A Visit from Angel

Last Saturday we got a visit from my sweet Aunt Angel. She was working in Kansas City for two weeks and so she took her weekend to drive up to see us. It meant SO much to us that she went out of her way to come visit. We all loved having her here, and we packed a lot of fun in to her short visit.

Saturday when she arrived we headed off for lunch and a quick tour of Ames. We were then able to stop at Ledges State Park to check it out. Even though spring buds and new grass haven't started growing here yet it was still fun and very pretty. I'm sure it will be gorgeous this summer!

Once we got back to the house the girls convinced Angel to read to them. They love the Junie B. Jones books and Angel really enjoyed them too!

That night we made Easter sugar cookies. All the sisters in my mom's family have made them at every holiday since their sister Pat passed away. It's a tradition we love and it was fun to make them while Angel was here. 

On Sunday the girls got to wear the new dresses Angel was so sweet to get for them. They all looked adorable!

Lenora 14 months

Eliza 3 1/2

Hazel 5 1/2

It was a lovely visit! It's so nice when we can have family in town. Thank you Angel for coming! 

Wacky Wednesday

 It's no secret my girls love books. So when Hazel's class had a "Wacky Wednesday" day at school of course Eliza had to get in on the fun. We had "wacky" cereal for breakfast. You really can't tell in the pictures but they mixed a few kinds of cereal together.

Then both Hazel and Eliza donned their wacky clothes. They also convinced me to use purple hair dye on half of their hair. Such silly girls!

Hazel's outfit: backwards shirt, mismatched pants, two different shoes, one sock, and wacky hair.

 Eliza's outfit: mismatched clothes, one boot, one shoe, mismatched socks, and wacky hair.

I should mention I took Eliza to childwatch at the YMCA while I worked out and to the library for story time looking like this, haha! Luckily she was more than happy to tell people how it was Wacky Wednesday. I love making fun, silly memories with these girls. 

A Few more for February

Eliza's all purple outfit

We had a few more fun things going on in February. First, I won a grill! We had to sell our gas grill when we moved because we didn't have room on the truck so we were in the market for a new one. They had a little "home and garden show" over at the fairgrounds and there was a drawing for a free grill. I stopped by just to enter the drawing and ended up winning! I never win anything so it was so exciting!

February has also brought a few changes to our home. I started working in childwatch at the YMCA for fun. I go in two mornings a week right now. Eliza and Lenora get to come with me, we play, and I get a free membership! It's fun and a win, win in my book.

Our other big change was to our dinner menu. Michael finally went in and got allergy testing for his EoE. We learned he's allergic to beef, eggs, dairy, tomatoes, and carrots. Yeah it's kinda a lot! But he can eat wheat! So we've been adjusting our diets accordingly. To be honest it was hard at first. I know he still really misses beef. And brownies made with eggs (so far I haven't found a good egg free recipe). But I honestly prefer all of these allergies to eliminating wheat. We're finding some good substitutes for favorite dinners and on the plus side we're saving a lot not buying beef.

Lenora the Scooter

 Lenora is becoming a mover. She stands....

She crawls up and down stairs...

She climbs in and on things...

But when it comes to walking she'd just rather not. She thinks her one leg scoot is a much better option! 

As for riding bikes, she has her own way of doing that as well.

Could she be any cuter? I don't think so!

Eliza the Sleeping Cat

 I've mentioned it before but Eliza sleeps in some of the strangest places. She never wants to nap in her bed or room. And at night she ends up sleeping on the floor half the time. Silly, silly girl!

On the bookshelf!

Floor in Mommy and Daddy's room

On Mommy and Daddy's bed 

My personal favorite was the day she curled up in a sunny spot on the floor and napped right there! While we're at it, here are a few adorable pictures of Eliza and Lenora last month. 

Burning off some energy on the trampoline

Matching! It seems like yesterday it was Hazel and Eliza in these outfits. 

Static hair! The staticy hair has been driving me crazy! There no taming it.

Riding on a boat. 

A Visit from Jamie!

February was a rather dreary month this year. The snow we got the last day of January didn't melt all month. It was just cold, cold and more cold. And mostly cloudy too. In fact, I had to laugh when one morning it was 13 degrees and sunny and Eliza exclaimed, "It's not as cold today!" Haha it's pretty sad when 13 and sunny counts as not as cold.

Luckily we had something fun to look forward to this month. We got a visit from Aunt Jamie! She flew out over President's day weekend. It was a surprise for the girls though we almost let it slip more than a few times. When Jame came downstairs Saturday morning Hazel was so surprised she was literally speechless!

We started our adventures with a trip to John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, Iowa. Michael and Jamie grew up on John Wayne so we had to make the trip.

Show me your guns!

John Wayne Mobile

In front of the new museum which opens in May. 

It was SO freezing this day!

Madison County Building

 Saturday afternoon and evening we just enjoyed playing games. Sunday was spent at church, Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa and just hanging out.

Monday Hazel was out of school but Michael still had to teach so it was girls day! We spent the morning window shopping in Downtown Ames then headed over to ISU to meet Michael for lunch and so Jamie could check out the book store.

Killer glasses! Eliza did not want to leave without her yellow ones!

Jamie had never been to Hobby Lobby so we had to check it out!

Disco ball Cy bird! 

Veteran's Memorial Cy bird!

Monday afternoon Jamie wanted to take the girls to see the Paddington movie. They really enjoyed it! When we got home Jamie surprised them each with their very own stuffed Paddington complete with their initial sewn on his pocket. They love them!

Tuesday morning the girl and Jamie make cards and wrote some postcards then we had to take her back to the airport. It was SO much fun to have her and it made our February! 

Thoughts on Obedience

Last week I learned a valuable lesson. It started with a rough day with Hazel. My usually sweet and helpful little girl was just having a really hard time following directions. She was home sick from school (though she was feeling much better and mostly home to keep from spreading it around). All day she was simply struggling to obey any directions I gave her. At one point I agreed to paint all of their nails. While I was occupied painting Eliza's toes, Hazel asked if she could have some of the polish remover to get the last bit of her old polish off. I told her sure and to please wait. She proceeded to go get the remover and cotton balls. Then she asked if she could pour some in the cap and again I asked her to please wait. She asked a third time and I gave the same answer. Once I finished up Eliza's nails I turned around to find Hazel did not wait but instead poured some herself then set the bottle on our table.  

A side note about our table. This is the first and only nice piece of furniture we've ever owned. We saw it on an amazing sale when we first moved to Utah so we snatched it up. It ended up being too big for our kitchen there so it sat in boxes for 2 years and made the 1,100 mile trip out here. I might add one of the boxes weighed 325 pounds and another 150 so it was a total pain to move. A total pain but SO worth it because I love our table! 

When I picked up the bottle I realized she had spilled some just like I knew she would. To my horror the nail polish remover completely dissolved the varnish on that part of the table! By divine intervention I kept my cool. I sent Hazel off to play and told her we'd talk about it more when Daddy got home. But inside I was furious! 

Once my head cleared I went to talk to Hazel. Did she understand why I told her to wait? It was because I knew she would spill. She doesn't have the skills she needs to pour it without spilling. As the word came out of my mouth I suddenly understood obedience so much more.

Heavenly Father gives us commandments and inspiration on what to do/not do because He knows what the consequences will be. He knows our skill level. He knows what will happen. As Elder L. Tom Perry taught here "Those who rely solely on themselves and follow only their own desires and self-inclinations are so limited when compared to those who follow God and tap into His insight, power, and gifts.... Obedience is a choice. It is a choice between our own limited knowledge and power and God's unlimited wisdom and omnipotence."

In that light obedience doesn't hold us down. It doesn't stop us from doing anything or limit or freedoms. It is truly what makes us free. I'm so thankful for commandments and inspiration to guide our lives. I'm thankful our Father in Heaven cares enough about each of us to help us avoid many devastating consequences if we will but obey Him.

I'm half tempted to leave the spot unstained on our table as a reminder of all when gain when we obey. We'll see...

More snow fun

The Saturday after our big snow we set out on a sledding adventure. The weather had warmed up to about 40 and the sun was shinning so it was the perfect day. We even found a decent hill at a nearby park (hills are harder to come by in these parts). The girls were in heaven!

When I took Lenora on her first ride down the hill she wasn't quite sure what to think. But after a few runs she found she loved it! Any time she wasn't on the sled she would reach toward it and grunt like "Hey! I want another turn too!" Here she is reaching out as the girls slid down. 

Beautiful Hazel with Eliza trudging up in the back ground.

They even did a few runs with all three of them! It was such a fun morning!

Sunday Snow Day

Today church was cancelled because of the snow. There was close to a foot on the ground when we woke up and another 5 or 6 inches fell before noon!

We built temples from Legos and watched a few General Conference talks. It was a fun family day! School's already cancelled for tomorrow so more snowy fun to come.

Good morning Iowa!

Iowa is growing on us all!