Wednesday, August 27, 2008

I just can't say it enough...

I love my husband! I am so lucky to have him in my life. He's so understanding and sincere and honest and loyal and righteous..he is my best friend.
No matter how many times I say it, I don't think it'll ever be enough. I love my husband!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Finally... Riellys preschool pics


This was a big day for us... the beginning of my big girls school days and the end of me having kids home ALL THE TIME!


I was sad letting her go but I am very happy with the school she is going to and the wonderful teachers she has. She is going to TLC (townlake church) preschool and her teachers are Miss Kelly and Miss June (pronounced Junay). From the moment we got there, she was done with me. Not one tear was shed over mama leaving her. And she LOVES it!!! She goes M,W,F from 9-12. She always goes in with a smile on her face and leaves with an even bigger one. I just can't believe my baby is growing up!


Daddy's little girl!

How to sit in a dress comes in kindergarten right?
Enough with the pictures already!!!
This is it!!Rielly and her wonderful teacher Miss Kelly
And that's that

Oh Savannah!!!


So way late on posting these but I though since I'm behind in posting a lot of pics, I'd do a little catch up with these first. They are from our trip coming back from Hilton Head at the very beginning of August.

This was a house we toured that was supposed to be way cool with haunted stories.. just turned out to be a waste of money.

I guess one cool thing was a lady fell from that window and killed herself.....okay so not too cool but part of the house history and we paid to learn about it so there.. it's cool.
I don't remember what this was but I love old buildings like this. Probably a church or somethin
Of course you know what this is... or will in a few pictures
Paula Deens!!!!!

I thought this house was pretty cool tooExhausted from walking!!


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Our week

This week has been a little nutty. Jon is working from home because the car is in the shop and I need a car to take Rielly to and from school.
And speaking of school.. I NEED to post pictures of Riellys first day on Monday. She absolutely LOVED it! So I'll write about that soon with pictures.
Reese is on his 3rd week on Kindergarten and absolutely loves it. Today was his snack day so yesterday we sat down and made graham sandwiches with graham crackers and frosting. He was SO excited about that. Hopefully it went over well. We signed him up for t-ball at the TLC church again this season and him and Jon will be able to do that together. That starts Thursday.
I have been busy busy busy with piano lessons and it's a good thing too. I actually got called today from a music studio in downtown Woodstock seeing if I have experience with 5yr old beginners. I have started many kids at that ages so while I'm not totally experienced, I enjoy it a lot. There's a little girl there that didn't hit it off with one of their piano teachers and they wanted to see if I'd be able to come in and help redeem this poor girls view of piano playing. So I have a trial lesson on Saturday and if it goes well, I may get a few lessons at the studio. Heaven knows we could use the money! Maybe just maybe I can just have them take the money I would be given and give it to another teacher so I can take some lessons myself.
Speaking of money- we got an estimate for our transmission and wow. wow wow wow... that's all I can say! But it should be fixed by Friday and then we'll be back to normal again. Just broke!
Oh and going back to the piano, I am recommiting myself to practising. There's a song I realllly want to rock at and it's tough and fast and it frustrates the heck out of me that my fingers won't move the way I want them to to play it! UGGGG. So I WILL LEARN IT!!! And I tried to play a song today that I played my junior yr of HS for some competition and I could hardly play it! What in the world? It's true what they say- you dont use it, you will loose it! I mean I never forgot the basics and how to play but the speed and precision wasn't something I learned overnight so I can't necessarily expect to be able to sit down and play that way when I haven't really pushed myself for a long time. But again.. it frustrated the heck out of me to think of where I could be if I just kept it up. So I am determined to be good.
So anyways I just wanted to jump on real fast and say hi and hopefully I'll get to uploading some of Riellys first day of school pics. Tomorrow and Thursday are looking to be insanely busy (which is good to stay out of Jons hair) but I'll find the time to sit down and post!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

The rectangle box

So Reese and I were chatting today and he started asking some interesting questions. He asked me if daddy was going to die. I told him someday everyone will die and we'll be together in heaven. Our conversation went like this:

R: how many people can fit into the box?
Me: what box?
R: the rectangle box that looks like a bed
Me: How do you know about the box?
R: I know everything
Me: Have you seen one before?
R: Yes remember papa was in a box before he went to heaven.
Me: Papa was already in heaven when he was in the box.. his body was sleeping
R: Where does our bodies go when we die?
Me: Our spirits move on but our bodies stay on earth. Remember papas body was sick and couldn't keep up with his spirit
R: If I get sick will I die?
Me: If you get sick, I will take care of you
R: What if you die?
Me: Then I'll wait for you in heaven
R: But daddies going to die
Me: why?
R: because he's getting old

And that was that. He was barely 3 when he saw papa in the "rectangle box" and it amazes me that he still remembers that. He cracked me up with thinking that because Jon is getting older, it means he's going to die. I sure hope Jon sticks around for many many more old years.

Rielly the other day told me she saw papa at Kroger. And she was barely 1 when he passed but through pictures she knows who he is. I believe these children are so pure and innocent that they are able to see and know things that we don't.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Tooth #2


Isn't he supposed to still be a baby and getting new teeth? Not a young guy loosing them?!!?!? What is going on here???

Reese actually pulled out his own tooth on Sunday night! He had wiggled it to death and Jon tried to pull it and Reese wussed out. But he was determined to play with it and then all the sudden, it was out!

2 teeth down! He has the cutest little smile and he is so proud that he is loosing teeth!

Car woes and a silly girl



So Wednesday as Jon was leaving for work, his car died. More like yelled at him first and then died. Looks as though his transmission went out. So we had to push it to it's temporary resting place.. the front of my house. So Jon took the van to work the last 2 days and I have been home without a car. Rather than crying about it, I'm trying to look at the positives. Well.. not so much positives as reasons why we're okay. We still have a reliable vehicle. Had this have happened 10months ago, that would not have been the case. We paid off our credit cards so we are able to put the transmission on a card without adding to anymore debt (since unfortunately we don't have a ton of money hanging around waiting for this). And even the little things... like we decided to have Reese ride the bus to school rather than taking him. So I just have to walk him to the bus stop. I don't have that added concern on getting him to school to worry about. And we live behind Walmart- so we're able to walk there if something comes up that we can't wait on. And I have good friends that won't leave me stranded and have offered rides to help me out. I am SO grateful for that. AND another blessing is that Jon is able to work from home next week while we're waiting to fix the car. But even with all that, it still sucks! Oh well. It'll all work out......right?




And a cute little thing experience today.. Rielly and I decided to take a walk to WalMart. I tell you- she is such an imaginative little girl. Everything is her friend. So as we're walking, she starting picking up her rock friends. And she kept grabbing more and more saying she wanted to give them a new home.. our home. So we make it to WalMart (very slowly) and I have her make them wait outside for us. Of course on the way out of the store, she finds another big rock to add to her collection. So now we're walking home with me carrying 2 bags of stuff and her with her arms loaded with rocks. And then of course she sees "flowers". Needless to say, our 15minute walk turned into more like 45minutes. But it was very enjoyable. She loves to tell me stories and talk to her rock friends and just enjoy herself like every 3yr old kid should-- and she did just that the whole way home. She can be a handful but times like today makes me realize how blessed I am to be around her innocence and sweet spirit everyday!



Rielly and her big rocks.


What pretty flowers!! You can see she's holding also a handful of rocks in each hand as well. According to Rielly.. "no flower left behind".

Saturday, August 9, 2008

The BIG 30!!!

Today is Jons 30th Birthday!!! Help me wish him a wonderful day and year!!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Scentsy Party

Hey all... I'm having a scentsy party next Tuesday. Since most of you all live away from me, check out the website at www.scentsy.com/cherylhall and if you can't resist buying anything, you can go to my party on her site and I'll get credit for it:)
They are awesome candles.. flameless so no worries about them getting knocked over and burning your house down:) And the burners are so darn cute! So come on-- check it out and help the "I need a new burner" party credit fund:)

Memories...

Here is a fun little game...Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time, or a long time, anything you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.On your mark...get set...blog your memories!!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

My book review...

Okay... Breaking Dawn.
LOVED IT!!!!
I can't say one bad thing about the book. I was nervous because I read some mixed reviews but I'm glad I kept an open mind about the whole thing. It is an awesome book and a great ending to the series (until Edwards book comes out..yay!!!)
I do need to apologize about my previous post about Bella. This book really changed my opinion about her. I misjudged her. I see her from a whole different perspective and I'm looking forward to going back and reading the books again in a new light. I really appreciated her character in this book.
I read about people saying it's too fairytaleish... come on people. Vampires aren't real!!! So what did you expect? So come on people..anyone who's still reading... finish the book so we can talk about it! lol

Monday, August 4, 2008

Happy 7th Anniversary!



7 yrs ago, our family began. Jon and I were sealed in the Mesa AZ LDS temple for time and ALL eternity on a very hot August afternoon. Funny thing though- we had only been together for about 5 months by that time. But we knew then as we know more so now that we were meant to be together and we started our lives together the way we had always hoped and dreamed we would. And here we are 7yrs later with 2 beautiful children and happier than we ever though possible. We've grown together- in life, in love, in the belly....:) And we will only continue to grow (hopefully not the belly part..ugggg). I'm excited to see what life has in store for us because 7yrs is nothing compared to how long we will be together (poor guy).




I love you honey! Happy Anniversary!



And he's off....

My baby is on his way to school.
*sigh*
I'm a little emotional about it all but it's good for him. The bus was the hardest thing to do. Fortunately there was another little girl at the bus stop that was going into kindergarten as well so they were able to sit together and that made me and her mom feel so much better! It's just hard to watch him walk away not needing me anymore. Now I'll just be waiting until 3:15 to pick him up. He does this thing where he rubs his eyes because he says "his eyes are trying to cry".. but he wants to be brave and not cry in front of people. He did that last night when we were talking about school and he said he was going to miss me. Then he did it again this morning while we were waiting for the bus. We wants to much to be big and tough but I can see my baby still in there and I can only hug and love him more and then send him off. Jon gave him a wonderful fathers blessing this morning and it was such a nice experience just to watch my husband being able to bless his son with the power of the priesthood. I was and am so proud of both of them and lucky that my husband is able to do that for our children. They are lucky. I remember my dad giving us fathers blessings before school and that is priceless to me.
Leaving the house for schoolLook at that big ol backpack!!At the bus stopThe bus is comingBye mom!!!And there he goes..

Hilton Head **lots of pics!!!**

The ride there was nice... about 5hrs but then we had to stop for potty and food and stuff. But it was a pretty drive. I hate bridges though. And of course going onto an island means crossing a bridge! In fact I'm so terrified of bridges that I joked about just cancelling the trip.. well half joked anyways. But we survived. We found out hotel....so yeah it's not as the pictures show it to be. Never again will we priceline a hotel in an area we don't know anything about!!! Junky! They gave us our room on the 3rd floor so we lug everything up there to find it's a very much smoking room. It was awful! So I called the front desk and told them we requested non smoking and they didn't want to help at all--said there was no rooms left (umm in this hotel? yeah right!)! So I asked to speak to the manager cuz I was real annoyed and told her we requested a non smoking room and we have 2 small children and can't stay here. Low and behold.. a room magically opened up. So we got to our room.. rather than a smoke smell, it was a mildew smell! Ugggg but whatever. We went to go swimming and I kid you not- everyone in and out of the pool was drinking! And then people started smoking. So we let the kids play but after awhile it wasn't pleasant so we got changes and went and walked on a beautiful beach and then to dinner. Not the best start of a vacation but it had potential:) The next day was wonderful! After breakfast we got in our bathing suits and went to the beach. It was practically empty and beautiful! The kids loved it and we had a blast playing with them. The sand was absolutely white and the water was perfect. It was just a very nice time. After getting sand out of every possible place, we decided to check out a interactive childrens museum. Besides the fact it was expensive, there was nothing museum about it! It was a daycare center basically that parents had to stay with their kids in. Oh well though- they enjoyed it. We found a teeny tiny mall and walked around there for a bit and let the kids play and then we decided to go bowling! Turns out we only let the kids play because it was quite costly but they had a blast! It was their first time and loved it!!!! That was worth it. After dinner, the kids were begging to go to bed! So we definately had a busy fun filled day for sure! Sunday we got up and after packing up and eating, we drove to Savannah. This was a place I always wanted to go. So we parked and walked around and found the "haunted house" tour we wanted to see. The hostess that took our money had the hairest armpits I've ever seen!!!! Ummmmm..... Anyways the tour left a lot to be desired. We were shown 3 rooms, told hardly anything about ghosts and most of the house was totally renovated anyways. So it wasn't anything special. We did get to see where a lady jumped off a balcony and killed herself. Yay. So after that, we just walked around Savannah for a bit. We of course found the Paula Deen resturaunt and got pictures. They had no openings to eat which was fine. It was just fun to see. It was a very old building that really went along with the whole Savannah atmosphere. Anyways after awhile, the kids were hungry and exhausted so we walked around a bit more and then found the car and started the 4.5hr drive home. We did have a wonderful time. It was so nice just to be together and enjoy the company. I was able to sell off a bunch of my stamps and stuff to be able to have the spending money to do it so I'm proud of myself for being able to pull off this trip. I look forward to when we have a chance to take another get away.

Super excited to be in a "hometel"


and they're out!!

the beach was beautiful!!



it got them!!

All clean!!
climbing the rock at the "museum"


They loved every minute of bowling!!!

**Savannah pics to come later in another posting**

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Just a quick checkin

We're chilling in our GHETTO hotel room (I'll post about all that later) and since the kids go to bed early, we have nothing to do really. So I figure I'd check in real fast. I'll save the details for another day but I just wanted to let you all know that we are having a great time together! Today was one of the nicest days we've had in a long time.. activities started at the beach then lunch then a interactive childrens museum... then the mall and the kids got to go bowling for the first time and then it ended at a mexican resturant (real cheese.. non of that sause!!). The kids are POOOOPED! They were both begging for bed literally and passed out within a minute or two of laying down. That's a good sign that they had a good day. Tomorrow morning we're headed to Savannah,GA and gonna do a little sight seeing there. We were going to do a full on trolley tour but found a haunted house tour for cheaper and more up my alley! We got a map of the town and have Paula Deans resturant mapped out and circled... if nothing else, we'll get a picture of it!
So check in in a few days for our trip details. Even though it's a short trip, it has been wonderful (except our white trash trailer park hotel) and it has definately brought us closer together. I love my family!!!