So many things happening

Sorry I'm posting two very long blogs on the same day, but I was behind on my posts.

The most exciting thing for us this week was that we went car shopping yesterday for a larger vehicle since we are expecting and our small car won't hold five. We found one that we loved and the dealer actually offered a really low price to us since we were not quite sure we wanted to buy at the price it was at. Since it is the end of the month, they dropped the price a lot! It was funny, too, because we had walked out of the building after they dropped the price the first time because we wanted to think about it. They chased after us and offered to drop it lower if we will buy this month. We were really blessed. We are going to pick up the car and sign the papers tomorrow. I am so excited! It is a Dodge Grand Caravan. It is really nice!

Violatte has learned so much lately. She is learning her shapes. Her favorite shape is the triangle. She is also learning a lot of Spanish words. It's amazing what she picks up. She has also in this stage where she wants to sleep on her floor in her room. She just decided one day that was what she wanted, so we've been letting her sleep there. We gave her a sleeping bag, so that she stays on something instead of rolling off a blanket. I don't know whether or not that was a mistake but she sure loves it and doesn't seem to have any intention of going back to her bed.

This week we found out that Violatte won't be going to the preschool that I was hopeful she could go to. I really loved it and was disappointed, but there are lots of good preschools here, so it'll be good.

The funniest thing this week with Violatte started with the missionaries. They were at our house one night and one of them did a simple magic trick where he put something in his hand and waved a pencil over it and made it disappear. The next day Violatte was so sure that she could do it, too. First, she had me hold the small toy in my hand and when she waved the pencil and the toy could disappear from my hand, too. She was so proud of herself. Then, she had me wave the pencil and she held the toy. For some reason, it wouldn't disappear. (She just couldn't figure out why not.) She thought, for sure, the problem was with me. She tried the exact same thing with her Daddy later on and it disappeared when she was waving the pencil, but not when Daddy was and she was holding the toy. It was pretty funny. She played that game all day. She would get so mad when she was waving the pencil and holding the toy and she couldn't get it to disappear. I kept hearing her in the other room saying, "Ok, try again" . . . "Ok, try again" . . . It really made me laugh.

Today we were trying to put the girls down for a nap and when we asked Violatte to climb in bed for a nap she said, "No nap, I'm happy." Usually, I tell her when she is really cranky that she is feeling yucky and sad because she is tired. She was trying so hard to get out of taking a nap.

Violatte has also had a hard time eating lately. She gets so distracted during dinner time that she doesn't eat anything and then wants to eat when we are putting her down for bed. We have been strict with her because we want her to learn that she has to eat what is for dinner at dinnertime. It has been a real struggle lately.

Annalee has learned some really cute phrases. I have taught her how to say, "I love you soooooo much!" She does it so cute. Today, she was looking for her blanket (which was in the wash) and she kept wandering around the house saying, "Blanket, where are you?" Another phrase she has said a lot is "Help me." Every time she is stuck or can't reach something I'll hear a little voice saying,"Mommy, help me!"

We put up our swimming pool this week and the girls had such a good time playing in it. She just wanted to be in there all day. The water was pretty cool in the morning but by about noon it was really warm. It's been a fun thing to do together. The weather has been around 110 degrees lately, so the water has been such a relief to all of us. There was a smoke covering this past week because of a fire nearby so it has been cooler than it would have been. Today, the smoke covering was gone and the sun seemed so much more intense. It sure can get miserable. One night it felt cool and really nice and we saw a sign that said it was 98 degrees. We've adapted pretty well.

This week we also got some plants for our yard. We got some grapes and we were also given some branches from an olive tree that we planted and are trying to get to grow. They are not working so well, but we are trying. There are so many amazing plants that we can grow here. We can grow almonds and nectarines and grapes. We can't wait to be able to get our yard full of fruits and vegetables.

We are expecting!

Well, I want to start off with the most exciting news . . . we are pregnant! I am soooo excited! I feel amazing, too, and I think that is in huge part due to the anti-depressants I have been taking. Plus, all my headaches have gone away. I feel incredible. It's such a neat feeling not to have migranes and headaches every single day! I have been a little sick, but not too bad. It's wonderful. We are due around February 17.

Our girls are getting bigger by the minute, it seems. Annalee talks so much and actually talks really well. She learns so many new words a day that I can't list them all here. Some of them, though, are "popsicle," "cheese," "potty," and lots others. Annalee has gotten a lot more playful lately. She and Violatte chase each other around the house and the girls and Jimmy have lots of fun with pillow fights and tag and things like that. Annee seems to enjoy it more and get involved more all the time.

On Friday we went to a pool birthday party for a friend of mine. There were a lot of our friends there and all their kids and we all had such a good time. Violatte swam every free minute she could up until we left at about 9:30 pm. She had such a great time. Annalee loved it, too. Annee learned to swim on her back and was so mad when we got her out of the water.

This week the girls have had a lot of playdates. They are fabulous because I have been switching babysitting times with other moms and I can get what I need to done and the girls have a wonderful time playing with their friends. Violatte asks every day to have a friend over. She loves playing with other kids. Violatte and Annalee both get along really well with other kids, too. I rarely have to break up a fight.

Violatte had her dance recital a couple of weeks ago. She was a little lion cub in the Lion King. She seemed a little nervous before they went on stage, but once she got on stage, she did good. She really seemed to enjoy herself. She kept reminding me that I should clap for her, and was so happy to hear that I did. This week we have been preparing Violatte for her pre-school. I really love the Montessori methods of teaching and I really have wanted her to go the Montessori here, but it is pretty expensive. I found out that they do scholarships, so I applied for it. Now, we are waiting to find out if we got in the school and if we got a scholarship. I really hope she gets in. She loved it there when we went to visit.

Violatte has gotten so independent lately. One day I was showering and I got out of the shower and Violatte had pulled the leftover pancakes out of the fridge, heated up the pancakes, gotten the jam out and spread it on the pancakes and then was in the process of trying to cut up the pancakes for her and Annalee. She also prepared hot dogs for her and Annalee one day while I was folding laundry. It scares me that she doesn't ask for help, but it is really neat to see that she is learning and growing and being independent. Some of Violatte's new phrases are, "Oh, cool!," "No, thanks," and "No way." Another cute thing she does is that at prayer time she fold her doll's arms. She really has gotten attached to her baby doll since we told her that we are going to have a new baby at our house.

This week, when we were at the Montessori school, I got some really neat ideas about how to organize the girls' toys. (If any of you know me really well, you'll know that I have an obsession with things being organized.) I was so excited about it that the next day I went and got the things that I needed and organized the girls' toys. Now, we have eight small bins that they keep similar groups of toys in, for example: puppets, cars, blocks, etc. Then, they have a couple of big toys that they can keep out. Everything fits perfectly on some shelves we have. They can't get anything else out until they put the first thing away. Then, we will switch out what is in the bins every month or so. The girls have been really excited about it, and the way everything is set up makes it really easy for the girls to put things away. Everything has been so much neater, also. Violatte just seems to love having things organized. Since we did that, she has been wonderful at picking up any other clutter she sees around the house. She is one amazing girl!

Jim has had a very interesting couple of weeks. Last weekend he went on a camping trip. It was supposed to be a scout camping trip, but no scouts ended up showing up, so it was just three of the guys in our ward. They had a really great time. They had some scary moments because they could hear some bears outside of their camp. They ended up taking turns keeping watch. They hiked into the camp site and fished and camped back out. They were tired by the time it was over, but they had a good time.

Today Jim had a really fun moment. He was asked to give a talk (again) and then last week they told him that instead of talking today (the 22nd) they were going to have him talk next week (the 29th). We got to church a couple of minutes late today and didn't get a program. After sacrament Jim started walking out to walk around with Annee and they announced that he would be the first one to speak on the program. The look on our faces clearly showed how surprised we were. So, he went up and spoke about temples and how to prepare and go. He did a really good job. He was so scared, but he did a really good job.

As for me, things have been going well. Our dishwasher is working (finally!). That, alone, is fabulous! It was about three weeks that we didn't have a dishwasher. I didn't realize how many dishes we use until I had to do them by hand. One of the missionaries here described it perfectly. He said, "Dishes are like rabbits, you put two in the sink, and all the sudden they've multiplied!" How true it is!

This past week I had a dentist appointment and I am so impressed with how far dentistry has come! I was in the dentist's office less than half an hour to be checked in, prepared, and have a cavity taken care of. It was the most pleasant dentist experience I have ever had. It hardly hurt!

Another wonderful thing this past while is with my business. I have been working very consistently and I have had a lot of sales. It has been a huge blessing to us, especially now that we are expecting. We are so blessed. We have so many wonderful things happening in our lives.

One Fun Week

We have had a very fun week. On Wednesday my friend, Mary, and I took all of our kids down to Sea World and spent the day there. Her husband was on travel for work so we thought it would be a fun thing to do. We had such a great time. It was cool there and sprinkling a little bit. It was nice, though, because it wasn't miserably hot. It started to rain pretty good around 4:30 so that's when we decided to leave. We got to see a lot of shows and we even took the girls on an amusement park ride for young kids. They loved it and wanted to go back. I even enjoyed it and I don't like amusement park rides.

On Saturday we went as a family to a pool party/barbecue with some friends. We had such a great time. The girls wanted to play in the pool the whole time but it got cold and we eventually had to take them out to warm them up. Annalee was fearless, she didn't want any floaty toys, she just wanted to swim. It was cute. The food was good, there, and it was a really relaxing day for us.

Annalee has been fascinated with the toilet lately. She likes to put things into it and she loves to flush it. She has even asked to go potty a lot. We put her on there but she hasn't quite figured out what to do. She seems disappointed that nothing is happening yet. We're hopeful, though. She gets on a few times a day, so it should sometime.

This week they split the nursery so Violatte and Annalee are in different classes. I thought Annalee would have a hard time with it but she did great again! I'm so proud of her!

Violatte is doing well, keeping busy. She seems more independent every single day. She always asks to have friends over and really looks forward to park days.

Jim is loving his job. He is involved in some very amazing projects and he is learning so much. He is looking forward to his campout this week and is really excited to go fishing!

On Saturday I was invited to a game night with some of the women in our ward. I had the most wonderful time and I laughed more there than I have laughed in such a long time. It was great getting to know the women better. We play two different games, one was where you make up definitions to words and the second is called ImagineIff. They were both so much fun. We also had a chocolate cake with cherries in it. It was yummy! I've never had anything like it!

On Thursday I was asked to teach the Relief Society lesson today. I am so glad they did. The lesson was on prayer and personal revelation and I think it was the lesson that I needed to really study and I learned so much from it. It was wonderful!

I've also been working a lot with my business. I have had a lot of great parties lately, a lot of sales, and a lot of bookings. We are being really blessed with it.

Lots of pics

I decided it was time I added some pictures onto my Blog. Here are some recent ones.









This one is of us at Sea World. The girls loved it!







Aww, she looks like an orphan. . . (Notice the highlighter on her hand. . . )

















This is Violatte with the dresses that her Grandpa and Grandma Sanders gave her for her birthday.












Violatte with the scooter that she got for her birthday.

























Look at that smile!

























We had such a great time visiting Grandpa and Corky. The girls were so sad when we had to go.










This is our family with Elder McGahee, one of the missionaries that served in our ward.

Dishwasher troubles . . . and more

Can you believe it is already June?!? Time sure goes by fast! This week has been pretty slow for us. It was wonderful because Jim had Monday off for Memorial Day and Friday was a Flex Friday so he only worked three days this week. We went swimming on Monday and had a really great time. It was fun to be able to just relax and enjoy ourselves. For Family Home Evening we got a new movie and had a movie, popcorn party with the girls. It was fun to all cuddle on the couch and laugh with the movie. Our new family favorite movie is Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. It was such an amazing movie and the girls have watched it quite a few times this week. I absolutely loved it!!!! I highly recommend it if anybody wants to see something really good and really inspiring.

Annee has started doing little things that she has learned from Violatte. She always wants to take her dishes to the sink. It makes me so happy!!! Sometimes, we have to help her, like if she has milk in her cereal bowl, but she does really well. Annee also went to nursery again this week. She did good again. I'm so proud of her. The nursery is being split, though, next week so Violatte and Annalee won't be in the same class. That makes me sad. They really enjoyed being in there together. They also love playing together on the swingset in the backyard. They love to play on all the swings and toys that can hold two people. It's so wonderful!

Violatte only has one more week until her Lion King performance. It is coming up! She does so well at it and I am really excited for her. They got their costumes on Saturday and it is so darling! She is just so excited to dance.

Jim's involved in some great projects at work and he is really loving it. He got invited to go on a campout this coming week with the Teachers' Quorum because the Quorum adviser knows how much Jim likes camping and fishing. Jim is really excited to go. It will be for two and a half days. I'm excited to see him go. I know that it means a lot to him.

As for me, this week has been a little wild. Our dishwasher is having quite a few troubles. We have tried a few things to help it, but it has just gotten worse. After a couple of days we gave up and started using paper plates. There are a lot of dishes to wash by hand for four people. It sure makes me appreciate my dishwasher.

Also, this week I was asked to substitute teach in Primary. I taught the Valiant 9 class. It went ok. It was harder than I thought, though. I admire every Primary teacher.