Questions.....

My girls have been all full of curiosity lately. Here are some of the things they have been wondering about....

Annie: "Why do some people who are in our State not speak English?"..."Are they on a family trip or something?"

Annie:"How do kids who have Mom's and Dad's that speak another language understand them?"

Ellie:"How do they make windows?"

Ellie:"How did they make trees?"

"How did the baby get in your tummy?....Did you swallow a baby?" (this one came from Annie when I was pregnant with Ellie,....too good not to share!)

Ellie: "Did God put you down here to teach us stuff?"

I am grateful to have such curious little girls!....now if only I had the perfect answer for everything!

I better add a classic Casie statement since none of those questions came from her......
"Mom, could you please not buy me clothes anymore....,unless I am there with you?"
I am beginning to feel very old!!!

Memorial Day

We had a wonderful Memorial Day! We began the day with a delicious breakfast at Grandma Madsen's house. She made us Elephant ears...(scones), bacon, and fruit. After eating, and after raiding grandma's umbrella closet, we headed off to the cemetery. Considering that for the past 6 years, we have been BLAZING hot while visiting graves, this spring rain storm was a welcome guest. I have always loved rainy days. The rain seemed to make our visit to the cemetery more meaningful for some reason. More peaceful.

My family brought some homemade floral arrangements to decorate the graves. We had picked some spring flowers that were blooming in our yard and put them in mason jars with a bow tied around. We had so much fun making them. I believe a new family tradition has begun! Adding our arrangements to the flowers Grandma brought, made the Condie graves the most beautiful by far! :-)

I enjoy visiting cemeteries. They are so peaceful and full of history. Before arriving, I spoke to my girls about the proper behavior one should have when visiting such a special place. I told them that people come to cemeteries to think about those they love who have passed away. Casie explained to the group that, "Running, screaming, children might spoil the moment."

We also had the chance to show the kids where one of their Pioneer ancestors was buried. Mike's mom has been a wonderful example in honoring our

Pioneer heritage. She spends hours searching for and locating the headstones of relatives that have past. It was fun to talk to the girls about one of their ancestors that crossed the plains. Then to show them the headstone with her name on it made it even more special. I loved seeing the wonder in their eyes and feeling the spirit of genealogy as I watched them contemplate their very own amazing Pioneer Grandma.

From the cemetery, we took the kids and my two nieces to Cold Stone for ice cream....no, there is no pun intended...it was just the first ice cream place we came upon! We sat and ate our treat while watching a HUGE down pour that was occurring outside. It was awesome!

After a few naps, we went to Rich and Melissa's house for a yummy Dutch oven dinner. It was intended for the park, but happened in the house instead..(the cooking was done in the garage.) We had a great day and we all look forward to the next holiday! :-)

New Baby...again!

Sarah had her baby last week! He is so sweet and adorable! His name is Gabriel. Annie and Ellie loved holding him in the hospital. Once again...glad I'm pregnant!

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Yesterday we celebrated Ellie's birthday. I have never seen a child so excited about her special day! She told everyone she saw that she was FIVE! I truly adore this little girl. I am glad she had a fun day.

Here is our little princess when she was two. Time really does seem to fly! :-(

Here is her simple, but elegant birthday cake...lol She LOVED it!
We have a tradition in our house when it comes to birthdays. We send the birthday girl to bed, and the rest of us stay up and make the preparations...(it doesn't sound too fun for the birthday girl, but they always seem excited to retire to their rooms while we work!) This particular night was an extra late night, because we didn't get home from play practice until 9:45. Annie put Ellie to bed by tickling her back, singing her seven songs, and snuggling her while Casie and I baked the cake. Then Annie joined us for wrapping, decorating and displaying.
The morning was spent opening presents and making Ellie her favorite breakfast. Annie was just as excited about the festivities as Ellie was. She jumped up and down each time a new gift was presented to the birthday girl. We tried to extend the fun by putting a lit candle on everything we gave Ellie to eat...eg..scrambled eggs, muffin and second muffin. We sang happy birthday every time we brought her something new...it was fun. We joked that it would be funny to continue it all day,....like if she needed toilet paper in the bathroom or something...lol

Ellie's choice for lunch was the Elementary school cafeteria. She wanted to celebrate with her sisters! Nothing says Happy Birthday like "Beefy cheesy nachos."

After school we headed off to Jungle Jim's. I made the mistake of telling Ellie we could stay as long as she wanted.....Four and a half hours later, she was still RUNNING from ride to ride like it was the first one! We had a great time! Happy Birthday Ellie! We love you!!!

New baby!

Here are some pictures of Stephen and Kenzie's new baby! His name is Heston. He was born last week. Isn't he adorable!? I am so glad I am already pregnant or this might be too much to handle. Can we all say baby hungry!!!

WW III

We had quite the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth here tonight. Apparently the girls didn't take Mike seriously when he told them to do a minuscule clean up job this evening. (we are talking 10 toys and a few blankets) He said he would check in 5 minutes and if it wasn't done, they would be sent to bed. After a good 7 min, he went down to find them all goofing off and playing. Off to bed they went! Seriously...you would have thought he chopped off their right arm! Talk about dramatic!!! I wish someone would send me to bed early once in a while!! I still feel guilty and will probably get up early and make a yummy breakfast to make up for all the tears....oh, and the best part is, that Grandma was here to wittness the meltdown!

PS wouldn't it have been horrible if I posted photos of this whole event! lol

Family fun in the warm weather

We had such an amazing family activity last night. I say amazing because we spent two glorious hours bike riding together...outside...which means it was warm!

I love family outings that take little or no planning. Sometimes it seems when we plan and plan, the expectations are so high that the activity isn't as fun. Yesterday we loaded up the bikes and headed to the parkway. Within minutes we were all riding enjoying nature! On our route we found a very fuzzy Caterpillar, three curious deer, some "wild" horses (in a fenced meadow) and three Beaver in the river! It was one of those perfect nights that reminded me of Gods unceasing love for me. I have found that finding fun family activities can be very addicting. Each time we participate in something we all enjoy, I find our love for each other grows so much! I am so grateful for my sweet family.

We ended the evening by letting each of the kids ask Mike a question about the gospel. Here is what each of them asked......

Casie: "Ok,...describe to me EXACTLY what the gospel is."

Annie: "Umm...how does your spirit leave your body when it dies?....ya, all that kind of stuff."

Ellie: "How did they make rocks?"

I think we might have a new bed time tradition!!! I enjoyed turning all the time over to Daddy. :-)

These photos were taken on a side equestrian trail just off the paved path. We took them a week earlier on a Sunday walk. I didn't bring my camera last night...maybe a little planning is ok. :-)

Bad Mom

So all my friends and relatives are writing inspirational and touching entries on this mothers day. All that is running through my head right now is something I said to my daughter today.....We (me,Mike, Dave, and Grandma) were all SCREAMING while watching the Jazz game this afternoon...(it was a great game!) Casie came in and chastised us for being so wild on the Sabbath. I looked at her and said, " Sweetie, if you would like to be righteous, run along upstairs...we are watching the game."

Aren't I the epitome of a wonderful Mother!? I hope they don't ask her to speak next Mothers Day!

I will say that I had a great day. Casie was really sweet to make sure I was very pampered this morning. She MADE me go back to bed so they could bring me some blue berry muffins in bed. I love seeing the proud looks on my kids faces as I open the gifts they made for me at school. I loved every card, every picture, and every gesture that was offered to me today. I love being a Mom and I love my family SO much.

Mike gave me a Kitchen Aid! I am hoping to make my family many wonderful treats in it! If it turns out that I don't make wonderful treats, it still looks really cool on my counter. It's black and silver!

Basement Grandma

I don' t know if everyone knows this, but we have an Elderly couple that rents our basement apartment from us. They were actually the parents of the people we bought our house from. When their kids decided to move, they were stressed about finding another place to live. Mike and I offered to let them stay and they accepted. We feel so lucky to have them living here. Donna treats my children like her grandchildren. She is so loving and kind and generous. Her husband is an amazing man as well. He's 81 and still works full-time! He also loves gardening, and has taken our HUGE garden and made it beautiful! Yesterday I had a doctors appointment. Because I wouldn't be home on time, Donna offered to pick Ellie up from pre-school. When I did get home, I came down to find this sweet sight. Donna was teaching Ellie how to make bread. She gave Ellie three mini pans and told her to make one for each sister. As you can imagine, about 2 hours after I took this picture, our house smelled like HEAVEN! Donna gave us the three mini loaves, and another huge loaf for Me and Mike. She is so wonderful!

Peaches!

A
Annie had a "Great Brain" project at school last week. She had to choose a subject and learn everything there was to know about it. She chose to study Hamsters. We decided the best way to study them closely was to have one in the house at all times! :-) (plus...it was time for our girls to have another rodent pet...the rats died over a year ago, and the Decon took care of all the mice.)

So far, "Peaches" has accomplished quite a lot in her new life with the Beardens. She has:

*Gone to school
* Made the kids late for school
*Kept the kids up far past bed time (The "Great Brain" informed me that Hamsters are very active at night)
*Inspired a song and dance. (Which the "Great Brain" taught her first grade class.)
* Been MAULED by every neighbor hood kid around
*And made our girls the happiest kids ever!!!


Here is a REMIX of the video. Along with the Song that Annie and her friend Audrey composed. We recorded it last Monday for FHE. Annie bravely taught her whole class this song and dance. They LOVED it! Just so you know the song will start EVENTUALLY...I couldn't quite get the timing right...:-)

Another FUNNY....

Make sure you read the post following this...I don't want to let the "compliment blog" go un-noticed, but I just had to hurry and write a hilarious thing Annie said yesterday.
While we were driving home from the Ultrasound appointment, Ellie wondered if her future kids would be girls or boys. She then said, "If you saw a piece of paper that was only this big (making a tiny pinch with her fingers) that is how big my kids are now. Knowing that she thought that her children were already in her tummy, I tried to explain by saying..."Well, Ellie..actually, your babies don't exist yet." Then I corrected myself by saying, "Well, they do exist, they just don't have their bodies yet." From the back of the van, Annie thought she had it all figured out and said..." Oh...so they are just floating heads right now..."

On a different note...Last night, Mike was officially announced as Captain Von trapp. Ellie was so excited and said, "Oh! Now I can be your honey!" She knew Dad would be "playing" her Dad in the show. I really think the CHUCK video gave Mike the experience and confidence he needed to land this role. That movie just keeps giving and giving. I wonder how Von trapp would look with a Mullet? He could even give Maria a nice "Round house kick" when he disapproves of her ugly dress! lol

Your just reward....

Ok..yes, you guys got it! It's a BOY! We are so excited. I felt all along that it might be a boy, but to have it confirmed is still so mind boggling! I'm not sure I know what to do with a boy. I have to say that as I looked at that little "alien" bouncing around in there, I fell in love! Just looking at his round little head and long skinny legs made my heart melt. I have such a good feeling about him. I know he will be special and bring so much joy to our family. It was fun to look at Mike and see his beaming smile when we found out. Thank you all for your excitement and joy over our growing family.


Now....I have a FEW people to pay a compliment to! How did you all know!?

Stephanie: I love that she isn't afraid to be honest. She is a very real person and I like that about her.

Shelley: She is the most organized person I've met! She's also totally funny. She makes me laugh...and actually, that's sometimes hard to do. I am usually the one who makes people laugh, so when I find someone that is funny to me, I like it! That's Shelley! :-)

Mindy: She has such a charitable heart! She is so loving to her nieces and nephews. They all adore her because of it. Mindy is an good example of Christ like love.

Anna: She is one of the funnest people I know. She is so thoughtful and serves others constantly. She is also a wonderful Mom. She is ALSO the best hostess ever! You all should book a night at the Bearden B&B!

Brittni: Every time I read Brittni's blog, I am inspired to do two things...Take a photography class, and try to look better! She seriously seems to have it all together...she even runs marathons!

Betsy: Betsy is an amazing person! She inspires me to get more out of life. It seems like she's always having adventures and doing kind things for her family. I respect her for her constant desire to do uplifting activities.

Sarah: She is the perfect sister to have. I feel like I can talk about anything with her and we would both still think each other is amazing. She is so talented and is easy to hang out with....I like snuggling her on Sister Saturday. :-)

Andy...I mean Andrew: For one thing..I am impressed with his memory! He was always so down to earth in High School and I have nothing but good memories of him. :-)

Keri: She is such a cute girl. I love how kind she is to Casie and how she treats her like a best friend. She has such a great attitude and is rarely moody! (that's saying a lot for a 12 year old!)

Crystal: I love how soft spoken Crystal is. I seriously could never imagine her loosing her temper and yelling. She is always so organized and good at what she does. She's a fun, easy going Mom!

Kinley: I like how Kinley isn't afraid to define herself. (sporty) She is turning into such a beautiful girl. I was watching some videos she recorded with Casie...(lip syncing to Primary songs) and was struck with how pretty she was. I like to see the silly side of Kinley.

Jenny: She is SUCH a great Mom. She really seems to appreciate how wonderful kids are. I love how thrifty she is. She is also very down to earth.

Emily: Emily is so easy to have fun with. She is smart and stylish and hilarious. I am always impressed with her "attention to detail" and her commitment to those she loves.

So, There you have it...our winners! I couldn't help but feel bad for the three that guessed I was having a girl. I want to say something good about them too...but don't worry all you who chose boy..I will try not to put AS much thought into it as I did for your compliments. :-)

Suz: For one...she's a poet and I think she knows it! :-) She is also an amazing member of the church. She always seems to be on a spiritual plain that I can only hope to reach someday.

Heidi K.: I love the kind of Mom you are. You seem to take everything in stride, and you don't seem to get stressed out too often.

Natalie: You are also an easy going Mom. You act like you've had kids forever. You are also a great VT!

Could you be an ultrasound tech?

Baby Jack!!!

What do you think?

So my sister-in-law Anna gave me an idea. I would like everyone to guess what they think the baby will be. Those who guess right will get a compliment (by name) on my next post. That's the best I can offer at this point. :-) Happy Guessing!!! Remember, I find out tomorrow, so hurry and guess!!!

Tomorrow is the DAY!

We are going in for our ultra-sound tomorrow! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going so far!! I will post as soon as we find out what we are having.

The hills are alive!

Well, Annie and Ellie both made the play! Annie is playing Marta, and Ellie is Gretl. I am going to be a pregnant Nun. Mike is going to read for Vontrap tomorrow (he ended up leaving the call backs yesterday to go to the Jazz game, but they still want to hear him...something tells me they may be desperate for men!) so we will see how it goes.

It's such a bitter sweet moment. Now I feel even WORSE for Casie. I hope I can make the whole prop thing seem exciting and fun for her. Her best friend actually ended up with the part Casie tried out for. I think that made it better for Casie. She is happy for her. Anyway...I guess we are in a show now!

....more like The Sound of Puke-sic.....

Just kidding about the title. I am just ready for this audition thing to be over with! Yesterday we went to call backs. I never blogged about that, but all my girls made it to call backs. I know there were over 60 kids who tried out, and only about 7 in each age group got called back...so getting a call back was impressive. :-) After the first round, Casie got cut. :-( I thought she was, by far, the cutest one there, but there were a few girls who obviously had done a lot of theater before. I was really proud of Casie. She did a really great job! Her dancing improved by leaps and bounds and she showed a lot more confidence than she ever has. I know it was harder for me to see her get cut than it was for her. I wasn't sad that she didn't get to be in the play, just sad to see my sweet girl who worked so hard get turned down. I guess I never thought about how I would feel if they didn't make it. I am finding out that when it comes to my kids, I like games where everyone wins. The hardest thing about it is that I was the one pushing my kids to try out. I guess I feel like I set them up. I got them pumped and excited about the idea of being in a play, but I had no control over whether that would happen or not. I just feel sad that yesterday Casie didn't know that she wasn't just as good as everyone around her, and last night someone told her she just wasn't good enough. I know that kids have to learn that they can't have everything they want, but was it right of me to force this life lesson on her? UHHH...so much guilt we mothers hold. Casie said she was fine, it's turning out that it's ME that's having the problem. :-) We haven't even heard about Annie and Ellie yet...what will I do then? Am I over reacting??? This could also very well be a pregnancy hormone over-reaction.......

On a better note, I asked Casie to be the co-pro-master with me. We are excited to go garage selling and to the DI together scouring for that perfect prop. I actually think it will be fun to work together.

Funny, slightly confused...children...

I just got back from a great "Sister's Weekend". I have lots to blog and show about what went on.....but for now I have to share some cute stories about our scripture study last night.

I guess Ellie really listened in her Primary class that day, because out of no where she shared this story.....

Ellie: "Did you guys know that there was once a man who went up into the mountains and didn't eat for forty days!"

Mom: "Do you know who that man was?"

Ellie: "I have no idea.....maybe Jesus?"

Mom: "That's right!"....."What else happened when Jesus was on the mountain?"

Annie: "Mean goats came up to him and tried to scrape him." (huh??)

Ellie: "No, actually, this mean guy,.. I think his name is...Death...told Jesus to jump off the tip of the Temple....there were a lot of tips on the Temple in the old days..."

Ellie was so sure that this is what "went down" that I started to wonder if I missed something in the bible!

She did redeem her biblical knowledge by stating..."Death told Jesus to turn stones into bread.."

Casie couldn't comment because she was too busy laughing at her funny sisters!

Up dates.....

#1 We haven't heard about any roles in the play yet...We will find out on Friday. ...(a week from today)...I have been asked to be the "Prop Master". I attended a 3 1/2 hour meeting last night and am now officially on the "crew". All I can say is that they BETTER cast at least one of my kids, if I am going to be putting all this time into it! :-)

#2 My tooth saga is coming to a close...I hope. I actually went to the first of two final appointments yesterday, only to find out that I had written down the wrong day. The office was closed! Luckily, the office is in the Mall. I ended up shopping for an hour instead....hmmmm..shopping, or Dentist?....hard choice.

#3 I think my failing dryer was just...plugged up. I did what Sarah suggested and cleaned out some clogged lint from outside. It started working again! Thanks Sarah and Ben...and thanks to all of you who prayed for my Dryer. Next time, if you wouldn't mind, say a word or two for the washing machine...it's feeling a bit left out. Yesterday, while the spin cycle was running, I swear I heard it say..." I've been the good guy!"

Chuck

While reading the scriptures the other night, Ellie saw this picture. She interrupted the verses by yelling, " Hey!, it's just like Chuck!"

Some family members will know exactly why she said this, for those of you who don't, watch the video on "While the cats away..." entry.