Oh...maha!

This week seemed long because all week I was just waiting for the weekend. Not a ususal pastime of mine, but I knew once Johnny got home on Friday he would be all mine for almost a week. So I couldn't wait!

I have started doing preschool with Daphne. She isn't to happy about it and I have to say its not my favorite part of the day, but she is so smart and I want her to succeed. Monday we had a repairman at our house. Our heater was not working which is not a good thing here in Iowa. He could not figure out what was wrong with it, which was making me nervous because my thought was that we were going to have to replace the whole heater. Thankfully it ended up just being some rocks in the exhaust pipe. We also took a walk and ended up going to our typical hang out, McDonalds. I miss being able to go to a park, but its really to to cold to be outside for any amount of time. 

Friday finally came and I was so excited. After putting the kids to bed we watched a movie. Saturday was the big day. We had decided to visit our good friends the Jevene's. They were on the Island with us and its been three years since we've seen than ans it was great to see them. They also watched the kids for us so we could go to the Temple. The Temple was tiny, but beautiful. It was so nice to get to go with Johnny which also hasn't happened in a long time. We got headed home a lot later than we were planning so the ride home was hard. Church was even harder. The kids were quite tired, so they were cranky, but we got through it. 

Tomorrow we are heading north for a couple of days. We wanted to go to Nauvoo, but the temple is going to be closed so we searched for another location for our mini vacation. We settled on Minneapolis. Santa is making an appearance at the Mall of America which we thought would be fun. 

A long time missing

Okay I need to get back into doing my blog. I know if I tried to cover everything we did in the last two months I would never get caught up. Life has been so crazy I don't even know where September and October went. We had anther visit from Uncle Joey, celebrated my birthday, made three pirate costumes, Johnny did another two weeks of night shifts, we went to the pumpkin patch a couple times, I had a bout with pneumonia, and Halloween came and went and that is just a few of the highlights. I promise we will do better in the next little while. I have lots of exciting fun things coming up!

One year down, a life time to go!

Monday had some ups and downs. Quentin was a little fussy all day and I had had a feeling all weekend that he was getting an ear ache so Johnny got off work a little early and took him to the doctors. He did have an ear ache so we went back out to get his medicine, do a little shopping and Johnny took us to dinner. 

Tuesday Johnny had a delivery and so he didn't come home all day. I HATE the days he doesn't come home and so the rest of the week wasn't looking good in that respect because he was heading out on a work trip Thursday and Friday. The one upside of that is that we got the car for two days. So Thursday we took Johnny to the hospital at 5am. I didn't want to start our day that early so when we got home we I put us all back to bed and we all ended up sleeping in and it was great! When we got up we got ready and went to the mall. One of our friends just happened to be there too so Daphne had a little friend to play with and I got to talk with a new friend. After some errands we headed home for naps. Our timing for our day was pretty off because of sleeping in so Quen got up pretty late. I started dinner and then realized I had a get together to go to in 10 min. So I scrambled and got shoes on and kids loaded in the car in a flash. Turned out the host had pushed the party back by a half hour so we were early. It was a Mary Kay Party and we had a great time. 

Friday we had Mindy and the kids over. We had a fun time with them. Daphne always love friends to come over. She loves being a little hostess. After naps we went and did our grocery shopping so we could spend every minute over the weekend with Daddy. 

Saturday we spent playing games and just relaxing. Sunday was Quentin's big day. One year old. I can't believe it. He is the sweets thing ever and we love everything about him. He is cruising now. He loves following his sister everywhere she goes.  

We didn't do anything to big for his birthday just gave him his gifts and I made him a special popcorn treat. He loved his cars and his ball. 

Back to Life

This week I tried to get life back to normal after our week with our guests. That basically means cleaning up. I also spent a lot of time outside planting grass in our not so grassy patches. It was a good work out doing all the yard work. We spent time playing and reading books. We also worked really hard on potty training and I'm happy to say she is doing really well. she will even stop and go potty when she is playing with friends, which is a really big step.

On Thursday we went out to the mall. Daphne had been asking if we could go for awhile so I decided to take her. We had a great time getting out of the house we did it again on Friday. We went to the library to meet so friends. We also got a library card and Daphne was so excited to get to bring home some books. 

Johnny had a 16 hour shift on Saturday so we were home all day. Sunday was my first time teaching my new primary class. There ended up being 10 kids so it was a little crazy, but it went well. I was pretty nervous about it, but I have a little more confidence now so I hope It will continue to go well.

Expected Guest

Joey came to visit us an his way to Myrtle Beach. He just got a teaching job there and we are so excited for him and his new adventure. We were even more excited that he decided to stop by and spend part of the week with us. He arrived Monday afternoon and helped me clean up the house. We had the missionaries for dinner. They were a little surprised to see Joey here again. When they left and put the kids down we settled down for a night of, what else, games! 

Tuesday we went to Adventure Land and we had an awesome time! It was so nice to get to play and go on rides. Daphne did have accidents and I forgot my swim suit, but other than that it was a perfect day. Joey took the kids for an hour so Johnny and I got to go and do what we wanted and it was nice to get to go on rides together. 

Johnny didn't have Wednesday off so we just hung around the house. I was planning on a walk to the park, but it was raining. Joey went out and got a hair cut while we did our normal thing. When he got back we did lunch and then put the kids to bed. Joey and I played games and had a really great talk about life. I think we both needed it. 

Thursday we took Joey to try Zombie Burger. I think he liked it, but he couldn't finish his burger. None of us could actually. This time we all got some intense ones and we couldn't handle it. They were all tasty, just to heavy. Afterward we headed to the State Fair to walk it off. We had a fun time walking around and looking at everything. We all eventually got hungry again and had to get some fair food. We were all pretty pooped by the time we got home, but made some time for a couple of game because we joey would leave in the morning. We always have a great time with him. 

Friday Johnny saw him off while the rest of us slept in. Quen ended up sleeping most of the day. Saturday was pretty much the same. We all relaxed and hung out. Johnny's friend Brian did stop by. He was headed home to Chicago from a Residency Program Conference. It was good to see him and Johnny got to help him out a little bit.

Today I got set apart in my new calling. I am a primary teacher for the CTR 6. I got to go sit in with them today and I think it will be a good class. Johnny got a calling as well, but won't be set apart until next week. 

Growing Crops

Monday we headed out on a walk and came across a little park. Daphne was so happy. It has a playground, tennis and basketball courts, an open field and a wading pool. After playing for a little we headed back home with a promise to return the next day. 

We did just that but this time we wore our suits! The kids loved playing and splashing and I even sat in it and cooled off.

Wednesday we took Johnny to work so we could take the car to get looked at. On the way to the mechanic the car stalled and would not start again even after some very nice guys stopped to jump it. Our alternator we JUST replaced was shot as well as the battery. Getting it fixed took all day. The kids were so good and very patient which I really appreciated since I was so stressed.

Thursday morning the kids played in the pool so I could work in the yard a little. We love having a backyard to play in. 

I forgot to mention Quentin turned 11 months last week. He is not very big. He is still wearing 6 month clothes. But he is developing. He has started to pull himself up on stuff and he will walk if you hold him up. He is still the happiest baby. He smiles at any and everybody. He is a bottomless pit when he eats, but is a little picky about food. He LOVES that he can get around himself now. I love to hear his little hands and knees charge down the hall in search of a toy or after his sister. We love everything about him!

Happy Birthday Doodles

Monday I spent my day cleaning house and prepping for Daphne's party. We really didn't decide to have a party until last week so I didn't have a lot of time to plan stuff. We decided on easy. I made a simple lunch and to just let the kids play in the pool and sprinkler and have some water balloons for them to pop. 

The big day arrived and I'm grateful to say everything went very smoothly that morning while I made all the food and got everything ready. I was a little nervous because when I woke up it was overcast, but the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day. Daphne woke up asking when her party was and when her friends would be here. She was so excited. The kids had a great time and I'm so glad. 

Daphne requested a chocolate cake with berries and I was happy to oblige. I trained her well! I was happy with how it turned out and everyone loved it.

Wednesday we took advantage of having the car and went to a playgroup the stake has. It was at an awesome park in West Des Moines. It is on a lake with a beach. It has a great playground and a little splash pad. The kids had a great time and I got to meet some new girls. We are actually going to go to another play group with a couple of them tomorrow. We also went to the mall and Costco since we were on that side of town.

Playgroup on Thursday was very nice. It was at a great play ground. It was so nice to get to know some more ladies a little better. Daphne had a great time with the kids and I think my have found a best friend. Eliza is 3 as  well and they just loved each other. 

Friday we went out again cause I had some things I needed to get for the house. It was a horrible outing. Daphne pooped in her underwear THREE times. The last time I just bawled while I cleaned her up AGAIN. I am getting so frustrated with this potty training thing. She knows how to do it, but she chooses not to use the potty and it is wearing on me. We have been working on this for almost a year off and on and she does really well for a month and then decides not to go anymore. Its just so frustrating. 

Saturday was fun filled. We headed out as Johnny came in from his last night shift. It was sad to go have fun while he was home sleeping, but he needed it. We went to our ward's Pioneer Day Party. We had stick pulls and games and a cute little covered wagon for the kids to ride as well as a potluck lunch. Daphne had a blast playing with friends and getting to run around.

That night we went to the Indianola hot Air Balloon Launch! Johnny volunteered to be the doctor on hand at the first aid trailer so we got free tickets. Let me say it was so cool. Daphne couldn't believe how big the balloons were and Quen got pretty into it to. I would say there were at least 50 balloons! It was a perfect night to be out to. They had a live band playing, so Daphne and I had to have a dance party. We especially liked the parrot, monkey and puppy balloons. We had a great time! 

I'm happy to say that after a hard week in potty training Daphne has had no accidents the past two days. I think our decision to withhold movies has helped a lot. Hopefully it lasts. that would top off this awesome week!