MeMoRiAl DaY fUn

I love Memorial Day. I love going to the cemetery. I love hearing the stories about our ancestors while we are placing flowers on their headstones. I love how all the family gets together on this day...something that doesn't happen quite as often now that our grandparents have passed away. I love the volleyball game that we always have and almost everyone plays, the bbq, and the homemade icecream...that I just realized nobody made this year. Most of all I love our wonderful family and I am so grateful for having amazing grandparents who started these Memorial Day traditions. We miss them so much.






And I love watching all the kids play together.












This year we played some "Minute to Win it" games at the family party.

Trying to get five penne noodles onto a spaghetti noodle without using your hands....



Trying to stack eight ding dongs on forehead....




Sorting M&Ms according to color...


And I saved the best for last....trying to get oreos from forehead to mouth only using face muscles.



I love you Mom!! The second she sees this lovely picture on my blog, I will be getting a not so nice phone call from her :)

my two favorite people

these two make me happier than i ever thought possible

"Riding a bike is fun to do, fun to do, fun to do. Riding a bike is fun to do, to do, to do, to do"

Last week I needed to take a package to the post office and I asked Claire if she wanted to walk there or ride a bike. She chose taking the bike. It is pretty much the first time I had rode my bike this year and I have to say that several blocks away from the post office I thought I was going to die. Boy am I out of shape!! The only reason I didn't stop and walk the rest of the way was because I knew the second I got off and started walking, someone I knew would drive past and stop, thinking that I had a flat tire on my bike and I would have to admit that I was just too weak to keep going. So we kept on going and eventually made it. Although I do have to give myself a little bit of credit since it is uphill all the way (okay, I know is is only slightly uphill but I sure could feel it), I was pulling Claire in the bike trailer, my bike was stuck in the hardest gear, and Claire was having me sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" to her the entire way.

My little sweetheart all ready to go on a bike ride. I know I say this alot but I LOVE spending everyday with her.

Since then we have kept on going on bike rides and I have started to really enjoy it. The best part is that I now have the cutest little tour guide. The entire way I get commentary from Claire about everything that we are passing.

"Look Mom!! Horses!! Stiiiinkyyy!!"

"I see a school bus. Oh, another school bus"

"There's a blue car" "And a red one too"

"See the airplane??"

"Oh, garbage cans. Gross!!"

"I see Dorothy's house"

"Look Mom, a Mud Puddle, a big Mud Puddle!! So much fun!!"


Me, Luke and Claire went on a bike ride to the park and ended up getting there right as Jackson's baseball game ended. Next time we will have to plan ahead so we can get there for the game.

Luke and Claire

Mom, is this not what it is used for??

Well she might as well use the potty chair for something....
A pretty necklace perhaps.

Our Biggest Helper

We have the biggest helper and I totally love it. She will follow me around the house all day long saying "help you". The only time she doesn't want to help me is when her daddy gets home and then she decides to be his helper.

She loves to vacuum.

She has to put all the clothes in the washer all by herself.

I wish I could say that she likes putting dishes away. Unfortunately she only likes to pull them out and put them on the floor.

Whenever Luke is up on a ladder,she wants to be right there with him.

And helping Luke install the new dishwasher. She kept taking his tools away from him and saying "I'll fix it"

Ummm.....

This is similar to a conversation that Claire and I have been having a lot lately.

Claire: Go outside and swing

Me: Ummm....(pretending to be thinking about it) Lets put the clothes in the dryer first.

It seems like she is always asking to go do something right when I am in the middle of a project. Don't worry, we usually go do what she has asked to do...she just has to wait 5 or 10 minutes.

So the other night at dinner Luke is trying to get her to sit down at the table to eat.

Luke: Lets get in your chair so we can eat dinner

Claire: Ummm....(pretending to be thinking about it, and she was doing it EXACTLY the way I do it) Lets go play outside first.

I was cracking up.

She is definately getting tired of being in the house all day. I am fine playing outside in the rain with her IF it is warm outside. But cold temps and rain??? NO THANK YOU.

Two Year Stats

Claire had her 2 yr checkup yesterday and she was so excited to go see the doctor. She seriously will tell me several times a week that she needs to go to the doctor. It is so funny listening to her reasons for needing to go...one morning she told me that her ears hurt, her cheeks hurt, her toe hurt, and her elbow hurt (while pointing to her knee). I think the real reason that she likes going is because they give her stickers and a sucker when she gets done.
Since she is speaking so well for her age, the doctor asked if we read to her. That made me chuckle...some days we will sit on the couch and read books for over an hour...several times a day. She loves it when we read to her and will bring us stacks and stacks of books.
Here are some of her favorites now that she is two...

Songs: I am a Child of God, Follow the Prophet, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the Happy Birthday Song

Food: Chicken nuggets, strawberries, and soup with lots of veggies.

Things to do: Swing, play pass with daddy, ride her bike, go on bike rides in the bike trailer, help water the garden, play-doh, and puzzles, help mommy clean.

Random Favorite Things: School buses, babies, airplanes, and balls.

We love our little girl so much.

Running in Circles

Am I the only one that has the hardest time getting going on monday mornings? Normally I am up and going first thing in the morning...I am definately a morning person. But monday mornings are an entirely different story. I guess it doesn't help much that I take a late sunday nap and then can't fall asleep until after midnight. So this morning I finally dragged myself out of bed, checked on Claire, and asked her what she wanted to do today. This was her response..."puzzles, play-doh, vacuum, and run in circles." It seems like all I do is run in circles...why should today be any different:)


And would I really have it any other way???