One FAIR Day

I don't really feel like posting right now. I did until I had to wait like an hour for my pictures to upload from my iPhone! Okay, so it was like 5 minutes maybe. And yes, I'm complaining about this. :) Anyway, Derek has work early tomorrow and should be sleeping, but he instead is channel surfing in the living room so I can have the computer... so I can post on our blog. I probably actually should then.

With that in mind (I never did learn how to keep inner thoughts in), here ya go. For the sake of posting more. Because looking back, I really have been slacking.

A couple of weeks ago (mid-August), the FAIR came into town. This used to be a huge deal to us. We would meet up with our friends Micah and Brittney, go eat carnie food for dinner, and follow it up with a stroll around the booths. It was something we did routinely (annually) for a few years. It was a tradition of sorts. Micah and Britt have since moved away, but even then we've carried on the tradition with just us. This year, however, we almost missed it.

We ended up going on a Saturday morning and only for like an hour. Derek had to work the night before (lame) and also had to work that afternoon-into-night (also lame, but normal), so we had to squeeze it in when we could. And I'm so, so glad we did!

It was so fun to take our kids this year! They both were old enough to think it was pretty sweet- especially James. We told the kids they could each ride one ride (generous, I know), and James picked the Ferris Wheel. We decided to make it a family affair. afFAIR. ha. Let me just mention here that I seriously dread the day when our kids don't love spending time with us. I know it will happen eventually- and probably much sooner than I realize, but it breaks my heart to even consider. We've gotta take advantage of the fact that they love our company now, I guess. I'm sure we don't enough.

So after much confusion involved with talking to the not-so-fluent carnie (not judging, just funny), we got our tickets, waited our turn and hopped on. Initially they stuck us in a pink box (box? not sure of the word). But I embarrassed Derek and asked them if we could switch for a blue one (again dealing with the fluency issue). Luckily, they not only understood but also let us switch. Hooray! Because as much as we love pink, I knew James wanted to ride in the blue one (his favorite color). He didn't pitch a fit about it, but when we switched he was really happy about it. :) Sweet boy.

I don't think I've ever ridden the Ferris Wheel with a boy (if I did and it was with you, boy reading this, I apologize for forgetting). I'm pretty darn sure I've never ridden one with Derek. Either way, it was the first time I've ever ridden one with my whole little family. And it was wonderful!

It sounds really cheesy, but if there is such a thing as carnie perfection, we had it. It was seriously a hugely happy moment for me. Moments, as the ride lasts a while. The kids were amazingly adorable and happy, and Derek and I loved watching their excitement (again, mostly James... Jolie is still young enough to think being carried and moved up and down is a normal part of life) and experiencing something fun with them.

Just writing about it makes me smile.

Anyway, I'll stop gushing over my fabulous family and show you some fun pictures. Enjoy!

Thank you, random stranger, for taking our picture for us.

I love Jolie's face in this one.

Great job with the genuine smile, sweetheart.

James was so excited.

Jolie eventually figured out that she was too.

I love this one a ton because you can just see

the hint of James' smile. So genuine. So sweet.

The following pics are evidence that we did, in fact,

eat carnie food. We just got one huge corndog to

share, though, and then got something yummier

(is there such a thing?) and healthier on the way home.

Mmmm. :)

So there you go. One FAIR day. ;)

A Decade in Review

Ten years ago, I graduated from high school. I know; I'm old. Next month, my graduating class is having our ten-year reunion. I most likely won't be able to go (sad), but I sent in (as requested) the above recent family picture along with the following blurb about my life over the past ten years. It was interesting to go down memory lane and think of all I've done over the past decade. This blurb is obviously condensed (well, as condensed as is possible for me- haha), but still- fun to remember.

After graduation, I attended Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, AZ. I lived with my best friends Cassie, Stacie and Brianne for a while, which was awesome. I took a bunch of classes and graduated with my Associate's degree in about 3 semesters. Then I moved out to Logan, Utah, for my Bachelor's degree- and a bit of an adventure.

I attended Utah State University, with a major in French and an emphasis in Secondary Education. After about a year here, I met my husband- Derek. I met him at a party at his brother's house (his brother was a friend of mine). I seriously saw him and angels sang. It wasn't necessarily love at first sight, but it was something quite close. We started dating within the week, dated for about 1 1/2 years, and got married in June of 2005.

I graduated from USU that December and got a job teaching English as a Second Language to adult immigrants. Derek and I lived in Paris the summer of 2006 (a.maz.ing.), and the following school year, I taught French at Preston High School in Idaho (it's about a 30 minute commute). I also coached cheerleading. I only taught for a year, though, because the following summer, my son was born. Since then, I've basically been a stay-at-home-mom but have still kept the ESL job- teaching a couple of nights a week.

I have two kids: James (4) and Jolie (18 months). They are spectacular! I love being a mom and am still very blissfully in love with my husband. Really, life is pretty great. We still live in Logan and hope to stay here to raise our kids. It's a great place- "city" enough to satisfy me with a mix of agriculture and "country" to make me feel at home.

the part where I gush over my babies

Can I just say how much I love my children? I can? Okay: SOOOOOOO MUUUUUCHHHH! :) They really make me so happy every day. I especially have been quite smitten by the way they've been together as of late. They're so, so cute. They hold hands and walk around the house (James loves to lead Jolie around and guide her play, and Jolie loves to be lead by him). They sit together and read. They chase each other all over being silly. They smooch and giggle and love on each other.

And nothing makes me happier.

I am so glad I have them, and so glad they have one another. These two little darlings are the highlight of my life. I love them more than words can express. I'm so, so glad they're mine.

Sorry to BUG you! {giggle, giggle, har, har}

I should be baking a birthday cake right now. Or cleaning my horrendously filthy bathrooms. Or wrapping presents. But instead, I'm sitting. For at least three minutes.

If you haven't seen one already, here's a peek at James' birthday invites. No, that's not our address. The real ones have the real one. If you didn't get an invite, please don't be sad. Mostly no one did. It's going to be a super exclusive party (if you count "pretty much only local relatives" as exclusive). If you're one of said "local relatives" and didn't get an invite- I'm sorry, and the above one's for you! :) Though you may want to call for directions.

For now... will you all just send lots of positive thoughts my way? I'm currently assuming that a) a spider pinata will manifest itself from the craziness of glue and newspaper and tissue paper that is now my kitchen, b) a beautifully ugly "dirt cake" will come together and both look and taste terrific, c) the weather will be nice so that we don't have to try and cram a ton of people into our little house, and d) that we will all be pleasant and happy and able to enjoy the day (and not have the drama, swearing, kicking and biting that may or may not have existed the last time we threw a party here... cough, cough). It's a whole lot of wishful thinking, I know. But hey- I'm a wishful person!

So be a pal and wish us luck. And come tomorrow with low expectations so you'll be pleasantly impressed. :)

Happy {almost} 4th birthday, my handsome boy! We love you!

And , you know, bugs. Obviously.

Jolie and Kona sittin' in a tree...

K-I-S-S… freak-dan-cing! :)

So, I know I have mentioned before just how much Jolie loves Kona (our friend and boy-next-door). Kona is James' friend, but Jolie just adores him! I can't say I blame her; he's quite the stud. But really, it's hilarious!

Well, the other day we were babysitting Kona and Kainoa (his younger brother) while Mom and Dad went out on a hot date. We had loads of fun! We set up a "picnic" table in the living room, broke out the pizza and popcorn, and watched "Gnomeo and Juliet." They loved it, all of it. Then when the credits rolled and the fun, crazy music started up, Jolie started ... well, freak-dancing Kona! :) I know she wasn't really. She honestly just bounces up and down like that when she dances (or really, that is HOW she dances). But she just couldn't keep her hands off the boy! It was super funny! And Kona was such a good sport; he just took it all like it was no big thAng.

Check it out. It's super funny!

Jolie Elizabeth Seeholzer. It does have a certain ring to it... (wink)

Jolie Bug: She SPEAKS! :)

So I was perusing through our old blog (http://anderson-trio.blogspot.com), just flipping through like one might flip through a photo album. As I perused, I found a post (here) in which I detailed all of the words that James could say then. He was about Jolie's age, and SHEESH! That boy could talk! I got worried about Jolie as I read the post, thinking that we needed to start working with her on so many things. Not to compare, but really- I felt she had a minuscule vocabulary compared to his at her age. Anyway, it got me thinking... and worrying... and thinking. I was talking with one of my friends, expressing my worry, and she asked if Jolie said mama and daddy. I replied that of course she did, and she also said this and this and this... And then I realized something: it's quite possible that she talks much more than I give her credit, and that it's just that I don't pay as close of attention! With James (for better or for worse), our entire universe revolved around him. And while we love and adore Jolie just as much, she gets vocally drowned out by that jibber-jabbery brother of hers and overlooked in far too many things.

SO! I decided to sit down and make a list of things Jolie says (well, words- her coos and babbles don't get much mention). And I was pleasantly surprised! She says a whole lot more than I realized! Another smarty pants! (Phew!) :) It must run in the family, ha. And while she does talk a lot less frequently than James did/does, she consistently says the following words. (Heaven forbid we have a soft spoken child, eh?) :) Sweet girl. Okay, here ya go (in no particular order):

Da-ee (daddy)

Mama

Day (occasionally "Jace" ... for James)

Gama (Grandma)

Peeez (please)

Teh-too (thank you)

Ssssieu (shoe)

bah (ball)

uh-oh

oh, no!

uh-huh

ow

yeah (usually accompanied by a full-body nod)

hi

die (bye)

baba (bottle)

buk (book)

muh (more)

woof-woof (which is really more like "uff-uff", for dog- and many mammals)

quack-quack (for duck... or frog... or anything non-mammal, really)

twee-twee (for bird)

amen (which sounds something like "tah-beh"- strangely enough)

ah-duh (all done)

up

dah-dah (tada!)

dee-doo (peek-a-boo)

essieu (bless you... for sneezes or farts, equally... so I've heard...)

She also makes an exhale/hissing sort of noise for dinosaurs and a vroom-vroom kind of sound for cars. :) And when we tell her to say "Love you!" she blows kisses instead. I know... awww!

All in all, I'd say that list is not too shabby for a 15-month old. Don't you think? I guess I don't have to be too worried after all. (Phew!) I do, however, still think that she deserves more one-on-one time. We'll have to work on that.

Oh, a few more tidbits I jotted down while I was thinking of it: Jolie's all-time favorite book is entitled What Shall We Do With the Boo-Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell, followed only by Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman. She loves dogs (which is cute, as James loves kitties) and first showed favoritism to a cheap little stuffed doggie that was overlooked in James' stash. She also loves shoes (her pink soft-soled ones in particular) and her "pretties" (necklaces, bling-bling, what-have-you)... and pretty much being a lady! She likes to use my big make-up brush on her face (and tongue, ew), to put on lip gloss and smack her lips, and to get her toenails painted. And her favorite thing in the whole-wide-world (besides daddy, as of late... lucky guy) is her blankie! It's a simple cotton one I made for her, hot pink with black polka dots. I just got a yard of fabric and hemmed it. Easy-peasy. But somehow she fell in love. Now the corners are well loved (aka: gnawed on), and just the sight of Blankie makes her giddy. :)

I love this girl. We all do. She's not just my baby; she's OUR baby (including James'). We love having her in our lives, in our family. She's a darling, sassy, sweet little thing, and we'd never want a world without her in it!

Love you, Jolie Bug!!

FHE: Doing Good & Other Good Things

Tonight's FHE was about Doing Good & Other Good Things. The idea mostly formed when I thought that we should play something fun together, especially since life has been crazy with our house all messed up due to the flood (more on that later... maybe). I just wanted to do something fun, something GOOD. These thoughts somehow lead to my breaking out in song- the 13th Article of Faith song. Hence that direction. It's kind of a longer FHE (not just 30 minutes, with the game, etc, anyway), but I think it's a good one.

Note: I got most of this lesson from this link via Sugardoodle.net. I love that site! I get lots of great ideas for teaching Primary from there, too!

Okay, here it is.

Song: "The Thirteenth Article of Faith" (Children's Songbook)

Scripture: "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to

all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (Article of Faith 1:13)

Discussion 1: Break down the 13th Article of Faith and explain what it means- focusing first on the We believe... in doing good to all men part. Explain/discuss that Heavenly Father has commanded us to love Him and to love others. We show our love for others through our thoughts and actions. One way we show our love is by doing good to others.

Sit in a circle and take turns drawing a slip of paper (on which are written the listed items below). When someone draws a slip, read it and answer the following: What are ways you can do good to others? Tell how you would do good to:

1. A new boy at school.

2. Your mother when she is really tired.

3. An old man that lives next door.

4. Someone you know who is serving a mission.

5. A new Primary teacher.

Activity 1: Play "Spin the Bottle" - saying something you can do that is GOOD when the bottle points to you. (Examples are: help mom do the dishes, play nicely with sister, be honest, help cheer up a sad friend, etc.)

Discussion 2: Explain and discuss the “. . . If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” part of the 13th Article of Faith. Explain that to “seek” means to “look for.” Even when you think you are already doing good things, you can still seek after more things that are good.

Name some things and have the family decide if they are GOOD things. If they are, shout "YES!" or something similar in happy, fun voices. Some examples are:

___ butterflies

___ playing with toys

___ the scriptures

___ reading

___ picnics

___ lying

___ writing in a journal

___ music

___ fighting

___ talking rudely

___ laughing

___ saying naughty words

___ rainbows

___ throwing toys

___ honesty

___ love

Activity 2: Play a GOOD game or similar fun, good activity. (We played with trains together like James had been wanting to do for a few days... The Thomas Game, he called it. You could also go for a walk or something similar.)

Treat: Cherry pie and ice cream (since we didn't end up eating it last time) ... Mmm!

*Image from here.