THE GREENMONSTERS

Caught in the act!

2010-08-28T11:25:00.001-06:00

The other day I manage to sneak a recording of Ethan singing to Sophia. He is so funny, love this kid!! He had no idea I was hiding around the corner with the camera.

Already 6 months!!

2010-08-28T11:18:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to post some cute pictures of Sophia. She is growing so quickly and is already 6 months old. She can sit, still tumbles every so often, can say Mama(with some coaxing!) and loves to be with Ethan and Chloe. She is always smiling, making happy noises and still has a thick mop of dark brown hair. Her big blues eyes seem bigger by the day and when she smiles they smile too! She is really a beautiful little spirit and I love her to death!

Ethan's first day of First Grade!

2010-08-28T10:54:00.000-06:00

The first week of first grade has come and gone and according to Ethan it was a good one. He really likes his teacher, Mrs Molnar, and he has already made some friends. Sadly only one girl from his kindergarten class is in his first grade class, so he is making alot of new friends!

Even though he said he has had a good week, he has already made not one, but two visits to the nurse. The first visit was on the first day. He was running around on the playground and collided with his buddy Tony, who kindly left two tiny teeth marks on his forehead.

His second visit was Friday. Apparently he sliding down the slide and somehow got kicked in the side which left a nice red mark. According to the nurses slip he delcined an ice pack, so I am guessing it wasn't too serious!

I feel really aweful as I forgot to take any pictures at Ethan's birthday party on Saturday. We did a fun back to school birthday party outside by the pool and everyone seemed to have a great time. We enjoyed some star wars cake, a lame star wars pinata and some water balloons. It was a great way to end the summer vacation. Maybe next year we'll just have one for fun and actually have Ethan's birthday party on or at least nearer to his actual birthday in May!

2010-06-26T11:18:00.002-06:00

Chloe's ballet recital as promised! She is the third from the left. She did a great job, however I didn't even get to see her as I was "dying" in bed with mastitis!

Catching up again!

2010-05-25T11:00:00.006-06:00

Once again months have just flown by and I haven't had the chance to blog and share any of our news with ya'll! Sophia is currently napping and Peter and Chloe are at school with Ethan having lunch, so I thought I could squeeze in a quick update.

Ethan's T ball season has come to an end. He had a great time and improved tremendously. This Thursday we get to celebrate the season with a pizza party! Ethan also just celebrated his 6th birthday and is still loves anything and everything to do with the Ghostbusters. In fact for his birthday he got a "Ghostbusters" costume with the proton pack etc etc and he has a blast at home being a ghostbuster! He has never even seen the movie, not quiet age appropriate for him yet, but we do have the Wii game which he has mastered!

He also got to participate in his schools track and field day. Of course he had a blast and I must admit track and field day is alot different from when I was a kid, they have become very creative these days!
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We also joined his class for a field trip to the zoo. I think Chloe enjoyed it more than he did as she got to hang out with all the older girls who doted on her!

Both Ethan and Chloe are also done with their swim lessons and we have had so much fun in the pool at home already!! They have more confidence and ability to swim without floaties.

Chloe is still loving her ballet class and she has a recital coming up in June which we are all super excited for. I will for sure post some pictures and maybe a video of the performance. What could be cuter than 2 and 3 year olds in "bunny" tutu's!!

Sophia is just growing by the day, wish I could slow it down!! She loves to smile and laugh and talk and talk. She is approaching 4 months and gets sweeter by the day! She loves to be in the pool with us and I will confess that I will probably dress my girls in matching outfits because it is so cute! So far Chloe loves it but I am sure it won't last very long!They have matching bathing suits and I think it's the cutest thing in the world!

Snow in Texas!!!

2010-03-05T13:28:00.003-06:00

February 23rd, 2010:

Mom...it's COOOLLLDDD!!

Chloe chasing Ethan with a snowball!

View up our street!

Ethan making snow angels!

Chloe turned 3 in December!

2010-03-05T13:09:00.003-06:00

With Christmas and Grandma's visit we had to postpone Chloe's third birthday party until the January, but it was worth it as she had a great time. She chose to have it at Build A Bear Workshop.

She wanted Tinkerbell cake, so we picked Tinkerbell and two of her fairy friends!

So we kinda cheated and instead of baking a cake because I knew we would have one at her party, we decided to take a drive over to Cheddars for a piece of their yummy chocolate cake.
On her birthday opening her gifts. Every girl needs a tea set!

Our Little Bundle of Joy

2010-03-05T08:57:00.004-06:00

It has been a very very long time since I last blogged, but life keeps our family busy and I barely have time to download pictures to the computer! And of course it's time consuming posting pictures on facebook and on the blog. But so much has happened since I last wrote and many friends that read our blog have been wanting to see pictures of little Sophia, so here goes!!

I was induced on my due date the 10th of February and Sophia finally graced us with her presence at 4:16pm. We all had a really early start to the day considering we had to be at the hospital by 6am. All attempts to keep the kids in bed until their regular time to get up failed so by the time they came to the hospital that evening to meet their sister, they were exhausted.
Chloe had been waiting 9 months for this day, so she was over the moon to finally hold her baby sister. she kept saying "She likes me, she likes me."

Grandma and Daddy were there to welcome her!
The only way I will ever be able to tell this picture of Sophia and a very similar shot of Chloe at birth apart is that Chloe's hospital hat got tied in a bow at the front, other than that they look identical, but only in this picture.

Her full name is Sophia Mary and she weighed 8lbs and 3oz and was 20 inches long. The biggest of her two siblings! Not only is she the biggest but she has a thick mop of dark hair with the most perfect blonde highlights. Unfortunately the photos don't show how fun her hair colour looks!

You can kinda see the highlights here!
Here she is two weeks old and of course is getting lots of loves from Chloe!
Sophia at one week old.
She loves to sleep on her boppy!

What was this country thinking during elections???

2009-10-23T14:48:00.001-06:00

Obama White House Tries to Freeze Out Fox

In the span of just a couple of weeks, the Obama administration has gone from merely accusing Fox News of bias, to meeting and strategizing with more pliable members of the media, to actively trying to freeze Fox News out of covering administration officials. On Thursday, the Obama White House made "Pay Czar" Ken Feinberg available to the White House press pool, of which Fox has been a member since 1997 (along with ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN). The White House told four members of the pool that they were welcome to interview Feinberg, but Fox was not invited. In fact, Fox was told it could not come to the interview. The other members of the press pool stood with Fox, and the network was eventually allowed in.

The White House does not get to choose who is and is not a member of the press pool. But it tried bullying Fox directly, and the other pool members indirectly, in a move that was indefensible, to say the least. And make no mistake here - the White House's actions Thursday were not merely childish or petulant reactions to unfavorable news reporting. They directly threatened the First Amendment.

The threat from this administration to our basic freedoms grows by the day. This time, the Obama administration attempted to crush dissent out in the open by trying to isolate and disable a news networks ability to cover the executive branch of our government. It does this while its agencies are bullying the US Chamber of Commerce over health care, negating previously existing compensation contracts with corporate executives, and demonizing insurers and Wall Street. This is what they're doing out in the open. What are President Obama and his many radical czars and appointees attempting to do behind closed doors?
(article found on texasgop.org)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-13T17:03:00.002-06:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

LDS Living Magazine

2009-08-12T19:00:00.001-06:00

LDS Living Magazine

Shared via AddThis

Last day of school!

2009-06-03T13:20:00.003-06:00

Wow I can't believe Ethan will be in kindergarten in a couple of months...The year flew by!

Great Britains got Talent?

2009-04-16T11:31:00.002-06:00

For sure check out this link....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0h1NNk1Ik

Easter

2009-04-11T20:52:00.002-06:00

Daddy's little helper!

2009-04-04T08:48:00.003-06:00

We love our kids so much, they keep us laughing and put smiles on our faces on a daily basis, but one of their greatest qualities that we hope they will continue to develop is the love of helping. Of course we all know that their kind of helping is sometimes not much help at all, but we try to encourage it!

Anyways we recently purchased a new dishwasher and well daddy had "fun" uninstalling the old one and installing the new one. And yes you guessed it, with her tools in hand Chloe the diaper roaming helper was RIGHT there to assist!

Round 36

2009-03-14T14:12:00.003-06:00

Turbo Kick® Round 36 Teaser Trailer

For those of you that do not know Durban here are a couple of facts.

2009-01-31T05:41:00.001-06:00

My hometown, you know you're in Durban when:
-The best parking space is determined by shade instead of distance.
-Hot water comes out of both taps.
-You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.
-The temperature drops below 35c and you feel a little chilly.
-You discover that in January/February it only takes two fingers to steer your car.
-You discover that you can get sun burnt through your car window.
-You develop a fear of metal car door handles.
-You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 6:30am.
-Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
-You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
-Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to prevent them from laying hard-boiled eggs.
-The trees are whistling for the dogs.
-While walking back barefoot to your car from the beach, you do a tightrope act on the white lines in the car park.
-You catch a cold from having the aircon full blast while you sleep during the night.
-You learn that the Pavillion isn't a shopping centre it's a place to worship air-conditioning.

Now you see them, now you don't!

2009-01-28T13:11:00.003-06:00

Peter's parents aka oma and opa visited us from CA and although we didn't get out and do much, Ethan and Chloe loved having them here. 2 days after they had left Chloe still walked around the house calling for opa.

Tank wanted to also be apart of the action!

Welcoming Home President Bush!

2009-01-28T12:17:00.004-06:00

As far as the chain of events, my pics are completely in the wrong order! We started in a large hanger where there was food and music and then we were put on buses and moved about 10 steps to the area where President Bush finally landed. He gave a great speech and then hopped on a helicopter and disappeared into the night!

It was great to share in that experience but man it was freezing cold and tiring! Thank goodness i didn't haul the kids along with us (thanks Michelle!).

Cheering as he exited the plane!
Oma and Opa patiently waiting in the freezing cold!
Crawford School Band!
The press.
Inside the Hanger.

2008 White House Christmas Card

2009-01-03T12:04:00.003-06:00

Well 2008 has ended and for us the end of a very long and exciting chapter. We will soon welcome a new president and will also be saying goodbye to one. With that being said, this is the last year we will receive a Christmas card from President George W. Bush and his amazing wife, the First Lady, Laura Bush. However, I must say that this year is certainly the most beautiful card they have had thus far, so I thought I would share it with you.

Better, Batter, Baseball!

2009-01-03T10:19:00.004-06:00

One of Ethan's favorite gifts this Christmas was Better Batter Baseball. Peter got it set up and took Ethan and Chloe outside to give it a test drive! Ethan had a blast, and well Chloe did too, however she smacked it so hard she knocked the velcro piece that holds the ball on, so that put an end to that!

Daddy got it all glued back together and it is now ready for round 2!

Swing batter batter!

Oh, oh, Chloe knocked the velcro off!

I want the bat, I want to swing again!

Ok, I'll
push baby doll around!

Lots of yard work to do!

Playing is hard work!

Just luv these pics!

2008-12-26T16:55:00.004-06:00

Chloe Turns 2

2008-12-26T16:34:00.003-06:00

Gotta luv cake!

I know I'm a pretty lame mom, didn't even bake a pretty princess cake, instead Peter and the kids took a drive to HEB and picked out a cake! Chloe loved it, so!

Tooting Rootin' Buzz!

2008-11-22T17:22:00.002-06:00

Interesting Article!

2008-11-11T19:28:00.000-06:00

For sure check this one out!

http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/081110hate2.html

What an awful day!

2008-11-08T07:46:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was such an awful day!
My day started as usual, woke up, got dressed for the gym, got Ethan and Chloe dressed and ready to take to school. At about 8:50 hopped in the car and drove 5 minutes to Ethan's school. Turned around and came home. In the garage I unbuckled Layne and Chloe and led them into the laundry room, ran back to the car and grabbed my bag. Stepped back inside the house to find the girls wet? Of course in my stern voice I asked the girls if they had been playing in the potty, something they are famous for and with the bathroom being next door to the laundry room, it seemed like the only explanation.

To my horror, I was wrong, I stepped into my kitchen to find my entire kitchen in a puddle of water. I had turned the dishwasher on before I left, so I immediately turned it off, thinking that it was leaking or something. I then ran to the linen closet to get some towels to get the water away from my wood cabinets, only to find more puddles! Some of the living room carpet was squidgy and my entrance was soaked as well as part of my dining room carpet.

Then it dawned on me.....my water heater. The 65 gallon monstrosity had given out! In a mad panic I called Peter, who of course was in a hotel in Miami Florida!!! He had taken the past week and a half off and had left to go out of town the day before, go figure! I found the faucet on top of the water heater and turned it off, but of course there was still 65 gallons of warm water!

So my house is now in pieces, literally. The restoration company has removed baseboards, dry wall and the damaged carpet and padding! Peter luckily gets back this morning, so I will fee much better! I wanted new flooring, but this is not the way to go about it!

The only thing that I am delighted about is I decided to paint my front door and change the hardware the day before. So I rolled up my beautiful Persian rug so that I wouldn't get paint on it. I'm still not finished with the door, so the rug was no where near all the water! Pheeeew!

I have had a raging headache with the awful loud fans blowing, and the 2 ginormous de-humidifiers. My indoor plant is looking kinda lame and my skin feels so dry. It's like I'm back in Utah!

Hopefully my house will be pieced back together and like the restoration company explained, look like nothing every happened!

If this doesn't scare you then.....

2008-11-04T20:19:00.001-06:00

We finally made it to the end of the week - Saturday!

2008-11-02T15:22:00.004-06:00

What a whirlwind of a week! Some weeks we have plenty of kick back time and others are just go go go!! This was definitely a go go go!

Ethan played a soccer game in the morning and I got to attend our Enrichment Super Saturday. I had a good time mingling with the women in our ward and I managed to make some neat things for our home.

This is just an example of what I made. As soon as I take some pictures I will post them.

Friday - Play group party and Halloween Celebration!

2008-11-02T14:38:00.003-06:00

Friday Ethan went to school in his costume and straight from school we went to our playgroup Halloween party. There were yummy treats and some fun games that the kids got to play. Chloe manage to spend a good amount of the party in just a diaper. Oh well, maybe next year she will be more into the whole costume thing. She is for sure into the candy part of Halloween!

After all the fun and games at playgroup we headed home for a good nap and then good suited up again for some dinner at the Hudson's and some more trick or treating. Sadly I totally forgot to take any pictures, but luckily Angela sent me some from the evening!

Notice Chloe is holding a sticky bun...funny story...they knocked on a house, two guys opened the door, one of them seemed like he had a bit to much to drink....anyways, they didn't have any candy, so they broke open their boxes of Rice Krispie treats and sticky buns!! The kids were so excited!! I don't think the one roommate was too happy about it though!

Raggity Anne and Buzz Light Year!

Thursday - Chuck E Cheese

2008-11-02T14:32:00.002-06:00

Thursday evenings Ethan usually has soccer practice, but this Thursday instead of practicing his coach took his entire team to Chuck E Cheese. They had promised the team they would take them if they managed to score a goal and they finally did. Ethan and Joshy Ikeda were apparently a great duo. Joshy would run the ball down, kick it to Ethan to score.

Of course this was the only game I couldn't attend as we were having our final primary program practice. Oh well, he was really excited and I was glad that he finally got to score. He really loves playing soccer and I know I am probably a little biased but I think he's really good at it!

Wednesday - Fossil Rim

2008-11-02T14:10:00.003-06:00

Wednesday we were lucky enough to take a break from Halloween costumes. We headed out to Fossil Rim which is a really neat place where you drive your car amongst the animals. Pretty much like a safari, but any dangerous animals like Rhino's and Cheetahs are caged. They need to cage the ostriches, those birds are fast and mean!

Anyways the kids loved riding up front with us and they got to feed most of the animals but the best was feeding the giraffes. They stuck their long necks right into the car and ate right from our hands. The kids loved it, so did I!A car a head of us.
Ethan feeding the giraffe.
Layne loved it too!
They have the softest noses!
I was a little shocked when she stuck her head all the way in! Chloe loved it

Tuesday - Ward Fall Festival

2008-11-02T14:00:00.003-06:00

Tuesday evening was our ward's Fall Festival. We all had a great time and the kids were pleased with their stashes of candy!
Ethan got a bit hot in his costume so he took the gloves and head gear off! What an easy costume to keep clean!!
I'm surprised we even have a picture of Chloe in her costume as she kept on taking it off!

Monday - Gymnastics Costume Parade!

2008-11-02T13:56:00.002-06:00

Ethan goes to Gymnastics at Flips and they got to do a parade and some fun games like the Hokey Pokey in their costumes.

Halloween!

2008-11-02T06:44:00.006-06:00

This week was a never ending Halloween party!!! We all had a great time and I know Ethan loved being Buzz Lightyear for the entire week! Chloe, well she just wasn't so keen on the whole costume thing!

Our week started on Sunday evening. Jessi, Kimmi and Sammy came over and helped us carve some pumpkins.Jessi and Ethan worked on Ethan's little pumpkin.
I opted for the electric pumpkin carver!!! Ethan was of course giving me instructions! Notice I'm nice and comfy in my jamies!!
Chloe wanted to be a pumpkin herself!
Pull Kimmi Pull!!
Such concentration..
Kimmi assisting miss Chloe-belle.
Sammy getting out all those guts.
Look out....Daddy's got a knife!

The older girls left with Peter for a Bishops Youth Discussion at the Bishops home so Sammy hung out with us and helped Ethan and Chloe get ready for bed!

Best Buddies!

2008-11-02T06:22:00.005-06:00

Ethan and Chloe have so much fun together, although they do have their moments!! Ethan is so patient with his sister and Chloe is so funny trying to imitate all the things her brother does! She really loves her big brother....Perfect example, she wanted to wear all her brothers biking stuff!

She may not look like she is having a blast, but she loves it when Ethan races her around the house!
I love this picture of them!

Have you ever met a former black person??

2008-10-23T15:08:00.001-06:00

YES on Prop 8

2008-10-19T15:20:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a while....

2008-10-10T13:38:00.003-06:00

Yes I have been a slacker. Either I just don't have the time, motivation or nothing exciting to write about. So I guess I shall mention some recent highlights.

Last week Friday was Ethan's school PTA fundraiser. I guess they do a carnival every year at South Bosque Elementary. Well Ethan had a blast and so did Chloe. His eyes were as big as saucers when we first arrived. He couldn't believe that in a few hours his schools parking lot had been transformed into a carnival with 4 or five jumping or sliding blowup play "thingies" and all the fun little booths. Ethan got a kick out of throwing a dripping wet sponge at someones face and Chloe jumped all night. They for sure had a grand time!

Today Ethans class went on their first field trip. Because we live so close to the school Ethan cannot ride the bus, so this was his first time on a big yellow school bus. He had really been looking forward to the bus ride and said it was really really fun!! They went to the HOT Fair and Rodeo mainly to see the livestock/animals. I asked him what was his favorite part of the trip and he said that his favorite part was when him and his classmates were looking at the "mean" bull with huge horns and then one of his classmates said that the bull was getting angry and smoke started to come out of the bulls nose, so they all ran!!! I laughed pretty hard, even had a hard time keeping control of the steering wheel!! What great imaginations 4 year old have. Don't worry I explained to him that that only happens in cartoons.

Ethans first soccer game!

2008-09-20T11:01:00.004-06:00

Exactly how much does Ethan love soccer???

2008-09-18T21:18:00.003-06:00

Doesn't matter if you're a lefty or a righty, this is just too funny!

2008-09-03T18:34:00.001-06:00

http://www.peteyandpetunia.com/VoteHere/VoteHere.htm

Belated Happy B-Day!!

2008-08-30T06:51:00.004-06:00

This week was my baby sister, Sarah-Jane's birthday so I wanted to wish her very happy but belated Birthday wishes!!! Last year we got to celebrate with her in South Africa for her very memorable 21st party at the Hilton in Durbs! Hope you had a great time this year and got to celebrate London style!!!

Ethans first week of Pre-K!

2008-08-30T06:28:00.004-06:00

Ethan's first week at South Bosque has been a huge hit! He absolutely loves it and was mad that today was Saturday and there is no school!!!

We were out having dinner last night and of course asked Ethan about his day at school. He gave us the low down on everything he did and also mentioned that they start the day off by saying the pledge of allegiance. I was most intrigued about how much he knew. He mentioned that they did that at his last school. So I asked him how it goes and....Peter and I were blown away that he could recite it word for word from the beginning, right to the end. Lets just say we are very proud parents and I guess I better learn it asap huh!

Pre-K Prep...

2008-08-21T09:31:00.002-06:00

It's absolutely amazing to me how quickly time flies by. Just yesterday we were preparing for the summer, planning fun summer activities like gymnastics and vacations to California to visit and celebrate with family and friends.

Wtih summer drawing to a close Ethan will be starting Pre-K next week and like many young children(can't say the same for teenagers!!) he is extremely excited. So excited that I had to come up with a way for him to keep track of how many more days or as he says "sleeps" until school starts on his own.

So yesterday we got out some poster board and made a pre-k countdown caterpillar. When I was a kid if there was anything major that I was excited for I would make a caterpillar and attach it to the bed above me so every morning when I woke up, the first thing I would do is take away a segment.

So Ethan and I created his own countdown caterpillar and this morning he was so excited to wake up and colour in another segment. I was really impressed with a little trick he showed me. I don't know where he learnt it, but to help him stay in the lines he puts his free hand on the line and lets the crayon bump into it. I was quiet impressed!

Not only does the caterpillar help visually remind him, but he has been able to apply some math skills by counting how many days left and after two more are colored in he will only have three days left. Something so simple, has proven to be so much fun!

I would love to have posted a picture, but my camera is broken.

What a resemblance!

2008-08-09T15:28:00.003-06:00

I like many am a Facebooker and a Skype user and love them both as I am able to communicate with my friends and relatives in South Africa, Australia, and all over Europe. Some I haven't seen or spoken to in years, so it has been fantastic catching up.

My aunt who resides down under recently posted some pretty funny pictures from my childhood and there was one of my sister, Sarah-Jane who is 7 years younger than I.

I just can't get over how much my baby girl resembles my baby sister. It's actually just incredible how similar they look. So I thought I would post the picture of my sis, and eventually take a recent picture of Chloe just so to compare. My camera broke, so hopefully this week I will get my hands on a new one and get snapping!

So I finally got round to adding a recent pic of Chloe!

Basketball star!

2008-08-09T14:34:00.002-06:00

Ethan has finally reached the age where he can join teams and play different sports with different organizations. So for his first time experience we signed him up with the YMCA for a season of basketball.

He had an absolute blast and it was so neat to see his improvement from week to week. He had pretty much no clue about the game, and well his dribbling and shooting skills were very basic. He ended off the season today and you wouldn't believe it was the same kid. He can now shoot and actually get the ball up and into the hoop and his dribbling has come along way.

He was very proud as he received his medal today and a huge Hi 5 from his coach!

Now we're looking forward to soccer season coming up. I know he's going to love it. If you know anything about Ethan you know that running is his thing!

African Finance!

2008-08-02T07:01:00.001-06:00

'Hey Sipho! I have a cow for you for just R500!''

E yoh, Bongani! I'll take it - you can bring it to me tomorrow!

'The next day:'Sorry Sipho, but the cow died last night.

''Hauw.. So, ok then. Just give me my money back.

''Sorry Sipho, I did already spend that money..

''Eish! So, ok then. Just bring me the dead cow.'

So, Bongani brought the dead cow to Sipho the next morning.

A few weeks later, Bongani bumped into Sipho and asked him what he did with the dead cow:

'You won't believe, Bongani! I made a raffle for the cow, and I sold 251 tickets for R5 each! I made a profit of R850! But, I didn't tell anyone the cow was dead..

''Yoh! And the people didn't complain?

''Eish! Only the guy which won! So, I gave him back his R5 and he was happy!

'Sipho is now Minister of Finance

FINALLY...Some pics from CA!

2008-07-21T10:03:00.004-06:00

We visited the Tidal pools early in the morning trying to get a peek at some creatures! it was freezing cold!
Tryin to snap a picture of Chloe was nearly impossible! She was always on the go!!

One of the awesome things about Oma and Opa's home is all the yummy fruit trees! Ethan learned how to pick lemons that were ready to be made into lemonade!
Oma teaching Ethan how to much lemonade!
Chillin with Opa.
Still in him jammies at the beach. We drove down very early that morning!
Aunt Mo and Carson enjoying a quick lunch break while Ethan and Daddy checked out the really cool steam engine. It was really really loud, which Ethan wasn't too sure about, but he was just so excited to see a real steam Engine!

I'm cool!!
Beautiful Redwoods!
Anything climbable is fair game!!

My New Hair cut!!

2008-07-08T07:13:00.003-06:00

I decided it was time to lose my mane for the summer time and try out a short style. I was also told that I could never have short hair, because it was too thick and curly so I was a little weary.

My awesome stylist Paula assured me my hair was a perfect candidate for the haircut that I wanted so I went ahead and did it and guess what, I love it!!! It is so easy to maintain. If I don't feel like styling it, I just scrunch it and when I feel like being a little GLAMOROUS.... I style it!

One week already come and gone!!

2008-06-13T11:10:00.002-06:00

Well we've been in Silicon Valley now for almost a full week and are having a complete blast. We've visited Fulton where they have an awesome steam train, the tidal pools in Half Moon Bay, and of course the beach! We went to some friends of ours sons Baseball game and shovelled down some yummy pizza! Peter and Ethan went to the A's vs. the Yankees last night with Mike, Maleki and Sienna Bergh after spending the day in Monterrey at the aquarium! So not much rest going on, just fun, fun, fun!! Peter's siblings are all finally here and so with 14 children running around things are getting pretty crazy!!! But it has been so wonderful to see everyone, and see how much everyone has grown! My oldest nephew, Andrew is already taller than me and Dylan isn't far behind.

Tyler and Jayden Michelles two oldest daughters have bloomed in to just the loveliest pre-teens and are a lifesaver to have around with all the young children! I finally got to meet little Cade, Shannon and Marks newest addition, he's 3 months younger than Chloe and he is just the cutest little boy! I promise to post pictures asap, but now that the kids are all older there is stiff competition for the three computers available at a time, so I shall sign off!

Have a great weekend and for those of you in Texas, hope you aren't melting!!

Ethans 4th Birthday Party!

2008-05-22T20:23:00.003-06:00

We were lucky to have a beautiful day to celebrate Ethan's 4th Birthday party at Poage Park! Even though it was pretty warm, there was a nice breeze which helped keep it a little more comfy! I know Ethan had a blast and Chloe has a bad diaper rash which I think has something to do with all the watermelon she ate!! Ethan was so happy that his friends could come, even those from far away!!!

It's no surprise Ethan chose to have a "Cars" themed party! We danced and froze to the Cars soundtrack, tossed a bean bag through a tire, "pinned" the sticker on Maters tooth and no party is complete without a pinata! Ethan's already talking about his plans for his 5th Birthday! Family dinner sounds good to me!! Oh and before I forget, I wanted to thank Lindsey for taking the pictures! I packed the camera, but totally forgot to take it out, so thanks for being a complete lifesaver!

The cutest mess!

2008-05-09T14:25:00.003-06:00

Of course I'm talking about Chloe! Unfortunately she loves the messiest foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, strawberries....and she won't eat unless she has a spoon or fork, so you can only imagine! One will usually find her only in a diaper at the table!

Belated Happy Birthdays!

2008-05-09T13:57:00.004-06:00

Things have been a little crazy around our house, so I am a day late in wishing Peter and Ethan a very Happy Birthday! They share the same birthday and many other traits and qualities all of which I love! It was easy falling in love with Peter and we have a great time together. When I was a teenager my mother would remind me how much her life revolved around my siblings and I, I never truly understood or appreciated what she meant until I had my own children. The minute Ethan came into this world, it was instant love and even though there are days when he drives me up the wall, I still love him to bits! So Happy Birthday to my two favorite boys in the whole world, well actually they are my world!

60 Years ago this amazing woman was born!

2008-04-24T06:55:00.003-06:00

Thats right, you guessed it, todays my Moms 60th Birthday. I am hoping that I too age as gracefully as she does! Not only is this her special day, but 34 years ago she also gave birth to my brother, Bram(short for Abraham). So I dedicate this post to them and wish them both a very Happy Birthday!
I am really bummed that I can't be there to share this special day with them, but I know that my mom is going to get the surprise of her life as my Dad and sister have planned a special surprise party at a VERY nice restuarant, and this is the cherry on top....

Huge Thank you to...

2008-04-20T16:18:00.003-06:00

I wanted to publicly thank DeAnn, Deena, and Leah and of course the young men and women who so kindly gave of their time this weekend to babysit the children in our ward so that we could take a Saturday trip to the Dallas Temple.

I know that from the work we did in the Temple that we are not the only grateful recipients. I know this act of service has blessed the lives of many, both living and dead, so thank you so much we really appreciated it!

For those of you interested in find out more about the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint Temples www.lds.org

My sleeping beauty!

2008-04-16T08:42:00.003-06:00

I guess yesterday was an exhausting day for Chloe. We did run alot of errands and throw in a birthday party, I guess the day was a bit hectic for her! Anyways, I was washing dishes and put Chloe in her chair with a plate of strawberries, cheese and dino-bites. She was her usual chatty self but eventually went very quiet. I know how much she loves strawberries, so I just figured she was really into them, but when I turned to check on her.....
she was completely out!
I also have found the best way to get 15 minutes of quiet time, so if I need to make some phone calls etc....I do this!

Works like a charm!

GINORMOUS PONDEROSA LEMON!

2008-04-07T12:16:00.003-06:00

Our neighbors Bob and CC(Carolyn) visited some friends in Southern Texas and come home with one of these for us, well should I say for the kids. CC thought it would be fun for Ethan to take to show and tell at school.

It was apparently a huge hit! Today we decided to squeeze it and freeze the lemon juice for some yummy lemonade in the summer time!
We managed to squeeze out just over 2 cups and I'm sure if I had the right equipment(sorry daddy I know you are very strong) we probably would have squeezed out a lot more!

Field Trip

2008-04-04T12:11:00.000-06:00

Today Ethan's class went on a field trip to the local Petco store. They had a great time checking out all the animals and let me tell you +/- 20 3 year olds is quiet a handful. I guess there were two classes combined!

Little info for friends and family...

2008-03-24T07:09:00.002-06:00

We have made some changes to our blog as we have started recieving spam. You will notice that when you post a comment it will be regulated. I hope this doesn't discourage comments, but we want to take precautions and lessen the spam we have been recieving.

Keep those comments coming, I love hearing from ya'll!

Easter...

2008-03-24T06:38:00.002-06:00

Choice in music!

2008-03-14T11:05:00.002-06:00

I guess it's my fault for the 2 new songs added to the music list as I didn't change the password for the blog. Peter decided to dedicate the first two songs to the kids and I. I am sure most of you gathered that those were Peter's choices as I am not a fan of country...which has been a challenge living in Texas! Anyways, I guess I sign off for today!

Later..
One Hot Mama!

This song makes me want to get up and dance!

2008-03-12T07:40:00.000-06:00

Ethan and Chloe's funnies!

2008-03-11T07:04:00.003-06:00

The other night we were having dinner and chatting. Peter was talking about some choices our family has to make when Ethan then quickly jumped in and told Peter that he needs to "choose the left!" We both just about died laughing, making sure we weren't hurting Ethan's feelings. Then Peter, the wonderful, understanding Dad that he is corrected Ethan and even broke out into song singing "Choose the Right". Ethan piped up again and told Peter that he had never heard that song but he will go with choose the right, not the left. So our conversation continued and so did dinner until Ethan then asked: "So then if we choose the left are we making bad choices?" We once again had a good chuckle and explained that there is no such thing as choosing the left unless you are deciding which direction to literally turn.

Ethan is just such a thinker and analyser and we love him for it! He often just blows us away with comments and observations that he makes. Of course most of the time he is your happy-go-lucky 3 yr old boy with all the energy in the world!

Of course I can't post this blog without a blurb about our little Chloe.

She is alot more feisty than her brother yet she also has a tender sweet side. For example she has caught onto blessing our meals really quickly. About a week ago she too started folding her arms and now even loves to say the prayer.(of course we don't understand a word, but we all chime in an Amen when she goes quiet) Yesterday we spent the day out and about as a family(Peter finally had a whole day off) and we ate lunch out. Once we were all seated with our food in front of us, Chloe then folded her arms. We usually don't bless our meals in restaurants, but thanks to our little angels example we all folded our arms, bowed our heads and blessed our lunch. Her angelic behavior pretty much ended there!

All Aboard!

2008-03-09T17:48:00.003-06:00

Thought I would post some pictures of our crazy family having some fun! For Ethan this is his favorite thing in the whole world!(of course until Chloe starts knocking his train off the tracks!!) Chloe has learned how to also use the remote and she is really cute to watch. In fact she watched Ethan so closely that she rocks from side to side just like he does when he is really concentrating on what his train is doing!

This is what we woke upto this morning!

2008-03-07T07:28:00.005-06:00

Ethan was extremely excited when we pulled back the curtains this morning to find this!!

So I cranked up the heat and luckily the house is stocked with food and I don't have to go anywhere today!!!
Of course I had to take Ethan and Chloe out to experience the snow. Lasted maybe 15 minutes!!

An exciting day!

2008-03-01T13:07:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I felt like I was caught in a whirlwind of to-do's, with so many places to go, but we did survive the day and had a good time doing it. I thought I would share some of the highlights from our day. President Bush flew into Waco and we went to see his arrival which was alot of fun. I didn't realize how close Air Force One would pull up to us, but wow....I was pretty blown away.

The President exiting the plane.
Barney in tow!!
Onto Marine One and off to the Ranch
We concluded our day at Ethan's school where he got to perform a couple of songs with his class. As soon as I have the video downloaded I will post it. It was so adorable and he had such a good time!
As for today I plan on doing absolutely nothing!

CONGRATULATIONS!

2008-02-27T18:10:00.003-06:00

I haven't had a chance to blog in a while, so I thought I would take this opportunity to congratulate some of my friends on the newest additions to their families. Firstly to the Scotts in New Mexico a real belated congrats! To Mike and Tierra in Cali on the birth of their daughter. To Nicole B. and her family congrats. I can't wait to see some pictures of Kennedy. And the newest since yesterday, congrats to Phillip, Mandy and Preston. Glad to hear mom and baby Riley are doing great! Just to remind you how quickly they grow, just look at how big Chloe is!

Pardon the Interuption

2008-02-16T23:03:00.005-06:00

OK. My wife is going to kill me for doing this. Hopefully I will be in a foreign country when she discovers this.

If I am indeed caught and killed, I leave everything to my wife, even though see is the reason I am dead.

This may be against blog rules, but here it goes.

I am not very good at words or expressing myself in an eloquent way.

It is not everyday that God blesses this world with a truly wonderful person in the way he blessed the world when Claudia was born.

She is my anchor. I was adrift in the world, lacking direction and purpose, until she became my world and my purpose for living.

She is the only person that I can be around all the time and never get sick of. Even when I am raging with anger towards her, my only desire is to be by her side. I could not imagine going a day without hearing her voice. She inspires me to be a better person everyday.

She is the model of patience. You need to be when you are married to me. She is an incredible mother and homemaker. Even with a plate overflowing on all sides, she constantly takes on more, trying to make our lives better.

She is incredibly beautiful. I remember waking up the morning of our honeymoon and gazing on her beautiful face and thinking; with her all disheveled, no makeup, hair undone, drooling (OK, she was not drooling), that I was laying next to the most attractive woman in the world. I still feel that way today.

She is successful in everything that she tries to accomplish and positively touches all around her.

I am blessed today and will be everyday and throughout all eternity that she is in my life.

She is my wife, my princess, my queen, my sexiperfectsy.

Love
Peter

Up for a challenge??

2008-02-06T09:47:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley passed away at the age of 97.

I was thinking of how I could honor his legacy and I came up with an idea. My friend and I have created a challenge for those willing to accept it: Read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. We are trying to get everyone to start on the same day. Here are the details:

Goto www.hinckleychallenge.com and create an account (free, of course).
On Feb 4, 2008 (the Monday following the funeral) have an FHE lesson on the Book of Mormon and begin your reading.
Each day you read, record what page number you are on by going to www.hinckleychallenge.com.

We would like this challenge to be heard all around the world! Please forward this message to everyone you know. We would love to see over 1 million pages of the Book of Mormon read by the time this challenge has ended.

Do you want to show your support? Do you want to follow the prophet? Do you want to get rid of all of your excuses for not reading and become a warrior? Then join me in this challenge!!!

We are going to spread this throughout the news media (TV and radio) and we've already contacted Fox news, KSL, CBS, and ABC. But we cannot get the word out to everyone without your help! Please forward this on to EVERYONE in your address book. Time is of the essence!! This will be the one forwarded message that everyone will be happy to get :).

-Jake Andersen

P.S. You can always see an updated list of those who have accepted the challenge by clicking here (www.hinckleychallenge.com/warriors.php)

New First Presidency Announced

2008-02-06T09:36:00.000-06:00

02/04/2008 12:00 AM MST

Thomas S. Monson is the new president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was announced today at a news conference in the Church Office Building. President Monson, 80, succeeds President Gordon B. Hinckley, who passed away January 27th.

The new world leader of the Church has called to serve with him in the First Presidency, the top governing body of the 13-million-member faith, President Henry B. Eyring, 74, first counselor, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 67, second counselor.

President Boyd K. Packer, 83, is the new president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be filled later.

Kicking off the New Year!

2008-02-02T15:46:00.000-06:00

A little late....but

2008-02-02T15:28:00.000-06:00

I just had to post this picture of Ethan. It was his first day of Pre-school and it happened to be picture day too! Happen to come across it, so I thought I would post it!

President Hinckley tribute by Glenn Beck

2008-02-01T16:43:00.000-06:00

2008-02-01T10:45:00.001-06:00

Last week we headed down to Canyon Lake for a fun filled week with Peter's parents and his sister Mo. Unfortuneately the weather was pretty miserable, so we didn't get to explore much of the area. We did however manage to sneak in a day of sight seeing in San Antonio and of course the "girls" spent a day at San Marcos doing what we do best....SHOPPING!(That place is amazing!) It was really good to spend time with family and Chloe got some more fine tuning done on her walking. She did in the process acquire some serious bumps to her head, but she still kept going! Now she is a "walking" only little 13 month old and her personality seems to grow by the day!

Chloe and I enjoying the River Walk!
Chloe enjoying the view of the lake
My attempts to unpack when we got home!
Check out my giant bruise thanks to the sleigh coffee table.
Can't go to San Antonio without making a stop at the Alamo!

Sibling love!

2008-01-19T09:56:00.001-06:00

Ethan and Chloe have discovered that they can snuggle on the couch together and watch tv. This has become their morning ritual while mom gets things going!

Awesome gifts!

2008-01-19T09:48:00.000-06:00

Well my dad surprised us with a wonderful Christmas gift! We still can't believe he hand carried it all the way from South Africa, but we really appreciate it as it is absolutely beautiful! Of course there were lots of other great goodies inside papa's suitecase!
You got it, a beautiful Persian rug to complete my entrance hall!
Ethans spiderman robe was a huge hit and he even got to wear it to pyjama day at school!

Visitors!

2008-01-19T09:36:00.000-06:00

2008 came oh so quietly, but brought with it lots of visitors. My dad visited from South Africa for 2 weeks and the kids loved hanging out with their papa. Chloe with her ever increased drive to walk marched papa around the house until they both got tired. As a result she is now a non-assisted walker and roams the house getting into whatever she comes across!
We took Papa out for his"46th" birthday to Cheddars, one of his favorite restaurants here in Waco.

The day after my dad left Peter's parents arrived and have spent the last few days with us. Today we are all heading down to Canyon Lake which is an hour north east I think of Austin. We will be there for about a week so I will have plenty of pictures to post when we get home!

My Precious Sunbeam!

2008-01-19T09:26:00.000-06:00

Well it was strange for us to celebrate Chloe's first birthday, but it was even stranger for me to see Ethan in primary on Sunday. That's right, he graduated from Nursery and is finally a little sunbeam. I didn't know how he would react with me in the room, but of course I worried all for nothing! He often will blow me a kiss or wink(using his finger to close one eye!) but that's all the attention I get from my little sunbeam!

Primary "get to know you teacher breakfast"

2008-01-19T09:20:00.000-06:00

This was an exciting activity for me as it was Ethan's first primary activity where he was actually included and not along for the ride with me! My little back then "future sunbeam" had a blast as he got to spend the morning with all his favorite gals and Miss Laura and Sister Askeroth better known as Cali's mom. He talked about it for days! The cherry on top was the surprise visit from Santa!

Birthday continued...

2008-01-19T09:14:00.001-06:00

I know I know....I am a complete slacker...but I am here to redeem myself for the past few weeks that I have failed to post! So lets see what have the greenmonsters been upto...well, Chloe had her first birthday in December

As you can see she takes after her mother and loves cake!!

Every little girl needs a pony right!!!

Look who's 1 today!!

2007-12-15T17:49:00.000-06:00

Well I just can't believe my little princess is already one. Boy how time flies!! Well unfortunately we didn't' get to celebrate today as Peter worked a 12 hour shift so instead we plan on celebrating tomorrow and my friend Rita from MI will be visiting us for a couple of days... an added bonus to the celebrations!! Here are some pictures that I took of her today!

Today we also had our "get to know your teacher" primary breakfast which the children thoroughly enjoyed!! This was Ethan's first official primary activity and he had a blast. Currently he is asleep on the couch, and as you can tell from the picture primary is apparently exhausting!! My little cuties pies are getting so big!! Almost tempting to have another one.....ummm....no!

Visiting Santa!

2007-12-11T18:23:00.001-06:00

Today we took Ethan and Chloe to see Father Christmas. Ethan was a little nervous as first, but soon got over it when he got chatting about what he wanted! Chloe on the other hand freaked out and as you can tell from the picture doesn't care what she gets as long as she could get off his lap! Maybe next year we'll get a smile!

2007-12-07T12:14:00.000-06:00

Christmas Quiz

Tis the Season to have a little fun! Feel free to post this quiz on your own blog to spread some Holiday info about yourself.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper...keeps away the temptation to peek!

2. Real tree or artificial? Real all the way...I absolutely love the smell and it can be tossed out when it's dried out!..no storage needed!

3. When do you put up the tree? We try to find places(Christmas tree farms) where we can chop down our own tree so whenever we have the time we usually drive out to the boondoo's!

4. When do you take your tree down? When the iguana has demolished it from climbing up and down! Before new years for sure!

5. Do you like eggnog? NO! Although I had some good eggnog last night!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I think when I was about 11 I got a cute pink camera from my aunt Tracy which I loved! Drove my family insane taking pictures!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No but I would love to start collecting a beautiful set that I saw the other day. Pretty pricey so probably a piece or two each year!

8. Hardest person to buy for? Peter's parents!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Ethan, there are so many things he loves and he can never have too many Geo Trax!

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever got? I can't think of one.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? If I have your address, you're getting mail otherwise it's e-cards!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Charlie Brown!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Throughout the year!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fresh nuts using a nut cracker!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear!

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home for sure. Love having guest though!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? NO!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We generally open one on Christmas eve and leave the rest till the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Advertisements for deals everywhere I look!! So so annoying!

Back again!!

2007-12-07T09:59:00.000-06:00

Last night I was given a hard time about having not blogged in a long time, so I thought today I would make an effort to spend 10 minutes updating y'all on what our family has been up to! So here goes...

On Halloween Ethan started with pink eye and of course Chloe followed luckily we nipped those in the bud and moved onto colds and coughs and are finally over with all illnesses!! I personally rather be on my death bed than have sick children. As you can see Ethan will kill me when he's older and sees these pics!

One of many multi-uses for breast pads!(Thought you would appreciate that Rachel!)

Luckily we were all well when Thanksgiving rolled around and we had a wonderful time with friends and enjoyed a very yummy lupper. Sadly though, I totally forgot to take pictures so there won't be any in Chloe's album for a first Thanksgiving. Maybe I can twist Rachel's arm into redoing it! Ok I admit it, I just love to eat!!

So Thanksgiving has come and gone. Ethan is getting really excited for Christmas and so am I! I am obviously a glutten for punishment as I have enlarged my at home care and have started taking care of a 6 week baby! She is so sweet and Ethan loves to help out. Chloe on the other hand...not so sure. Layne spends alot of time up out of Chloe's grasp!

Ethan started pre-k this year and is absolutely loving it! He and Blake are in the same class so he really looks forward to school! This picture is from Ethan's first day of school. We were in South Africa for the first few weeks and I was worried that he would be a little shy, but alas I was wrong...he was so excited and joined right in!

As well as taking the regular pictures his school also had a professional photographer come in and take pictures of the kids outside playing etc etc.. so here are some of those...

I can't believe how grown up he looks...my little boy...not so little anymore!!
Chloe has also just changed so much too! She has 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. She looks a little silly when she smiles because they are all at different stages of breaking through! For my South African readers she would fit right in with a Cape Coloured family!!

She loves her daddy's caps!
As I mentioned earlier last night we had our Enrichment Christmas dinner which was wonderful. I had a great time and enjoyed testing all the yummy homemade soups as well as the delicious dessert! The program included two musical numbers, a reading of the Christmas story from the scriptures and we all got to sing a couple of Christmas carols. There was also a neat "Gratitude Tree" which was decorated with little notes of gratitude for each member of the relief society. Mine mentioned serving in primary which I am truly grateful for. I love serving in primary and love to watch the children learn and grow. Ethan will be a sunbeam next year and I am so excited to be able to watch his knowledge of the gospel increase because of the wonderful primary program.
I am also grateful for a wonderful family and of course my wonderful husband who always reminds me how important our eternal family is. He spoilt me yesterday with a bouquet of beautiful roses!

Thats about all our family has been upto these past two months! I am really looking forward to the next few months as my dad will be visiting and so will Peter's parents. But before all that takes place I plan on enjoying the Christmas season, keeping our Saviors birth first and foremost in my mind. Have a great weekend and I promise I will be back soon!

Halloween 07'

2007-11-01T01:44:00.000-06:00

Finally the long awaited tradition of Halloween has come and gone! Ethan has been waiting for weeks to go "trick or treating", so what a relief it was to tell him the day had finally arrived!!

Unfortunately as you can see from some of the pictures, he was a little under the weather...actually we are thinking that he may have pink eye...not so pretty! We thought at first it was allergies, but we fear we are wrong!

Anyways he still had a great time and to me it seemed like they were out with Daddy for hours collecting candy. Of course Bob and CC,(Carolyn...that's what Ethan calls her)our neighbors totally spoiled Ethan and Chloe with a fun Lightning McQueen and Mater toy and a huge soft pink pig for Chloe with some yummy baby food treats...so cute and thoughtful!!

Peter said Ethan had a great time but near the end of their trick or treating adventure their conversation went something like this:

Ethan: (Knocking on their final door) Daddy I want to full my basket up all the way to the top.

Peter: Ok Ethan...you are almost there!

Ethan: Daddy...I think we should head home.

Peter: Ok Ethan...

Ethan: (Heading towards home taking into consideration we live on some serious hills) Daddy...I am out of gas.(gesturing his basket of candy towards Peter who is already holding Chloe)

Peter: Well do you want me to hold your basket?

Ethan: Yes please Daddy.
Few seconds later as they start their descent down Poage....

Ethan: Daddy I am really out of gas...

Peter: Ok I will carry you then...

Lets just say Peter had worked up a sweat by the time they got home. I love my husband...he is the best daddy in the whole world and goes out every year with the kids even if he is operating on very little sleep and has to be back at work at midnight!!

So here are some pics from our night of fun as well as some pics from Ethan's pre-school party. It was so cute....lets just say Woodway is one safe place as there are a lot of Spider Men around!

Umgeni Bird Park

2007-10-17T06:58:00.000-06:00

Some more pictures from our vacation to South Africa. The Umgeni Bird Park is in walking distance of my parents home. Of course we would never in a million years walk there...just not safe!! Anyways, it's one of my favorite places to visit as a tourist. I think I had my 8th, 9th, and 10th birthday parties there! We had a great time and met the prettiest and most unusual looking birds!

There is a picture of a women holding an owl. That owl managed to hit me in the head. Ever so softly...Ethan sure enjoyed it!

Natal Sharks Board

2007-10-16T10:13:00.000-06:00

Not only did we get to see live Sharks, but we also got a very hands on biology dissection of a rare(as in a rare catch!) Blue Shark. Ethan was able to show everyone were the sharks heart was(didn't think they had one!!)and earned himself a bag of sharks teeth! Just in case you may think this is inhumane let me make this point. They don't actually go out and purposely catch the sharks, these sharks that they dissect are unfortunately caught in the sharks nets which line our beautiful beaches making it fun for us to swim. Over the years they have greatly improved the nets thus greatly decreasing the amounts of sea life like sharks, turtles and dolphins from coming close enough to get caught.

Sadly the sharks tummy was empty, usually there are all sorts of goodies like number plates and soda cans! Just like I suspected...their hearts are tiny! There is a picture of the guy holding a sharks jaw...hope I never experience being in one of those, their teeth are razor sharp, there are hundreds of them and they are facing the wrong way so they are designed to not let go!! I think Ethan enjoyed seeing the live sharks more than this one!

Finally....the rest of our trip to South Africa!

2007-10-16T09:59:00.000-06:00

Ushaka was one of Ethans favorite places we visited. He got to see dolphins and sharks as well as penguins and zulu dances! We also joined Grandma, Papa and Aunt Sarah for lunch at a yummy restuarant(the name has slipped my mind!) looking over the ocean! Now I am even more excited to take Ethan to Sea World judging from his excitement at UShaka!

Ode To Autumn

2007-10-15T08:48:00.000-06:00

by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

H.O.T RODEO AND FAIR! YEEEHAAW!

2007-10-10T14:21:00.000-06:00

Yesterday our family spent the afternoon and evening at the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo. We all had such a fun time and Ethan just couldn't stop telling us how much fun he had on our way home! We only made it home by 10:45pm, so you can only imagine how exhausted we all were. Ethan was such a trooper, he went on several kiddie roller coasters and even rides I thought he wouldn't like, but he screamed with his dad and threw his arms in the air!!

Chloe and I hung out and watched Ethan and Peter spin around and around one ride after another! Ethan even loved the Ferris Wheel...that's one ride you won't catch me on! If you haven't had the chance to go yet, I totally suggest you take your kids and prepare yourselves for a day of fun! Oh..make sure you take your wallet with plenty of cash!

General Conference

2007-10-07T18:47:00.000-06:00

This weekend our family spent quality time together enjoying listening to the teachings of our beloved Prophet President Gordon B. Hinckley and many of our other leaders. I am sure those of you with small children have a similar experience as we did, sometimes only hearing every other word or sentence, but we try to resolve any disturbances and keep focused.

Well I have to share just the funniest experience we had today watching President Hinckley. We had made a comfy area for all of us to sit on the floor by laying a futon cushion down in front of our desktop computer. Chloe followed protocol and took a nap and so it was just Pete, myself and Ethan. We were all listening and then the inevitable happened, the screen saver decided to take over. Ethan then made the following comment:

"Daddy...where did God go?"

Peter and I laughed for a good ten minutes!

The interesting thing is that that was the first and last time the screen saver had come on the entire time we had watched conference, including both Saturday sessions!

Kids do say just the cutest things. If you are interested in watching a church DVD with kids making funny gospel comments try checking out "Out of the mouth of babes" If you look carefully you might be able to spot my husband...he was a Sunbeam!

A day in the life of a South African!

2007-09-26T07:57:00.000-06:00

Our family is finally home safe and sound after a wonderful 6 weeks in South Africa. We arrived home last Monday at about 2:30am after a long flight and what seemed an even longer drive home! I kinda messed up and thought Ethan started school on the Monday so I got everyone up at 7am only to realize thanks to Laura that Ethan's school days were Tuesday/Friday! I knew that but I guess in this instance I can blame jet lag, time difference, and vacation brains for the error! Anyways the children took a nap at 2:30pm and of course Peter and I lay down too(Pete had to go to work at midnight!). Well 7am the next morning Chloe and Ethan finally stirred. Yip that's right they slept approx. 16 hours straight! Anyways I still have plenty pictures and adventures to record from our trip...I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and do it yet but I will.

Now here comes the not so great part about this posting. When we left SA I was excited to find out that we were on the same flight as one of my bestest high school friends Lyndy and her fiance Jason. We didn't really chat during the flight as they don't have children so they slept. We had dinner together before the flight in Jo'burg and when we arrived in Paris we went out for a hot chocolate. It was so nice to catch up with Lyn's and it seemed like only days had gone by since I last saw her even though it has been 8 years!

Well once home I emailed her to say Hi and to find out how the last leg of her flight from Paris to Birmingham went. Their flight was great but unfortunately Jason's family had a crisis in SA and so he basically had to go back home again. Below is an account of what happened to his mother. This may be shocking to some of you, but to most South Africans this is a daily occurrence. While I was home a young mother of 28 was stabbed to death in front of her 2 month old baby. The neighbors called the police because they could hear the baby crying. This was about a 7 minute drive from my parents home. Here is J's moms account of that day:

18 September 2007

I had a busy Tuesday planned and was getting ready to leave my home early in the morning. Jackie, our Jack Russel was barking away as she does when we have visitors. I looked up the staircase and as I did not see anyone there, to my regret, I ignored her warning.

I set the alarm and left the house. As I just locked the door, I remembered a file I had left behind and went back in to get it. I had opened my office door (which is why I had my house keys in my hand). I then set out to leave again. I locked the office door and in the short passage to the front door, I was suddenly confronted by a black man. It was just so unexpected. I think I screamed and I thought he was trying to cover my mouth, but he had actually stabbed me. I realized no one would hear and I realized I was in big trouble. He asked for my bag and I gave it to him and became very docile. He then grabbed me by the arm and led me to the lounge where he instructed me to hand him the money from my wallet and the cell phone. I saw the knife, a silver, all-in-one carving knife in his hand and noticed how much blood was on it. “that’s a lot of blood” I thought and realized I was in trouble. At this stage there was no pain. He then took my one ring off and then my watch. As he took each item he carefully put it into pockets in his pants that had several zips and closed each zip purposefully. No need to hurry. When he asked for my wedding/engagement ring, I just couldn’t give it to him. It has so much meaning to me. By this stage my head was bowed and I looked down. I mumbled something about my daddy dying and that my ring was all I had to remember him. For some reason he lost interest in the ring and started feeling all over my body. It appeared that he was looking for hidden money. Then he sifted through every pocket in my handbag.

He asked me for my ATM card and the pin number. I wrote down a pin number that I use on a regular basis, but not the pin number of the card. It was a number I could have repeated later if that was part of his process. At this stage I hoped he would leave as he now had money and jewelry. He swore at me all along and asked for gold. It was very hard to understand him as he spoke very broken English. I just said, “I don’t understand.” So he hauled me up and “come, come” and led me to the bedrooms. I felt that things could only get worse now. He was calm and looked like he was in for the long haul. I started to realize that I could get raped and killed slowly and no one would even know. I had little strength to fight him off.

I still had my keys in my hand so I unlocked the office door. I told him – “this is the office” and he seemed keen to go in there. I moved directly to my chair and started opening drawers. He picked up a folder and started going through the contents. I noticed he was not looking at me and I pressed the panic button. I knew I was taking a risk and that he could attack me again, but the desk was between us and I thought I could use my chair as a shield. He chose to flee.

I hurried to the office door and locked it and waited for the armed response call. I knew it was silly to tie up the line by trying to phone but I cannot tell you how long that wait seemed. Blue phoned and then everything unfolded with the professionalism that anyone could want from the support systems. The operator kept me on the line even though I felt like fainting. I managed to unlock the office door when I heard the house siren over the operator’s phone. Then I collapsed. The Netcare paramedics were there just as quickly and before I realized it, I was on a stretcher and on the way to hospital.

MY INJURIES

The knife went in under my left arm, damaged the lung, cut the spleen and made a hole in my diaphragm. My intestines pushed up through this hole.

At hospital the knife wound was stitched up and I was sent to X-rays. This confirmed a collapsed lung so tubes were put into my chest to help re-establish the vacuum required for lungs to work. These tubes are attached to a bottle of water so that air can go out but not back in.

I continued to complain about a dull ache just under my diaphragm. I was sent for a CAT scan which confirmed the further damage. I was rushed to surgery.

In my first 24 hours I had a nurse in my room all the time. I had a surgical cut from my breast bone to under my belly button, tubes out of my chest, a catheter, monitors, a drip and I basically lay dead still, half sitting for that time. I could talk, but was pretty much in shock.

The next few days saw me get better and slowly reawaken bits of me, one at a time.

By Sunday, the doctors deemed me well enough to go home. I could walk and eat. My lungs had regained most of the capacity lost. The healing of the body and heart now has to happen with those who love me.

OTHER FAMILY RELATED ATTACKS THE SAME WEEK.

The same Tuesday evening my niece had three black youths walk into their lounge and threatened them at knife point (in Pinetown). At home were my niece, her husband, their baby and his parents. They managed to make enough noise so that someone in the house set off the panic button.

On Tuesday evening my nephew had his car broken into and their radio stolen. The car was parked in their yard.

On Friday my daughter-in-law had an attempted smash-and-grab/hijacking at the Mount Edgecombe robots at the N2. Luckily they had protection on the windows but he smashed repeatedly and got his hand through. It was just my daughter-in-law and my grand daughter in the car. Luckily she held her head and just drove off dragging the attacked along until he let go.

SO

This experience was NOT OK. I think the least I can ask for is a safe home and environment in which to live. What’s to be done next will have to wait for me to feel stronger.

But I come out of this experience with my faith in human kind, not just restored, but enlarged. The stories of support and well wishes will take many more pages to fill than the report of the attack. To everyone for your thoughts and prayers, thank you.

Lunch on the beach with Daddy!

2007-09-04T07:38:00.000-06:00

Ethan loved having his lunch on the beach with Aunt Sarah and I that he requested we also take Daddy to have lunch on the beach. With the Snake park being right ther we couldn't pass up the opportunity!

Ethan also enjoyed watching the mounted police go by!

Fitzsimons Snake Park

2007-09-04T06:11:00.000-06:00

Peter has finally arrived safe and sound and Ethan was just so thrilled to see him! He gave him the biggest hug and didn't let go until he had to when we got to the car! Our adventures begin at the Fitzsimmons Snake Park.

We got to see some of the meanest and friendliest snakes alive and enjoyed a presentation showing off a green mamba and some other extremely poisonous snakes. Apparently their venom had not been removed but the snakes apparently get used to being handled.

Winter in Durban, South Africa

2007-08-30T11:43:00.000-06:00

Today we ventured to the beach for lunch. My sister took us to this awesome restaurant right on the beach. Now when I say "Right on the beach"....I mean literally on the beach! The weather was absolutely beautiful and Ethan had a great time digging his toes into the warm sand!
Beautiful scenery!
Ethan made a buddy and together they built sand castles.
Chloe eventually woke up and also wanted to enjoy the sunshine too!
Chloe discovered her 50% African roots today as she tried her first piece Biltong. For those of you who don't know what is it....basically dried raw meat....sounds gross but it is absolutely delicious and Chloe agreed! The best teething food in the world!

Being Silly!

2007-08-29T10:40:00.000-06:00

Aunt Sarah-Jane and Ethan still in thier Jammies!

Look out it's Spider Man.

Chloe trying out our abnormal accessories from Aunt Sarahs 21st! The flashing sunglasses were a huge hit!

Chloes daily washing machine watching!

Isn't she just the cutest devil you have ever seen!

FoRMaL WiTH a TOucH oF ABNormAL

2007-08-25T19:30:00.000-06:00

My sister Sarah-Janes 21st Finally arrived and after spending many days shopping and finalizing plans to big night arrived! The event took place at the Hilton Hotel in the Polo Room. I managed to finally find a dress an hour before the party and shoes to match! My mom managed to find some beautiful jewelry as we were walking out of the mall round about the same time we were supposed to be dressed and leaving for the party! I guess things never change!!

A visit to the Animal Farm With Tanya and the boys!

2007-08-21T00:44:00.000-06:00

Today we took a drive to a nearby animal farm where some of the animals like kids, pigs, chickens, roosters and peacocks roam free! Ethan and Matthew had a grand time playing with and touching the animals and also playing on the jungle gym! Their ultimate favorite part was chasing the poor roosters and chickens and a giant duck around. I was waiting for the duck to turn around and chase them, but alas that didn't happen. Chloe also enjoyed seeing all the animals especially the roaming fowls. She let out a squeal of delight every so often, and Nathan kept on being hounded by the pig that was roaming around which he did not enjoy too much.

They fed the boroughs. This one made a noise I have never heard before and boy was it loud!

Ethan rode the pony who he called "Arrow" from his Howdy Town DVD. Milked a cow!
Got chased by a couple of kids!
And the pig with the longest snout I have ever seen!

Spending time with family!

2007-08-16T12:47:00.001-06:00

My aunt Tracy and my cousins Maddy, Benj and Michaela and little Chloe getting all the attention her heart desires!
Meal time without a high chair presents several problems!
I never thought I would see the day when my cousins and my children would play together!
Aunt Sarah and her little Pookee!

Ethan and Chloe finally got to meet their Great-grandma Mary and her twin sister Great-Aunt Catherine.

Fitting right in!

2007-08-16T12:19:00.000-06:00

Ethan is having a great time here in "Africa" as he calls it! He's even blending in with the scenery!
Today we spent the day with Tanya and her two boys Mathew and Nathan. Tanya and I went to high school together and her oldest son is one month younger than Ethan and her youngest son is one month older than Chloe. They had a great time playing! Grandma and Papa surprised Ethan with this awesome Spider Man bed while we are visiting. He looks forward to bed time and as you can see by this picture he gets really comfy! He has spent the last few nights sleeping with a bunny from my childhood as we left his beloved Teddy at my cousins house over the weekend. Luckily grandma has a very sentimental streek and has held onto some of my knicky knacks!