There's Something New with Alyssa

Back in December, we got a notice from Alyssa's Preschool about an eye screening that they had done. They sent home the letter to recommend that we schedule an eye exam to get her checked out for lazy eye. I didn't think much of it since we hadn't ever noticed anything unusual about her eyes or her sight. However, we decided that we would get it checked out anyways since yearly eye exams are free with our insurance. I figured I would wait until after the first of the year and then got distracted with all of our plans for our move. A few weeks ago the preschool followed up with me to see if we had ever gotten her tested. I told them that we intended to, we just hadn't gotten around to it. So that day I set up an appointment. She did really well with the eye exam until the doctor decided they needed to dilate her pupils with some special eye drops. That was quite traumatic for both Mother and Child. As a result, Alyssa came home with these. She got to pick out the frames herself and therefore chose her favorite color - Purple.

Turns out that she doesn't have lazy eye, but instead is far sighted. Her eyes are working overtime to read and do other things close up. This isn't a problem now, but may be a problem when she starts Kindergarten and starts reading. The trick will be getting her to wear them full time like the doctor recommended. Any suggestions?

St. Patrick's Day, a Little Late

Last year we made green eggs for breakfast which Alyssa didn't like, so this year we tried green pancakes. They were a hit. I had meant to show their green clothes in these pictures too, but apparantly I missed Ashley's green pants. Alyssa was so excited for St. Patrick's Day that when she woke up, she get herself dressed immediatly.

Kids make the holiday's so much more fun.

The House Search is Over

I am pleased to announce that we finally found our home in Utah. We took a trip out there last week and looked at over 20 homes within a couple of days. In our minds, this home was a deal that we couldn't pass up. It is a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom home with just under 3000 sq. ft. Here is a picture of the front of the home although I have to admit that we didn't think much of it's initial appearance at first. The beauty of the home is in the beautiful landscaping, decorating on the inside, the neighborhood, and all of the amenities in the backyard (trampline, swingset, huge tool shed, and built in dog kennel.) Unfortunately, we didn't take a camera to our viewing of the home and therefore we don't have access to a lot of pictures. I had to snatch this one from their listing online. The home is located in Lehi, west of I-70 in a developement that I think is called Jordan Willows. We are so excited about the home and the condition it is in. We are busy making plans about where all of our stuff will go in the new house. Alyssa is excited for her purple room with Tinkerbell on the wall. She will share that room with Ashley since the other rooms are the Mater, a nursery, and a room decorated for a boy. Now that we have a home, our upcoming move is starting to feel more real. We are set to close on April 27th so we will probably leave here shortly before Easter if everything goes according to our plans.

Another Birthday

We finally finished up birthday season(one each month starting in December) in our household with my birthday on Wednesday. It was a definate improvement from my last birthday in which we all layed sick on the couch with strep throat. Danny and the girls made breakfast for me while I got to sleep in. Then while Danny was at work we had a pretty normal day with an added bonus of me being able to pull the Birthday Card in order to get the girls to behave("Can't you just stop fighting for Mommy on my birthday?"). Danny came home early from work and suprised me with these.
Then we enjoyed Dinner at a restaurant that we had never tried. The food was good, the atmosphere was kid friendly, and we scored by showing up on "kids night" so we paid hardly anything for the girls meals. Instead of a cake at home that we would just end up throwing away, I opted for dessert at the restaurant. We ordered a piece of chocolate cake and a piece of cheesecake. Both were delicious and way to big. I wished that we could have taken those leftovers home too. After dinner, we came home and I opened my presents. This is a picture of me and the girls just before opening presents.

I had a really nice birthday and enjoyed all of the birthday calls and cards that I recieved during the week. Thanks to all who remembered and made it a special day.

Sleepy Head

Ashley hasn't taken a regular nap for at least 6 months now. After a really busy morning, she tends to crash around 3 or 4, but that is usually only once a week or so. The other day, I pulled out a bag of Doritos for a snack for me and she came over to join me. I had to get up to start dinner not too long after that, so I put her in the chair (I know, I shouldn't let her have a snack so late, but sometimes it keeps her out from under me so that I can make dinner faster). After about 10 minutes, I realized that she had stopped talking to me (Ashley is always talking), so I turned around and looked at her and found this.

I'm pretty sure I laughed out loud when I saw her. Normally she falls asleep in her carseat or on the couch while watching TV. And although there have been a couple of times where she has fallen asleep in the middle of playing on the floor or just climbed into bed, she has never fallen asleep sitting up like this. I guess she was tired.

Our Little Family Getaway

A little over a month ago, Danny asked me if there was anything around here that I wanted to do before we move to Utah. I told him that I wanted to take one more trip to Nauvoo so that I could go here:
We chose a time, Monday-Tuesday of this week, and invited some friends to go along with us so that we wouldn't have to go to the temple by ourselves. Unfortunately, our friends weren't able to go, but we went anyways and Danny and I both enjoyed going to this amazingly unique temple. We stayed overnight in a little house owned by the same people that own the Hotel Nauvoo. The girls loved the getaway and the chance to stay in the "Hotowel House" as they call it. We took them to some of our favorite sites, let them enjoy the two different carriage rides that are offered, went "bye-byes" for meals (our term for eating out), let them play at a park, took them to the little play that the senior missionaries put on in the evening, and let them throw rocks into the Mississippi River. (I forgot to bring the camera along, so we don't have any pictures). As we were leaving, Alyssa said "I love Nauvoo." My thoughts exactly. There is something special about that little town that you can't help but feel complete gratitude for the early saints who lived there. I am so thankful for their sacrifices and their examples of faith. I wonder if I would have been as strong as they were had I lived at that time. For me, that same spirit that you feel in the town adds to the spirit that you already feel inside of the temple and makes for an amazing experience when you go inside. I am thankful for the opportunity that we have had to visit Nauvoo so many times as we have lived in the midwest and for the chance we had to go there one last time before moving away.