Chelsea is home!

My adorable sister, Chelsea, got home from her mission yesterday! She served in the Ohio Cincinnati mission for the past 18 months. The kids and I drove to Cedar City to meet her at the airport along with the rest of my family. Jeff was taking midterms so he had to miss out. You should have seen the little Cedar airport! It was full to capacity with signs, balloons, and people! This picture of Daisy, Chelsea, and I was taken just after she got off the plane, which is why we have red eyes and tears.
After the big airport welcome we went back to my parents house and hung out for a couple hours before Chelsea was released and then the whole gang met at Costa Vida (Chelsea's request - she says there is NO good Mexican food in Ohio/Kentucky) for dinner. Costa Vida was also filled to capacity, which I'm sure they didn't mind.

Following Costa Vida, lots of laughs, and a few more tears, we were off to Maggie Moo's for ice cream. All Levi wanted was 'gummy bear' kind. Mine was good, but after eating at Costa Vida I was already stuffed. And for anyone that needs to know Maggie Moo's doesn't hold a candle to Cold Stone.

It is so good to have Chelsea back home. Last night as we all knelt around my parent's bed for prayers I couldn't help but feel how blessed we are. It felt so good to have my parents and sisters all under one roof again! In a lot of ways it feels as though she never left. There are a lot of people vying for her time right now, but I can hardly wait to get her up here to myself for a few days! And...if you know any great single guys, she needs to get going! (hehehe)

Daisy is 5!

Our Daisy celebrated her 5th birthday! She only wanted two things: to go swimming, and an ipod. Yeah. I didn't know how I was going to give her either of these things. There is no indoor pool anywhere near here. I even called the local hotels with pools to see if we could pay to swim there for a few hours. No success. I wasn't about to buy her an ipod! I found an inexpensive mp3 at WalMart, waited for eternity for an associate to help me, only to be told they didn't have any of that one in stock. Of course. So...I found an indoor pool 45 minutes away and an mp3 at the local plumbing store (no, I'm not kidding.) We started the day with birthday breakfast (sausage) and then Grandma JoAnn took Daisy to Build-A-Bear, which was a fabulous date. After they got home all of our family here traveled down to go swimming and my parents met us at the pool. I even ventured into the pool with my big self. The kids had a blast and Daisy even went off the diving board. We were the only ones in the pool, so it felt like a big private party. Afterward we went to the local pizza joint to eat and open presents. She was happy about the mp3, but she was in heaven with the dress my parents gave her. Overall, we had a very happy celebration.

Daisy had a ton of hair when she was born and I couldn't seem to do anything to tame it. She was such a good baby and even slept through the night right from the beginning.

She started sucking her thumb as an infant. I loved it when she was little because it was adorable and because she could soothe herself. We won't talk about how cute it is now that she's 5.

Daisy has always been the perfect combination of princess and tomboy. Even as a toddler she loved makeup, dirt, nail polish, horses, pink, daddy, and jewelry.

I've been spending the past few weeks trying to figure out where the past 5 years have gone. I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that she is so big so soon.

In honor of her 5th birthday, I wanted to post 5 things we love about Daisy, but I don't want to give you the idea that she's perfect so I'll let you know that she still sucks her thumb, she hates to wipe herself after using the bathroom, she can have the attitude of a 13 year old, and she is a major clutterbug (she wants to keep EVERYTHING!) Now for the good stuff:

1. She is sooo patient (like her dad.)

2. She is thoughtful and empathetic (like her dad.)

3. She has a sincere heart (she always wants to do what's right.)

4. She can out eat almost anyone (like her mom.)

5. She is dependable, obedient and responsible.

More Than You Wanted To Know

This tag is from Megan; I'm it again.
Seven Things I Can Do:
1. Put my makeup on with either hand
2. The splits all three ways (yes, even while I'm pregnant.)
3. Eat more than Jeff (I didn't say I was proud, I said I could do it.)
4. Sing along with almost any song from a) a Disney movie or b) the Country Legends station.
5. Do my hair in 5 minutes (that's one of the main reasons I keep this ol' do.)
6. I'm getting dang good with a caulk gun!
7. Wiggle my ears.

Seven Things I Can't Do:
1. Whistle
2. Go all day without checking my blog
3. Eat tamales
4. Keep my laundry folded
5. Balance my checkbook
6. Consistently be on time for church
7. Keep my mouth shut.

Seven Things I Say Most:
1. I love you!
2. Hurry!
3. What did I ask you to do?
4. Use words!
5. Are you kidding me?
6. I'm going to throw you in the big black garbage can (I really do say this to my kids several times a day...it's sort of a family joke.)
7. Whose turn is it?

Seven Goals for the Year:
1. Get back to my prepregnancy weight before 2010
2. Exercise 3 times a week
3. Figure out how to 'blurb' my blog into a book (any hints?)
4. Be 100% visiting teacher (this will be the hardest one for me by far.)
5. Attend the temple at least once a month.
6. Write in my journal every night
7. Organize and back up my digital photos.

Seven Reasons I Fell In Love With Jeff
1. He made me feel safe
2. He is hott damn sexy
3. He made (and still makes) me want to be a better person
4. I felt most comfortable and most myself when I was with him
5. The Spirit pretty much told me if I didn't marry him I was an idiot.
6. He is a worthy priesthood holder, return missionary, and lives his testimony.
7. I had never, ever, felt the same way about anyone ever before.

Seven Things I Love to Eat
(disclaimer: it would be much easier to list seven things I don't like to eat, since I pretty much love food in general.)
1. anything with chocolate and peanut butter together
2. fresh citrus
3. the entire Pizza Factory menu
4. pickles
5. swiss cheese
6. grilled ham & cheese sandwiches
7. fresh salsa

Seven People I Tag
1. Jessica
2. Christel
3. Jana
4. Danielle
5. Rachel
6. Brandi
7. Mindee

No More Diapers!

We have been spending every spare moment working on our basement apartment at Jeff's parents house. I never knew motherhood and 'back to school' would mean I would become a subcontractor! As a result, things have felt a little hectic and disconnected (envision a laundry pile the size of a small mountain.) In spite of the construction project, we've had some fun times and even a major milestone!

This is Daisy sporting her new CTR ring, which she thinks is the greatest thing since Sparkles Rope. She wears it continually and washes it daily to make sure it stays shiny. I don't have the heart to tell her that if she keeps doing that it will turn her finger green. She even walks around warning Levi to 'choose the right.'

And here's our milestone! Levi is using the potty! I think this is the greatest thing since disposable diapers. I am so proud of him! He caught on very quickly and is even waking up dry in the mornings. He loves his 'Buzz Lightyears' and 'red ballgame' big boy pants. I am a little hesitant to declare victory because I am fearful of regression when the baby is born, but so far it has been really nice not to have to deal with diapers at all! Way to go Levi!

For Supper Club this month Mandi and her family planned for us to all go roller skating. This is a picture of the Supper Club moms. (I'm the big pregnant one, in case you couldn't tell - ick!) I haven't roller skated in nearly a decade and it was so fun! Daisy, on the other hand, wasn't such a fan, and Jeff didn't even attempt it (chicken.) The kids brought bikes and played basketball, and had a blast running around and being crazy after being cooped up inside for so long. I ate so much pizza I probably could've won an eating contest.