For Sarah

My sister Sarah told me that I never put pictures of myself on my blog (which is mostly true... I don't really like having my picture taken). She also told me she has forgotten what I look like (we haven't been gone that long). Actually it has been about a month and a week since we moved here. Things are pretty much settling in. Gracie and Sammy and I wish we could spend more time with Daddy. It seems like even when he is home he has to study. :( We have joined a play group. We are making friends in the ward. We have unlimited long distance and we can keep in touch with our families every day! We have a nice home, and we have each other. Things really are going good here, and we know that this is where we are supposed to be. So anyway, Sarah this picture is for you. We miss you and we love you!

Monte Cristo Sandwich Anyone?

We went to our friends Matt and Lisa's house for dinner last night. Matt is the only other first year medical student in our ward. Lisa made Monte Cristo sandwichs for dinner, and I thought they were going to be...well interesting at best, because the recipe is kind of strange! But they were really good!!! Lisa makes some kind of sandwich once a week for dinner, and I think it is a tradition that I am about to start. Anyway, I found a recipe online that is similar to what we had last night. Try it, you will love it!

Monte Cristo Sandwich
8 slices of bread
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch pepper
4 slices of turkey (ours didn't have this and were still delicious)
4 slices of ham
4 slices of swiss cheese
butter and olive oil for frying
powdered sugar
raspberry preserves

Make sandwiches with bread, meats and cheese. Mix eggs, milk salt and pepper together (just like for french toast). Heat frying pan or griddle. Melt 1/4-ish cup of butter on griddle and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, dip sandwiches in egg mixture and cook until both sides are golden and cheese is melted inside. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with jam on the side for dipping. Yummy!

It seems like every day when I pray, I ask Heavenly Father to keep my family safe. I know I am not supposed to pray for the same things every day, but I don't feel like I am just saying some memorized prayer every day. I feel like I am praying for something I sincerely need help with. I pray every day for David to come home safely from school. I pray for Gracie and Sammy and I to be safe where ever we may be. And I am so very glad that I do after an afternoon like today. I am still in freak out mode! If any of you don't know what that is, it is where your heart is pounding and your eyes are crying and your adrenaline is rushing and your hands are shaking. Wow... it seems like the more I think about it, the worse it gets. Gracie and Sammy and I went to the park today with our playgroup. It is a nice park with lots of playground toys to play with. But it has one really really big drawback... actually two. 1)there is not enough shade (but that is because it is right next to the lake), and 2)it is right next to the lake. If you know Gracie, you have probably guessed right where this is leading. No matter where we go, I have to keep a close eye on Gracie. A lot of moms can just sit and chat and their kids don't wander far. Not me. Gracie loves to explore everything. This time she took another little girl with her. Gracie escaped through a small gate in the fence that was out of my line of vision. Annie followed her and they went up a little hill to an amphitheatre that is right next to a pier. Gracie climbed out onto this little ledge that goes right into the lake. She is not afraid to just jump into the water either. Only this time there would have been nobody to catch her and the water is definitely higher than her head. If we had been one minute slower finding Gracie, it might have been too late. Just thinking about it makes me cry like a baby! When Annie saw what Gracie was doing she started running back to find someone to stop her (I think she is afraid of the water). Thank-you Annie! And thank-you to all of the moms that helped find and protect Annie and Gracie! And I am so very grateful to my Heavenly Father for keeping my little girl safe.

Sammy can stand up all by himself!!!

He did it! Sammy can stand up all by himself! He started yesterday. I was loading the dishwasher and he pulled himself up next to it and tried to take the dishes out (he is WAY to little to be getting into so much trouble!). A little later, I put him down for a nap on my bed. I surrounded him with pillows and a quilt. When I came to check on him a few minutes later he wasn't in the bed anymore. He was standing on the floor next to it (holding on to the matress). Wowee! How did that happen? My little boy is getting so big! Could he possibly walk before his sister did? Gracie was only 8 months old when she started walking. I guess it is time to baby-proof the stairs!

Test...

This is a test of the time zone system. I found out that I have been operating under Pacific time on my blog a while ago, but just barely figured out how to fix it. Let's see if it worked. The time is now 12:48 pm. This is only a test...

Smiley Sammy

I was trying to take pictures of Sammy and Gracie this morning and all of a sudden Sammy started climbing up my leg and he was just grinning the biggest grin ever!!! How cute is he. He is getting so quick crawling around too. And he loves to eat paper! He is just so dang cute!

Family Home Evening Treat

We made caramel apples for our family home evening treat on Monday. Actually there is kind of a funny story behind that (although I didn't think it was funny at the time). I took Gracie and Sammy to the grocery store on Friday. Gracie really is getting to big to ride in the cart, but she isn't big enough to listen and stay by my side very well. Anyway, I told her if she would stay right by me she could walk. She was following me (sort of). She picked up all the bell peppers and smelled them, and she had to touch a lot of things (sorry to the people in the store...). She was right next to me, and I turned to pick up some dried cranberries for a salad I was making. Gracie picked up an apple from the display right next to me and took a great big bite! And of course it wasn't from an apple you can buy by the pound. Nooooo, it was an apple that you had to buy by the BOX! So I had to buy a whole box of apples. It was sooooo tempting to just put the apple back and pretend nothing had happened. But I didn't. So I had to think of something to do with apples. We made caramel apples on Monday, and I think I am going to make apple crisp tonight. If anyone wants some, bring some vanilla icecream and come on over.

You're it!

Tag your it!

All right, so I have been tagged. Here I am:

Jobs I have had:
1. Domestic Engineer (yay for mommies!)
2. Zions Bank Internet Branch
3. Zions Bank Teller and New accounts
4. Skywest (loved the benefits!)
5. Phone survey place (I can’t remember the name)

Movies I can watch over and over:
1. That thing you do
2. National Treasure
3. Anything SUPERMAN
4. Miracle on 34th St.
5. While you were sleeping

Favorite T.V. Shows
Actually my tv doesn’t work and even when it did we didn’t get very good reception… oh well. We just watch movies.

Places I have been on Vacation:
1. St. George
2. Church history sites
3. California
4. Is it so sad that I haven’t been anywhere else?
5. David promised me that when he graduates from school he will take me on a vacation where ever I want to go (can you say Europe!)

Favorite Dishes:
1. Anything Mexican (except corn tortillas, I don’t really like those)!!!!!
2. Spaghetti
3. Mom’s Sunday dinners (I can make the exact same things and somehow they aren’t as good.)
4. Chicken noodle soup (homemade of course and only in the winter)
5. French Fries

Websites I visit:
1. BLOGS!
2. theBank
3. Food Network, all-recipes… other random recipe websites
4. LDS.org
5. G-mail

Places I would rather be:
1. with my family
2. In bed with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate (it is only 60 degrees here today)
3. Riding my bike with the kids in the bike trailer (did I mention it is also raining here today)
4. Café Rio
5. At the top of the Empire State Building… with David

People I am tagging:
1. The Cluffs
2. The Hales
3. The Morris Fam
4. The Frontones
5. The Kohlers (that means you actually have to post something on your blog again!

My new couches.

So here are my new couches. They don't look exactly like I remember them looking in the store. Strange how that happens, but oh well. I don't know if I really love them, but David REALLY likes them a lot, so I don't think we will return them. The two end seats on both couches recline (David's favorite feature). I think somehow in my head these couches mixed with another couch that I was looking at, and my favorite features from both got mixed in my head. Anyway. They are very comfortable. The room is still kind of bare. We took the rug that was in there downstairs to the family room so I need a new rug and I still need an end table and to hang more pictures. But these are my new couches.

Carrots, chocolate ice cream, and sitting up!!!

Sammy had his first bite of baby carrots yesterday. He sure loved them, but I can't help but feel sorry for him when the rest of us were eating chocolate ice cream.

Gracie really REALLY liked the chocolate ice cream. Just look at that chocolatey grin.

Sammy started sitting up all by himself! He doesn't even need me to help him get that way. He stands on his hands and his toes and then bends his legs and falls backwards onto his bottom. What a cutie!

Sammy is so big....

Sammy thinks he is such a big boy. He is so close to crawling, but he doesn't really want to crawl he wants to walk. He climbs up on his hands and feet and tries to jump. He gets up so tall and then he falls over (not on purpose) and rolls all the way on to his back. That makes him really mad. He is so fun, I just love him SO MUCH!

The wall in my bedroom...

So here is the infamous wall in my bedroom that I have told some of you about. I really wish that I liked it because I am sure it took the woman who used to live here a long time to paint it, but I just can't leave it. I don't really like to spend time in my bedroom the way it is unless all the lights are off (it is a good thing bedrooms are used for sleeping). But I haven't decided yet what color to paint it. I am open to suggestions... Let me know what you think.

The lake

As you can see, Sammy enjoyed the lake probably almost as much as his sister. What a cute little stinker he is!

The lake II

So we went to the lake last week, actually we have been there a couple of times, but I took pictures this time. Gracie absolutly LOVES to go to the lake. She runs right out into the water very first thing. David had to follow her out because she likes to go so deep that sometimes she gets dunked by the waves (as you can see in the second picture). I took a picture of the sunset since they are supposed to have one of the most beautiful sunsets in the country. It was a very hazey day so the sun looks really PINK. It wasn't the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen, so I will have to try again on a day that is clearer.

I was just kidding...

When I thought I understood about humidity before, well I was just kidding. I thought 70% humidity was a lot, but it is nothing compared 90+%. Yesterday evening we went and did some shopping and when we walked out of the store I felt this wave of wetness wash over me... literally. It almost feels like you could drink the air. It is so humid that the water actually condenses on the car windows as we are driving. I don't know what to do about that, do you turn on the defroster or what? And if the humidity reaches 100% would all the air turn to water? Back home after you take a shower and you blow dry your hair in the humid bathroom you get all sweaty (which kind of defeats the point of taking the shower). Well if feels like that all the time here. Now, I am not complaining. It is actually kind of interesting. We have had 3 HUGE rainstorms since we moved here two weeks and one day ago. I wish that I could bottle up some of this water and send it back to my family. It struck me as kind of ironic last night as I was praying. I thanked Heavenly Father for all the moisture we have been recieving. Now I don't think it was bad to do that, but I bet people don't have to pray for rain here like we did back home. Anyway. These have just been some of my thoughts during these past few wet days. I do appreciate the rain, and I think it is really beautiful.

Cinderella and Prince Charming

So... yet another event I missed blogging about in July. Micah and Sarah got married on July 14th.
Congratulations Micah and Sarah. The wedding was beautiful, Sarah was beautiful and Micah was...not beautiful, but handsome. They got married in the Mt. Timponogos Temple and had their reception on the lawn next to the church. Today when I was looking for a picture to put on the blog Gracie saw this one and said, "Rella!" Which means Cinderella. Then she picked up the corners of her imaginary dress and curtsied like the women do when they are being presented to Prince Charming at the ball. So Gracie thinks that Sarah looks just like Cinderella. Anyway, we just wanted to tell you two that we love you and we are sorry it took us so long to get this posted. But Congratulations anyway.

Trouble with a capital T!

I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but Gracie has a look on her face that says. "Hmmm, what trouble can I get in to?" She is the funniest little girl! She is talking more and more and says the funniest things. About a week ago I was trying to distract her from something she was doing that I didn't want her to (I can't remember what it was). I asked her if she had a bug in her ear. She looked at my like, "What are you talking about mom... you are totally crazy." But I wiggled my fingers next to her ear and made a funny sound. Now every day she asks me, "Bug in my ear? Bug in my hair? Bug in my nose? Bug in my ahhhh (which means mouth)? Bug in my bed?" But it doesn't worry her that there are bugs in all of these places. In fact I think she likes them there. On Saturday we went to a picnic for David's school and as Gracie was walking around a grasshopper jumped on her head. David pulled it off and let it walk on Gracie's hand. She just whispered, "a bug" and looked at it.
She has started saying, "Thank you mama" when I help her with things and it makes me feel so happy just to be her mom. Even when she steels my keys. It was Friday and I needed to go pick David up from school. I was already kind of having a bad day, and I couldn't find my keys anywhere. I remembered putting them on my desk after I dropped David off at school. I even made a mental note that that was where I was putting my keys, "Okay Julie, the keys are on the desk when you are ready to leave again..." But when I went to find them they were gone. I looked all over the house wondering if I had picked them up and moved them. I asked Gracie if she knew where they were, and she walked all around the house calling, "Keys? Keys?" like they would just jump out and say, "here I am!" In my head I kept thinking, I bet Gracie took them and burried them in the dirt in the back yard. Finally in desperation I went out and looked. Guess what. They were burried in the dirt in the back yard. I am also missing a bottle of baby tylenol. I wonder if it is out there too. Next time something else goes missing, I know the first place I am going to look.

Happy Anniversary to us!

"Maybe we were flowers
Soaking up every ray of sun
To grow one inch closer to one another
Maybe we were songbirds
Flying high up on the wind
And every night in the trees I’d sing you to sleep
Whatever the truth is one thing’s for sure

I’ve got a timeless place for you in my heart
How I could love you this much I don’t know
But there’s this ageless feeling that tells me more and more
I must have loved you before

Maybe I was an ocean
And you were the sandy beach
And every minute
I was falling at your feet
Or maybe you were the moon
Oh and I was just the dark
Living in your sweet light
Thanking God I was where you are
They say love is eternal and I guess they must be right

'Cause I’ve got a timeless place for you in my heart
How I could love you this much I don’t know
There’s this ageless feeling that tells me more and more
I must have loved you before

Whenever you kiss me well it feels like coming home

I’ve got a timeless place for you in my heart
How I could love you this much baby I don’t know
There's this ageless feeling that tells me more and more
I must have loved you before" -Jason Deere

I love you David. I just wanted you to know that. Happy Anniversary!

Drip, drip, drip...

Well, I understand now about humidity. David told me the humidity today is over 70%. I took Gracie to the playground at the elementary school at the end of the street. She was dripping after playing for an hour (even though it was only 8:00 in the morning). Then we explored a little bit around our neighborhood. After 45 minutes of walking I was all wet too. It wasn't that I was so hot, the temp is only 80 degrees, but I was sweating anyway. Crazy. Anyway, we like it here so far. The time difference is weird when I am talking to my family and their day has just started when it is mid morning here. And I hate being so far away from my family. We do have a very friendly ward though and it is fun to be able to see new places that I probably wouldn't get to see otherwise. We are planning to go to the lake again tonight (it is a good thing too because it is supposed to be the hottest day since we go here). Anyway, we just want all our friends and family to know that we miss and love them. Take care.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!

Sammy's first tooth came in yesterday. He has been sooo crabby lately. He hasn't been sleeping well during the nights and wants to nurse ALL of the time. But yesterday morning he took a two hour nap. I think that tooth finally broke through and gave him some relief and he was able to rest afterwards. Sammy really seams to like our new house. He especially likes to play in the backyard. He gets really close to the grass and looks at it... I think he even tasted it. He loves to go outside; it almost always settles him down when he is sad. We are going to sleep outside on Friday night. We want to show Gracie the lightning bugs. We are still looking for a fun playset for the yard, but for now the rocks and grass and dirt are fun.

Palmyra

We took a trip to Palmyra last Friday. Just too give you an idea of how green everything is back here, this is a picture of the Palmyra Temple from the road. It is really beautiful. There are flowers everywhere. We visited the Smith home, the place where the Book of Mormon was printed, and the Sacred Grove. I don't know if this is entirely appropriate or not, but Gracie and I chased an imaginary monkey all through the Sacred Grove. Gracie thought she saw one up ahead of us, and all I had to do was tell her I thought the monkey had gone in the direction I wanted her to go and she followed me so willingly. After spending the morning chasing her out from under the bed at the Smith house and from behind the ropes that you aren't supposed to go behind, this was a welcome change.

Birthdays in July!

Happy Birthday to those July birthdays out there. We may be a little late, but we want you to know we love you and we were thinking about you on your special day.

Eden is one! What a sweetheart. Hope you had fun!

Grandpa is 29. We miss you Grandpa and can't wait to see you in October.

MaryAnn is 19 and Sarah is 22! Have you ever seen such beautiful girls? We love you all. Be good and I hope you ate a piece of cake for me!