Primary Program and Pumpkins

Sunday was our last in the Hacienda ward. It was the primary program. (We are now in the Tropicana Ward. Andy and I are sad to give up our callings.)

I was proud of this hair style. It tucked most of her hair in and she left it alone for the most part. Anneke had the first line of the primary program and she delivered it well. "My name is Anneke and I am a child of God." She was in constant motion during all of sacrament meeting. At one point she spontaneously broke out in song. My embarrassing moment, however, was when she lifted her dress up to wipe her face. Her primary teacher is so good and patient with her. When they had us stand in our new ward at the stake meeting her teacher caught my eye and shook her head sadly. We will miss Sister Hess, or Sister S as Anneke called her.

Marcus was supposed to wear a white shirt and tie because the boys sang "Called to Serve" with the Elders. (Which was quite moving and eye opening for me.) I thought I had a future missionary name tag, but couldn't find it. Marcus was sad, so I offered to make him one. His tag says:

Bahlmann

Future missionary

The Church of

Jesus Christ

of Latter-Day Saints

Marcus had several speaking parts in the program. The primary president asked me if that would be alright. She thought he was right for the parts and would do well because he can read so well. He had a bigger part than the older primary children. His first part was a mouth full and he did it mostly from memory.

"My name is Marcus, I am a child of God and He has a plan for me. In the Proclamation to the World we read, "All human beings - male and female - are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. I lived with Heavenly Father in the pre-mortal world. I am created in His image. I understand that I have a divine nature and a divine destiny." These words brought tears to my eyes coming from a 6 year old little boy. He seemed to understand exactly what he was saying.

Afterwards several people came up and complimented us on our oldest son. We know he is great. So does Luke. Every time Marcus got up to speak Luke would clap.

We carved our pumpkin this evening instead of for Family Home Evening. Last night we picked one up along with our FHE treat and decided to do it tonight.
Since I didn't want too many pumpkins I thought of a way to make one work. We each drew a face on a paper and cut a strip of the eyes, then the noses and the mouths. Then we took turns drawing them out of a hat. Our jack-o-lantern has Anneke's eyes and nose and Marcus's mouth. Fair?

Memory Monday - Halloween

Since Halloween is this week I am going to do the eight years I have had with Andy. Every year we have dressed up, but I did not want to overwhelm the page with photos, so there are previews from each year. (Notice that until we got a digital camera it is almost impossible to get get a good picture of Anneke and even then she is constantly in motion.)

2000 - We were engaged and Andy's Mom made us costumes. We are "Swing Kids".

2001 - I am 6 months pregnant with Marcus in this photo. I am not sure what Andy is supposed to be. Our house was decked out and awesome this year. (The only year we have had a house.)

2002 - I wanted Marcus to be a pumpkin for his first Halloween. He did not like the hat.

2003 - I let Marcus choose his costume this year. He insisted on Tigger. It took a long time to find a long sleeved orange shirt to go under it. My sister, Heather, finally found the perfect one. (it is not the one in this photo.)

2004 - Anneke's first Halloween was also moving day. She was a snuggly pink bunny. Marcus wanted to be a dragon and the only one we could find was too small. We adjusted it to fit. (Everyone said that he looked like Mushu from Mulan.)

2005 - Marcus chose to be Batman and told everyone that Anneke was Cat woman. She didn't care what she was as long as she got to wear her black "clicky shoes". (They were dress shoes that made noise when she walked on the tile or cement.)

2006 - Our first Boulder Halloween. Andy won "Best Costume" for his pirate. Anneke went as Uniqua from Backyardigans and Marcus wanted to be Superman. We thought it would be cheaper to make it on our own. We were wrong, but it was still a fun effort. (Long johns, felt, underwear and my red socks over his boots.)

2007 (below) - I can't write between the photos for some reason. Anneke is Cinderella. Julie made her beautiful dress and she still loves to wear it. Marcus is Peter from Narnia. I am an oven with a "bun" inside. I was 8 months pregnant with Luke, so I thought it would be funny. (It took a long time to make.)

A preview of this week. Saturday we went to a few activities. Marcus's costume got a lot of compliments. I worked 5 hours on a costume that I thought would be simple. I finished it at midnight. (Sound familiar Stephanie?) Since he wanted to be a mummy and would wear it at least 3 days I had to sew that gauze onto the long johns with invisible thread by hand since I do not have a sewing machine. It was worth it, though!

Anneke is Belle and the crown is ribbon hanging off of a wreath. We used to make these for our friends birthdays all the time. People asked if I had made her costume. I must look quite domestic.

Our dragon is sad because the princess tried to put his hat on. He did not end up wearing his costume because he was too traumatized by the time we were ready to leave.

(I hope to get better pictures on Friday.)

Who are you?

Take the Quiz here!

This was fun and if you can be honest, fairly accurate as the choices go, anyway.

Computer programmer, a cop, genetic engineer and medievalist

I feel like we have been pretty boring lately. Sorry about that. Things are getting busier as the semester goes on. Last weekend we visited some of Andy's family in St. George. Andy's Uncle Kory and sons were there and Andy's cousin Lisa from the other side of the family. It was nice to be with Lisa and Jesse. They just got finished with the student living and have 3 children as well. (Their oldest is Anneke's age and youngest is Luke's!) Jesse has a PhD in genetic engineering (I think, it is something like that) from Johns Hopkins. They didn't have family housing there either, so we discussed ways to meet people and stuff. Andy said that there is nothing that makes him realize how unexciting his degree like getting around his family. The kids had fun playing in the sand and hiking. We saw dinosaur footprints, too. I learned some things about my baby this week, too.

(The camera had fingerprint right in the middle of the lens from a certain toddler. Some photos are fuzzy in weird places because of it.)

This is my baby trying to climb the sand hill. He just finished graham cracker snack that he was using as a shovel. YUM! Luke watches and then does it. He tries to figure out how things work. It is interesting to see this. It is so different from the impulsive nature of his older siblings.

Andy buried Marcus in the sand.

Notice Anneke's very short bangs? She cut her hair by herself again. She also found a great way to eat lunch Princess style.

A cute picture of my boys. Doesn't Andy look cute with that?

Pippi Longstocking?

Luke has started to bring books so that we will read to him.

After a long day Andy surprised me. While I was at Young Women's last week he worked on this. It was pretty relaxing. It was made even more special because we did not have hot water and he heated the water on the stove! Strawberry soda anyone?

Memory Monday - Carianne

Photos are all of Cari. Isn't she beautiful?

Happy 31st Birthday Carianne "Sunshine" Bailey Pfiester! (October 21st)
I was planning on writing 31 memories of you, but was unsure how well that would go over. So, I will just share a few.

In no particular order...

*I remember sharing a room with you and leaving the light on so you could see when you got home from working at Hastings.

*I remember Falling asleep next to you while you read out loud to me.

*I remember you listening to songs and then playing them on the piano. It was interesting to ask what you were playing and have you not know the name of it. You just heard it and liked it enough to play it.

*I remember what an amazing dancer you were.

*I remember how embarrassed you were when you got in the pillow fight with Brandon Brophy (?) and the zipper cut below your eye in the shape of a longhorn just before picture day.

*I remember when you were such a know-it-all after learning to read. You told us that "Green Goddess" salad dressing was "Green Goodies" and that it was "Nit-wit" not "Net weight".

*I remember how much you loved "Jocko" your monkey.

*I remember being jealous of your boyfriends because you weren't spending time with me anymore. I never liked Ben or Fenner because of that. ;)

*I remember we thought Jamie Kelly was the most amazing girl and all our Barbie dolls were named Jamie and the Ken dolls Todd.

*I remember that you introduced me to New Kids on the Block.

*I remember that when it came time to clean the room all of the sudden I had a huge space because you didn't want to clean. When it wasn't cleaning day I got maybe 1/3 of the room.

*I remember you got Daniel Hopkins to eat dog jerky.

*I remember the many hours we have spent on the phone and the advice you give me.

*I mostly remember you taking care of me and being an example to me. I miss you and hope your day is amazing! We are thinking of you.

(I could not find the Hollies version of your song, but I at least found it. Remember when Mom had KONO dedicate it to you at your surprise party?)

Facebook

I just joined Facebook and am lost.  (I joined because my little sister told me too, and why not anyway.)  All these people want to be my friend, which I have accepted.  But, now what.  What do I do?  (Is this a sad blog or what?)

PS Stephanie, there were 30 stairs to my Newton apartment on the 3rd floor.  Didn't think I would know, did you?  And 2 to my apartment in Athens North. ;)

Noah's Birthday AND 6 Unspectacular Quirks

An Ode to my nephew Noah on his 4th birthday.

N - Naughty but nice

O - Original

A - Always keeps people on their toes

H - Hilarious

M - Melts your heart

I - I miss him

C - Carianne's youngest

H - Helps you realize why life is great

A - Anneke's closest cousin in age and actions

E - Energetic

L - Likes trains, dinosaurs and books

********************

Melissa tagged me, too. I am supposed to tag 6 people. I am still pondering who... These are 6 Unspectacular things about me:

1. Halloween is my favorite time of year. I love fall, candy and dressing up with a purpose.

2. I have to count stairs as I walk up and down them to make sure I don't miss one. I have 15 steps up to my apartment.

3. I love musicals and old movies. (They often go hand in hand.)

4. I don't know how to drive a "standard" vehicle.

5. I only check my mail about once a week unless I am expecting something.

6. I do not like the color pink at all. I prefer red or purple for my daughter's clothes, but she has other ideas.

Okay, I tag Andy, Cari, Heather, Pam, Mom, Katie and Summer. Good luck, guys. (Yes, I know I did 7, but that is my favorite number.)

Sunday Funnies

I set Luke up in high chair for breakfast with a couple peaches and toast. I had to use the facilities so i told Marcus and Anneke, "If he cries he probably wants another peach." I didn't think I would be gone that long anyway, so I figured all would be well. I was gone a couple of minutes. When I came back there was a pile of peaches on Luke's tray. Anneke looked at me and smiled, "He cried a lot."

(I posted twice in less than 24 hours, so don't forget to read "Brrr", my previous post. It is pretty fun, I think.)

BRRRR

Yesterday and today we went to the Renaissance Festival "The Age of Chivalry" at Sunset Park here. We had a great time. Anneke chose a cape that she had to have. It is a "magic cape". (Marcus assumed that meant magician, but Anneke meant more like fairy or princess magic.) We got the cape yesterday and lost it first thing at the festival today. It really bothered me. On our way out I wanted to check the Lost and Found, but didn't think we would find it. Yep, it was there! Yeah for honest people! It was very cold today, for Las Vegas, anyway. It did not get higher than 55 degrees. We were still in the 90's earlier this week, so it was a bit of a shock. The kids were excited to wear their "feetsy jams" tonight to bed, though. I thought I would give you a bit of how the day went with a few photos.This is Andy waiting in line. I laughed that the Miller Lite bottle was next to his head like I planned it.
The photo above is of the blacksmith and his storyteller wife. He would make something with the forge while his wife told a story that pertained to it. Then after there would be a drawing for the items. We won an S hook. He also made cute salt spoons and unicorn shoes (heart shaped horse shoes). I think that this was Andy's favorite thing. We learned a lot of interesting trivia from them.Marcus thought it was great to ride this horse because it's name was Marcus, too.
Luke was helping me take pictures and I thought this was great. Somehow he managed to frame the subjects with his pudgy hand. This is Andy and Anneke on a horse named Sally.
Marcus wanted to go fishing instead of doing Archery. I think shooting a bow and arrow is cooler myself.
These are the kids waiting in line at the front gate. (Notice the cape.)
This was a "magician" guessing my number. (I am only including it because once again I was behind the camera and this is the only picture of me.) Normally I would have chosen 7, but he said to choose a significant number, so I chose 5. If you can't figure the significance out you have no business reading my blog.

One word

My little sister issued a bit of a challenge on doing this, so I am going to try it. You answer each question with one word.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? couch
3. Your hair color? Pony-tails
4. Your mother? hurt
5. Your father? work
6. Your favorite thing? reading
7. Your dream last night? sleep?
8. Your dream/goal? house
9. The room you're in? front
10. Your hobby? blogging
11. Your fear? change
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Texas
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? skinny
15. One of your wish-list items? Hawaii
16. Where you grew up? Texas
17. The last thing you did? e-mail
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? big
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? working
22. Your mood? excited
23. Missing someone? Lots
24. Your car? dirty
25. Something you're not wearing? skirt
26. Favorite store? Borders
27. Your summer? poor
28. Love someone? Yep
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Sunday

Not too bad if I do say so myself. By the way #26 could not be answered truthfully using only one word.

Memory Monday

Photo: My dad at Lost Maples the last time we went. (Fall 1994) It was just Dad, Heather and me. Notice the drinks in both his back pockets. He did that a lot. ;)

I have the coolest dad! I did a brief tribute to him on his birthday. Today I am going to be a bit more specific. My dad had 4 daughters and a BS degree in parks and recreation. Once a month (it seemed) he would take us out to someplace fun. We went canoeing, tubing, hiking, camping, swimming, etc. We visited a bunch of neat places in our area like Inks Lake, Lake Buchanan, Lost Maples, Enchanted Rock, Lady Bird Johnson park, LBJ Ranch, Sea World, Fiesta Texas, (before it was Six Flags) etc. (Each one is link if you are interested. However, they are not all different colors. I am not sure why.) Heather would get hurt pretty much every time we went out. But, that is another "Memory Monday".

Dad would come to Girl's Camp (at HEB camp) with us every year as the Priesthood leader. He was lifeguard certified and took us out in the canoes and boats. All the other girls thought he was so cool, and I knew he was.

Every year around our birthday's he would spend a day with just us, one on one. That day we could do whatever we wanted. I often did lunch and a movie. I was so jealous when Pam chose shopping one year and got a matching purse and umbrella.

The picture below is of Carianne, Heather and me and it was taken by my dad. (1987) He is not in many pictures from when we went out because he was behind the camera. (Much like me, now.)

Conference Weekend

I have blogged every day lately, but I wanted to share my weekend experiences. Wasn't General Conference amazing?! I don't know how to describe the way I feel right now, except happy and rejuvenated. I am ready for anything and I will "find joy in the journey".

Marcus took the picture of Anneke and I liked it, so I added it.

I started a tradition when we lived in Cedar City. I didn't realize it until this year, though. I make sugar cookies with my kids each Conference weekend. Halloween/Fall theme cookie cutters in October and Easter/Spring theme in April. The kids help with the cookie cutters and decorating. I have even invited friends to join us from time to time. We like to decorate during the Priesthood session. The kids then have something to do while they wait for Daddy. Luke ate broken cookies this time, but none with frosting. Whew! I can't even begin to imagine how he would have acted with that much sugar in his system.

We stole the idea from the October Friend magazine, but we made a "Reverence Tent" for the kids. They picked out snacks, coloring books, books, toys etc. and camped out for 2 hours on Saturday and Sunday. They did really well all things considered and we are already planning ways to improve upon it for next April. We asked them what they remembered from the talks, and they did not remember much, but that's okay. Marcus said he knew President Monson spoke. We'll get there...

Crazy 8's, 8 Things, Etc.

8 TV Shows I Love To Watch:

1. The Office
2. Bones
3. Chuck
4. Pushing Daisies
5. Monk
6. Psych
7. Cosby Show (It is still good stuff)
8. Backyardigans

8 Places I Love to Eat at:
1. Metro Pizza (by the way Marisa, one of it's "sister places" is actually The Pie)
2. Baskin Robbins
3. Cheesecake Factory
4. IHOP
5. Olive Garden
6. Noodles & Company
7. Subway
8. The Attic (in Boulder)

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Went to the library
2. Paid $21 for $15 book Luke tore (not happy about that, but no sure what to do.)
3. Went to the DI and got books for my kids for today
4. Went to Dollar Tree and got coloring books and crayons
5. Played Bocce at Sunset park
6. Made Frito Boats
7. Played Zooreka with the kids
8. Cleaned kitchen

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Next weekend going to "The Age of Chivalry" festival
2. Halloween
3. General Conference
4. Young Women Choice Awards
5. Thanksgiving
6. Luke's first birthday
7. Fall Festival at Marcus's school
8. Trunk or Treat

8 Things I Love About Fall:
1. The leaves turning brilliant colors
2. Picking out pumpkins!
3. Apple cider and hot chocolate
4. Corn mazes, hay rides, bobbing for apples, etc.
5. Visiting family for holidays for the first time in 2 years
6. Cooler weather, no more AC
7. The smell
8. Fall food - apple crisp, pumpkin pie, stuffing...

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Visiting Hawaii and/or Holland
2. Living in a house with a yard
3. Being completely out of debt
4. Complete food storage and 72 hour kits for the whole family
5. Happiness and patience always
6. A complete room for a library in our house
7. Have enough money to not worry about money
8. To learn not to worry so much about everything in life

Magic PIllow

Just before Andy went to Oxford he got me a body pillow with a soft pillow case. It was to "fool" me at night so I didn't miss him so much. Well, in desperation I gave Anneke the pillow at 5am. Apparently it is a magic pillow. It made it so she has not had nightmares for 2 nights. Yesterday we went and bought her a body pillow with a pink soft pillowcase. I hope the magic does not wear off any time soon.

In other news, Marcus has stayed dry at night for a few nights. I hope that continues as well. His pediatrician gave us some ideas to try and we will continue working towards it. He got new Spiderman sheets as incentive.

Luke's first word is "mo'e" for more. Yes, he is a chubby baby. He knows what he is saying when he says that and is just starting to say Mamamamama, and Da for a purpose. I have interesting children.

Help - nightmares

My music and blog design are in honor of October. I feel like I am missing some fun songs. If you can think of any that aren't on there, let me know.

So, I have been posting a lot lately, but I need help. I was up 5 times last night before getting up for good at 5:30am. Luke is still not sleeping through the night, but Anneke is the problem. She is having bad dreams. Yesterday she couldn't be alone and literally followed me everywhere. (That is not a pleasant experience when you have to use the bathroom facilities.) I finally told her she needed to play in the living room so I could make dinner. She had a melt down screaming for her daddy. When he came home, she wouldn't leave his side. For dinner I made her favorite (homemade mac and cheese.) and halfway through the meal she started crying about not wanting to go to bed. She didn't have her usual second and third helpings. Anneke wouldn't take a bath, so I washed her and she promptly got out. She has a nightlight, soft music playing and her brother on the top bunk, but that is not good enough. I have no idea what else to do. I am tired, she is tired. Any ideas? I haven't even decorated for halloween or read them any Bunnicula books because I am afraid of causing more problems. (For anyone that knows me that is a hard thing.)