An Invitation

As requested by Grandma Penny:

We are having a party on July 4th, at 4:00 pm, at Libbi's.

You are invited.

Come, eat food, and cause a ruckus.

If you're on the Wood/Christensen end of things and don't know where "Libbi's" is... just give Justin a call and we'll fill you in. Don't call me. I don't happen to know where my phone is. And, even if I find it, it only works on speakerphone.

Rear Them Up In The Way They Should Go

E has trained her sister well.

This morning I picked out a blue and yellow shirt for M to wear, with yellow shorts.

M said:

"That is a boy's shirt."

I said:

"Girls can wear blue."

She looked at me in disgust.

Then she had a meltdown on the stairs.

I ignored her, and Daddy made her lunch.

Later, I put M down for a nap. All was quiet and still. I got in the shower.

When I got out I discovered M downstairs. All the boxes in their room had been rifled through and she was wearing:'

a pink skirt, and a pink shirt.

Her sister would be proud.

****

In other news, if you want to hear about my trip to Spokane check out my cousin Laura's blog. She's much more on top of things than me. (I forgot my camera).

Should We Take Her With Us?

Whenever I pack something the girls get upset, and then I say: "Don't you want this in Iowa?"

So, I guess we want this in Iowa too!!!

Father's Day - A Quiver Full

Those arms are pretty full of kids in jammies. We're sure excited to enjoy our Daddy for the next month and a half without school and work. Who needs money!!! We get to have him all day. For diapers, and meals, and tickles, and loves. By August, we'll be out of money and we'll send him back to school. What a great Daddy he is!

Shades

E and M love to look in the Disney Store. Um, like every child on the planet. Of course, we never buy anything there, but they are good about "just looking."

Last time we went in, they had these sunglasses for $2 each, and since they've been wanting sunglasses for awhile, we let them pick some.

E wears hers around the house, even if it's night time. I asked her if it was a little dark, but she didn't seem too worried about it.

Carillon Concert

We went to listen to BYU's bell tower this past week. It was great when the bells started. Our M has always been so interested in music. She just froze and stared upward.

GQ enjoyed eating grass and tearing apart all the flowers E brought back to us.

But the greatest part - which we tried to get a picture of, but of course they stopped when we got the camera out - was that E and M got up right by the bells and danced every time they played. Then, when everyone clapped for the music, they bowed, as though the audience were clapping just for them. I'm pretty sure E and M think they are the center of the universe.

Maybe they are.

Bike Ride

A while ago Justin bought himself a smaller camera for school. Ours is pretty big and can be irritating to pack around. Anyway, sometimes he takes the pictures, and it takes me longer to get those ones on my computer. So, here's some things that have happened lately:

We went on E's first real bike ride one cold Spring day. She goes about the speed of a snail, and likes to steer herself right into the middle of the road, but other than those small problems, did great. We had one wreck when she got going a normal speed and forgot that she had brakes. She was brave though.


GQ did not think it was funny that he was the only one little enough for the princess helmet.

I love the look on M's face. She thinks she's so funny.

It was the first time I've been on my bike since we bought it four and a half years ago. We purchased it at the same time we bought our (stupid) dog. Okay, she wasn't stupid. We were stupid. We didn't know it, but I was pregnant at the time. (Which was why I bought the dang dog.) Anyway, I didn't ride while I was pregnant. Every summer since then I've either been pregnant or had a new baby that couldn't go in the trailer. Too bad I got to go the speed of a snail too. So, I mostly walked the bike. Hopefully we can do more rides like this during our summer.

I Am A Big Fat Liar

Today my children woke up at 6:00 a.m.

Their nights have evened out since we put GQ in the room, and everyone has been much pleasanter. I have enjoyed this.

But today, it was 6:00 a.m.

E knows she is not supposed to get out of bed until 7:00, so she:

-gets off her bed
-opens the door
-slams the door
-runs to our room
-looks at the digital clock
-runs back to her room
-opens the door
-slams the door
-gets back on her bed

Lather, Wash, Repeat.

Or something like that.


Unfortunately, after one or so of these sessions, the whole room is awake.

Like a good mother, I kept my eyes glued shut each time she came to check the time in our room so that she would think I was sleeping. Who wants to start the routine at 6:00 a.m.?

Justin, however, made the mistake of smiling at her at about 6:30... round three or four of the cycle.

"Wait," said E, once aware of this exciting development, "I need to go get M."

And when M leaves the room, GQ yells: "AAAAAHHHHHHHH" at the top of his lungs.

Or something like that.

Good morning everyone.

Needless to say, by 2:00 pm I had the following experiences:

M was kicking and screaming in the middle of the floor at Grandma's because someone gave her a piece of paper that - GASP - had been ripped.

E was hyperventilating because she could not draw a flag with white stars. Both Grandma and I tried to help her by coloring around empty white spaces.

I was mean.

And Grandma "didn't know as much as her."

Finally, I decided to go home. Within 10 minutes everyone except GQ, who took a lovely nap at Grandma's, had fallen asleep.

I radioed in our impending arrival and Justin and I transferred the girls to their beds.

When E looked up at me, I stated:

"It is time for bed. Go to sleep."

Later, when she had to use the bathroom, we let her out. Then, I let her put on jammies and have a snack.

E looked up at us happily. After all, it's really special when your parents make allowances for you and let you hang out with them after bedtime.

"Mom, I never get to eat this late at night," she said.

Let me tell you, I am very lucky E can't tell time on analog clocks yet.

Because it was only 6:30.

Leaving On Something Much Slower Than A Jet Plane

Apparently I am really moving to Iowa. This is just beginning to sink in, which kind of boggles my mind. In honor of the event, we will be getting together for a shindig at Libbi's on Sunday, July 4th.

In true Andersen fashion, it will be at 3:00 or 4:00 or something like that. Do not worry, most of the food will be gone by the time you arrive, but there are sure to be some cheetos left and maybe even an ice cream sandwich.

Libbi is helping me do food, Cafe Rio style, so please comment if you're in the area and you like me enough to show up. You are invited if you are family from either neck of the woods or friends who have known me long enough to read my strange blog posts, and you live nearby. I am sorry, we will not be flying any guests in, and there will be no on-site accomodations.

Also, we will be pretending it is E's birthday because she is traumatized that her birthday comes after we move to Iowa.

We we will also have GQ's birthday party because it is actually his birthday, but don't tell E, because that would definitely confuse her.

We will also celebrate Justin's MBA graduation, since I slacked with that when he actually finished.

If you have anything to celebrate, we will celebrate that too.

Luckily, I have guilt-tripped Laura into making one of her famous cakes, so that is a good reason to come.

So, come and visit before we move to the middle of nowhere. It will be much harder to visit us there.

E's First Novel

Today, E wrote us a book.

We told her that soon we would go to Las Vegas and she would stay with Grandma Paula while we went on a trip. She made this book for us to read while we were gone.

I will provide translation. She wrote it by herself and only asked me how to spell "said."

A littLe GRL NAMD ElLiE - A Little Girl Named Ellie

A . LittLLe GLD BOOK - A . Little Gold Book

A LittLLe GRL NAMD ELLiE - A Little Girl Named Ellie

the LittLe - The little

ElLiE WeNt ON A WOC - Ellie went on a walk.

At . the WOC the ISCREM tRUC - At the walk the ice cream truck

CAM . ELLiE GOt SUM IS - came. Ellie got some ice

CReM then . she - cream. Then she

WeNt hOM - went home

At hOM she PLAD - At home she played.

hR MOM WeN to the StOOR she - Her mom went to the store. She

BABSiDiD - babysitted

hR LittLLe BAB - her little baby.

hR MOM - Her mom

tooc LON - took long

At . the stOOR - at the store.

she LCT - She looked

At hte tooys - at the toys.

hte stOOR - The store

WUS FUN - was fun.

hte StOOR - The store

NeVeR WeNt BAD - never went bad.

ElliE - Ellie

BABsiDiD - babysitted

AND BABSiDiD - and babysitted.

hR MOM - Her mom

CAM FINLE - came finally.

hR MOM - Her mom

SAiD I so - said, "I saw

hte tooys - the toys

htA ReMIDiD Me UV Yoo - they reminded me of you."

ELLiE WeNt . to SLep - Ellie went to sleep.

SOON. She WOC UP - Soon she woke up.

Sh NeVeR - She never

WeN - went

t - to SLeP - to sleep

AGeN - again.

the NIT - The night

CAM CWiC - came quick.

the NIT - The night

eNiD CWiC - ended quick.

theN she - Then she

went - went.

she NeVRE - She never

CAM BAC - came back.

She CAMB - She came

AC - back.

the eND - The end.

ELLiE

MeG

She also drew pictures of herself and Meg. She only wrote the last line after I told her that I would be sad if she never came back. We love that girl. I think she'll get published before I do!

Can you tell the picture is from performance night? So fuzzy!!!

I Want This Book

The pictures are just beautiful. E loved it too, while we had it from the library she asked to read it every day. Too bad we had to take it back. Still, you should check it out. Gorgeous illustrations!!!

A New Bed

My mom helped me paint my old bed a lovely strawberry pink.

E was not happy with my color choice - strangely enough. Apparently this bed is not quite pink enough for her.

M has enjoyed her new bed.

She has also enjoyed falling off of it, getting a million books, playing with GQ's crib, and opening and shutting the door repeatedly.

Quite different from her sister who would ask us every morning whether she could get out of bed when she switched over.


And look at this cute pair:

Bedtime is a little static at our house lately. Hopefully they get used to it soon. I am tired of grumpy children.

Performance

Just so you know, I apparently have no ability to focus my camera. Oh well.

A ladybug:

A very grumpy ladybug, by the way. She LOVED performing, but she's been getting less sleep lately, and boy can you tell.


Sisters:

Fuzzy Ladybug... but she's actually smiling.

Fuzzy Butterfly. She was so glad she got to pick pink. I guess there is a benefit to your mother being one of the teachers.

Before the rehearsal, when I obviously did better at focusing the camera.

Other than the time that one little girl threw up, and that one big girl had to delicately dance about the spill,

or the time the ladybugs kept trying to run off stage,

or how E told everyone that "Anyone who knows me told me I did wonderful,"

I think my favorite time was when M walked up to the big girl - during the dance - and told her that she was in HER SPOT.

So there.

To wist?

Something about these pictures...

... makes me want my girls to dance forever.

Daddy Time

Our backyard is mostly made of brick, so often we go in the front yard. GQ enjoys the chance to play on the grass, but when he went for the sidewalk, Daddy picked him up. That boy has no sense to care about his knees.

Here's some Daddy love for you all. Of course, who wouldn't love being thrown up into the air on a - FINALLY - lovely Spring evening!

Check out those mountains in the background. Sigh. I will definitely miss those when we move to Iowa. Exactly one month from tomorrow we'll drive away from good ol' Timp.

Things You Don't Need to Know

We call one of our Polly Pockets: "Sinead O'Connor"

She used to be Snow White, but then her hair fell off.

This is the Polly Pocket that M is always assigned.

Surprise, Surprise.

Anyway, on Saturday, E's Prince Phillip came to where M was playing with Sinead.

Said E, in a very regal tone: "All of you are invited to my ball. You may come even if you are ugly."

I'm glad our home is an equal opportunity venue.

*****

We recently moved GQ into the girl's room.

The first night there was so much screaming and laughing that GQ finally started to cry. It was just a little much for him. So, I went in and instituted martial law, and they all went to sleep.

Last night things were a little less loud. I went in to see if GQ had fallen asleep when I hadn't heard from him for awhile. (And to make sure M hadn't given him a concussion by throwing toys in for him to "play" with.) There he sat, watching his mobile, acting as though those other residents of the room didn't exist. He loves his sisters, but I'm pretty sure he thinks they're crazy.

Later, Justin opened and shut the window in the room next door and GQ woke up. Since he figured he'd just had a nap, he wanted to play. During one whining fest I opened the door to give him his binky, and by luck, caught M as she rolled out of her bed.

Wasn't that considerate of GQ to have a scream fest just then so that I could catch his sister?

Too bad she fell out again later that night. Luckily, it's a really short bed.

I guess we'll see how it goes tonight.

*****

Tonight my girls are performing again. E is a butterfly and M is a ladybug. I will have to get some pictures.

In the Convenience Store...

While buying Frozen Yogurt at the local Mav, M remarked:

"Mama, what that smell?"

Yes, convenience stores definitely have a distinct smell.

*****

I've got way too many things started, and not enough finished.

I started packing the basement....
And accidentally sold the bookcase....
I Started on the books....
And accidentally sold the bed....
I started painting M's new bed....
4 coats later, I decided to randomly put it in her room, with the crib, with E and with all the other stuff that already made that room too crowded.

Needless to say, my house is a disaster.

But I did vacuum today.

For entirely OCD reasons that have to do with my mother, my grandmother, and my Aunt Penny.

Those voices in my head!

Which project should I finish tomorrow?