Fire

New Mexico is on fire this summer...literally. It's so dry that no one is allowed to start fires - even in a fire ring.

Early in June we had smoke invaid the ABQ metro area. The winds carried it in from the Arizona fires and the fires in NM southwest of ABQ. We can see the Sandia Mountains from our home, but during that week this was our view:

Backpacking Trip

At the end of last year my counselor (1st counselor in YW) and I thought it would be a great idea if we took the Mia Maids on a backpacking trip. This past weekend we took our YW up to a place called San Gregorio Reservoir and spent the night. And here are the highlights.

This is the group at the parking lot before we began our hike.

Daddy/daughter shot. Isn't it so cute? Three of the Priesthood holders were dads to our Mia Maids. It made our trip so fun.

In the morning. And yes, one of our Mia Maids had fractured her wrist the day before we left...and she still came! This picture makes me laugh so I just had to add it to the blog.

Walking across the clearing to do some target practice.

My counselor and I. The trip was really fun because we are such good friends and we just laughed the whole time.

Our Bishop and his daughter. So cute.

Did I do okay?

Burly

The Mia Maid target that is now on our ward bulletin board.

Before we left we had some cleanup duty to do and were the last ones ready to go and we got a hard time for that.

We made it!!

Easter

Here are our Easter eggs. Can you tell which one is Megan's?

Kendra painting her egg while Megan digs to see what's inside.



We bought (a year ago when it was probably 75% off) a tye dye glitter egg kit.

Sand/water table for outside. They have so much fun with this. Megan gets a bath after playing in the sand because she is always so messy.

Our hospital had a renovation and had a carnival as an open house. Everything was free - hot dogs/balloons/face painting...

I made orange cookies with orange frosting for conference. The kids got to eat the beaters. I just love Kendra's face. She is such a ham.

Mark cut his finger with a knife I had put in the sink. It took about two weeks to heal and scab over.

That's the last month in a nutshell!

Random

Kendra loves to have Megan sit on her lap to watch a movie.

Megan is very messy - in this pic she put sour cream in her hair. Reminds me of a picture when I was around that age. Except mine was pudding.

Kendra and Megan coloring at the table.

This is how our kids play. In the dirt and rocks. It was really fun until Megan picked up a handful of dirt and ate it!!! Little stinker!

Here are some random things we are doing:

- Megan now will grab her diaper and say "poopy, I'm poopy" when she wants a diaper change

- Someone in our ward is helping us make a garden

-Mark and I both gave talks today in church - the girls sat with their babysitter and they behaved better for her than they do for us!

Sometimes You Just Have To Laugh

A couple of days ago I left Megan, for maybe a minute or two to cut up an apple for a snack. In that small time frame Megan managed to find a marker, color the front room carpet and took off her diaper. Not sure how she managed that one!

Yesterday Megan dropped her sippy filled with apple juice (she must have undid the lid) and it splattered all over the kitchen tile.

Today Kendra dropped her cup of her banana milkshake and not only did it fly across the tile but it went onto the carpet, chair, and entertainment center. Then while drinking apple juice she somehow spit it out.

And now the funniest moment of the day:

It's like 70 degrees outside. The kids played in the rocks while I trimmed a bush (this thing is huge - it's my neighbors - and I've been working on it for weeks - our trashbins can only hold so much!). Kendra yells to me, "mom I found some seeds and I'm planting them, do you want to see my seeds?" "Sure Kendra." She comes closer and holds up her hand I then say, "um, Kendra, that's rabbit poo." I laugh everytime I think of this, because her smile turned to shock. While her eyes were fixated on me she proceeded to take her other hand and brush the pellets onto the ground. I got a good laugh today.

Pics

Megan in her favorite cupboard - I don't know what the fascination is with the syrup!

Megan riding Kendra's horse.


Cute sisters.

Kendra dresses herself...and only lets me minimally do her hair.

Our picture for the online ward directory. The kids had matching pjs for Christmas.

Daily Life

Fun things in my daily life:

Kendra loves the musical 'Wicked' and asks to sing popular whenever we drive somewhere. Megan likes to sing it to but can't quite articulate the words correctly which frustrates Kendra. Kendra tries to teach me how to sing it properly which is just a hoot.

Megan found a bottle of lotion within her reach the other day. Most of it had been spilled by the time I found her. Luckily it was mostly on her and not anything else. Glad she had fun!

Megan talks a lot more now than before. She repeats what we say and will now say something and then point to it. She likes the song loathing from Wicked and says the part from the end, "boo! ahh!"

I am teaching Kendra to read from the SWRL books. She loves them and she's able to sound words out which she couldn't do before.

Whenever I tell Megan "no" she pretends to cry and runs to sister. Kendra then hugs her. Even when Kendra gets mad at Megan she still wants a hug from her. She loves her sister. Although they fight more often now than before because Megan wants everything that sister has and Kendra gets upset because she doesn't want to share. Oh the joy!

Days Like This

There are some Sundays when I wonder why I even bother to come to church. It's not like I get a lot out of the meetings. Today was one of those days. It's stake conference, so in order to sit in the front of the gym we have to arrive 30 minutes early. Due to the fact that our kids woke up way early we were there 40 minutes early...and still sat in the gym. I wonder what time people arrive to sit in the chapel area....

After about 30 minutes into the regional broadcast conference (covering NM, TX, and OK) Kendra had to go to the bathroom. I was closer to the end of the row so I took her. Ten minutes after we returned she sneezed, and there was snot, and I didn't have a kleenex. So once again we went to the bathroom. Ten minutes later Megan pooped so I took her out to change her (and by the way, the mother's lounge is the place to be if you want to listen to conference, thoroughly enjoyed my time in there) but another mom was waiting so I had to hurry. Ten minutes later Megan is crying so I handed her to Mark and said, "it's your turn!" I just wanted to listen to at least one speaker. Ten minutes later Kendra says, "I'm thirsty." "Too bad" was my reply. Oh the joy of it.

On regular Sundays my goal is to appear as if I'm listening while really I'm just trying to keep the kids entertained enough (mostly Megan) so that we can stay in the chapel.

It's Been Awhile

It's been a really long time since I've posted anything. Where are the Christmas pictures you might ask? Well, funny enough Mark videotaped...with the lens on, (not sure how that happened) and I didn't think about taking pictures because Mark was videotaping! I know, I know, what kind of parents are we?!?!

This week has been very cold! I love ABQ because it's warm. And now I'm ready to move to Phoenix! I can't wait for summer when we can run around outside again and walk to the park.

This month Mark and I will celebrate our 9 year anniversary - Mark's mom is coming into town to offer her free babysitting services, how nice! We've only been able to leave Megan since October and finally, after over 4 years we get to go to the temple together each month. I always look forward to that; it's so fun to go with Mark.

My sister came to visit a few weeks ago. Kendra loves her Aunt Shoni and wants to go to Utah so she can see her again.

Kendra on the big chair at the zoo.

Megan & Kendra playing at explora

Shoni trying to look like the woman in the picture

Megan chasing the ducks...Kendra being scared of them.

Angel Face

At mutual Tuesday night we made angels to put on our trees. Sometime yesterday Kendra decided the angel needed a face.

The First Snow

It snowed about 4 inches on Thursday - that is a lot for us this time of year. In ABQ you have to play in it as soon as you can because the snow melts within a couple of days. We had to take advantage of this great opportunity.

Mark and Kendra built a 6 foot snowman. While making it Kendra decided to have a snowball fight without telling Mark. She got him good on the first throw and snow went down his shirt!

Megan in her big poofy snow outfit. She prefers to play in the snow without her gloves on so her hands were freezing!

Christmas Letter

Megan - 1 1/2 - she had a rough start but is doing well now. We learned that she was basically allergic to everything and so her body was fighting against itself which made her constantly ill. She has seen a naturopathic doctor since June and we've seen such a change! Not only does she feel better but she is gaining weight, growing, and developmentally on target. She loves to get into anything and everything. Megan is quite the explorer and although she doesn't mean to, she sure makes a lot of messes! She loves animals and loves to copy her big sister. She is very easy-going, has the sweetest temperament and is happy most of the time.

Kendra - 4 1/2 - She attends preschool twice a week and loves it. She can't wait until next year when she can go to kindergarten. Kendra enjoys movies, reading, and computer games and is enthralled with the latest Disney princess - Rapunzel in Tangled. She has a very vibrant personality and always makes us laugh. Kendra loves cowgirls and will often put on a "rodeo" for us. She'll wear her cowgirl hat and ride around on her stick horse waving and doing tricks.

Kristi - I get to stay home with the two girls and enjoy playing with them. My day is usually just cleaning up after Megan...all day long. The year is ending better than it began for me. Megan's constant illness really took its toll, that and the first time she slept through the night was in October. I enjoy reading, watching The Office, and hanging with my friends during play dates.


Mark- Enjoys his job and just received his comments about the year. Almost every co-worker had written these exact words about Mark, "easy to work with." He gets along with everyone whether it's our neighbors, people on the bus, or his work. He enjoys skeet and trap shooting and hiking when he can.