Our House Is a Nice House...

Ok...you're probably wondering why this is the title. This last week Kayley has been constantly asking me to go to Grandma's house (Grandma Arlaine is Grandma and Grandma Jani is Grandma Jani to Kayley...for those that were wondering which Grandma we are talking about)...anyway, I kept telling her that Grandma's house is a long way from here. Our conversation went a little like this:

Kayley: "you can drive fast Mommy."
Me: "But, it takes a lot of money to fill the van up with money."
Kayley: "But, you have money's to fill up the van."
Me: "We can't go without Daddy and he is at work."
Kayley: "We can go when he gets back from work."

Well after a couple of quick responses from her, I knew I wasn't getting anywhere with this. So I asked her why she liked going to Grandma's so much. She said, "She has a nice house and when we go there, we go to sleep and then when we get up, she makes us stuff." She then kept thinking about what it was called that she makes us. I asked her if she was talking about Grandma's biscuits n' gravy and she said yes. I told her I had a secret and told her I knew how to make Grandma's biscuits n' gravy and that maybe later this week when Daddy was home from work for a day we would make them for breakfast in the morning. She said she liked that idea and asked me how many days until then. I then asked her if she would like our house if I made biscuits n' gravy and she said that yes, our house would be a nice house if I made them. Well, since Conference was this weekend, we got to sleep in and have a nice breakfast on Sunday morning and yes, I made biscuits n' gravy and yes, our house is a nice house now!! Yeah!! :)

Oh and on a side note...we are so excited that there is going to be a temple in our area soon!! For those of you who may not know...this last weekend during our General Conference it was announced that there was going to be a temple built in the greater Kansas City Area!! Yeah!!! :)

Happy Birthday Aunt Tootie!

We just wanted to wish a special Happy Birthday to our Great Aunt Tootie and the girls' Great-Great Aunt Tootie (Tootie is her nickname and Ruby is her real name...but she goes by Tootie to us!) Her birthday was yesterday and she turned 90 years old! I remember when I was younger and I was so privileged to stay the week with her while her daughter Carrie (pictured above) was gone out of town. At first I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be fun, I believe I was about 12 and I didn't know if we would have stuff to talk about or anything like that. Boy was I mistaken! I had a blast and I became so close to her. I remember she would make me breakfast in the morning before school and then have a snack ready for me when I came home from school and we would talk about my day. I don't even think we turned on the tv but maybe once while I was there. We just sat and talked about anything and everything! I had the best time and loved every minute of it. I was so glad that I got to spend that special time with her! We love her lots and lots and hope she had a great birthday yesterday! We did talk to her yesterday and she was enjoying her day and loving life and the great memories she has had! She is an amazing woman! We love you Aunt Tootie! :)

Happy Birthday Grandma Jani!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Just thought I'd share the cool card that we were able to make for my Mom for her birthday today! Happy Birthday Mom!! We love you!

In Answer to Shannon's Post...

Well..thanks to Shannon's tag...here are my responses...hope you enjoy!

Two names you go by:1. Colton2. MommyTwo things you are wearing right now:
1. short-sleeved shirt, even though it’s freezing outside for September!
2. Capris…same as above!

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. My nose/congestion to clear up…I have a slight cold and my throat is extremely dry from breathing out of my mouth
2. My headache to go away…I guess I’m falling apart!

Two people who will most likely send this back
1 Stephanie
2 Cassie

Two things you did last night:
1. Had Family Home Evening…I know it was Wednesday night, but we missed Monday with traveling.
2. Started reading a book…something that doesn’t happen very often!

Two things you ate today
1. Way too many rice krispie treats and there will probably be more eaten before the night is over!
2. Cheerios

Two People you just spoke with:
1. Nick
2. Kayley

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Watching Katrina with the girls
2. Waiting for Nick to get home to start our weekend!

Two longest car rides:
1. From Columbia to Myrtle Beach…although it was longer for Nick as he drove the whole way since I didn’t know how to drive a 5-speed….thankfully we didn’t have kids yet so we could drive straight through!
2. From Sikeston to Columbia when Nick and I were engaged. I had gone down for a visit by myself while he stayed behind in Columbia…I think I was really lucky to not get a speeding ticket…that’s the quickest I’ve ever made it to Columbia from Sikeston!

Two favorite beverages:
1. Country Time Lemonade…nothing beats it sometimes!
2. It sounds weird…but I’m pretty partial to my ice water. Nick always gets me cup of ice water before we go to bed for me to sip on in the middle of the night. Isn’t he sweet!?!

Tag to anyone who wants to feel the LOVE!! And anyone who is a frequent visitor of my blog!! So that means maybe 3 people?? Hehehe. I agree with Shannon’s request here!!

Odd Places

Here are a few places that I've found my girls lately and was quite shocked and they all deserved pictures! I'm going to tell you ahead of time that I really do give my girls a nice comfy bed to sleep in! Anyway, you'll see with the pictures...


This is where I found Cora this morning as I was getting breakfast cleaned up. She is always at our heels waiting to use the computer...well she got the computer alright! It was too cute and she was just laughing when she saw me come in!! It was cute!!!

I found Cora right here...actually behind me when I was prepping my tomatoes from our garden to be frozen. I guess she was really tired. I knew she was down there singing, but I didn't think she was falling asleep...it was so sweet looking though! Definitely picture worthy!!

I found Kayley like this when she was supposed to be in time out. I guess it ended up in a time out for me as she ended up taking a nap waiting for me to get her out of time out! Not sure if she learned her lesson or not. Oh well.

Our Smart Kayley

Today is just an update. Kayley is now 3 years old! Not much has been going on with us lately as we’ve slowed down on our driving places this month, which has been nice to just be at home and enjoy the surrounding scenery. Anyway, so the other day for fun we went to Liberty to hang out with Michelle and Kendall and do our most favorite thing…garage sales! Then we hung out with them at their house for the rest of the day to let the kiddos play with each other. Kayley had to go potty so she went into Ashlyn’s bathroom and then called for us to come wipe. Well, she then ceased to amaze me with how smart she is as she told me that Ashlyn’s toilet paper is different than ours. Now you may think this is not so smart as most likely we don’t buy the same toilet paper…but this wasn’t what she was talking about. She was talking about the way the toilet paper came off the roll. She said ours goes this way and motioned her hands to where the toilet paper came around the back of the roll, then said theirs goes this way and motioned her hands the opposite way to have the toilet paper come off the front of the roll. I was so shocked that she picked up on such a minor detail. Most people could careless about the way their toilet paper comes off the roll…to them, toilet paper is toilet paper. However to Kayley it is different and I guess I have to admit that I’ve created a monster as I’m very particular about the way our toilet paper faces…so I always put it the same direction, but I’ve never told her how to put it on or that I prefer it that way. And apparently I’m not the only one that has this disease as I had this discussion with Kendall afterwards and he is the same way, only he likes his toilet paper coming off the opposite way of me…I guess it’s a good thing that we aren’t married to each other otherwise we’d have to have different toilets! :) But, needless to say, Kayley ceases to amaze me with how smart she is and on the smallest details that she pays attention to. We sure do love her and enjoy her wit and smartness!

This by the way is a picture of her at her 3 year well check-up...it was the first time we had to wear a hospital gown while waiting for the doctor...too cute of an outfit to pass up taking a picture and she liked wearing the hospital gown..it was fun to her!

My Big 3 Year Old Kayley!!

Our little Kayley turned the Big 3!! She was so excited for her birthday to get here. In fact, on Monday we were at Walmart to get some last minute supplies for the big event and I decided to let her pick out some Princess napkins for the festivities. She was so excited, she put the napkins on the conveyer belt and then grabbed them out of the sack as soon as we paid for them…you’d think they were a toy or a piece of candy the way she loved them! Then when we got home she wanted to take a nap with them and sleep with them that night. The next morning I woke her up and told her Happy Birthday and one of the first things she asked me was if she got to open her napkins yet. She was very patient all day and carried them around again all day. Then in the evening when we had her party at the pool with her cousins, she was so excited to get them out and hand them out to everyone. She sure was cute!
We did have a fun day. We got up and she was given the choice of me making her anything for breakfast…and she actually picked toast! (I was a bit relieved as that is easy to make and clean up, but glad that she picked something as she has been sick lately and not had much of an appetite.) Then, about mid-morning, she got a special phone call from the real Ariel…she loved that! Then, we headed off to McDonald’s to pick up her choice of a Happy Meal, with a pop and all, then took our lunch to Daddy’s work to eat with him. Then we went on some errands and went home to take a nap before the big event. In the evening the Carles and the Walkers came over for a swimming party with cupcakes and popsicles. Kayley didn’t want to swim much so she could open presents and eat cake. Typical of a birthday girl! She had a great day and loved her birthday presents and her party! She sure is cute!
We are really blessed to have Kayley. She is such a sweet spirit! She is so smart and surprises us everyday. She is very kind and gentle too. At dinner every night, she goes around the room asking each of us “Mommy, how’s yours?” and so forth. Then she says, “Thank you for making this Mommy.” She is a fun little sprite. She is always up for fun and always asks why we have to take a nap and go to sleep. She is always trying to help me with Cora and loves her little sister. She is constantly asking me if Cora is her sister. She is always good to get me diapers, wipes, even put dirty diapers away for me without complaint. She also likes to help me get food ready for Cora at mealtime. She is a fun little girl and we are so glad that we have her! We love you very much Kayley!

The Newlyweds!

Quentin and Natalie got married on August 9th, 2003 in the St. Louis Temple. It was a great ceremony with a lot of in depth knowledge given out by the sealer...although I know Quentin didn't enjoy all the questions on the most nerve-racking day to begin with, but as a bystander, I enjoyed being able to sit back and soak in all the knowledge! Then it was on to the pictures...and boy was it HOT! I remember how hot it was on our wedding which was also in August 5 years ago, but I think their wedding was hotter as there was no breeze for theirs! But, we endured, even with screaming kids. Then we all went to Chili's for a great lunch with the family. Then it was on to Columbia for the reception that evening at the Stake Center. It was really great to catch up with friends and family there...that's the part about weddings that I love! It was a great event and we are glad that Natalie is now an official part of our family!

Our First Date...The Memories!!

Here are some pics I took of the 63 diner on our 5th Anniversary. This was one place from our first date. Our first date was August 16th (or 17th...can't remember which...whatever that Saturday was that year) of 2002. We doubled with Steven Richardson and Anne Jacobs. It was a tribute to Elvis Presley as his birthday was around that day or something I think. So we went to dinner at the 63 diner, which had tons of memorabilia of him and others from his time. Then we went to watch an outside play at the Maple Wood Barn Theater (which would later be the official place Nick proposed to me.) The play was Bye Bye Birdie. Being an outside theater we took camping chairs to sit on. One thing that impressed Nick like crazy was that when he popped his trunk, I grabbed for my chair and offered to carry my own chair. I'm not sure why that impressed him so much, but it did. What impressed me about him was that he was so chivalrous to me that night. Opening doors, pulling out chairs, offering to get me water or anything I wanted during the play.

Oh...and another cute memory from this night was the flowers...err...the phone book. I was house-sitting for the Loves that weekend and he came to pick me up there. One thing that I did in Columbia that I learned from my sister, Katie was to always carry a phone book in my car in case you got lost or needed a number or something...this was before all the I-phones and GPS's. Well, I only had a big phone book and didn’t even know that a smaller version existed. Well, when Nick came to pick me up for our date, instead of bringing flowers, he brought me a small phone book that would fit better in my car. He said as he was walking up the sidewalk to get me, he thought he should have folded the pages to make it look like a big flower; well he didn’t have time at that point, so instead he told me. I thought it was very cute and sweet. I still have that phone book today and ironically, it’s still in my car even though we don’t live in Columbia anymore…I just don’t have the heart to take it out yet! But, that's my Nick, always being sweet, but practical at the same time!

Another thing that I thought was sweet and cute was at the end of our date. I knew Nick really liked me as our sisters, Katie and Michelle were really good friends and would talk and in turn tell us some information here and there. I was worried about the whole, walk you to the door thing…do you kiss, shake hands, hug…what? Well, as I soon learned throughout the rest of our courtship, Nick is pretty forward but polite. So, he asked me if he could give me a hug at the end. Of course I said yes as I liked him a lot too and he proceeded to give me a hug only to step on my foot! It was funny and cute! Well, a year later we got married and here we are! But we were sad to see that the 63 diner was closed where we first went out…oh well…I guess we’ll have to make a new memory of something first together!

5 Years of Happiness!

On the 8th of August, we had a special day...not only was it 08/08/08, but it was also our 5th year wedding anniversary! We had a fun day! We were lucky to celebrate throughout the whole day.

First we headed to Columbia to go to the 63 diner where we had our very first date only to find that it was closed...evidentally it got foreclosed on? So, instead we went to McDonald's...I know how romantic...but we had coupons for free chicken sandwiches and for those of you who know us real well, this is our way to celebrate...Cheap!! :) Then we went to the Stake Center to help set up for Nick's brother, Quentin's reception, who was getting married the next day. The set up went really quick evidentally since when we got there, it was finished...sorry about that! So, we then we visited some dear friends in Columbia and then headed to St. Louis to the Temple. Since Quentin and Natalie were getting married the next day, we were able to go through the Temple that night and see Natalie receive her Endowment. It was a great session and it was great to see everyone there. Then we headed to the La Quinta for a hotel stay for the night…another way to celebrate! J I get excited to stay in hotels. Then the next day we went to the Temple again for Quentin and Natalie’s wedding, which was very lovely and hot…but we endured!! After that it was onto Columbia again for the reception that night. It’s so fun to get together and see friends and have a reason to celebrate! Then, after the reception, we headed to Branson, Mo for our vacation pulling in at a mere 1:55 am when the cut-off to check in was 2 am! Then we stayed in Branson for a week and had a great time…more to blog about that later!

But we had a great 5th wedding anniversary and it is hard to believe that we have been married this long! It’s been a good 5 years. As I mentioned earlier, it was great to go to the Temple for our anniversary as it brought back memories from when we got married. One distinct memory that I hope to never forget was the day of the wedding. I had stayed the night in St. Louis with my Mom, my sister, Mary and Sarah (my best friend at the time, but now my sister-in-law!) I hadn’t seen Nick for a few days before we got married. I don’t remember being too nervous, just excited as it was a big day and a big event. However, when that morning came, the nerves came on a little. I remember when I arrived at the Temple, the first person I saw was Nick and I ran to give him a hug and the most calm, peaceful feeling came over me in an instant. I knew as I had known before that we were doing the right thing. I’m so blessed to be married to him. He really does complete me (I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true.) We are so compatible with each other. We rarely argue and when we do, it’s over shortly as we both hate to be mad at each other. We can read each other like books now. I can only imagine how much better it will be 5, 10, 50 years from now! I love him very much and am so grateful to have him in my life!