Earth Day

So I've been lovingly and severely reprimanded by people who see me every week about not updating this blog. So, for them but most especially for those who don't see us every week, here are some pictures from our Earth Day today.


These {above} are from the park. We had lunch there and then played till nap time.




We cleared out the tomato garden from last year and prepped the soil for planting flowers. There's still a bit more to do before it's ready, but hopefully Brent will be able to dig up the rest of the grass to make the area bigger. I took the ones above and Sammi took the ones below.




There were at least a dozen of her feet. She was so pleased to be taking pictures of herself.

The First Frost

We woke up just before 7 this morning. It was still dark and Sammi said, "Is it still sleeping time?" Although I wanted to say yes and take us all back to bed, I explained that in the winter the sun comes up later. As it started to get brighter I noticed frost on the grass.

We bundled ourselves up and headed out for some fun. We had fun crunching on the grass and seeing how much ice had formed in different puddles of water. Then we decided to check Daddy's car and make sure he didn't have frost on his windows. Thank goodness for the carport, so we were safe :)

Little Nephite Girls

We've Settled In!

So, that was a WAY LONG break! It took forever to get the internet up and running. I was going to have great pictures of our drive across the country, but the camera died a few days before we left and I didn't want to pick out a new one without Brent's input. But, we finally got a new one once we got here, so I have a few things to share from our new home (away from home).

Sammi was a little princess on her birthday. She wore the tiara and balloon everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised when she decided to share it with Elli. What cute sisters. They have really started to playing together and even getting into trouble together.

We met a lot of med school LDS families at a 4th of July BBQ. It was fun to be surrounded by instant friends. The kids played in a little pool and then lit sparklers. IT was fun to visit and eat yummy food.

We went to the Knoxville Zoo. We bought a membership because we only have to go twice and we'll have saved money! It also gets us into the Hogle Zoo back in Utah and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. We learned a lot about the local turtles and the not-so-local rhinos. The zoo keepers were very friendly and informative.

We have one more week until Brent starts orientation and then classes. While I'm nervous about him starting and how little we're going to see him for the first several months, I think the anticipation is starting to eat us up. It's hard to be in such limbo, especially for Brent who is usually getting up and going to work everyday. But he's working hard around the house to make us feel at home. We have a garden and he is currently working on a snadbox for the girls. We also finally found chairs for our dining table and we bought paint today for them. I really hope we get that project doen before school starts!

Long Lost Pictures

Here are some cute pictures from our snow days!

Sledding with Daddy

The Neighbors' Slide

Mommy's Favorite: Snow Angels

Fun Today

Elli is always ready to smile :)

Sammi loved this art project. It took a lot of coaxing to get her to actually look at me for a picture.

Mailing Grandpa Knowlton a letter

There are lots of new posts today with cool pictures of the girls. Keep reading till you see them all!

Sammi wanted to send Grandpa Knowlton a letter. She then insisted on taking her duck for a walk to the mailbox. The sweetest part is that Grandpa Knowlton gave her the duck for Christmas 2007.

Sammi Sleeping

It's been a while since I posted and even longer since I've given you new pics to look at. Today's posts are pictures from the last part of 2008. Enjoy!

Where are Sammi's hands?

See the cute fee hanging down!

She was pretending to sleep just a few minutes earlier!

This happened when I was still babysitting Baby M. I was putting him down for a nap.

I love that she's using Mickey's head as a foot rest.

Sammi and the Computer

As observant as ever, Sammi knows that the computer is a pretty cool toy because Mommy and Daddy play with it all the time. Just this morning she showed me how much she really has picked up from observation. Sitting on my lap she started typing. She had two hands on the keyboard (one on each side all proper-like) and when she was done typing her letters, she used one finger to push the enter button! Way too clever!

A Good Hair Day

Can you believe she sat still for that!
What an angel.

Dress-Up Day!

Elizabeth's first dress-up! Isn't she cute?

Baby M, the superhero cowboy!

Sammi Sam: I did it myself!

Sticker Day

I'm going out of chronological order today because these are cute and I felt like it! Sammi found the box of stickers on Monday and I let her go to town while I was tackling a veritable mountain of laundry. I found a cute little giraffe on the bottom of Sammi's foot. She was kind enough to share a star with Elizabeth.

More Sleeping Shots

She's just so cute when she falls asleep! The no napping thing is working well, although she crashes every few days or so. She is sleeping so much better at night and there's not more fighting over getting her to go to bed. She actually looks forward to her routine and climbing into bed!

Random pics from around the house

She really loves that purse. Oh, it warms my heart...

She's looking so grown up

Only a toddler could get her toys to defy the laws of physics!

We tried hot rollers for church. The picture doesn't do justice to just how cute her hair turned out!

The back was super curly!

Patty Cake Video

Video Chatting

We had a nice little video chat with Brent this morning. Sammi is really starting to misbehave a little now that Daddy is gone. She is more whiny and easily frustrated. All that tries my patience and without Brent here to give me a break, it's been a growing experience for my patience!

But, like all things, it has its precious moments.

It's Been One Month...

And how it has flown by, too. I did a trial run of the girls in their matching dresses today. Good thing, too, because Elizabeth is almost too big for her dress! My, how she's grown. They were adorable and it was so worth it (the sewing of the dresses.) Sammi also loved playing with her matching purse.

Brent had his first interview today. He was at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. He said he thought it went well. He is driving to his sister's as I type this. I hope he gets there safely. We are missing him, but I'm glad that the interview went well. He has another interview on Monday in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Then we get him back on Tuesday morning. Good luck, honey!

Oh, and with Sammi not taking naps, she is actually asleep for the night! (as of 7:20pm) I hope she sleeps until 7:00am. Is that overly optimistic?

Napping Children

Oh the beautiful sound of silence. Both of my girls are napping and I'm enjoying catching up on some much needed blogging! There are two more posts from today (including #100!) so scroll down and check them out! I love sleeping pictures and these take the cake! Mmmm, cake. I think I'll head to the kitchen next...

What I saw when I came up the stairs
Where Sammi fell asleep for her nap today
Baby Elizabeth napping in her yellow crib

Morning Routine

Recently Sammi has been waking up in the mornings about the time Brent is getting ready for work. I've been letting her trail after him and catching several extra minutes in bed resting. Once Brent leaves I usually get up with her and start the day.

The other morning, however, I was extra tired and after Brent left I stayed in bed and just let Sammi play. I could hear her and everything sounded fine. As the minutes passed, I started to put together the sounds I was hearing and realized Sammi was playing in a bag of stuff my mom had given me. I didn't think much of it until I walked down to where Sammi was and saw her beatuiful face! She had also smeared lipstick all over her hands and legs. She had effectively used up the entire tube of lipstick before I even got to try the color on! Fortunately the mess was an easy clean.

Jack's House

Here's Sammi in all her adorable brilliant-ness. She's putting on a show for the camera and then she got very distracted so it's cut a little short. But you get the idea of the story.