Dear "Our Family"

You commented on the last blog post, and said you would like to receive a Christmas card. I would love to oblige, if I only knew who you were. Sadly, I do not keep up on the blogging scene, and you have apparently went private. So, mystery blogger, who are you? :-)

-JoAnn

For Tara...

So, I have a wonderful friend who informs me that I do not blog enough. And that since she did my hair before the pictures, and lent me articles of clothing for the pictures, that I must post as soon as I have something. Well, here is something :-) .

I e-mailed our photographer the night we got back from taking pictures, because I just wanted to make sure that we had at least ONE good picture. She wrote me back today, and assured me that we did. Here is the "sneak peek" of one she edited. I LOVE it, and cannot wait for the rest!

Bailey's Birthday Post

As my fun tradition, I am doing the "interview" with Bailey on her birthday, and some commentary from mom. Here it is!

Mom: Bailey, what is your favorite color?
Bailey: Pink and Purple.
(last year was purple and pink...she likes to change things up a bit)

Mom: Who is your favorite person?
Bailey: Ella, and my friend Chandler, because they are my best friends and I miss them. They're my old friends.

Mom: What is your favorite food?
Bailey: Umm...green beans.
(why does she always choose a vegetable...I don't believe her!)

Mom: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Bailey: A teacher, because I LOVE teachers!
(I was so excited that she got this question this year, and actually gave an occupation! Last year she wanted to be a "Big Kid", and the year before she answered "Tall.")

Mom: What is your favorite thing to wear?
Bailey: Dress-ups.

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do?
Bailey: Meet friends. New friends.

Mom: What is your favorite thing that daddy does?
Bailey: I like it when my daddy works because he helps people. And he earns money so we can have lots of food, and stay home forever.

Mom: What is your favorite thing that mommy does?
Bailey: My favorite thing that mommy does is take care of Brinlee and me.
(I take care of Sam too...I promise!)

Mom: Where are you going to get married?
Bailey: In the San Diego Temple. Where you got married.

Mom: What is your favorite song?
Bailey: I Like To Look For Rainbows.

Mom: What was the hardest part about being 4?
Bailey: Climbing up the straight rocks. I almost fell!

Mom: What are you most excited about this year, being 5 and all?
Bailey: Great flips. I am going to practice my flips on the trampoline, and they will be great.

Happy Birthday Bailey! We love you so much. You can always put a smile on our faces.

love mom and dad

I think we have a match...

First of all, I know that I have not posted for months, and now twice in one day. What can I say? Just keeping you on your toes.

Back to the matter at hand. Nathan has made friends with the odd spider outside of our front door. Today I watched him catch something, but thought nothing of it. Moments later he calls me out front, where I then discover that he caught a grasshopper, and fed it to the spider. He throws "food" into the spider's web, and then watches the spider quickly come and feast. Weird. Yes, I know. I decided to look into what kind of spider my husband had chosen for a pet, and I think I found a match.


First up, our spider:
Next, let me introduce you to the Cat Face Spider.
Hopefully this odd little facination will go away quickly. But, if not, I did find out that beyond looking a little scary (or really scary...this spider is big!), it is not harmful to humans. Yay!

WARNING: Shows a little skin...

Bailey said she got everywhere...

I think not.

Classic Brinlee

Today Brinlee was being quiet (never a good sign), and I yell downstairs,

"Brinlee? What are you doing?"

She answers back,

"Nothing Mom! I am not eating the cheese!"

That answers that question :) !

An old flame...

Yes, I have recently been reunited with an old love. Digital Scrapbooking. And I think I am more in love than ever before!

The Cheese Mystery...

Open refrigerator...
Open cheese container...
Hiding child holding something orange...
Brinlee trying to smile her way out of trouble...
Brinlee saying "cheese"...literally!

Valentines 2009

Valentine's Day this year was the best yet. Nate made heart shaped waffles for breakfast, and had fresh strawberries to go with it. A beautiful rose was also awaiting me in the morning. I gave a massage to a neighbor, and then when I got home we hung out as a family. The kids got a care package from Michigan, with cards, festive socks, and some heart hair pretties :). We also dipped strawberries and bananas in chocolate that night. YUM! Nate gave me my gift...a brand new camera! I love it, but not near as much as I love him! Thank you Nathan for being the best father, the best husband, and the best friend that I could ask for.

The Evolution of Brinlee's Hair

Brinlee is such a wonderful spirit. So full of life (very full!), and taking every opportunity to grow. Too bad that her hair has not taken the same approach. Recently, I have taken steps to fix this, and I wanted to share them with you. The pictures come in chronological order.

In this first picture, you are able to see what I wanted to fix. It was a little unruly.
Then we did the bangs. It was very cute, but one day I noticed that Brinlee was looking a little "mullet-ish", so we followed with what we have today...
The bob! The picture is blurry, but it was the only one with her looking at the picture. I also added one of just the girls, in our new polka dot dresses. These are there new spring dresses that I had to let them wear because they didn't understand why it wasn't spring. And I got a new dress because I taught a lesson and gave a talk back to back weeks, and I needed a little encouragement! I also had a cute set of earrings and a necklace, but Sam took care of that for me only moments after it's debut. Nice.

We're alive...

I just read a friend's blog, and she apologized for being gone...since the middle of January! So, I guess I should say sorry too. The only problem is, I don't think that there are many out there waiting for me to blog :), so maybe an apology from me is a bit egotistical.

Life has picked up a bit here. After my last post (yes, November), we went to Michigan for a family trip. So much fun. I love my family. Then the holidays hit us, and left just barely after we had decorated for them. Recently we were put back to work in our new ward, callings for both of us :). I love it, but it really does make time fly!

Nothing new and exciting, but I felt that I should make contact with the outside world again. Hope all is well with all of you!