Yes, We are Still Alive, Just Haven't Blogged! :)

I am wwwwaaaaayyyyyy embarrassed! It's been FOREVER! I am trying to think what would have kept me away from my blog for so long.....oh ya! LIFE! We've been busy, but who hasn't?! No excuses. I've just been lazy.

I will try to catch up anything noteworthy that has occurred since I posted last. I was released as 2nd Counselor in Primary in August and called as an Activity Day Leader. Way fun, as both Maddy and Brooklyne are in the group. I must have been enjoying that calling, as I was released one activity later. I was called as 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society, Hello! I had just attended the August Enrichment Activity a couple of days before. I thought I was safe, I supported the activity, no such luck. It was a fun calling and I served with amazing sisters! I say was because, I was just released from that calling in November. Why? Because, get ready, Aaron was released as YM President and called as Bishop in September!!!!!! Stop laughing, it's not funny!

Aaron is starting to get a routine, kinda. He is at the Church three nights a week right now with Tithing Settlement. I think we may see him more around the new year, I'm not holding my breath. :) He is amazing, and I know he is humbled by this call and will do all he can to fulfill it.

Maddy turned 11 in November and is growing up right in front of us! She is babysitting more and loves History! She got her braces on just before Halloween and has been a good sport about avoiding soda, sticky, gooey, and sugary foods.

Brooklyne is loving school and is happy she doesn't have braces.....yet. She is learning cursive and loves making cards for everyone.

Ashlyne started preschool and LOVES it! She is still BFFs with Kathy and keeps her radar on everyday around 4:30 to ambush Kathy as she pulls in her garage.

Jocelyne makes me CRAZY! She is growing up everyday and reminds me she is not my baby anymore. Jojo will be a Sunbeam in January and started going to singing and sharing time to get adjusted to the change. She is excited and is pretty sure she will continue to be in charge.

We made it through respiratory viruses, sinus infections, and the stomach flu this fall. We are excited for Christmas and the New Year. We are grateful for the blessings of family, friends, and faith! We love you all and send you wishes for a very Merry Christmas!


P.S. My goal is to get some pics on here and keep it updated in 2010. Do you think Aaron will have time to help me out?! I should probably ask Amber!

:)

"We Planted Stevie!"

I apologize for the lack of posting on the blog lately.....life happens. We are sad to report that we experienced an unexpected death in our family. Stevie, our pet gold fish, passed away the end of June. Apparently, he had been suffering from depression or just had the sudden urge to end it all. We will probably never know. Just for the record, I never liked this fish. Brooklyne "bought" him from a school program where 5th graders "sell" items to 1st graders with "money" they have earned. Brooklyne brought Stevie home in February of 2008. Did I mention I never liked him? I was the one who fed Stevie and even changed his water and cleaned his bowl. That is probably why I was so ticked when he left us the day after I changed his water! Anyway, I was getting ready to make dinner and didn't see him in the fish bowl. I climbed on the counter to look down on the bowl in case the angle was making it hard to see the dang fish. I couldn't see him and asked if anyone had taken Stevie out? (I'm not sure why I asked NO ONE else takes care of the fish) Aaron said he had just seen Stevie swimming around a few minutes earlier. We started looking in the window box and on the ledge. Aaron found him in the bottom of our sink laying there lifeless. Aaron ran Stevie under some cool water and gave him some type of fish medical care. Stevie floated for about 15 minutes and then took a few breaths! He managed to slowly come back! (Seriously, I never liked this fish and obviously he knew it) Stevie started swimming around at about half us usual rate. He would swim a bit and then float on his side. I thought he was probably not going to make it. Aaron wanted Stevie to fight and told him to do so. Brooklyne was heart broken and told Stevie to keep swimming, she knew he could do it. Long story short, Aaron decided to see if Stevie would make it over night. Around 6 the next morning Aaron said Stevie was alive and well. (Crap! This fish hates me!) We came down and there was Stevie swimming like a champ! This was his last ditch effort. Sadly, (for everyone else) Stevie was found floating on the bottom of his bowl around 9 am and never swam again. He saw the light and swam to it. Aaron and Brooklyne insisted we hold a ceremony for this fish!?! We buried him in the back yard and Jojo sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me", Brooklyne laid him to rest, Aaron said the prayer, and I shared my less than deep love for Stevie. A few days later we were talking with a neighbor and Jojo shared that "We planted Stevie!" I guess we did.

Finally logged in!

I know it's been a while since I've logged in. There really wasn't any drama to blog about....can you believe it? Brooklyne had her 8th birthday on May 24th and couldn't have waited another day! She was super excited to get her new scriptures and a darling tote to carry them in! Happy Birthday Brooklyne!

We spent Memorial Day in downtown SLC. We toured the Conference Center, temple square, and the plaza as a family. It still surprises me how many people say, "All four girls?" Uh, hello, like we didn't know that? No, actually one is a boy, but it's easier to just raise them all as girls. Yes, we have FOUR GIRLS and they couldn't be any cuter or sweeter!:)

One of these days I will get some pics on here and then this blog will be rockin'! Until then my thoughts will have to keep you entertained!

"I got a haircut!"

So, it happened again! I had the parenting moment that truly tries your patience and ability to control your temper while you decide whether you will cry before or after a phone call to fix it all. Jocelyne cut her own hair!!!! She claims, "I got a haircut!" However, she fails to mention the haircut was necessary to help repair damage from the previous haircut experiment.

I was downstairs in my office while the two little girls played in the family room. The next thing I know Ashlyne comes in and says, "You know Joj cut her own hair, right?" Uh, HELLO, NO I DO NOT! I find Jocelyne missing most of the hair on the right front of her head. She has however managed to add her own layers. (How thoughtful) I got right on the phone with my sister, Krista, who kindly and not really understanding what damage she was attempting to fix said I could come over. Krista did her best to make some sort of acceptable hairdo. Thank you! I owe you bigt time!!!! Jocelyne just stood there smiling and didn't quite seem to think this was in any way a big deal. So, long story short, I was not paying attention, and now Jojo has a new "PeterPan" haircut. Mother and child are still alive and doing well. (Well may be an overstatement at this time.)

Jocelyne did apologize, though I'm not sure it is totally sincere. She just sang "I'm sorry" over and over again in a high pitch and then twirled around. She did mention that perhaps she should have had a nap today and maybe she wouldn't have cut her hair. I couldn't help but agree. Everyone else is good and we now understand that WE DO NOT EVER CUT OUR OWN OR ANY ONE ELSE'S HAIR! Do I need to repeat myself?

Track Stars??!!

I need to brag!!!! Maddy ran the mile in her 4th grade class yesterday and came in very first!!! She was faster than all the other kids in her class!!! She posted an 8 minute 30 second mile!!!! She must have inherited her running abilities from her dad, because I only run to the bathroom. We were so excited for her.(Just wish she had this running ambition last summer during track.:)) Maddy ran again this morning and came in behind two boys. (Aaron is pretty sure their dads told them not to let a girl beat them again.) Her time was was still amazing! 8:42 WOW!!!!

Brooklyne, not to be outdone ran the mile in her class today too. She came in first! Her little legs ran and ran and ran! Again, this would have been helpful last summer when she ran track.

I should have prefaced this by saying that Maddy mentioned Wednesday that she would be running on Thursday and asked for some advice. Me, with such vast running knowledge told her to keep a steady pace and jog. Aaron on the other hand, said it sounded like she needed to run like hell to make her goal of an 8 minute time. Maddy came home and said she took both of our advice. She kept a steady pace and then in her words, "ran like crazy" at the end. (She is such a sweetie and didn't think swearing would help any.

Both girls are doing so well....who knew? Ashlyne and Jojo were pretty proud too! They were excited for the "big girls" and can't wait to run with them.

First Blog Ever!!!!

So it's our first blog entry ever! I'm a newby at this.....SO BE PATIENT!!!! We have named our blog "Estrogen & Chaos" because that is exactly what we bring whenever and wherever we are. I hope to be adding to this soon, but don't expect too much. Thankfully, the big girls are headed back on track tomorrow so we'll have somethings to share.