Merry Christmas Kids

I tried to take a nice picture of the kids this morning because they looked so Christmasy.

This was the best one I got... Eliza REFUSED to stand anywhere near Ian for some reason.

Mostly I got pictures like this....

and this.

But I love them anyways.

Imagination

Ian's favorite days of the week are the days I babysit. His imagination really comes alive when playing with his friends. On Friday Ian and "C" first had fun playing football. Like their helmets? Then they played gnome hunting with light sabers for about 45 minutes. Then fished with the light sabers. Then jumped on their imaginary brooms and became witches hunting little children. They chased the little girls all over the house riding their brooms and poked them with their brooms whenever they caught them. Ian kept shouting..."C, I smell children!"

Fall

We took a little field trip to the pumpkin patch and corn maze with our friends. They had so much fun! Ian only got a little lost once. Eliza was having fun although she seemed a little confused about what in the world we were doing.They even got to feed the corn stalks to the local farm animals! They can't wait to carve there pumpkins we got, but we are trying to hold off for a few more days so they aren't totally prune face by the time Halloween rolls around.

Overdue..

Well, it seems I am always overdue for a update! We haven't been doing too much lately but we have been having some fun. First of all Ian has been begging me to do preschool and since we still don't know very many people in our neighborhood and I don't want to pay for preschool, I am just having a little preschool with him and Eliza twice a week. He loves it! Eliza still can't quite figure out what is going on but she is being a good sport. Here's a photo of their first day of preschool...

A few weeks back we planned a camping trip to Scout mountain here in town, and unfortunately we had to cancel so Mike could fight a fire. The kids were disappointed so we got out the tent and set it up in the living room and ate our camping treats in it. They had lots of fun as you can tell by their smiles.
Last week Mike actually had some days off. And since he missed all the family reunions and trips that me and the kids took this summer, we took a little mini-vacation to Yellowstone Park. There was a huge storm forcasted for that weekend so we stayed in a motel instead of camping, which the kids loved because it had a pool. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my camera battery before leaving on the trip, and we only got a couple of pictures before the camera died. We saw a coyote, lots of elk, some buffalo, and some ducks. Everything else must have been hiding from the cold and snow! Eliza's new word this week is buffalo. But now when she says it, she runs to the window to look out and see them and then asks, "where they go?" I think she wants to move to Montana.

Cousins!

While Mike was gone, My sister Tiff and her two little munchkins came to visit! It was wonderful having them and Ian was thrilled to play with his cousin Amy. Here are some pics from their visit....Here's cute Amy with a snippit of my sister behind her...

And baby Casey who's built like a tank! He weighs a lot more than Eliza but at least she's taller than him! Poor kid was sick while he was here but he still had fun.

And here's Ian having fun at the park with his cousins. (notice the chin injury, as explained in the last post!) I was going to post a picture of my sister with her kids, but then I realized I took those photos with her camera! Whoops. But we had fun. And Mike is home now, Hooray!

101 Ways to Hide a Mullet

So I don't really have 101 ways to do Eliza's hair, but this is our new favorite that hides the lack of hair up front. It looks like she has little bangs, but it is really just the shorter hair finally growing in. Luckily most people just see her cuteness and ignore the mullet. Anybody have any other suggestions for her hair? We do this, the waterspout and the comb over with barrette.

Right before this picture was taken Ian attempting to jump from the blue chair, over the white table (behind Eliza) on to the couch. He didn't make it and has a big bloody scrape on his jaw now. When I was asking him what happened, he got mad at ME and said "You should have had a pillow there Mom!" What was I thinking? I think I will have to add rubber padding to the walls as well.

We are loving our new apartment, all the space. And yes, that is our garage in the picture! Wahoo now we have a place for sleeping bags, tents, skis, bikes, ice axes, and of course, the trailer. (Any body want to buy a trailer?) Thanks to Jan and Mark and our lovely friends at Ridgecrest for helping us move. Please come visit us soon! Ian has been a "little" upset that we used the third bedroom as a computer room and he is still supposed to share with Eliza. The past few nights however, we have started putting her into the computer room to try and get her to sleep through the night. She would rather scream though, and wake up the whole house.

I had to document this little habit of Eliza's. When she is tired, she sticks out her tongue and licks her special blanket. It's funny.

I only seem to post when Mike is out of town, he is at a fire somewhere around Island Park. Hopefully he will be home early next week. But we are looking forward to a visit from my sister Tiffany and kids on Monday and that will keep us entertained.

And here is a picture of silly Ian to even out the Eliza to Ian picture ratio. I barely recognize him without his glasses!

Hiking with the kids

Yesterday the kids and I took a brief hike up a trail just outside of town called Gibson Jack. We walked up there with the kids on Sunday, and they did so great, hiked the whole way without being carried, even Eliza. So I thought I would try it again. I made the mistake of telling Ian that we could play in the little stream on the way back so every 5 minutes he tried to get me to turn around, saying he was tired, wanted to go home, anything just so he could play in the water. In this picture he's just pretending to be sad because he wants to go back.
So we didn't make it nearly as far up the mountain as we did on Sunday. But it was a good break and got them out of the house and gave them their "Green Hour." I even got to take my new birthday present camera (Canon Powershot SD1100 IS) with me and try out some cool features.
Ian had so much fun playing in the water that he wouldn't even hold still for a photo. Just jumped around like crazy. Eventually Eliza had to get in to so I had to put away the camera so I could keep her safe. By the end of the trip the kids were covered in mud from head to toe and I still haven't cleaned out the car. (sorry Mike!) Mike by the way was hanging out in the Sun Valley area with his buddies. Ok, ok. Not really hanging out. Fighting a fire and camping in the dirt.

Happy Birthday to me...

So tomorrow is my last birthday. Growing up, whenever I asked my mom her age, she always replied, "29". After a few years I caught on that she wasn't aging, but she always insisted she was 29. Despite the fact that she was just 4 months shy of 40 when I was born. So I think after tomorrow, I will have to give up on birthdays as well. Except you can all still give me presents. And ice cream cake. And hugs. And cards. Even e-cards. But from here on out, if anybody asks, I am 29.

Kids

Sometimes I can't believe that I'm not still 20 and living a single life at college. But then I have a few reminders running around. My kids are growing up so fast!

Ian had a happy 4th birthday and Eliza is finally walking and talking. Hooray for them both!

What kind of camera do you like?

Recently Mike had an unfortunate run in with a large tree in California while hiking. As a result, our camera has died. We liked our camera, the HP Photosmart R607 but I have been really unhappy with the company. They don't sell parts to camera repairmen and when I contact the company, they just keep trying to sell me a new one. So I am dissapointed in HP and will not buy from them again because I don't feel that cameras are disposable property. They should be able to be fixed. So I was wondering if anybody had any good cameras to recommend. Maybe a Canon, Pentax, Nikon or something? I've been wanting to take some pictures of my new apron that I made for a new post but I can't!! So all you blog lurkers who are out there and not commenting (I know who you are...) Please comment and tell me what digital camera you like best, or what one not to buy. Thanks!

Not Fair

Here is where Mike stayed last night, the Crown Plaza Hotel in Ventura, CA. In his own room. King size bed. Ocean front views. Crazy, huh? And I stayed here in Pocatello, where my kids screamed all night. Luckily he will have two paid days off when he comes back to town, and then he can listen to them scream all night!

And here he is again...

Here is Mike on the cover of The Mountain Express, the local newspaper where he is fighting fires. He is getting so much press coverage this year! Way to go Mike!. He is second from the left. He should be home in about 10 more days... do you think I can survive my children that long? They were so crazy last night, stayed up untill 11pm and then Ian woke up at 7 am soooo grumpy. It's going to be a lonnnng day.

Firefighting Mike

This photo was on the cover of the Idaho State Journal this morning. Can you tell which one Mike is? Most people recognize his sideburns.. Luckily this fourth of July fire was a small one, 100 acres or so and they were able to put it out in time for me and the kids to have dinner with Mike at the firestation. He had to work until about midnight, in case of any more fires. This morning when he went to work (after working that late and then being up all night with two sick, coughing kids) They told him they were headed out to California. So he is enroute today, headed to Frazier Park, California (in between LA and Bakersfield, in the Los Padres National Forest) for a 2 week stay. So if anybody feels like visiting us, we could use the company! Hopefully the kids will feel better soon and we will be able to get out and about.

Family Reunion 2008

Me and the kids just got back from a reunion at Pineview Reservoir. We had so much fun and wish Mike could have been there with all the fun. My parents rented an extremely large house so we could all stay together, my parents, siblings and their spouses, and 16 grandkids. Ian and Eliza loved playing with all their cousins and swimming in the pool and reservoir. The picture above is taken at Snowbasin lodge. I want to go back there some day and go hiking and mountain biking. It was so beautiful.

Here's cousin Jake entertaining Eliza at my parents house..


Ian and some blond look-a-like cousins in front of mom & dad's house
Eliza swimming with Aunt Heidi in the swimming pool....

Ian having fun at the beach. The hills were soooo green and beautiful in Eden and Huntsville!

Here are all the grandkids in their matching t-shirts! What a cute bunch of kids. Eliza's sitting on the grass and Ian is standing behind the other baby.

Happy Father's Day!

Thanks for being my dad.


And for being a GREAT Dad.


I wouldn't be who I am today without you. Thank you.


And to one other Dad that I couldn't live without - thank you and I love you!

Ianisms

"We can't go in his house, 'cause Brigham Young will be mad!"

"I need a nose rag 'cause there's a booger on my hand."

"I'm actually not hungry. But I'm hungry."

"It smells like a ghost in here."

California!

We made the lonnng drive to California this month, to visit family, climb mountains and relax. We had a great time, despite various sicknesses, lack of sleep and one parking ticket. Here are some pictures of our trip...

Ian & Amy riding along the beach in Oceanside


Mike & Eliza checking out the water in Oceanside


The fam at the Wild Animal Park


Ian digging a hole


Casey sitting in Ian's hole


Ian taking a break from the museums at Balboa Park to play in the fountain


Mike on his hike to Thor's Peak


We had so much fun, thanks to our wonderful hosts the Bills family, the Box family and the McCoys. Also, thanks to Megan and Ian for a wonderful dinner, sorry Eliza puked at your house!

Happy May Day

Nothing to say...

Do I have nothing to say or or just nothing to say to the world wide web? I have been avoiding saying anything because I don't have anything really GOOD to say and I don't want a post to sound like I'm looking for pity. It has been a tough month, weaning Eliza and trying to convince her to eat solid foods. She is getting better every day, she loves yogurt and eats it about 4 times a day with a yogurt smoothie in the middle of the night. Hopefully she will start gaining weight soon. She's finally starting to sleep at nights by herself, in her bed. Ian threw up all last night for who knows what reason. He seems to have a sensitive gag reflex or something because he does this ALL THE TIME. He's getting his tonsils taking out next month because they are large, maybe that has something to do with it. We are hoping that removing them will eliminate his snoring and in turn help reduce his daytime sleepiness and crabbiness. I'm also getting ready for our upcoming trip to California (Hooray!) which we are verrrry excited about. And preparing for Mike's graduation party, which I hope EVERYBODY can come to! It will be fun. And possibly embarrassing to him so everybody must come. Maybe I will have a happy California blog when we get back!

Happy First Birthday

I can't believe she's one years old!



Ian was more excited for her birthday than she was!



There are more pictures on the Stubbs blog, check them out!

Please Help Us!

There is an on-going dispute in the Stubbs household, which originated clear back to our newlywed days.

Please voice your opinion... which is the proper way to place a quilt.....

This way.. (with ties pointing upward and fuzzy side down)


or this way..... (with ties pointing down and fuzzy side up)




Thank you for your opinions. I'm sure you will all agree with me.


And Eliza wishes you all a happy Easter.