tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56976308907152406502012-02-17T17:47:50.383-08:00Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that you should go unto the Ohio; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high. D&C 38:32Amy and Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324499070963902426noreply@blogger.comBlogger2591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-18163120662803799982012-02-17T17:46:00.000-08:002012-02-17T17:47:50.395-08:00

From the time that kaleigh was very, very small she would cry if we scolded her even a little bit.  If I even pretend to get upset she panics and comes running to deliver a big hug.  All of this is to say, she absolutely hates being told "no" and takes extreme measure to make sure that she never has to be.                                                   Enter her favorite book:  No, David 

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-25703266617997722722012-01-31T17:48:00.000-08:002012-01-31T17:48:35.410-08:00

Several months ago Lily and I had the following conversation: Lily: Mom, when I grow up I want to be the kind of teacher who wears a pink shirt and a pink skirt and pink shoes and I will wear my hair in a ball on my head and I will walk on my toes. Me: A ballet teacher? Lily: Yeah!  A balelelellet teacher.  But, Mom?  I will need to take balelelellet lessons first.  Like Angelina! And so it

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-85668838700650416742012-01-24T18:10:00.000-08:002012-01-24T18:18:06.598-08:00

 Last year I predicted that 2011 would be the calmest year yet for our little family, and my clairvoyance proved correct. 2011 has, in fact, been comparatively calm.  We made no major moves, had no children, received no new degrees and remained in the country for the entire 365 day period.  Coincidentally, 2011 has also been one of the best years yet (but don't I always say that about the past

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-9492041496054438822012-01-09T17:49:00.000-08:002012-01-09T17:49:58.986-08:00

My very legitimate excuses for not blogging in over two months, In Chronological order: 1. We had a Ghanaian roommate living with us until early December, who kind of stressed me out much more than I anticipated.  Did you know that I have a moderate-severe panic attack when the tupperware isn't stored in the right place?  I didn't either!  Did you know that if there are any dishes on the counter

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-15628086460874880532011-10-31T18:28:00.000-07:002011-10-31T18:31:15.041-07:00

It sounds like the beginning of a joke with a dumb punch line, but it was pretty funny when the Davidsons were visiting a few weeks ago (I miss them.  Every day.) and Katja and I ran to the grocery store before a camping trip with our Ghanaian roommate.  Yes, we have a Ghanaian roommate.  A couple of months ago we met Baaba: a faithful, active and really awesome member of the church from Ghana. 

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-58668355140109479682011-10-31T18:01:00.000-07:002011-10-31T18:01:51.420-07:00

 If asked what my favorite holiday is, it is very unlikely that I would answer Halloween (I think that I usually say Easter, in case you're wondering; but that's only because I don't want to be cliche saying Christmas (because, seriously, I don't believe anyone who doesn't say that Christmas is their favorite holiday)).   The truth of the matter, though, is that I really, really, really....

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-60313040314225479982011-10-11T18:05:00.000-07:002011-10-11T18:08:39.227-07:00

Double Bandage after a very unfortunate collision with the tv stand. Hitting the pinata at Diego's birthday party. No fear of the "pretty mantis" (her father's genes?) Loving her new Bitty Baby from Grandma Menlove. Two years old! Jo Jo Bear, are you really two years old?  You don't seem to think so.  You refuse anything that can be associated with big girls by saying sweetly "

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-34078177680778278082011-09-21T10:50:00.000-07:002011-09-21T15:17:44.549-07:00

I have a disproportionate amount of favorite memories that come from the five months that Jeff and I spent in Taiwan when we were first married.  Most of them involve food.  But, does that surprise anyone? Oh, the food! Noodles with beef and vegetables.  Kimchi pizza.  Fresh fruit smoothies.  Fried rice. But above all, dumplings.  Fried or steamed.  Boiled in a soup.  Dipped in soy sauce or

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-54802371747735827762011-09-15T12:23:00.000-07:002011-09-15T12:27:09.418-07:00

While I was in survival mode, one of the first things to go was this little blog.  Hopefully now that our life is settling back into a fairly consistent (if not normal) routine, I can get back on the wagon.  For now, though, I'm going to have to commit the cardinal sin of publishing a post with a whole lot of pictures that have nothing to do with each other but that I can't leave unblogged.  So,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-90727782102464055322011-08-19T12:24:00.001-07:002011-08-19T12:57:54.582-07:00

I pushed the red button a few weeks ago. I've gathered all of my eggs from my various baskets. The blinds are closed and the curtains are drawn. We're officially in survival mode around here. We just need to survive August; and we're almost there! I hope that I'm not the only one who has to go into survival mode occasionally. When life gets hard in that "there are too many things and too

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-23738963259430753942011-07-25T11:22:00.000-07:002011-07-25T11:43:51.527-07:00

Picnicking in the backyard.Jaina, Lydia and Lily at their preschool zoo day.Lily with her favorite preschool teacher, Mrs. Clark.Lily: *Big Sigh*Me: What's up, frowny face?Lily: I'm just in a pickle.Me: Want to talk about it?Lily: It's just that me and Lydia both love Hyrum but Hyrum said he wanted to marry me and now Lydia is mad at me because she really, really, really loves Hyrum. *Big Sigh*

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-81399085533575895722011-07-20T17:11:00.001-07:002011-07-20T18:34:32.646-07:00

Last summer, after I finished my first triathlon, my friend Missi and I tentatively agreed to train for one together the next year. Time passed and I committed to run the Ragnar with my cousins and put the thought of a triathlon this year out of my mind; until April when Missi called me out on facebook and challenged me to a triathlon together. After approximately fifteen seconds of hesitation,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-79596793020675482882011-07-19T17:30:00.000-07:002011-07-19T18:14:33.146-07:00

In the first year that we lived in Ohio, we either went home or were visited by family no less than five (five!) times. The second year that we lived here, we really started to branch out and become more independent. That year we only went home or were visited by family four times. This past year, though, oh we went the longest we have ever gone without seeing family. We hated it. It had

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-29297349354490275892011-07-08T11:51:00.000-07:002011-07-08T17:10:52.987-07:00

I dread posting about vacations. Not because we didn't have fun (we did) or take many pictures (we did) or do interesting things (we did), but because we always do so much that it is overwhelming to catalog, but I don't want to leave any minute detail of our wildly fun vacation out. And of course there is always something that doesn't get photographed enough (like, um, our entire week with the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-46613264683847529612011-06-29T12:30:00.000-07:002011-06-29T13:26:26.348-07:00

Lily Mei, you are four! Four seems like such a big number. It makes me think about when you were little and just learning to count. You would say "One, Two, Three, GO, Four, Five..." I thought it was adorable then and now I realize that it was also very telling. You predicted your first four years of life. Between three and four you really learned how to GO. You go to preschool and you

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-71742147211455503952011-06-19T13:37:00.000-07:002011-06-19T14:51:32.376-07:00

The skinny:192 miles2 Days 1 Night.Logan, UT to Park City, UT12 people31:31:46Extra Details:2 hours of sleep in the freezing cold.Scrambled Eggs at 1:3o AM1,124 teams with names like "Scrambled Legs and Achein'" (Oh, I laughed).An injured runner for leg 36 (the last one), so my uncle had to run it.Watched the BYU Cross Country team pass us at exchange 28 even though they started ten hours after

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-20737674997949734892011-05-25T17:23:00.000-07:002011-05-25T17:58:41.812-07:00

There is one member of our family who kind of gets the shaft on this little blog of ours. Our red-headed step child, if you will. That person is Jeff; or as my cousin Aiden says, "You know. Cousin Phil. Amy's wife."Let me tell you a little bit about Jeff's awesomeness these days:He got his master's degree last year and has been working on his Ph.D. course work this year.He got a FLAS grant

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-80002845684386887022011-05-15T10:36:00.000-07:002011-05-15T11:17:49.169-07:00

Last summer whenJeffwasinPrague (I have to say it fast, like ripping off a bandaid), a family in our ward invited us over for Family Home Evening. Cathy had a prepared a really good lesson about David and Goliath (was it David and Goliath? I think so. Something about measuring height with strings....) Anyway, right as she was starting there was a knock at the door and a small group of

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-85314735664692065252011-05-13T18:15:00.000-07:002011-05-13T18:42:08.710-07:00

We aren't new to ouchies around here. We get them often. This was the first fingernail casualty, though. Kaleigh was trying to follow an unwilling friend into the bathroom and stuck her finger in the door (the swinging side) right as the friend was closing it. Not knowing what was keeping the door from closing, the friend kept trying to slam the door shut. Over. And over. And over.It

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-30550244388622261782011-05-07T16:40:00.000-07:002011-05-07T17:31:20.585-07:00

There is something that you have to know about me. I'm short. 5'1", if you want to get technical. Something else you have to know about me is that I am truly annoyed by people who complain about their shortness. I mean, come one, you're such a martyr because you can't reach the second shelf in the cupboards. But, of course, that being said and all, let me tell you why I really am a martyr.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-56226798580515863032011-04-25T11:30:00.000-07:002011-04-25T12:30:42.265-07:00

Lily: Hey, Mom, did you know that Heaven is INSIDE of us?Me: Well, Heaven is all around us.Lily: It's INSIDE of us. And so Jesus is inside of us too! I think that's what makes my heart go beat, beat, beat.We had a wonderful Easter. I hope that you all did too! It's a very profound holiday: a celebration of the the greatest event in history. A reminder that Christ is risen. He really is.This

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-32186473388506094132011-04-22T11:24:00.001-07:002011-04-22T15:45:13.823-07:00

A Few Things About Lily Mei:She loves dogs of all kind, but she is making due with the stuffed variety.She is the fastest dresser in the midwest. Buttons, zippers, snaps; you name it, she can do it.She has a mild (to say the least) obsession with princesses. She adores. A.D.O.R.E.S. being outside with her dad, especially after a nice rain when she doesn't have to dig too deep for worms.She has

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-16493324765894196262011-04-13T18:10:00.000-07:002011-04-13T18:32:40.857-07:00

Today Lily had a real evil streak going on. Everything I asked her to do was met with a heartfelt "no!" and followed by a "I'm the mom of myself!" (I love that it was "mom" instead of "boss." At least she's got the basics straight). And for extra measure, a few times she would stomp off and grab something that she knew was specifically off limits (a stick to shove in the grill, the porch

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-76999157990643208032011-04-12T12:54:00.000-07:002011-04-12T13:59:29.605-07:00

I grew up directly underneath a public canal. Well, I mean, directly downhill from a public canal. It was strictly forbidden, unless we were taking family walks along the dirt road that followed it. When we got older we were granted the unexpected permission to swim in it. We got tubes and floated down the easy parts and then scrambled to climb up the edges before we hit the "rapids." It only

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-35045286883371162982011-04-07T16:51:00.000-07:002011-04-07T17:19:16.033-07:00

While driving in the car to go on a bike ride (spriiiiiiiiiiing!)Me: ...and then I said "please don't jump on that!"...Jeff: Mmhmm. Mmhmmm.Me: ...and then I decided to just stick a fork in it and it started working again....Jeff: ....right...Me: ...and then we ran the library to get the third book of that zombie trilogy my mom suggested...Jeff: .... oh yeah? ....Lily: Excuse me!!!!Jeff and Me:

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-57164421836232105912011-04-02T17:23:00.000-07:002011-04-02T18:28:29.104-07:00

Laundry is one of those things. You know the ones? No matter how often you do it, you can be guaranteed that you will have to do it again next week. We live in a small house so our washer and dryer are in our kitchen, with no separate laundry room. It sounds weird, but it kind of works and I kind of like it because it means that I can't just let laundry pile up until I forget which piles are

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-86699720512502067642011-03-23T16:42:00.001-07:002011-03-23T17:04:14.390-07:00

We are currently in the throes of our spring "staycation." We fully intended to be roofing our house because we are currently waging a war against leaks. Our primary ally has been a gigantic green tarp that is covering our roof. Classy. Unfortunately, it was slated to rain all week and rain does not bode well for roofing. So we extended an indefinitely permanent position to the green tarp

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-85008441398085212732011-03-23T06:08:00.000-07:002011-03-23T06:30:23.521-07:00

Oh, Amazon. Just when I think that I'm disappointed in you, you go and win my heart again.Over a month ago I ordered a few of these lace and trace toys on Amazon (using Jeff's Amazon Prime account. Reason #684 why I love graduate school: Free Amazon Prime) for Talita's birthday. Two weeks later they still hadn't come and the birthday party was just a day away. I was shocked and disappointed.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-55997452303454105452011-03-15T17:56:00.000-07:002011-03-15T18:43:28.321-07:00

I was watching The Bachelor finale on real TV because I don't have an excuse to watch it while running anymore (Maybe losing my treadmill will prove to be a good thing?). Jeff hadn't ever watched the show before.Emily is telling Brad's family about her fiance dying in a plane crash and then realizing the next Friday that she was expecting his child. Me (having already had a good cry over the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-86866032407741794682011-03-12T16:55:00.001-08:002011-03-12T18:40:51.174-08:00

Lily: Hey, Mom, Does Jesus have a dad?Me: Yeah, Heavenly Father is his dad.Lily: But I thought that Heavenly Father was our dad.Me: He's Jesus' Dad too.Lily: So is Jesus my SISTER!!!Me: He's your brother. Remember, how boys are brothers?*Lily looks at me like I'm insane. We don't deal with "brothers" a lot at our house...*Me, quickly recovering: But, yeah, he's... you know... yes.Lily: So who

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-80150182097024344272011-03-12T16:45:00.000-08:002011-03-12T17:17:06.786-08:00

...The baby will play with all of her things.Yesterday Lily left Kaleigh home alone with me twice. It's unusual for Lily to be gone at all while Kaleigh is awake (she goes to preschool three days a week, but Kaleigh always naps while she's gone). The first time she left yesterday was to play at Talita's house. Kaleigh mourned her absence for almost the entire three hours and for the last half

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-86681569908483581522011-03-11T08:16:00.000-08:002011-03-11T09:16:14.331-08:00

Here's the thing about Graduate school. I don't like it. Well, I okay, I do like it. I actually really like it. I'm conflicted today. So here's a little list with a lot of commentary:Graduate school pros:Money. I don't mind living on not much more than a thousand dollars a month. It makes a person prioritize, you know? And when you prioritize enough, then you can occasionally buy this shabby

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-81988113417374819872011-03-09T07:48:00.000-08:002011-03-15T19:21:14.600-07:00

Excuse me while I'm materialistic.Today my treadmill died and I feel a great a loss. I'm not a real runner (you know, the kind who runs outside and on hills), but I spend more time with my treadmill than any other thing on earth (maybe I should start reevaluating my priorities. Can you imagine if I prayed or read my scriptures for as long as run every day? Immediate translation, I tell you.)

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-30793277766072593002011-03-01T17:46:00.000-08:002011-03-02T05:24:43.489-08:00

Every Tuesday the girls and I pick ourselves up and head to the library where Mr. David (we've moved on from Miss Meredith's toddler class) entertains us with stories, songs and mad ukulele skilz. After story time is over, I let the girls loose on the main library. We choose four books and one movie to take home and love as our own for the week.Today Lily chose "Drat that Fat Cat!" and Kaleigh

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-28829357912135771552011-02-25T12:22:00.000-08:002011-02-25T12:35:42.600-08:00

I don't understand Twitter. Not in the "I don't understand why people like Twitter" kind of way. But in the "I seriously can't understand what people are trying to say on Twitter."When I read: (weird double arrow sign)Jane Doe #my dog just ate a corndog lol @John Doe #vim http://www.yfrog.com/somethingsomethingsomething.WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!I'm sticking with facebook and the blog-o-sphere.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-70696949045984253742011-02-23T18:17:00.000-08:002011-02-23T18:43:20.010-08:00

She may melt your little heart strings when she insists on wearing her camo hat at 8:00 on a winter morning. And her naked bum might be may be the cutest thing I have ever washed in my kitchen sink.And her raspberry sauce kisses will most definitely rock your worldAnd even if her hair does fit into cute little piggy tails these days......she still talks in her sleep all night long. And even if

Amy and Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01324499070963902426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-85627644316037555302011-02-21T16:40:00.000-08:002011-02-21T17:10:23.552-08:00

Kaleigh has perfected her wheat bread recipe.Kaleigh's Wheat Bread2 Tbsp yeast*2 Tbsp salt*2/3 cup oil*2/3 cup honey*1/3 cup vital wheat gluten*1/3 cup dough enhancer*6 cups warm water*10 cups whole wheat flour*3 hospital brand binkies*optional ingredientThe girls love to help me make bread (a very recent and still very amateur activity for us). The hardest part for them is when there aren't any

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-60262222151386601732011-02-15T18:16:00.000-08:002011-02-15T18:45:47.766-08:00

My beyond gorgeous and super talented friend Anbre came up with this idea.(She also shares my secret passion for Billy Blanks. I miss our high school workouts, Anbre!)This was my sixth Valentine's Day with Jeff.Our first was after we had been dating for not quite a month.He kissed me while the couple we were doubling with was doggy piling us(they didn't notice).I thought it was an accident.It

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-4741298575060949942011-02-08T17:01:00.001-08:002011-02-08T18:09:13.613-08:00

February is always the hardest month for me. After two months of snow, cold and being cooped up inside, I'm ready to get out of the house. Consequently, February always tends to be my project month. I've been wanting to make a quiet book for the girls for awhile and I finally got around to finishing it over the last week or so. I don't have any templates (sorry, Starlie!) because I mostly

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-8597318335170394462011-02-02T11:39:00.000-08:002011-02-02T11:56:20.441-08:00

Lately Lily has been extremely interested in whatever project I am working on. This week I've been working on their quiet book (pictures pending!) and she has wanted to help with every step of the process, bless her little heart ("bless her little heart" is code for "driving me crazy despite her completely innocent interests."). Yesterday I decided "why not?" Of course, I'm far too protective

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-82128175498590939952011-02-01T08:33:00.000-08:002011-02-01T08:51:27.501-08:00

I woke up this morning thinking about this poem from Robert Frost (and, for the record, I loved it long before Twilight. It does work great in the book, though. No Twilight hate here.):Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I've tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction iceIs

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-39679812726594234272011-01-30T17:22:00.000-08:002011-01-30T17:55:35.424-08:00

What can I say about Kaleigh? She is perfect. She really is. Her personality is starting to blossom and I can't even describe how adorable it is. I've spent days trying to figure out what exactly I should say about Kaleigh because there is so much, but so little of it can be captured in words. I wish you could just spend a day with us. Then you would see how she carries around a Matroshka

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-82545552987865702252011-01-23T18:06:00.000-08:002011-01-23T19:05:09.861-08:00

On Thursday of this week Katja called and said "Hey! I want to go to Disneyland, but Dan said it was too expensive. Want to take the girls to Disney Princesses on Ice instead?" And so we bought our tickets and two days later, off we went. Lily is a huge movie fanatic. She adores her princess movies. She has never gravitated toward the princesses themselves, though. She tends to relate

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-23020209363641457862011-01-20T16:41:00.000-08:002011-01-20T16:47:21.792-08:00

Lily: "Mom let's play a game."Me: "Okay. What kind of game."Lily: "Hmm. House is my favorite."Me: "Well, then, I guess we should play house."Lily: "Yay! Okay, you be the mom. I will be the big girl. Kaleigh can be the baby. The daddy is at school and this is our house. And when it gets dark say 'okay when it gets dark at this house that means it's bedtime!' "Me: "Lily, that isn't a game...

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-65824313660630530822011-01-04T11:07:00.000-08:002011-01-04T11:29:41.424-08:00

For weeks now, Lily has been pumped about graduating from nursery. She even "practiced" being a sunbeam by standing at the primary podium and bearing her testimony while I cleaned up after church for weeks in advance. On Sunday, the day finally arrived. Lily arrived at church armed with her scriptures and no toys ("because I'm a sunbeam now"). I can't believe she's growing up.Primary is going

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-83869380854244015752011-01-03T11:39:00.000-08:002011-01-04T08:39:23.468-08:00

First of all, to google reader users, I apologize for all the back publishing. I realized that a few months worth of posts never re-transferred from the private blog. Blame it on my chronic indecisiveness (which most recently reared it's ugly head in choosing the colors for our living room. The result is very similar to the color scheme in a Mexican restaurant. Sigh.)2010 was the rockiest

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-13877072364918029392010-12-26T13:55:00.001-08:002010-12-26T14:29:48.078-08:00

A play by play of our first Christmas staying in Ohio:Christmas Eve: Traditionally, my family has our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. Traditionally, Jeff's family has their Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. I had planned on following my family's tradition all day, until just a few hours before I was going to start preparations when Jeff won me over with his cool logic and I was

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-80879124043027747112010-12-26T13:31:00.000-08:002010-12-26T13:53:33.886-08:00

And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree for Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed....And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee... to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child and accompanied by a glue eating angel.And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-71340148086453955172010-12-26T13:05:00.000-08:002010-12-26T13:31:27.481-08:00

I always turn into a really horrific blogger over the holidays because I'm, you know, celebrating the holidays instead. I can't bear to let some of these great memories and pictures go unrecorded, though; so I present my annual Christmas Catch Up. Usually we go to Utah for the holidays, but this year we decided to stay at home and have our first ever Christmas in our own home. Even though we

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-52068447576274661442010-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:002010-12-01T18:17:11.865-08:00

A couple of years ago, Jeff and I debated whether or not we were going to be the type of parents who supported fairy tales. For a full rundown on our decision, read this. Or just read the rest of this post and see that fairy tales are fully alive in the Parker home. In fact, just today we met The Gingerbread Man. Lily, Sammy and Bryson (whom we tend every Wednesday) helped me make gingerbread

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-39387800943871904862010-11-28T17:39:00.000-08:002010-11-28T18:03:58.188-08:00

First of all, Blogger insists that this picture needs to be rotated like this. The picture is normally rotated on my camera. It is normally rotated in My Pictures, but Blogger is positive that I'm wrong. Maybe it's right? Who am I to argue with Blogger?Anyway, cock your head to your right a little bit (... a little bit more...) and note that this is Lily's drawing of Sister Romney, her

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-18461438125013063262010-11-28T17:13:00.000-08:002010-11-28T17:29:25.828-08:00

For a delicious dinner with good friends,Peanut Butter, Pumpkin, and Pecan Pies,Friends that feel like family. kitchen helpers.And mostly for Jesus Christ. Our warm house, comfortable beds and full refrigerator and only small blessings in comparison.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-70165047426242470642010-11-23T16:29:00.001-08:002010-11-23T16:53:06.984-08:00

When Lily was born we were at BYU and knew several families who cloth diapered. I was intrigued (and impressed) by the idea and committed that when we owned a washer and dryer (and that it functioned in our own living quarters-- technically we owned a washer and dryer when we were first married (Thanks, Aunt Mindy!!!)) I would start using cloth diapers on my babies. We've now been proud washer

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-38334044901199622010-11-17T11:48:00.000-08:002010-11-17T12:08:14.099-08:00

Just a little black and purple to accentuate the baby blues....except "the other guy" happened to be a door... both times.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-65408107113664945472010-11-14T18:28:00.000-08:002010-11-14T18:45:56.303-08:00

Kaleigh can walk! She took her first steps just days after her first birthday and is now a master. She's grateful that she can carry things from one point to another without using her mouth. I'm grateful I don't have to scrub the knees of all of her pants anymore.She had a birthday panCAKE. She also had a real cake, but it was very disturbing. Rather than post a picture that would certainly

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-13258350391111767912010-11-02T17:29:00.000-07:002010-11-02T17:51:22.872-07:00

I was going through some old pictures and came across these gems. A couple of months ago we were on one of our favorite bike trails when we rode right into (seriously, we rode RIGHT INTO) a little nature-amphibian-reptile-compost-festival thing. Sometimes we pretend that we're a little granola, so we spent some time nodding our head at the necessities of composting and self-sustainability, but

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-34066610602536070212010-10-31T18:41:00.000-07:002010-10-31T19:04:01.819-07:00

We're Thing 1 and Thing 2!Note: Kaleigh is Thing 1. This was an accident. I glued the patch on the wrong shirt. This near-disaster was avoided by explaining to Lily that "2" is bigger than "1" and she's the biggest. Crisis averted.Note: They have blue hair. It. Got. All. Over. Everything. It took two washes to get it of their hair and I'm still trying to figure out how to get it off my

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-1824805806821848182010-10-29T16:40:00.000-07:002010-10-29T16:52:19.262-07:00

When Lily and her friend Eliza forgot to close the bathroom door......my dear friend Rachael walked around the corner to find Kaleigh like this.Maybe she's ready for potty training?

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-52298267771744524852010-10-28T11:59:00.000-07:002010-10-28T17:19:18.333-07:00

Once I week we take turns hosting play school with six other families. Lily looks forward to all week. I love the social exposure it gives her and the way it eases her into structured education (if you can call play school structured...) and mostly I love all of these cute kids.From left to right: Eliza and Hyrum (Lily can't go two days without seeing these two.), Jessica, Emma, Jaina, Lydia,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-81039355526950012272010-10-27T19:16:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:35:41.105-07:00

Lily is occasionally a rascal. She's three, so that's to be expected. Sometimes I laugh at her rascally ways and sometimes I rebuke them. Most of the time I try to deliver a quick "you know better than that" speech before I have to rush into another room to have a good laugh without her knowing (don't want to enforce the wrong behavior. You know how it goes.) Yesterday morning I told Lily

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-26094012910901361652010-10-12T11:48:00.001-07:002010-10-27T21:26:38.854-07:00

So, um *cough*, about that whole going private thing? Nevermind.Jeff went to Prague and I got to visit him for a week......two months ago. See, being a private blogger made me not much of a blogger at all. I'm not going to even attempt to catch up on everything; but Prague was, you know, kind of a big deal.This, my friends, is a castle. An honest-to-goodness castle. We had to climb a

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-65126934807639190942010-10-10T17:53:00.001-07:002010-10-10T18:57:22.395-07:00

I will not be that mom who spends an entire blog post crying about how quickly her baby grew up (even though I am totally that mom). It's true that this birthday sneaked up on me in a very intrusive way. Hello, mother time, she's MY baby and YOU can't make her grow up without my consent......right?Just TRY to tell me that she isn't gorgeous. I dare you.Playing at the Aquarium.Camping in our

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-64340661821747180682010-08-14T17:54:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.638-07:00

Yes. I am aware that I have been on an hiatus for over a month now. That's what happens when your husband leaves for two months. We actually did do a bunch of blog worthy things, but without anyone to relieve me of my parental duties at the end of the night, blogging was the last thing on my mind. Anyway, you would think that my triumphant return would be best marked by the nine days that I

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-45641626304082281372010-07-07T11:16:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.644-07:00

Our little Chikadee turned three last week. I think that correct thing to say is "I can't believe my little girl is already three!" but that just wouldn't be accurate, because I can't believe that she is only three. Lily Mei is so smart, active, adventurous, athletic, verbose, intuitive, funny and wise beyond her years. On a side note, I think that my children have a tendency to look Mongolian

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-76126304776128896552010-07-05T19:02:00.000-07:002010-11-07T06:12:12.856-08:00

Oh, hello, 120s. It's been about 3 1/2 years. Lovely to see you again.PS: Yes, those are my real feet, in all their deformed glory.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-66220055980840510942010-06-29T15:43:00.002-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.650-07:00

We're really going to go private. I know we threatened to do it a couple of years ago and collected a bunch of email addresses. I think we saved most of them, but you might want to re-email me your stats, just in case. You can either leave a comment or email at menlove (dot) amy (at) gmail (dot) com.Sorry to all of you opposed to private blogs. I was ranked in your midst until just recently.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-14772212250342971562010-06-29T15:43:00.001-07:002010-06-30T10:40:30.776-07:00

We're really going to go private. I know we threatened to do it a couple of years ago and collected a bunch of email addresses. I think we saved most of them, but you might want to re-email me your stats, just in case. You can either leave a comment or email at menlove (dot) amy (at) gmail (dot) com.Sorry to all of you opposed to private blogs. I was ranked in your midst until just recently.

Jeff Parkernoreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-73309507252288088542010-06-27T19:05:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:57:34.316-07:00

We miss Jeff every day. It helps that we talk to him for about two hours every day. I may or may not have a shrine dedicated to Skype in my closet.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-91585174925838090412010-06-22T19:53:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.654-07:00

I like to blog. I think that is a great replacement for scrap booking (I hate scrap booking). I like that I can easily flip through posts and remember what Lily was like at different stages. I like rereading about our earlier days of marriage. I like telling anecdotes and I like sharing pictures of my girls and handsome husband. What I don't usually write about are special spiritual

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-9824617085032041872010-06-21T13:04:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.657-07:00

I'm going too!I get to go to Prague and pick Jeff up at the end of his study program. The girls are staying with my parents (and probably Jeff's too, but we haven't worked out the details), and then Jeff and I get to spend NINE FULL days in Prague. My heart is doing little dances all up and down my chest. I miss Jeff even more than I thought I would (I didn't think that was even possible!) and

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-41241150913854261922010-06-15T12:22:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.661-07:00

Three years ago last month, Jeff and I got home from an amazing five month adventure in Hualien, Taiwan. We had only been married for four months when we left the States, so it was a very formative experience in our young marriage. Never was there a time, nor will there be a time in the next few decades, when were able to spend so much time together. We woke up together every morning and rode

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-73214993913511611442010-06-09T11:48:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.664-07:00

Last Thursday Jeff woke up really sick. I know that he was really sick because he took the day off of school, and he never does that for anything (and by "he took the day off of school" I mean he still rode his bike there and sat through a full class before he decided he needed to come home. On Friday morning he was still feeling sick and kept saying that it was the worst possible time to get

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-33497490812441639892010-06-05T19:46:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.667-07:00

I feel as though I haven't done an adequate job of glorifying Kaleigh's adorableness on this blog lately. I assure you, she is adorable.She is currently straddling the line between being the extremely serious baby we once knew and the super silly baby that she can be now. She thinks that she is the funniest thing since reality TV. We would have to agree. She plays peek-a-boo both

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-31875019069318497582010-06-02T18:59:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.671-07:00

We are firm believers that Memorial Day should always be sunny and spent in the outdoors. Imagine our horror when we woke up Monday morning to thunder, lightening, rain: the works. We had made plans with the Boehmkes, good friends of ours, to explore a smaller state park that day. There was hope that the weather wasn't so horrific there. Unfortunately, according to our weather reports, the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-50473972376329912092010-05-31T18:22:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.674-07:00

It all started with ten square feet of compost. A word to the wise: ordering this much compost and dumping it in your drive way is a phenomenal way to meet your neighbors. Pure curiosity motivated all of neighbors within a four house radius to casually drop by and find out why we were defacing the neighborhood.All it took was looking at our "rock beds" to understand why such copious amounts of

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-92202638441435668712010-05-27T13:18:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:57:34.326-07:00

Lilyisms:Exercise (n): my tread mill. ex. Mom, can I get on the exercise when you're done?Dipit birds (n): The lorikeets at the zoo. etymology: Lily used to refer to all sauces as "dipit", but most generally she was referring to ketchup (because we would tell her "dip it" when she had fries with said ketchup). At the Columbus zoo, you can pay two dollars for a cup of sugar water to carry

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-68211971180667841352010-05-25T08:19:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.682-07:00

When I was twelve or thirteen, I was sitting with my family in church. I noticed my sister, Brenna, looking at me kind of funny before she burst into laughter. Then she whispered something to one of my other sisters, Hannah, who looked at me funny before she burst into laughter. It took several minutes before they could breath through their giggles and inform me that I "look Chinese." A couple

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-181109419660081462010-05-19T10:20:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.685-07:00

...years old, that is. Yesterday. I have a love/hate relationship with my age. Now that I've graduated and am living in the real world, I feel exceptionally young. At the same time I'm terrified to be getting out of the "young twenties" and into the "mid twenties." I don't know if it's in my head, but I swear I have wrinkles around my eyes now. I will be one year older, though, just for

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-25023528708072574352010-05-15T11:17:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.689-07:00

For the past couple of months everything from the radio to the news to little lawn signs in our neighbor's lawn has been reminding us that the Komen Race for the Cure was around the corner. Like with most "downtown" events, I barely noticed the advertisements. In another vein, I have never put much stock into organized races. Why pay to run when I can hop on my treadmill or walk out my front

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-8917766925229704952010-05-14T12:33:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.692-07:00

Lily is Kaleigh's whole world. And Lily will do anything for Kaleigh.Like reading books before bedDiapering, swaddling and putting the babyto bed (we haven't let her try it out on the real baby yet.)and learning the correct use of the bottle.But there are somethings that only a Dad can do.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-32140460653487393722010-05-12T13:12:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.695-07:00

Warning: Do not read this post if you are opposed to child partial nudity.For Mother's Day, Lily wanted to make her Grandmas something special.Kaleigh got roped into doing it too.Dad had to help, but he was allowed to stay fully clothed.My Grandma(s) is Hands and Feet Above the Rest!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-20132154680149187492010-05-10T14:19:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.698-07:00

It's obvious that I have been spending too much time on facebook when my thoughts come in the form of status updates:Amy Menlove Parker loves waking up with both girls in her bed.Amy Menlove Parker can only think of four different breakfasts and so we rotate them: pancakes, cottage cheese and fruit, eggs and muffins, oatmeal, repeat.Amy Menlove Parker is vacuuming the floor.Amy Menlove thinks

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-12750505700510213972010-05-05T19:00:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.701-07:00

This picture has nothing to do with nursing, I just like it.I stopped nursing Lily when she was six months old. I was a little bit sad about it, but mostly relieved. I was finishing my senior year at BYU, going to school full time. I was also working part time. She obviously received much of her nourishment from a bottle. I tried to pump (sorry, male readers, you need not continue), but

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-17800449445052706722010-04-30T19:14:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.705-07:00

After Lily was born, life was a little bit rough. I had to completely reevaluate my priorities; of course I was happy, nay thrilled and anxious to do so, but any self reevaluation is not going to be easy. It took remembering, and I guess in a way realizing for the first time, what the Savior gave up to give me life. Before Lily was born I thought of the Savior as the redeemer of all mankind (

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-8417816479258945872010-04-29T14:48:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.710-07:00

Have I already posted about the zoo before?Oh, I have? Three times before, to be exact? Huh. But, have I posted about it with Kaleigh in the pictures? No? Well, then...Lily watching the Bonobo monkeys.Pardon my psychotically happy face, but doesn't Kaleigh look cute?This is not the baby elephant, but I couldn't get a good picture with the real thing.By far the most memorable thing for Lily. What

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-2131204849652714792010-04-22T12:43:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.713-07:00

Me when I was still Amy MenloveThat's what people used to call me; you know, before I got married. I really liked being Amy Menlove. I liked that I had "Menlover" embroidered on all of my sports paraphernalia when I was in high school (oh, so clever). I liked that when teachers called my name out with my last name first everyone chuckled. That name was good me. It was also good to someone

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-48933124687173352902010-04-20T18:08:00.000-07:002010-10-27T19:56:38.716-07:00

In six months you can train for and complete a marathon (or at least a half marathon, right?)Lose fifty pounds (or more if you are The Biggest Loser)Gain fifty pounds (yikes. I hope I'm making this up)Meet and marry your spouse (I know several couples)Become EMTB certifiedBut if you're our little Kaleigh Jo, in six months you can do even more. Kaleigh celebrated her unbirthday on the 11th. I

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-66592677508630822062010-04-13T11:31:00.001-07:002011-01-03T11:35:13.408-08:00

One of the biggest reasons we bought this particular house was because it had a fabulous back yard. After we moved in, we realized that for all of its size, a backyard without anything to do can only go so far in the eyes of a two year old. Luckily, an extremely generous family in our ward donated this beautiful swing set to Lily's cause: Jeff and some other awesome guys spent an entire

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-49946263277995942522010-04-13T11:11:00.001-07:002011-01-03T11:35:13.411-08:00

Just before Valentine's Day I was slaving away making the girls matching dresses. These are not those dresses. I had just finished the last one when my brother came to visit, carrying these amazing skirts that my mom had made for Lily and Kaleigh. If you can, zoom in on them. They are so pretty. For months I was saving them, insistent that they were not to be worn until we did our spring

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-17716389755522269012010-04-13T10:43:00.001-07:002011-01-03T11:35:13.413-08:00

In March we hosted Lily's play school at our house and were assigned the topic of St. Patrick's Day. It was so much fun to play games and learn about one of the holidays that I really don't put much stock in. Lily especially adored the lesson and spent every day thereafter patiently waiting for the next holiday. Only Christmas was more anticipated in the Parker home than Easter this year (tell

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-82611119396165559552010-04-05T17:39:00.001-07:002011-01-03T11:35:13.416-08:00

After three months, with plenty of sabbaticals in between, the felt playhouse is finally done! Even though it took three months, I probably spent less than twenty hours on it. I wish I had saved the receipts so that I could say exactly how much it cost too, but I can make an educated guess of "between 25 and 30 dollars." This is my favorite part. I thought that the tree might look funny with

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-25095886318531084522010-03-28T12:56:00.001-07:002011-01-03T11:35:13.419-08:00

One of the benefits of still being in the "student" status is that we still have the luxury of spring break. The disadvantage to being in the "graduate student" status is that Jeff still had papers to write. On top of that, we are b. r. o. k. e. until we get our tax return, so we enjoyed our spring break by having a "staycation" (at least that's what Katja called it and I thought it sounded

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-20405591619757414552010-02-28T18:25:00.001-08:002011-01-03T11:35:13.421-08:00

Because I know that you are just dying to find out how my felt house has been progressing:This is side 1 of 4. There are five apples to be harvested. It was a last minute decision to add the numbers to the apples, but I think they turned out pretty cute even without much preparation. I used an old laundry bag to make the mesh window, upon trusted advice from homemadebyjill. I had planned on

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-5209194455679742132010-02-24T17:24:00.001-08:002011-01-03T11:35:13.424-08:00

Modeling an adorable outfit that our dear friends in Taiwan gave Lily whilst she was still in the womb and the incredible skirt that Grandma Menlove recently sent her in the mail. Probably not meant to be worn at the same time...*As I was getting ready to run on the treadmill*Lily: Mom, why do you have to exercise every day?Me: Because I want to be healthy. ....and because I want to have a

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-47457938190620829842010-02-19T11:30:00.001-08:002011-01-03T11:35:13.427-08:00

I was just installing all of my standard programs on our new netbook (expect a whole post about this beauty in good time) and I remembered my extreme love for K9 Web Protection. We were in a ward a couple of years ago that really emphasized the importance of having an internet filter, whether or not you have children old enough to browse the internet. I have jumped on that bandwagon. Here are

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-58199574692124487712010-02-17T15:55:00.001-08:002011-01-03T11:35:13.430-08:00

BTW, Bitty Baby's head has been Nail Polish free for 22 days.BTW, Sitting up? What?!Slow Down!P.S. How is it even possible that all of my best genes and all of Jeff's were able to collide so perfectly... TWICE?!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-24711570233625520152010-02-17T15:55:00.000-08:002011-01-03T11:35:40.822-08:00

BTW, Bitty Baby's head has been Nail Polish free for 22 days.BTW, Sitting up? What?!Slow Down!P.S. How is it even possible that all of my best genes and all of Jeff's were able to collide so perfectly... TWICE?!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-54876696313349552742010-02-14T18:39:00.001-08:002011-01-03T11:35:40.824-08:00

Kit CatOctober 2009 - February 2010On February 13, 2010 Kit the Cat was killed by our neighbor's dogs, who entered our fenced yard and found her eating on our porch. Jeff valiantly tried to save her by running into the snow in his bare feet to chase the dogs away. She fought bravely, but passed away shortly after. We are all devastated.Kit joined our family shortly after Kaleigh did. She

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-1070753178995364902010-02-11T11:55:00.001-08:002011-01-03T11:35:40.827-08:00

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697630890715240650.post-9954144605444793802010-02-10T08:43:00.001-08:002011-01-03T11:35:40.829-08:00

I lied when I said that our new home required no work. We (meaning Jeff) have been working on it ever since we moved it. It is an older house, so all of the electrical outlets needed to be replaced. After moving in, we realized that all of the paint was disgusting-uncleanable-flat-paint-of-death, so the whole house needs to be repainted eventually. It is a mystery what half of the light

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994494038070607769noreply@blogger.com3