Damage Control????

Well, my fridge might get a little neglected, but (you might be surprised) I have become a "clean freak" (only to a moderate degree!) when it comes to my house! I like things to be in order and in place, I demolish dust, and am always tidy-ing up! (just ask Russ...I have so many cleaning "kwirks"...it drives him crazy!) With two busy kids playing all day, I feel like my little apartment needs some damage control some days!
In minutes, Anna can pull out every toy from her room and scatter them around our living room! Her favorite thing to do is get all of her stuffed animals and baby blankets and make-shift beds and put her dogs and cats down for naps.
Then, Anna makes her own bed, and has a nap too! Here she found a basket of mine that she adopted as her own! Then, after nap time, she gets out all of her play food and dishes and covers the kitchen table..and floor.. with them....I even find play food in the fridge....and she makes dinner for us and her animals!
Here she has her dogs enjoying some yummy goldfish crackers! I love to watch Anna explore the world of "make-believe" and watch her imagination grow and develop! So...as much as I like my house to be in order, it is mostly filled with my children's play-things....what house could ever be a home without the touch of childhood....without the traces that little ones live there...?
Often times, if I ask Anna to do something while she is in her "play-mode" she will tell me with a gigantic sigh..."Mom, I busy...I tryin to make dinder!" Sigh...how many times has that come out of MY mouth! As a mom, I realize so much more everyday, of how much my daughter watches me and wants to emulate what I do! Actions speak louder than words!

NO MORE LEFTOVERS!!!!

Today, I finally resigned myself to cleaning out the fridge....do you think it needed it? I had to take a picture because it is so ridiculous that we save food from previous meals, thinking we will eat it again in the next few days and it NEVER happens!! So...we end up with a fridge full of Tupperware that is withholding the contents of the past month's meals along with other unknown growing cultures....which seem to really like our left-overs!

After cleaning out each bowl....I will spare you all the details of the sight and smells...I decided to never have leftovers again! NEVER! Oh, it feels so good to say that!!!

Now...for all of you who are totally shocked and abhorred that I could allow such nonsense to collect in my fridge...let me reassure you that this only happens this severely once every four months or so!!! Come on now, you women, everyone has to admit that I am not the only one who has grown mold in my refrigerator!! Just join me in my pledge that the world of refrigeration will be better off without leftovers!!!

Now that I have exposed my weaknesses to the world of bloggers....I can go to bed dreaming of my Tupperware-free fridge....wonderful feeling! If you have any in yours, go ahead, be brave, throw it out and never let it back in!

Chelsea Jane

We love Chels! She is the baby of the Meredith family and soooo spoiled too! J/K!!! he he he
I have to commend her for her awesome sense of style....Chelsea, you're my style idol!!!

If only I could look so cute in such a hat!!

Secondly....she can play the guitar....ya! That, in my book, is so cool too! I love the guitar and even though Chels thinks she is not that good...I really enjoy listening to her play! She has learned so much in such little time! She even taught me a little and we had a "jam" session in her room a few weeks ago.....it was sweet!
Chelsea has such a zest for life and a love for learning. She is an amazing dental assistant, but she also excels in so many areas academically! I always find her reading her scriptures at night or in the morning when we visit, she always looks for the good in others, she is a peace-maker and a true friend. ( you wouldn't believe how many of her guy friends are secretly competing for her undying devotion and attention! )
Chelsea loves her family and likes to "share da luv" with all of us! When we visit, I love it how she is always grabbing one of the nieces or nephews and expressing her love for them, showering them with hugs and kisses. Chelsea works hard for what she believes in and feels is right, and sometimes being the youngest, she doesn't get the credit she deserves. She is such an amazing young woman with so much to give and I hope, Chelsea, that you know that you are loved! We love, love, love you!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA AND CARTER!!!!!!!!!!!!

We finally get around to celebrating Anna and Carter's birthday....only few days late! With all of us sick and feeling so crummy, we decided to wait...so we could actually enjoy ourselves! Anna turned three years old July 29th and Carter turned one July 24th!!! They grow up so fast! Here's Anna and Carter with their cakes. Unlike all of those talented and ambitious moms who make extravagant home-made cakes, we opted for the Dairy Queen ice cream cakes....which were better than any cake I could ever make!!! Sooo...stick around for next year and maybe I will get a little creative!!! You all will be shocked at my awesome cake-making skills, seriously!
Anna, here, is upset because everyone is singing "Happy Birthday" to her! She really hates to be put on the spot, and especially doesn't like big groups of people to sing to her!!! She's a funny girl!
Carter was a bit nervous about his cake at first, but once he got a taste...he was all over it!!! Did you know....ice cream cakes are VERY, VERY MESSY!!!! The messy picture is the best one!!!
Here is our beautiful drama queen, Carli, posing with Mason! We have such cute family, eh?
And here is Rylei...Carli's little sister.....can't you see the resemblance? Rylei looks Beautiful!!! Ha! I love this picture...it just makes me laugh!!! Anna and Rylei are quite the pair!!

Here we have Dallen....who is 12 and such a little hottie!!!! I am so proud to say that Carter looks just like Dallen did when he was a baby!!! Here's our future Carter! Carter loves to play with balls....throwing and kicking them! Dallen (along with his brothers) is amazing at soccor, basketball, football....so we are hoping they will coach Carter along the way! These boys are going to be amazing role models for all of our boys! We are so glad we live close by!This is Jake....who, as you can see, thinks he is a Hottie too!!! Jake...you are soooo hot stuff, really! Though, you can't truly be HOT until your voice stops squeaking...singing soprano just won't do kid!!! he he!

Carter loved all of his toys....especially the trucks....he loves to push them around on the kitchen floor! We found Carter just recently engrossed in pushing around a small matchbox car...it was soo cute! He really isn't our "baby" anymore! Anna loved all of her presents too....but the scooter ranked number one!! She rides it everyday...in the house....and makes Carter really mad because he wants to push it around the house....and of course Anna won't let him near her!!!! When do you get to stop teaching your kids how to share and get along??....I think NEVER!

My Wish...

Ok, so I have to personally dedicate this song by Rascal Flatts, "My Wish" to my friend Missy who has moved to New Hampshire where her Hubby has been accepted to Dartmouth! She lives in such a beautiful place! I am so excited for all my friends and family who have moved away and ventured into new places where, I am sure, they will have amazing experiences! Seeing all the New Hampshire scenery has gotten me all nostalgic for some good ol country/bluegrass music....so I have arranged my music a bit to fit! So, for Missy ...and Rex and Jeigh too (who are in West Virginia):

More than anything....

My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to. Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small, you never need to carry more than you can hold, and while you're out there gettin where you're gettin to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too, yeah, this, is my wish!

Rex and Jeigh leave for West Virginia!!!

Rex(too old....I was not thinking fat!), Jeigh(hot momma), Jenna(4), Halle(3), Jett(almost 2), and baby #4 still baking! Whew! Go, you cute little family, and just keep replenishing and multiplying the earth back East! We love you all!!
Meredith Boys: Rob, Geoff, Bob, Russ, and Rex

Emily and Jett LOVE to give each other kisses......Carter on the other hand....way annoyed!
Rylei, Anna, and Halle (Halle was born in January 2005, Rylei was born in April,, and then Anna came in July!! So fun!)
Jake....don't ask!!!
Chelsea....she REALLY loves brownies!!!!!

Pool Party!!!

Here's Jenna tentatively trying out the slide!
Emily with Olivia, Mason, and Halle.
It's soooo hot.....Halle shows Emily how to get a quick drink from the sprinkler!

Anna...who usually loves her pool, but would not put a foot in it! Sometimes, she loves to play with all the kids, and sometimes NOT! She pretty much played by herself....kind of a loner child!
Jett...who mostly wandered around throwing and chasing the balls! He didn't really like the water!
Emily...she could not get enough of the sprinkler! She loved it!


Here are the kids playing in the sun! Rex (Russ's older brother) and his wife Jeigh, were finishing packing and preparing for their move to West Virginia, where Rex will finish grad school, Hurray! We thought it would be fun to have a little party with the kids while Rex and Jeigh slaved away!!! They all had a blast....the kids, I mean!

Attack of another virus, head cold, sore throat, and double ear infection...

Well, Carter got sick while we were in Pocatello and it only got worse! By the time we were home again, he was running a fever of 103...not eating, diarrhea, runny nose, crying that turned to coughing that turned to gagging that ended in him throwing up!By Sunday, the poor boy was feeling so awful he just sat on my lap. Anna tried comforting him, giving him a love, and she was running all over the house trying to find things that would make him happy!
Carter was sick for a good ten days, he got dehydrated Sunday, and we just tried to give him fluids as often as he would take them, and then he mostly just slept...sometimes 3-4 hours at a time! Monday, he saw the doctor, and Carter had a double ear infection...that makes 6 infections he's had in the last six months! Can I just say how stressful that was for me?? Oh my Heck!!!! And the whole time I was sick with a terrible sinus infection too!!! It was an awful two weeks for our whole family!!!

Rain, rain go away...??? No way!!!!

While we were staying at grandma and grandpa's home, we got a lovely and beautiful rain storm! How many of you love the smell of rain??? Oh, I LOVE it! I love the smell and the sound of the pitter patter.....it's great!
Well, Aunt Chels...the crazy woman that she is, jumped up off the couch and practically yells like a little child...."Lets go play in the rain!!!" Her enthusiasm got Anna and Olivia curious and excited too....so they all went running outside and started jumping on the trampoline! It was great! They were squealing and screaming and laughing!
Oh, Chelsea, don't we wish we had as much vim and vigor for life as you do!!! You're the best! Thanks for making such a great memory with Anna and Olivia!

Lollipop, lollipop.....oh lolli, lolli, lolli....

Anna was soooo excited....Aunt Gill gave her a dollar! So, we went to the store so she could pick out whatever treat she wanted! Oh, the choices....all the choices! Anna saw this huge lollipop and HAD to have it! I tried coaxing her to get anything else knowing that a sucker this big would only cause havoc for me!!! But she insisted! She was so excited to show everyone!
BUT.....as much as she loved that lollipop for the first ten minutes, it was long forgotten afterwards....I think maybe her tongue got a little tired just licking and licking!!!

Kids....*SIGH*......oh kids!!

A few weeks ago, we went to Pocatello to stay at grandma and grandpa's home. Poor Carter got sick...as you can see... he got a head cold and "goopy" eyes. I was enjoying the morning, surprised that Carter was still asleep, but glad that he was getting some rest to help him recover.
As I was reading in the living room, I hear the faintest sound...the sound of a door clicking...only a mother and a mother's instincts would allow such the faintest sound to be heard....Immediately I knew what was happening! I went to the room where Carter was sleeping to find Anna inside happily waking him up! As I walk through the door, Anna cheerfully says to me, "Mom-mom, I wake Bubba up! Tum on Bubby, Time to dit up!"
This is not the first incident where Anna has decided to wake Carter up! I wasn't happy, and had to spoil all her fun and put her in the corner for doing something we talked about that was not OK! Silly kid! Of course, I had to take a picture of her in Time-Out....she was making her classic scowl I get whenever she's in trouble and upset with me!