jenna's new do

I finally managed to get Jenna to cooperate at the hair salon! She just got her first, professional, hair cut! She had cut her own hair just the other day, but that wouldn't do. We had to even out her new "layers" by giving her a bob! She looks great! Kelly about died when I told him that I went to get her hair cut! He loves her long hair. But, who could resist Jenna no matter what length her hair was? So here are her new pictures, on her birthday. What a big girl!

Sweet Baby Jean

Three years ago today,on September 29th, at 8:30 am I was giving birth to our 4th and final child, Jenna! I was scheduled to be induced that morning, but nature took it's course when my water broke at 6:00am. Kelly wasn't sure about the whole inducing thing...he felt weird choosing the birth date of our baby. Funny how that was always supposed to be her day! Jenna has been a blessing and pure joy to us! We love her sweet personality and easy going attitude. Being the fourth, she goes with the flow, enjoys her older siblings interests, and has learned to share and be patient. Jenna has a great vocabulary and the cutest voice. Some of my favorite things she says are: Gog (dog), Dizzyland (Disneyland), "her" instead of "she", and when she sings "I am a Child of God" it's the sweetest thing ever! She says, "with parents kind of dear" instead of "with parents kind and dear." My favorite is when she sings "Quinkle, Quinkle Little Star." I love Jenna's habits. She has been sucking her fingers since birth and hasn't let up. She also has an inseparable connection with her pink blankie. Kelly and I have spent many nights scouring the house in search of blankie when a desperate little girl is crying from her crib. Blankie is truly another member of the family because Jenna just can't live without her! She is sitting by me right now talking to herself in a play act mode. She loves to create dialog for her toys or any objects. Her first impersonation was after she saw Wall-E. She went around the house saying Waaal Eeee just like the robot! She is using her potty now but isn't trained yet. She just got a big girl bed for her birthday which I'm a little sad about since she can get up and out. Jenna is also known in our family as: Jean, Jenny, Jen, Billy Jean (by the Plumley's), Jane, Janey, Dodie, Dodin, Jane Seymour, Jane Goodall and Jeanie - and on the rare occasion when we get upset with our sweet girl she reminds us just who she is by saying "No, I'm Jenna" -- meaning, you can't get mad at me -- I'm Jenna, your baby. It makes you want to cry she is so cute. I can see why any mother would want to have more children. There is something so refreshing, satisfying, peaceful, tender about the time you spend with a sweet baby. No matter how bad my day is, Jenna always breaks through the rain with her sunshine and warmth. I am in love!

Sunflowers in September

Today, after church, the girls and I went outside to look at all the wild flowers and sunflowers around our house. I am amazed at how many sunflowers there are! They are wild and they are beautiful! It reminds me of pictures of southern France and Tuscany! The whole hillside is covered! The girls found a nice flat seat and entertained themselves picking, smelling and making bouquets while I hurried and snapped some pictures! What darling girls I have! Sam managed to get in there too! Ahhh nature!

What is Fall?

Harvest grains, squaw bread, baked apples, carmel apples, apple pie, pumpkins big and round, gourds with gnarly shapes, cabbage, potatoes, soup piping hot, pears, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pot roast roasting, tea with lemon, sage, mushrooms, spiced cider, sweet pearl onions, oatmeal for breakfast, clam chowder, corn chowder, rolls baking, sauces simmering, carrots steaming...

Leaves bright and orange, falling, kids in masks and capes, spooky nights with moon winking through clouds, black cats, and bats, scary stories, candy corns, cookies shaped like ghosts, cool, crisp air, days growing shorter, nights longer, sweaters, mittens, hats and rain boots, umbrellas, colds, coughs and sneezes, cozy blankets, story books, puddles to splash in, frost, school buses yellow, rosy cheeks and cold fingers...

Autumn Leaves by Eve Merriam

Down
down
down
Red
yellow
brown
Autumn leaves tumble down,
Autumn leaves crumble down,
Autumn leaves bumble down,
Flaking and shaking,
Tumbledown leaves.
Skittery
Flittery
Rustle by
Hustle by
Crackle and crunch
In a snappety bunch.
Run and catch
Run and catch
Butterfly leaves
Sailboat leaves
Windstorm leaves.
Can you catch them?
Swoop, scoop,
Pile them up
In a stompy pile and
Jump
Jump
JUMP!

Tagged by Randal Arcamedies Curtis-Thanks!

What was I doing 5 years ago?

1. Living in Cali.
2. Had 3 kids, Sam was 5 months old.
3. Kelly (still at Visa) started looking for a new job just to see what else was out there which eventually led us here!

Pet Peeves

1. Slow drivers
2. Total strangers touching my baby or calling them the wrong gender when they are wearing an obvious indicator of male or female.
3. Chatty check out clerks. Just give me my food and let me have some peace.
4. Subcontractors (any in the state of Utah) and their excuses and lies, I mean, promises.
5. People who get into your "personal space" while talking to you.
6. Picking up after other "people" all the time! Why can't you just throw those dirty clothes in the laundry room? Is it so hard to throw your wrapper away when you are finished eating something? Why do you feel like you need to hand it to me? Am I the garbage?
7. People who clip their fingernails in public. This has happened more than once at church!
8. Long lines at Christmas time! Ok, anytime! Ross is the worst!

Some things I would do if I were a Billionaire:
1. Be debt free.
2. Not invest in the Stock Market.
3. Travel the world over-long, meaningful trips to Isreal, South of France, Africa...
4. Buy a 1965 silver convertible Sting Ray with camel leather interior.
5. Go shopping, of course!
6. Give $ to South American families in need.
7. Go on LDS missions.
8. Buy a house in Europe.
9. Pay off both parents houses.
10. Kelly would retire earlier than planned.
11. Hire a personal chef, a cleaning lady, and a personal trainer.

Favorite Foods:

1. Gnocchi, ravioli, or any pasta from Cucina Toscana.
2. Salad
3. Seafood: Fish, shrimp, lobster, crab..I could eat it everyday!
4. Nectarines, a really good orange, berries-fruit smoothies or slushes.
5. Dessert-always the first thing I look at on a menu or in a cook book. Can't help myself. Bread pudding, crepes with banana foster, chocolate molten cake, Haagen daz icecream, creme brulee, fruit crisps.

I tag you Erika, Erica, and Candi.

Things I Can't Live Without

1. You spend a lot of time sleeping, so I'd say down pillows would be #1 plus down comforter is bonus.

2. Sad but true, my computer. No need to explain.

3. We love food in our family, so we need extra storage space for it! My 2ND fridge outside in the garage is a necessity!

4. If you don't have good hair, you don't have anything (unless you have a cute hat on) so my Panteen Pro-V alone with my Hot Tools curling iron and flat iron are vital.

5. With 4 messy kids and an overabundance of hard wood in our house, my Central Vac system is praised on a daily basis. What did I ever do with a broom? AND, you can suck up pennies, small Lego man appendages (or the whole Lego man for that matter), and you don't have to hear it spinning inside a vacuum and then seeing it get spit out again!

6. Kitchen Gadgets. I love them! They make life easier in the kitchen. Of course there is the Kitchen Aid mixer and the Cuisinart food processor-AWESOME! But the little things matter too like the garlic press, micro plane, and my Pampered Chef mini spatula! When I use any of these items, I feel happy inside! If I didn't have them, cooking would soon become drudgery!

7. I have a love/hate for cleaning. I love a clean house more than alot of things. For my birthday this year I thought to myself, "What would be the ideal gift?" Clothes are always really nice, but I can secretly buy them on my own time. No, a clean house was my choice. I asked Kelly to scrub the stove burners-all 6! They were coated with grease and food and I hate cleaning them!!!! Toilets-yuck! Scrubbing miles of floor-no thank you! I need products that will do the job for me! So I like to use Clorox or any brand, of the disinfectant wipes! They do any surface and you just throw them away! Also, the Scotch Brite Toilet scrubbing pads with the cleaner already in the scrubber are perfect! Yes, they cost more, but who likes to think about what is growing in their toilet bowl scrubber that is sitting in that little receptacle beside their toilet? YUCK! I just throw the Scrubber away when I'm done and start fresh the next time! My shower squeegee is also vital to bathroom happiness, along with Soft Scrub with Bleach.

8. So, I am constantly doing laundry like most moms and I truly love my front loaders. I know most women are getting these now but I do not take them for granted considering all the thousands upon thousands of loads I do. I love everything about them and actually love doing laundry because of them (but I hate to put all that laundry away!) I love the hand wash cycle, the sanitary cycle-(think poopy accidents.) I also like the "Add a Garment" option. I have a large capacity so it makes washing comforters a cinch.

9. My electric pencil sharpener. I have simple pleasures that is for sure, but now that school is in again, we have a lot of pencils to sharpen!

10. Wooden hangers. Yes, I have converted from the old wire and plastic to the supreme wood. I love the way it looks in my closet and also the strength it supplies to my coats and heavier items. Kelly had a hard time watching me throw away all those "free" wire hangers from the dry cleaners but he sees the benefits of the wood and is constantly stealing mine.

11. My big desk calender! My life is sitting on the island at all times. I am a list maker and a calender girl. I could never convert to Palm organization. I have to see it all the time and in large print!

12. My books, my outlet, my favorite hobby, my life!!!!! I should have put this one first because I truly believe you can get through any crisis if you have a really good book to read. (Like if someone stole your down pillows!) I love to stand and look at my bookshelf with all MY books lined up neatly and reminisce......ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

13. Make up. I have a firm belief that you should always curl your eyelashes, no matter how long they are or aren't. I also love Mary Kay oil free moisturizer in the lavender jar, Mac anything but especially their yummy smelling lip gloss and superb eye color, Clinique lash doubling mascara, Prescriptives Virtual Skin Foundation, and Olay total effects foaming cleanser. I also LOVE Clarin's self tanner!!!! I use it year round for extra color that is natural. (Totally worth the money and I am never pasty white!) White is beautiful for some (like Nicole Kidman) but very unattractive for others.

14. My Treadmill. I love to run but rarely get out on the road and I hate running hills. I also don't enjoy running in snow! So my treadmill is my only way to stay in shape and stay indoors! I like to know how many calories and carbs I'm burning and I like to keep track of my pace and incline when I want. I also like the fan option since I hate to be hot! I love to adjust my workout!

15. I put this last because it's a no brainer-CELL PHONE! I love to text Kelly love notes when I know he's having a hard day or in meetings most of the day or out of town. I love to get calls done when I'm sitting at the park or gymnastics etc., watching the kids.

So, there you go. The list that I could certainly add to but won't. What are your favorite, can't live without things?