Dinosaur Museum

Because it was too cold for the zoo, we went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was so much fun. The kids favorite part was probably playing in the sand and water. Jethro was so funny and loved it just like the rest of the little kids. It is so much fun to be around all these kids and just play. We took a ton of pics so I don't have too much to say. We also don't have many of Cali because she slept most of the time.

Lily and Cali

Nya and Katya

Katya digging for bones

Katya liked eating the dirt more than digging in it

Nya digging

The kids touching one of the many "touchable" exhibits

Playing in the cave

Jethro and I

Emma being silly

Assembling dinosaurs

Katya and Nya giving each other a hug

Lily and I with the dinosaur we built

Nya and Lily making dino land

Jethro and Jonah

Creating dams so they can flood their dino habitat

Nya playing in sand

Amy and Katya

Anna and the dinosaur

Book Reading Progress

I didn't get 10 books read like I wanted to this month. I was doing a lot of stuff so I didn't get as much read. A few of the books I was reading are pretty long and have been taking forever to read for some reason. I started The Scarlett Letter and still haven't finished. It's pretty frustrating that it has taken me so long. Hopefully I'll be able to get more done in April.

March
21. 1984- George Orwell
22. Alone, together- Jack Weyland
23. Pursuit of Justice- Willard Boyd Gardner
24. The Operative- Willard Boyd Gardner
25. Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe

Here's hoping that this month will be better.

The verdict is in....

Cali had her 4 month check up today. I've been waiting for this not so patiently because I really wanted to know how big she is. The verdict is in on little Cali: 17 pounds 8 ounces and 25.5 inches long. Her height is in the 75th percentile and her weight is in like the 98th. No wonder she is so heavy! I imagine at 6 moths she'll be caught up to Katya or ahead of her. Looks like we are going to have to get her a front facing car seat before the summer is over.

So big

Cali is getting so big so we put her in the exersaucer on Saturday. She loves it! Katya also likes going over to her and playing with her while she's in it. I can't believe how big she's getting!

I should know better

We love to ask Katya where her head and tummy are, along with other body parts. She does really good when we say head, promptly placing her hand on her head. Knowing this, there is something I just shouldn't do. Katya loves music so I have these kids music cd's on my computer that I play for her while she eats. One of the songs is "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes". Never thought much of that song until this past Sunday when Jethro pointed out that every time it played, Katya would touch her head with her messy food covered hands. Not so cool if we just gave her a bath the night before. I totally forgot about this until today when the song was playing and I looked over to see Katya put her messy hand on her head every time she heard "head". Why did I play that song? I should know better.

If it's there, I'll find it

We didn't give the girls Easter baskets this year, but we had a little Easter candy hanging around the house. Katya sure liked what she found... malted easter eggs.

He's so wonderful!

I sent Jethro to the grocery store yesterday to grab a few things. When he came back, he surprised me with this:

He is so wonderful. It was a total surprise and I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who surprises me. I love you Jethro!

First Zoo trip of the Season

Since Jethro was on Spring Break, we were able to go the zoo. We went with our friends Amber and Craig and their little boy Brendan. It was so much fun. The weather was absolutely perfect. We were able to wear shorts and not even be cold. We also rode the train. Katya liked it, but Cali hated it. Cali also lost her shoe on the ride, but they were nice enough to send a zoo employee to go get it for us. We saw the turkeys and peacocks fighting in the air and that was pretty cool. I can't wait to go the zoo more this year. Here are some pics from our fun-filled day.

Video of the Swing

This is the video from the post about Katya swinging. Of course when the camera was rolling, she toned it down a lot!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone. We hope that you had a fabulous day.

Katya and Cali wore cute matching dresses for today
thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Hawks.

We were at Rebekah's for dinner and Nya was kind enough to show Katya a swing that was just her size. Nya was so proud of having this baby swing. Katya absolutely loved it. We are definitely going to have to take Katya over there again to swing. She was probably swinging for an hour and wasn't even ready to leave, we just got tired of pushing her.

He Lives!

“He Lives! The Witness of Latter-day Prophets,” Liahona, Mar 2008, 8–11

“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!” (D&C 76:22).

“He lives!” So testified the Prophet Joseph Smith of the Savior Jesus Christ. With such certitude, all subsequent Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators—have testified of the Savior’s reality, divinity, Atonement, and Resurrection.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

“I know that I am not the head of this Church. The Lord Jesus Christ is its head. My mission, my chief responsibility, my greatest honor comes in bearing solemn testimony of His living reality. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who condescended to come into this world of misery, struggle, and pain, to touch men’s hearts for good, to teach the way of eternal life, and to give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. He is ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He shall reign forever and ever’ (Handel’s Messiah). … I bear solemn witness that He lives and stands on the right hand of His Father.”1

President Howard W. Hunter (1907–95)

“I am grateful … for my affiliation with a people who have a firm conviction that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ; and I bear witness to you that the story of the babe born in the manger at Bethlehem is not a myth of the past, but that Jesus, the Son of God was born of Mary into mortality; that he lived among men; that he died upon the cross and was resurrected; that he actually and truly lives today; and that he is a personal being and is the Savior of the world.”2

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994)

Photograph of Ezra Taft Benson by Busath Photography

“The question is sometimes asked, ‘Are Mormons Christians?’ We declare the divinity of Jesus Christ. We look to Him as the only source of our salvation. We strive to live His teachings, and we look forward to the time that He shall come again on this earth to rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In the words of a Book of Mormon prophet, we say to men today, ‘There [is] no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent’ (Mosiah 3:17).”3

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985)

“We place [Jesus Christ] on a pedestal as no other group I know of. To us he is not only the Son of God, he is also a God and we are subject to him. …

“No matter how much we say of him, it is still too little.

“He is not only the Carpenter, the Nazarene, the Galilean, but Jesus Christ, the God of this earth, the Son of God, but most importantly, our Savior, our Redeemer. …

“I add my own testimony. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.

“He is my friend, my Savior, my Lord, my God.”4

President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973)

“After a long night of searching and days of spiritual preparation that followed, I came to know as a witness more powerful than sight, until I could testify with a surety that defied all doubt, that I knew with every fiber of my soul that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, that He lived, He died, He was resurrected, and today He presides in the heavens, directing the affairs of this church, which bears His name because it preaches His doctrine. I bear that testimony humbly and leave you my witness.”5

President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972)

“Salvation is in Christ. It comes because of the infinite and eternal atonement which he wrought by the shedding of his blood. He is the Son of God, and he came into the world to ransom men from the temporal and spiritual death that came because of what we call the fall.

“Through his goodness and grace all men will come forth from the grave, to be judged according to the deeds done in the flesh. …

“I know that he lives, that he rules in the heavens above and in the earth beneath, and that his purposes shall prevail. He is our Lord and our God. As he himself said to Joseph Smith: ‘The Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior’ (D&C 76:1).”6

President David O. McKay (1873–1970)

“ ‘How can we know the way?’ asked Thomas, as he sat with his fellow apostles and their Lord at the table after the supper on the memorable night of betrayal; and Christ’s divine answer was: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. …’ (John 14:5–6.) And so he is! He is the source of our comfort, the inspiration of our life, the author of our salvation. If we want to know our relationship to God, we go to Jesus Christ. If we would know the truth of the immortality of the soul, we have it exemplified in the Savior’s resurrection. …

“… He is the one Perfect Being who ever walked the earth; the sublimest example of nobility; Godlike in nature; perfect in his love; our Redeemer; our Savior; the immaculate Son of our Eternal Father; the Light, the Life, the Way.”7

President George Albert Smith (1870–1951)

“The Savior died that we might live. He overcame death and the grave and holds out to all who obey His teachings the hope of a glorious resurrection.”8

“I have found many in the world who have not known that we believe in the divine mission of our Lord, and I have been led to say upon more than one occasion that there are no people in the world who so well understand the divine mission of Jesus Christ, who so thoroughly believe him to have been the Son of God, who are so sanguine [confident] that at the present time he is enthroned in glory at the right hand of his Father, as the Latter-day Saints.”9

President Heber J. Grant (1856–1945)

“To members of the Church throughout the world, and to peace-lovers everywhere, we say, behold in this Man of Galilee not merely a great Teacher, not merely a peerless Leader, but the Prince of Peace, the Author of Salvation, here and now, literally and truly the Savior of the World!

“… Jesus is the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, who came to the earth with a divinely appointed mission to die for the redemption of mankind. Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, the Only Begotten in the flesh. He is our Redeemer, and we worship him.”10

President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918)

“The Holy Spirit of God has spoken to me—not through the ear, not through the eye, but to my spirit, to my living and eternal part,—and has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I testify to you that I know that my Redeemer lives. Furthermore, I know that I shall see Him on this earth, and that I shall see Him as He is. … The Lord has revealed this to me. He has filled my whole spirit with this testimony, until there is no room for doubt.”11

President Lorenzo Snow (1814–1901)

“That Being who dwelt in Heaven, who reigned there before the world was, who created the earth, and who, in the meridian of time, came down to perfect and save that which He had created, has appeared to men in this age.”12

“We testify to the whole world that we know, by divine revelation, even through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that he revealed himself to Joseph Smith as personally as he did to his apostles anciently, after he arose from the tomb, and that he made known unto him [the] heavenly truths by which alone mankind can be saved.”13

President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98)

“The object of Christ’s mission to the earth was to offer himself as a sacrifice to redeem mankind from eternal death. … He acted strictly in obedience to his Father’s will in all things from the beginning, and drank of the bitter cup given him. Herein is brought to light, glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life, with that charity which is greater than faith or hope, for the Lamb of God has hereby performed that for man which [man] could not accomplish for himself. …

“There is no being that has power to save the souls of men and give them eternal life, except the Lord Jesus Christ, under the command of His Father.”14

President John Taylor (1808–87)

“Anointed, indeed, with the oil of gladness above His fellows, He struggled with and overcame the powers of men and devils, of earth and hell combined; and aided by this superior power of the Godhead, He vanquished death, hell and the grave, and arose triumphant as the Son of God, the very eternal Father, the Messiah, the Prince of peace, the Redeemer, the Savior of the world; having finished and completed the work pertaining to the atonement, which His Father had given Him to do as the Son of God and the Son of man.”15

President Brigham Young (1801–77)

“I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world; I have obeyed his sayings, and realized his promise, and the knowledge I have of him, the wisdom of this world cannot give, neither can it take away. …

“Our Lord Jesus Christ—the Savior, who has redeemed the world and all things pertaining to it, is the Only Begotten of the Father pertaining to the flesh. … He has tasted death for every man, and has paid the debt contracted by our first parents.”16

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44)

“And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—

“That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;

“That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him” (D&C 76:40–42).

The Second Coming, by Grant Romney Clawson

A 2nd Job to Support My Habit

I got another job again. This one is better than delivering donuts (which I did last fall). I am the newest member of the gang at The Apple Blog. I will be writing articles that relate to Apple products. If you subscribe or visit this blog often, please consider visiting and/or subscribing to that blog. I will try to give an educational slant to most of my articles over there.

My first article over there is about TubeTV--a program that downloads and converts online videos for iPod, iPhone, and AppleTV. I really like that program and I use it all the time. It is especially useful for teachers.

Thanks for supporting me here (and there), and don't worry, I will continue my education blog.

Is it Spring?

"Are you sure it's Spring? There won't be any more snow, will there?

I just can't believe that it's finally Spring!"

"Mom, you aren't joking are you? I pulled out all my Spring and
Summer dresses so you better be right, okay?!"


HAPPY SPRING!!!

Sewing Projects

I forgot to post some pics of some recently completed sewing projects. My mom sent me some soft kids books already cut out and all they needed was a good sew. Katya loves books and has taken to these quite well.



I made this blanket for my grandpa. I figure people could always use a nice and soft blanket.

Why does it have to be so hard?

Some classics are just so hard to read. Right now I am reading the Scarlett Letter and have been for 2 weeks. I just can't seem to get through it. The words aren't that tough, so I don't know what it is. I am so frustrated with it. Maybe the problem is me. I can usually sit down and read a couple of pages a minute If that doesn't happen, I usually think it's too tough and give up on it. Maybe I should just relax. It's hard to think about taking the reading slow when you are not sure if a baby's cry will pierce the air in the next few minutes and you'll have to put the book down until who knows when. I guess that I should just realize that some books are harder than others and be grateful for the freedom that we have to read whatever we want.

BookCrossing.com

I just joined a new website called bookcrossing.com. I found it through the frogpond at bzzagent.com. If anyone has any experience with this site, let me know in the comments.

Visit Book Crossing

Another New Skill for Katya

So Proud!

Tonight, Katya started learning how to eat with a fork, and she couldn't be prouder of herself. Each time she put food in her mouth with her fork, she waited for us to clap, and if we didn't, she reminded us that we needed to by clapping with her fork still in her hand. She looked so cute stabbing the fork into her other hand in the manner of clapping. Here are some pictures.

Scooping up some food!

Shovelin' it in!

When we give Katya her sippy cup, and she still has food on her plate, she has to push all the food out of the way so she can put her cup down on her tray without getting it in the food. Even if she is choking, she will still clear the tray so food is not under the cup. I am typing this as Katya still eats, and she is furious that she can't touch the screen and point to the picture of herself. She screams and points like there is a serial killer on the screen that only she can see.

So what do I do?

When most of my day from 8 am till about 8 pm is filled with taking care of the kids, what do I do when they sleep in really late?

This is what I finally saw at 10:15. Cute little Cali
woke up and blessed me with her smiles.


At 10:45 Katya woke up to say good morning and to show
me she has a runny nose.

I sure do love my kids.

Note to Self

Here are ideas for the future when we finally have a house and the kids grow up:

1. 5-6 year old birthday party- A tee party for the girls and their dolls. Each child and doll has their own little chair, little cups, little plates. Serve little sandwiches and little cakes. Girls and dolls where fancy dresses. Decorate big hats for the activity and little hats for dolls.

2. Master bedroom- White wainscoting and white chair rail. Above that, walls will be black. Comforter will be mainly white with a modern black pattern. Sheets will be rich red and so will the curtains. Lounge chair will also be a rich, deep red with black and white accent pillows.

3. Kids room- Lots of bright circles of all different colors and sizes on white walls. Solid bright colored sheets and bedding.

4. Kids playroom( big room)- One corner- floor to ceiling mirrors with ballet bar, hard floor, and ipod with ihome to play dance music; Corner two- large play kitchen and little table with 2 chairs; Corner three- nice art easel with all art supplies in wall mounted organizer; Corner four- Lego corner with wall mounted storage system with some floor storage and a small table; Center of room- round table to do whatever else- homework, reading, large group play, etc.

5. Scrapbook/Craft room- Hard floor maybe of white wood or black and white tile. There will be a huge floor to ceiling window that lets in natural light. The ceiling will be 10 feet tall. The lights will be hanging lights that can be easily moved down a track for more concentrated lighting if necessary. The light shades will be glass in different colors (red, green, yellow, blue). There will be floor to ceiling white cabinets on remaining walls. These cabinets will we special craft cabinets to organize all my different scrapbooking and craft supplies. In the center of the room of the room will be a big rectangular table. It will be white with metal legs. It will have a glass lighted top. The table will also have the ability to go up or down mechanically- all the way to the floor and up to 5 1/2 feet high.

6. Jethro's office- Huge cherry wood solid desk. Nice leather office char and a leather couch. Nice cherry wood cabinets all around the room. He will also have his dream computer that can mechanically raise and lower into his desk. He wants a place for a snake, but we'll see. He will also have a life size manikin in a glass display case for his traditional Russian outfit. He might get lucky and have a flat panel t.v. There also needs to be a good size window.


(A girl can dream, can't she?)

And the Winner is...

Katya is very excited will announce the winner of the two Chili's Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burgers.

Drumroll, please!

The winner is commenter number 11, Nicalous Rudd (do you have Chili's up there?).




Look how happy Katya is that you won, Nic. Please leave a comment with your address and we will send it to you. We moderate the comments, so we just won't publish your comment, and nobody will know your address. And, we won't even spam you!

Chili's anyone?

Jethro and I are part of this advertising company called BzzAgent. We sample and test out products in BzzCampaigns. As part of our job, we talk to others about the products and our opinions of them. It is a great way for companies to get the word out on new products. Jethro has been involved in quite a few campaigns, but I just started.

My first campaign is for Chili's new Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger. Can I just say "oh yum". They are so good! They are quite large and one burger could definitely feed both Jethro and me. I had the Southern Smokehouse Bacon Burger. I love bacon and with really thick slices of sweet bacon it was so yummy.

I (Jethro) had the Jalapeño Smokehouse Burger and I really liked it. The burger was good, but it was a little dry. That was a bit of a bummer. The bacon was not as seasoned as Staci's burger, but it was still really good. I don't even like bacon, but this tasted less like bacon and more like cooked ham. The fries are also really good. But, of course, I love French fries and hamburgers, so it is a given that I would love this.
I would definitely recommend this to those who really like burgers and definitely those who like bacon. The really aren't too spicy either (at least mine wasn't).

Now for the fun part--a little contest. This contest will end Tuesday night 8 pm Mountain Time. Just leave a comment saying what your favorite restaurant is. (Also, if you're new to our blog, tell me how you found us-for curiosities sake.) Tuesday night, Jethro will draw a number and the author of that comment that is will receive 2 coupons for a free Chili's Smokehouse Bacon Burger that comes with fries. It can't get any better than that. Only one comment per person please. Good luck to all.

So what's happening?

There hasn't been too much going on around our house this week, but here are some pictures of what's been going on for those of you who need a cute kid fix.

Cali's practicing her evil glare for when She gets a little

bigger and Katya starts stealing her toys.

Katya is liking the idea of having a bowl with her dinner.
For a little while she was putting the food on her tray into the bowl and
then putting it into her mouth. She did that until she realized it was more
fun to put it on her head.

Cute!!

I just got the cutest necklace in the mail the other day. I won a contest on Kristi's blog for my word of the year. The necklace is by Lily Lane and I absolutely love it. It is so cute and I'm so excited to wear it around. Thank you Lily Lane for your kindness and generosity and for sharing your wonderful talent. I love it!

Front

Back

(These aren't the best pictures so it doesn't quite do it justice.)

Not enough blogging

You know you have way to many posts to do when your dreams for the last two nights are about those blog 3 or 4 blog posts that you really need to do. Hopefully I can silence those dreams by blogging today. We'll see.

"I'm so pretty"

Most of the time, Cali has such a serious look on her face and she'll just look at us. We have discovered a way to truly make her smile. She loves to here how pretty and beautiful she is. That is sure to put a smile on her face. The other night, Jethro was sitting on the floor holding Cali as we played with Katya. Katya did something cute and gave me a total cut face to which I said, "Katya you're so beautiful." Immediately after I said it. Cali burst out screaming because we didn't tell her how beautiful she was. We proceeded to tell Cali that she was pretty and beautiful also. This calmed her down and got her to smile. It is just so funny what kids do. I sure do love it.