What you don't know about me...

Okay, I have so much to catch up on that it will take me a while, BUT I will put this on so you all know that we are still alive. This is for you Kate-

Six things people don't know about me. Here you go:

1. I wear my socks inside out. I HATE how the seam feels against my toes. It drives me crazy!! I have tried to break the habit as I have gotten older, I am picky about the socks I buy, but occasionally I just have to flip them inside out.

2. I don't like unloading the dishwasher. I don't mind loading it, or washing dishes by hand, but I really don't like putting dishes away. After five years of marriage, Evan has finally caught on that the kitchen will be a lot cleaner if he will put the dishes away for me. (don't be disappointed mom)

3. I put Vicks on before I go to bed every night. As a little girl I remember watching my mom put on Vicks, so I started doing it to. It doesn't matter if I have a cold or not- I guess I just want to be like my mom...

4. My sheets on my bed have to be really tight or I can't sleep. This has proved to be a problem since the first thing Evan does when he gets in bed is pull the sheets loose. AGHHHH it drives me NUTS! I do even wake up in the middle of the night, when Evan is asleep, and tuck in all the sheets.

5. I LOVE frozen chocolate chips. Milk chocolate is okay, but bring on the semi-sweet!! I have to have a few every day. I have broken my braces and retainer by eating frozen chocolate chips, but boy is it worth it!

6. I love BBC movies. I could happily sit all day and watch the six hour version of Pride and Prejudice. I know these movies can seem a little bit slow, but I love them. (Now if I could just get Evan to love them as much, we would be set...)

This has been kind of fun, and also made me curious about some of you. I tag Kristi, Dawn, Allison, and Ashley. ( Don't take as long as I did to do this- okay guys.... :) )

This is me finishing my leg of the relay. Sander is running out to great me! He was there to give me a big hug! Gracie was keeping her eye on my team mate who she thought hit me.....

The other movie is my team running to the finish line. ROCK ON!! ( the name of our group )

The Dam Marathon

Well, I FINALLY did it! I ran my very first race... We did the Teton Dam Marathon. I was part of a relay team, and this is us crossing the finish line. Hot diggity dog!! I was pretty nervous about running, but the team was so layed back. IT was all about doing our best. Everyone was so supportive. It was a blast.
This was my awesome support team. My FAMILY!! Evan had the kids there cheering "go mommy go!" What more could you ask for? Evan even drove on part of the "closed course" so the kids could see me running. Hmmm- typical Evan.
Some of my favorite things were hearing how the kids reacted to the race. When I took the slap stick from a team mate, Gracie started crying telling everyone that the girl had hit me. They had to explain to Gracie that she wasn't hitting me, she was passing the racing stick. Once I was done running Gracie walked over to the girl and said, "why did you hit my mommy?"


Sander wasn't quite ready for me to take off, so once I started running, his little legs took off and he ran after me. Evan was taking pictures and didn't realize what Sander was doing till he was down the road. They had to run after him to make him stop running. They said his legs were moving as fast as he could make them go. Maybe we will be saying "go Sander go" soon!

The only thing that could have made this better is if Evan would have been running with me. Next year, right Ev?

Aunt Linda Saves the Day

Happy Birthday to you... four years ago, Gracie was my birthday suprise. She was five days early. It took some work getting her here, but She is the best birthday gift I have ever had. Gracie and I were totally bummed that Evan couldn't be home for our birthday. I was getting ready to feel really bad for myself, when Aunt Linda called to see what we should do to celebrate. Well, she took the afternoon off work and we had fun! First we took the kids to "Horton Hears a Who!" It was a cute show. Then we got pizza and headed for the park.
Once we finished at the park, we went back to Linda's for cake and ice cream. Evan had called Aunt Linda to see if she could pick up a cake and some balloons. Good job honey! This cake is the one I made Gracie. She and Sander were constantly picking m & m's off the cake.
Next we opened presents. Gracie was all decked out with her new sun galsses and lip stick. What else could a girl want?
The birthday girls! There was a concert in the park that we went to after eatting lots of cake! The kids danced and ran and played while we listened to the fun singing group.
The kids followed Aunt Linda everywhere she went. Sander now asks if we are going to see AuntWinda everyday. The kids were asleep by the time we got home, which was my greatest birthday gift. They went right into bed. It was a great day! We missed you Ev, but there is always next year...

Happy Birthday EVAN

Evan hit the big 28! We weren't sure we were going to be able to celebrate with Evan since there was a father/son camp out the night of his birthday, but the girls didn't really want to be left out...so we had a family camp out. In the back yard. We had birthday cake and then a bbq- I know it was a little backwards- and then we put up the tent! I LOVE our tent. (sigh)
The kids had a hard time calming down to get some sleep, but it finally happened. Oops, they were up early since Evan forgot to turn off the sprinklers...
This was Addie's first campout! She did great. She even slept through the night. Good Girl!
Here is the aftermath. Our kids have a hard time with late nights. We put a movie on for them so we could get ready to take them to a parade. Well, when we got down to them, this is what we found. At least Sander figured out to lay down. Who knows how long Gracie selpt like this. But it is one of my favorite pictures.

I hope they call me on a mission

We thought it would be fun to take the kids to the MTC after we got home from Oklahoma to show them were the missionaries learn how to be missionaries. Sander... was really excited. Gracie. I also realized this is the only picture I have of her in her Easter dress.
We didn't want to leave Addie out of the fun. What is Sander pointing at?? Well, I am not sure but it made him really excited. He kept yelling "look at that" for those of you who have heard how Sander talks- it was said really loud, almost like he has to use every ounce of energy in his body. What a kid.

More Oklahoma pictures

Mom, Grace, Sander, Dad, and Adelle. Okay, notice the begining of the break down for Sander. Gracie was being slightly defiant. Addie is still in perfect mode... I am sure it won't last too much longer.
Dad was on his way to the meeting, and the kids ran right after him. they didn't want to be away from him.
Dad and Addie. What a smile! I had to yell at Dad to get that one. The missionaries were laughing saying that in the pictures at the MTC, all the mission presidents were smiling but dad. The missionaries in the Oklahoma City mission were always getting words of pity because they all thought Dad looked ... mean? Well, I think they have all been pleasantly suprised. Dad on Grandpa duty.
Kristi and Sue ENJOYING the vacation...( my kids were out of the room)

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A Oklahoma!!

Boy oh boy. Getting to Oklahoma was quite the chore. Our plane broke down so we had to wait in the airport for six hours which could have been fun if I ( meaning me, Sue and Kris) wasn't running around after my kids. We missed our connecting flight so we spent the night in Denver. We made it to our hotel around 1 in the morning and had to be on the road by 6 to make our flight. The kids did well considering ... I was very, very glad to see mom and dad once we made it to Oklahoma. Kristi and Dad at the Oklahoma memorial. It is something that everyone should experience once. They have done a good job at making you feel all sorts of emotions- confusion, frustration, gratitude... I wasn't feeling very well so we got through the first few floors and then we had to leave, but I am glad we were able to see it.

Mom and Sue working in the kitchen. We were able to meet a bunch of the missionaries while we helped get lunch for them at one of the meetings. I must be getting old, because they are starting to look really young to me. (sigh) They were all very nice. They got Sander and put a name tag on him, which I didn't get a picture of because it made him REALLY mad! Maybe in 17 years... Kristi setting the table for the lunch. We were glad to be able to help mom. I think she usually does a lot of this work by herself. What a woman - mom!
Gracie with Grandpa Pres. Gee. I was wondering if the kids would really remember Mom and Dad. Well, in the airport it took about 2 seconds for it to register and then they were on a dead run to get to Grandma and Grandpa. Dad was great with the kids. They kept waking up super early, so he would get up with them, put on a cartoon and snack on honey nut cheerios.
NOTICE THE EYEBROWS!! Yea, pretty much you can just tell that I have them now. I will try to get a better close up.
Okay, a picture of the sisters...Kristi, Jodi and Sue. It was so much fun to go see Mom and Dad. Oklahoma was beautiful. I loved staying up past 10 - go Dad- visiting. Can't wait until the next trip. ( or maybe I can... anyone want to watch the kids???)

Getting Big

Gracie is getting to be such a big girl. She started to sleep in her bed all night. (We were having some issues with that) so she got a big girl bed.
That means that Sander got to move into Gracie's old bed. He has done okay in it, although there have been a couple of times when we hear a big thud followed by Sander screaming. But he is getting the hang of it.
Our friends Steve and Ashley were able to come visit us a while back. It was fun to see them. Steve was giving Gracie lessons on how to "jam" on the guitar.
The boys packed up the little kids and took them to Cabela's. They were able to look at all the guy stuff and show the kids all the animals. Fun for them....even more fun for the moms. :)

Ellie is their little girl. What a doll!

Easter Egg Hunt- and more

This is the famed Dubois Easter Egg hunt. The kids lined up in the freezzzzing cold to have about a 2 minute easter egg hunt. It was kind of funny- all the eggs were filled with really powerful mints. The kids took one taste and started to spit them out. Who needs the candy anyway, right?
The was the Gee family ester egg hunt. It was fun to be back at mom and dad's house. Thanks Shawn and Amy for letting us all crash at the house for a while.
Eric and Janine and Janine's brother and sister came to visit on there way to Colorado. It was fun to have them see us in Utah. ( Anyone who wants to visit is welcome!) Kristi brought her kids for Spirng break. Evan pulled out the bubble gun and shot them out the top window to the kids in the back yard.

Easter Egg Hunt- and more

This is the famed Dubois Easter Egg hunt. The kids lined up in the freezzzzing cold to have about a 2 minute easter egg hunt. It was kind of funny- all the eggs were filled with really powerful mints. The kids took one taste and started to spit them out. Who needs the candy anyway, right?
The was the Gee family ester egg hunt. It was fun to be back at mom and dad's house. Thanks Shawn and Amy for letting us all crash at the house for a while.
Eric and Janine and Janine's brother and sister came to visit on there way to Colorado. It was fun to have them see us in Utah. ( Anyone who wants to visit is welcome!) Kristi brought her kids for Spirng break. Evan pulled out the bubble gun and shot them out the top window to the kids in the back yard.

March in Review

This is something that I LOVE about Addie. We can tell when she is ready to go to sleep. She puts her hand over her eyes and starts dreaming.

For St. Patricks Day we thought it would be fun to make a rainbow cookie. I don't what the kids liked to most-making the cookie or eating it.
Sander just can't go without his nap. I set him down to watch a movie, and he was out in about 5 minutes. I tried to lay him down but it woke him up. He sat up and went right back to sleep.
This was Sander's big birthday gift. He has been stealing all the nieghbor kids bikes, so now he can (kind of) keep up with the big kids.
This is Sander and Caleb at Grandma and Grandpa Grover's house. It was fun to see Eric and Janine over the Easter holiday. Sander and Caleb blew out the candles and started in on the frosting. We did eat the cake, although the amount of spit on it was impressive from the two boys blowing out the candles.

No Pain No Gain

Well, after much deliberation, I finally decided that life would be better with eyebrows. Sorry for everyone who had to listen to my endless questions...but I finally did it. I wanted to wipe the blood off before I took this picture, but Evan thought everyone should have a realistic view of what I look like. My brows will be really dark for a couple of weeks and then the real color will come through. Right now it is hard to see anything but the blood.

I will put more pictures on in a week and then you can tell me if you like the shape and color. I can go in to have it changed, although, I am not sure I am ready to go through that again. Maybe in five years...

12 Dancing Princesses

What kind of mother am I? Well, one who is trying to survive having three kids, so I don't object when the kids ask to watch a movie that I know will hold their attention. True, it is barbies 12 Dancing Princesses. Sanders actually loves it! Should I encourage this? Well, I have tried to get him to watch Cars, but it just doesn't do it for him. Evan comes home to a dancing...prince? He instantly pulls out the boy toys. I did point out that dancing seems to help boys with their coordination. Now Evan just laughs and puts in the movie when Sander, with great intensitly, asks for the 12 Dancing Princesses, this of course is said with a very obvious lisp. Well, I have to say I do love watching my kids singing and dancing around the house. Maybe Sander will take after his dad and be a great clogger. :) ( For those of you who haven't seen Evan clog, I think he is secretly working up a new routine) Hope you enjoy watching my two dancing... well you get the idea.

Spring is on the way

Scrub-a-dub-dub... One of the rare times the kids are all squeaky clean. Bath time before bed. I think this is supposed to have a calming effect on most children. I think it just gets ours more hyper.
I was in charge of book club this month. I decided to make grandma's famous chocolate skor cake. yummm. I asked Evan to put the cake out in the car and make sure it was safe. He came in with a smile and said, "Don't worry... I think it is safe." Yes Evan, you think you are funny, and at times we agree... Book club was fine. We read Beauty by Robin McKinley. It is a fun, quick read if you don't have a lot of time.
We went to visit Evan's niece Erin and this was the end result. One of her friends bought this guitar in China for $5. Since she had a nice new guitar, she thought it would be fun to let Gracie have it. I did take a video of the kids playing, but I don't know that it would have been "fun" for you all to hear the music. It was quickly "retuned" once we got home, and I am not sure it will ever recover.
Not sure what the weather is like in good old Idaho, but all the snow is pretty much gone here. The kids were excited to go outside to play first thing in the morning. They love being able to ride bikes with the other kids in the neighborhood. The other day Sander was trying to run after Gracie when he fell on his face. Yes, he cried so hard that he passed out just before Evan could reach him. The result being that he fell on his face again. That night he fell on the stairs. He has a a couple of really impressive bruises on his face. We only got a few child abuse questions.
Adelle is getting more personality every day. It makes me wonder what kind of trouble she will get in. The other day a bunch of moms from the neighborhood came over to chat and the conversation soon turned to telling all the experiences they have had with Gracie. ( sigh ) I am glad to know that my child can bring laughter to so many people, even if it paints an interesting impression of our family. Kids will be kids...