Halloween Carnival

Tonight was the school's halloween carnival. The girls were so excited to get to wear their costumes. Not the best picture, but that's as long as I could keep them still.

They really enjoyed the cupcake walk. In fact I think they played it about 5 times. Whitney won 3 cupcakes and Danica won 1. Whitney was dancing her way around the numbers and Danica had to make sure she stepped on each number as she went around. I think Whitney really enjoyed her first cupcake.

Some other games they played

Danica got to be part of the magic show. I'm not sure why this pic turned out fuzzy, but she got to pick a card and then a ghost turned over her card while it was on the table. She was so excited to get to participate.

The girls also won some goldfish. They were absolutely thrilled to get to have their first pet. Although we decided that when carnivals give fish away as prized, they need to provide a small bag of fish food. The girls were very concerned that their fish would get hungry. So, I sent Dave out to go get some food and it's probalby a good thing since the directions on the food say to feed them several times a day. We'll see how long the fish last. Danica has named hers Amber.

We are so glad that we are able to stay around until after the Halloween festivities because we missed out on most of this stuff last year.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

A bit more details surrounding our new car purchase. We have been looking for quite some time for a van since we haven't really fit in our little car since Whitney was born, but we haven't found anything we were happy with. We have been seriously talking to Danica about a new car since August, and many of these conversations have ended in tears because she doesn't want to part with "Champy". Well, we left the kids with Grandma while we went to check out this van. Dave and I both loved it, it was the right price and in exellent condition so we signed the papers, called Grandma to bring up the kids and we had a new car. When Danica got in she exclaimed "That's our new van!! I love it!!" Then when she realized it had a DVD system she said "I was so excited I burped!" So, her fears were diminished as she discovered this new van. I'm loving the space!

And that night the girls were able to take a bath with their only girl cousin even close to their age on Dave's side. They love this little girl and wish they could live closer to her.

It's official

We got word this morning that Dave's official start date is Nov 13th. Exactly two weeks before this baby is due. We are happy that they did offer him a GS5 position instead of GS4. So we are very excited about that.
We are moving on Nov 1 to get everything down there and settled before the baby comes.
Also some other good news - we also found a fabulous deal on a Honda Odessey so this past weekend we went and traded in our little nissan for this fabulous van.

So we are very pleased to finally be done with the waiting stuff. Now we just have to make sure we have a place to live and get things situated with Danica's school. and pack of course.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us through this crazy time in our life adventure!!

a lot of Randomness

So this post has many many pictures of what we do from day to day. My kids are either bouncing off the walls or glued to the TV - what are we going to do when we move and no longer have the TV??? JK we have done it many times before and as you'll see we have many other things that can keep them out of trouble. So this is what we do to keep them occupied.
I love this picture of the girls. I took it a week or so ago one morning while we were reading scriptures. They were just sitting on the couch "listening" and then Whitney grabbed Danica and just hugged her for a long time - well, long enough for me to find the camera and snap a picture.

Whitney is a funny girl lately. This next pic I was checking on the girls before I went to bed since Whitney has been bringing toys into her bed after we tuck her in. This is what I found. Sheets off the bed, in her Sunday dress holding her pj's with books and toys all around.

This was last Sunday. Can you believe her hair is actually long enough to put in a twist?! I braided it today. Curly hair is so misleading.

Painted LIPs anyone?

That's what happens when mom and dad aren't paying close enough attention during painting time.
Another day of painting. Danica and Whitney love to paint. Whenever Daddy pulls out his hobby they always want to paint along with him. The girls even have their own figures to paint (they call them B-guys, you'lll have to ask Dave about that one) This time they were just painting with their paint kit.



Another thing we like to do is make cookies. They love to add the ingredients and stir and of course eat the dough and lick the spoons.

After Danica's primary program in Sept the primary made "prayer rocks". This is what Danica came up with. I think it's super cute. Way better than the prayer rocks we made when we were kids. She gets it mixed up though and actually sleeps with it on the bed desipite our continual persistance that it belongs on the floor for sleeping time.

Well, I guess that takes care of everything. Sorry it was so long.

Trying something new

Make a Smilebox postcard

End of summer begining of Winter

On Sept 30 we had 80 degree weather and were enjoying our time outside in the sprinkler

Whitney blowing bubbles and basking in the warm sun.

Danica posing for the camera and jumping over the sprinkler

Can you see how this ended up? Danica didn't was trying not to get her sunglasses wet as she jumped through the water and Whitney was running around the water. Neither one of them were paying attention to the other. Danica landed on Whitney, and then she picked her up hugged her and told her sorry all before I could put the camera down and take care of it myself. Whitney hugged her back and they went on playing. It reminds me that they really do love each other.
Well, if you read my blog yesterday you saw that this weather didn't last long. The next set of pictures was taken yesterday. What a difference.


Whitney brushing snow of the sprinkler. You can see our trailer didn't get brought in before the snow got it. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow? Scooping snow out of the trailer so the girls can get to school dry. Do you see what Whitney is wearing!!! I tried and tried to get her to put on pants, but no she wouldn't have it. And, with our mittens lost in storage somewhere and a skirt on the poor little girl didnt' last long out there. Maybe she'll figure it out for next time. Afterall last year we didnt' have snow.

Danica thouroughly enjoyed herself, although her hands did get cold eventually too, but hey when you're making snow angels and snowballs without gloves what do you expect.

The best part of playing in the snow - the HOT CHOCOLATE afterwards. The girls came in and we took off their wet stuff, wrapped them in blankets and gave them some nice hot chocolate. I really miss the snow.

Sunday afternoons

Sunday afternoons are a great time with family. These pics were taken Sept 28th. Whitney found a brush and since Daddy likes to sit on the floor she found it the perfect opportunity to practice doing hair. She has always enjoyed other people's hair and unlike her sister she likes having her's done.

Danica decided that after Whitney was done brushing it she would style it.

This is their finished product. Isn't he cute!!

It is this reason why I have not yet cut and donated my hair. They have started brushing mine and I'm teaching Danica how to braid it. I just don't think I could do that with short hair. Oh well, I guess that just means when I finally do decide to cut it there will be more to donate. right?

A birthday Party

Danica and Whitney's friend had a birthday party in September. They had a treasure hunt and all the little girls had a blast running around the park looking for clues. They found the treasure box and in it was a bag for each girl with fun princess stuff inside.

Their friend's grandma owns the "drive in" in town and they had their ice cream treats there, and even got to serve themselves ice cream.


They really had a great time.

It was waiting...

We have had all our winter things in storage while we've been here, and the weather has been very cooperative. We decided that since it is October and we are in Idaho we probably should get some things out of storage. So on Tuesday while I was in Idaho Falls for my doctors apt we went to our storage unit and got out our coats and hats. We couldn't find our gloves - I'm not sure why they were all in different boxes. I wouldn't have packed them that way, but somehow they ended up that way. Anywho - we brought them back and then --- It snowed. Aren't we blessed! The Lord saw fit to wait to send the snow until we had gotten what we needed. Can't say that this will happen everytime, but we are grateful.

I am planning on downloading pics today so hopefully I will get back to blogging soon.

LDS Conference Acticity Packet for kids

http://deseretbook.com/conf.pdf

Fun activity packets for kids during conference. Thanks to whoever makes these. I found it at www.mormontimes.com

Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes

Well, Dave's job at the Park ended with September and for the last two days he has been working on a Potato Farm harvesting potatoes. Neither one of us realized what this meant. He is now gone all day (he sees the girls for 5 minutes if they wake up early). He comes home covered in dirt and exhausted. I have never seen him so tired and sore. We have new respect for those wonderful people who bring us these versatile veggies.

I miss my honey!! How did I do this when he was in school???

Yesterday when Danica realized he was going to the farm she burst out in tears and said, "Daddy I don't want you to go!!"

They both miss him so much and so do I.

School Pictures

We got school pictures back yesterday. They are copyright Hymas Images. Unfortunately I forgot it was picture day until we were walking to school and Danica asked "When is picture day". So I would have done her hair different had I remembered. She is cute anyway. Also, on the way home she was walking with her friend Emilee and she said, "this is a special shirt because my grandma gave it to me." She remembers things so well. What would that be like. Since Whitney's pictures were taken later that day I had time to get her ready. She really enjoyed having her picture taken and was so good.

Booster Seat research.

Well, in our quest to see if we really need to buy a van, I have been doing research on state laws and regulations on booster seats to see if we can legally drive Danica around without a booster. Well, I found that in Idaho the law says they have to be 6 years old (no weight or height regulations) In most other states we may end up the requirements are over 40 pounds and over 4'9". I don't know about you but if I remember correctly I didn't reach 4'9" until I was at least in 4th grade. Danica has about 10" more to go.

I also found that the Insurance institute for car safety just finished another booster seat study to determine if booster seats are doing their job. and they found that 10 of them did such a poor job at fitting kids they don't recommend them in the least - guess what - our booster is on that list. Yipee for us. I have pasted thier findings below so any of you that have kids in boosters can check your brand too.

Booster seat evaluations
Not Recommended
Safety Angel Ride Ryte backless
Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit
Graco CarGo Zephyr
Evenflo Big Kid Confidence
Cosco/Dorel Traveler
Compass B505
Compass B510
Evenflo Generations
Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect
Cosco Highback Booster
Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega
Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch
Safety 1st/Dorel Intera

Best Bets
Graco TurboBooster backless with clip
Fisher-Price Safe Voyage backless with clip
Combi Kobuk backless with clip
Fisher-Price Safe Voyage
Britax Parkway
LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear
Safeguard Go backless with clip
Volvo booster cushion
Recaro Young Style
Britax Monarch

Good Bets
Graco TurboBooster
Safety Angel Ride Ryte
Recaro Young Sport
Combi Kobuk
Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65

The study also said that you need to check the way the shoulder/lap belt fits your child when they are in their booster. It should go over the bony parts of their body to prevent internal injury if they are in a crash. (ie. collar bone, hip bones)

Hope this helped anyone who was interested. After more reading and looking I have figured out that seatbelts don't fit me right either (course I think I have always known that since they cut into my neck all the time, even with the adjustable ones in our car) So I guess none of us are really safe.