Honey - Do you Have Some Money?

I thought these two cartoons depict some of the feelings I have had lately ..... This whole early retirement is not much fun .... if only money DID grow on trees .... we would have an orchard!

No Naps = Early to Bed!

The past several days Max has not been taking an afternoon nap for whatever reason and I think I am kind of liking it. I guess it is a little selfish but, he is ready for bed by 7 pm and after we go through our bedtime routine - I have so much time in the evening again! I have found myself working on cross stitch projects again and enjoying our "couple" time where Mark and I can talk without interuption. It really is refreshing. I'm sure most parents figure this out way before the upcoming 3rd birthday but, early to bed is quite nice! Although I will add ... he is getting up around 1 or 2 each night and looking for a drink of water or calling me in to "retuck" him under the covers with all his bedtime friends but I'm sure that too will pass. I do love spending that quality time with him just before he falls asleep. This time usually includes recaping the day, what we are doing the next day and some finely sung tunes! While our singing time usually consists of the Top Ten Primary songs our CD should be released soon .... I'm just waiting for Simon C. to call any day now! I think SLC is also trying to reach for us their next release as well..... ha ha ha ha ha!

Top 10 Benefits of Unemployment

While it is no secret that we are unemployed and it is always easy to think of the negatives of being unemployed I thought I would create my own top 10 benefits of being unemployed!

10. Family time is ALL the time.
9. You can catch up on ALL the movies you currently own.
8. You can shovel the snow and ice as it is coming down.
7. You can take your kids to the park in the middle of the day and moms think you are a cool stay-at-home dad!
6. You can sleep in and not worry about over-sleeping your alarm.
5. You can stay in your pajamas all day if you want.
4. You don't have to worry about performance evaluations and slacking on the job.
3. You have all kinds of time to write your congressmen.
2. You have time to work out next seasons NFL schedule and pick your fantasy team.
1. Sitting around and doing nothing feels an awful lot like a "Hill" job without the pay of course.

Here's to finding new jobs, committing to Graduate school and enjoying all the family time you can handle!

Look Who's in Time Out

Tonight during dinner, Max decided that both Elmo and Winnie needed time out. "Just two more minutes." Look carefully, Elmo is actually strapped in! Poor guys - think Max has been to time-out too much lately? Perhaps mommie & daddy need a little time-out ourselves!

The Sweetest Prayer

Yesterday morning as I went to bless our breakfast, Max pitched a huge fit about folding his arms and being completely disrespectful about giving a prayer. Well, after 10 minutes in time-out which seemed almost like an eternity (to me anyway) he decided that he did know how to fold his arms and be a good listener.

This morning, when it was time to bless our breakfast, I said to him, "Now I know you know how to fold your arms and say the blessing, would you like to do it?" He was anxious to show me how he can fold his arms and loud and clearly he said the following:
"Heavenly Father, thank you for our good nights rest, thank you for our house, for our money in our wallets, for grandpa's wallet, for our keys, for the calulators, for the juice we don't take down stairs, for chocolate milk, for coke ... pause... and for our eggs and toast. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

We still need to work on closing our eyes with him, as I am sure he was surveying the table and kitchen to say things he was thankful for. But, none-the-less we are trying our best to teach him how to be reverent and respectful. Today, mommy was very proud of him!

Winchester Ice Storm

I found these pictures on my camera from about 2 1/2 weeks ago. We had to explain to Max that now all falling snow was fun to play in and make snowmen with. Here are some shots of Mark and Max working on clearing our ice. Max could walk on top of the ice no problem. In different places it held Mark and I just find as well. Slippery ice is not much fun to play in!

Get me off this ice!
I'm sure I can help dad ...

Happy Valentines Day

For Valentines Day this year we made cupcakes from scratch and boy were they yummy! The weather warmed up a bit so we bundled up and went out side to play some football together as a family. Max and Justin had a great time throwing, catching, tackling, running and had good old fashion fun with all of mom & dad's attention. Some additional shots are down below.

Mark bought me some beautiful roses and we found a babysitter to watch the boys for a couple of hours while we went to the EQ activity which included a potluck dinner and dancing. While we did do some dancing we really had more fun chatting with our friends at our table. One couple instructed all of us on how to do the two-step and we did have fun trying to learn slow slow quick quick. Overall our weekend was quiet and thankfully the wind has stopped blowing!

Justin showing us how to throw!

Max, grateful for a turn getting the football!
Time to go in... retrieving kids from neighbors yard!

Windy Winchester

Have I mentioned the wind in Winchester to you? I have never lived in a community where the wind blows so darn hard! Last night the wind started to blow in the early evening and boy it kept our entire family up most of the night! Mark was pacing while I ended up down the hall helping Max to try & sleep through the night. I was nervous the roof would be 100 miles away by morning. Thankfully, just a few lawn chairs relocated, the grill took a little ride and one of the heavy pots on the front porch tipped over. Of course our real estate sign went wild and part of it broke but can be fixed. What a crazy evening and still the winds are coming through. We don't have huge trees in our yard but I know many areas are concerned about the trees coming down on houses. Many of the neighborhoods in our area were built on old apple orchards so much of the land is more of a rolling hills idea vs. tall trees. Anyway, here is my opinion on the wind .... I don't like it! Thankfully we don't see hurricanes or tornado's in this area either.... I have no doubt they would scare me too!

Love in Bloom

I am excited about this upcoming Spring. Besides selling the house, looking for jobs, going back to school, etc. I have been asked to help with a friends wedding flowers. I was excited when they asked me because I do enjoy creating and working to find great deals on flowers or anything really. If nothing else, working on flowers, accessories, table linens, favors, food, etc. keeps my mind busy with fun things. The wedding bouquet will be a bit different from this one but I will definitely post pictures of the completed event. Beautiful large white calla lilies along with sunkist orange roses will catch the attention to the beautiful bride. Here's hoping that May 9th (Mothers Day weekend) will have great weather for an exceptional outdoor wedding reception.

Motorcycles with Grandpa

This past Sunday while Max was in St. George, Max asked Grandma if he could ride the motor cycles that were in the garage. After thinking about it for a few minutes Grandma and Grandpa figured out what he was talking about. Grandpa sent proof to us that the only "motor" in this motor cycle ride was Grandpa!

Max had a great time while in St. George. He was able to go swimming which included going down the big, big slide, long walks, going to the park with the cool slides, going to Grandma's nursery in Utah, spending time with Uncle Terrell & Carolyn, Aunt Marian, the Utah Walmart and Costco and of course many motor cycle rides! Thank heavens for Grandma's and Grandpa's who take such good care of their grandchildren and have revved up motors!