We're Still Alive!!

Hello Friends!!

Never fear, we are all still well and kicking. However we are busier than ever. Kevin is gone 3 nights a week with class and Bishopric meeting. You would think that leaves me plenty of time to blog and e-mail, but no. I have been busy doing some projects to get the house uncluttered and ready to move in a few months. Plus I love to play with the girls when I get a spare minute. So I know that everyone really wants an update about how they are doing. So here it is.

Madeleine is getting smarter and smarter everyday. Her imagination is so strong that it is getting really easy to play with her. We are always going on "car rides" to Costco, Walmart, McDonalds, and Grandma and Grandpa's house. She is talking all the time. The other day we were running errands and she said, "Mommy, there is a park outside my window." What kind of 2 year old says that. I always tell Kevin that she is freakishly smart. She is absolutely going to be smarter than me by the time she turns 5 and starts school. (She is already smarter than Kevin.) We have also started having her do chores. We made a chore chart and everytime she does a chore she gets a sticker. She filled up the chart yesterday (it was a 2-week chart), so today we got to go to lunch for a reward. She loves reading books and dressing up. Her new favorite song is "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. Some of the cutest things she says are: Breakbest=breakfast, Can I work out with you?, Cingerella=Cinderella. She says lots of other cute things and I should probably write them down.

Geneva is growing like a weed. She started crawling on December 11th. She started pulling herself up onto furniture a few days later. She got her first two teeth at the same time just after Christmas. The teeth are on the bottom, the two in the middle. They are really cute and really sharp. It was a hard week before they came in. She didn't sleep well and had the runs every couple of hours for an entire week. All is well now, but Kevin and I are defintely not looking forward to the next teeth coming in if it like the first teeth. But, we will deal with whatever we are dealt. Currently, Geneva weighs about 15.5 pounds and is about 29 inches tall. She is a tall skinny kid. Today she learned that I am the Mama. She kept saying it over and over again this afternoon after naps. It was really cute, but sad because I was busy in the kitchen and she wanted me to hold her. One of Geneva's favorite things to do is to "tackle" Kevin. When Kevin gets on the ground to rough house with the kids, Geneva heads straight to him and tries to crawl on him, or she puts her hand on his head and pushes him to the ground with all the strength a tiny 9 month can muster. She is turning from a beautiful baby into a brave and beautiful toddler.

Kevin is really busy with classes and work. He is also trying to find a job for when school is over in a short 15 weeks. This semester he also has to take his comprehensive exams, write a 15 page paper and give 6 presentations on top of all of his regular work. I wish that there was more I could do to help him, but I can't do his work for him.

I mostly play with the kids, keep the house clean/picked-up and cook amazing meals. I have also started working out. I go to the gym twice a week, do a video at home twice a week and play church basketball once a week. I try to keep myself and the girls busy with Kevin gone most of the time. I must do a pretty good job because it is really nice when we get to stay home and just play in the morning. I was thinking about signing Maddy up for tumbling classes during the winter, but we are busy enough that I don't think that I need to.

Well, that is about all that is going on with us. Again, I'm sorry (especially to the Smith Parents and Grose Family) that we don't update the blog regularly. I really am going to try to do better. Especially with Kevin gone so much at night.

Lot of Love!!

Best Wishes!!

-Kendra