Disneyland Pictures

(This is the only picture of us all together.)












Disneyland was fantastic. Now all I can think about are all the vacations I want to take with my family. It is so hard to come back and settle in to our normal life. Here are some pictures, as promised. I will have to share stories about Disneyland later because I am going to bed.



















































I call this picture "Attack of the Crazy Hair."

Bravo

Saturday Capatin F and I went to Spring City for the Historical Home Tour and art tour. It was fantastic (review to follow). We left the kids with my sister's nanny for the day. She is so great with them. She speaks very little English, but it all works out just fine. When we came home I asked the Prince if he had any accidents that day. He told me he peed on Tina's leg. He would laugh and laugh. He even called it a funny game. We hoped beyond hope this was just a story. Captain F called Tina tonight. He was talking and said that the Prince is a handful. She agreed calling him a "Bravo" (a brave terror) and then told Captain F a story. The Prince was on the potty and all of a sudden jumped up and peed on her leg. He laughed and laughed and laughed. She told him "no" of course and he did say, "Sorry, Tina." But apparently he wasn't all that sorry since he repeatedly told us about his "funny game." How did he even think of this? Where did that come from? Maybe it is just being a boy but I blame the Canadians. I think it must be in their DNA to play "funny" pranks.

Spring City was fantastic. We went with my sister, mom, my mom's friend, Captain F's sister and her husband and child. It was great. I was so excited to introduce Cicada and Murray to Spring City. Murray and Cicada are both artists and neither had ever heard of Spring City and the artists community there. It was fun seeing it with them. I think they fell in love with it and want to live there someday, same with Captain F actually. Murray's sister lives in the town of Moroni so they would even have family nearby. One of these years Captain F's aunt Mary Moo must absolutely come to Utah for Memorial Day weekend and go to Spring City. She would love it. Also, my mother-in-law's family is from that area and there were a few artists with her maiden name. I wonder how they are related. If Cicada and Captain F were to move there they would be returning to their roots.

Madsen Bikes

I love this bike. The inventor (I assume he is the inventor at least) lives in my neighborhood and I see his wife riding this bike around. It is adorable and I would love to have one. Maybe if I am really good about using our Chariot and get really strong so I can haul the kids up the hill to our house, I can get one of these for next year's Tin-palooza. How fun would that be? Sure Captain F is dying to have another bike, and sure he bikes way more than I do, but still, don't you think I should get another bike first? (Note: Poor Captain F had lots of bikes but two got stolen last fall while I was in NYC. His brand new mountain bike and old road bike were taken from our garage, along with the pump. So sad.) Better yet, I will get him this for his Father's Day, Birthday and Christmas. Then he can haul the kids. I will just use it to look cool.

Tin-palooza

May is the month to celebrate me. On May 7th is Captain F's and my anniversary. We are celebrating 5 successful years this year. The Sunday after ou anniversary is Mother's Day. And on May 17th is my Birthday. Captain F has to come up with lots of gifts all at once.

For our anniversary we got a new Chariot double jogging stroller/bike trailer. We thought it would be fun to get something we can do together. So far we are enjoying running all together. The Prince loves the new stroller and likes to go for a run. Little V not as much. Little V spends a lot of the time torturing the Prince by touching his face. It is pretty funny. I make Captain F push the stroller as a sort of handicap so he can go my pace and still get a workout. Although, I have taken the Prince out for a run just the two of us; I can push the stroller, too.

Mother's Day was absolutely perfect. We got up and it was so nice to have Captain F around to help me get the kids ready for church. Then I got to go to a Mother's Day party in Primary with the Prince. He was a great singer with his nursery group. After church V and I took a nap while the boys played outside. Then we woke up and went to a buffet at the Alta Club, where Captain F and I had our wedding reception. We went with my parents and my sister and her family. Then we walked around the Temple grounds to see all the flowers. It was perfect. Finally we came home and Captain F had another gift for me, a comforter for the downstairs bedroom. We had such a fun time hanging out together.










































Finally, for my Birthday all the Canadians plus a few friends got together to celebrate. Captain F bought me a new IPod nano because my Ipod mini will only last 17 minutes on battery, making it difficult to take along running. It was the perfect gift and much too generous. Captain F even served Angel Food cake, which he is totally sick of because we have it all summer long.

































Here are some action shots of V walking. She is so excited with her new method of transportation.

































But the best present of all was a trip to Disneyland with our little family. Post to follow.

Spring Travels

Here are some recent pictures of the kids. We went to St. George for Spring Break with my sister and her two kids. Aunt Brat drove down with me and the kids and stayed with her friends down there and then drove back with us. It was so great since Captain F couldn't join us. The car ride was slow going, but the kids did really well. There were no crying fits, just general complaining. I call that a success! I told the Prince this was practice for going to Disneyland. Well, then he kept talking about Disneyland the entire ride. The kids did not sleep well on the vacation. V, the Prince, and I all shared a room. It probably could have been worse, but not by much. V is the culprit. She has to sleep in her own room. If she hears anyone she wakes up. She almost always wakes up happy, which is part of the problem. If she hears someone move she wakes up all cheery and ready to go even if it is 3 am. We were excited to see Ootsie on our trip. She was visiting her dad at the same time. They came over for a quick visit. Ootsie gave V a darling bunny rabbit stuffed animal she had knitted. Little V loves it.















A couple of Saturdays ago I took the kids to Lagoon with my sister & kids and cousins & kids. Captain F was out of town. He went out to DC to go to a Washington Capitals play-off game against the New York Rangers. Papa Owsey was able to get box seats for the two of them. Captain F used our frequent flier miles and stayed with his parents. It was a free trip for him and he loved being there, even if the Caps lost the game. Thankfully, they redeemed themselves tonight by beating the Rangers in Game 7. GO CAPS! Oh, back to Lagoon. The kids loved it, especially the Prince. Little V liked some of the rides, but then she just needed to nap. We were there right during her nap time, but she really only sleeps in the car or in her crib. Poor thing was pretty tired by the time we left. She is such a trooper.















Little V is walking now. Hurray! She started taking multiple steps in a row on Saturday. She does a little more each day. It is so fun. I think she was more motivated to start walking after playing outside and having to crawl on the sidewalk on her knees. She loves to be outside now and doesn't even mind the feel of grass too much. She loves to join in whatever is going on. It is so fun to see.

The Prince has been loving playing with all the neighborhood kids again. He runs and runs and runs to keep up with the 5/6 year-olds. He can't get enough. The hardest part is when they all ride their bikes and he has no bike to ride. He is definitely worn out by the end of the day. Thank heavens something wears him out.

Lots of Fun

We have been having lots of fun lately. And the kids have been so funny. We have lots of stories. I haven't been blogging as much because the Prince isn't taking naps as often. The Prince is a super social kid. He wants to play, play, play all the time. He was so excited when my brother's, Funny Little Guy's, family came to town for their Spring Break. He couldn't get enough play time with all the kids.















We did have some gorgeous weather about 3 weeks ago and went to the park with my cousin, Jodo, and her kids. The Prince loved it, or course. Little V is not walking yet, she is now 14 months. She stayed on the picnic blanket most of the time eating snacks because she doesn't like the feel of grass on her legs. She does love the swings and slides, though.















We also went to Hill Air Force Base with my sister's family. I had never been there before. It was interesting. The Prince managed to find a Buzz Lightyear toy. He loved to see the planes and just generally run around.















Here is a picture of Little V at home. She is starting to love her little red chair like the Prince's blue chair. She is standing and trying to walk more and more all the time. She has taken 1 step by herself but doesn't dare to do more.















We also went to the Utah Museum of Natural History for the frog and toad exhibit. Both kids loved it. We went with my sister, her kids, and Gogo and Hunter Trader Trapper. Little V is such a joiner now. She is getting less and less tolerant with sitting in the stroller.






















Oh no. The Prince is now awake. I will have to write all the funny stories later. At least I got something on the blog.

Little V

And here are a couple of photos of V. She is thinning out a bit. She is getting closer to walking all the time. I think she is finally getting another tooth, too. She got her first tooth right before her first birthday. One of her favorite things to do is to find a bag, or a box, or the toy chest, and take apart all its contents. That's what she is doing in the first picture. She found the diaper bag in my bedroom. The second picture is of V at her cousin's, little Gulliver's, baby blessing. She is wearing the sweater Ootsie knitted for her.

Fabulous looks from the Prince

Our little family spent 3/4 of February sick. No fun. We are all finally recovered, thank heavens and fingers crossed. We were starting to get on a good schedule again, when Day Light Savings happened. It has been very difficult to get up this week. Furthermore, I am going to run a 5K for the first time in two weeks. But, being sick and Day Light Savings have cut into my training. I hope I can pull it together in two weeks, or else I am going to have to just walk it. So sad. I mean really, I should be able to run 3 miles.

My mom came over to my house a week or so ago. The Prince is now potty trained, for the most part. He went potty when my mom was here, but wouldn't let me put his underwear back on. I didn't force the issue because my mom was around. I think he insisted he didn't want a shirt, either. Like I said, I just let it go and talked with my mom instead. Next thing we know he comes out in this lovely outfit. My mom has been laughing and laughing about it ever since.

























The cowboy boots are a nice touch, don't you think?










And today, we made brownies. I gave him a beater and a bowl of the batter. I wasn't really paying attention to the Prince. When I looked over I noticed his face was covered in batter. He took one look in the mirror and said, "A beard. A ummy choc-ate beard." (A yummy chocolate beard.)

Exciting Days

Little V turned 1 year-old this week. I can't believe it has been a year. She is a complete delight. She generally sleeps from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. She wakes up happy everyday, even when I have to wake her up early so we can get going places. She loves to eat. Cheese pizza is her favorite food. My niece, Miss Sweetie, has the same Birthday as V. We celebrated their birthdays and the Superbowl on Sunday. It was lots of fun. I just took her to the doctor for her check-up and shots. She was not happy about the shots. She gets very offended when someone hurts her. I know she is thinking, "Why would anyone do this to me? I'm such a nice girl." Here is how she stacks up next to the Prince:

The Prince:
Age Height Weight
Birth 18 inches 6 lbs. 10 oz.
2 weeks 20 in. 7 lbs. 3 oz.
2 months 21 3/4 in. 12 lbs. 8 oz.
4 months 23 1/2 in. 16 lbs. 4 oz.
6 months 26 1/2 in. 19 lbs.
9 months 27 1/2 in. 21 lbs. 4 oz.
12 months 28 1/4 in. (25%) 21 lbs. 8 oz. (25%)

Little V:
Age Height Weight
Birth 20 inches 7 lbs. 10 oz.
2 weeks 21 1/2 in. 9.15 lbs.
2 months 23 1/10 in. 13.1 lbs.
4 months 25 1/4 in. 17.11 lbs.
6 months 26 1/2 in. 20.15 lbs.
9 months 28 in. 21.6 lbs
12 months 29 1/4 in. (50%) 22 lbs. 13 oz. (75%)

To sum up . . . she's just bigger.

V's Birthday was very exciting. But the real big news in our family is that Fabuloso took and passed the patent bar. Hooray! We graduated from law school in 2005. Since then he has been working and going to school studying electrical engineering so he could be a patent attorney. He finally completed the course work last Spring and then took the exam in January. It is such a relief. He has been a trooper through all of it. He has had school, work, and a major Church calling the whole time. Plus, we bought a house and had two kids in that time. He must be exhausted.

To celebrate his success, he took a day off work and we went skiing together for the first time ever. It was Fabuloso's first time skiing, he used to snowboard, and it was his first time going to one of the resorts in Utah. He has only ever snowboarded in Canada, and we're not talking Alberta. We are talking Northern Ontario, which is hardly known for its skiing. He loved out whole day on the slopes. He was a great skier. I was suprised how well he did, but he really is athletic. He never thinks so because is brother, Senor, is considered the gifted athlete in the family, which is true. But Fabuloso can hold his own as far as I am concerned. Anyway, it was a beautiful day with hardly any people on the slopes. It was a great break for us. Sadly, we didn't take any pictures. Next time.

Fun Outside

I have been potty training the Prince the last couple of weeks, which has curtailed many outings. (He is doing great, by the way.) So, it was great to go outside and be in the sun. It really made all of us much happier and likable. I had forgotten what a difference it makes to get outside with the kids. Of course, usually I can't get back inside without a major fight, but this time the Prince's hand got covered in snow and he didn't like it. Thankfully, he wanted to go back inside.








The Prince has started saying, "It's awesome." I don't know where he picked it up.

Cicada and Murray have a baby!

We waited and waited for him to come, and finally on Jan. 8th, a new little Canadian was added to the family, and not by me. He is the first cousin for my kids on Fabuloso's side of the family. We are very excited for Cicada and Murray.





























Cicada tried to keep busy as she waited and waited for the baby to come. As part of that, we all went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point.

Just some Christmas photos

We had a great Christmas. It was fun having the Canadians here staying with us. The two gifts that were the biggest hit were the Prince's star wars guys and Grandpa M's photobook I made for him from all the kids. Fabuloso's aunt Mary Moo scanned lots of old photos for the album, which was only fitting since, as Grandpa said, she "swipped" them all from him. We really are grateful for all her help. It was a huge hit. The Prince spent the whole Christmas morning silently playing with his guys and Grandpa was entertained with his book. Little V slept through most of Christmas morning. All this made for a very enjoyable Christmas morning for Fabuloso and me.


























We also had a lot of fun with my side of the family. My brother, Funny Little Guy, was in charge of Christmas this year. He did a great job deciding on the meal and entertainment. We had waffles, ham, potatoes, rolls, banana bread, etc. It was so yummy. Then we had a talent show put on by the kids and ended with gifts. It was a great time. (We took a couple of photos, but they didn't turn out great. We will have to get pictures from everyone else.)

Little V was so tired all the time. She had to sleep in our room. It was a disaster. In the end, we kicked Richie out of his own room and put him in the downstairs family room. He didn't sleep as well, but V, Fabuloso, and I were much much better.

It's Time for a New Post

I know it has been so long since we last posted. You may think we don't celebrate any of the Holidays after Halloween. Here is a quick update:

The week of Thanksgiving was great. We had a baby shower for my cousin on Monday. It was great to see all my cousins. My cousin, Coyote, has a beautiful house that can accommodate our big group. He is always very generous in opening it up to us. We loved celebrating the soon arrival of Bad Fox's first baby. On Tuesday, Fabuloso and I went out to dinner with friends. This may have been even better than Thanksgiving for me. It made me realize how little we get a babysitter and go out with friends. It was such a treat to go during the week, too. Really. It was so fun. Thursday we had Thanksgiving at out house with my parents and brother's family. It worked out perfectly. My mom is a great cook and she brought most of the food. My sister-in-law brought the pumpkin pies. We make Pumpkin Chiffon pies in our family. They are so much better than the traditional pumpkin pie. I just love them. Here is the recipe:

PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE
(Rose Family Recipe)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground mace
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¾ c. milk
1 c. canned pumpkin
2 slightly beaten egg yolks
2 egg whites
1/4 c. sugar
¾ c. heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 9-inch baked pie crust

Combine first 8 ingredients in saucepan. Stir in milk, egg yolks, and pumpkin. Cook and stir over medium heat till mixture boils and gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and chill till partially set. Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold into pumpkin mixture and fold in whipped heavy whipping cream. Pile into crust. Chill till firm. Top with whipped cream, whipped.

Try it next year for a change. You will love all the spices and extra flavor.

And on Saturday we had Thanksgiving with the Canadians at our house. It was a little bit smaller affair foodwise, particularly because my sister-in-law, Cicada, has gestational diabetes. But it was still delicious. We hit all the highlights and had lots of pies. Yum.

Then we launched right in to the Christmas season. It was a whirlwind of parties, yummy food, and company. Fabuloso's parents, grandpa, and brother all came to stay with us for about two weeks. We had a great time. I will post pictures and more specific stories in a bit. I have to get pictures from my mother-in-law. For some reason we took a lot of home movies, but not as many still shots. Here are a few of the pictures we do have:












Here we are decorating the Christmas tree. We bought a fake tree this year and a pine scented candle. It worked out great. Kian was so excited about the Santa Clause ornaments. He carried them around for days.


















This is the picture we used in our Christmas card. It will probably be the best Christmas card for our family for the next . . . what . . . ten . . . twenty years. The last picture is of Fabuloso and V at the Ward Christmas party.