Cinderella Birthday

Today Evelyn turned TWO! I really can't believe two years have passed since she was born in 110 degree heat in Utah. And she had her birthday today with plenty of warm weather as well.

Grandma and Grandpa Cluff traveled from Emmett, Idaho to come celebrate her birthday and brought lots of Cinderella paraphernalia with them. (Chuck had a business trip in Orlando last month and they made a trip to Walt Disney World.) So Evelyn got a cool Cinderella dress and 'glass' slippers, which we thought we might get her to wear to church, but she didn't.

She thought her cake was pretty cool with a rubber Cinderella doll on it, but she really just wanted to poke holes in the frosting. Until we got the candles on. Then she wanted to blow out candles forever. She doesn't blow very hard either, as this picture can attest.

She loves opening presents, what kid doesn't? She got a pink train conductor's set from Uncle Dan and Elke, and she's wearing the hat and handkerchief in this picture. It also came with one of those cool wooden train whistles, but she hasn't quite figured out what to do with it yet.

She got quite a few books from the family, especially one about potty-training (maybe it will motivate her!)

She still isn't too talented with a fork and spoon, so spent most of her cake time sucking ice cream and frosting off her fingers.

I love my Levelyn and her cute, curly curls, the way she's learning to talk, and her little sense of humor. I love how she still likes to snuggle, sing primary songs, and help little Jilly learn to play with toys. I love her wild, crazy laugh and the way she protests Ben and I's arriving home after a date (she'll throw something when we walk in the door, then run away, and then come running back for hugs). Jilly is most excited by Evelyn, and my world wouldn't be the same without her!

July 7, 2007

A Hot Week

 It has been a scorcher of a week here in Washington, over 100 degrees for a few days. So we broke out the kiddie pool and tried to convince the girls that it was fun. We were partly successful, mostly with Evelyn. Jilly thinks all water should be bath temperature if you actually have to sit in it. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince Evelyn that going down the slide into the water was cool. I always wanted to do that when the little kiddie pools were out in the yard growing up. I guess I'm living out a little childhood dream. :) We made it over to the big pool at Grandpa Gibbons' house today, and all Evelyn wants to do is play fetch, throwing toys into the pool and watch other people retrieve them. Second cousin Carter and Evelyn team up on this trick and have a blast.

Since Mom and Dad chopped the trees in half this winter, we don't have the long afternoon shadows to protect from the sun. So we had to bust out the canopy, along with the camp chairs. This was the really hot day, 105 or something like that.

Jilly did the flamingo dance in the pool, as I dubbed it, because she stands there with only one foot in and won't put the other into the water.

Evelyn thought she would be cool like mom and sit in the camp chair, dripping the whole time. I couldn't, or wouldn't, I should say, sit in the chair after that.

Evelyn playing hair dresser with Aunt Heather's hair. Heather started dumping water on Evelyn's head first, so Evelyn got her back, sort of.



Happy Fireworks Day (be-lated)

Or 4th of July, Independence Day, or the Great American BBQ day. That's what Ben calls it. What is more American (or tastier) than grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, eating patriotically designed desserts, and watching fireworks blast overhead? Ben told me on his mission Independence Day was one of the holidays he missed the most. He was actually just across the border, in Mexico, watching fireworks shoot off in El Paso, Texas. I think the best part of the day is food and family, and watching fireworks together. We went down to the Columbia River to watch "The River of Fire." It was 22 minutes long, and FREE.
You can see the fireworks barge just to the right of the tree. It wasn't too hot this night, and there weren't too many mosquitoes. We got there early, and got a good spot. This view is looking to our left.
This view is to our right, and you can see lots more people trying to crowd in for a good spot on the grass.
Our spot was on a hill with quite the incline, Evelyn thought it was a fun time to start at the top of the hill, and run at full speed into my back. I got smarter and started turning to actually catch her instead of body slamming.
Evelyn thought the fireworks were cool for about the first 10 minutes, and then tried to run away after that. Jilly wasn't scared about the noise, which I had been nervous about, and actually watched them for most of the time.
All in all, it was a pretty fun evening. Hopefully everyone else enjoyed theirs!

June 2007

 Flying Away

Here are some pictures for those who haven't seen sunny Eastern Washington farmland. There is a guy here in the ward who flies a powered parachute a few times a week and will take most anyone up for a flight. Ben likes being up in the air, so he took up the offer to fly. Here are the resulting pictures.

A great open shot of the local farmland and sandy buttes. 

Here is the house! Everything is still so green this time of year, I love it!

This is Phil, the pilot, and his 'flying machine.'

Looking north over the farm ground.

Home

It's intriguing to be living back at home. Now almost having been here two months, it feels like I've been here forever, like I never left. Somehow, the last 4 years got stuck in time warp or alternate universe, and I've always been living here. And a husband and two kids just popped into the picture somewhere. Life here has changed some, but not much. For me, I guess that's part of what I call home. A constant place of safety and comfort. Honestly, I've never been able to call any of the other places we've lived home. I would always say, "let's go back the the apartment," or "let's go back to our house," but I really never say "home." This place in Washington will always be home to me.

This is a picture Ben snapped the other day. Evelyn likes getting out of the tub, and she'll say, "tow, tow, tow," meaning "towel." And she wants to be wrapped up like a Nativity scene character.

I think this is the cutest picture. Ben takes such good pictures. Evelyn will almost always take a bath with sister, but not by herself. I can't believe how fast my girlies are growing. They are only babies for such a short time, and I always have to remind myself that I have the rest of my life to do crafty things, but I only have my little girls for a little while.

So this is not the best picture of me. I was sick this day, on Father's Day. I'm glad I have a good one of Ben though. The most important thing about home are the people in it, not what it's made of (though I can get darn sentimental about the non-people things around here).

Jilly got this "rubber duckie" from Grandma Cows, and I'm amazed it's lasted as long as it has. 5 years as of 2012.

June 2007

Enjoying the outdoors

Ben took these pictures the other day when everyone was outside. He's a much better photographer than I am!

Evelyn has learned to like digging in the garden, now that she has her own bucket of tools. Thank goodness Oxi-Clean can get the dirt out of her clothes!

Jilly loves the trampoline. Bouncing has always been her thing. And she has quite the smile!

Ev and Jill enjoying the Hammock

This feat has taken some time, but Evelyn is no longer afraid of the family dogs. (I think they would prefer it if she still was!) She likes to follow them all around the house, out into the field, through the flower beds when they're on the hunt for mice, and tried to get across the road with them (YIKES!!!!!!!!!). So whenever Evelyn's outside, you will see a small train led by the dogs, then Evelyn, and some adult-type person as the caboose.

Evelyn enjoys doing what she sees Ryan or Heather doing, like mowing the lawn or riding on the four-wheeler. Last year they were both too loud for her and she would scream if you went near them with her. See how green the grass is? That's the greenest I've ever seen it. Grandma decided to fertilize it, and the grass went nuts. It was a beautiful lawn to say the least. We did have to mow it twice a week though. 

And then there is that one time Ben jumped on an old, weathered trampoline pad and it split in half. In July 2012 when we visited, an old plastic porch chair next to the trampoline gave way under his foot, leading to big scrapes all around the lower half of his leg. I think trampolines have his number. 

May 28, 2007

25 and counting

I turned a quarter of a century old this weekend, and it doesn't feel like it. My body sometimes feels like it, but that's to be expected. Can't be young forever! I got most of my gifts before today, which left only the mud pie I made instead of cake to be my present to me. I like ice cream, a lot.

The other highlights of the weekend were having Nicole and Tyler here with the boys, it was fun having the two oldest sisters in the house. Kind of like old times, just husbands and kids in addition. Kaden and Evelyn chased each other like crazy people all over the house, hid in the dryer together, jumped on the tramp, all sorts of fun. Where one kid was, the other could be found close behind. Jilly and Jaren had staring and screaming contests periodically, and a weight contest, which Jilly lost terribly. He outweighs Jilly by 4 pounds. The only thing she has that's bigger than Jaren is ears. We lovingly refer to her as the Yoda Baby.

We also went over to the barn on Sunday - I don't think I've been over there with the family for at least a year and half. So it was fun to hear everyone tell their stories, listen to Brock and Jasen laugh hysterically at jokes, and watch Brock squish Camille, Travis, Tracy and Clair all onto a couch. Fun times. We miss everyone who wasn't there, but there are two wedding opportunities this summer to see each other!

Ben and Shaunie's Tell-All   (not really)

Shaunie's answers are in one color

Ben's answers are in another...can you figure it out?

What was I doing ten years ago?

Ha! Ten years ago this month I was graduating from high school. Shaunie married an old fart. That summer I just goofed off with friends before starting Junior College as a music major. I also bought my trumpet that year (her name was Gayle). She was a beautiful Bach Stradivarius silver plated 37c. Sadly she died in a car accident two years later after a pioneer day celebration that I played for...I'll never be whole again.

I was ending my freshman year at Pasco High, and also living in "the Barn" (a pool house of sorts) while the remodel on my family's house was being finished. This was also about the time the Gibbons' had their big family reunion at Camp Wooten, and brother Ryan got his leg involved with a lawnmower (long story for those of you who don't know, but everything turned out all right).

What was I doing one year ago?

I was working full time at The Home Depot in the receiving dept. while I also pulled 20 hours a week at BYU as a research assistant and security analyst for International Study Programs. I wish I had more time to play.

Growing a bigger pregnant belly in Provo. I was Relief Society President, and a wife to a crazy working husband. I was starting to take Evelyn to the BYU pools to get her used to the idea of swimming, and spending a lot of time playing outside with her.

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. chocolate varieties of ice cream

2. brownies

3. beef jerky

4. fresh apples from the orchard

5. Nilla wafers

1. Peach or banana smoothies and shakes

2. Beef Jerky

3. Fresh or dried fruit

4. Mexican Coca-Cola (Really it tastes different, I swear!)

5. Trail Mix

Five songs I know all the words to:

1. No Place that Far (Sarah Evans)

2. Where the Grass Grows (Tim McGraw)

3. These Days (Rascal Flats)

4. Lots of Primary Songs (Evelyn loves to sing them)

5. Summer Sunshine (The Corrs)

1. Anything by Sting (Fields of Gold; When We Dance etc.)

2. Your Heart Is An Empty Room (Death Cab For Cutie)

3. Brand New Colony (The Postal Service)

4. #41 (Dave Matthews Band)

5. Daniel (Elton John)

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire?

1. Pay off the Student Loans

2. Invest for retirement, missions, college, etc.

3. Build a house

4. Go on a shopping spree for everyone

5. Buy an elliptical exercise machine

Invest some, then...

1. Pay off my student loans and all my nuclear families debts

2. Live in Latin America for a few years (Esp. Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil)

3. Take Shaunie somewhere tropical for a month, just the two of us.

4. Buy a new trumpet and all the items on my Amazon wish list and a lot of gifts for Shaunie and the girls.

5. Build a modest home and buy a hybrid Toyota Camry

Five of my Many bad habits:

1. spending too much time on Ebay

2. forgetting to rinse my dishes

3. not making the bed in the morning

4. not responding to phone messages

5. impulse buying at Wal-mart

1. Not sleeping enough

2. Not exercising as much as I should

3. Starting research papers too late into the semester

4. Playing Xbox when I should be working on homework or work

5. Following sports way too much and not dedicating that time to better things 

Five things I like doing:

1. Playing piano

2. singing songs with Evelyn

3. listening to Ben tell stories

4. reading Jane Austen

5. Pilates

1. Reading books

2. Learning about the origin and original meanings of words (Etymology)

3. Playing Xbox and computer games

4. Listening to music and Singing along at the top of my lungs

5. Watching baseball/playing catch

Five things I will never wear again:

1. too short t-shirts

2. bright pink or purple knit leggings

3. tapered leg jeans

4. pastel pink tights

5. my Girl's Camp shirts

1. A 'The Home Depot' apron

2. Animaniac's socks

3. A marching band uniform

4. Really short shorts...thanks for the tip Chad

Five of my Favorite toys:

1. piano

2. sewing machine

3. scrapbooking paper

4. Pilates ball

5. trampoline

1. Xbox

2. My DVD collection

3. My library of books

4. The computer

5. My baseball mitt

May 18, 2007

Where the green grass grows

Living on the family farm for the summer

My favorite Tim McGraw song, with the same title name as this post, has a chorus that sings:

I'm gonna live where the green grass grows

Watchin' my corn pop up in rows

Every night be tucked in close to you

Raise our kids where the good Lord's blest

Point our rocking chairs toward the west

Plant our dreams where the peaceful river flows

Where the green grass grows

This kind of sums up my enjoyment of the country life at this moment. Evelyn loves being outside, watering flowers, watching the animals, and following Grandma around. I love the green growing environment, the absence of parking lots, traffic, and shopping malls, and the general quiet. Even the bugs aren't getting to me at this point.

Here's what the girlies have been up to lately:

Jillian figured out how to sit up and stay up over the last week or so, and she's been happier about that. She's also started throwing tantrums. Already. Isn't this not supposed to happen until, like, 10 months old or something? It only happens when she's got something she's chewing on, and it gets taken away. Then she starts screaming, working herself up to the point where it's hard to calm her down. It happens a lot around Evelyn of course, who still frequently forgets she's supposed to be sharing.

Evelyn always wants to go outside these days, and it's getting warm enough for her to play in the water as well. She hasn't been too fond of digging in the dirt, at least not yet. She likes feeding the fish in the pond, and seeing the "mamas" (llamas). She dresses up quite frequently, either in farming or gardening attire. She cuddled with a kid-size watering can as she went to sleep last night. It was funny, but cute. The only name she says of any family member is Ryan, who's been dubbed "a-whyn". I think Ryan gets a kick out of that.

Having cousins that don't live too far away is a fun bonus too. 

Surprisingly to myself, I've been pretty busy since we arrived here. I had visions of completing my scrapbooking I'm way behind on, making jewelry, quilting....that so far have not materialized. All those daily things....laundry, dishes, bills, naps, food....the list is unending, take up the day. When the day's done though, it's been fun, despite not getting that fun stuff done.

Ben took the picture of me sleeping. Lovely, isn't it? 

May 10, 2007

Some quirks of my own...

This was one of those "talk about yourself!" posts in response to a challenge from another blogger. It's interesting to see how I've evolved in 5 years.

I love crafty things. I grew up doing them, so that's probably why. I scrapbook, quilt, sew, and cook. And I consider myself pretty good at all of them. I want to be a better photographer at some point, and make jewelry as well. But my time is demanded by two little girls at this point, so only one hobby at time.

I have a big fear of heights. I can fly on a plane just fine, I think it's a lot of fun. But standing on the edge of cliffs, putting Christmas lights on the roof, swinging out of trees terrifies me. I am quite content to keep two feet on the ground. I also have, I guess you would call it, a paranoia about bad food. Ben calls me weird on this one. If food has sat out for more than a couple hours, it may have collected enough bacteria to make me sick. I hate food poisoning. So into the trash it goes. Ben argues that a piece of pizza that has sat out all night is still edible for breakfast, and I say no. What does everyone else think?

Staying on the topic of food, one of my biggest pet peeves is when something I bake or cook doesn't turn out the way it's supposed to. I hate that.

I majored in Health Science in college with an emphasis in Nutrition and Lifetime Wellness. But I'm the first to tell you I don't always practice what I preach. I'm working on it. Another thing I'm working on is being a better gospel study student. Since kids walked (well, not really) into the picture, I haven't been doing too well in this arena. I'm still trying to figure out a routine I guess. I am really good at reading the conference talks though. They always brighten my day.

I have always had an athletic aspiration. I wanted to be a great athlete. Alas, exercise-induced asthma and a disdain for running really dissuaded me from doing school sports. I indulged in another passion, piano. I am currently working on the music from Pride & Prejudice, and I love it. My goal is to have it learned by the end of the summer, when I leave my beloved piano.

One of my little girl dreams I have yet to fulfill is to dance a waltz in a big, poofy ballroom dress. Like they do in the movies set in 1800-something. I guess I see it as something romantic. I like watching Dancing with the Stars, and hopefully I can learn some ballroom dancing sometime.

My phrase of choice is "Holy crap." If you're around me a lot, you'll hear me say it a lot. Sometimes "batman" is added onto the end. That came from Ben, and I can't explain it. I tend to talk too loud when I'm on the phone as well. Especially when I'm talking to a good friend or my sisters. I start getting all dramatic, and the volume gets higher and higher until Ben shoots me a look or asks me to pipe down. I also say "so" and "like" way too much in conversation. I blame that on Utah. :)

I like to watch National Geographic and Planet Earth, and any geology or weather special. Always have to watch the weather on TV. I also like watching the news, just so I can stay up to date, but it is also really depressing to watch. The only comfort I get is from the framework of the gospel and knowing that all this bad stuff is taken away in the Atonement. Christ is the true Comforter.

Another one of my nagging fears is that life is too good. It's going too smoothly. Something bad has to be around the corner. And granted, I do have periods where it seems like everything is falling apart, but it's not really that terrible. Not as bad as what some people endure. I really am grateful each day for the good life I live and the life of comfort I have.

I enjoy teaching groups of people stuff I learned in school, experience, etc. But I don't see the audience when I teach. I don't really look at any one person, just scan back and forth across the room. And unless I'm talking to someone I know pretty well, I have a hard time keeping eye contact. Not that they're boring or anything, I just don't. I don't even know why.

Lastly, I have always wanted to be a mom. When they asked me in Kindergarten what I was going to be when I grew up, I said, "A Mom." I have aspirations to be a nurse someday, but that is at least 8 or 10 years down the road. (I've always been interested in medical matters). I love my little girls to death, and like keeping house for a husband who appreciates it and loves my girls as much as he loves me. And while everything I said above may change at some point, that last paragraph won't. I will always be a mom. Happy Mother's Day!