Fabulous Imaginings

My girl has a wonderful imagination. She loves to pretend things, and comes up with things that I often don't know where she picked the ideas up. Like today, for example. We were running some errands. She sits in her car seat in the back, and often will talk or sing to herself. As I listened, she pretended that all the fingers on her hand were a family. They sang a song together, and gave hugs and kisses to each other, and then she named them all. There was a dad and mom, and even a baby. I'm not sure if the other fingers were just ignored, or maybe friends that come over to play. She sang the "I love you" song from Barney, which includes a hug and kiss, and had to sing several verses to get enough for each finger/person. It was VERY cute to listen to her playing all by herself. Then we stopped at a store where her Daddy went in, while we waited in the car. Elise decided it was the perfect time to sing the wheels on the bus song. At first, she wanted us each to do our own verse, which she assigned, and take turns singing. Then, instead of singing about the regular people and items that are on the bus, she added some new ones. Her bus had the baby, a mama, the wipers, the doors, the money, the horn, and even some veggies going 'hoing' (from the VeggieTales version of the song), but it also had an 'elphalant' that was trumpeting, and a mouse that was squeaking on it. This made for a very exciting song, because there were unusual visitors on the bus, and you never knew who would be there next!

This great imagination is also a bit of a challenge to predict sometimes. We got her some special things for Christmas/birthday presents, and have taken them out of their packaging and are letting them air out and get put together when we have a moment when she is doing something else. I got several things all put together, and put them in the back of my craft room, and then had to think of what to put in front of them that would be large, and not easy for her to get around or see over. We are airing out our pillows as well, and Elise likes to play with them sometimes. There were about 8 of them in this craft room, so I piled them strategically in front of the gift items, so from her height, you can't see over this pile. Later that day, she came into the room. She saw this great pile of pillows, went over to them, and started climbing them in an attempt to get behind the stack. I asked her to not climb on them but to play with something else. She turned to me, and said, "But Mama, I'm the green Care Bear, and I need to take a nap in my rain cloud." This was tough to reason her out of.....Luckily, Daddy told her we could make a rain cloud bed out of blankets on the couch in the front room! She thought that was pretty cool. We came out front and talked about Care Bears. We had read a Care Bear book that day, and she saw some old Care Bear cartoons in Oregon. She asked if we could watch some more Care Bears, especially the train one. I told her those movies were at Grandma Sue's house, and she responded, "Let's get on the airplane, go visit Grandma Sue's house!" I don't think she really gets the whole distance thing yet, but it is good she remembered it takes a plane to get there. So, periodically since then she has told me she is different colored Care Bears, and wants to go climb on the pillows......I'm thinking it may NOT have been the brightest gift hiding idea I've ever had, and may have to be modified before the next two months are over.....

Meeting Great Family...

As part of our trip to California in August, we got to visit with my grandparents in southern California. This was a really special experience, partly because I hadn't seen them since the Christmas before I got engaged, partly because they hadn't met Logan or Elise before. My girl is very shy, takes a while to warm up to people, and even to new places. She was a bit shy at first, but gave her big smile (that's what she's decided she can do if she feels shy). She warmed up though as she got to explore the toy closet - she especially liked the bucket of marbles. She wanted to toss them by handfuls, which we put a damper on, and instead tried to pick them back up and put them in the bucket. We got to hear all the updates on our family, which was really great, as I haven't really been in contact with most of those branches of the family tree. I remember, while growing up, as we would visit Grandma and Grandpa Parker, that they would have pictures of their various trips to places all over the world on their walls. This visit, instead of pictures of places, there were pictures of all their kids and grandkids, and great grandkids. It was really fun to see pictures of cousins I haven't seen since we were all kids, and to hear the neat things they have been doing since then. My grandparents are cool people, with great stories and experiences to share, and it was really cool to see their love for their family as they talked about what all their posterity is accomplishing. Towards to end, Elise got over her shyness enough to give and recieve kisses from her Great Grandma Parker, although she was a bit shy with Grandpa still (men take a bit longer for her to warm up to), and only consented to hugs with Great Grandpa Parker. We got a picture, which I think was so great, especially as it will help Elise remember them, and that they are an important part of our family, even if we don't get to see them very often. WE LOVE GRANDMA AND GRANDPA PARKER!!!!

Ring Update

Hooray!!! My finger, and the rest of my hand, felt a bit funny without that little thing for a few days. The good news is they could fix it!!!! The even better news is that 5 more of the diamonds were loose and ready to fall out, which isn't really good news, but it is good that they were only loose and not lost. It was incredibly fortunate that we took it in when we did, so we didn't have to pay the $107 per diamond to replace and re-set them, but only the $15 dollers per diamond to tighten them. They got my ring back to me on Friday, and it is amazing to see how bright and shiny it is now, especially compared to the plain wedding band that goes with it, but which we never got attached to the engagement one with the diamonds. AND the jewelers told us some useful information, which they failed to mention when Logan bought the ring originally, or any of the times we had to take it in those first few months....you should have a jeweler look at your ring about every six months, to make sure none of the gems are getting loose, and to fix them if they are loose. This helps save on the cost of replacing lost gems. That would have been good to know, but we are also very glad that in four years only one stone actually got lost, and they were able to make the whole thing like new! Hooray!!!!!

Encouraging Words

We unpacked our boxes of games recently. My girl decided there were some fun looking ones, and that we should play one a couple days ago. We pulled out a game called 'Penguin Pile Up', in which you balance as many penguins as you can on top of a wobbly iceberg. She had some trouble stacking them, so she just ended up handing each penguin to me and having me stack them while she watched. Occassionally some penguins fall down. At one point I had all but 3 of the 25 penguins perched on the iceberg, when disaster struck and they all came crashing down. Elise, my wonderful girl, turned to me and said enthusiastically, "Keep trying Mama!" I told her I thought I needed a break, and that she could have a turn. She had decided that what I needed wasn't a break, it was to get back up on the horse that had kicked me off. She looked at me with her big smile and said, "Keep trying Mama! You can do it! Keep trying!" Then she came over, put her arms around me and said, "You the best mama ever! You can do it! Keep trying Mama! Keep trying!"
With all that encouragement, how could I say no? So of course I kept trying to pile the penguins on their iceberg. After a couple more minutes, we decided to change the rules of the game. Each of us got to pick a penguin, then have that penguin hop to the top of the iceberg where the red flag is situated.
We would cheer for the penguin and then it would get to slide down the iceberg while shouting, "WEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Elise liked this game much better, and we had a great time finally playing all together. My girl is so special, and is such a great cheerleader, that she makes me feel like I could do anything, since she believes in me. She is a wonderful girl!!!! I love her loads and loads!!!!!

Talking About Sharing

Our bedtime routine includes reading a story, the scriptures, having prayer, hugs and kisses, and then laying down to go to sleep. As we were all climbing on to the bed in preparation for these activities, I was looking at the paper with flu vaccination information. Elise wanted to read her story, and was getting frustrated that I was looking at this paper. I wanted to see if there were any side effects we should be on the lookout for, as Elise had her first flu shot yesterday. My girl got a bit frustrated, and took the paper out of my hands. I explained to her that it was not a nice thing to do, and that I could have gotten a paper cut on my hand. She turned to me, and calmly said, "I say, 'Please Mama, I have that paper' and then you share it with me?" I agreed that it would be a very nice thing to say, and that sharing and asking nicely are really good things to do. She then said, "Sharing nicely make you feel happy, Mama?" I told her it would, and that it would also make her happy. She nodded her head in agreement, and then held up her story, with a look that said 'ok, enough talking, forget the paper and let's get down to the good stuff!'

Making Cards

We are really enjoying unpacking our boxes, and discovering all the cool things that have been stored away for so long, especially the supplies for making things. My girl LOVES to help! This can seem a little unhelpful at times, and she needs a project to keep her busy while I get the other stuff out of her reach. So, she's been making cards. She gets some stickers, a blank card, and some crayons. She decorates the whole thing beautifully. Then she will show it to me. I asked her to write her name on one. She went back to her little work area, grabbed a crayon, and as she was scribbling said, "To Grandma, love Elise" It was the cutest thing ever! I'm gonna have to write down on the cards who they are for, since she is making several. We will work on putting them with the Christmas cards and ornaments, so they can get mailed to the right people. So, be aware, even if you don't see one for a couple months, my girl is thinking about her family, and making cards for her loved ones!

Birthday Planning

My girl loves the things that go along with birthday celebrations. Every time we go to a store with balloons, she insists that we walk past them, stare at and describe them all, and then when she asks if we can borrow them (this is her way of suggesting we buy one, but she thinks that is called borrowing), I tell her maybe we can do that for a special occassion like her birthday. Then she goes into a detailed description of what she loves to have for her birthday, including balloons and cake and candles and blowing the candles out at a party. She is very excited for her birthday --- and doesn't really understand that it isn't until January!

She is also getting excited about Christmas decorations. Logan put the lights on the house this last week (when we had some nice enough weather, so he won't have to worry about it when it is snowing later in the year....he's so on top of things!) And we have been seeing Christmas trees with lights at Costco for a couple weeks. Today, Elise and I sat down and were talking about Jesus, and how he was born as a little baby and at Christmas, we celebrate his birthday. We talked about the events surrounding his birth, and the decorations we put up to celebrate, like putting lights on the tree, and that we give gifts. She was so excited. All day she has talked about celebrating Jesus birthday as a baby when we will have a tree with lights, and then adds that for her birthday she'd like some cake, balloons, and a tree with some lights! I guess we can keep the tree through the 24th of January, as that isn't that big of a stretch! It is going to get more interesting in the mean time, as she is asking when we are going to start making her cake......

Lyric Mix-Ups

As my girl is learning new songs and words, it is fun to hear the lyrics that come out when she sings all by herself (which is often, because she is two!). Like the other morning, she was singing 'The more we get together, the happier we'll be', which instead came out like "In the morning we get together, the happier we'll be." Very cute!
On Elmo's World one day, they talked about singing, and the different kinds of singing. Elise got from this episode that you can rap the Elmo's World theme song, which means singing it kind of fast and moving your fists around. She also learned about Elvis/Elmo singing the song 'Blue Suede Shoes', which in her version goes more like 'Boo What Use', which she repeats a gazillion times and then at the end adds, "Thank you very much." This is one of my all time favorites.....any other requests from my little darling?

Just WHO is Coming Over Today?

This morning as my special little girl was sitting at her big girl table eating her breakfast, I sat down next to her to listen to her plans for the day. Between bites she described in detail how her family was going to ride bikes over to her house, then they would go outside, and go up in the nest in a tree, and think about blowing bubbles. I thought this was a very creative plan, well thought out, and detailed. The only question I have is this: WHO exactly in our family is riding their bikes over to our house? Oh, and another question: What nest in the back yard is going to fit all this family?
So, if you ARE planning on riding your bike over to our house to sit in a nest and think about blowing bubbles, my girl is ready for you....
And you might want to let me know so I can make treats for you to have when you all get down from that tree!

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

So, we've had a bit of rough times lately. We had some really hard days happen in the last several weeks, and some of them had more lasting consequences than were forseen at the time, so we're still dealing with the repercusions/emotional consequences of some things that happened recently. Some days are good, some days are more challenging. I find that I am really grateful for the miracles of having Logan and Elise as my family. I think I don't always realize how huge a blessing Logan is, and I know I don't always see the miracle of having a healthy two year old as a miracle. I am truly grateful to have this wonderful family, and I think sometimes that when I am dealing with a challenge, that I appreciate these two more and more.

That said, we're still dealing with some 'tricky' times (as Elise would call it). Then to top it all off, yesterday as I sat down to have peanut butter and jelly sandwich with Elise and watch some Clifford, I noticed that one of the diamonds is gone from my ring. It was already a more emotional day than some are, and then that.....My engagement ring is wonderful, beautiful, and I couldn't pick one that would be better for me. We seem to have had some issues with this particular ring though. When Logan first gave it to me 4 and 1/2 years ago, it needed to be resized. We sent it to be resized, and they took a few weeks to get it back to me. I figured they had to send it down south, and shipping things back and forth from Alaska can sometime take some time.....When I had it back, I wore it for a few days, and then while sitting in a statistics class one morning I noticed one of the diamonds was missing.....We went back to the jeweler's and they took the ring to replace the diamond. After a couple weeks, we went in to make sure everything was ok....they told us that in replacing the diamond, the ring had broken, so they were making a whole new ring to replace it. Ok....It took a few more weeks, but we finally got the ring I have now. It has been fine for the last several years....til yesterday. We're gonna see what it will take to get it fixed. Hopefully it won't take months this time.....

So, I guess the jist of this whole thing is, it was feeling like one of those days where I could almost have asked, "What else could possibly happen?"--you know, like a terrible horrible no good very bad day-- I didn't ask those questions though, and we made it through the day, all healthy and able to spend time together, which is all that really is important. So, this morning, Elise and I got up, got dressed, were having breakfast, and getting some things done like dishes and sweeping. I turned on some music and kept going with the morning. Then I realized one of the songs on the playlist was 'Put On Your Sunday Clothes' from Hello Dolly. I love that song. Another we really enjoy is 'Count Your Blessings' from White Christmas.
So, this morning I did my hair (which doesn't get to happen every day), and had a great shake for breakfast with my girl. We're gonna do pretend dance class, play dress up, and just enjoy being together. Then this weekend we'll try to have some treats like Orange Cream Soda Floats. I just needed those little reminders that everything is ok, and that I am really blessed - and especially that no day is ever truly a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day ---they are just reminders of blessings in disguise. So we ask now, what do you do to over come those bad day feelings? If you are having one, and you want to come over and have floats and sing Hello Dolly songs at the top of your voice, you're welcome to come hang out with us girls! And we're very grateful for our families and loved ones who have kept us in their prayers. We love you too!

Another Recent Purchase

We recently wrote about some of the newer things in our life. Another, that I forgot to mention until this morning, was that we got a Magic Bullet. WE LOVE IT!!! This morning my girl and I are sharing a blueberry banana shake with our breakfast. I love that we can be creative and get our fruit nutrients at the same time. We really enjoy being able to do different shakes, in the cup, and then we can try them all in small quantities and then make them again if we like the combo. This thing is great. We were trying to do shakes and smoothies in our blender.....didn't work out nearly as well as this Magic Bullet system is working for our family. WE LOVE THE MAGIC BULLET!!!!!

Recent Purchases

Over the last year we have had several changes, including selling our cars and having our girl grow up lots. In order to have Elise and I move back to Alaska, we needed a car. This is what Logan got:

It is a PT Cruiser. He took off all the bumper stickers and cleaned the permanent marking writing off to make it look like this:


Really, there is an explanation. The previous owner's daughter hit a pole with the car accidentally. There is some denting on the side, which was very obvious when it was painted black. To disguise the dents, he painted it. That is how we purchased it. We have plans to paint it eventually, but in the meantime it has been an adventure. People point and laugh when we drive by. This is sometimes surprising, because while you are inside driving, you forget that it is painted in an unusual fashion. Tourists especially gave us lots of attention when we drove around this last August and September, but as the season has wound down, we aren't getting as much ridicule--I think....Anyways, we love having a vehicle that works, and that is now quieter (the previous owner had some kind of really loud muffler situation happening....we got that fixed and it is really nice to be able to talk to each other in the car as we drive, and actually HEAR each other!)

The other purchase is more personal for me. Last Spring, I felt the need for a new bag for errands. You know how as your kids grow you don't really need those huge diaper bags, but you need more space than one of those little purses can provide. My sweet husband got me the best bag I've ever had. It is a MAXPEDITION, which are designed to be hard use gear for storing concealed weapons. I got the JUMBO kind, and I LOVE IT!!!!!!


It has pockets for everything you could need, and the spot for the gun works great to hold one of those travel sized magna-doodles for my girl. I really enjoy having the space I want, and a sturdy strap to handle the weight of the load I carry around. And I feel much better prepared to have all those little emergency articles organized and easy to get to. The right bag can really make a great addition to life!

For All Interested Parties

Hey there, all you friends interested in traveling.....This month is special to us folks in Alaska because of the PFD (a paycheck from the state for living in Alaska, which is given out in October). There are lots of interesting sales and specials during the month, as businesses try to get us all to spend that money. One sale we really like is the one from Alaska Airlines. They offer special deals on their flights, when you purchase the tickets before November, and complete your travel before next August. This is a great time to purchase tickets if you are going to be traveling anywhere Alaska Airlines flies within the next several months. In previous years we have been able to get round trip tickets for Christmas or summer trips for around $450 per person. The great thing for all of you, is that they fly not just to Alaska! That's why we wanted to share this great sale information with all of you.....besides, we love giving everyone the chance to save....especially if you're thinking of coming up here....we even have a spare room---So, if you wanna come visit, NOW's the time to start looking at those tickets!

Finished Logan Project

Logan finished the table and chairs for Elise. She LOVES them. I will find her putting her friends on the chairs and setting out 'big parties' for them. She is really enjoying having something just her size for snack time, and for sitting and playing instruments. It has already received its initiation....she got some crayon on the table, accidentally, as it is hard to keep those crayons on the page sometimes.... but that just shows how much she loves her great coloring spot, right?

The other crayon mishap was today....'We' were working on the curtains for the front door. She had been working on making cards with crayons and stickers while I sewed in the back room. As I was putting up the curtains in the entryway, she came with me and brought her red crayon and a piece of paper. I thought she was holding them, but suddenly I heard an excited little voice saying the words, "we color on the sidewalk!" and some scribbling sounds. I turned around to find red crayon on the new entry way tiles, the wood transition piece, and the linoleum floor. I informed my little friend that while it IS fun to use sidewalk chalk OUTSIDE, this is NOT the same as using crayons inside, and that crayons are ONLY for writing on paper. We went ahead and put the crayons away, and cleaned up the floor.....the only glitch is that the red crayon doesn't want to come off the grout.....but the curtains on the door turned out great!

The Polite Way to Feed Ducks

We've been working on using polite words in our family, like please, thank you, and you're welcome. Sometimes I think my girl is oblivious to these words, but then sometimes she surprises me when they come out unexpectedly....like during snack time, when she turned to me and said, "You're welcome for sharing with me!"

We went to the park last Thursday to feed the ducks. When we got there, and could hear all the quacking, Elise said, "Hello ducks!! QUACK! Hello!"
Then we sat down on the bench, and she and Daddy started throwing the bread. The ducks were VERY excited and came right over. They quack a lot when they are excited. Elise would throw some bread and watch them gobble it up, then she'd turn to me and excitedly say, "They are very hungry ducks, Mama!" She kept feeding them for a bit. Then I noticed she would throw a piece to a duck very close to her. She would lean down, and after the duck ate the piece, she would say, "You're welcome!" and get another piece. She turned to some new ducks and asked, "Are you ready for some food, ducks?" They'd be quacking, so she'd feed them and then say, "You're welcome ducks!" It was so incredibly cute!!! Of course we got video, but are having a hard time uploading them, so we'll do pictures instead. She LOVES her friends the ducks, and is so polite with them!

More Fun Stuff She Says

It seems we document the funny things our girl says in almost every post. I guess that's because we're parents who want to remember the fun things she says everyday. Today we have some good ones to report.

As we gave our General Conference reports to my mom on Monday morning, I asked Elise what her favorite part of conference was. She said, "My favorite part of conference was the prophet." I asked what her favorite choir was, and she replied, "My favorite choir was temple choir." I guess that means she was glad she could recognize the prophet and the temple (which was shown when the choir sang sometimes). What a grown up girl she is becoming, to verbalize that stuff.

This week we have also been doing 'projects' together. On Monday, we decided to make a special treat to surprise Daddy for desert that night. We ended up pulling out the peach jello. Elise got a chair, pushed it up to the island in the kitchen, got on the chair, and reached over for a rubber spatula. She told me she was ready to help, because she had her 'shovel'. I told her we don't use shovels to cook, we use spoons. She looked at me, and said, "Oh, I trade." Then she put her rubber spatula back and grabbed a different one, and told me again that she was ready to help because she had her shovel. I told her it was a spoon, that we don't use shovels to cook. She traded again, and told me she had her shovel and was ready. I finally said, "That's a great tool for mixing, let's get our big bowl." She was very excited she'd picked the right one finally. I guess we're still working on the semantics. Anyways, we made the jello, and only had some minor spills. When Daddy got home, she was so excited to tell him she had made a special treat, that she went to the fridge and showed him which shelf it was on. That night we played some games and had her treat. When it was treat time, she sat on the couch and said, "Special treat please." What a fun night!

So, of course on Tuesday we made another treat. This time we made a blueberry tea cake, that was very yummy. We had to put dishes away before we could do the baking. Elise watched as I put the silverware away. As I finished with the forks and spoons, she looked up at me and said, "Good job putting away the forks and spoons Mama!" I love having a personal cheerleader with me. I am so grateful to have such an enthusiastic fun-filled girl to be my special girl.

We hung up our calenders this last week as well. There are pictures of our family on them. Elise LOVES these, and loves having them on the wall. One is down on her level. She went over to this one, right after I put it up, and started naming the people in the pictures. She said, "I love this pictures of my family!" and tried to hug the pictures. She told me her favorite were the ones with the tree with lights. I think Christmas decorating might be a bigger adventure this year than in previous years. I have a bigger helper on my hands!

The Funny Things Kids Say....

I love hanging out with my special, sweet, little girl. She is getting so grown up, and sometimes, like most kids, she says the funnest things. This last weekend was General Conference for our church. There were several Apostles that talked about how important families and family relationships are, and how we need to make sure we tell our loved ones that we love them. I try to tell my girl I love her a lot, and once in a while, she will tell me she loves me too. Well, on Saturday, I went over to where Logan was sitting on the couch, gave him a big hug and told him I love him. This is not unusual, but this time Elise saw this, and zipped right over. She put her arms around both of us and said, "I love you guys!" It was so adorable!!!! Later that day she would (unprompted) come hug Logan or myself and tell us she loved us. Those are the best moments.

Another funny thing she said this weekend was while we were discussing plans for the day. We were asking her what she wanted to do, and talking about watching conference. I don't remember what idea was proposed, but Elise piped up enthusiastically with, "That's a great idea, Mama!" It was pretty funny.

The last funny thing she said all weekend had to do with conference. There are four - two hour general sessions for conference, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. We did our best to watch them, although that is a lot to ask of a toddler. When the conference started, she would point to the screen and ask, "What is that kid called?" or "What is that kid talking about?"
She was especially curious about the choir. She would point repeatedly as they showed different parts of the choir and say, "What are those kids called about? What are those kids doing?" Each new shot of the choir prompted a new question about the 'kids' on the screen. It was pretty funny. I finally had to tell her we had to listen to find out what they were saying, but she really liked the music best, and seeing the prophet and the temple. My favorite part was at the end of each session. There were some great talks, and we will definitely be reading them as we can. But my favorite part of conference was at the end of each session, the cameras would follow the Prophet, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles as they left the stand. They would shake each others hands, or give a hug or a wave, and were just so supportive of each other that it is neat to see. Then they met up with their wives, and take such care of them, that it is just heartwarming. What wonderful men they are, and what inspiring leaders! We are truly blessed.

My Little Helper

I have a very special little girl. She is very helpful, and loves to have time together. Recently, I was having a bit of upset tummy, and was having some Sprite so I could not throw up. My girl wanted to play. She came over and said, "Wanna read this story to me, Mama?"
I told her I couldn't right then because my tummy was yucky. She looked a bit concerned, then smiled and said, "Mama, you take a deep breath, your tummy feel all better!" (That's what we have her do when she gets upset, a deep breath can cure almost anything.) So, I figured I better try it out. It didn't work exactly as she had hoped, so she prompted me to take more deep breaths. Eventually she decided she could read the story to me instead.
As I was feeling out of it for a while, we repeated this scenario multiple times. I guess this made an impression on her, because now that I'm all better, she will come ask to play or read a story, and when I say, "Sure!" she gets this funny look on her face. She looks up at me, and with surprise in her voice will say, "Mama, you feeling good? You happy?"
When I smile and nod, she excitedly says, "Ok, let's read this story!"
What a great helper, to prompt me for deep breaths to feel better, and to be excited that now we can play and not have yucky tummies. Plus it is a wonderful feeling to have enough energy to keep up with my girl once again!