Grandpa's Visit

My father came to visit me for a couple of days in March. I enjoyed having him stay in our home and wished he could have stayed longer. He brought a very nice sense of humor into my home while he was here. I loved it when he tried to make me and Lizzy laugh. My favorite moment was when he came gliding into my room with a pillow stuffed up his back pretending to be Eyegore from "Frankenstein." He can be quite a character sometimes.

My parents don't get to come see me or Lizzy very often due to cost of traveling and their inability to leave their home business. My visit with my father seemed very short, but it was nice spending that little amount of time with him. I loved seeing him interact with Lizzy. He's such a wonderful grandpa to Lizzy, and to Scott and Emma, too. I'm glad Scott and Emma love him as much as they do.

Lizzy loved how silly her Grandpa was. And she loved his kisses.

Let's Make a Tent!

Scott is an amazingly creative boy. I remember making tents in my room when I was a little girl, but my tents didn't look anything like Scott's. Scott and Emma made a perfectly round Igloo style tent on Sunday using dinning room chairs, pillows, and one big plush dog nicknamed "Big Boy." They used a feather duster to make a peak at the center and covered the tent will all the blankets they could find. The inside of the tent was so dark Scott grabbed Emma's bedroom lamp and stuck it inside. When they were all done they took Lizzy and brought her in the tent. I heard all three of them laughing and had to go investigate with my camera. Lizzy was talking up a storm and was completely thrilled to be playing with her brother and sister. Emma wanted me to make a "North Family News" video, so I obliged.



I'm such a lucky mama. I love my kids!

The Highlight of My Day: February 2010

Something good happens each day. Here's what happened in February:

Mon 2/1/10: Tonight the kids and I went to the library alone since Brad was feeling sick. On the way home I felt spontaneous and took the kids to Petsmart to pick up a "clicker" for Scott's science fair project. While we were there we found the perfect cat calendar for Emma's room for only $3. NICE!

Tue 2/2/10: Brad completed his 2009 taxes today and he was very pleased with the results. :) But even BETTER news is that I found out today that my Aunt Laurie is a mommy!!! Her little son, Robinson was born last Friday on Jan 29th.

Wed 2/3/10: Brad and I finally had some quiet time tonight to watch a movie together. We watched "The Buddy Holly" story. Emma also began her Science Fair project tonight.

Thu 2/4/10: Scott started training his rat, Blackie, tonight for his Science Fair project. Emma has been working on painting her model of the earth.

Fri 2/5/10: We used our Carino's gift card from the Young Women leaders tonight for dinner. Brad and I ordered lasagna and David ordered spicy chicken pasta.

Sat 2/6/10: Brad and I went to Hires today for lunch. It was nice having the one-on-one time together, although both of us wished Margaret could be with us, too. The last time Brad and I went to Hires she came with us.

Sun 2/7/10: I barbecued steak for dinner tonight. For dessert, Scott, Emma, and I made caramel apples. It was fun watching "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" while eating our apples. Good stuff!

Mon 2/8/10: We got Valentines tonight for Scott and Emma to distribute at school. It was part of our FHE night.

Tue 2/9/10: Lizzy and I played on the piano today for fun. Lizzy likes to bounce her body up and down while she's banging the piano. I think that's her way of dancing as an 8-month-old.

Wed 2/10/10: Lizzy started crawling FOR REAL today! It's still "army-man" style, but she's moving pretty speedy across the carpet. Now we have to baby proof the house as soon as possible.

Thu 2/11/10: We had Valentine's Day dates with the kids tonight. Brad took the girls to Dairy Queen and had dinner and ice cream there. Scott stayed with me and we ordered a pizza and played video games. It was fun!

Fri 2/12/10: Last minute shopping before sneaking off to California tomorrow! I'm so excited!

Sat 2/13/10: My parents were totally not expecting us to show up at their doorstep today. SUCCESS!!!! We had a wonderful day visiting with my family and saying hi to neighbors. It's so good being back "home."

Sun 2/14/10: Went to my home-ward today for church. It was great seeing so many people I knew growing up, and to be back in my old building. I felt so at home. LOVED IT!!!

Mon 2/15/10: It got up to 85 decrees today! YEAH!!! I love Long Beach in the winter! Brad and I went to Trader Joe's today and got sushi and yummy snacks to eat. We stopped over at Rachel's condo and spent a few hours with her playing games and eating sushi.

Tue 2/16/10: Went back to Utah this morning. Sadness. :( It's nice being home, but I hate leaving my family and "homeland" behind. It was great seeing Scott and Emma, though. We finished Science Fair projects tonight and we gave them their Valentines.

Wed 2/17/10: I'm so glad my vacation pictures were recovered! Hooray! I had a fun time looking through them and posting them on my blog and Facebook.

Thu 2/18/10: Tonight was Scott's and Emma's Science Fair at the school. Scott won 2nd place for the 6th grade level! Hooray for Scott!

Fri 2/19/10: Brad and I started watching a really good movie called "Little Dorrit" by Charles Dickens this evening. I have a much higher appreciation for Charles Dickens' classics as an adult than I did when I was a child. 'Tis a new love of mine.

Sat 2/20/10: Rachel returned home from the hospital today. YAY! She is doing much better. I'm glad the steroids have helped her so much.

Sun 2/21/10: I made pot roast today for our Sunday dinner. We watched some Danny Kaye during dinner, and I finished crocheting the blanket I've been working on for a while.

Mon 2/22/10: We stopped by the creek in Murray to feed the ducks for FHE. There were hundreds of them! Scott got excited when he saw a river rat run on the bank. Lizzy looked like she was wondering what all the commotion was about.

Tue 2/23/10: Finished watching "Little Dorrit" today. I LOVED it!

Wed 2/24/10: I put a whole bunch of other BBC movies on hold at the library. I'm anxious to see more after "Little Dorrit."

Thu 2/25/10: Cuddling with Bradley is a lovely, lovely thing. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

Fri 2/26/10: Feeling quite sick today. Scott stayed home with me and then I had to pick Emma up at school because she ended up getting sick, too. But it was nice spending time with them even though we were feeling miserable. I started crocheting a new scarf while the kids were watching cartoons. It's my first time making a scarf.

Sat 2/27/10: The kids and I felt much today. Scott and Emma were well enough to spend most of the day with Melanie, which gave Brad and me a chance to have some alone time together, which was a nice treat.

Sun 2/28/10: We went over to Bruce and Loralee's house for dinner tonight. Scott and Emma were thrilled to spend time with their cousins. Loralee made a yummy rice dinner and Lindsey made chocolate pudding.