Proud? You Bet!

Eliana graduated from preschool today! It seems there is a lot of pomp and circumstance for preschool graduations nowadays, and rightly so. Those little kids have worked so hard for it! It's amazing the amount of work they do and how much they learn. I won't turn this into my soap box about the demands on kids these days or kindergarten being the "new first grade". This is Eli's big day, a precursor to kindergarten, and she's earned it! She was so glad her Grandma Lilya and Grandma Moser came, as well as her Uncle Jer, Aunt Lacy, and cousins Troy and Brock! Here's a few snapshots-

This is Eliana's photo from "Picture Day"-

Eli and one of her friends reciting a nursery rhyme at Graduation-

Eli receiving her diploma-she earned a "Bachelor of Rhymes" degree-

These are Eli's teachers, Ms. Kari and Ms. Kim-

The family shot (can you tell she's had enough pictures?!)-

And the Graduate!-


Last up is a clip of one of the nursery rhymes she recited, followed by what she wants to be when she grows up (keep in mind this changes every day so it's always a surprise!)

A Hairy Matter

Saturday evening Eli informed me that she wanted her hair curly on Sunday. She's no novice when it comes to hair do's-she knows what methods it can take to achieve curls, but she was still willing. That night, the chosen method was spongy curlers. We did them just before bed so that when she woke up she would have her curls. Once I got all the curlers in place she said, "Mom, I think I need something cushy and squishy so my curls don't hurt." I tried explaining that the curlers were spongy and soft and wouldn't be much of a bother but she persisted so I told her to go to the bathroom and get ready for bed while I thought of something. What on earth was I going to put on her head to make it soft and squishy?! My sister and I wore bandannas around our curlers at night to help our "softness issue" when we were little, but I had no bandannas, or the like, on hand. Then, I got an epiphany! A hood! I happened to have a soft and squishy type hood that zipped off one of my jackets and, fortunately, the idea suited Eliana just fine. Here's the results, first in just the curlers-

I didn't think to get a picture of her in her hood until she fell asleep-

The next morning she came in to wake up me and Sandy; she'd slept in the hood all night (and yes, I really did have my camera at my beside)!


And lastly, here she is with the curlers fresh out of her hair. She couldn't have been happier with the curls, haha! It may not be my hair style of choice but she was happy and that's what counts!

Here Comes Olivia

Hold on to your socks, folks; today's entry is all Livi!

It was in 2007 and we had been living in Texas for a little over a year when we found out we were expecting again. We opted, once again, to keep things quiet until we were sure things were good. We also decided it was so much fun being surprised the first time that we wanted to do it again. This little one's official due date was supposed to be June 16th, 2008 (a little foreshadowing there, hehe). I fully prepped myself for the tired "I can fall asleep without even knowing it" experience I had with Eliana but didn't get that this time. I did, however, experience the morning sickness again. This time was pretty different, though, as food in general made me sick, even just the thought of it. It went on for a good month before I was able to eat much, to the extent that I can remember the exact day and meal I finally felt like eating (our friend, Tim, had a birthday and his wife, Amanda, my b.f.f., made him some oh-so-yummy sweet and sour chicken that we were invited to share-I think I out-ate everyone there!). After that I still had an occasional bout of the yuckies, but aside from that, the pregnancy was smooth sailin'. This go-around was so different from my last pregnancy that I was convinced we were having a boy...

By the time May came around, our house was an absolute mess (as it had been since moving in due to our decision to remodel-another story for another time, perhaps) but there was definite progress as our decision to move, again, had forced a speedy completion. Sunday, June 1st, came and everyone's comments were the same at church that day, "You look like you could pop any day!", to which I would reply, "I think it's gonna be this week!". Other than just feeling really big, though, I felt great. That night, however, I woke up trying to decide whether or not I was in labor ("These contractions feel like normal Braxton Hicks but they are a bit more consistent...hmm, did my water break?"). After an hour or so of me pacing, trying to make up my mind, I finally woke up Sandy. I was still feeling pretty great at this time, I want you to know, so I took my time getting ready, especially since I had so much time when I had Eli. I even put on a little make-up, which Sandy still gives me a hard time about. We woke up our next door neighbors (the most awesome neighbors one could ever, ever live next to!) so they could keep an eye on Eli who, thankfully, stayed asleep through all of this. We had to stop for gas so we could make the 25 minute trip to the hospital (odd because our car was never that low on fuel before!). By the time we got to the hospital my game face was on, labor was in full swing, 8 centimeters dilated, and, much to my disappointment, no time for an epidural (WHAT?! There's ALWAYS time for an epidural!!). I was ready to push but had to wait for the doctor to show up! The nurses were frantic and beyond relieved when she finally walked in. It took 1 and 1/2 pushes (I say 1/2 only because I had to stop long enough for them to unwrap the cord from around baby's neck) and just 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital, Olivia Ann made her entrance.

This little girl keeps us on our toes! She is often a force to be reckoned with; very strong willed, independent, and fearless. She is always on the move; so far the only thing we've found that slows her down is Dora the Explorer-she loves that show! You know she's tired when she's holding her cheek with her hand. She has been a climber since she could move enough to do it, the higher the better, and her first real heart-stopping climb, for me, was to the top of the piano-we know that skill will only be practiced more, she's such a little monkey! Olivia loves her big sister and always wants to do what Eli's doing or dress how Eli's dressed. She watches Eli closely and has figured that if Eli does it, it's a good thing to do. Livi loves the color pink. Pink cereal, pink clothes, pink toys, pink shoes; she even says "pink-you" for thank you-everything is pink for Olivia! Singing is something you often hear her doing, as well as seeing her dance. Her nursery leaders were surprised at how well she talks and sings along during singing time when she started going and had a new story for us nearly every week of how she surprised them knowing a song or saying a phrase. Livi has been known to have a temper, which has earned her a nick name of Livid Livi. But for as wild and opinionated as she is Olivia is also a snuggle bug when she wants to be and almost always has a hug or kiss to give out. She has been such a fun addition to our little family in the (almost) 2 short years she's been with us and it's going to be so much fun seeing what things she has in store for the future!

All About Eliana

I thought it only fitting to share our daughter's stories since I told mine and Sandy's yesterday. So, up today is Eliana.

At this time we were living in a home we had built in Syracuse, Utah. We found out we were expecting the night before Sandy had a scheduled tonsillectomy, in January of 2005. Our official due date was September 12th. We made the choice of not telling anyone our news until we were sure things were going well with the pregnancy-not a choice to make when you've got to go under anesthesia! I think every nurse in the facility had heard Sandy was gonna be a daddy by the time I got to take the guy home!!

Aside from being extremely tired and suffering from that good old morning sickness the first 3 months, things were pretty much text book, non-eventful. I didn't experience any particular cravings but I did have one food aversion. I don't know if you could really call it that, though, because it was actually a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken's BBQ wings of some sort but holy cow! That commercial would come on and I'd be outta there...made me SO sick!! I also had a hard time with chicken, particularly in the preparation/raw stage, but I think that's gross even not pregnant!

In August my sister, Lacy, gave me a baby shower in Idaho- so much fun and so many fun gifts! I spent the next few days there, as well, while Sandy was doing some work in Idaho Falls but went home to Utah the following weekend, leaving Sandy to do his thing; I just wanted to go put the nursery together! I had fun washing all the tiny clothes and blankets, making up the crib, and experiencing the growing excitement of our little baby's arrival (we elected to be surprised and not find out if we were having a boy or girl, and loved it!). That Saturday, the 20th, I woke up not feeling quite well and having some serious "Braxton Hicks." I called my doctor but she was unavailable and I had to talk to the "on call" doctor. She told me not to worry, it was just false labor, and I needed to calm down. HMPH! So I went out to dinner (Red Robin-yumm!) with a good friend who started to notice my discomfort. I decided the planned chick flick was gonna have to wait and she unwillingly left me home with strict instructions to call her if I needed to (what a sweetie she was!) Finally, at about 11:00 that night I'd had enough and called Sandy to cry and complain but assured him I was okay, only to call him right back and have him come home. My dad drove him the 2 1/2 hours home (good thing!) and when they arrived we loaded up and headed to the hospital. Yes, I was actually in labor, thank you very much "on call" doctor. And can I just say I love epidurals! Our little princess was born that Sunday, August 21st, at 11:51 am after a nap and 8 little pushes. What a joy she has been! She has been an answer to prayers, which is absolutely appropriate, considering her name--

We had names ready for a boy and a girl before we were even pregnant; for the girl we chose the name Eliana Javiera. We are asked quite a bit where we came up with that name so here ya go:
We both like latin sounding names; Sandy served in Chile and has a profound love for the latin culture, as now, do I. (I especially love the food, haha!) We had a very hard time agreeing on a name for a girl though, and spent lots of time searching baby names books. One day we were looking through one in a store, opened up to a random page, and there it was. As soon as we read it we knew that was the name for our little girl. Eliana is derivative of the Hebrew language, literally translated as "My God has answered me."

Eliana, or Eli (sounds like Ellie), is an incredible girl. It's every parents right to think of their child as bright and beautiful, and we are no exception. She was a relatively early to normal walker, starting at 9 1/2 months. Eli also picked up the gift to gab fairly early and we've been told several times how well she speaks, even by an observing speech therapist at a swimming pool (imagine her parents big heads when hearing that!). She has always loved to swing and she loves animals, especially cats! She has a gift for making friends easy, no matter who he/she is. And she has such a big, caring heart. She's very observant and is quick to tell us we shouldn't do certain things (i.e. "You shouldn't say stupid, Mom!"). She despises wearing levi's (much to my chagrin), insisting every time, without fail, that she needs to wear soft clothes. She loves to have playdates, especially if they consist of playing dress-up. Eli is a girly-girl too, loving to "be like mom" and put on makeup, jewelry, mom's shoes etc...She does awesome with her little sister (most of the time) and I am excited to watch them become the kind of friends my sister and I are. We are pleased with what a good little traveler she is, too. Even without a movie playing she is content, making our many trips to various places much easier! She enjoys movies, especially older ones like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bed Knobs and Broomsticks, and even The Three Stooges and Betty Boop! Eliana has been attending preschool this past year and LOVES it! We'd been struggling with the decision of when to put her in kindergarten with her birthday being so close to the September 1st deadline; we've had enough assurances and have enough faith in her, though, that she will be in kindergarten this fall (oh my goodness!).

Wow, how do you keep a post about your children short?! I have to apologize about the length-even though I could keep going!

First Things First...

I can't speak for anyone else, but I know, for me, it's always fun to hear peoples stories; how they met, growing up stories, stories about their kids, you get the idea. So for the first official post I thought I'd start with one of our stories, the one where it all started.

Sandy and I met in the late fall of 1999; it was in either October or November-the jury is still out on this since my journal that I have this crucial information in is all packed up! My mom and I had decided it was a good night for a movie (I'm thinking it was a Friday night) so we went to the old Great American Video in Blackfoot. Neither of us had "dressed up" for public viewing, so it ended up being lucky me that went in for the movie. You know when you don't look your best is when you're most likely going to see someone you know, right? Well, bearing that thought in mind I hustled my little hiney, grabbed the movie and left without incident. It wasn't until I got back in the car with my waiting mom that I learned there was, in fact, someone in the store that I knew. UGH! (Nope, it wasn't Sandy)...

It took some convincing on her end but my mom finally got me to go BACK inside to invite this person we knew, and his friend, over to watch the movie with us. That moment, that all embarrassing, dressed in my old CNA scrubs, ponytail and no makeup moment, was when I met my future sweetie, the friend of the friend, Sandy. Fortunately for me, my garb didn't detour them and they accepted the invitation. So now, when our kids ask where we met, it seems we will probably hear, "Wow, that's old, they had movie rental stores?!" (or something like that!)

After we returned home and I RUSHED to change into more descent attire and fix myself up a bit, they came over to watch the movie (First Night with Richard Gere and Sean Connery for those inquiring minds like mine). My initial impression of Sandy though, (and funny enough, my little brother, Tyler's opinion, too!) was not in Sandy's favor! I DIDN'T like him. I found him cocky and arrogant. True story! But that didn't stop me from going out with him a few weeks later, and then a few weeks after that again...until February when we started to date more exclusively. That eventually led to an April, 2000 proposal and that same month he left for boot camp. I planned the wedding in his absence which wasn't all that bad, we still did letter correspondence and he got to phone home a couple of times. He returned home in June. Then, the best part of this story, we were married July 14th of the same year in the Idaho Falls Temple.

Now I guess it's only fair to inject Sandy's P.O.V.
1-He wasn't cocky or arrogant, but confident.
2-The duds I initially sported that night actually worked in my favor; it made a great first impression with him for some reason I still don't understand!
3-He had already seen me before that fateful night and really wanted to meet me (:
This one may need a little explanation: Our families attended the same church, but different wards, and only live a few miles apart. While he knew nearly everyone in both wards, it pretty much excluded my family since I went to school in Firth and almost the entire rest of the area went to Blackfoot or Snake River. So that's how we'd managed to never run in to each other all while growing up! Some other little oddities; one of my close friends growing up knew his family quite well, especially Sandy and his younger brother. Also, Sandy and I both were in 4-H growing up, him with sheep and me with dairy, which meant that at the fair only a single, partial wall separated us. I guess that just goes to show there is a time and place, a rhyme and a reason, for everything!

Joining the "BLOG" Bandwagon

I have resisted for quite a while now. I kept telling myself, "Nope, not gonna do it!" and, "No need to blog for this girl." And yet, here I find myself...

So why, after all this time, am I JUST NOW starting? Well, I've decided that "blog" is just another word for "brag" and who doesn't have stuff they want to brag about?! I'm not gonna lie, that's what you'll find here, too. I'm simply a wife and mom who likes to take pictures, scrapbook and craft, decorate, garden, cook and bake. I enjoy camping. Going on motorcycle rides with my husband is definitely something I wish I could do more often. I love music and movies. I have a firm testimony of my elder brother and Savior, Jesus Christ. My pride and joy in this life is my family. And, if you're here, you're gonna see all of that at one point or another. I'm just sayin'...

That being said, there is another reason as well. If you know us, you know we move, a lot. To date we have 14 moves under our wings in just 9 years; we're in the midst of our 15th move (in now almost 10 years), from Blackfoot to Twin Falls. I'm thinking all that is a story for another time, though. So between that and having bits and pieces of family and friends spread across the country, blogging seems to be a pretty good way to brag

One last thing; I can't promise consistency here cuz this is a life of constant inconsistency. But I'll do my best, so feel free to check back at your leisure.