28 December 2010

Durans

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My Dad's family.

Jumping

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There is nothing better...

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...than jumping...

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...on a trampoline...

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...with your cousins (or second cousins, as Eli is my cousin Steven's son.)

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27 December 2010

Family visits.

My Aunt Teresa and Uncle Jaime and their two kids Jessica and Joseph came over to my grandparent's house and we made s'mores out in the fire pit in the yard.

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To get enough light, I had to do long exposures, which causes ghostly looking people.

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So, I told every one that they had to stay still...I thought they would at least look normal, but eh.  Notice Jessica's face and Joseph's pose.

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Night desert sky with smoke in the background.

Sabino Canyon


We went to Sabino Canyon to do a little hiking.  Especially since it was about forty degrees warmer than it was in Nebraska.

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Showing Sydney that the cacti were sharp.

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We are very serious hikers.

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Can you see Sydney's face?  There was a cave behind them and someone said that there could be a mountain lion in it and she was terrified that she was going to be eaten.

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This is a SAD face!

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Everyone else took the tram up to the top and Charles and I did a little exploring off the paved trail. Here, he has claim this rock with his bamboo cane.

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Group picture...well, minus me, behind the camera.
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My dad doesn't smile for pictures...I think it is a military thing.

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Seriously, this is his smile for pictures.  You have to catch him laughing to get a good smile.

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And then she complained about having to walk with wet socks.

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It was hilarious to her to take a picture of me taking a picture of her.

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The best family shot we got.

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07 December 2010

Quotable Sydney

Sydney, after Charles told her that something was just pretend.

"I don't want to be pretend.  I just want to get real."

22 November 2010

Video Post!!


Sydney was pretty adamant about teaching Family Home Evening tonight.  This was a part of her lesson.

19 November 2010

*Sigh*

So, I ought to be planning our Thanksgiving dinner.  You know, figuring out what I need and if I need my mom to make some of the food, or if I think I can handle it all.  At the same time, I'm listening to Sydney do everything in her room but NOT take a nap.  She did this yesterday and just as I was getting ready to give up and tell her to get up, she fell asleep.  Sadly, I don't think that's happening today. It makes me sad that she's getting old enough to not take naps every day. 

 So, instead, enjoy some pictures of Sydney helping make cookies yesterday while I instead pick up food to make some Thanksgiving meals in advance...and maybe some of the food for Charles' birthday party next week as well.

*Never mind...she fell asleep just before I went in to go get her...AGAIN*
Not that I mind, it's just a little frustrating. 

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18 November 2010

Whistle While You Work

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Sydney loves to help clean.  The second I start sweeping, or doing dishes, or pull out the vacuum she wants to be doing it with me.

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And, while I usually have to redo the work later to make sure that it's actually clean, it's totally worth it.  Today, while she was mopping, she was telling me all about it and you could just hear in her voice how proud she was to be helping.

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Besides, this kid woke up at 6:30...almost an hour earlier than usual.  I run out of things to entertain her after a while.  And, it's good for her to learn how to work.

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And the songs she makes up are just adorable.  If I hadn't been mopping, I would have tried to record her song she sang as she bounced on the couch waiting for me to turn on the vacuum for her.  

16 November 2010

Drawing people

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This is Sydney with her picture of one our our friends, Griffin.  She drew it for him for his birthday.  And, for a three year old, it's actually remarkable what she remembered to add into the picture.

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As Sydney told me, "He even has his beak." 
 "You mean beard?"  
"Yeah, his beard."



14 November 2010

Girl Time

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I expect to be spending a lot of one on one time with Sydney soon.  Deer season started on Saturday and Charles spent a few hours out hunting.  Add to that his regularly busy schedule and the upcoming finals and it all adds up to a lot of time when Charles is away.  Not that we weren't expecting this when we decided on Law School, but it does make me wish we had a second car, some times.

Here, we made pizza for dinner.  Sydney was so excited to help make the pizza, she knocked the container of olives on the floor.  Thank heavens for Swiffer Wet Jet.

11 November 2010

Be Like You

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This little girl loves her Papa so much.  Today, Charles was getting his stuff together to go deer hunting this weekend which means a trip to Scheels, "Papa's favorite store."  Sydney has a great time looking at all the stuffed animals there, but today she really wanted us to buy her a duck decoy.  "But, Mommy, I really want a duck!!"  And then, she kept telling Charles that she wanted to go shooting with him.  But the best part was when Charles let her test out his new duck call.  She thought it was hilarious and really wants to go out and try to call some ducks with him.

Thankfully, she loves to dress up as a princess and is excited for "balleter" lessons in January.  I guess she's a good combination of the two of us.

10 November 2010

I feel so famous

So, I'm a bit confused and slightly bemused right now.  You see, I got an interesting e-mail today and I'm not sure what to make of it.  You can read it...

Good Afternoon,
My name is Caitlin and I’m part of the Promotions Team here at http://www.csnstores.com , a Boston based company. We have been seeking out high quality websites and blogs, gauging interest in doing a giveaway with one of our sites.
We love the look and feel of your blog and think that your US and Canadian readers might be interested in a giveaway of a gift certificate valid on any of our 200+ sites! 
Have a look at a couple of our sites; www.AllModern.com , www.Cookware.com orwww.toysandgamesonline.com and let me know if you think that this might be something you’d be interested in. I’d be happy to brainstorm some other ideas with you if you’re interested. Alternatively you could do a review of something from our site.
Please let me know if you have any questions for me. I hope to hear from you to further discuss the details of the giveaway or review.
Kind Regards,
Caitlin

So, I want your advice.  Should I go ahead and go for a giveaway or review, or let them know that I might not be their ideal blogger.  Although, it would be good odds for all my dear readers.

09 November 2010

Smartie

I'm always amazed at how much Sydney picks up and really comprehends.  Today, we were out and I was telling her how much I love her and she replied by telling me she loved me.  I told her, "No, I love you."  She responded, "No, mommy.  Kids can love their parents too.  Families can be together forever."  She then proceeded to sing the chorus of the primary song to me.  It was so cute!

08 November 2010

Dancing Queens

Sydney and Paisley sure have fun together.  Here, they were putting on a show for us.  A show complete with costumes and singing and dancing and floor dancing (rolling).  It was pretty awesome.  These are some dang cute girls!!

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05 November 2010

Literal

So, tonight was a family movie night for our family.  Recently, Sydney's been on a Muppets kick.  She thinks they're hilarious and we are more than willing to oblige and let her watch.  Tonight, it was The Great Muppet Caper.  I do have to say that the best part of the show has been watching Sydney watch the movie.  Besides laughing hysterically at random things, she had the best response to the "catch the crooks red-handed" gag.  She looked at the screen and replied, "Their hands are black."

04 November 2010

Holds her own

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This little girl can sure be crazy.  Tonight, she came with me to Scouts and held her own running around like a crazy person with all the eight to ten year old cub scouts and activity day girls.

Now, if only it didn't stress me out to have her running around with all those big kids.  I'm terrified that they will trample her.  Guess I'm just over protective.

03 November 2010

Making Rice Krispie Treats

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(Not pictured is Mom freaking out because Sydney almost grabbed the pan with her bare hand!)

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Pancakes

 This morning, when I told Sydney that we were going to have pancakes for breakfast, she proceeded to tell me how to make them. According to Sydney, pancakes are just "milk that you mix and then pour onto the pan and cook them."  She seemed surprised when I started putting things like eggs in the pancake batter.  "But Mommy, we had eggs yesterday...today we're having pancakes!"  In the end, I guess they turned out okay, since she ate all of her breakfast and was thrilled that there were lots leftover for her to have another day.

02 November 2010

Almost as fun as a barrel of monkeys

It's amazing how something so simple as a glow stick can entertain three year olds and second year law students alike.


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