one month older

i wanted a photo with her cute shoes on, wasn't successful though, she wouldn't even look at me. so here she is walking away from me. fast.

Seems like I just wrote a post on Mad being 18 months! After church I took her out and took a few photos of her. She was sweaty and had just eaten a cookie. She jumped right out the door, as excited as she usually is (she loves being outside). She wouldn't sit still for me though, just wanted to walk up and down the steps.

Her current loves: her almost-always dingy blanket that she likes to smell and melt into, a cabbage patch-looking baby doll, shoes, nail polish bottles - after I painted her nails last night, she found a play nail polish bottle and has been her favorite toy ever since. I've caught her "painting" her toenails a few times.

Nice for me: she gets out her diapers and brings them to me when she wants changed. It usually happens right after she does #2. I wonder when she'll be ready for potty-training?

Not so fun (for me) things she did lately: throwing her floatie in the toilet, swishing her hands in the toilet, and turning the tub water on and wetting her hair. She stands by the tub, puts her hand under the running water and pats her head with her wet hand. I take credit for the "wetting the hair" part -- she gets it from me wetting her hair before putting it in pigtails.

my first girls' camp

our yw pres, me, and our secretary

Yep, it really was my FIRST official girls' camp ever. I got to go for 2 nights (Thursday June 11 - Saturday, June 13), and it was very fun and exciting. There was a lot of talking, singing, even some drama while I was there. I had to document my first girls' camp, so I packed my camera and took lots of photos of course.

Since I was going up late in the week, I was going to drive myself up to Taylor Ranch, but Kevin decided right before I left that he will drop me off at camp. The kids quickly packed in record time of 10 minutes and we were off. We grabbed some InNOut on the way out and then drove up to Taylor Ranch. We got there around 4 p.m. and then Kevin and the kids continued on to Snowflake to stay the night. While I ate some camp beef stew, Kev took the kids to Trappers and dined on some yummy burgers and chocolate cream pie. Allie was so excited to get her very OWN slice of pie. I found out later they had both forgotten to take some extra underwear (so they washed and dried with a hairdryer), but they didn't forget to take floss and a toothbrush, so I guess that's good.

all our girls including our YCL's, Laura and Katie

My first night at camp I told the girls at devotional that it was my first girls' camp. The closest thing to camp I could remember in the Bahamas was a sleepover at the BallyCrystal House overlooking the ocean, swimming in a pool (also overlooking the ocean), enjoying a fun night with the girls and YW leaders, and the next morning we made thick yummy french toast with the works in a bright sunny kitchen. Sis. Chisholm, Suzette Regis were my leaders. I believe Gladys Joseph too.

the spirit stick award

Our ward won the spirit stick (awarded to the ward with the MOST spirit of course) one night. Oh, the girls were so proud and happy! On Friday I went on a 5-mile hike with the 2nd years (my legs hurt! need some more regular exercise, it looks like) and had wonderful conversations with these awesome girls. On the last night of camp, we had a sweet testimony meeting and everyone stayed up way longer than usual, but I had taken some Benadryl to help me sleep (I had a head cold the whole time) so I didn't mind. When it finally wore off it was 4:30 in the morning and windy. We packed up and left around 9, and stopped in Payson for lunch at McDonalds. It was such a fun drive home with the 4th years. What a great experience for these young girls to feel uplifted and encouraged to be better! I know I was.

I came home to a freshly-cleaned and vacuumed house - Kevin got the kids up to do their weekend chores all before noon, Maddie was dressed cute and greeted me at the door. I missed them so! It was so refreshing to take a shower (I guess I "stinked" of camp and the outdoors, according to the kids), and Collin told me he likes my "fancy" (in his words) everyday clothes better than my plain ol' sneakers and camp t-shirt. Funny kid.

so how did our garden grow?

green peppers and cherry tomatoes

...not bad for our first stab at gardening in the desert! Back in March (?), we planted tomatoes, carrots, green onions, tomatillo, cabbage, sunflower, strawberries, and pumpkin. The pumpkin died after it got about three feet long, I guess it didn't pollinate right. We'll try again in a few weeks. The cabbage is doing okay, still on the smallish side though. The carrots are all so tiny but Allie tasted one and said it tasted really sweet. The green peppers have tiny fruit, and the tomatillos too.

if you look closely, there are little bees on the sunflower

But we have used a bunch of the green onions and picked more tomatoes than we could eat. We planted two kinds -- a sandwich variety and a cherry kind. They are SO good! I definitely will be planting those again. On my wish list for next time: cucumbers and zucchini. Maybe pumpkin again. The photos were taken two weeks ago -- I figured I'd take photos of the plants before I rip them all out and start over with new plantings when we get back from UT in two weeks.

P.S. can you tell I finally uploaded photos? that means LOTS of blog-catching-up to do!!!

ways to stay cool

Allie is graceful in the water. She is planning on signing up for swim team next year (with encouragement from her teacher). Who knew she would love swimming that much?

Not scared anymore!

Collin, seen here not wanting to talk to his teacher!

Summer is here (and the triple digit temps too). The kids have been in swimming classes all month, with one more week to go. They go to the Williamsfield Pool. Allie is currently in Level 4, and Collin in the Shrimps class. He's had to get over a water scare that happened a few months ago, so at his first class, he didn't want to have anything to do with it, and kept ignoring his teacher. But towards the end of the first session he started looking forward to swimming, and he LOVES it now, he says. It's been alot of fun.

We've been swimming alot too at our friends' (the Richins) pool. Amazing how much you get cooled off and not get bothered by the 100-degree weather when you take a quick dip in the pool. A pool is a must in AZ, I say!

When we're not swimming at our friends' pool, the kids get creative. One day I found them out back filling up the wagon with water and playing with the water hose, in their swimsuits (very proper!).
Anyway, pretty soon I see Allie get in the wagon and then Collin starts giving her a ride around our yard (which is currently still all dirt). So the wagon wheels get all muddy and then they have to hose off the wheels and then Collin would get in the wagon and Allie would pull him around. It was so funny to watch. Maddie thought it would be fun at first but once she got in the "water" wagon, she didn't think it was fun anymore, at least until the wagon started going. Silly kids.

allie's birthday happenings

Allie was so excited to turn 9, although she kept telling me she wanted to stay 8. I reminded her that she gets a dollar more for allowance now that she's 9, and that growing up is fun as long as she doesn't try to grow up too fast, and just enjoy every day that she's 9. (She wasn't too sure about that.)

For her birthday Allie got to go shopping with her Grandma Lorraine the day before the big day. She of course ended up with a bunch of CUTE outfits. Then I (and Collin and Madz) met up with them for pizza at Grimaldi's for lunch after they went shopping. Allie had so much fun spending time with her Grandma. Since we were not having a family party, Grandma, Megan and Parker, and Kristie and the boys met us for lunch at Johnny Rockets. The whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday to her (she was a little embarrassed :0).

9 cute girls! Each one brought her a sweet HOMEMADE birthday card to go along with their presents.

Allie invited a few girlfriends over for movie night to celebrate her birthday. She wanted her invites to look like movie tickets (see photo above). We hand-delivered them to her friends before I left for girls' camp the previous week. She was so excited.

To start off our movie night, we ate pizza and nachos for dinner, then cut the cake and opened presents. The feature film for the evening was the new American Girl movie, "Chrissa". Our movie night was of course, not complete without freshly popped popcorn (thanks to grandma's popcorn popper) and theater candy. The girls came in their pajamas, and some even brought their pillows.

We had the yummiest birthday cake (a giant cupcake!) courtesy of my friend Brittney. She also did the take home treats (cupcake sugar cookies). The cupcake cookies were colorful and so yummy-looking (I forgot to take a photo!), the girls were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over them and cake too. Thank you! It was so nice to have extra hands, as I was already running crazy before her party. We had a lost DVD, Maddie was feeling a little sick, there were presents revealed too early, a missing Costco card and almost lost our cake too! Lorraine luckily was also quick to lend a helping hand. She helped me run the show, so the party went smoothly, and the girls had so much fun talking and just being girls. It was one of the most fun parties we have ever had!

just had to share...

another one of those great grocery shopping trips!

Back in Coupon-style!

After not shopping with coupons for two weeks, I am back in action. Man I have missed some really great deals last week! (and the week before). So this morning I went over to Frys and got these for $11 (yep, tax included): 9 packages Farmer John's Bacon, 3 Boxes of Kellogg's Cereal (Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, and Corn Pops), 2 lbs onions, and 1 liquid hand soap.

I saved 78% or $39. The bacon at Walmart is around $2.80 - I saved over $16 just on that. The cereal I paid an avg of 65 cents per box and the hand soap was FREE. I am going back this weekend for more FREE toothpaste and other things. My coupon stacks are growing and I really need to pay them some good attention today, so they can be used. I love coupons!

*Update: Groceries on 6/22 - $33 ($1.06/item not counting the oranges):
6 boxes Golden Grahams Cereal ($2.50/box at Walmart), 2 bottles Herbal Essences Conditioner
2 sticks deodorant, 2 Softsoap liquid hand soap, 4 tubes Aquafresh Kids & Reg toothpaste, 2 packs FJ bacon, 1 pkg Kraft marshmallows, 2 King-Size Hershey Bars, 1 Big box graham crackers, 2 gals whole milk, 1 pkg Nathan's hotdogs, 1 pkg hotdog buns, 1 roll Bounty Paper Towel, 1 pkg Dole fresh Romaine salad, & 3 cans Rosarita Refried Beans and some navel oranges too. Printed coupons used: $17, store savings: 71%. If I had bought all the items at Walmart with no coupons, I would have paid $71.

happy birthday allie!

Miss Allie, our STAR of the WEEK is 9 today! So here's a walk down memory lane.

September 7, 1999 - Kevin and I found out we were pregnant! I was SO excited I wanted to tell everyone the very next minute after we found out. I kept thinking we were going to have a boy, but Kevin said we were having a girl. I didn't believe him, until of course the sonogram 18 weeks later.
June 16, 2000 at 1:08 p.m. - Allie weighed in at 9 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. The doctors brought in another scale to make sure that they read that one right. It was hard to believe we were finally parents!
Her name: Allison Kimberly. Some of the favorite names that didn't stick: Madeline (Kevin said it reminded him of Madeline Albright) and Lindsey; Madeline Lindsey; Allison Christine. We just liked both names together.

Nicknames past and present: Allie, Allie Boo, Allie Sue, Seetie, Seetz, Eelie, Chillaxin.
The meaning of her name: Allison - noble, exalted; Kimberly - from the meadow of the royal fortress.

Here's Allie thru the last 9 years:

allie at 6 months. She was always into things!

me and allie (18 months) just before her bedtime. At this age, she could hum "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and other primary songs. She loved to sing then, she still does now.

allie (2 yrs) was a trooper during our 2-month UT house remodel in 2002 - the first sign of how adaptable she is, and how she is game for anything.

I call this the classic Allie (3 yrs). She is curious, studious, always wanting to know about things and people around her. She learned how to read at the young age of 3 1/2, and I always found her with a book. I had to keep buying books and regularly take her to the library to keep up (seriously!). Preschool at home was a blast with a curious one like her.

Allie (4 yrs) took ballet for 4 years. She tried gymnastics in 2007. This year she is thinking of taking up ballet again. Not only can this girl sing, she can dance so gracefully and makes walking on the balance beam look easy.

Allie (5 yrs) on the first day of kindergarten. I remember walking her to class and feeling like I was going to cry. Allie was very confident and made new friends quite easily. She is still that way today.

She is an awesome writer! She has written so many cute stories and poems - I need to get working on compiling them into a book. Here she is in first grade: she wrote a poem and won the Literature division in her entire school. I think she inherited Kevin's writing talent.

She was so glad to lose both her front teeth just before her 7th birthday party. Allie loves to do hair, nails, and any/all things girly.

This was just last year!

Now look at her:

She's suddenly looking all grown up.

One last thing about Allie: She is a really good helper at home, and the best sister to Collin and Maddie. She plays legos with Collin every day, and loves to read to Maddie. She is spunky, adventurous, and is much like her Dad in so many ways. She rolls with the punches and joke around with him. I love that she can do that! She loves to talk (which I love too!) and comes up with so many awesome ideas all the time. Love you EELIE!

Happy Birthday, Kewl Kreative Brain!

harris family awards!

After being back from girls' camp this week, I got very motivated to do something about helping my kids learn and really understand some very important values and be aware of them. Some that came to mind were cleanliness, taking the initiative to do things, leadership, friendship, among others (if you have been to girls' camp, you know why I would think of these values). A few weeks ago, I also got a wonderful idea from some parenting gurus, the Eyres (of the Joy School fame, they write tons of parenting books, etc).

The awards are papers with acronyms of what they stand for written on it, such as, "WJD" for what would Jesus do?, LDR - leader for the right, "NAP" for neat as a pin. It could really be whatever you want it to be. Then at Sunday dinner or some other day's dinner, as a family you discuss who is in the running for the award. Dad then gives the awards, and then whoever wins it gets to display their award on their door for a week, until the next "awards discussion". Pretty neat, huh?!

So when I read about the idea on one of their daughter's blog (thru blog-hopping, sorry! I'm guilty of such), I wanted to do it, but put it off, until this weekend when I got back from girls' camp. I really want my kids to be AWARE of what they are saying and what they are doing that's GOOD, a chance for us to praise them, and also a great way to know more about them even when we are not over their shoulders. I hope this new tradition will go well!

Allie wanted some really FANCY awards, "done on Photoshop" (her words :)) so she helped me design these. Oh, that girl is so creative! She has the best ideas ever.

Our version of "Leader for the Right"

"Neat as a Pin"

"Self-Starter" award

Star of the Week: Maddie

Maddie turned 18 months the last day of May! The post is a little behind, but I've just been trying to get myself organized enough to take new photos of her. I'll hopefully get to that soon.
At her 18-month appointment, Maddie was just under 19 lbs (still <3% in weight), 32 inches (50% in height) and her head measured at 17 inches cir. (25%). She is quite the featherweight, but is healthy. She hasn't gotten sick since the end of December, for that we are all grateful for and hope she will stay healthy. I am glad that she is finally AVERAGE in height. My little Maddie won't be as short as her mom!

This is how Miss Maddie is to be found these days. When she is awake, she climbs just about any chair or table. Not so safe, so we tried "time-outs" for the first time, for a minute. At first she didn't like it, but now every time (we try to be consistent) she is on top of our dining table, we put her in time out. She doesn't like it much, hopefully it'll stick. I don't think she understands it yet though.

She went in nursery a couple of weeks ago. For weeks Kevin and I had been looking forward to her going to nursery so that we could listen to our Sunday School/RS/Priesthood lessons. Kevin has been so nice to take her out whenever she needed to and stick it out in the hallway or take her home at times when needed (our church is from 8 -11 which is her usual naptime!). May was practically an "entertain and keep Maddie quiet so the rest of the class can listen" month. :)

I took her to nursery the week before she turned "official" and she did just fine since I left during snack time. Our first official week was fairly easy, except for when she realized I was gone. I watched her thru the door window, and saw her turn around and do a quick survey, and then she cried.

Thinking back to the nursery days of both Allie and Collin, I was eager to let them go, and they seemed so much more mature and grown-up! Or at least I thought that. Maddie seems so young to already be going to nursery.

Anyways, she survived the first week. Today she struggled a little bit. I was told she cried for half an hour and wouldn't stop crying until snack time. Poor girl (and poor nursery peeps)!

Mad is quite the active little girl at home. She skips and dances to music a lot, hums a tune when she walks around, and likes to wear shoes. She talks quite a few words - some of her favorites are baby, mom, uh-oh. Dad. Let's go. Cookie. Dirty. Hello. Take it. I forget some of the other ones.

She loves riding the little farm car, loves to eat any type of fruit, and still LOVES her binky and blanket. She is finally not attached to her bottle, she will drink from a sippy cup, straw, or regular cup. She loves tickles, and loves to poke her little fingers in our bellies and we pretend that we are tickled - she gets a kick out of that.

We love our Maddie Lou.

I came across this quote on someone's blog recently, and while writing this post, it made me realize just how much time really flies. I don't think I want the fingerprints to disappear quite yet.

“They'll be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear.” - Dorothy Evslin