Help me decide!!

It's that time of year again. I need to decide what Abi is going to be for Halloween. We love Halloween around here and I like to figure it out early. It is especially important this year because if I make the costume I'll have to get started SOON because I won't have much time in October.
So, here's Abi:

What should she be?
Here are some ideas so far:
Care Bear- Pro: She loves them so it makes sense. It would be warm in case it's cold. Con: I would have to buy it. I don't think I could make one of these.


50's poodle skirt girl- I think she would just be darling like this. Also, Doug and I could get into the theme. If she dresses up like this I would make her costume and it would probably be some kind of check or polka dot skirt with a poodle.

Little Red Riding Hood: Again, I just think it would be cute. I can see Abi carrying around a basket for goodies. I would make this as well.

A Witch- Abi likes witches, or seems to. This is one that Doug and I could do as well. I would make this one.

So, what do you guys think? Which one is your favorite. Which one do you think would look the cutest and/or fit her personality the best?
Do you have other suggestions besides these that I may not have thought of?
FYI the last two years she has been a ladybug and then an elephant so those are out.
Please give me input!!! Thanks.

Update: I am adding two more into the mix:
Mary Poppins- I would also make this. this picture is just a general idea of what I would try to do. She has seen and liked Mary Poppins.

Alice In Wonderland- she has seen this and liked it very much.

Day at the Park: Pictures

Yesterday Abi and I were heading down to that really big park and I just got the feeling that we shouldn't go there so I turned around in this neighborhood and found a little park. Since Abi thought we were going to one I decided to stop and let her play at this one. It was an okay park although the inside of the toys were covered in grafitti. She had fun but we could only stay a little while as there were a bunch of older kids being obnoxious- climbing up the slide, sitting inside the tube slide so she couldn't get down it, climbing on top of the slides and jumping from one to the other so that when they landed the whole thing shook and scared her half to death.

Day at the Park: A Video

M

This week I have chosen to abandon my normal Wednesday and Thursday posts- we'll see them again next week.
This week in preschool we have been focusing on the letter M. Today we got out the macaroni and had some fun!
I drew a big M on both Alisse's and Abi's paper and then after they had correctly identified both the name and the sound and one word that starts with M I let them go to town with the macaroni and the glue. Alisse had a more subtle approach and filled hers up slowly and meticulously while Abi dumped macaroni by the handful onto hers and then shook off the extra ones when we were done.


We then made macaroni necklaces with some black twine. It had been a long time since I tried any fine motor skill things like this with Abi and at first she had a really hard time getting the macaroni on and began to lose hope. She would say "You do it mommy." I did one showing her again how to do it and then told her she needed to do the rest. A few tries later she got one! She was so happy. After that it was really easy for her. Alisse liked it a lot too. It was so hard to get the two of them to stand still to show off their completed necklaces! You can probably tell that from the picture.



Sidenote: Some of the funny things Abi has been saying now.
Abi didn't want to come home the other day and I said, "We have to home and have dinner. Do you want to have soup for dinner?" And she said, "I don't want ANYTHING! EVER!"
Yesterday Abi and I were talking about Doug while we were outside playing. I asked, "What kinds of things does Daddy like to do?" She said, " He likes to play in the car and EVERYTHING!"
She informed me yesterday that one of her Littlest Pet Shop toys is named "Baby Brother".
She has recently been singing "Kingdom, kingdom, kingdom is far away." We had no idea where it came from and just figured that she made it up since she is making up songs about everything lately but then putting her to bed we realized that she had just put the middle and the end together and then mixed them up of "A Child's Prayer"- one of our favorite bedtime songs. "Some say that heaven is far away" and "Such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven".
A couple of weeks ago when we went into a little store that had a lot of white lights strung about she said, "Oh! It's Christmas!"
Ahh.. there are so many more. I wish I could remember them all. I will have to post them immediately from now on so I can have them documented.

Good Mail!

Yesterday Abi and I came home from the library to find a box on our doorstep. Abi was so excited when I told her that it was adressed to her from her cousins Mckenna and Courtney. We brought it inside and opened it up amazed to find how many things they fit into that little box. Abi immediately saw the Spongebob fruit snacks and had them eaten before you could say "after lunch" which is why in the picture it is just an empty bag of fruit snacks. So, what did they send us?

Well, a huge percentage of Abi's clothes are hand me downs from these two cousins so inside the box were some more clothes: 3 shirts, 4 dresses, and 3 pair of pajamas (she wore the blue ones last night- so cute!) There was also a new pair of shoes for Abi. She outgrows shoes like crazy so we were so excited to get these ones that fit her so good. There was also a bunch of phonics books and a cd that I have secretly been coveting since Courtney had them in her preschool. I can't wait to start using them! There was a Dora DVD and Cd, Cups and bowl, and Watch from Courtney, a purple crown and some candy. My sister and I have kind of an inside joke about throwing random things into a package of fun stuff so there is also this little photo album thing, a lotion with about one drop left in the container, and a plastic fork. That made me laugh Steph- Abi loved the fork "OH! A fork!" she said. There was also two nice little notes in it. Thanks guys for the wonderful package. It made our day!
We love you guys and can't wait to see you.

5 Years ago today

Five years ago today on August 26, 2003, Doug shocked me by proposing. I was pretty sure that even though we had been dating almost two years that it was still going to be at least a year or so until he did.
It was great. The Christmas before he had given me an amazing book that we filled out together about our likes and dislikes, etc.. In it we had written letters to each other to open in one year. I bugged him a lot to open the letters early but he would never give in. Then one night he said why don't you bring the book and we'll open them. I was really excited. We went out into his parents backyard and sat on a little bench to read them. The letter was cute but then he said, " I wrote you another letter today" and read it aloud. Then at the end, while down on one knee he proposed in the letter and in person. It was so romantic. Here is the page I scrapbooked with a picture of me a few minutes later showing off my new ring and in the envelope is the actual proposal letter. (Sorry the pictures are such bad quality. We don't have a scanner so I took pictures of them in the album!)

Here are some of our engagement photo session pictures:



Another great thing happened this day five years ago as Doug was proposing.... our nephew Caden was born. Happy Birthday Caden!
Also Happy Birthday Luke!

Where are you from?

"If you don't know where you're from, you'll have a hard time saying where you're going."
- Wendall Berry

I am from Navy bases, from Top Ramen Monday, and from moving across country in small cars not meant for 6 people.

I am from the cleanest and most organized haven, outdoor cats, movie nights, and the sound of the vacuum in the morning.

I am from the fern named Fred, the quaking aspens, and the sand of the beach.

I am from the jammies on Christmas Eve, sleepover around the tree, blue eyes, Kings, and Bitters.

I am from crying during movies and reading books in bed before sleep.

I am from "Don't make that face, it could stick that way" and "Everybody has their own taste".

I am from Family Home Evening and Guideposts on road trips.

I am from Salt Lake City, California, Georgia, Washington, Idaho, Wisconsin and from those who crossed from Scandinavia and all over Europe.

I am popcorn on Saturdays and Super Nachos, Homemade pizza, and oranges in a stocking.

I am from Grandpa "Badger" and Grandpa Kings sayings and hiding behind the dollhouse with Lora.

I am from shelves of scrapbooks, this blog, and a computer full of pictures. I am from family traditions that will forever be celebrated and holidays that will be a big deal.

I found this fun tag on another blog. I tag anyone else who wants a little thought provoking challenge. See comments for template.

Grateful Sunday

Today it was very easy to know what I wanted to write about. We received a small miracle today.
Let me start by saying that church has been hard for me lately. It's not that I don't want to go or that my feelings of the church have changed- they haven't at all. It's just that most Sundays I have a really hard time being motivated and excited to go. This is why: It falls right at Abi's naptime which equals a very grumpy kid. Every sacrament meeting we end up fighting Abi the ENTIRE time. The crazy thing about this is that while Abi is a high energy little girl she is also a really good little girl. I very rarely have any problems with her in public. So anyway, we have to pack a church bag full of books, coloring items, toys, and snacks and this still doesn't help. It has got worst lately. So, the point of this is that I never get anything out of Sacrament meeting because I can never pay attention to what is going on.
Then as soon as that meeting is over, I go into Nursery for the next two hours. I love kids- well, I will be perfectly honest and say I love most kids- but sometimes when your life is full of spending every day with a two year old and teaching preschool for your side business it is hard to have your calling in church be with kids as well. So, basically I go to church every week with a tired child and have so much added stress that 3 hours that I don't need and don't get anything out of it. This is my usual experience.
That said, you should get a feel for what I was gearing up for this afternoon as we drove the 20 minutes to the church building. This is where the miracle comes in:
We sat in our seats. I held Abi for a minute while we sang a song and then she wanted to be in her own seat. I hand her a lemon tootsie roll. She eats it. She asks for more. Instead I give her a Lift the Flap Book of Mormon Stories book. She then gets down on the floor putting her book *quietly* back on her chair and spends the next few minutes looking through that book. When she is done with it, she notices Daddy highlighting a conference talk he is looking at and she walks over to him and asks to use it. She draws with the highlighter for a few minutes. I then give her a color wonder book and she sits back next to me and colors. I then give her the I can Be Reverant book and she spends a while looking at it. Then she plays with her little church doll (an old fashioned cloth and lace thing with no face) I then give her the last tootsie roll. She eats it. She asks for more. Instead I give her a Hello Kitty notebook and pen and she draws until the final song begins. She stands up on her chair and says "He has a baton like Leo!" (a Little Einsteins reference) and then sits on my lap for the rest of the song.
There it is. That was like a little miracle- really a huge blessing that reminded me of why I still go even though I find it difficult right now. I felt like Heavenly Father was helping me by giving me one hour where I actually got to listen to some really touching talks. I GOT something out of church today and it was something I needed.
I am so grateful.
*We won't dwell on the 'walk' we went on in nursery where Abi took off and fell off the curb and scraped up her leg real bad*

Wishes in the Sky

I've posted a little about Stephanie and Christian. They are parents to 4 young children. Stephanie (Nie Nie) is the author of a blog I frequent and through her blog I have been inspired in so many ways by her style, her love of life and her family, and her passion. I have also read her sister's blog . Stephanie and Christian were in a private plane crash last week and are in the hospital. It is still critical. There was also one other person on board. His name was Doug and he was also a father of 4 but he did not make it. A lot of us in the blogging world have been frequenting Cjane to get updates on their situation. She asked any of us that wanted to participate to do a balloon launch tonight. Stephanie had a tradition. For birthdays and special occasions they would write wishes in helium balloons and let them go. The idea was for all of us to do this at the same time tonight. If you live in Utah you may have seen what I'm sure turned out to be a balloon launch of epic proportions in Provo.
I really wanted to be involved. Today on the way home from Gabe's party, Abi and I stopped off at the party store and got two balloons. We got a blue one and a green one as I read somewhere that they were favorite colors. As 7pm drew near we dressed up and we wrote wishes on the balloons. Abi drew hers on.

Getting ready. We said a prayer, talked about what we were doing and then handed Abi the balloons.

Then told her to let them go:



It was a really moving and special moment. We sat outside for a while watching until they were out of view and then sat there still. it was so peaceful.

Choo Choo

We stopped to get some balloons for a balloon launch tonight and on the way home got stuck as a train went by. Here is a little video of Abi. This is mostly for the family that haven't seen her in 'action' in a while.

Shiver me timbers

Today was the birthday party of one of Abi's best friends. She was so excited to go to his pirate party. Here she is all ready to go:

This is the adoreable cake that Emily made for it..

Abi was a little overwhelmed with all the boys running around and didn't want to play the games or wear her pirate hat. But then we did the outdoor treasure hunt with maps and the spy glasses and hats they made. I told her she had to wear her hat to find the treasure and then she finally did. She loved this treasure hunt. I think I need to incorporate some of these into our daily lives. It was so much fun.

Finding clues:


The birthday consulting his map:

Abi consulting her map:

Arghh! Matey , ye's found the hidden treasure.

Abi and her 'booty'

The only two girls there enjoying sharing a chair and having some cake.

Thanks Emily! It was a really fun time.

Joey and Janice's day of fun

Okay, I totally stole that title from a Friends episode and it was actually just a day of fun for Doug, Abi, and I... but it was still a day of fun. Doug had a short day at work today and so he kept telling me to think of something fun to go do. I was having a hard time coming up with something that was close enough and cheap enough. So, after having lunch together, we went to the library to return something and then drove down to this park:

You may remember me posting about it a while ago. It is such an amazing park. This was Doug's first time going to it and seeing how Abi conquers the big scary slide.


But, then it started raining. So, I told Abi she could go down one more time (turned into two more times) and I followed her down so I could take pictures. I only got two good ones as I was squealing the whole time. She thought that was funny. Seriously though, these are steep and long slides and you go so fast.

After the park we went to the Civil War Museum but it still wasn't completely done. Unfortunately, when it is done they are going to charge for it- as opposed to the other free museums in the city. What is done so far is not that exciting. We then went outside and got drenched running from it to the Public museum next door. We spent a while in there having fun. Abi liked the animals and she did some great coloring. (As did Doug and I) We then went to Hobby Lobby and Abi got to stay in the car with Daddy while I ran in to get some scrapbook paper for a project I'm working on. THEN we went to Doug and Abi's favorite place- McDonald's- for dinner. Okay, so it's not their favorite place but it is a happy place. We have gone there 3 times in the past 5/6 weeks. That is a record. We usually eat out about once every other month.

As we left McDonald's we got ice cream to take home. Here is Abi enjoying her very FIRST ice cream cone. She loved it. She kept saying, "Mommy, this is so yummy. And Cold. And yummy."
After that someone was given a bath and then it was bedtime. The rest of the evening has been spent with Doug in the world of warcraft, me working on the project, and both of us watching 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". Great day.

A toy from my past....

One of my favorite toys as a kid was Mouse Trap. I loved it. A few years back I bought it hoping that someday I would have kids and I could play it with them. Yesterday afternoon ,while waiting for Doug to get home, I took it out of the game closet and showed it to Abi for the first time. It was love at first sight. She loved feeding the mice cheese the most and watching the diver jump. It was so much fun to share this with her. We played with it for well over an hour.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

One of my personal favorite children's books is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Preschool this year is focusing on the letters of the alphabet and reading. This week we used this book as an introduction to all the letters. Abi and Alisse made their very own Coconut trees by stamping on the letters and gluing the tree onto the trunk. They had a great time. I think Abi has been waiting for me to let her have free reign with some of my stamps. Afterward we read it again together. They were so proud of their trees.
Stampin:

Gluing:

See why Abi and I adore her:

Look at our trees!