Mecham Update

This last week we started swim lessons with the girls. Played with our new beanbags and further child-proofed the house against Josh's increasingly curious mind. Outlet plugs-yes! Door latches -yes! Toilet lock-probably next!

The last couple of mornings Audra has been turning to me, after breakfast and asking if I am mad. "Mom, are you mad." "No, are you mad?" "Yes, I'm mad." Then she frowns rather big and goes back to eating her oatmeal. This doesn't fool us for very long however, as she usually starts giggling pretty soon after.

Marian had her Valentine party in school on Friday. This is her now:"I shared a cookie with Audra and a sucker with Josh. My family comeded to my party. Mostly I do talk and in the mornings I get dressed and do my chore. There!" She has been doing really well at reading and when we read scriptures can usually read about half of her verse on her own.

Josh has really been coming into his personality lately. He likes to say "yes" and nods his head up and down and He likes to put things around his neck. Things like, ribbons, necklaces, and wii remotes and sometimes Daddy's tie. Marian says "Josh is giggly. He pokes me." He has mastered walking and standing up on his own, but is still a little tipsy. Sometimes his body gets away from him and he face plants :(

New Bench

Dan's been keeping himself busy in his "off time" by making furniture for our house. Here is his latest piece a beautiful bench for the playroom.

Here we are making our first Oklahoma snowman. It took Josh, Audra and I about 20 minutes to get outside. Audra hates the cold. So as soon as we got outside she started to cry. Josh loves the outside and isn't too worried about the cold. He went outside, took off his glove-as is his custom-stuck his hand in the snow. Tears. Inside. So, that's why there aren't any pictures with the little ones. While all this was going on Dan was having a hard time making the snowman. He was hunched over our shovel trying to shovel up the snow from the side of the driveway. Meanwhile, Marian, all smiles, was fluttering about the yard.

Walking---Slipping in a winterwonderland

Christmas morning we woke up to a blanket of snow, which 3 weeks later is still around-so unusual for here just for reference last year about this time we took a stroll around our local park in pants and sweaters. Brrrrrr...we're cold!

Christmas morning fun

A few of our Favorite things

Yep that pretty much sums up our Christmas morning.

Happy New Year! We stayed up "late"on New Year's making a gingerbread house. Our gingerbread house comes complete with an upside down gummy bear on the roof a train in the front yard-cuz why not? and everyone's favorite -a cracker sled full of eager gummy bear sledders in the back yard.

If Marian's looking a little scared that's because that would be a real live shark behind her. During Christmas vacation we took a day trip down to our local aquarium.

Did we mention Josh had a
really good time.


Dan tried to sell us to the
aquarium, but I guess
we classify as mammals and
not amphibians. I still think we're
cute.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a blast this year. The kids were so excited. The girls especially loved gettting to put on Halloween make-up and getting their hair sprayed with green dye. This year Marian lamented that we only went trick-or-treating two times. Once to our ward trunk or treat and on Halloween we went around our neighborhood.

We ended up running into Marian's little friend Reid and went to some houses with her. Reid was also a witch. Most houses would go something like this :

Door greeter: Oh look at how cute you are.

Marian smiles

Reid: We're witches, she's a scary witch and I'm a fancy witch. And here comes a little pumkin. Well, thank you we have to fly away on our broomsticks now.

Marian and Reid run away from the door passing Audra who's just toddling up to the door at that point.

Door greeter: My lands! How cute you are! Are you a pumpkin?

Audra smiles

Door greeter: Well, here's one for your bag and why don't you go ahead and pick one. OH and take one for your mom, too.

Audra: very quietly replies "Thank you"

Then she would turn around and smile her biggest smile and insist on walking to the next house where Reid and Marian would just then be flying away on their broomsticks.

Marian as a witch

Hahahahaha-come here my pretty!

Audra Pumpkin

Josh at Halloween

So we failed to really get a picture of Josh in his costume, but this is about as close as we got. He went as a wild man with wild hair, hairy feet and that devilish grin he provided free of charge!

CANDY!!!

We didn't think we went to that many houses, about a dozen, maybe that is a lot, it didn't seem like a lot, but we got a ton of candy because not that many trick or treaters were out. Chocolate anyone?

Nauvoo-Beautiful

This past Labor day we were able to go to Nauvoo. We had a really nice time. Here are some of the highlights.

Pioneer pasttimes

We spent most of our time at an exhibit called Pioneer Past times
the kids could dress up in aprons and bonnets and play with Pioneer
era toys in mini log cabins. We all had a blast.

teddy bear

The first day we were there. We spent a considerable amount of time playing with the teddy bears. You pull on their ropes and make them go up and then loosen your hold and down they come. Audra conned one of the missionaries to do this for her for about 15 minutes straight. They were both laughing and giggling quite a lot.

Fear? Hahahaha

While we were there we tried to sleeping options as we weren’t sure which one we would prefer. The first night we camped in a state park that’s just across the street from all the happenings in Nauvoo. This worked pretty well, actually except for a little middle of the night episode with Audra. She apparently wanted to go home –which is usually code for I’m really, really scared. After 5 minutes of trying to reason with her that we couldn’t possibly go home. She stopped almost mid-sentence and fell asleep at the foot of my sleeping bag with her sleeping bag pulled up over her entire body. Apparently she decided the best way to deal with this was to hide. She slept there very peacefully until later that morning when she scrambled up and stole Dan’s pillow. And in the morning she woke up her usual happy self so I guess no permanent damage was done.

The next two nights we stayed in a log cabin. We were all in one room and since Josh goes to bed early and takes 2 naps during the day this meant that the more rambuxious lot spent a lot of time out on the porch. Most of the time they ran around holding on to this rope we made in the family living center. When they weren’t doing that they were visiting our new adopted bunny. Apparently it belongs to the hotel’s owner and at one point they even got to pet it.

Cute pictures

Carthage

Wow! The last thing we did before going back home was to visit the jail at Carthage where Joseph Smith and Hyrum were martyred. What an amazing and powerful experience it was to be in that spot. Even though the kids almost exploded! They were good kids, it’s hard to sit still and listen sometimes especially when you’re 2 and 1! But we feel really blessed to have been able to have this experience together.