~~Tippetts Live!

Snow Finally!

2012-01-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a dry winter so the girls were excited when we woke up to snow on the ground. They spend a few hours out playing and I just sat at the window watching from inside my nice warm apartment. On a purely selfish level, I can't say that I really want it to snow more but I think it must if we are to avoid a drought.

The funniest thing was their "snow ball fight" which was taking turns throwing snow balls standing a foot away from each other. They liked getting hit as much as throwing and would laugh and laugh. Whitney also tried to shovel as much of the yard as she could since Jason had already shoveled the sidewalk. Haylee couldn't quite get the shovel going, hence the totally dejected look on her face.

By the way, we found out that we are having a boy! My due date keeps moving up and is now the 15th of May but I think he is just big.. We went shopping for baby boy clothes today and it was so fun to pick for myself but expensive too. The girls have had most of their clothes given to them apart from basics like underwear, socks, onesies, etc. This guy might not have their wardrobe and it's OK cause little girl clothes are so much more cute. No one will even notice if he wears the same pants all the time... at least I don't think.

Resolutions!

2012-01-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

I almost feel silly for my resolutions. I wanted everything to be small, realistic and measurable. SOOO here are a few... If I make them public maybe I will feel more accountable.

1. Read at least one chapter from the Book of Mormon daily
2. Play piano for at least 10 minutes daily
3. Workout for at least 10 minutes daily
4. Read to the girls for at least 10 minutes daily
5. Shower/bathe first thing after exercise in the morning (even before breakfast)
6. Deep clean one room a week.
7. Try a new recipe every week - this goes along with a resolve to figure out a better system for food. I really dislike the whole "everyone needs to eat a few times a day" thing and have such a hard time coming up with ideas for dinner and lunch and pathetically, we are a cereal for breakfast family or I'd struggle with that too. It really helped when I planned meals but I feel like I can't even get a good meal plan going lately... Wow, little tangent.
8. Only drink water or tea
9. Get way ahead in lesson plans so I won't have much to do when I'm huge (specifically, finish Statistics lesson plans in January and get a chapter ahead in Algebra 2...)

There are more, but you get the idea. I really look forward to New Years and also General Conference time because I get to sit down and do a little evaluation of how things are going and get myself back on track. They are small but I think they will make a difference. (by the way, I did not exercise this morning and I justified it because I had to be at the school early... I didn't even last a week).

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-29T21:18:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Christmas. Everyone was so generous to us and the girls both appreciated everything right through the post Christmas parties. They both got new bikes which neither one is very excited about. I think it is probably because Santa got them a little bit big... which means scary to little girls. They've also been able to spend a lot of time with family and they are social!

Jason's big present was a deep fryer so along with all the holiday candy and rich dinner party food, everything has been fried! I got a tool set I've been wanting for a while. It's all pink and purple in a carrying case and I love it.

The week before Christmas, we hid our little statue of Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus every day and the girls "found Christmas" in the morning and we'd talk about Jesus and why we celebrate His birth. It's an idea someone suggested during my RS meeting and I think the girls learned but if you asked either one of them what Christmas is really about, I'm pretty sure they'd say the presents.

Jason and Whitney sang "Deck the Halls" for our family Christmas party. Whitney sang the fa-la-la's after Jason sang the words and they did great! I was super proud of them. That's about it for us. The break has been great and I'm OK with getting back into things on Monday. I don't really have a choice... so it's nice that I'm not dreading the return to life.

I need Christmas Break Already!!!

2011-12-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

The end of term comes and general panic ensues. The school board has us going clear until this Wednesday, the 21st. I think it is because they wanted to make first and second semesters more equal which I get but I've already given all my finals so these next few days are really a waste. I just want them to go quickly. I am so ready for my Christmas Break to really start.

I also threw a little preschool Christmas party. Here are the eight in attendance.

It was exhausting... but two hours later, their moms came and no one was hurt or crying or fighting and in general fun was had by all. I took these pictures so we could make ornaments and ended up just giving them to my friends so they could make them with their kids when they got home cause we ran out of time. Cute kids. They especially liked "Santa Says" and "Who is under the blanket" which were the only things that took no preparation. Let a lesson be learned from that!

And finally, there were men in our Relief Society today! My dad, and grandpa Garth. That's right! I brought my entire family to hear my RS lesson. They were my posse. Actually, I asked my dad to play his violin and who doesn't want to come and hear that! He played beautifully and the girl I asked to accompany him did such a great job. I expected her to just play the hymn and she made up her own arrangement! I pulled a "Karen" and made ornaments for all the ladies too. So like my mom, except mine were paper and popsicle sticks and hers probably would have been blown glass... My friend, Jenna, gave me the best compliment. She told me that they looked around during the lesson and everyone was actually paying attention! I think I might have done OK then.

One more week until Christmas! YAY!!!

2011-12-08T11:00:00.001-08:00

The girls have been having fun together. When I got all the scarves, hats and gloves out for the winter, they were trying them all on. Yeah, they are wearing skimpy nightgowns with them. They hid in a cupboard at the doctor's office and of course, they're in their pretty Sunday dresses with new bows!

Daddy's Girls

2011-11-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

Just more evidence of Jason's awesomeness as daddy! They have so much fun together and I love to watch. On this day, Jason took the girls out to play ball while I cleaned up the house because we had people coming over... When I came out they were dog piling daddy. So, disclosure (Jason might not agree)... He plays with the girls great when I'm around but if I leave for the store or he takes care of them while I go to work or anything like that, they watch TV and/or movies almost the entire time I'm gone. It's always kind of sad for me because I think they are going to have this great time playing together... Maybe that's one of the reasons that it is good for moms to be home.

Since 1987

2011-11-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's how long it has been! So that makes it 24 years that I've known these ladies. Christi and I have always known each other as long as we could know people. We were probably in the same nursery class but Kierstin didn't join the fray until we were in first grade. She completed the trio! Thanks for coming over and not only helping me feel better, but doing those dishes that made me nauseous. You guys motivate me to get my hair blond again so we can truly be Charlie's Angels...

Sisters, sisters!

2011-11-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

My sister and I are nine years apart but we still sang the sisters song from White Christmas... I always wished I had her closet and her advice but by the time I was old enough to care, she was married!

I love this picture of the girls and they are so close that they will be able to really be the kind of sisters that share each other's clothes (and fight about it) and confide in each other and all that stuff. I just hope there is more friend going on than foe.

Cute Halloween Princesses

2011-11-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

So we have two very different princesses and I personally love this pirate costume. Whitney wore it the last two years and I'm hoping Haylee will be cool with another year. It's just so stinking cute!

I could not convince Whitney that princesses smile with their teeth. Like big pretty smiles. She kept giving me this squinty eyed grimacing face as her princess face. Not a single picture of a cute smile... but she felt beautiful. I have to say, I miss the phase when I could convince her to do things my way. Haylee sat and let me braid her hair and didn't care at all but Whitney chose her hair... Mom's opinion did not matter and Dad's opinion is quickly losing its sway...

Grandma Rollins was awesome enough to send Whitney her Cinderella costume and some sparkly shoes. This was the night of the trunk or treat and I felt terrible. Jason took the girls and I'm proud that that their hair got done and I got a picture of it... Luckily, by Halloween night, I was a little more up to spunk and we carved a pumpkin and went trick or treating. I wanted to do a pumpkin like two weeks earlier but I'm super lazy about everything right now so it didn't get done till the 31st. I keep lighting it cause I like it so much. Wonder if anyone thinks that is strange in November...

I had this whole idea to dress up as a polygamist wife with two cardboard wives attached to me but I didn't think that would be a good one for the ward trunk or treat... maybe next year.

Confessions of a 2-year-old Drama Queen

2011-11-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

I'm just sayin' she's only 2. Who knows what she'll be like when she's 14!

Day at Lagoon

2011-11-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

Jason's company had a party at Lagoon for all the employees and their families but we got there about 2 hours early so we headed to Bountiful Temple! That's where we got married and it was fun to show it to the girls.

I did feel under dressed. I think if we had planned to go there, we would have dressed up. Then the girls had to go to the bathroom and I felt really uncomfortable going inside dressed like normal... Luckily they were quiet and it was fun to see them being reverent and getting that the temple is special.

This is when Jason is waiting to go on his ride. He seems almost disinterested when the ride is actually going. I really liked having the kids as an excuse not to jump on. The only big kid ride I did was the big white roller coaster. Can't go to Lagoon and NOT ride THE roller coaster.

Going on the huge ferris wheel freaked me out more than anyone. Why can't they have little seat belts for 2-year-olds. Come on! I was stupid enough to go on it again while Jason was on another ride and I sat there tense the entire time. Who knows when a little person will be inspired to stand up and jump off the side! My people do that kind of thing! "Seat belts, so we can be safe!" They really did like it. The picture shows my feelings more than theirs. They wanted to get right back on when we were done.

The girls had a great time and I think lagoon rocks. There is a ton of stuff for them to do. We used to go as kids and for some reason it got lame. Now I see it through mom eyes and it's good stuff.

Summer Pix that got Missed

2011-11-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

We did get a pass of all passes and spent some time at Seven Peaks. This is the only picture I have to show for it. Awesome. I keep laughing.

Little girls in dresses is one of the only reasons I get my camera out... Do you see how tan Haylee got? She's darker than me... I guess I really am related to the rest of my family. She's the missing link.

Jason's brother, Ryan returned from his mission. Kind of a big deal. These guys really get along. We got to go down to St. George for a few days and see him. I kind of missed having my husband while I was down there because they just go but things will change when Ry gets himself a wifey I think...

My parents brought us back our porch swing. I happen to love porch swings. There is something great about sitting outside and reading a book or watching the girls play. We've had this swing since before Whitney was born so she got re-acquainted with it really quickly. I think it had been put together for all of an hour when we took this shot. She probably sleeps better on it than in her bed.

Is it too Early?

2011-10-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

So, I'm pregnant. It isn't any kind of secret but for some reason I feel like I should wait to post about it because I'm not too far along (about 2 months). For the first time in a long while, I felt like updating the blog with pictures (I have a ton) and doing it right but Jason has the camera! So you just get my words... I actually hardly ever feel like doing anything and I took a glorious 3.5 hour nap today so I'm feeling good!

I took Whitney's pre-school friends up to Bridal Veil Falls today for a short hike and lunch and lots of nature viewing. We made bug motels and looked through our toilet paper roll eye scopes at all the surrounding wonder. I actually had a great time. I expected at least one of the kids to get pooped out and not want to hike anymore and I struggled keeping up with them instead! The trees changing color up the canyon was gorgeous to behold. The kids noticed so many things and I was grateful for the reminder of all the wonders they see. We moms sometimes miss out just seeing the path and worrying about lunch.

Miss Haylee is getting her 2 year molars and she can tell you right where it hurts. She is tough though and I like that she's a little more cuddly than normal. She wants to be a big girl and do everything that Whitney is doing. She always counts in spanish... kind of cracks me up.

So, since I've still got another month and a half of nausea, I'm looking for any suggestions people have to deal with it. I'm doing better now than I was a few weeks ago, but it is still ever present...

Fall Trees!

2011-09-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

I spent twenty minutes tonight walking around the path in front of our house. The girls were asleep and I went outside to get the garbage can off the street and it felt great outside! I haven't been able to go walking much as we are having all kinds of irritations with our stroller tires going flat and it was so nice to just walk.

My two AP classes both bombed their first test. The scary thing is I don't think it is going to get any better. I just hope I can find a way to use these super hard tests to help them learn more. Needless to say, I'm hearing some complaining. Anyone have the 5.0 system in high school? Did it make getting a B in an AP class more bearable?

Anyway, just wanted to let the world know that I am still alive and kicking!

School Has Started

2011-08-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have flown by and I am exhausted! I feel so lucky to have this job where they let me work as little or as much as I would like to work. They gave me the opportunity to teach an Algebra 2 class along with the AP Statistics and AP Calculus classes I agreed to earlier. It is a lot of prep but Algebra 2 is fun to teach! And my niece is in the class! When am I ever going to have the opportunity to teach her again? I have no idea. It's pretty amazing that I got to have Ashlie last year and Courtney this year. They are such amazing girls and I'm going to do everything I can to make it a great year for her too!

My girls are going to a babysitter two days a week for about 4 hours. I survive because I'm so busy while I am away from them but I miss those girls. Jason can watch them on Fridays since he has class later in the day which makes me so happy. I am grateful to have such great people to help me raise them.

The great thing about teaching is I feel so productive. It is hard to have my self-worth be partially dictated by a bunch of teenagers. I used to try to stay as far away from my students outside of class as possible so our relationship would stay all business but with so few students and my nieces mixed in, I cannot stay detached and I really do feel like I'm putting my heart out there. Perhaps this year I can get what has always been missing with my teaching. Maybe I can really make a difference with some kids and show them in a better way that I truly care. I've always done my job but I've never really connected with my students.

Anyway, as my body adjusts to the new strain and my mind adjusts to the constant drain I am growing stronger. I pray that Heavenly Father will help me maintain balance and I can be an instrument in his hands.

Two Girls a Year Older

2011-08-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

These girls are both a year older. Haylee loved the umbrella. I think she would have it constantly if I let her.

This was the morning of her birthday. They were both so excited!

We had everyone over in our backyard and it was actually comfortable.

Whitney's birthday was a swim party at which I didn't take any pictures. Mom and dad had to leave before her birthday so we had a little gift opening celebration with them early.

If these girls grow up to be exceptional, it will be due to their own talents and efforts. It is at times like birthdays when I have a chance to reflect and I realize that they are making me a better person more than I am helping them. They are little stars shining brightly and I worry that I might mess them up! Oh I wish I could have practiced more before I became a parent. It takes seven years to become a proficient teacher and we only get one shot at parenthood (at least with our oldest) even though it lasts for 18 years. Every day is a new adventure. I just hope I can kick myself in the pants enough to make the most of it rather than letting it waste away. Maybe a bit dramatic but that's how I feel!

4th of July

2011-08-06T09:44:00.001-07:00

I got up at 3:50 and met my parents at 4 AM to get a spot for our family for the parade. Center street was already packed and we were lucky to find this place. You'd think living 2 blocks away would give me an advantage.

It is worth it every time though. I love having everyone together. They didn't throw candy this year. Am I going crazy or have they always had candy? It didn't even occur to me until afterwards but now it seems really strange... did they decide candy was too messy so they replaced it with the 1000 flyers we got from people passing those out?

We went swimming at my grandma's afterwards per tradition. My sister makes this amazing rainbow jello which is probably my favorite dish. The stadium of fire was two days earlier which was also strange but it was kind of fun to have it all spread out.

Friday - ward block party

Saturday - hot air balloons & stadium of fire. We came home and napped as a family after the balloons...

Sunday - I guess we opted out of the options on Sunday but there were a few...

Monday - the parade, the pool party, & our own fireworks.

Playing with Determination

2011-08-03T23:18:00.001-07:00

We go to the park all the time. I like to read while the kids play or I like to get a little workout pushing them on the swings (seriously a pretty good workout). It seems like we are all a little happier and a little less restless when we spend some time out of the house.

Here's Whit with her super cute cousin, Jaxson. They are only two days apart and would probably be best buds if we lived closer.

Here's Jason accosting me. There was a more normal picture with us both facing the camera but this is so Us.

Whitney was chasing two older girls (one was her cousin Brittany, 9) and she never got frustrated that she wasn't catching them. She just kept on trying and with determination. What a cool personality trait! Dang cool little girl.

Maybe Haylee would sleep in a swing if she could. I'm always trying to persuade her to do something else.

The tires on my stroller went flat and I feel like I've lost a part of me. Jason is gone from 7 AM to 10 PM with the car and I either have to get the girls up early or keep them up late to get it for any portion of the day. The stroller was my sanity. We are just getting a little more creative with how we get around until Jason actually has part of the day off to fix it.

Pictures... Finally!

2011-08-03T13:25:00.001-07:00

I hooked my camera up and had over 300 hundred pictures on it. So I was taking pictures just not using them. So here you go! We got the PASS OF ALL PASSES (pretend that was on a grand announcer voice, I always do) and we spent some time at Trafalga on Jason's day off. Poor Whitney had been sick the night before but managed to pluck up to play. I don't know if you can tell, but there was a little girl in another boat that kept pounding Jason in the head with her squirt gun. It was pretty funny to watch. He finally figured out how to get her back and sprayed her down good before the end.

Go karts.

Haylee got more wet than either of them even though she wasn't in a boat.
Whitney started dance classes this week. As you can see, we missed the memo on the pink everything that ballerinas-to-be are supposed to wear. She loved it.

I always take pictures of them sleeping. I was just in the kitchen doing dishes or something when I came in and found them like this.

These are all the messy faces pictures. My girls have very healthy appetites.

These are the church dress pictures. I was proud of this hair do on Haylee. It was totally falling out before we got home but it was stinking cute about 3 hours before church when I did it.

It's Pretty Amazing They Are Still Alive!

2011-07-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know that I should even be writing about these experiences as it is broadcasting to the world my mistakes, but here we go. A few weeks ago, the kids and I were heading out to a play group. I got the stroller outside but forgot to grab water, vital in the summer as we all know, and instead of shewing them all back inside, I just ran in to fill them up. I came back out and got Maxwell (the little boy I babysit) in the stroller and asked Whitney where Haylee was. She told me she was down the road and I walked out to the sidewalk, looked down the road and to my horror, Haylee had made it across the street and was on her way back! I yelled at her to stop and sprinted, but luckily, another mom was at the corner with her kids and ran out and saved Miss Haylee as there was a car coming! AAAHHH! What was I thinking! Anyway, turns out this other mom had felt prompted especially strongly to go to play group that day! Thank you beautiful Jenna for listening to the spirit! We talked and cried about it when we got to the park and have become best friends. Haylee has not refrained from her adventures into the road but now I know that I have to keep an eagle eye on that girl or she will sprint to her doom!

Whitney, on the other hand, knows not to go out in the road but doesn't know yet that only people bigger than herself can help her swim in the pool. One of my cousin's sweet boys offered to help her and couldn't handle it. They both went under but the amazing little man pushed Whitney up out of the water thus forcing himself under until one of the adults near by grabbed them. I had gone inside with Whitney to use the restroom and didn't want to battle the bathing suit back on and unwisely sent Whitney out on her own while I changed! Granted, there were plenty of adults around to thwart tragedy but when I heard the tale, I had to have a little tear before I could recover... Initially it sounded like Whitney had gone in kamikaze and Cooper had saved her and that made me really question my judgement, but they are both safe thanks to the good people around us.

My good friend, Erynn, let me borrow her bike and bike trailer for the summer while they are gone on an internship and it got STOLEN yesterday! It was really a bummer to have to call and tell her. I felt horrible about it because I had a bike chain in the trailer and didn't lock it up because I thought it would be safe in the back yard. There are so many people around our neighborhood on the 4th that I should have thought of that. The strange thing is my bike was sitting right next to it without a trailer and they went to the trouble of removing the trailer from her bike and stealing it! Weird... I hear thieves like to make return visits so my bike is now locked up, the trailer is in the shed and Whitney's bike is in the hall. Who wants a garage? Me!

See future posts for pictures from the 4th and stuff... if I can remember to do it.

Happy Fathers' Day!

2011-06-19T17:15:00.001-07:00

I have these great men in my life. Dad, Jason, my brothers, Jason's brother and dad! Way to go men. I teased Jason that Father's Day means "the day you don't have to be a father." He just doing the fun dad things today not the unpleasant ones and it has been a good day! I'm lucky to have a husband that is willing to jump in when things aren't so pleasant and that manages to make things that are normally painful fun somehow.

We also celebrated our 6th anniversary yesterday. My sister watched our girls overnight and it was great to have a real date where we didn't have to rush home because of a babysitter. We still got home before midnight and were both wiped out. There was also something so nice about waking up in the morning and just doing whatever I wanted to do. It was a nice break and it was really fun to go and pick up the girls and get big hugs.

I'm devouring books since it is summer time. Thanks to goodreads, I have a "to read" list that will keep me busy at least for a couple months. I got a calling to teach the 4th Sunday every other month. What a cooshy calling! They are pretty desperate for enough callings for everyone in our ward but I think I lucked out.

Exercise, argh!

2011-06-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

We've had a fun summer with cousins already. I love living close!
We checked out the Paleontology Museum at BYU. It was fun. We took our bikes cause my awesome friend, Erynn is letting us borrow a bike and trailer for the summer. The girls loved it all and fell asleep before we got home.

I love these chubby cheeks!

This is up at Squaw Peak. We did a little hike that we really enjoyed.

This is Haylee's princess crown... It's mardi gras beads.

So, now that we are more or less moved in to our new apartment, I've been exercising more regularly and I've GAINED weight. Lame. I want to go back to the no exercise regiment which wasn't a regiment... I think it is just a delay in my body, now it is reflecting my neglect in May. I have a friend who was at aerobics today after having a baby a week ago! Insane. I like that very legitimate excuse not to exercise.

I am 30!

2011-06-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

So we spent my birthday weekend up in Deer Valley and IT SNOWED!!! It snowed all weekend and we felt like we should be singing Christmas Carols and snuggling up in blankets. I'm Ok with leaving my 20's behind and hope the next decade brings us great adventure and joy! I feel very blessed. All weekend, we ate great food. My brother, Zach, came up from Cali for my niece's graduation and for my birthday and I was so glad to be able to spend some time with him. He and I are kindred spirits as Anne Shirley would say. He helped up the ante with the food.

Whitney doesn't have any cousins on the Rollins side that are her age but this sweet nine year old plays with her and uses the age difference as more variety in their pretend games. Brittney rocks and Whitney absolutely adores her.

This may get me in trouble and really he had full approval, but while up at the cabin, Jason went shopping, alone and bought himself shoes, 2 shirts, and some swimming trunks. It was my birthday but I didn't feel well and didn't want anything that he could get me. You know how it is ladies. You have to try on things like jeans and skirts... And in his defense, he really did need all the things he bought for himself and he had a good time doing it.

Mom and dad take the cake for generosity. They spoil me silly. Not only did they come and help me arrange my living room, they bought me awesome birthday presents (a camera and roses) and they came again and helped me fix up my yard, hooking me up with yard tools and beautiful flowers to plant all around. They are the best and my girls absolutely adore them. In fact, today Haylee asked for them and I can't think of when she's asked for anyone...

Mom also made me two cakes! A skor bar cake and a strawberry cake. She knows my tastes and it was delicious.

Now it is back to reality. Our new apartment is close to being where it needs to be. We still have some unpacking and decorating to go but it is pretty comfortable. Whitney's joy school is officially over. I gave the kids a little ending party and let them watch a short movie with popcorn and cookies. It was such a great experience to teach those little ones and Whitney loved it the whole time. I want to convince the same ladies to do it again next year with me! I can't believe we only have one more year until kindergarten... Oh man! School is over and summer is on! Yeah!

Health Has Returned

2011-05-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

for the moment...

Calculus

2011-05-05T20:06:00.001-07:00

So my students took the AP exam yesterday. Scary! They were pretty freaked out by it and I hope they performed well enough to meet their goals. I feel like I can relax a little on that which is good because we are searching for a new place to live right now and it is consuming my days. Turns out it is hard to find a place in Provo that meets all our wants/needs. We found a great one but the people haven't gotten back to us so I guess we failed their tenant test when we went to look at their place. It didn't help that Haylee threw up all over herself and me in their front yard. Great first impression.

We continue in our sickness. Seems like every week brings some new ailment to one or all in our little family. We hope moving will help since we found black mold in our current apartment. Whitney is taking swim lessons and loving it. I think she really is getting more comfortable in the water. One of my favorite things is to listen to her pretend. Tangled is her favorite story line right now and she demands accuracy if you happen to be playing along... Haylee had an ear infection along with that stomach bug. Poor girl! That's us! Maybe I'll add some pictures too.

These were taken on Easter day! Haylee and I ended up coming home early from church because we were both feeling sick, but they looked cute to begin the day.

Again the struggle to get a cute one with them together...

Whitney rides her bike all she can. I love it because I can just sit out on the lawn and keep an eye on her as she rides the entire length of the block over and over again. Way better than trying to follow after her.

Haylee entertains herself great outside! They make a lot of dandelion bouquets for various pretend events.

Happy Birthday Hot Man!

2011-04-13T18:08:00.001-07:00

It was Jason's birthday and I tried to make it a fun day but it just didn't work out. I don't know what I could have done better but I felt bad about it. I guess birthdays kind of go down hill as you get older or something. 30 sure isn't looking pretty to me... Anyway, I was thinking of Jason's awesomeness and I thought I'd share a little with all you folk. First, Jason is an incredible dad. He always has time to play with the girls no matter how busy his day is and he is level with them. He seems to be able to keep a cool head in almost any situation. Amazing dad! When we go places like the zoo or a museum, he manages to keep everyone happy and having fun, including me. As I watch him with the girls, I feel very lucky to be part of his family. Almost every year, we have hiked some mountain. This one was Mt St. Helens in Washington. Jason carries everything for both of us and I try to keep up. It is usually what I want to do for my birthday and he makes it happen. I've gone pretty soon after child birth and he's practically had to push me up the mountain... A few years ago, Jason's whole family was doing a half marathon. Jason ran 3 times before the race a distance of 3 miles... that was his training and he beat everyone in his family. Out of his family, his sisters were the closest to him and his fiercest competition, so every time he heard female voices coming up from behind him, he would pick it up a little bit and hope it wasn't his sisters. When I was training for my own half marathon last summer, he busted out a 12 mile run with me without training. I just can't believe what he achieves just because he decides he is going to do it. It's a pattern for his life and I know that he will make our dreams happen. He is all about family, even beyond our two little sweeties and me. He loves his little bro especially and he makes it a priority to be with family. I decided that if I had married another man, I would be way worse off. He has his priorities straight and helps me to monitor mine and though sometimes the reproof is hard to take, it is always lovingly given and right on the mark. Jason is just fun. He loves to play games and be active and he always makes a party more entertaining. We don't go on dates often enough but when we do, I spend a lot of the time thinking about how lucky I am. It sounds cheesy but it's true. When we were dating, I kept telling him to be straight with me if he decided he didn't like me anymore or if I was bugging him. He just patiently reassured me that he was there because he wanted to be. He's always helped me be confident. I know that if I were insecure in our marriage, I would crack. It is so central to my life and he makes it a strength instead of a struggle. Did I mention that he is a great dad?!? I'm glad he is mine and I hope he had a good birthday week if not such a good birthday. I love him!

Bummer!

2011-03-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

I went into the BYU game expecting nothing but when we tied the game at half time AND at the end of regulation, I got my hopes up only to see them dashed. Jimmer did his best but it wasn't enough and no one else contributed significantly. Oh well.

I did a three day fruits & veggies cleanse. I'm not so hard core as to only do juice or only eat apples or actually take anything to cleanse my colon. I just ate raw produce and drank naked juice. When I did it before, I had a knowledgeable advisor about fasts & cleanses guiding me and I did some research so I used only organic produce and certain drinks, but this time I just grabbed what looked good. I lost more weight the first time but I don't mind since that wasn't particularly my goal, only a nice side effect and it comes back on so fast after such things that it's not worth holding my breath.

I think I did my body some good but there's a lot of debate about that. As far as life goes, I found I was more cranky and less clear headed. I think I'll probably try something different next time I'm in the mood for such an adventure. My girls and husband should not have to suffer with me. I already knew that sleep deprivation (I didn't sleep well during the cleanse) and hunger grump me right out so I should have seen it coming.

We had the missionaries for dinner tonight. Imagine serving in PROVO! Talk about a unique missionary experience. I don't think they really get a chance to connect with people since they are covering two stakes. There are more stake presidents than missionaries in the mission boundaries. It would take them 8 weeks going to 3 sacrament meetings every Sunday to attend all the wards they cover... No wonder I've never seen them before. We served them an interesting fare... artichokes with butter for an appetizer, curry with rice for the main dish, and peach cobbler (baked in the dutch oven) with ice cream for dessert. They probably walked away with big question marks blinking in their minds and being glad they'd never see us again. My family ate enough to be sick afterwards so we liked it!

That's all!

Go BYU! Boo Daylight Savings...

2011-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

So it wasn't their best game, but BYU is on to the 3rd round winning their first game by 8 points. The first half was pretty pitiful but they picked it up in the second half.

I may not have expressed to everyone who knows me but I absolutely detest "springing forward" as in Daylight Savings!!! Dumb dumb dumb. All evidence of it saving energy is inconclusive or contradictory. I like light in the morning. I HATE waking up when it is dark and every Spring, I get teased as the sun starts coming up earlier. With the time change I get plunged back into darkness!

I have general animosity towards anything that wakes me up before I want to be awake and when I actually have to use my alarm clock, I want to throw it against the wall.

Ahhh! Done with the rant. I think I must educate myself and do something about this.

On to another topic: my feet pronate when I run and it hurts my knees. I got new running shoes about a year ago and they were better but my knees have started to hurt again in the last month. Does the support decrease over time? Do I really have to get new running shoes?

That's all.

Really? Is she really asleep?

2011-03-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

So Whitney is practicing writing letters and is sounding out words. Smart girl. She loves anything that resembles school and I hope she maintains her enthusiasm. I was thinking of putting her in preschool next year and I decided that I am going to put her in dance classes and music stuff instead and hopefully do a mom preschool like I did this year with three sisters in my ward. Final decision. Let me know if anyone has suggestions for good activity classes in the Provo area!
And now the most precarious sleeping position I've ever witnessed...

What? I couldn't believe she was really asleep like that! Her bum is a good 10 inches off the ground! Are all her muscles flexed as she sleeps? Amazing.

View BYU Admission Decision/Enrollment

2011-03-07T11:53:00.001-08:00

Jason got into BYU!!!! The title of this post was the subject of the email they sent us and we had to link to the BYU website and click way too many times for my nerves. I screamed!! Jason already knew and was playing like he didn't but when he didn't react, I figured it out. He logged in earlier and saw the results before he called me. I almost can't believe it. Now I am searching for a pre-school for Whitney and housing for us. I'm so pumped to move on with things!

The Incredibles or the bad guy.

2011-03-05T08:34:00.001-08:00

Here she is looking like her normal happy sweet self. That's how she starts out every morning!
A little time unsupervised resulted in this...

For some reason it completely changed her demeanor. That is not a smile...

I left it on until Jason came home. It started to fade but her grumpiness did not! Go mascara for an entertaining afternoon. I'm sure she is so attracted to it because it is one of the only things in my make-up basket that is off limits.
Definitely a bad guy for the moment... but incredible still.

Feeling Better!

2011-03-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

We are all healthy! It's a miracle! I am relatively stress free though we always have something new coming along and we still haven't heard from BYU. Any news is better than no news... Since we are healthy, cousins get to come over and play! Here's Whitney with her cute cousin Mason. We all think he looks like Justin Bieber when he was a little boy.
Haylee is with her twin cousins who are just a week older than her. They will be fun to watch grow up together. She refused to smile. I think I took about 20 pictures before I got all three looking at the same time.

One of my best friends from high school came down to hang with us. She continues to be one of the coolest people I know. I think the brown hair brown eye similiarity was an instant bonding agent between these two.

We play hide and seek a lot and Whitney likes to hide under these pillows and chair but I laughed pretty hard when I found her asleep under them. Actually looks pretty cozy. Too bad adults are too big for a lot of the most comfortable places (a baby swing for example).

That's all! Another post coming soon!

Stress!

2011-02-19T14:46:00.001-08:00

I am stressed out! I don't know why. My body is manifesting extreme stress symptoms like cankers and psoriasis... Lame! My Calculus stresses me out but I've been doing it for a while and nothing has really changed and money is tight but that's nothing new. I think I need to meditate more or something. What's scary about stress and me is I never realize I'm stressed but I'm pretty sure everyone around me knows and my body totally wigs out. That's all.

Pictures!

2011-02-16T14:19:00.001-08:00

I actually took some! I didn't know it until I checked the memory card. Our camera is dead I think. We're looking for a new one if anyone has any advice... I have no idea what to look for. I'm sure Jason is a little more informed.

These are the typical photo shoots. If both girls are supposed to be in the same picture, it is almost impossible to get them to cooperate...

These ones are the girls eating apples. We like to split one almost every day. Delicious!

The little boy is Maxwell. I watch him for his mom on Mondays and Wednesdays. My big break is when they get to watch a show in the afternoon. I think it's funny when they all line up on the table like this. They are so engrossed. Today they all took a nap at the same time. I didn't know what to do with myself!

Whitney got this puzzle for Christmas and she loves to put it together. Good purchase Santa... Here's a funny story about her. We have guitar hero and on the front is a scantily clad woman with a large chest. Whitney grabbed the case one day and said, "She has a bigger bra than you mommy." I said something about how they are called breasts/boobs and hers are bigger than mine. Whitney asked, "When will your boobs grow bigger?" Hmmm... I said that when I have a baby, sometimes mine fill up with milk and get bigger, but other than that, they're done growing. Then she said, "It's kind of weird to talk about your boobs." I said, "Yeah cause they are private parts." Then we moved on to talk about how pretty her red dress was. Awesome mom/daughter talk. It is hard to talk about that stuff, but I want her to ask me questions if she has them so I tried to make sure she knew she could.

Funny Haylee in the drawer...

Jason had to take a Chinese oral proficiency test last week and we were so nervous about it cause he hasn't really used his Chinese much since his mission 7.5 years ago. He did great! He scored well above what he needed for admission into BYU and I felt hopeful. Turns out hope and patience are hard for me. I get frustrated by my circumstances so easily and my reservoir of hope (that I think I should have for bad circumstances) is not full... or maybe doesn't even exist. We've been waiting every spring since 2006 to hear back from different applications (school & job) and every year we've been disappointed. I hope BYU gives us a break and let's us know soon. Is there a lucky #6?

Go 2011!!

2011-01-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

So I keep having these days full of bad luck! Last week, I slipped on ice and fell all the way down with poor Haylee. Luckily she didn't get hurt. That same morning, I shut my lanyard that has my keys on it in our front door after it was locked and tried to unlock it but the key wouldn't reach. While I was pulling it out of the door, I broke a key ring!

Today I did the same thing except I broke the key when I was trying to unlock it. Finally, I had to man handle the lanyard to pull it out. I talked to Jason about it this afternoon and he said, "Maybe next time you can take the key off the ring and just unlock it." That had never occurred to me! Is he brilliant or am I not so... I checked the mail today and the calendar that I ordered for my parents and my family came yesterday. My parents left this morning before I found the calendars... Not only that but about 3 days after I ordered the them, I saw a coupon for a free calendar from the same company! Man, just a little slow on the uptake.

We can't park in front of our apartment because the snow has all turned to ice on the road and is way too high to even drive on... I called the city to see if they could help and they said they broke a plow trying to do that last week so we should just go get a pick ax and get to work if we want to park there. It is such a pile of snow/ice that it will be there until April unless we move it..

I'm reading a parenting book and a chapter was about anger management. It says not to vent because you get yourself worked back up and I think that's what I'm doing to my cyber world so I guess I can think of some positive things to say now.

Haylee can almost sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". I may be the only one who can understand her but it sounds so cute! Whitney is tracing letters and so stinking smart that I'm sure she'll be reading early whether or not I help her... Well, kind of a weak attempt at being positive but it's the best I can do!

Christmas Dresses

2010-12-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

We only used our camcorder on Christmas so no stills for that one but I got some good pictures the next day. The girls slept by each other the whole time we were in St. George. I thought this was precious. Grandma Fazzio got them these matching pajamas which I thought were so cute!

We got these dresses a few days before Christmas from my Grandma Cahoon (Rollins) and Whitney had to put it on right then. She begged every day to wear it but I told her she had to wait until we went to church. She also got that little necklace from her daddy for Christmas and was pumped to get to wear it as well.

Yes the dresses match also which I love but it turns out I shouldn't get everything matching because I think little Haylee will get bitter about wearing the same dress every two years... Her wardrobe will be on repeat... I don't care about that for these dresses though. I think they are fabulous!

I took two individual pictures and got a good one of each of them easily but put them together and it took about 10 pictures and this was the best I got! It was Haylee's first Sunday in nursery and Whitney's last. I'm kind of bummed that they won't be able to spend more time together but excited for Miss Whitney to be a sunbeam! And crazy excited about Haylee being in nursery! I'm guaranteed at least 10 months of peace for part of church. (That's the soonest we could have a baby if we decided to...) Amazing.

Well, just like every year, I can't believe the generosity of my family and friends. We are really blessed and ready for a new year! Goodbye 2010 and hello 2011!! The best is yet to come!

No Pictures!

2010-12-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

So, I'm super lame with pictures lately! None. Sorry.

I only worked for 3 weeks and then had Christmas break. I'm so glad. I can finally get to where I feel comfortable with my prep for the class. I've been doing calculus when I can and quite enjoying it.

Christmas is just two days away. It's kind of killing me. I don't remember having so much anticipation since I was a kid. Jason says that he isn't letting me do early Christmas shopping ever again because rather than getting it done and getting good deals, I just keep buying until Christmas. It might be partially true... Buying for the girls is just fun. What I really like is I know them so well that I can get them exactly what they want and make them sooo happy. There really aren't that many people I can say that about. I love all the people I am buying for but I just search and search for ideas and I have a hard time buying them something they will even tolerate much less love... Maybe we need to re-think this buying presents thing.

Guess what else? I have what I think are hives all over my body for some reason. Yeah, I itch all over and have no idea what it is from. My body is wigging out. Merry Christmas! Every break there is some illness that finds it's way to my door. My in-laws were here last weekend when I was sick and they made me promise not to be sick for Christmas... Yeah.

Today, my sweet little Whitney decided for some strange reason that she couldn't go to the bathroom on her own. I still help her when she is sick or has diarrhea or clothes that are difficult to manage but in general, I force her to do it on her own. It's one of those things that by the time I'm on my last kid, I'll probably help them whenever they want me until they're 15 or something, but I don't have that perspective yet and worry that if I don't make her do it now, she'll grow up to be a co-dependent, unproductive member of society. We first-time parents are so dramatic. Yet, knowingly, I stubbornly fight these battles of will with my darling daughter. It happens with more things than the bathroom... Anyway, the terrible thing was my poor sister-in-law was trying to sleep after a late night and Whitney was screaming and I was yelling (I have a very difficult time maintaining my composure) and neither of us would give in.

Finally, after probably 40 minutes of heated warfare, I won. There was no joy in victory. Just shame for mis-managing something that should have been no big deal. Yeah, major mom failure. Did she learn anything? I don't think so. Did I learn anything? Not really. Could these battles happen every day for another month? Perhaps. Will I ever get better at this parenting thing? I sure hope so. How? The question every parent would like answered.

Through it all, she still hugs me and loves me. Amazing. Go Whitney! Go children! Way to survive the things your parents put you through!

The End of the Year!

2010-12-01T11:50:00.001-08:00

When it hits December, it really feels like the year is winding up... Kind of sad for me. It flew by. I got a new job last week. It's kind of a crazy story. The principal and Calculus teacher at my niece's school got burnt out so he quit and took a job at another school! My niece called my sister right after she found out and my sister called me. They gave me an interview and hired me on Monday and I started on Tuesday. Yeah, crazy. I'm not the principal, but I got the job as the Calculus teacher and there are only three weeks in the term left! I teach on B days so only Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday and I'm only gone from the girls for 2 hours each time. It is so great... I'm still looking for solutions for daycare but I have a few options. AP Calculus! It is like my dream job. I really feel like it just fell into my lap and I know that Heavenly Father is making it happen for me. Yay! Now I will have taught AP Statistics and AP Calculus. It doesn't get much better than that for a high school math teacher.

Another dramatic story... On Thanksgiving Eve, we discovered that the sewage from our house was backing up into our tub. We called a plumber and he told us that the main line to the street was clogged. He was going to charge our landlord $400 to fix it that night, or $150 if we waited till Friday. BIG MISTAKE!! We didn't worry about it on our end because we were just getting up in the morning and going to Colby's (my brother) house for Thanksgiving. We even showered at my grandma's house. We told our neighbor's upstairs but they were having Thanksgiving at their house and invited 15 people! Anyway, when we got home that night, it had flooded into our kitchen. We cleaned it up and headed to St. George...Whoops. Before the plumber came the next day, it had flooded again, all the way into our living room! We didn't know how bad it was until our landlord sent us pictures that his cleaning crew took. So, we attempted to save him $250 but ended up costing him another $600 in cleaning fees. Double whoops! We learned a few lessons.
1. Sometimes it's better to pay a little more to get it done sooner...
2. When other people (that you can't control) are involved, it might be better to avoid any damaging circumstances.
3. Keep valuable things off the floor (and everything if possible) when living in a basement apartment.

Thanksgiving was great! It was fun to see both families. Yay for living close enough to do it.

Teeny Halloweeny

2010-11-11T07:09:00.000-08:00

We were lucky and got to do a ward trunk or treat and then go trick or treating around my brother's neighborhood. Here he is with his two little twins. They are Haylee's age and I marvel at their parenting...

Miss Haylee was a ladybug but she never got the hat part of the costume on. She protested the second I even tried to put it on her head...
This one is Whitney and her cousin, Mason. He is a fabulous friend for her and a really fun little boy. Whitney was a pirate princess again. She was fine being whatever kind of princess as long as she was a princess.
Jason got Haylee to smile a lot but I always managed to be late in capturing it. This is the closest I got...
Here's the whole fam-damily... Why would our kids ever cooperate when we're all in the picture? Whitney acts like we are torturing her. Jason and I were convicts escaped from jail. We had a ninja following us around all night, threatening to take us in.
I convinced Jason to go for a walk with us to the park last Saturday, and I think he finally got a glimpse of the glory of fresh air. I feel like my day is not complete unless we've gone on some kind of walk. It just feels so good to be outside! It's getting cold but we just put more clothes on and go!

Halloween was super fun. I think it is one of my favorite holidays. Sorry thanksgiving, I'm just looking forward to Christmas now. I can't wait for the season and I've already started shopping. We've got Jason's brother who is on a mission so if anyone has any ideas for what he would like, let us know. We are doing the 12 days of Christmas and trying to get him lots of little things.

Deep Thoughts

2010-11-04T00:32:00.000-07:00

Not really deep. Turns out I'm just not.. deep.. I really just want to write something on here and post because I'm up really late and the house is quiet and I'd like to talk to someone but it's a little "middle of the night-ish" for a phone call. Maybe I should just write in my journal. I have over 20 journals that I started writing in when I was eight. Turns out I'm the only journal writer in the family and when they talk about not being journal writers, they say things like, "I don't feel like I have anything worthwhile to write," or "who wants to read about my life" or "I wouldn't know which things to write about for my kids" etc. and I think, hmm.. I just do it for myself. In fact, I think I would be quite embarrassed if anyone ever read my journals and if they were ever to be turned into anything published for more than myself to see, I think I'd have to be the editor. All of junior high life would go and people would wonder why there was a mysterious 3 year gap... but then the journals would surface and they would see that all I did was talk about boys and what I wore and what time I got up... really deep.. you know, like me.

I made applesauce, baked bread, and made homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles within 24 hours. I don't know what's happening to me but I don't really mind doing things like that. Let me mention that I don't have a dish washer and having to clean so many extra things makes canned soup look like the perfect meal... I'm also babysitting a friend's little boy twice a week. Do you even know me? Has moving to Utah transformed Amanda Tippetts into someone else? Friends growing up always wanted to hold the babies and I never did until my little nieces and nephews came along and then of course my own fabulous girls. I even go through the ads and find the cheapest of everything and plan meals in advance and I exercise almost every day. Yet I missed feeding the ducks today and then I wonder what else I'm missing. Whoa, too deep.

That's enough. I can't think of anything else to say and I think my brain is turning off. Perhaps this will be deleted come morning time but I had a good time rambling tonight. Go Blogs! I will be heard!

Getting Ready for Halloween

2010-10-29T22:56:00.001-07:00

So my friend has this great website called ucreate with kids and she had these cute Halloween buckets on there that inspired me to make some for my girls. I didn't follow the tutorial at all and only used what I had at home... It took me all day long and I think they are so funny looking. Oh well, we all try but only some can actually do. Here they are for your enjoyment. I'm still debating whether or not I'll embarrass the girls by making them use them. The first is supposed to go with Whitney's Pirate Princess costume.

This one is supposed to match Haylee's Ladybug costume...
Anyway, I'm excited for tomorrow. I think Halloween is so fun!

Go Cougars!

2010-10-20T13:46:00.001-07:00

We just have some really cute girls who I always put in BYU gear on game day. Too bad the Cougars lost to TCU this day... They must not have seen how cute we looked. It would have inspired them... I can't help but add a couple extra pictures of Haylee. Everytime there is a camera near by she cheeses it up like crazy! So cute. My niece had her Senior Night last night. It was their last home volleyball game of the season and I had a little moment remembering when she was born. I can't believe how old we are! Crazy. What am I going to do when my girls are there? Who knows... I'm currently going through the process of getting a Utah State Teaching License. I can't believe how hard they make that kind of thing. It's like they really want to discourage people from teaching. Every application for a teaching license has been such a head ache. I'm not even sure if it is worth it. I'm not planning on teaching in the public schools again for a long time and hopefully never if I have my way. I can see myself getting back into it when my kids are all in school but even then... Blah blah blah. The end of my rambling.

Pictures and Joy School

2010-10-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

I got together with a few other moms and we are doing a little school for our 3 year olds. Each of us took a month and we are teaching them once a week for 45 minutes. I'm not doing it until December which is a relief and Whitney loves it which I knew she would. She is so ready. I also figured out that she likes to have her hair curled so I use this little curling iron and just curl the few hairs that are stubbornly straight and it looks adorable! The picture doesn't do it justice. She likes to have her hair straightened also. Funny girl.

She plays pretend so much. The coffee table is her house and she hangs out under there a lot.

Can you imagine being so exhausted that you are looking for anything to lay your head on? I laughed pretty hard when I saw this. The poor girl!
One morning, before I went running, both girls woke up and I put them with Jason. When I got home, I grabbed the camera but Haylee woke up right before I got a picture. It was precious with all of them asleep.
What a sweet girl! I love that she is such a cheese ball. She smiles very willingly. Please don't change that Haylee.
Jason was really awake but Whitney slept through all of us talking and giggling in there. By the way, those pajamas are the best. I think the girls wake up when they are cold but these keep them warm and they sleep great!
So I've put conference on my shuffle and I listen to it pretty often. I used to tease my dad about doing that (he listens to conference while he exercises and while he works in the yard) but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He and I work the same in a lot of ways. We both need to exercise every day to feel good. We both get grumpy when we get hungry or tired. We both need a lot of consistent study & prayer to feel like we are living a good life and we try to improve but are still kind of hard to live with (sorry mom & Jason). We both believe everything has a place and go crazy when people don't put things away. It's a good thing he is pretty great cause I feel like I want to grow up to be like him and I can look up to him and figure out myself. Anyway, small tribute to dad.

Haylee... One happy active kind of girl!

2010-10-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it is all unpacked and we are pretty much settled. I even have the Halloween decorations up. It was so expensive to move that Jason and I are doing a super frugal month to make up for filling our fridge with condiments and our cupboards with the baking essentials (not to mention the moving truck and the deposit on our apartment). It's amazing how it adds up. My girls seem to be having a good time. We know where all the close parks are and can walk to the store. I only have a car in the mornings and it is hard work getting three ladies out the door before about 10 o'clock so we spend a lot of time on foot.

I'm working on renewing my Utah State Teaching License. I hope to find something small I can do to give us a little extra money to save. We have so many big things coming up. We need to get out of debt and save up for grad school. Then there's the long-term goals of getting a car for me, saving a down payment on a home and having more kids (those expensive little things!).

I've been having all these conflicting thoughts about home schooling vs. public school. I get the benefits of both and hope that I can figure it out in the next couple of years. Whitney already wears a backpack around and talks about going to school when she turns 4... I don't remember telling her that she was going to preschool but she's ready! Luckily, during general conference, one speaker suggested we turn to the prophets for questions regarding education, so that's my next plan. I also got the impression that for now, I should just be mindful of ways to enrich my children's public education because I'm just not in a place where I could do school all day long with them. I think they'd hate my guts! I have that effect on people in general...

Miss Haylee is learning to mimic words. It's so fun to hear her versions of words like "bapa" (backpack) and she says some things so clearly! It's just fun. This one day, Haylee was particularly mischievous. She looks so cute doing it that I took a lot of pictures. Here's the money pix... classic Haylee. This first one, she is just chillin'. She turns it on when the camera turns on. Cheesy!

We have an impossible time keeping her from pushing and pulling on every part of our computers. She knows she isn't supposed to touch them, but she thinks it is so fun when she gets caught, that she always hurries back for more.
She walked around for about half an hour with this bucket on her head. That's just where buckets go apparently.
We did get a love seat from a tent sale outside I.M.Home. I was looking for a used love seat but it was so fun to get this one new and for a good price. Whitney decided she was going to sleep on it but it looks like she only made it half way.
My good friend, Christi, came to visit and next thing I knew, both of my girls' flocked to her.

Anyway, things are going well. Jason has a new job teaching English to Chinese people online, but is still on the hunt for jobs involving Chinese or teaching or both. He's getting a lot more hunter-ish (aggressive and determined) with the job searches and I know he'll find the right thing.

The Basement Apartment!

2010-09-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

We found an apartment right on Center St in Provo! We've been here for almost a week and there are still so many boxes to go. Today I'm hoping to break into the book boxes. We didn't know for sure where the bookshelves were going to go so all the books are just in a corner... It's been fun to get all my stuff back out. It was like Christmas. I didn't remember that I even had a lot of it. I have such a long list of things to get though. I think I'm going to have to space it out over a few months or we'll be out of money! It's fun to come up with creative solutions to some of the storage issues and I'm pretty much reveling in my own place-ness. One bummer thing is that our couch didn't fit through the doorway. It ended up going to Jason's grandma and I'm happy that she likes it, but we are couchless. So, if you hear of a sectional or love seat someone is trying to get rid of, think of me.

Utah...

2010-08-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

So, my first day in Utah I realized I don't have anything to do! I would like to help Jason job search but that's pretty hard to do with the girls running around in a house that is definitely not child proof. I went running for about 10 minutes this morning and thought that I better come up with a plan. I've been so busy at home packing every chance I get that it's kind of crazy to just sit around and plan to visit people! I want to search for apartments or something but things are so up in the air that I'm trying to chill on that one too. Limbo...

3-day Detox & Pictures of course!

2010-08-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

So, since my running partner, Tanis, talked about doing a detox, I've been waiting anxiously for no nursing to do it. Last weekend, I did it! For three days, all I ate were raw, organic fruits and vegetables in any form and as much as I wanted. It was hard! I thought it would be no big deal but those raw things did not replace bread and meat! It drove me crazy that I couldn't eat food that I know is good for me when it is just sitting right there in front of me. Unhealthy food was just torture. Though the weight loss was not the goal, it happened naturally. I started out 144 and ended up 138 and I could actually see a difference in my body. I'm back up but I do feel better. I think it is something I could do again but I don't think I'll need to for a while.

Psychologically it was good for me. It helped me think a lot more about what I put in my body. I felt clean and when I started eating regular food again, I really thought about what it was doing for me. I think that if I didn't have all the temptation of my parents house, I would probably have changed my eating habits. But mom cooks really tasty food and has lots of yummy treats around... Maybe next time.

Now I'm just packing away everything. Really missing Jason and putting all my efforts into being ready to move. I keep thinking I've got enough boxes and I'll be done soon but then I fill them all up and have to go diving into cardboard recycling bins again. Yeah, I do that. I really do think I'm close to being done now.

She's posing...Whitney was dancing around singing so Haylee decided to play some back-up sax.
She's doing a commercial or something... Kinds of bad that she's playing with that but it was supervised.
They love the deck. We are going to miss having a yard if we move back into an apartment complex. One perk that I know of when renting a house.

Whitney's Skills

2010-08-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Whitney took this picture and I think it's pretty good! She's really into taking pictures right now and it's good she can stay occupied cause I'm just packing and prepping lessons for church. I'm missing Jason like crazy and I hope we can move down to Utah soon. Still waiting on a good solid job but he's got schooling going and some experience teaching Chinese already under his belt. I think I'm packing more to stay busy than because I need to do it right now but I want to be ready! Haylee is now saying "ball", "up", and "more". So cute to hear her.

Jason is Gone!

2010-08-08T16:56:00.001-07:00

Jason left for Utah on Wednesday at about 1:20 AM and I don't think he actually arrived at his aunt and uncle's house until 8:00 AM Thursday morning. He ended up spending a lot of time napping and some time in air conditioned buildings since our car currently doesn't have that feature...

I miss him like crazy. Luckily, my brother and his wife came to visit the same day Jason left and have been pretty entertaining with their twin one year old babies. They are only 10 days older than this cute girls.

These cute girls are now my rock! We are just waiting to see how things go for Jason. The sooner he can get things set up for us the better. Life is just better when he is around me. The girls had a good time with this wig. I think a props/costume box would be fun.

Anyway, we are looking around for a good deal on a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment if anyone has the hook-up. Jason is looking for jobs involving Chinese but he might have to get a more lucrative job in something else to make it work. We'll just see what happens!

My Cute Girls!

2010-07-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

Turns out I have a lot of great photos of this past month.

This is Whitney with her cousins at the parade on the 5th of July in Provo. She had so much fun with these guys.
Jason and Whitney were buddies the whole time at the zoo for her birthday Jason made it really fun for her. He's such a great dad!
This is part of the unplanned birthday party we had for Whitney the day after her birthday. I ended up babysitting her good friends, Ben and Sarah and so we partied. Pool, cake, lunch, games and a lot of laughing. They are really cute kids.
These are my poor babies hands all wrapped up. We put socks over them to make it a little harder for Haylee to get the bandages off. They seem to be healing OK.

Lots of Changes

2010-07-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it's true... things are changing. My girls just turned 1 and 3. I'm running again despite the wussy ankle thanks to my faithful running partner, Tanis. Haylee burned her hands on the fireplace. It stalled the progress she was making learning to walk. I'll have to post a picture of her bandaged hands. Sad story. Jason is gone on the fifty miler with the Scouts until Saturday and then is heading to Utah on Tuesday to get things set up for us to move there. Monitronics won't allow him to be a dealer anymore with changes in their policies so it's time for change. I'm sure everyone agrees. I blonded my hair again despite the high maintenance-ness of it. I stopped nursing Haylee Bo Baylee and for the first time since getting pregnant-a with Whitney, I am my own woman.

Anyway, I just have not blogged and it needed to be done. Perhaps pictures with the next one.

bummer...

2010-06-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty fun moment I'm having. I'm letting Haylee eat all kinds of stuff with just a diaper on her body and she's getting it all over the place. Adorable. Whitney is sitting next to her enjoying her own food. They are the best!

Three weeks ago today, I landed on another girl's foot while we were playing volleyball and sprained my ankle pretty stinkin' bad... That following weekend was the half marathon I've been training for so I sent my friend to run it for me so my fee wouldn't go to waste. I haven't run since then. People keep saying that I can just run another half marathon later, but it was a big deal for me to get ready for this one. Now the thought of training all over again is the opposite of appealing and I can't even get myself up in the morning to ride my bike much less test my ankle doing a run. Wa wa wa! That's me crying.

Jason and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Yay! We went to the temple and out to eat at Olive Garden which is a tradition for us. Then we went shopping at the mall (which means we went to JC Penney where we had a $10 coupon). I love that guy! My mom was fabulous and babysat for our marathon date. Haylee turns one this Saturday. Life is moving so fast.

We're gonna party like it's your birthday!

2010-05-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

These are just pictures of every day stuff. I like 'em...
This is typical. Jason sleeping with Whitney still going strong. Jason used to take Whitney upstairs to take a nap and about 15 minutes after they went up, Whitney would come back down because Jason was asleep. Poor sleepy guy. In fact, if he goes upstairs for anything and I don't hear from him for a while, it usually means he's asleep.
We all participated in The Stride 5k at WHS this year and at the end, Whitney did "The Dash" which is a lap around the track. Poor Whitney only made it about 50 meters before she realized she didn't know what was going on and I didn't run with her (bad mom) so another mom helped her along while I ran across the football field carrying Haylee... and helped her another 200 meters. Jason came out for the last 100 (he'd gone up in the stands to video her) and they finished strong. Whoops!
Love this! I hope they like playing the piano as much when they are older.
Haylee had a great time with this mirror. I think I took about 100 pictures. It was hard to choose only 2...

These were the girls Easter dresses from my grandma Rollins. They are fabulous! I just turned 29 and went shopping to celebrate and I couldn't help but buy the girls some clothes and toys. I want to get them stuff all the time and I talk myself out of it but it was my birthday! Really fun! I might just make that a tradition. (My mom hooked me up with some slacks so I didn't walk out empty handed.)

Sleeping Girls

2010-05-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

These fabulous girls fall asleep and I always think they look so cute that I grab the camera. Besides they actually stay still long enough that I can take a picture when they sleep.

This first one was just classic Whitney. She was wide awake coloring 2 minutes before this and I went outside to ask my mom a question and she was out on the swing when I came back.
Doesn't she look so comfortable and carefree!
This was another time when Whit fell asleep all of the sudden...
I love how she's holding her hands.
Kind of eerie this one.

Hair... the bain of my existence...

2010-05-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

So I love having my hair blond, but it is so expensive! Not only do I pay for it when I get it done but I pay again about six weeks later when I have terrible roots (mourn every morning as I try not to see that dark hair creeping back in until I finally break and get it done again). I can't justify the cash it takes but I really don't like my hair brown and all one color. It's all flat and limp and uncooperative with no texture or depth. Now it is summer time and I'm again faced with the temptation to blond up my hair. Should I do it and suffer the consequences? Should I just embrace the boringness of my regular hair color until the magical day when I have enough rolling in that we can still eat even though I get my hair done on a regular basis? I think every year since I was 13, I've given in to the blond in me. Does anyone have a solution?

Addicted to... ?

2010-04-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

I think that I am addicted to running. I didn't believe it was possible when I began. Everyone said that after a while, I'd actually start to like it but I think that my body now requires it. I missed the last two days and they were terrible. I was tired and lazy and unmotivated. I ran this morning and I'm back on track. I've been working all day and I've been in a good mood. On top of having better days, I feel such a strong sense of accomplishment when I've finished a good run and it takes the least amount of time to get the best workout. I'm officially addicted. That being said, I'm glad that I have a running partner because there's no way that I could get up every morning and go by myself.

Haylee has finally gotten some teeth, 3 at once and 4 more on the way. Whitney had an ear infection. It was so hard to see her so lethargic and out of it. I'm glad she's better!

2010-03-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I had any good pictures to share but when I got my camera hooked up to the computer, surprise!

Whitney walked to the park which is a mile and a half away from our house and then played for an hour! Needless to say, she had to be in the stroller on the way home cause she was out. Haylee, who is way too big for the Baby Bjorn, had to endure it for most of the return walk. I needed a nap after all that but getting out of the house made 'no sugar' easier that day.
Love babies in sunglasses. That's always picture worthy.
I love this picture. I got it on St. Patrick's Day cause I have a page in her scrapbook with lots of shamrocks.
I don't know if everyone's kids do this, but my kids eat until they are exhausted. Here's Haylee after lunch on Sunday. She just crashed. Once when Whitney was a baby, she was eating peas (I kind of get how that can be exhausting for a little baby) and she fell asleep with one pea left on her tray. Adorable!
Jason picked up a cupboard at a garage sale while we lived in Las Vegas. It's one of those made of plywood with that plastic stuff on it that looks like wood... Anyway, mom and I painted it. I would never take on a project like this without mom. I just have no idea how to do it and that kind of thing freaks me out. This shelf was a Whitney and mommy special! She chose which stencils and where to put them. She chose what color and even put a hand print on there and I just coached. It was fun.
We did one crazy layer under the top white layer (which was crackle paint). we covered the whole thing with brown and I put broad brush strokes of pink, blue and green all over. Mom did some stencils and darked the details on the door. I should have taken a picture then. We also put a new knob on the door and I put feet in the front so it won't lean forward. I was really proud of myself for going to the hardware store and finding them myself and then going home and putting them on myself. I feel all empowered and maybe I can do these kind of things on my own.

Boo to sugar...

2010-03-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

I fell off the wagon today... one day short of my goal. I ate cinnamon rolls at breakfast and had two Reese's peanut butter eggs, you know the extra big ones. Yeah... I guess I wish I had waited until Monday so I could say that I finished my second week. The guilt associated with not completing a goal like this is the reason I don't like diets and why I try to set small attainable goals. I have all of these negative feelings like I want to blame my mom in part because she kept offering me sugar in many forms and buying sugary stuff. Jason didn't offer stuff to me but he would make pudding and eat it when I was around. I was proud of myself every time I said "no" to them but I guess maybe when I decide to have these little dieting adventures, I need to get everyone on board because my will power is not strong enough to withstand those temptations. At the same time, I feel like I'll always have to make those choices to be more healthy. I've got a husband with a ridiculous metabolism which means unless some external influence (besides me) forces him not to, he will always eat junk.

Anyway, I'm kind of ranting at this point. It's amazing the level of emotion that is associated with weight loss and eating habits. It's no surprise to me that people can let it get out of control cause it wouldn't take much for me! Another thing that bugged me was this second week, none of my effort showed on the scale. I feel like nursing a baby, exercising rigorously 5-6 days a week (I'm training for a half marathon) and trying to eat better should be enough to make a difference. I try not to be disappointed in the scale and to be happy with my body. I am back to pre-being-a-mother weight (150-155) but I got down to 140 after I had Whitney. I've always kind of wanted to weigh that much but I never really stressed it cause I didn't think I could do it. I tried to tell myself that I felt pretty healthy and that I should be happy with my weight but it never really worked. Then, just magically, after having a baby and nursing her for a year, I did it. Here I'm having a little moment of realization. I thought I was better at convincing myself that I'm fine but I always feel like I'm "a little big"... Oh man, do I have some insecurities or what?

Well, I am going to try every day to eat better because I know it is a good thing. I was just thinking how I can make Easter a little less about the candy and I think there are definitely some good changes to be made. My family usually fills a bunch of plastic eggs to the brim with candy and then anything else that will hold it too. I guess for that one, I really will have to have a conversation with my family about it.

Sorry this post is all sad and frustrated but that's how I'm feeling!

I know some people were wondering if I can feel anything when I do eat sugar after not having it. I didn't feel any different than I could tell yesterday after partaking. I'm not as in tune with my body as some people are though. Maybe you guys would be able to tell the difference given the same circumstances. I didn't totally cut sugar out either. I think it would be more dramatic if I didn't let anything pass my lips that contained sugar but I think for me that is going too far and I would just be setting myself up for failure (even more that I already have).

Yay!! Sugar Free

2010-03-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

At least mostly sugar free... I made it a week. I wasn't super strict, but I didn't have any straight up desserts. I still ate yogurt and syrup and condiments with sugar in them, I just avoided the bag of cookies in the corner, the fruit snacks, the ice cream... I'm happy that I made it and as a reward, I dropped a few pounds! I feel good, but what I've heard is after cutting back like I have, I'll feel it when I do eat a dessert and maybe it will help me realize how much sugar affects me. Anyway, I'm going to go for another week and we'll see how I'm feeling after that.

No More Sugar!

2010-03-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

So, my husband commented that the title of my last post had nothing to do with it. I made cupcakes with Whitney earlier in the day and we spent a looooong time icing them. I ate so much frosting that I didn't even have a cupcake when we were done.
Now I have decided that I am going to live a week of my life without sugar! Yeah... I eat really healthy meals and then gorge in between on anything sweet. We made two batches of cookies this week because I devoured the first one and felt guilty. Luckily, I made my resolve with a few cookies left from the second batch so someone else gets to eat them. Jason bought me a bag of Mini Eggs, my all time favorite, and I ate them too. And it was a big bag. Whoops.
I've been craving sugar all day. It calls to me but it is only the first day and I have survived a full 24 hours. I hope the temptation eases and perhaps I will extend my goal. Any words of encouragement?

Frosting on a spoon beats a cupcake...

2010-03-07T21:24:00.000-08:00

The week has been lacking in sleep for me culminating in a torturous night of wakefulness with Haylee making hourly demands until this morning. Maybe some teeth are finally making a debut (I've blamed everything for the last 3 months on teething...) We still managed a few trips to the library, some shopping and some play time with friends for Whitney.
These two kids belong to Melissa and John Houston. They sandwich Whitney in age and she has a blast whenever they are around. I've been having them over to help Melissa get a moment of rest but it has been so fun that I've been lucky to have an excuse to steal them away from her. You'll see us for sure this week, Melissa!
Whitney says stuff all the time that I should write down and tonight I actually did it! She was talking about Jason being her daddy and she said to me, "He's not your daddy, he's your babe." I loved it. At this point, I will take a moment to say that Jason is my sweet baby cakes and I love him. For a while, we were getting up to bed a little earlier with the kids and we ended up talking almost every night for a few hours and it was so enriching... then the Olympics started and were on until midnight. I loved watching them (obsessively) but I'm glad to be able to focus on our little family again and specifically having a few quiet moments with my hot man.

Mom and I cut Whitney's bangs and I'll just apologize now to her. Whitney, I'm sorry that you will spend half of your childhood with crooked bangs. It's a good thing you have such a sparkling personality.

Raising these guys together is interesting. Tonight, Whitney pushed Haylee so she whacked her head against the wall, shoved Haylee's head between her legs, pulled Haylee off my lap (luckily I had a good grip on her), and of course, took toys away from her.
But in between all the violence she gives Haylee hugs and kisses, picks up toys Haylee drops, jumps up and down to make Haylee laugh, and just loves her! I guess that's what it means to be a sister...

The other night, I wanted to sit down and write a post and I sat down but couldn't think of anything to say. It made me feel bad for some reason, like I didn't have thoughts good enough to share or a life exciting enough to describe. I finally gave up. I think I was extra frustrated because usually when I do have something to write, I have a thousand interruptions or I stay up and lose valuable sleep time to finish a post and here I was with time and nothing to say. I guess it is therapeutic and rewarding to be able to share a little bit of myself. It sounds funny but I'm glad I had something to say tonight. The end!

To the Park

2010-03-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

We all went to the park together and the girls had a lot of fun! Well, Haylee mostly just hung around on me but Whitney was all over the place. Jason was able to go with us which made it even better. I love the days without rain!

Olympics!!!

2010-02-16T23:31:00.001-08:00

So I super love the Olympics. I'm not much use for anything else when I can be watching them. I keep remembering attending events when the Olympics were in Salt Lake City and thinking how lucky I was to be there. I think the Olympics, along with all the action, include some of the most inspiring and uplifting stories and even though I only experience them through the tv, I feel like I'm a part of it all. My only wish is to be able to enjoy them freely without guilt but things around here get neglected. If there was some way to spend 8-12 hours a day glued to the tv and still live a normal life, I would like to know about it. For now, I will fast forward through the commercials and try to make up the lost time when there's a break... After all, the Olympics are only every two years. Hmm, still feeling guilty...

Go team USA!!! (I cheer for Canada next and then who ever has the best story... )

Just Because I Love You Day!

2010-02-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

Whitney has learned to negotiate now that she understands numbers a little better. She says things like, "just stay with me two nis minutes (two more minutes)" and when she's only getting one cookie she says, "how about two tookies (cookies)."

Here she is in the tub... She likes to swish her hair around. I can't believe how big she is getting, she's almost the length of our tub now. It's killing me.
Haylee loves to take bathes also. She kicks and splashes. Yesterday she started clicking her tongue and it's her new favorite sound.
I actually took pictures the day before and the day after Valentine's Day but not on the actual day! Lame-o. My bad.
I love these girls. We spend a lot of our time on this rug in the family room playing together. I've been exercising in the morning thanks to my friend Tanis and it makes my days so much better. I have more energy to play through out the day.

December Flies By!

2010-01-08T17:46:00.001-08:00

Apparently November was not a good month for pictures. I'm lucky to have any from before our trip. We decorated the house and the girls for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.

I was struggling to decide if we should travel for these holidays or stay home and try to save as much money as possible. Jason had to endure extreme changes of mind and disposition as I passionately debated with myself which decision was best. Finally I decided that despite my misgivings, we should go and be with family when we can travel pretty easily. It'll be harder when our kids are older for sure. At the same time, Jason decided that he really wanted to stay home. Boo! With my mind made up I turned my efforts to convincing him and we left. The girls slept to begin with and right when they were beginning to get a more demanding, I hit a solid patch of ice on the road.

It freaked me out so bad, I could barely get the car to the side of the road for Jason to take over. I told him that if he hadn't been there, I would have just parked and made someone come get me... We ended up stopping in the next city and staying the night. Jason agreed that with two little ones, driving 5 mph the rest of the way would have been ridiculous. Whitney loved getting into her bathing suit and liked swimming.

We also watched BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl! Go Cougs! The next day, we drove the rest of the way easily. My family all dressed up in our Christmas pajamas to pick Zach (the brother just older than me) from the airport on Christmas Eve.

We spent the night at my sister's house and had so much fun watching all the kids get their presents from Santa. Whitney got a doll house. I think I was more excited than her. I extra enjoy listening to her play pretend with it. Jason went home the day after Christmas because he was asked to speak in church and the girls and I stayed another week up in Deer Valley. The snow was beautiful and Whitney had a blast with her cousins. She's the youngest apart from the babies by at least a year and a half, but her cousins make a special effort to entertain her and play games she can play. I love those kids... it kills me how much I'm missing because we live a few states away.I posted a picture on the blog before of my sister, Lisa. Here she is in all her gorgeousness with her daughter, Courtney, and my mom. This is where Haylee gets her beautiful brown eyes and hair. I feel like she's pretty safe looking like these women. Mom and I joke that Haylee proves that I am in fact her daughter. My brothers used to tease me that I was adopted because of my looks.

And finally a picture of my good friend, Christi Suggs, who came up to visit me while I was in Utah. She and I went to high school together and she is one of the best friends I've ever had. I was pumped that we got to visit and go shopping together because we rarely get to spend more than a couple hours together when she's visiting Washington. She's fabulous!

I missed Jason so much while we were gone but it was great to see my family and when the next visit might not be till next Christmas, it was worth it. And that's the end for one of the longest posts I've done. Happy New Year!!!

Radio...

2009-12-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

Jason was on a radio show last Saturday. The host, Handyman Bob, asked Jason to come on the show to discuss home security. We didn't really tell anyone about it... so here is a link to listen to the show. Jason did a great job. He's even gotten some business from the show.

Back in the Saddle Again!

2009-11-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

So I decided a few weeks ago that I could handle substitute teaching. So I called the district office and worked it out and now I've done it a few times. Each time it is hard to leave my girls but where we are trying to earn some extra cash before Christmas, I force myself to go. Hathaway Elementary needed a sub the other day... so they got me. I had no idea what to do when the kids started crawling under their desks and saying they didn't want to be friends with each other. There were a few tears shed but no "accidents" (Yay! It was 1st grade...) and a lot of volunteers for everything! Completely opposite of high school.

I've also been tutoring. Work is draining and I feel like I don't have quite as much to give to the girls or Jason. I think I'll continue to sub occasionally after the holidays but maybe not such a regular thing.

Jason's parents came to visit over the weekend. It was way too short and reminded me how much I'm going to miss seeing everyone over Christmas break. We'll miss you guys but it will be worth it if the sacrifice means that we can be financially stable. I've got to say that I have the best in-laws in the world. Most people complain about their spouse's family, but I have no reason to say a word! Not only are Jason's parents fabulous, but I really feel like a big sister too, something I've always wanted. I love those Tippetts people. They did a pretty good job with Jason too.

I've totally fallen off the wagon with exercise. Anyone have any encouraging words for the winter or should I just hibernate?

Halloween Week!

2009-11-01T20:09:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun this week of Halloween-ness. I had the girls in Halloween clothes all week. I had a few costumes for Haylee so I dressed her as a bear, a pig, and a pirate. Whitney was a pirate with us for the ward trunk or treat and a Chinese girl on Halloween. She had a great time trick or treating. She'd walk up to a door, knock and yell "knock, knock" and then say "trick or treat" and "thank you" to everyone! She did a great job.

Jason was our ship at the trunk or treat but we forgot our camera so hopefully we can get a copy of a picture of us from someone in the ward. I've been eating candy like nobody's business and I'm wondering when I have to be responsible again... Mom and dad were ketchup and mustard but dad wouldn't keep his hat on... and took off his costume as soon as we got home. Party pooper. I love Halloween. I think life is just a constant party from now until January! So fun!

Aunt Lisa!

2009-10-28T18:01:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of my sister when she was Haylee's age. I think they look a lot alike.

Photos

2009-10-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

We had a hard time getting both girls to smile at the same time but we got stinking cute individuals. We've got these framed but I scanned them in... I especially love the top picture of Haylee and the bottom picture of Whitney. They are my gorgeous girls!

Does anyone have cute ideas for turning these pictures into presents for my grandma's that aren't just framed? Something with wood maybe? Keep in mind that Jason's grandparents have like 50-60 grandchildren and lots and lots of great grandchildren too.

My First Collage

2009-10-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

I got the girls all ready to go to a baptism yesterday and when we got to the stake center, no one else was there. I figured I couldn't let all that work go to waste. My girls are pretty good about pictures. I wish I was better at taking them. By the way, I got an email letting me know the baptism was postponed, I just didn't read it until afterwards. Shucks.

Jason went on an overnighter with the young men on Friday and while he was gone, I thought about how much he would have had to leave us if he had been selected as an officer in the Air Force. I am really grateful that he is around! He is a great daddy and a very thoughtful and considerate husband.

He is still selling home security up here but he actually spends the majority of his time doing services for Monitronics. We are getting by but Jason wants to find something else. I would love to move closer to the rest of our family, but who knows where his work will take us.

Boo!

2009-10-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling oober unmotivated. We just found out today that Jason didn't get chosen as an officer in the Air Force and we really didn't have a plan B. I'm sure he feels worse than I do. I'm taking him to a movie and perhaps we can forget for a few hours. He loves going to the theater and I don't like to when I'm pregnant, a new mom, or when we're poor, so he's been out of luck for a few years.

I need structure to my days I think. With no defined schedule, my time wastes away.

Crafts for a week

2009-10-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

I was admiring these great big letters they were making for a super Saturday in another ward and my mom, being the renaissance woman that she is, told me we could make them ourselves. Before I knew it, we were at the lumber yard getting plywood. First we cut out the big letters and painted them white. I think we meant for it to end there... Then we cut out the blocks for the smaller letters and painted them white. About 20 layers of paint and modge podge and 5 trips to the craft store later, these were born. I told mom that if she had told me when we started that it would take as long as it did, I would have ran for the door, but projects like these just evolve I guess. Each new idea was too good to resist. The little girls hanging by the letters were a garage sell purchase from months ago and everyone hated them but me. We had to take them down to put up the names and I thought we'd be able to decorate them with left-overs but they warranted their own trip to the craft store... Mom had to put her skills to use to make them up to her standards.

I don't think anyone else will appreciate these as much as I do. We had a good time making them and they cover so much of the walls that I won't have to worry about any other decorations. You guys all need to come to our house and visit just to see them in person cause the pictures just don't do them justice. I couldn't have done it without my mom. I wouldn't have even thought it was possible. She's one amazing lady!
We are getting Haylee ready for Halloween. I've got a couple of Halloween shirts for Whitney too. I think this time of year is so fun. It's non-stop holidays until 2010!! I was debating getting their pictures taken this week in Halloween costumes but I want to be able to give them out for Christmas and that might be a little weird.

Girls... all I really want is girls!

2009-10-04T20:36:00.001-07:00

Does anyone know how you can put pictures together in a layout and upload it? I've seen some girls put like 6 pictures together and it's way cute. I like all of these. Whitney is non-stop motion.

I took about 50 pictures with the three of us and no luck. Haylee got sick of it...

I was asleep with the girls but I heard Jason ask for the camera. He wanted me to act like I was asleep but I couldn't stop smiling...

Sore Legs

2009-09-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

We hiked Mt. St. Helens on Friday and I'm so sore. It was 5 miles straight up the mountain and probably one of the hardest hikes I've done. The view was worth it though.
Jason's good friend from high school, Rusty, came up to do the hike with us.

And just because she is cute, a picture of Whitney with her shirt stuck on her head.

Expressions

2009-09-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

Grumpy Face! She says, "I'm not very happy mommy" and goes in the other room by herself until we come to get it. I'm sure it's just a phase but it is pretty cute.

Disgruntled Girl. Very common expression for Haylee. She smiles a lot, just not for the camera. We've almost gotten her to laugh too.

Too Small for School. Yay!

2009-09-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

So many girls are sending their kids to school this fall. I can't believe it. I'm glad I've got a few years before that happens. Look how little they still are and yet they are growing so fast. I'm glad that I'll be able to stay home with them and continue to watch them grow.

I also got some shoes!!! Out of the blue, Jason called me and told me to get myself something new. What a great guy! DSW is so fun... I couldn't get pictures of my shoes but I got the same style as these below. I got the first pair in a zebra print. I wore them to church today.

I got these high heel sandals in purple.

And these flats in blue. So fun...

I want to jump on table tops every time I wear a pair of these new shoes so everyone can see them! It's about the most fun I've had in a while.

Potty Training!

2009-08-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

I'm in the midst of potty training Whitney. Today, she's just wearing a t shirt and her new panties! We have the potty in the living room and I've got food and drink for her to eat all day. She's been doing great so far. I hope it works! I'm taking Haylee to the doctor today... She's been acting a little crazy so I'm hoping for this 2 month appointment that the doctor can help! I took her in last week and the doctor blamed her behavior on a cold... I wasn't convinced. Perhaps since it has continued while her cold has gone away, the doctor can figure out what's wrong.

I've been walking and trying to exercise every day. Turns out that the weight isn't going anywhere. I lost 20 pounds in the first 6 weeks but I have 20 more to lose and it's not happening. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that I need to actually run. Everyone who is skinny runs... I'm sure that I'll start to enjoy it. Everyone tells me it is true. I'm still very skeptical.

Trip to Utah

2009-08-16T21:37:00.001-07:00

Haylee's Blessing

2009-08-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

The Story!

2009-07-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

I guess I can take a minute now and tell the story of Haylee's arrival...

I was induced with Whitney, so lucky for me, I never felt a real contraction. So, the last couple of nights before I had Haylee, I thought the contractions I was feeling were gas pains or something. Yeah.

I went to the doctor the day before and had progressed some more. We talked about induction, but she didn't think I'd need it. I was more doubtful. My sister had to be induced with all of her kids, even when she waited 2 weeks past her due date. I figured I was the same. That night I went to Transformers 2 with Jason. Now I know that I was having contractions through the movie but they were irregular and I didn't worry.

The next morning at 4:30, I woke up with a horrible contraction. I got up and tried to distract myself while I dealt with the pain every couple of minutes. After half an hour, I told Jason I was showering and he needed to get ready to take me to the hospital. He thought I was overreacting and even told my mom to wait at home until we called because he thought they would send me away. She didn't make it in time... I held out for an hour because my doctor said when I've had 10 contractions in an hour, I should head to the hospital. In the meantime, I did my hair and make-up, got all the hospital stuff together and made the bed.

We left home at 5:30 and in the 20 minute drive, I managed to tell Jason off for not driving fast enough but withheld all of the "you did this to me" thoughts I was having. They checked to see if I was really in labor (apparently I was not convincing enough) and wheeled me straight to my room and started readying everything for delivery. I had her at 6:15 without an epidural because there obviously wasn't enough time for that. I guess if you are going to be forced to have your baby naturally, completely against your will, that is the way to do it but my behavior was nothing to be proud of. I was not happy that I was feeling everything and totally unprepared.

One memorable moment was when I shouted that I didn't think I could do it and the doctor (just one at the hospital because the on-call doctor was still on her way) said, "Well, you've already done most of it. Your baby is about an inch from the world." With those inspiring words, she was born within minutes.

Anyway, I think anyone who elects to have their baby naturally is crazy and if there is anyway I can get an epidural in me before I have my next baby, I will do it! I hear every baby comes faster, but Haylee set a record and I would rather not have a baby at home! Can't my preferences be respected? Can't a girl have a pain-free, safe in the hospital, mom and husband at her side, with her doctor delivery? Is that too much to ask in this upside down world where people would choose to feel that pain when they don't have to? If you can do it and feel good about it and not act ridiculously like I did, then I'll give you some props.

Haylee Mei Tippetts

2009-07-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

She's finally here! Yay!!!!

She weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. I'll tell you the whole story later when I have a minute. She's beautiful, we love her and Whitney is doing great with her.

No news yet... and a tribute to my hubby.

2009-06-21T13:23:00.001-07:00

We went to the doctor on Wednesday and she checked to see if I have "progressed"... Turns out that I'm dilated to a 3.5 and 90% effaced and she was saying things like, "I'm on call on Saturday so that would be a good day to go to the hospital." Yeah, it's Sunday afternoon and nothin'! But I did finish teaching and my mom comes home tomorrow and I'd really like to have her here. I don't feel terrible, I'm just sick of waiting and re-cleaning the house. Here's my current look... I needed at least one picture of me prego for the scrapbook.

My incredible husband has put Whitney down for a nap, on Father's Day so I have a minute to myself. I really am so lucky that he is such a great dad. I think the best part of it is that he really enjoys Whitney. He doesn't do things grudgingly just because I ask him to. He genuinely enjoys playing with her and taking care of her. I love watching them together and know that he will always put our kids high on his priority list.

Not only is he a fabulous dadd-ya (as Whitney calls him) but he is a great husband. These last few weeks, he has been rubbing my feet and helping me without prompt or complaint. He has been working hard both at home and on the road and he has an amazing ability to level my mood swings cause they are in full motion right now. He listens and tries to understand as best he can and he just loves me! Happy Fathers' Day, Jason!
Here's a wee picture of Whitney sleeping cause she's the real star here.

No more music

2009-06-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

So I realized today that everytime I looked at my own blog, I was muting the computer... yeah, so no more music! I think I will enjoy viewing in silence from now on. Sorry to anyone who actually enjoyed it.

Still pregnant... still teaching...

First Head Wound!

2009-06-10T20:15:00.001-07:00

So Whitney went with my parents to the store and in her hurry to catch grandpa she tripped and fell. She hit her glasses so hard that they pushed up her forehead and gave her a big scratch that bled like crazy. We hope it doesn't scar.

Whitney couldn't wear her glasses for a few days while the scratch healed. Here she is in a little chinese inspired dress. I thought she looked adorable!

Here's a lovely view of the cross-eyed girl. That's what happens when she doesn't wear her glasses...

Girl with Glasses

2009-06-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

Since I had to work on my birthday, we celebrated the day before by going to the park and having a picnic. It was fun! Whitney is pretty used to her glasses now. I think she appreciates that they help her see!

Twilight Tour

2009-05-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

We are still waiting for Whitney's glasses to come. Hopefully we will get them in the next few days! I'm excited for Whitney to be able to see. Since I have a minute this Mother's Day I'm going to post these pictures. Jason has been great today about letting me do whatever I want to do! We spent two days touring Twilight movie spots while my sister's family was here. It was so much fun!
We started out driving up to St. Helens. It's only about an hour away from Washougal and quite a few things were filmed there.

Our first stop was at this dress shop. They bought a bunch of dresses for the movie here but it wasn't actually in the movie. It was a great shop with such cute stuff. My sister bought a purse made of pink seat belts! I saw it first but my funding is a little low for such purchases.

We were just walking by when my hephew spotted the alley way! We were so excited we ran right up it. Luckily the sun was shining so it wasn't scary.

The book shop was just up from the alley. I think it is actually someone's house. I can't remember now.

The parking lot where Edward drives up to save Bella from the bad guys was right by the alley too... I think my family is so cute in all these pictures!

This is where they filmed the girls shopping for dresses in the movie. It's actually a beauty shop...

We didn't have the address for Bella's house so it took us forever to find it. When we did, we felt we could leave St. Helens fulfilled.

Here's the high school parking lot. It is actually at Kalama High school which is pretty close to my home town too.

Here's a great replay of Edward saving Bella from the van. We headed home and watched the film to wrap up the first day.

We found this field where they filmed the baseball scenes online and had to drive out to it on the second day.

My niece and nephew were acting out the scene where Emmett and Edward slam into each other trying to catch the ball. It was hilarious.

We think they filmed the stunt doubles for Bella and Edward up in these trees. It was right by the baseball field.

Here come the "bad" vampires!!! Some look more bad than others.

The vampires face off!! Yeah, we're pretty good actors and I'm sure the pregnant vampires all feel represented now...

The last stop was the restaurant where they filmed the prom...
It was so fun and now every time we watch the movie we geek out about having actually been in the same places. If you want to do the tour, you can come and stay with me!

Glasses!

2009-04-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

When Whitney was born, I thought if she has brown eyes, she'll be safe. Brown means good, anything else could mean bad... Then I saw her light eyes. I still had hope until a few months ago when I noticed Whitney going cross-eyed. It's gotten progressively worse and now anytime she focuses on anything, one of her eyes goes in and the other one stays straight!

Since I knew I'd done the same thing as a kid, I didn't worry about her being dumb (besides she displays her intelligence quite clearly) but I thought I'd have to wait to get her glasses until she could take some sort of eye exam.

Luckily, my mom took the initiative and set up an appointment with an optometrist. He tested her eyes yesterday and she does in fact have bad, bad eyesight, just like her mom. No lazy eye or anything more serious. She gets her glasses in a week. They are pink with pooh bear on them.

I got my glasses at three! She's getting her glasses at 21 months. I'm sorry Whitney for my poor eye genes but I feel your pain!

Allergies maybe?

2009-04-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

We just switched Whitney from her crib to a bed and the timing doesn't seem so great. She hasn't been feeling well. Seems like cold symptoms but it could be allergies. I've picked it up too and wish I could just lay around all day with Jason rubbing my head.
We had my sister's family all up for Easter and it was so much fun! We drove around seeing sights where they filmed Twilight and Whitney could not get enough of playing with her cousins! I'll try to find some pictures of all that stuff to post. It was a blast.

This is in a canoe by the "beach" in Washougal. The water was clear up to the trees. No other state would have the nerve to call it a beach even in the summer months... They've fixed it up and put some fun facts about the area in the display.

Here's me in my full glory next to my cute girl. Yeah, you do get bigger the second time around...

Conference Weekend

2009-04-06T08:25:00.001-07:00

Every year I love conference so much! It's definitely harder to watch with Whitney running around but she was great this year! We are lucky enough to have DVR and I went back during naps and watched talks I missed.

This year I felt especially impressed that I need to be more grateful for all of my blessings. It seems so simple and kind of sad that I needed that reminder. I apologized to Jason for being so negative. We have so many things for which to be grateful. Jason and I are going through a rough financial time but we live with my parents who do so much for us. We have relatively few bills; we are all in good health; I have a good job that has been able to sustain us; Jason has learned so much from doing his own business and gained valuable experience and we have each other and the blessing of another baby on the way! I am very lucky.

I feel like that optimism would help me so much when I get discouraged. If I could only maintain that perspective and be continually grateful I could support Jason in his efforts to find a job, I could be a better mother, teacher, and daughter, I would be able to lift those around me.

I'm thankful for the gospel and my testimony of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, our prophets, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

Busy Day

2009-04-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days where I felt like I had fifty million things to do and I wanted to get everything done. I was doing laundry as I potted some plants outside, I was making food for us to eat and deep cleaning the bathroom, I was helping Jason frame a door in the basement, and entertaining Whitney the entire time. It really doesn't seem like much now but I felt like I was constantly running from one task to another. This week was spring break and I wasn't really busy the whole week and yet I'm updating the blog today. That's just how it works I guess. When you are getting stuff done, you just keep getting stuff done until the day is over!

Anyway, I had to throw a few pictures of Whitney in here or it wouldn't even be worth looking at. She is turning into a little girl. It's a good thing I have another baby coming cause I already miss her being a baby.

My sister and her family are coming to visit for Easter. It was a whole lot easier to get an apartment ready for visitors. A house requires yard work and way way more cleaning. Whitney has a blast outside while we work and she even helps clean inside. She's such a good girl!

A Daddy Daughter Moment

2009-02-15T19:04:00.001-08:00

Jason can get Whitney to smile and laugh better than anyone else!

You might be able to see some resemblance here...

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

2009-02-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Jason just had to get all the olives on all her fingers and then the party begins!

Finally, after all the pictures were taken, she gets to eat them!!

Whitney is wearing grandpa's glasses! My neighbor thought her clothes were so cute, she took a picture of her when we went over to visit. Props to my aunt (and Taylor too!) who generously donated so many cute things to Whitney's wardrobe.

Kids in gloves

2009-01-31T13:04:00.001-08:00

Whitney loves going for walks and we got her all bundled up for today. The other pictures are just her being her cute self!

Vericose Veins... BOOOO!!

2009-01-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

So, with Whitney's pregnancy, I developed vericose veins in my 3rd trimester... They're back and they hurt sometimes and I'm afraid they're going to get way worse. Does anyone have any prevention or remedies? I've heard that I shouldn't cross my legs and I should put my feet up when I can. Help me please!

New Years with the Rollins

2009-01-10T21:36:00.001-08:00

Whitney was cheesing it up for the camera that night and dad was just along for the ride.

I think at some point each person there wore these glasses. They just looked so good!

Since I look so amazing in every picture taken of me, I posted this one to make everyone else feel a little bit better about their pictures (heavy sarcasm). At least we're sporting the BYU pajama bottoms that mom worked so hard to make. We'll get a picture where you can actually see them for your viewing pleasure.

Whitney loves giving hugs, especially when the huggers are close to her size. I kind of think she's going to freak the other kids out in nursery unless they like to hug too

She has so much fun with her cousins!

A few pics from Christmas

2009-01-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in St. George with Jason's family. Sunday dinner was so good for Whit that she ate herself to sleep. There's one last pea on her tray...

Whitney grew and changed so much over the break from chasing after her cousins and trying to do everything they did. I think she idolizes Aylee a little... Jason's entire family made it up to St. George and it was so fun to see everyone and how much the kids had changed.

Whitney opened all her presents really delicately, like she was afraid of breaking them.

Those were actually her cousin, Jaxson's Cheetos but Whit thought they looked pretty good. Here she's mad at us for not just giving them to her to eat and eat and eat! Mom made us all BYU pajamas this year and Whit's sportin' hers. We were supposed to get a family picture in them but we're still working on it.

Back in the Saddle Again!

2009-01-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

We're back to school. My dad took some great pictures over the holidays so I'll get those up soon!

Prego!

2008-12-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

Soooo, I've had a few questions about this prego business. Turns out I'm due on the 27th of June and we still have a while before we find out what we are having but for shizzle we'll find out cause that's how we do it! I felt super sick and tired and unmotivated with this pregnancy but I'm either getting used to it or getting over it now. I'm gaining more weight than I want to and showing so much earlier but I hear that's the norm and I'm trying not to obsess over it. That's about all!

Selling a TV and a few other little tidbits

2008-12-17T08:47:00.001-08:00

So I'm super lame and not a good blogger. I guess the only reason I blog is to show off pictures of Whitney and I've been lazy about taking them and getting them on the computer. I'll just disperse pictures of Whitney to make everyone happy because if you are anything like me, that's really what you want to see.

Jason and I are trying to sell a 40" LCD TV and can't seem to get rid of it. We posted it on Craigslist and had some offers for way below what we wanted to sell it for so we tried to re post it and now no one is responding. How sad! That's how we were going to pay for Christmas this year and it's looking pretty dismal. So, if any of you want it, we'll give you a killer deal.

Snow in Washington really freaks people out! This morning, school was cancelled on my way to work and it hadn't even started to snow yet! It was only supposed to be a half day but apparently it was too much of a risk to drive on the DRY ROADS to school and back home again... School was cancelled on Monday too because it snowed on Sunday! Yeah, just a lot of snow melting on Monday but it makes people nervous. It took Jason twice as long to get anywhere working because people drove 10-20 miles under the speed limit with their chains on DRY ROADS!! Funny Washington people.

Jason and I are hoping to leave on Monday to drive all the way to St. George for Christmas. I'm very excited to see Jason's family. The weekend after Thanksgiving, I reluctantly let Jason take Whitney with him to visit his family but we couldn't afford for me to go along. I had these sad moments the whole weekend they were gone. Luckily my parents were here with me and Jason did a great job taking care of Whit. So, I haven't seen Jason's family since the 4th of July and I've never seen my new little nephew, Malekei. Living far away from everyone definitely has its drawbacks.

This picture of Whitney cracks me up! She put that vest on herself upside down and inside out and was thinking she was pretty great. Good picture opp. But when she saw the camera, that was the only thing her heart desired and she promptly turned into crazy lady! or girl.
After Christmas in St. George, we are heading up to Park City for New Years with my family. We decided to exchange presents then since we'll be all over the place for the big day. I think it'll be fun but once again, we'll miss having Zach around. You'd think he lived in China not California. Don't worry Zach, next May, we're coming to you! You better not run and you can't hide...

What would it be like if we all took off our clothes to eat? Restaurants would be a whole new experience. Speaking of restaurants, Jason and I haven't been to Olive Garden forever! When we were dating, we went once a week, sometimes twice! I can't imagine spending that much now and eating that much fat! I'm surprised we didn't qualify for the biggest loser by the time we got married. We've scaled back too much now. By the way, I watched the finale of the Biggest Loser in the wee hours of the morning after I got home from playing volleyball. I was very happy with the results but being prego really makes a dent on my volleyball skills. Coordination is out the door. I didn't have one decent hit all night!
I've run out of pictures of Whitney. Told ya I've been a slacker. I'll have more after the holidays and hopefully I'll update it in a reasonable time frame. What's a blog without the pictures! Reluctantly, I'll take a break from my jabbering until next time.
(There you go, Kierstin! I hope you enjoy. I don't know if anyone else even noticed...)

~~Tippetts Live!

Snow Finally!

Resolutions!

Merry Christmas!

I need Christmas Break Already!!!

Daddy's Girls

Since 1987

Sisters, sisters!

Cute Halloween Princesses

Confessions of a 2-year-old Drama Queen

Day at Lagoon

Summer Pix that got Missed

Is it too Early?

Fall Trees!

School Has Started

Two Girls a Year Older

4th of July

Playing with Determination

Pictures... Finally!

It's Pretty Amazing They Are Still Alive!

Happy Fathers' Day!

Exercise, argh!

I am 30!

Health Has Returned

Calculus

Happy Birthday Hot Man!

Bummer!

Go BYU! Boo Daylight Savings...

Really? Is she really asleep?

View BYU Admission Decision/E​nrollment

The Incredibles or the bad guy.

Feeling Better!

Stress!

Pictures!

Go 2011!!

Christmas Dresses

No Pictures!

The End of the Year!

Teeny Halloweeny

Deep Thoughts

Getting Ready for Halloween

Go Cougars!

Pictures and Joy School

Haylee... One happy active kind of girl!

The Basement Apartment!

Utah...

3-day Detox & Pictures of course!

Whitney's Skills

Jason is Gone!

My Cute Girls!

Lots of Changes

bummer...

We're gonna party like it's your birthday!

Sleeping Girls

Hair... the bain of my existence...

Addicted to... ?

Boo to sugar...

Yay!! Sugar Free

No More Sugar!

Frosting on a spoon beats a cupcake...

To the Park

Olympics!!!

Just Because I Love You Day!

December Flies By!

Radio...

Back in the Saddle Again!

Halloween Week!

Aunt Lisa!

Photos

My First Collage

Boo!

Crafts for a week

Girls... all I really want is girls!

Sore Legs

Expressions

Too Small for School. Yay!

Potty Training!

Trip to Utah

Haylee's Blessing

The Story!

View BYU Admission Decision/Enrollment