Cute Girls

Here is some cute video of Katya and Cali playing together. It is 1 min 50 sec, so that might be long for anyone but the grandparents. They love playing with each other. Cali totally learned her arm-swing from Katya, since that is Katya's favorite thing to do to the people behind at church every Sunday (yes, with the growling noises, too). They were watching "Signing Time" before they got too enamored with each other.

My Internship

Many of you know that I am doing an internship at an elementary school. I have been blogging about it for the whole time on my education blog. Sadly, however, my principal decided that it was not a good idea for me to blog. She talked to someone else who got scared about it, and so it is gone now. I think that is too bad. I am still writing all the posts, but not publishing them. Since most of you probably don't care too much about all the eduspeak and edu-stuff I am learning, I won't bore you to the death. I will tell you, though, that I love what I am doing there. I am constantly finding out new stuff that I know will help me.

Staci has been wonderful to put up with me going to work at 7:15 in the morning, and not getting back from class until sometimes 7:45 pm. Then, she has patiently gone to bed without me while I stayed up until the morning hours working on homework. Staci, you are a great wife, and I would be nothing without you. Thank you so much for your patience and help. Staci is always willing to help me with whatever I need to get done, and the success of our garden this year is placed firmly in her blistered hands and her tired shoulders. She is pretty much the most amazing woman ever invented.

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...

We have talked about Katya's love for mirrors before, but this is a little video of her at her mirror. Staci just put up two more mirrors so that Katya can practice walking along them. You can see that she is getting closer to standing on her own without support.

Book Reading Progress

July

34. The Stranger- Albert Camus
35. Don Quixote- Miguel Cervantes

I have been reading & listening to Don Quixote for the past six months. I really, really struggled through the first half, but absolutely loved the second half. It gave me many good laughs as I pulled weeds for hours on end in my garden. It's kind of a tough book, so I would recommend listen to it. Having someone else read it made it more entertaining.

Crib playtime

When the girls wake up from their naps, Katya likes getting in the crib with Cali and they usually sit there and bounce up and down and laugh. They are so funny together. I'm glad that they are learning to be friends and play nice.

I love this pic because it looks like Katya is about ready to scare
Cali and she has no idea.

Her Time Has Come

Katya is two and hasn't really got into the "I get into everything because now I am two" phase. I've counted myself luckily. I feel bad for other mothers whose blogs I read. Their kids get into everything, even taking off their poopy diapers. Remember this post from a couple of days ago? I forgot too soon. She did it again. This time it was worse.

I walked in to get the girls up from their nap. As I looked at Katya, I noticed she was holding something. As I looked closer I noticed that it was brown and not chocolate. The smell in her room tipped me off to what it really was. When I told her to drop it, she just held it tighter. Now, there aren't many things that gross we out, but this one made we want to head straight for the toilet. It was so gross!

(I blocked it out for your stomach's sake.)

I thought she had pulled it out of her diaper as it looked as if she was still wearing it. I finally got her to drop "her find" and picked her up only to discover that she was not wearing her diaper nor was it in her crib. I had already looked in on Cali and she was fine. I started to panic as I realized that a dirty smell diaper could be somewhere in the room and I wouldn't be able to find it. As I searched, I checked on Cali again and I found the missing diaper 2 inches from her face. Why does Katya share when she's not supposed to?

At least she folded it over so Cali wouldn't get it as easily.

Let me just say that it was beyond gross and I will definitely remember to either put a onesie on or shorts and no more dress without one.

Maybe no football tickets tomorrow

I was half-misinformed by the BYU ticket office about football tickets. Some All-Sport passes will go on sale tomorrow, but most will start on Monday. Also, you have permanent reserved seats for all the games and you won't rotate. That could be good or bad. We'll see. Here's the link on all the details for the passes.

The Aquarium

I was a little wary to take the girls to the aquarium today because last time we went we all got pink eye. Let's hope we didn't get it again this time. Katya was pretty excited to see the fish. She was so happy and loved touching the glass. Cali was the opposite. The minute she saw them she started screaming. (Maybe she is a drama queen.) It took her awhile to calm down. Once she saw that they weren't doing to get her she was fine. Katya liked it so much that she kept screaming and twisting her legs so I couldn't put her back in the stroller. Silly girl.

As usual, Katya loved this mirror and was so mad when we left it.

Katya wants to make sure that I know Cali is behind her.

Katya loved the jellyfish. I just love her reflection in the glass.

My two cute girls.

This is proof that Katya loves her sister because she's
about ready to hug her.

Katya watching the fishes.

So cute. (I'm not quite sure why she always has her arms out. Funny girl.)

Katya was so proud of herself for crawling through the tunnel, once I
actually got her to go through. She then proceeded to run away from me
so I wouldn't put her back in the stroller. At least she enjoyed it.

I can't believe it's already been 8 months!

I can't believe that Cali is already 8 months old! She is growing up way too fast. She just loves to roll around everywhere and is such a chatterbox. Cali plays with Katya more. I do think Cali will be a drama queen when she gets older. She is being a little dramatic now, so hopefully she grows out of it. She is such a cutie and so much fun to have around. We sure do love this little girl!

What is Friday?

For all you BYU Cougar fans, the Student All-Sports pass goes on sale Friday, August 1. They don't have an announcement up that I could find and I don't want anyone to miss out. Go Cougars!

Lessons from Gardening Part 1

Having a garden these past 2 summers has taught me a lot. We had a garden growing up, but I blocked out most of what I learned because I was a kid and thought that there were much better things to do than have a garden. Paul has been an excellent teacher and has really taught us all it takes to take care of a yard and garden. I am very grateful for that. I have learned quite a few lessons from this whole experience.

1. There is never anything called "too much weeding".
   
2. You have too water all the time-like every day- if yo want things to survive.
3. Taking one day off puts you 3 days behind.
4. Lots of water+Sun= Crazy big plants that produce a lot of fruits/vegetables
5. Suckering tomatoes makes them look less crazy and they produce better
6. There are millions of kinds of squash.
7. When you plant carrots, mix them with radish seeds and sand. They act as good seperators and you end up with wonderful carrots.
8. Cherry and Grape tomatoes are different.
9. There are such things as early corn and late corn.
10. Birds eat peas.
11. Tomato cages are a must.
12. When tomatoes are green and they have an unsightly brown spot growing on the bottom it's because they lack calcium. Put eggshells at the base of the plant and that will give them calcium.
13. You can't pick rhubarb the first year it's planted.
14. Hubbard squash are really good.
15. Lemon cucumbers are cool.
16. Lots and lots of tomato varieties.
17. You can't pick asparagus the first year it's planted.
18. Fertilize the strawberries.
19. Don't let weeds go to seed else you will have a really big mess.
20. Spend time out there every day.
21. You have to pick grapes at the right time. If you wait too long they will start to turn sour.
22. 45 tomato plants gives you tons and tons of tomatoes that you have no idea what to do with.
23. Need to pick zucchini and yellow squash before it gets to big.
24. Tilling is vital.
25. Grow the plants (like tomatoes, squash, peppers) before you plant them. They have a better chance of surviving.
26. Grilled squash tastes so good.
27. In the fall, trim raspberries all the way down, almost to the ground

And so it starts...

Katya has taken her diaper off a couple of times, mainly because she was naked and could easily do it. She has now figured out how to do it while dressed. I walked into her room to get her up from her name and I guess I didn't come soon enough to change her poopy diaper. She had managed to get of the diaper and roll to the other side of the crib. I should count myself luckily that she wasn't hungry or in a finger painting mode. I guess I better watch her more.

Do you think she is my daughter?

I never realized how much Katya looked like me until I saw this old picture of me. I guess she got her cheesiness from me.

Why am I so excited for this week?

1. Our power came back on this morning after it was out for 11 hours.
2. Jethro is one more week closer to being finished with summer term.
3. I finished Don Quixote last week so now I can listen to Pride and Prejudice.
4. Going to the Aquarium.
5. Nobody is sick.
6. Katya learned to say (not sign) dog.
7. Girls Night on Friday.
8. Nice quite week at home.
   

Grandpa Hawks

My wonderful Grandpa Hawks passed away last week. He was such a wonderful man and I'm so grateful that I was able to have him in my life. Unfortunately, we lived far away from him but were able to go to Washington to see him every couple of years. He also came down to visit quite a few times. I have so many great memories of him and the wonderful man that he is.

(**Disclaimer: Please don't hold my hair styles, clothing choices, or big glasses against me. It was the 80's and 90's after all. Not my best years.)

January 1986

He was a ceramic engineer by trade and did some marvelous work. He also spent some time in the military and did some farming/ranching of dairy cows (I hope my memories are right. If not, I'm sorry.) He was always so handy.

April 1986

I remember him coming to visit us when we lived in New Mexico. He helped my dad rip out the linoleum in our kitchen and replace it. I thought that was pretty cool. He was also really handy and could fix a lot. (In this next picture, I am the one on the far left and no I can see where Katya gets her cheesy smile from. She looks exactly like me when she smiles.)

May 1987

My grandpa introduced us to the fabulous t.v. show Gunsmoke. When he came to visit, he would bring all of his Gunsmoke tapes and I loved sitting and watching them with him. I still think that it is the best western show ever. He also loved to read westerns.

January 1994

When we would go visit him in Washington, we'd go to the coast and go clam digging. We would always have seafood when we were there. Maybe that's why I love it so much.

January 1994

I remember my grandpa and his truck. He had a camper on it and would travel and visit us with his truck. I can still picture it in my mind.

November 1994

We had family reunions a couple of times when I was younger with all my cousins. There was one particular time that I remember having the best roasted corn. So yummy. I loved the family reunions and it was always so great to see my grandpa. (My grandpa always looked so good no matter what his age. I hope I inherited some of those good genes.)

May 1996

December 1996

In this next picture, we came to Seattle to see my mom's parents and my grandpa drove 3 hours so that he could see us. I wish that we could have spent more time with him on this trip.

March 1999

I hadn't seen my grandpa for 3 years. We went to Montana for my aunt's wedding during my first year of college. It was so great to see him. He always has great stories about his childhood and his life to share.

September or October 2002

This next picture was taken during my Christmas break for my last Christmas home before I got married. My dad invited him to come and boy am I glad he did. It was so nice to see him and spend time with him. I remember him saying that he didn't need anything for Christmas because him coming to spend Christmas with us was a big enough gift. He was such a humble, wonderful man.

December 2003

I love this next picture. My grandpa loves the ocean and this was taken in Westport, Washington last summer. He is in his element. I am very grateful to my parents that they fly Katya and I out for the family reunion.

June 2007

My grandpa, my dad, and Katya. Katya seemed to really like my grandpa.I just love this picture.

June 2007

My grandpa has 4 great-grandchildren at the moment and Katya is the oldest. I'm so glad he could meet his first great-grandchild and that Katya could meet her great-grandpa. When she gets older I can show her this picture and tell her how wonderful a man he is.

June 2007

This is my dad's side of the family. There are a few missing. It had been probably been 10 or more years since the last family reunion so it was really nice to see everybody. My grandpa really enjoyed seeing everyone also.

June 2007

This is by far my favorite picture of my and my grandpa. I am giving him a kiss on the cheek. My grandpa is so sweet and loving. He never judged us. Even though he wasn't a member of the Church, he never spoke ill about it or us. He supported my dad in his endeavors. I am happy to call myself his granddaughter and proud to be part of the legacy he leaves. I love you Grandpa.

January 1986

I just love this girl!

I just love how she has learned to hug and she just loves to hug me. She also loves to say cheese and look in the camera. She finally loves taking pictures. What a cutie!!

Pioneer Day

I just love having a holiday that no one else has off in the country. The great thing is we still get mail and Jethro has it off. We spent the morning working in the yard. In the afternoon we headed up the canyon to hang out with friends, the Roberts, and celebrate his birthday. We learned to play Canasta and had some super yummy food. It was pretty hot, but it was tons of fun.

Just chillin'. If you look closely, Katya has learned to get her arm out
of the straps. She does the same thing in her car seat. I guess that's
one of the disadvantages of her being so flexible.

No Katya did not punch Cali and give her a bloody lip. It is
just Cali's dinner of apples and blueberries.

Parent's Visit

Because of my nephews baby blessing, my parents were able to come over and visit a few times. The girls were so happy. They loved having tons of people to play with. My sister, Beka, is out of school for the time being so it was fun to see her too.

Got Milk?

What I love about our yard

I have had this pictures for a couple of weeks (er, maybe months) and have been meaning to put them up. I just love all the gorgeous flowers in our yard. Paul does such a good job taking care of them and the are absolutely beautiful. The last few pics are of strawberries. I know they are not flowers, but I still think they are beautiful.