Jack's first haircut

Jack made it 17 months with out one single hair cut. Sadie came out of the womb looking like Friar Tuck with a bald top and hair around the sides. She got her first haircut (buzz actually) at four months. Jack, on the other hand came out with perfectly quaffed hair. It's been pretty perfect up until a few weeks ago when we noticed the widows peak/tail on the left back side of the head. That had to go and the wings covering his ears (although cute) had to go too. Jack did a pretty good job. He sat very still and posed Rico Suave style.

First Day of School

Sadie started school a month later than the rest of Texas. We arrived mid September and it took me a few weeks to find a preschool that not only had space but came highly recommended from other women I met around town. I called the bishop's wife (only number I had at that point) and got some email addresses of women in the ward. I then contacted the RS president who gave me a few other names. We have 18 sunbeams in the ward and I figured it wouldn't be too hard to get her into a class with at least one of them. We found a GREAT school, really close to our home and she has a little friend from church in her class. They've already become bosom buddies.
We feel lucky to have gotten a spot in this school and they told me that if the economy wasn't so bad, they wouldn't normally have spaces left in October. Sadie filled the last slot. Lucky us!! It's nice to know that wherever we move we will always have the Mormon network to get us all settled.

Sadie LOVES her preschool. Her teacher calls her "Love Bug" or "darlin" and it's a warm, happy little classroom. She has already made a lot of fun little friends (none of which are male) and comes home with homework! Already?!
My favorite part of preschool is that I get to make her a lunch. She's there until 2 so they all eat in the cafeteria together. I always cut her sandwich into a heart (no crust, of course), and leave her a little note that's simple enough for her to read. I love that I can leave her little notes and send her a little love from home.
I love dropping her off because it gives me a much needed break from playing My Little Ponies but I also love picking her up 4 hours later because she's always so excited to see me. It feels so good love and be so loved! Motherhood is challenging, but I wouldn't trade it for a second if I had to give up those days I get to see her face light up when Jack and I walk in and watch her race across the room for a hug. I love my little Sadie and I love watching her have so much fun with her little buddies at school.

Lady Sadie

When Sadie and I have tea parties she becomes the pinky police. Pinkies must be up at all times.

I haven't done a Sadie update for quite some time and since Chase is glued to ESPN, why not write a few things about our little lady.
-She wakes up EARLY (at the crack of dawn) and has since been trained to NOT wake us up before the sun comes up. When Chase gets up to go to work, he always sees a little light down the hall where Sadie is nestled in her playroom.
-Anything in the past (it could be a year ago) is referred to as "yesterday." She'll say "mommy, you remember yesterday in Virginia when we went into those woods and got lost" or "yesterday, in Utah I went to Lizzy's house." She has a very good memory. Yesterday (it actually was yesterday) she told me "remember when I wore this skirt to Riah's house?" How does she remember that? We haven't been to Moriah's house for over a year now!
-She covers her ears whenever she flushes the toilet. I think it scares her because she'd rather leave some seriously nasty surprises for me in the toilet, rather than flush it down. The automatic ones in restaurants put her right over the edge because she never knows when they're going go off. Blenders have the same effect.
-She's four years old and I still can't get her to blow her nose. She sniffs up instead of blowing down. SO FRUSTRATING!! On a good day, she gives me a good effort but rarely is it ever productive enough to try again.
-She LOVES to play My Little Ponies or Polly Pockets with me. I would so much rather play Candy Land or Memory because I don't have to use my unimaginative brain. Our princess polly pocket sessions usually start out with all the girls in their swimsuits swimming in the pool (a soft infant square mirror) where she has attached a race car track for the water slides. Snow White is usually played by me because only I can give her some wicked belly flops and Sadie thinks it's the funniest thing ever (I'm not as amused:-) Then the princesses all go to the store in which they give a penny to buy a dress from the shopkeeper (Belle). They go home and get ready for the ball where Prince Merica (not "America"..she's made that quite clear) will tell Ariel he loves her and wants to marry her. Ariel always asks the prince how his trip was and where he went. Prince Merica is usually in North Dakota and sometime South America. Ariel ALWAYS loses her shoe and then scurries off to hide until Prince Merica finds her after trying the slipper on Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella (boy did she ever get jipped). He finally finds Ariel, but while trying on her slipper, it breaks and Sadie says in her high pitched, yet soft tone..."but I have the other slipper." It's magical and monotonous all at the same time!! Prince Merica goes back to South Dakota and the princesses all take off their dresses to go to sleep. The next morning they ride their ponies. Silly bands come in quite handy these days as we anchor the girls down on their individual Rainbow Dashes, Pinkie Pies, and Cheerilees. Of course their names are different every time ranging from Destiny, Charity, Princess or Butterfly. These ponies fly...of course...but only if Rainbow Dash gives you the power to do so. If you can't fly, you NEVER make it over the massive wall when doing your jumps. This is what we play, it's always the same and she never gets sick of playing over and over again.

-She remains religiously faithful to her her favorite animals and toys. When we went to a restaurant the other day I told her she could only take one toy inside. She's a total pack rat and wouldn't mind trudging along through life with her hands full of my little ponies, Clifford tucked under her arm (leash attached...of course), and her purse full of all sorts of goodies. Sadie does not like to part from her "friends" and announced that ALL her animals were hungry that night and they ALL needed to go inside the restaurant. She won this battle simply with her cuteness and charm and also the fact that she was so empathetic towards her hungry toys.
-We went waterskiing with the Winegars and told her she needed to wear her life jacket the WHOLE time on the boat or the police man will give her a ticket. She is ridiculously afraid of police officers because the last time Mom got a speeding ticket she (mom) cried. That mean man made Mom cry!! They're pretty much ALL on her hit list. Sadie began to worry about Clifford and his lack of a life jacket. The morning before we went to the lake, we had to whip out a 2 minute life jacket out of some left over red fabric. After all this, once we got to the lake she was worried he would fall in and drown so we left him in the car to secure his ultimate safety.

-She's only wants pancakes for breakfast, EVERY MORNING! To make my life a lot easier, I make a big batch at the beginning of the week so I just have to scoop it out and fry it up. I also sneak in some kale and sweet potatoes and she's hasn't noticed yet. She did think it was weird that they were green one day but didn't seem to mind once she tasted the syrup. She LOVES syrup.
-Her new favorite show is Backyardigans and I actually really like it too. Sometimes I find myself shushing her so I can hear what they're saying. Their songs are so catchy and I wish I could dance like that!
-Boys are still the plague of the earth to her. When we were at the park the other day some boys came up, told her their age (4) and asked her how old she was (hoping of course for a little play time). My devious little Sadie told them she was 5 so she wouldn't have to play with them. Clever little thing. It scared me how fast she came up with that one!
-When trying a new food she will always ask "is it spicy? Is it yummy?"
-She can't play in her play room with out music playing in the background. She loves to turn on Christmas music throughout the year and dances all over the house. If we ever turn on some tunes, she runs to her costume chest and whips out her fairy skirt, wings, plastic high heels and wand so she can dance in style.
-She's reading amazingly well these days. She recognizes the words more and more and rarely needs to sound out the individual syllables. She loves to read because every time she finishes a book I tell her she's too smart and then she's attacked with tickles.
-The movers broke her bike she we got her a new one at Costco. She LOVES riding up, down and around our little cul-de-sac.
-I announced to Chase and the Winegars (after a GRRRREAT waterski) that P-I-Z-Z-A sounded like a nice easy dinner. I spelled out the word pizza so the kids wouldn't hear their favorite "p"word and be disappointed if we happened to eat something else. Sadie of course hears everything and said "Pizza! Ya, I want Pizza!!" I can't keep anything from her! I guess spelling out secret words isn't going to work anymore. I spelled out a Christmas present in the car to Chase and I am now wondering if she heard and understood that too. Whoops.
-She told me she wanted to tell me a secret but that I couldn't tell Chase. She leaned over, lifted up my hair and moistened my ear with this cute little delight: "Mommy, I want to be with you for always." Don't worry Sadie, I won't tell Dad....just all my friends on the world wide web.

Deep in the Heart

We finally made it to Texas. It's been a very interesting month to say the least. It's always hard moving to a new town so I waited to blog about it so I could have something positive to say 6 weeks later.

Once we got to the airport I realized I forgot to call the RS president to see if we could borrow a pack n' play for the night until our moving truck arrived the next day. I ended up calling the bishop's wife (the the only number I had) and asked her if she knew of anyone we could borrow the crib from for the night. She asked me what the rest of us would sleep on and I told her all we were worried about was Jack who, above all, needed to be contained during the night. She said she would try to find one for me.

When I arrived at their home (at 11:00 p.m.....I felt so bad) she not only found a crib for us but had a blow up mattress, sheets, blankets, and a cooler full of milk, strawberries, orange juice, a bag full of granola, and snacks for the kids. She totally saved us the next day because the movers arrived at 7 a.m. and there would have been zero time to go to the grocery store. We also didn't have a refrigerator so we were limited to what food could be purchased anyway. I heard the people in Texas were friendly but this was SO nice. I couldn't believe how sweet she was to take such good care of people she didn't even know. I love being a Mormon.

The movers came and left pretty quickly. Chase took the kids to church while I stayed home with Cedric and his gang. When we got home he announced we had already been invited to dinner. I love Texas!! Everyone is so nice here! When they got home from church we rallied and tried to get as moved in as possible. Then the inevitable happened. Chase and I are surrounded by bad luck whenever we move anywhere. In San Diego, Chase's bike got stolen off the balcony. In Virginia, our car was broken into and our motor scooter stolen a week later. Something was bound to happen here, no matter how nice the people seem to be.

I had Sadie's room all arranged and started putting clothes away in the closet. I found her Pottery Barn Kids night light in a box and plugged it in to get it out of the way. There were boxes all over her room and some near the plugged in night light. I went down the hall for a couple of minutes and when walking back my super dooper nose smelled smoke. Chase didn't smell anything but I can smell a smoker's cigarette from VERY far away. I told Chase I smelled something and then discovered the fire blazing up the wall when I arrived back to Sadie's room. I screamed "There's a fire!!" and Chase quickly ran down the hallway. That stupid night light was on fire!!! Of course all of our dishes were still in boxes and we had nothing to pour water with. Miraculously there happened to be a plastic cup in the kitchen so I ran down the hall with it and started pouring water on it from the bathroom. THIS WAS THE DAY WE MOVED IN PEOPLE!!!

Jack sensed the chaos and started screaming especially when the fire alarm went off. Chase took over the dousing of water on the flames and I took the kids outside to get them away from the smoke and deafening fire alarm. It was very fast and the fire was out quickly but we were pretty rattled for a long time after. Sadie refused to sleep in her room that night because she thought there would be another fire. I was equally as scared to have her in that room. I wasn't sure if the plug blew up or if it was the night light. It turns out that it wasn't electrical. The bulb was rubbing against the netting on her ladybug nightlight and eventually caught on fire!!



I called Pottery Barn and they didn't seem too concerned. If I ever have the energy, I'll take them to court for almost killing us all! I am just so grateful I plugged the light in during the day and not that night before we went to sleep. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. We have since painted over the blackened wall, cleaned the carpet (kind of) and changed the charred electrical plugs. Sadie wouldn't sleep in there until the fire remnants were gone. I ended up having to clean black ashes off of everything in her room. It was awful and I am officially scared of house fires whereas before I thought it would never happen to me.

The next couple of days we had to buy a washer/dryer, refrigerator, and a car. Whopping purchases, I know. While Chase went to work, we lived without all three for a whole week and it was miserable being stuck in the house without any food, dirty clothes and no way to get out. We took a lot of walks to the park and hung out at the neighborhood pool a couple of times. The lack of transportation forced me to open more boxes (there was nothing else to do) and hang pictures on the walls. We finally got a used washer and dryer after the guy at Best Buy told me that I could expect a my new appliances to break down within 2 years. "They just don't make 'em the way they used to anymore", he said. So we bought some old ones that hopefully will last as long as my parent's 30 year old appliances. Not the most energy efficient but we spent a fraction less and got a way better product. Hooray for the Cannons!

Best Buy didn't have the fridge we wanted so we bought their floor model thinking it would be the same thing. WE WERE WRONG! It was the worst fridge ever. The handles came off, it was LOUD, and the waterline couldn't be hooked up (weird) so no ice or water for us. We returned that piece and got the original one we wanted (it finally came in) and we now have a wonderful fridge. I still can't believe the house didn't have all these things when we moved in. That's one weird thing I've noticed about Texans. They take their appliances with them. Annoying and wrong!

I mentioned before that we had a very unsuccessful trip finding housing when we came down in August. Chase came back down the next weekend after we practically dissected the MLS listings. He met with the same realtor and found a house in Cedar Park. We like the house, it's not what we want long term but it will give us a place to live until we find a home in the perfect area for us. I have a lot of criteria that I wouldn't mind being met. I'm not picky but I would like to live near other children so Sadie and Jack can run outside and play with them. I want to live away from busy roads (our backyard right now, backs up to a busy road and we didn't realize this until AFTER we moved in...I hear semi-trucks all day long and we get a laser light show every morning at 6 a.m. So glad we're renting this house!!). I also want hardwood floors and a two level home. Right now there's carpet everywhere and it's a single story. It's not my style. I like smaller houses with big charm and this house is exactly the opposite. Huge vaulted ceilings, open floor plan and weird layout. Everything is definitely bigger in Texas. Not my fav but like I said, this house is a means to an end. I'm just grateful we found something and we're happy with the area.

I love our ward. There are a ton of sunbeams for Sadie to play with and everyone has been very warm and inviting. Sadie joined a dance class with 6 other sunbeam little girls and I feel I am finally learning everyone's names and feeling a little less looserish. This is why I am writing 6 weeks later because 3 weeks ago I was utterly depressed, hated our ward, and want to curl up in a ball for a long hibernation. Like I said, it's not easy to move. The good news is, the Winegars live just 20 miles north of us in Georgetown so we get to have fun play dates with the kiddos, watch U games with them and since they have purchased a boat, we are now November waterski buddies!! It's still 85 degree here!! I forgot how hilarious Katherine was in Chi Omega and I'm so glad she's out here with me because I'm always down for a good laugh and a fellow Ute to make me feel a little less heathen around all the Cougars lurking about.


So we're all settled. The boxes are put away, the pictures hung and we finally bought a new car. We like it here, we hope to one day LOVE it so much we'll never want to leave. As long as I'm with Chase it doesn't really matter because he's my bud and we'll have a blast anywhere. Here's to no more fires, finding a better house, and more waterskiing!!

All caught up...almost

I have never been so behind on blogging before. Thanks goodness for pictures that help me remember all of our moments. I'm all caught up until we reached Texas about a month ago. A lot has happened since then. Good, bad, and down right terrifying stuff up ahead but right now I'm worn out so blogging will have to wait a few more days.

*Photo courtesy of Sadie Elizabeth Cannon

Tough Crowd

Chase has two Grandma's that are both
miraculously still alive. I don't have any grandparents left and he still has two 96 year old ladies living in the same assisted living center. It's actually quite convenient to have them in the same spot. Even though they don't remember us stopping by, they're always excited for a visitor to come. I took the kids down with Connie to visit Phyllis on her birthday (not quite sure which one, but who's counting at this point anyway:-), and she was so sweet to us all but I have a feeling she didn't have a clue who any of us were. Sadie was excited to have a piece of cake and play with some of her third cousins.


The next time we returned with Chase and were informed that both grandmas were actually in the lounge enjoying some live music. We were a little bummed we weren't going to have some one-on-one time with them but after I sat and listened to the lounge singer for a while, I was SO glad we came that day. TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT!! I loved watching this lady sing her heart out and contort her face to get the hard notes out in high hopes of a little reaction from the ancient crowd. I tell you what, these are hard folks to please!! Sadie and Jack added to the afternoon amusement by dancing around and flirting (if you re Jack) with anyone that gives you an eye.
Grandma Phillis was on one end of the row and I caught her clapping her hands every once in a while but Grandma Beth was NOT amused!! She had a scowl on her face that looked like she was in severe pain. She continued to complain that this wasn't her type of music while the lady belted out some Elvis Presley.
I was totally entertained and loving every minute of the scene around me. I've decided that I want to be a lounge singer one day. I don't have the best voice but I LOVE to sing. Most of my singing is in my car where only my children (and sometimes Chase) are subjected to my wide range of screeches and pseudo opera. What fun it would be to sing to people that had no choice but to listen to you? They can't get up and walk away (most of them will need assistance in addition to their walkers) and even if they don't clap, you can reassure yourself that they probably can't hear you very well. My mind is made up! When you're old and gray and you see a familiar face singing to you one day, it's probably me getting my big break at your very own Shady Oaks.

How Sadie passes the time

While we are sleeping.

Little Pearls

I love those two little bottom teeth. I love turning around in the car to see these nubbins smiling back at me. Why can't babies be babies forever?

Cannonville

Once Chase got into town I was brave enough to stay the night at the cabin. When you stay over night it's COLD but totally worth it in the morning when you smell the scones Pops is making downstairs. Breakfast is always SO good at the cabin. We had an awesome discussion after the kids went to sleep and I was able to learn so much more about this amazing family I married into. I love these guys!! Heber and Jenna were able to make it as well and it's always fun chilling with the super hip (and fit...Cross Fit) Aunt and Uncle in the family.

Sadie got her pony fix and spent nearly an hour picking grass to feed to the horse who was not at all intimidated by her 3 foot little peanut frame.
Jack was a little worried about the large creature trying to eat the grass in his hand. Whoa! Those are some big teeth! He enjoyed picking up rocks and a little horse poop instead of potentially being eaten alive.
Heber showed off his massive Cross Fit muscles and threw enormous boulders into the river all to get this expression on Jack's face. Every time the massive stone hit the water, Jack's face lit up, he squealed with delight and yelled to Heber in his baby gibberish to throw another one. I can't get enough of this little guy's smiles and enthusiasm. He has such a zest for life!!
Sadie showed us all she's every bit as strong as Heber and threw some boulders of her own. For a little tike, that's a pretty big rock!! I don't think Sadie could ever get sick of that river. We could stay there all day but end up having to retreat to the cabin once the sun goes down and the chill sweeps in.
When Jack throws rocks, he has the stance of a professional pitcher. He takes the rock, holds it behind his head for a few(sometimes several)seconds and you think this rock is going to fly to space and it usually end up right at his feet. So cute!! After a few days hanging by the river with endless amounts of rocks, he really got the hang of throwing and was able to see the rocks hit the water. He always claps after he throws.



What a heavenly place!! If I could, I'd stay there all summer!!

Just along for the ride

Thanks Bob

Sadie loves to read!! She's always loved letters, writing them, and reading them on our mini dry erase board but never actually read her own books. Even though Virginia kept us indoors more than we would have liked, it gave us ample time to teach Sadie how to write and read words. After hearing her read words she found through out the house, on the road and on billboards I decided it was time for Sadie to read some Bob Books. I still remember recommending them to customers when I worked at the Children's Hour and lucky for me, they're still around. Sadie can't get enough of them and she gets so excited when she reads a whole book!! I love watching her enthusiasm to learn. I just love my little girl who seems not so little anymore.

More Utahr

Chase drove the car to Texas with Ben and sat around for a couple of days until the movers arrived (they were extremely late). Our initial plan was for Chase to move us in (with the movers of course) and have all the beds made up when we arrived two weeks later. Cedric and his gang ended up being a week later than they planned so Chase flew to Utah instead to hang out with us. Chase took full advantage of the last two weeks of freedom before he starts his new job. I have to say it's going to be very hard to not have him around anymore. His last day of work with the IRS was May27. We've been hanging out for 3 months and it's been heavenly having my best friend to hang out with every day. Stressful to not have a job, but fun to be together all the time. I don't think I could ever get sick of hanging out with Chase.
Once he arrived in Utah time went by WAY too fast. We made great use of our time hanging out with friends and family. Jack had his first carousel ride at the Hogel Zoo. He liked it and didn't want to get off, of course.

Utah pretty much consisted of Jack throwing rocks wherever he could find them. He found anything that could be held in his little hand (rock, acorn, dirt ball, whatever), and threw it as far as he could. Sometimes they went as far as the feet below him.
We spent a lot of time finding bodies of water in which to throw rocks. I remember doing the same thing when Sadie was little. I recall times in D.C. driving around and actually pulling over sometimes when we saw a big pile of rocks. We always kept a bucket in the trunk so we could fill it up and take it to a stream near the Prosperity Park. Sadie would just sit on a bridge and throw rock after rock until her bucket was empty. My sweet little Sadie. She is so much bigger now!
I guess Jack is following suit. While Sadie fed the ducks some Cheerios, Jack gathers stones and watched them plop into the water. Such a simple activity that brought my kids (and Chase) so much pleasure!!