have us join them in Dallas ASAP. After some discussion and prayer, Brett and I decided that it would be wise to accept this offer. Everything about it seems really great. . .except for the location. I'm not thrilled to be so far away from family, I was hoping to be a little closer to either Virginia or Utah, but we've been surviving for the past 5 years, I suppose we'll be okay for a few more. The experience Brett will get will really make him more competitive in the job market and we might as well make these gradual steps while are family is still so young.

So now it is official . . . .
Dallas Texas, here we come. (in May :) )

Introducing Madelyn Grace Pickett

2010-01-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

Madelyn Grace Pickett

Born: January 8, 2010
Weight: 8 lbs 10 oz
Height: 21 inches

Brett and I went to the hospital at 6 am Friday morning. Luckily the doctor let me induce a little early--Maddie wasn't actually due until the 12th, but I dont think I could have lasted another night as large and uncomfortable as I was. In the hospital, I was hoping to get going and have the baby in time for lunch. It didn't go that fast but it was still a relatively smooth delivery. We chatted with the nurse and hung out until the contractions got serious--around 2 in the afternoon. I did have my greatest, most high scoring game of Bejeweled ever while I was waiting, so that was pretty exciting. Maddie was born around 3:30. I hardly had to push at all. . .maybe 5 times. I think that she was just as ready to come out as I was to get her out. :)

Emmeline and Mabel were so excited to come and visit us in the hospital that evening. They each brought Maddie a little gift. Emmeline chose a pink rubber duckie and Mabel chose a soft little pink butterfly. They were both so sweet and loving with their new little sister.

My time in the hospital sped by without a hitch and I was very excited to get home. The only setback was, like both Emmeline and Mabel, Maddie had a bit of a jaundice scare and she had to stay in the hospital an extra night to be on the lights. It was hard leaving the hospital without her, but luckily it wasnt for long. They let us bring her home the next morning.

I am so excited to have another beautiful daughter. Heavenly Father has truly blessed me and I am thrilled to have my family grow.

"Go Ahead Brett"

2010-01-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

On January 4, Brett met with his graduation committee to present his work up to this point and petition that he be allowed to graduate in May. He has one paper published and several others submitted and he has met every other requirement necessary to graduate. After his meeting, his committee gave him the "go ahead" to start putting together his dissertation so he can graduate in May. YEAH Brett.

Laura's Top 10 of 2009

2010-01-01T09:08:00.000-08:00

#10. YMCA

In January of 2009 we joined our local YMCA. They gave us a discount based on Bretts income (otherwise we wouldn't have been able to afford it.) It has been so great for us. They offer free childcare while you are working out, so the girls go play while I participate in various aerobic classes. My favorites are bodyJam and Kickboxing. I also went to water aerobics while I was pregnant. Throughout the spring Emmeline took swimming lessons and loved those!! and of course we enjoyed utilizing the swimming pool throughout the hot Birmingham summer. (okay, we've enjoyed the pool the entire year!! It's a favorite activity of the girls even during the few cold weeks of winter. It's lucky the Y has an indoor pool. :) ). Here is a picture of the girls playing in the lockers and one of Emmeline in her swimming class.

# 9. The Library

We have enjoyed the library ever since we moved to Birmingham, but this past year we really made the most of it. We went to a special class every other Thursday called Rhythm and Rhyme. There we listened to stories, sang songs, and danced to music. Both Emmeline and Mabel loved it. We also went to the library a lot this summer. I was feeling so sick from being pregnant and it was so hot out side, we took advantage of the library's summer reading program and participated in all of their free activities. One day a cow came to visit, another day the kids got to decorate the sidewalk with chalk and have otter pops. Those were just a few of our favorite summer library activities.

# 8. UAB Starting my Masters Degree

In the Spring I enrolled in a Masters program at UAB, studying history. I took 2 classes that semester, The World Post 1945 and Historiography of the American Revolution. I enjoyed both classes!! I loved being a student again and stimulating my mind with things other then that which would excite 3 year old little girls. (dont get me wrong, I am a fan of tea parties, parks, zoos, princesses, etc). I even enjoyed writing my end of term paper. That shows how much I was aching for more adult learning. I was excited for my summer classes too, but then I got pregnant and sick and decided to take a break. I am still planning on finishing my degree but I'll take it slow, a class here and a class there. I'm not in any hurry. I just enjoy learning amid being a mother of young children.

#7. Joyschool

This fall I started a joyschool with 3 other gals. They all have little boys, so Emmeline was the only girl in the group, but she loved it!! We each took 1 week during the month and prepared a two hour class on Tuesday and Thursday. I think I was super lucky because the holidays always ended up on my classes and we had a halloween party, thanksgiving lesson, and christmas party. Throughout the term we took several field trips including visits to the zoo, the police station and the fire station. It was great for Emmeline to play with some of her friends each week and on days when I wasnt teaching, I was able to run errands and spend one on one time with Mabel. Overall, it was awesome. The following pictures are of the kids at the fire station and of the kids doing yoga. When Emmeline came home from that lesson she had to show me all the new moves she had learned. Very cute.

#6. Our "New" Car

I have loved our little blue Kia Spectra. It has been a great car for my family for the last 6 years. However, Brett and I were wondering how we were going to squish another car seat in the back. In the fall, Bretts mom decided to buy herself a new car and in the process sold her old car to us. It has been great for the girls to have more space in the back, and there will be plenty of room for the baby's car seat to be added. It is funny because Brett used to drive this car when he was in highschool-so it really isn't new to him, but it is to me. Yeah for "new" cars and yeah for family who will help us obtain them!!!

#5. Couponing

In the spring my friend Michelle Norris gave me some helpful tips and websites to get me started using coupons. After trying it out, I found that it cut my grocery bill in half. I used to shop at Wal Mart for everything and get mostly only Great Value items. I thought that was as cheap as it was gonna get. Now I shop at a regular grocery store (Publix) and buy name brand items and spend half as much as I did before. It is awesome. It is also fun. Although it can take some time, it is kind of like a game--a treasure hunt for the good deals. I've also had fun earning and using ECB's at CVS. I had no idea that I could get free (or almost free) deoderant, toothpaste, body wash, etc. It is awesome. In case you're interested, a couple of my favorite sites are:
southernsavers.com
moneysavingmadness.com
moneysavingmom.com

#4. Primary

For the past 4 years I have served in various positions in my wards primary presidency. This has been a huge part of my life and I have enjoyed it so much. I have helped put together some fun activities throughout the years. This year we had a Book of Mormon Time Machine, a Luau, a Daddy/Daughter Date and a Mother/Son Date and of course our annual Halloween Trunk or Treat/Carnival. This December I was released and a new presidency was put in place. Even though I knew it was coming for a long time and even though I do believe that it is important for me to serve elsewhere for awhile, being released was much harder then I thought it would be. I didnt realize how much of myself I had put into the primary and I felt like part of me was being cut out. I think it was also hard because I was so hormonal with my pregnancy, I just couldnt deal with things very well. But no matter where I am called to serve in the future, I will always love primary and be grateful for the many opportunities and friends made while I was serving there. :)

#3. My Little Sister Lydia's Wedding.

In October my little sister got married to Devin Stienberg. They were sealed in the Washington D.C. Temple and had a lovely fall themed reception at my parents house in the evening. It was neat for me, not only because my little sis was gettin married, but I got to help with a lot of the planning, decorations and food preparations. I even got to make the cake (with the much appreciated help of my other littler sister Lucy). I thought that everything turned out absolutely beautiful.

#2. Being Pregnant.

Although this was not particularly the most pleasant experience of 2009 (I was sick most of the summer and to big to move most of the winter) it certainly dominated most of my year. And even though I wasnt comfortable for most of the year, I knew that eventually, this would lead to a wonderful, life changing blessing--my third daughter.

A couple of things pregnancy brought with it this time around: 1) a love for nuts--especially honey roasted peanuts (which I've never really cared for before) and cashews, but oddly any nut would do. 2) a love for certain smells. Especially new tires, bleach, and lemon dish detergent. Oh, life's simple pleasures. :)

#1. My Wonderful Family.

I love my family so much. They are my whole life. So the number 1 greatest thing of 2009 was Brett, Emmeline, Mabel, and baby on the way!!

Another Pickett Princess

2009-09-02T08:08:00.001-07:00

We just found out that come mid January we will be adding another little girl to our family. We are really excited. Every day since the ultra sound, which was a week ago, Mabel has been saying "baby, t.v." She loved seeing the baby on the "t.v." and I think it really clicked that there is a baby in mommy's tummy.

I have to take a minute to apologize for the lack of blogs over the past 4 months. I felt rather sick during my first trimester and really didnt do much of anything, including blogging or checking blogs. Pretty much May and June was spent reading Harry Potter 1-7---it was the only thing that could keep my mind off how miserable I felt. With that said, I am feeling much better and I am excited to get back to some of the things I like to do. . .like blogging, oh and cooking dinner. :)

Aboard the Odyssey

2009-04-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

On April 22 Brett and I celebrate our 5th anniversary. We decided to celebrate early this year and take advantage of my parents babysitting while we were in Virginia. So Brett booked us for a dinner/dance riverboat cruise in Washington D.C. We sailed aboard the Odyssey along the Potomac River. We had such a wonderful time. It was awesome to get out with Brett and do something romantic.

We started by getting all dressed up and "prettified" and my sister Lyds did my hair all fancy and cut Bretts hair. Then we left for the city. We got there a little bit early and so we were able to walk around and enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms. The atmosphere of the boat was so fun. The food was good and the settings were beautiful. They kept the rolls coming (which was awesome) and I had my first lobster bisque ever.

When we weren't eating, we enjoyed walking around the boat and seeing the beautiful monuments all lit up and magnificent against the dark night.

We also enjoyed dancing. They had a live band which was pretty good and which played a fun mix of slow and fast favorites. At one point in the evening, the band announced all the birthdays and everyone on the boat sang happy birthday. Then they announced all the couples celebrating anniversaries. As each couple was called they got to walk to the dance floor. There were a ton of first anniversaries and everyone clapped really loudly for them. Then a couple celebrating their 4th anniversary was called and people clapped even louder. Then they called Brett and me with 5 years and people were even more loud. It was fun to walk up to the dance floor, holding Bretts hand, with the whole boat watching and clapping for us. After us there was a 10 year anniversary and a 27 year anniversary. It was kindof weird that we were the third longest couple celebrating on the boat and I feel like we are still so young. After all the couples were on the floor, they played a special slow song (unfortunately it was a song that I wasn't familiar with) and we got our own special dance.

All in all, it was a wonderful night and I am convinced that we will be doing it again and again throughout our lives!!!! Thank you Brett for the romantic evening and the memorable time celebrating our wonderful marriage!!

Daffodils and Darling Daughters

2009-04-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Virginia Vacation and a Happy Easter

2009-04-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

We drove up to Virginia to celebrate Easter with my family from April 8-14th. Although it is a very long 12 hour drive, the girls did awesome and it really wasnt that bad. I bring all sorts of treats and let the girls watch their favorite movies.

We got to meet Lydias new boyfriend. He's a pretty nice fellow. (Perhaps, if things continue along as they currently are, we'll get to make the trip up to VA again next winter or spring for a wedding. . . hmmm, who knows. )

We had a fun time celebrating Easter. On Saturday Grandma, Em, and I went to the grocery store. As we walked in we were each given a raffle ticket. After we had been there for about 15 minutes, they drew Emmelines number and she won a free easter cake. She was soooo excited. It was all she could talk about throughout the week. While we were at the store, we also got to decorate free easter cookies. Emmeline loaded hers up with frosting. It was a great shopping trip.

The girls also had fun decorating Easter eggs that night. My mom had gotten a different dye then usual and the girls got to use actual paint brushes instead of just submerging their eggs in the dye bath. I think they loved using brushes and painting their eggs instead of dying their eggs.

Sunday morning, the girls enjoyed going through their easter baskets. They each got a new swimming suit, some books, candy and other little nic nacs. Grandma had gotten them these cute little bunny purses to put all their stuff in. After church and dinner, we had a family easter egg hunt. As always, this is a highlight for my daughters. Plus, grandma and grandpa have a big yard to hide eggs which made this particular hunt super fun.

All in all, we had a great holiday and a very happy Easter.

While we were there my parents also took us to "The Greatest Show on Earth" the Circus. We love the circus. And Mabel was enthralled. She was so focused and taking everything in. She became very attached to my sister Lucy and throughout the show she would keep crawling back and forth between Lucy and me, never taking her eyes off what was happening down on the stage. It was quite hilarious.

On Monday we went to my moms classroom. It was a teacher workday so her class wasn't there and Emmeline and Mabel loved exploring the room. They liked to play with the giant checkers, the stacking toys, stickers and of course to color on the whiteboards and chalkboards.

Mostly we just enjoyed hanging out. I think that the girls favorite parts involved jumping on the trampoline with Lucy and Leland, blowing giant bubbles--and watching the Hefalump movie over and over again. I loved talking, singing and laughing all week with my family.

On Tuesday we left early and got back to Birmingham around 4:30. Just enough time for Brett to get to his class and for me to get refocused to head into class at 5:30. We had a great vacation!!

April Babysitting Night

2009-04-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

We took our turn babysitting on Friday April 3rd this month. It was perfect because it was just before Easter and the weather was awesome. So we had a couple of Easter eggs hunts of course. It was great to be able to let the kids run around outside instead of being stuck in the house all evening. And the one thing my girls can't seem to get enough of is hunting for those colored, plastic eggs. Mabel has to shake each one to see if its any good. She is all about quality. Emmeline on the other hand, could care less if there was anything inside the egg. She is all about quantity. hilarious!!

Nanas Visit

2009-03-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

Nana came to visit us March 26-29. We were so happy that she came down south to see us.

On Friday she watched the girls while I went to the YMCA. I know the girls loved having special time alone with Nana. That afternoon, after Brett got home from work, we went to the Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious as always. I got the Burrito Grande and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves giant cheesy, loaded burritos filled with peppers, chicken, onions and so many other delicious flavors. But I digress. . .(why is it I always lose focus when it comes to delicious food. . ) After the restaurant, Nana, Em and Mabel all had a movie party while Brett and I went out on a date. We had a fun time going to a movie.

On Saturday Nana spoiled us rotten. She got both Brett and me our birthday presents early. A new dress for me and several new shirts and pants for Brett. She also bought the girls some beautiful spring dresses. We finished off our shopping trip with hotdogs at Costco. But the best part of the day was yet to come. After we finished eating we went to the park. Brett and I hid easter eggs while the girls played on the playground with Nana. Then the girls got to hunt those eggs down. They loved it so much they had us hide the eggs at least 3 more times. It was a great day for an Easter egg hunt. There was no one else at the park so we had it all to ourselves. We finished off the day by eating as much as we could of the 7 lb All American Chocolate cake that we got from Costco. mmmmmmmm.

We are so glad that Nana would take the time to come out here and visit us. We had a great time!!

Cookie Naturals

2009-03-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

For FHE we decorated cookies. The girls LOVED it. Emmeline loved squeezing the frosting out of the bag and I think Mabel just loved the frosting!! I cant say I blame either one.

Book of Mormon--Time Machine Primary Activity

2009-03-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

On February 28 we had our first primary quarterly activity of the year. We had a time machine that took the kids back to Book of Mormon times. I thought that the activity was a lot of fun and very memorable for the kids. I'll admit that it was a lot of work, but seeing the response of the kids, it was totally worth the effort.

Once the kids arrived at the church they got to make headbands and decorate "treasure bags" (brown paper bags). Then they were put into 6 different groups according to their ages. Then we all headed into the time machine. The time machine was on the stage. It was decorated with colored flashing lights, a strobe light and disco ball, and a fun sound effect. We had a "START" button which one child got to push and we all counted down together. Each group was taken to a different point in time. After each rotation the kids came back to the time machine where we "started" it again. We got to do this 7 times. It was really cool. The first time the sound was to soft and didn't make a big impression so I cranked up the volume. The second time it was so loud all of the kids were scared. oops. I turned the volume down. By the third time in the machine, I thought I had a pretty good balance of sound. . .even though the youngest kids (my three year old daughter included) continued to cover their ears each time in the machine. :)

The 7 rotations were:

-Nephite Market. This was our "atmosphere" or theme room. We completely decorated the primary room as if it were an ancient Nephite market. We lashed together several bamboo pieces to create market stalls. We brought in colorful woven blankets and pottery. We put up a "mayan temple" on the wall, covered the floor with straw and placed greenery all around. I thought it looked pretty awesome. We gave the children several gold (senine) and silver (onti) pieces which they could spend at the market. At one stall there were tortillas, rice and beans. At another stall there were fried scones and honey. And at the last stall there were beads to make bracelets and feathers. It was a fun rotation where the kids could wonder around the room on there own and do what they wanted and feel like children in an ancient market.

-Tree of Life. In this rotation the children got to go outside and experience walking along an iron rod to get to the tree of life and the most precious fruit. Along the way there were the young women trying to tempt the kids to let go. Out of all the 50+ children we had at the activity, only 4 let go. A funny story. . .one of those kids was my own sweet Emmeline. One of the young women held out a princess crown. Apparently (and I wasnt there to see this. . .but several people told me about it) Emmeline didnt even hesitate but ran straight for the princess crown. lol. I can see I'm going to have to talk to my girls about worldly treasures vs. eternal treasures.

-Ammon Theater Room. In this rotation the kids got to see the story of Ammon acted out. I'm pretty sure that it was an interactive kind of show. Brett was asked to be Ammon at the last minute. We had to ask a parent to go around with his class. . .but I think he enjoyed being part of one of the rotations. The kids got to see Ammon fighting to save the kings sheep and they also witnessed King Lamoni and the Queen being so overcome by the spirit that they fell as if they were dead.

-Samuel the Lamenite. For this rotation the children got to pretend that they were wicked Nephites and throw rocks (crushed paper) at Samuel who was on the wall after they listened to him testify of the Christ and tell them to repent. The kids really enjoyed this (as you can imagine).

-Moroni: Title of Liberty. For this rotation, Captain Moroni talked to the kids about his Title of Liberty and the things that were worthy to fight for--"In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children." Then the children each got to make their own title of liberty on cloth shaped like a shirt. They tied their flags to some bamboo sticks for all to see.

-Moroni: Wondering alone in the Wilderness. Here the children got to be with a different prophet named Moroni. This was at the end of the Book of Mormon when Moroni is wondering around alone. We had a tent set up in this room and the children all hid together with Moroni in the tent. They each got some "plates" (foil covered 5'7 index cards) on which they got to "engrave" their testimonies of the Savior. (or draw pictures of their testimonies.)

-Testimony of the Savior coming to America. After each group had gone to each of the first 6 rotations, we brought them all together for the last one. Here we talked about the great storms and darkness which covered the land when the Savior was killed in Jerusalem. We flicked the lights (lightning) and used a severe thunderstorm background. I had covered all the windows with paper so that when we turned off the lights it was dark. Not pitch black and scary, but dark enough to give the children an idea of what I was talking about. Then we talked about when the Savior came to America and blessed the people and blessed the children. I made a slideshow including pictures of the Savior throughout his life to help the kids visualize who the Savior is and what He did for us. (I'll post this slideshow through youtube, just below this post.)

All in all, I would say that this has been one of my favorite primary activities yet (and I've been doing primary for almost 3 and a half years now). I think the children had fun learning about different times from the Book of Mormon and I hope that they felt the spirit as we talked about the Savior. I know that for me, this activity strengthened my own testimony of Jesus Christ. I was blessed to be in charge of the final rotation and put together the slideshow. As I listened to beautiful music and looked at beautiful representations of the Savior in art, I was filled with the peaceful spirit which accompanies thought of our Savior. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World. I know that He lived a perfect life and that He atoned for the sins of the world and died on a cross because He loves us. I know that He lives and that He will come to the earth again. I know that He loves me. I know that He loves all of His children (even those of us who are not so small.) I am so thankful for the joy that His gospel brings into my life. And I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to share this testimony to the wonderful children in my ward each Sunday.

This is the Christ

2009-03-20T14:32:00.001-07:00

This is the first part of the slideshow that I made for the Book of Mormon Time Machine activity. This shows pictures of Jesus throughout His life. It is set to the song "This is the Christ" sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. (

I Know That My Savior Loves Me

2009-03-20T14:31:00.001-07:00

This is the second part of the slide show I made for the Book of Mormon Time Machine activity. This has pictures of the primary children in my ward juxtaposed to pictures of the Savior with children to the song "I Know That My Savior Loves Me" which was in an old edition of the Friend Magazine.

Rolling a Snowman

2009-03-12T07:08:00.001-07:00

This is the first snowman that Emmeline and Mabel have ever made here at our home in Birmingham Alabama. They were soooo excited!! It was awesome that it was Sunday so Daddy could be home to help the girls make an awesome snowman!!

Snow Day

2009-03-12T07:01:00.001-07:00

It doesnt happen often, but we did have a snow day this year in Birmingham Alabama. (March 1, 2009). It snowed so much that church was cancelled. The girls loved going outside to see and play in the snow.

Coming Down

2009-03-12T06:56:00.001-07:00

Mabel loves slides. Big slides. Little slides. All slides. Here she is going down the small slide at the McWane Center (Emmeline was playing in the water area). If you listen carefully, you can hear her sweet little giggle at the end of the clip.

Book of Mormon Stories--song

2009-03-12T06:53:00.001-07:00

Emmeline and Mabel singing Book of Mormon Stories. We love to sing all sorts of songs together. Anything with hand actions is fine by Mabel.

Playing in the Water

2009-03-12T06:52:00.001-07:00

In this video the girls and I are at the McWane Science Center. The girls love to play in the water. Emmeline especially could play in the water for hours without getting bored or distracted. We love the McWane Center!! (Feb. 2009)

Swimming Lessons

2009-03-11T18:15:00.001-07:00

Here is a video of Emmeline during her third swimming lesson. She started swimming lessons at the beginning of February and has really been enjoying them.