we miss you!

i was just having a little "i miss virginia moment" and decided to post these pictures of our thanksgiving day celebrations.

we are having a good time in utah, but we do miss you all....

p.s. if any of you have any more pictures of us, could you send them to my email? you never know, i might be organized in florida and start scrapbooking right away.....

florida move update

yes, we are really moving to florida (davie/ft. lauderdale)!  this is a slight change from the plan(s) we originally had (africa, egypt...), but it looks like this one is going to stick.  we've found a house we're really excited about (we're going  to rent it--we're selling our house in virginia).  this next month is going to be slightly crazy for us:  our stuff is getting packed up next week, then we'll be staying at the clark's house for a week (thanks!) while we close on our house and wrap things up here.  we're flying to utah dec. 3rd and spending christmas there, and we'll finally move to florida dec. 27th.  here are some pictures of the florida house, representing a few of my favorite things about the house.  hooray for warm weather and a big yard! and maybe i will even cook if i have a nice kitchen?

madeline--winner of the most dramatically changed hair

     
can you believe this is madeline's hair? i know i have been posting way too many pictures of hair  these days, but it was seriously wild to see madeline's hair turn out so curly. as an experiment i put about 10 little twist buns in her hair at night and had her sleep with them in, and this is what was produced in the morning when i took the buns out. pretty fun, eh?

i miss him!!!!

has loren really only been gone since tuesday?  how did i ever make it a whole year without him?  it is so not fun.  thank goodness i'll see him again on sunday!  seriously, though, how did i survive?  i must have been blessed even more than i realized last year, because now that i remember how hard it is for him to be gone for just a few days, i can't picture being apart for a longer amount of time.

are you tired of me being lonely yet?  i think it's worse because it's friday night.  fridays are always the worst for being alone.  good thing i have a blog to keep me company!  okay i'm done now.  (side note:  loren's in florida on a house-hunting trip--wish him luck!)

fancy hair

yes, we're still going strong with the new-do faze of our lives. here's a little update to help you picture what i am called upon to 'do' (ha!) each morning. and pictures of the book that started it all.

tagged

I am: a reading-swimming-hiking-trip loving-yoga doing mom
I know: The Church is true
I want: too many things--a piano and another vacation top the list (along with another purse, which is always a need)
I have: a fabulous husband and great kids
I dislike: being sick, a messy house, cranky kids
I miss: my sisters, my mom (ok, my dad and brothers, too), and all my california friends.  i'm getting ready to miss my virginia friends
I feel: good about life
I hear:the dishwasher and loren reading to the kids
I smell: the chocolate cookies i just ate (2nd one today--thanks for the recipe, liza)
I crave: something sweet almost always
I cry: not so much, but sometimes
I search: for the perfect purse and comfy high heels
I wonder: when we'll move to florida
I regret: not spending enough time with my kids
I love: lobee, gwynnie, liesel, madeline, gretchy, pace boy
I care: too much about what other people think
I worry: that I'm not teaching my kids all they need to know
I remember: how lonely it was when loren was gone; having fun on family vacations
I believe: in a loving Savior who died for me
I dance: secretly in the kitchen while i'm cooking when nobody's around
I argue: with myself and loren sometimes
I write: to-do lists
I win:hardly ever.  i stink at games
I lose: my mind at about 6:00 every night
I wish:i was never impatient
I listen: to whatever the kids turn on on itunes when they get home from school
I can usually be found: at home or at costco
I am scared: of spiders. and mice.  and the dark.  and men hiding in the back of my car (which hasn't ever happened, but might at any moment).  and snakes.  and sharks and alligators now that i'm moving to florida.
I need: to enjoy the moments of motherhood
I forget: people's names and visiting teaching appointments i've made
I am happy: being a mom
I tag: the rest of my sisters who "didn't have time" for bekah's tag, either.  come on girls, you can do it.  and any friends who feel so inclined to be tagged!

liesel and gwyneth are entering the blogging world

liesel and gwyneth really wanted to start their own blog.  since i'm not quite ready for that, we have reached a compromise, and they will be allowed to add their own feelings about life in their little section on the sidebar.  we'll see how it goes.  if they start saying mean things about their mom we'll have to change the rule.  when should kids be allowed to blog, anyway?  i had to wait until i was 32....... 

a couple of weeks ago we went on a hike to an overlook of the potomac. this is the same trail that loren goes on when he runs. it's funny to be in virginia and look across the river into maryland. i always forget how close we live to the state border. anyway, we had a lot of fun getting a family work-out in.

fancy pj's

the fancy pj's
madeline and gretchen came downstairs in very fancy pajama outfits the other night.  i don't know what inspired such creativeness, but it was pretty cute.  and, you'll notice that i actually took pictures!  see, i'm getting better.

liesel's new hair

in an attempt to make me a better mom, liesel presented me with a book on how to do hair.  it has pictures of creative hairstyles in it to give uncreative moms like me a little inspiration.  so far, i have been very cooperative, and liesel's been able to go to school with a new hair-do pretty much every day for the last couple of weeks.  luckily, the other kids have not jumped on the hair-do wagon.  although gretchy did bring me the book yesterday and had me do one of the styles on her........what have i gotten myself into?

pace baby

some of you have complained that you never see pictures of pace. so, here he is. he's just my little guy.

halloween festivities

we had a great halloween this year. we went to a ward party and got enough candy to last us for a year, so the kids opted to go to high school musical 3 on halloween night. i smuggled in lots of homemade treats for us, and we had a grand time. pace baby was even good. i'm hoping he forgets that he learned how to say "more cookie". hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, and if it involves millions of cookies, so be it.

Allen Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Find my lost relatives - Family name history

Allen Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Allen Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Allen Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Roots - Family research

Allen Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

sisters' weekend

i just got back from the best sisters' weekend ever!  all 6 girls were there, plus my mom.  i weaned pace just in the nick of time, and was able to leave him home with loren and the other kids, so i was child-free for the first time ever!!!!!  i'm already waiting for next year's getaway......

recipe for an indian halloween costume

gretchen came to me with a plan for making myself an indian halloween costume.  here is what she proposed:

"first, you take some paper and cut it up. then put it in the oven for 4 hours.  with 8 cups of sugar on it.  then you take it out and let it sit for a while to let it get more prettier.  then you take some sprinkles and glitter and decorate it.  then you're done.  and if that doesn't work, just wear your pakistan outfit"

she even drew me a 'plan' of the procedure, with a detailed drawing of all the different steps.

anybody need a new halloween costume?

new york city: september 2008

christine and brad invited us to spend a long weekend in new york city. we had the best time ever!!!! here are some highlights: seeing 'wicked' with loren; top of the empire state building; seeing brad, tina, and baby (grandma) orva; statue of liberty/ferry ride; first taxi ride ever; double decker bus tour; ground zero; central park; the view from our windows. thanks brad & tina!!!!

beach house pool

wright brothers' museum

it was rainy one of the days we were in the outer banks, so we went to the wright brothers' memorial and museum. it ended up being really fun and was a good break from the beach.

disclaimer

i feel like i have to write a small disclaimer before i move on.  i am not good at this!  do not expect fabulous or witty postings from me!  i feel like i am not fully in control of the blog yet--i'm sure i will accidently post random things, and that the things i do want to post will somehow be lost forever in outer computer space.  hopefully i will at least be able to keep you updated on the comings and goings of my little family, which is why i am doing this, i guess.  there.  that is all.  phew--no more pressure.

making waves

outer banks vacation--september 2008

a couple of weeks after loren got back from pakistan we went on vacation to the outer banks (we finally figured out what all those obx stickers mean).  we rented a fabulous beach house about 10 houses from the beach.  the kids stayed in a room with 2 sets of bunk beds, which was very exciting for them.  we went to the beach every day except one (it was raining so we went to the wright brothers' museum).  the beach house had a pool and a hot tub so after we were tired of the beach we'd head 'home', put pace in bed for a nap, and jump in the pool.  the kids were allowed one short dip in the hot tub each day.  (loren and i were allowed much longer dips).