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

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please, someone help me. I am going insane. Madeleine won't go to bed at night any more. We just had almost a 2 hour battle with her to stay in her bed. She has gotten so bad that she is even waking Geneva up. I can't just lock her in the room because she will scream and wake Geneva up. But I cannot continue to have these battles with her. I am not sure that I am willing to give up her naptime yet, but that might be my only option. This post is a call to anyone who has ever know a child that won't stay in bed. Please leave a comment or call me with any advice. Sorry that I don't really blog anymore. I have been really busy making Christmas presents and our desktop bites the big one. We love you all and hope that you are doing well!!!
Love-
Kendra

So much fun!

We have had so much fun recently. And we have lots of pictures to prove it. Maddy and Kevin went camping and shared a tent with our good friends Audrey and Wayne. I think the girls had more fun than the dads.

We have also been to "fish mountain" (as Maddy says) which is really Simplot Square in downtown Pocatello, the we went and tried some bread from Great harvest.

Maddy had a great time playing "dress-up" for the first time with her friends Sydney and Morgan. While the kids played Shamae (my blogging guru) taught me all that she knows about blogging.

On Memorial day we went to the zoo and had a great time. Kevin and Maddy had lots of fun playing on the toys. Unfortunately, the slide had a huge puddle at the end so the "kids" didn't get to go down the slide.

We also had a special day with Maddy. We dropped Geneva off to a wonderful friends house and Kevin, Maddy and Kendra went to the fair. Maddy really liked all of the animals, lunch, and the funnel cake. Kendra really liked the huge pumpkins and the photo and needle work exhibits. Kevin really liked the funnel cake, the model train and the funnel cake. Did I mention that Kevin really liked the funnel cake? We were in a hurry so he had to share one with Maddy and Kendra. Maybe if we are around next year he will be able to eat his own. Also we missed out on the rides because they didn't open until 1pm and we had to be back to Geneva by noon. Oh well!

Lastly I wanted to share this picture of Kevin and Maddy and Geneva with all of their hair in hice ponytails. Madeleine has been pitching and absolute fit everytime I need to do her hair so this time Maddy got to do Kevin's hair while I did her hair. This is also the first time that Geneva's hair got put into a pigtail. It is pretty cute. If anyone has anytips about how to get Maddy to sit down and do her hair please leave a comment.

Busy, Busy, Busy

We have been so busy that we haven't even had time to blog. Not to mention the fact that our computer likes to make our life very difficult. The internet still isn't working properly, so tonight while Kevin goes to see a movie with a friend I sit here on my lovely sister-in-laws laptop updating our blog. Well, the girls and I went to Oregon and left poor Kevin all alone for a week. We went to a safari

and saw all kinds of animals. Maddy really loved driving the car with her Aunt Christy. I'm not sure which Maddy loved more, the animals or driving the car.

The ostriches liked to get close and personal. They were tapping our windows with their beaks. Also while we were there we had the opportunity to go to the ocean. It was really hot and much more humid than me and girls are used to. So we went to the beach and played in the sand.

That orange bundle is Geneva.

We had a great time but we were also very glad to come home and I am pretty sure that Christy and Elijah were glad to have their own space back. While we were there the girls and I had to share a room which turned out to be great because it trained them to share a room. Now at home Geneva and Maddy are in the same room and Maddy doesn't even wake up when Geneva cries in the middle of the night. Also, Geneve got put on rice cereal to help her sleep through the night which is turning out great. She has slept from about 8pm to 5am the last 2 nights. We will see how she does tonight. Well, this weekend we plan on going to the zoo and going on a hike on Monday. So, hopefully more bloggin' will happen next week. If not, I'll stick to the trend and post again near the beginning of October. (I really hope that my computer will cooperate though.) I am also planning on improving my blog so that I can keep up with everyone else. Best to everyone!!!

August was a busy month

Happy Switzerland!!!

Today we had the great honor of celebrating the Swiss independence. We had raclette, chocolate mousse, and listened to Swiss polka music. Kendra thinks the music is a little funny, but Maddy liked it and even danced to it. It was really fun and we should all try and be more like the Swiss.

Here is a picture of Maddy at the Idaho Falls Temple. She really had a wonderful time there and she has been saying that she wants to get married in the Temple (although Daddy says she has to wait for a while).

Finally, a picture of sleeping Geneva (because it is late and time for bed):

Loving the giggles!!!

Geneva giggled for the first time on Wednesday night!! It was so exciting and very rewarding after nothing but feedings, diaper changes, crying and sleeping. Her hair is turning more and more blond everyday! I looked at her today after her bath and she didn't even look like the same baby to me. She is going to bed at about 9pm these day and waking for a snack at about 2 or 3 am then right back to sleep for about 4 more hours. It is really nice to have some time with just Kevin.

Speaking of Kevin- He has been super busy lately. I miss him a ton when he is gone, but I'm gettting a good sense of what it will be like when he has an 8-5 job. The girls and I are getting into a routine that I really like. It gives me time to clean the house, exercise and give a little one-on-one time to each daughter. Kevin took a "Home buyer Education " class today. He learned a lot that we will need to know since he will be graduating in May and we will be moving into a place of our own.

We will be at home this coming weekend and then we will be out of town for the next 3 saturdays. I am really excited to get out of town again before school starts. The only thing that bites about traveling is the gas prices these days, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

I am having a great time reading all of your blogs and comments, so keep up the great work and have a wonderful day!!!