Day 2 - I guess I'm on a roll!

Last post was a three-fur.... Today's is a two-fur-one! Two blogs in a week? I must have NOTHING to do! Unfortunately, I have a lot to do, but I can't blog about one daughter and forget the other!! It just does not work like that. (At least in our family!)

First Up:
Annual Wright Family Easter Egg Hunt:

This has been a yearly event now for at least seven years. Jeff's mom fills hundreds of eggs and separates them into each age category. The fun part is she has a hunt for the adults. In years past, there has been a $100 prize. Due to the current economy, this years prize was $5. And the same person gets it every year. We won't name names...but it starts with an S and ends with a "arah Jane." We vote to ban her from the adult Easter Egg Hunt, or at least let her hunt with a blindfold...

After the hunt, the children gather their "bunny money" they found in their eggs and exchange them for goods at the bunny store. They come home with all sorts of fun prizes, games and candy. The Bunny Manager isn't a stickler about prices either. You usually get what you want even if you don't have the correct amount. I'd be she isn't making much money on this little venture!! The kids LOVE it!



Grandpa Wright with his Granddaughters (minus one) - He's about as cooperative as the girls when it comes to smiling.Next Up: General Conference. Yet another incredible weekend brought to us by inspired leaders, Apostles and our Prophet. I learned a lot about Provident Living, temples and just being grateful for all that I have been blessed with. Of course, it's always great to listen to my Aunt speak. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED her talk about Reverence and Love in Primary children. I will be using some of her ideas in Primary. She's amazing. While watching her, I asked Jake, "Hey Jake, do you know this lady that is speaking?" Jake replied (after squinting at the television set) "Nope, I have never seen her before in my life." I told him to wait a bit and she if she becomes familiar. After her name popped up, Jake said, "Lifferth! HEY!!! I know that lady!" Ha ha. Doubt it!

Here's Adalyn enjoying the choir on Sunday Morning.
The children were so excited for Conference after our FHE on Monday. Jeff "prepared" (ie grabbed the Friend and picked a story) the lesson. He read a story out of the Friend Magazine that told of a family who made a tent while they listened to conference much like the families in the Book of Mormon that pitched a tent to listen to King Benjamin speak. The family in the story watched all four session happily in a 3x4 space while quietly listening to Conference.

Our family wasn't like the family in the story. Fights quickly broke out over crayons and "Conference Packets." Tears were shed, words were yelled and parents tore the tent down swearing never to erect another tent until children could quietly watch Conference.


And Finally (I guess you DO get another Three-fur!)

JULIANA'S FOURTH BIRTHDAY!!!

Our little princess was more than thrilled to have a birthday. She's been talking about it for weeks now. She awoke to a "life sized" birthday cake, signs, balloons and decorations!


We had a little Tinkerbell Birthday party in the morning for all of her little playgroup friends. We had a coloring contest, played pin the star on the wand, walked the plank and dug for buried treasure.

I served a fairy lunch: flowered sandwiches, little ladybugs and carrots. The drink was punch with Sprite in a sugar-coated glass cup. The highlight of the party was when I poured "Pixie Dust" (Pop Rocks) into their glasses. I could have just done that for three hours and they would have thought it was a great party!


Mimi came to pick up Ya Ya after the party. She surprised her with a pedicure and manicure. Juliana LOVED getting her nails done like a real princess!

Finally, we ended the day eating Chinese food, eating Tinkerbell cake and opening presents. All she wanted was a picnic basket(?) and a glass slipper (just one will do!) (I found the basket online and bought a pair of sparkled pink shoes, close enough, right?)

Happy Birthday Sweet Juliana! WE LOVE YOU!
And ok, I liked this picture of Adalyn, so I added it...

Long Time, No Blog...AGAIN!

I hate how long it takes me to blog about my life. Time goes way too fast, if you ask me! This post should technically be three different posts - but I'm behind and don't have much time!

March brought Spring weather - sure it did; if you think snow and ice is spring weather! We finally had nice weather today. We did, however, go search for nice weather and found it at the annual Lifferth Family Ruby's Inn Retreat. Always a fun time!

We went hiking down Sunrise point into Tropic on Friday...then again on Saturday (same hike, different group.) I hate to admit this, but it was my very first actual hike (and entrance) into Bryce Canyon! It took me 11 years of attending the retreat to finally do it! (And I can't quite figure out WHY I never entered!!)

It was breath-taking...
Saturday was the first-annual (and hopefully yearly) softball game. We had such a great time! And boy, was I sore! All the kids started in the game, but most lost interest come two or three innings into the game. Not Jake - he played the entire time! And was pretty darn good.
The children always look forward to swimming - Adalyn was a little excited to hit the over-chlorinated pool!
Finally - we celebrated Adalyn's second birthday! Since she doesn't care about parties - and it was on Sunday, I planned a low-key celebration. We celebrated with lots and lots of balloons, cupcakes and yummy cake. She was so excited to open all of her gifts! I still can't believe she is two!!!

We bought her this darling scooter. She loves it so much, she insists on parking it in her bedroom each night!
Here's Adalyn dressed in her Spring Attire. She's potty trained now and won't wear clothes. She wanted to go play outside one of those frigid days - I said sure...just wear your coat and boots. Got it covered...

Lastly, April Fools. One of my FAVORITE days of the year!! I start thinking of pranks March 31, so they are never elaborate, just fun.


Jeff's alarm went off at 12:00 am...That wasn't me. I still haven't found the culprit. (Maybe it was an accident?? - Hard to say on this particular day!)

I started out the day pasting the shampoo to the shower floor with silicone. I apparently didn't do it right, because all Jeff noticed was a gob of white glue-like-substance. It didn't work like the Internet article said it would. But not to worry - I had more tricks up my sleeve.


I also plastic wrapped Jeff's truck. Little did I know it would be a blizzard that morning (Mother Nature's Joke on us!) Jeff was NOT happy with that little stunt. I tried to get a photo of "happy" Jeff unwrapping his truck, but I got too cold in my jammies and ran inside to warm up.

I thought that was a success - Jeff did not! (photo of the night before the big blizzard!)


Then I swapped all the cereal bags so you didn't get what you poured. I also put food coloring in their bowls so when the milk appeared, it was colored. Jake thought this was great!

Then he started tricks of his own...This totally ticked Juliana off. She came stomping out of the bathroom with her hands on her hips.
Juliana: "Jake! I tore your STUPID sign down!"

Jake: "WHY?!! The toilet is broken and you aren't supposed to use it!"

Juliana: "Well, it's NOT BROKEN NOW!!!"

He He....I love this day! Good times, Good times!

Next up: Juliana's birthday!

I think I need an Advil...

Wow. What a weekend.

Jeff (and Craig) were so nice to drive my brother and sister-in-law's stuff down to their new home 12 hours away. He left me for the weekend. It wasn't a big deal - I've done it before. We would have a nice, quiet weekend watching movies, eating popcorn and attending the German Dinner.

All hell broke loose Friday night. I stayed up late digi-scrapping (the first time for weeks) then I went downstairs to change the laundry and check on the children.

I entered the laundry room: Squish. Squish, Squish, Squish. S*&T.

I had a major leak from the washer. It was now 1:00 in the morning. The very last thing I wanted to do was deal with a flood. So, I put a few towels down, stomped around a bit and went to bed hoping the flood fairies would take care of it.

When I awoke in the morning....the water was still there. (No fairy?) I got out the shop vac and spent the entire morning praying it wasn't as bad as I feared.

Then I noticed the clock: 12:50? Crap. I had to speak at a baptism at 1:00! I was late, frazzled and embarrassed because I was so late.

Dad called because we were riding to the German Dinner together. I asked if he wouldn't mind stopping by because the washer leaked. He was nice enough to come on up...and sure enough, it was as bad as I feared. The entire floor had to come up. It wasn't a "quick" task as I had promised. Now, with the help of the neighbor's fans, it is drying out. This is exactly the home improvement project I was hoping to accomplish this month. (Sarcasm.)

The bright side of Saturday was the German Dinner - the annual dinner honoring our incredible heritage. I always leave the dinner very thankful for the family I was born into, as well as my legacy my Great-Grandparents left us as they moved to America. This year was no different. The food was great, the program great and the company is always great. Sadly, I took no photos of the actual dinner - I was too busy chatting. But I did ask Cousin Brian to take this photo of a couple of cousins (I have over 100).

He got yelled at by his loving wife because he didn't frame us quite right (notice the head room?). After his chastisement, he took another photo, but I was laughing too hard. Apparently, he isn't the artsty type! (HA HA!)

One cool addition to the German Dinner was stopping by Uncle Art's home to view his increidble village in his garage. He has (to my memory) over 100 houses, two trains and a pirate ship! Amazing!
Here are some fellow German's looking with Uncle Art at Uncle Art's photos of his car collection. What a guy - he totally reminds me of my grandpa.
At one point, my camera was missing. I found it and I found a fellow German cousin modeling. He ought to stick with welding...he's better at that.Onto my weekend from you know where...

Sunday morning was nice and peaceful until around 12:00. I was determined to be on time to church today. I had all the children looking charming and put together (if you call white socks with black pants put together..I didn't care. Just get your shoes on for the MILLIONTH time!) I was yelling at Jake to listen and get his shoes. Instead, he starts jumping on my bed with Addy right next to him.

Me: "Jake, get your shoes!"
Jake: Jump, jump, jump....

Repeat..
Repeat...
Me: Yelling and threatening
Jake: ignoring and Jumping.

Then, KA-Boom...

Adalyn fell to the ground. I had my "told ya so" face on and rush around getting ready. Adalyn cried and cried to be held, but I was just too busy. (Stike 1 against me.)

We finally made it to church on time and that's when I realized things weren't quite right. She cried and whimpered and held her arm, "Arm hurts Mommy" throughout all of the meeting.

I had "the feeling". So when I took her to nursery, I asked the ER nurse what she thought. She said that those babies can't fake it and if they say it hurts, you need to believe them. (Take away strike 1 - I listened!)

So, again, I am on my own faced with yet another crisis! I called my Dad, who miraculously was near my house. We went to Urgent Care and found that yes, Adalyn had broken her arm. And - get this - she had strep throat! When it rains, it pours.
(It's hard to see, but the second arm shot has the uneven line near the wrist.)
I find it interesting that both my girls broke their leg/arm three weeks before their 2nd birthday. Both girls were doing something they shouldn't have (and, ok, were unattended) and both have pink cast (a given, I guess.) Do you see a pattern?? Keep a close watch that 23rd month - it's a doosy.

I was happy when Jeff arrived home at 7 pm. It's his turn to deal with the drama.


Luckily, the rest of the month wasn't like this past weekend.
I am teaching Jake piano lessons. Practicing is difficult for him. He can't understand how 15 minutes can fly by in front of a TV, but take an enternity in front of a piano.
Adalyn before the broken arm at the park.
Jake lost his first tooth this week! It was hanging by a thread when I took this photo. He lost it sometime during the day. The bad news was he couldn't remember when and he couldn't remember where. Nor do we have the tooth. We wrote a note to the tooth fairy and she honored it. Juliana was terrified that a fairy was coming in her room. I had to write another note to leave upstairs instructing that NO FAIRY'S were allowed downstairs.

I took the childre to the Draper Temple Open House. Jeff had to bail out at the last moment due to work. I thought I could handle all the children. I also thought it would be a spiritual experience. Wrong on both accounts.

Adalyn lost it when she saw the "HOT TUB in Jesus's House." The entire tour she screamed, HOT TUB over and over. I scanned for an exit, but couldn't find one. I ended up hauling her through with her under my arm like a football. All Jake and Juliana were interested in were the cookies at the end of the tour. I think they asked me where the cookies were as we entered every room. I was exhausted and ready to get out 5 minutes into it. Learn from my mistake - let me take your kids while YOU tour the temple...
And finally, Jake participated in the storytelling competition. He made it through the classroom and grade competition and ended in the school-wide competition. He didn't win but sure thought he ought to...

"Mom? If you were a judge, would you have voted for me?"
"You bet Jake, you are my son - I always vote for you!"
"Good, Well, I would have gotten ONE vote!"

I was sure proud of him!


This is the grade-level competition video. It's about 2 minutes long.

It's About Darn Time...

My avid followers (ok, only TWO - Shout out to Scott and Summer!) have requested that I update this blog. I do so hesitantly because I am still unsure about how the amount of time I dedicate to this blog. I may or I may not quit blogging. I haven't decided. Which probably means I will continue...

January flew by. Zoom. Looks like February is following suit. Here is a list of things I accomplished this month:

1. Finished the children's beach room (pictures to follow)
2. Organized the food storage room. (Thanks to Jeff...I mostly watched.)
3. Was the keynote speaker for Young Women's Winter Camp (Certainly not my choice)
4. Spoke at a baptism. (What I get being married to the Ward Mission Leader)
5. Am speaking next Sunday..WHAT THE?? WHY ME? WHY NOT SOMEONE ELSE??
6. Got permanent makeup eyeliner. (Thank you Jeff!)
7. Packed up Scott and Karalee (Tear. Tear.)
8. Went to Las Vegas and won a couple dollars. (Wahoo!)
9. Finally burned Family Home Video DVD's.'
10. Celebrated Jake's 7th Birthday. (How is he SEVEN?)

Yeah, it's been a crazy, busy month. But I better get used to it because it doesn't look like things are changing any time soon.

We decided to move the kids to the basement because their little closet they were living in was overflowing. They decided on a beach room. We had a blast creating the palm trees and surfboard. Jeff is a little artist! Who knew? He's the artist behind the art. (Profound!) He also created a cute little surfboard mirror, not pictured. As I was putting the finishing touches on the surfboard, Juliana came in and looked around.

"Where is the beach?"

I started to point out the sand, the sun, the sky and the water. She looked at me all disgusted and said, "THAT is not the beach. THAT is the wall!" She's no dummy!


Jeff and I (mostly Jeff) spent a Saturday organizing our food storage. It's awesome. I know where everything is! Thanks Jeff!
We celebrated Jake's 7th birthday. He got breakfast in bed, of course. Remember the new room? Yeah, well, they don't sleep in it. They spent their nights on the floor of the den in sleeping bags. Had I known...

Anyway, back to the birthday party. We went to the Nicklecade in the afternoon. After that, we went to the Mayan restaurant. We had a great time, but I spent the entire day wondering where these seven years went.

Jeff and I escaped to Las Vegas for a couple of days. Well, I escaped, Jeff worked. I shopped, read and slept in until 10 am!! We had a nice retreat. We ate at the Bellagio, my favorite. I tried almost every dessert, although I did make Jeff carry most of them so that people wouldn't think I was a pig!
I tried my hand at a table and I won!! I walked out of there with a little extra cash, but then I felt guilty about it. It's still in my wallet...

Jeff got laser eye surgery this month. He was the first person who actually came close to death after laser eye surgery. Ok, he just thought he was dying. You also need to remember that his drama level is off the charts. He's doing much better.

This is a classic story: One night Addy was fussy. I brought her into my room and laid her on the floor. She literally cried EVERY half an hour. She cried, "Owie, owie, owie" ALL. NIGHT. LONG. I tried to hold her, rock her and give her tylenol. But she wouldn't stop. I assumed it was her ears. But she was fine the next morning. I took off her jammies to give her a bath and out popped an INK PEN! Poor girl had slept with an ink pen stuck between the back of her knee and foot. Everytime she moved, it would jab her. The funny thing is, she can communicate. I would have taken it out, had she said something. And had I thought, "hmm...I bet she has an ink pen stuck in her leg of her jammies." What a terrible mother I am!!

That's January in a nut shell! Here's to another post. Enjoy it; who knows when the next one is! ;)