Norah!

Norah aka Little pill..

She is 18 months and so stinkin' cute! She kisses and hugs me all day and is such a happy, content little girl. She is tough and doesn't let Lucy mess with her. She loves other kids and just wants to be a part of the action. My favorite thing lately is that she knows when to say please and thank you, it's not really clear but you know that is what she is saying. She and Lucy are so cute together and they laugh and play and it's so darn cute. Here are some quick pics of Norah, you will soon see why her nickname is little pill..

She borrowed Lucy's stool to reach the bread.

We went to the pet store one rainy day after the movie just for the heck of it and we found this little dog that looks like "Taco" our stuffed family dog. She LOVED it, she freaked out when we took it away.. the poor thing was squealing because she was holding it by the neck.

Can't go to Tuttle mall without riding this rinky dink merry-go-round.

I was unloading the groceries from the car and she sneaked into the drivers seat, it's funny how they see you drive and copy what you do.

All ready for bed watching baby einsteins, I love her cute little body.

Yep, one unsupervised moment and this is what i find.

I took the girls to feed the ducks one day and it had been raining. I was helping Lucy and within 1 minute, I'm not kidding, she was crawling through the puddles. She was having so much fun and since she was soaked I let her play a while.

Already polished off her food and thought she would help Lucy with hers. Dave calls her McNorah because she eats all of the time.

I had this room spotless and was doing other things around the house and within 10 minutes she had literally destroyed my clean room. Sometime I wonder why I try cleaning.. ugh!

Can't tell you how many time I have picked up those dang movies. I ended up taking them all to the dungeon to save my self some frustration :)

She wants to ride this bike more than Lucy. She also loves to swing in the front yard.

Happy birthday to my sweet Norah. We celebrated at Chuck E Cheese in Arizona, since we were there visiting. I love having her sweet little spirit in my life, she makes me laugh everyday and eventhough she is a "pill" and constantly into everything, I can never seem to be mad at her for more than 5 minutes. Her little smile melts my heart and I love her so much.

Lucy!

Some quick pics of my sweet little Luce.

A couple of her friends signed up for soccer and since she has more energy than any little girl I know we decided to sign her up as well. Hailey and Eliza are friends from the neighborhood and church. It's fun because us moms sit and chat about who knows what while the guys cheer the girls on. Lucy without fail has to go potty during the practices and games. Her favorite part is the capri sun and snack after the game, she's no dummy. Go united!!

Lucy is still going to Covenant preschool (same place she went the year before just another year older). She absolutely loves it. She has the cutest little friends and the teachers are the best. Anyway, they had a little back to school night and this is what was on display. It's so funny to hear what she thinks goes on at home.

Taco the family dog... and the only dog we will ever own. Dave gave this talking Taco Bell dog to me for my 22nd birthday, it doesn't talk anymore and I have tried throwing it away many times but it still somehow ends up back in the toy room. Lucy loves it and looks for him everyday. Pretty cute!

Lucy doesn't eat anything all day, but as soon at 9pm rolls around she is starving, hmmm good way to stall going to bed. I hate for her to go hungry and her fav is chicken nuggets and corn, gross, but she downs every single bite, then she goes to bed and I know she has a full tummy.

She LOVES to paint! Preschool is where it's at, she has learned so much!

I sort of knew she was doing this but didn't really pay too much attention until I noticed she had painted her entire body! Great supervision on my part. Good thing it's water proof!

Her cute little Nike outfit that her daddy picked out for her, just chillin' on the front porch.

She took gymnastics (banastics) this summer at Wendy's. She loves it and is quite the little gymnast. She was the most coordinated in the whole group and was one of the youngest. Could not get her to smile for the life of me.

Happy 4th birthday to Lucy! We had a little swimming party at the local pool with friends that had passes and then took some other friends to Chuck E Cheese, that is really what she wanted to do. It was really fun and she got some really fun things. I can't believe how old she is!

I love my little Lucy! What would I do without her sweet but sassy personality, her cute little smile with those big dimples, and her hugs and kisses everyday. She's my baby and I'm so thankful to have her in my life.

Akron, Ohio Marathon 9/25/10

Dave started this... but I'm so glad that he did. For my 31st birthday he gave me this cool running watch that is run by local satellites. It tells you your pace, time, distance, and a whole bunch of other stuff. He then gave me a box with the confirmation info about this "marathon" he had signed me up for. I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first but once I got home and started training I was actually kind of excited about it. I only had 12 weeks to train so I had to get going (Dave and I ran a half marathon in May, so I was already half trained and not too far behind). He said that he knew I wanted to run one but knew that I would never get the guts to sign up myself so he did it for me. My sister decided to run it too since she was moving out so that was that was nice to have her support when I wanted to quit. We pumped each other up so we would be ready for the big day.

We survived! I'm not going to lie, it was hard but I gave it my all. Our goal was to run 26.2 miles in 4:30 and we both beat it. I finished in 4:12 and Jen in 4:06. Not Boston marathon time but pretty dang good for our first marathon.

Janis, the one next to me is in my ward and her sister Karyn ran it as well. We trained a lot together because it is absolute torture to train on your own. We spent many hours talking, stealing gatorade and water from the marathoners in training, early mornings at Antrim lake and Olentangy River Trail, which is beautiful by the way, and many other things I will never forget. I love you guys so much and I miss you even though I see you at church every sunday.

I'm so blessed to have a healthy body, it is so important to me more than ever. What a great accomplishment for all of us. I'm proud of you guys.

What's up?

Well... it's pretty sad when you go to post something on your blog and you can't remember your password! Dave told me I was going to lose all of my blogging friends including him because I never update. I'm over it. I haven't done this since February, yep, it's been that long, so I'm a little rusty and all of these pics are out of order, but it's really late and I just want to go to bed :)

Here are some of our summer adventures..

We made our way to Massachusetts in August for a wedding for a good friend from home (Utah) It was so fun and so good to see so many of our friends that came from all over the U.S. ones we haven't seen in years. We made many stops on our "back east" trip and the girls were awesome even though hours in the car were long.

Niagara Falls, probably the coolest place I have ever been too! It's a must see.

We went to Palmyra, NY for a little church history. My sister came out to live with us for a semester so she came with us and sat in the back between the kids to keep the peace. I'll never forget the giggling I heard as I took this picture. Funny kids, yes, Jen is one of my kids for now.

Hiking around Hill Cumorah, next stop, The Sacred Grove, where the kids were super reverent and folded their arms the whole time, psst yeah right. It was a cool experience and I'm so glad we made the stop.

Dave drove all night which means we were up keeping him company so he wouldn't fall asleep, meanwhile the kids we sound asleep. We got to our hotel early that morning so we could hopefully get a little sleep before the wedding at noon and of course the kids we're all smiles.. I LOVE this picture! Lucy was just happy to finally be at the "show and tell" (she means hotel) haha, they are so cute!

We stayed in Boston for 4 nights and just relaxed and explored. Dave was dying to go to see the Red Sox play and since it was a late game I volunteered my sis to stay and watch the game with him and I took the kids back and put them to bed. Secretly I just wanted to go back and watch the Bachelor Pad, such a good show.

This picture was taken in a little town just out of Boston. Dave heard they had really good clam chowder and also that it was really pretty so we thought we would check it out. It was such a cool place so thank you to the random man at the wedding that told us about it.

So, these next pictures weren't "vacation pictures" just 4th of July ones. We love the 4th and it was my first away from Utah, but I survived and it was really fun. We have so many good friends out here and it really is home to us now. I got home from work the morning of the 4th and Dave and Lucy were still asleep and Norah was chirping in her crib so I got her up and we met some friends down at the Upper Arlington parade. It wasn't a freedom festival parade, but it was still fun. That evening we went to a BBQ with our ward friends and then to watch fireworks down at the OSU fields with some of our other friends. We're so popular aren't we haha It was a really fun day and the 4th will always be my favorite holiday.

Lucy and her little friends, if you're wondering about the band aids on her arm, it's a new obsession of hers, she needs a band aid for everything!

Norah eating.. what's new. Dave calls her McNorah (as in McDonalds)!

Norah was taking her first steps, Lucy was walking by her 1st birthday but Norah decided she was going to take her time. As of today, she is running. They learn so fast.

Me and my sweet babe

Okay, so for my 31st birthday Dave decided to take us all on a little weekend getaway. I thought forever we were on our way to Amish country, and I was so confused when I kept seeing signs for "Cedar Point" one of the biggest roller coaster amusement parks. We had sooo much fun! It was so nice that my sister was there because we were able to do a parent swap, for example, Jenny and I would wait in line and go on the ride while Dave would stay with the kids, then we would get a pass and give the pass to Dave and then he could take one of us to ride again while the other stayed with the kids. There were some sick rides, some that I never want to ride again. So scary, I couldn't even scream on some of them I was literally so scared. It was a fun day though and the kids loved Snoopy Land.

We checked out this beach the night before Cedar Point which is on Lake Erie. It was so cool because as you can see in this picture, Dave is clear out there with the kids and Lucy can touch, they have it roped off so you can't get too crazy. The kids were loving it and the water was warm. The weather was so nice, after we went to eat and called it a night.

My sis with the kids. What a trooper! We are so glad she has decided to join our family for a couple of months. The kids love having her around! I love having her around more though, especially on the long weekends and nights Dave is on call, love her company and someone to get cokes with, and someone to tickle my back. I love you Jen!

Lucy LOVED this ride! She went on it over and over again. It's like the blast off ride or whatever the other one next to it is called at Lagoon. It was so cute. Her dimples are so cute and if you look close enough you can see them she was smiling and laughing so hard.

Our family, with the craziest ride in the background. I can't remember what it is called since it has been months but it's scary but one of those I would totally go on again except it had a 3 hour wait by the time we left. Happy 31st to me! Thanks babe! You never disappoint.

Dave had a week off in April and was craving some nice warm golf weather so we made our way to Arizona. It was a lot of fun. Norah also celebrated her 1st birthday there, more pictures to come.

It was a successful summer!

Updates

WE'RE BACK!!
Atleast for today.  I can't believe how far behind I have been on my blogging.  I don't know how anyone keeps up on blogging, I can't even keep up on my laundry.  I'm going to try and do better I promise.

We are all doing well and enjoying being here in Columbus.  Dave is staying really busy with work and continually checks the weather in St. George cause that's where he really wants to be. Biking, hiking, running, golfing, lots of business with all of the retired old men, it doesn't get better than that.  Come June he will have 1 year down, 4 to go.  Time flies so fast.  We moved here when Norah was 6 weeks and now she is almost 10 months.  I can't believe it.

I am working for a home health agency, I work nights, which is really nice that I don't have to worry about daycare etc.. I know the kids are safe at home with Dave and I don't worry.  I mainly work with the same family and I absolutely love them.  They are so good to me so instead of dreading work I actually look forward to going.

Dave and I are serving as ward missionaries and we really like it.  It has been by far my favorite calling.  I love the missionaries so much.  They work so hard and I have learned so much from them.  When we first moved out my brother Sean was still serving a mission.  I look up to him so much, he is such a good kid and I would do anything for him.  When I was called to be a ward missionary I automatically thought of him and told myself that I would love and take care of the missionaries here like I would want someone else to take care of my brother in Minnesota.  The church is true!

Dave and I made a goal to run the capital city half marathon in may so we are training for that.. 7 miles this week..  Yikes!  If I have to run one more mile on a treadmill I may kick myself, so hopefully the weather warms up soon so we can run outside.

Lucy started preschool last fall and loves it.  It is a chore getting her out the door on time but once were out it's good.  She has learned so much and always comes home with a new story or song.  She also loves the kids club at the gym.  She knows right where everything is and she loves to wash her hands with the magic soap.  She is a sunbeam and shared the scripture a couple of Sundays ago and it was so cute.  Her teacher says that she really likes to sing and that they are trying to teach her that she can sing during singing time but needs to listen when it's learning time.  I told the teacher good luck with that.  Lucy told me today that her favorite primary song is "Once there was a snowman" and then she sang and did the actions for me.  Dad says Lucy and I have an "intense" relationship because we bicker all of the time but love each other so much.  Lucy's favorite things to do right now are paint pictures, color, make princess crowns with daddy, sticker books, play hide and seek, the running game, dance party, drag Taco (her stuffed dog from Taco Bell) by a leash (dad's belt), act like her own made up doggie, Aggie, and pretend that otter pops are her bones, make tents, dance with her princess get up, and watch moobies.. she is a busy girl... and that's why she will be in pre school 4 days next year.  She has sooo much energy.  She also loves to "read" to us.  She loves to blame things on Norah, like today when I asked her who got the toys out again, "it was Norah" she told me. This is also kind of funny although I'm not sure where she got this from but when I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do she tells me that she has a broken leg, I just have to laugh.  My other favorite thing lately is when I say "It's time to brush teeth, take a bath, time to eat dinner etc" she says "I did it yesterday!"  I don't think she understands what yesterday means.  She says Ah, man, which is really cute.  We walk on eggshells with her and you never know when she is going to snap but she wouldn't be Lucy without a thousand tantrums a day.  She also claims that she dreams of noodles every time she sleeps.  Pretty funny.  

Norah is sooo chill and I love it!  Except that she is an early riser... that doesn't go over well in our house.  She is 10 months and getting so big.  She is a fast mover and is so funny because she doesn't crawl on all 4's, she army crawls.  She gets up on all 4's but prefers to drag herself.  I don't go anywhere without her following me, she works so hard to keep up but she does.  She has 2 cute little bottom teeth and has a 3rd starting to poke through on the top.  Her favorite things to do are to unplug the TV, especially when Lucy is watching her favorite movie (Lucy gets so mad and is getting really good at no, no norah!), she pushes buttons on the cable box, and pull books and movies off of the shelves, (Dave calls her a squirrel) oh and she eats anything off of the floor and I wonder why she has been sick most of the winter, I'm sure she is addicted to Motrin and Benadryl by now.  Speaking of eating, Dave has a new nickname for her, McNorah (as in McDonalds) because she eats anything you put in front of her.  She eats more than Lucy does now.  If she gets fussy I put her in her high chair and put food in front of her and she is happy.  It's awesome.  She is starting to grow some fuzz on her head (fuzzhead is another nickname for her) she is not the dark haired Norah I pictured she would be but I will take her the way she is.  She is a very happy, content baby and I just love her so much!

I am so so lucky!

Ahhhh, it's so good to be caught up, it's another productive all nighter, why not.

Randoms...

These are some of my random favorites...

Lucy drinking my hot chocolate with her favorite wizard of oz shoes.

We went to Walmart and I told Lucy that if she was really good I would let her pick something little to take home, well she chose this purple dinosaur soap.  Later that evening while they were taking a bath I heard Lucy just busting up laughing so I went into see what she was laughing at and she had been drawing on Norah's head.  They are so funny.  Look at Norah's cute little teeth.

Lucy is ready for preschool, do you think she likes pink?  Guess how long it took for her to get dressed (head to toe)?  Could've taken maybe 5 minutes, but no it took 15 because she didn't want any help but she was so proud of herself. I'm pretty proud of her.  Norah is proud too.

Another "I do it myself" expression.  Note the outfit below.  I don't fight with her about what to wear anymore, I just let her do it.  Someday she will look at these pictures and laugh.  I got some very funny looks at the store that day.

Lucy sharing some popcorn with Norah.  We had to have the "it's so nice of you to share but she is too little to eat popcorn" talk.  Atleast she is sharing.

They are so cute, they will always be best buds.

Norah and her favorite church friend, Jarvis.  If I ever wonder where Norah went I just look for Jarvis and there she is.  So cute!

Daddy and his girls, what would he do without them.  

I love this picture of Norah, she has such big eyes, they are staying blue so far.

My mom sent this pink skirt to Lucy for Christmas for dress up purposes but Lucy really wanted to wear it to church so I let her.  There were many cute comments made about it.  My favorite part is her hair that day.  I'm telling ya she is not cooperative especially in the morning with combing the hair stuff so I do my best.  It's adds to her personality, it's cute.

I'm pretty sure Dave did her hair this day.. it's okay babe, atleast you tried.  This is hands down one of my favorite pictures if her.

We went to dinner after one of our friends, Martin, was baptized.  Can you find Norah?  Yep, she is by Jarvis!  Ha Ha.  I love it!

This is my favorite picture of Norah.  She is such a cute little bug.  She has a little fuzz growing on that bald head of hers.  Yay!!

Dear Lucy, those fries are supposed to be in your tummy not on those toothpicks.  

I love my 2 little girlies!