Valentine Cookies!

This last week was pretty good.  We watched Hotel Transylvania for our annual friday movie night this week.  I didn't get to see much since Becca needed to go to bed but the girls liked it alot.  Saturday we went to Costco and the grocery store to get food. Then Grant and I put together 7 freezer meals for the crock pot in an hour or so.  I have been wanting to try this for awhile and we finally did it.  Hopefully it will make the after school-dinner rush hours a little less rushed.

 This morning I took Becca to get her 18 month pictures taken.  She was not happy about it and we only got 1 picture with her happy or smiley, but at least we got 1! The funny part about it was the photographer was very talkative and told me about his idea to include a picture coffee mug with the traditional portrait package because who doesn't drink coffee, right? I just smiled and nodded and decided not to mention the fact that I do in fact not drink coffee.  We are definitely not in Utah anymore!

Last night we made Valentine sugar cookies as per downs/townsend family tradition.  It is always a little bittersweet-fun to do but makes us all homesick.  Leah especially enjoyed it and worked on her cookies for 45 minutes!  Emma like that the hearts were graduated in size and stacked really well. She made both me and Grant our own cookie stack-oh boy! Becca had fun licking frosting off her knife.  We tried a new frosting recipe and it was delicious. It is called whipped cream cheese frosting and was super light and airy.

The last exciting thing this week was Emma getting a black eye.  Actually it is just a bruised eye brow not a black eye she says.  She was doing a flip over the ottoman and came face to face with the piano leg!  She had a huge bump and now has a nasty bruise.  We included pictures for everyone to see, per Emmas request. 

Spring is coming..According to the ground hog

So I don't know about you I am super excited Phil didn't see his shadow.  I would love spring to come early.  I am already trying to get a spot ready for peas.  Not too much exciting things going on at the Myers house.  The last 2 weekends we did a babysit swap with our friends the Olers-we knew them at the village.  Grant and I went and saw Les Miserables while they watched our kids and they went to a movie the next week while we watched their kids.  It was the first movie we have been to alone since we moved.  Seeing it has inspired Grant to read the book again.  It works out well, he reads the book and tells me about it and I get the info without reading that huge thick book! 
Grant and I both have received new callings.  I am now playing the piano in primary and doing cub scouts and Grant is now the assistant ward clerk.  They took their time but they sure have us busy now!  Becca is doing well in nursery.  We just walk her in, get some toys and leave.  Some of the other moms have asked how I get her to go and I just shrug and say I have no idea!  Emma is loving her art class and looks forward to Tuesday all week.  She and Leah also love the nexus tablet, it is a great motivator for getting chores done.  Leah is working on learning her letters.  Everyday we focus on a different letter and practice drawing it and do a little craft or activity to go along.  She also likes going to playgroup to see her friend Lizzy.  That is what is going on with us.  Here are a few pics in parting.  Becca must have been extra cute they are all of her! Speaking of pictures and Becca she loves to say cheese and smile and squint her eyes, it is so funny!

Becca wearing a headlamp around her neck.

Becca likes to collect random objects carry them all over the house.

Wearing Emma's snow gear and saying "cheese".

This last week was kinda uneventful.  Just a regular week.  Emma missed 3 days of school and now Becca and Grant are sick.  I am getting a little tired of all the sickness.  It makes it really hard to get anything done around the house.  I have included some pics of the girls helping me make rolls. We took some to our next door neighbor.  She works at a dentist office and brings the girls fun little toys all the time so we took her something to say thank you.  I got a picture of Leah at her dance class.  Grant takes Emma to her art class while I am at scouts so I will half to get him to take one of Emma. The last few are Becca playing peek-a-boo on the stairs.  She likes it when we jump out and scare her.  For the holiday yesterday we took the girls bowling.  Emma got 3 or 4 strikes and ended up with 115 points!  Gotta love the bumpers! Unfortunately we left the camera home maybe next time.

Antietam National Battlefield

 The highlight of this week was visiting Antietam National Battlefield.  It was really neat and really great to be out of the house for the whole day!  There was a visitors center and a driving tour that took you through the events of the battle from the beginning to the end. At each stop there were signs describing the position of the union and confederate at that point in the battle and maybe some lists of who had died there.  Interesting and sobering for sure.  All the pictures come from our adventure.  It was only an hours drive away and it was a really nice day. The sun came out and the fog had cleared by the time we got there.  Other than that not much to report.  Emma has been sick all weekend so no fun for her.  I did go to my first bear den meeting and round table last week for scouts.  It is a whole new world but I am slowly figuring out how it works. 

Robots and Boots

So I have decided to do a once a week post to keep everyone updated on the exciting life of the Myers!  This last week wasn't too busy but I do have a few things to share.  Becca got some new rain boots- which I found for only $2.99!  It was such a steal I had to brag!  She loves them.  She wears them dawn til dusk only letting us take them off for naps and bedtime.  She walks kinda funny but she is happy so we are too.  Becca is also talking more and more everyday.  She will look at herself in the mirror and say "hi there." She also say more, ma and bye.  She tries to say a lot more that isn't usually understandable.  However the other night we asked her if she wanted ice cream and she tried to say it back and it was recognizable to us!  She also has taken up screaming when she doesn't get her way- a true 18 month old.  Her poor sisters just sigh and give her back what they took so she will stop screaming. 
Emma had an exciting week.  We took her to the eye doctor because the pediatrician said her screening came back irregular.  I have been stressed and worried she would be like me and need glasses so young.  However, the doctor says her eyes are perfect and she is actually a little farsighted which usually means if she ever does become near sighted it won't be for quite awhile!  This week Emma also made a robot costume from boxes and paper bags.  The best part about it is that it turns her into a helping robot.  You just push the correct buttons and Emma asks in a robot voice "what do you want me to do?" and she does it!
Leah had a quiet week.  Lots of movies and computer since mom is still getting over her monster cold from Christmas.  She watched a new show on PBS called Daniel Tiger something or other.  Anyway it is base on Mr. Rogers and has some of the similar songs and teaches some good character and social lessons.  Now she is always telling me "thanks for taking care of me, it means you love me" and asking to make things for everyone in the family to show them she loves them. 
Grant is working away at well work and I am trying to figure out how cub scouts works since I am the new bear den leader assistant. I guess I had more to say than I thought:) that doesn't often happen to me!  Anyway here are some pics of Becca in her boots, Emma's robot costume and sisters hanging out watching tv.

New Years Resolution

So, I have decided to try and blog again.  We will see how it goes.  I figure maybe now we are far away we might have a little more to share.  So last night we celebrated New Year's Eve.  The girls stayed up until about 10ish.  We played games, did puzzles, watched Enchanted and of course had dessert!  I also came up with a top 5 List for 2012
1. Moved to Maryland
2. Grant graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry
3. Emma started Kindergarten
4. Leah became a Sunbeam and started primary
5. Becca turned 1 and started walking
 Just a few of the exciting things that happened in our family last year.  Also here are some recent pictures from the holiday season.  Always have a hard time taking pics on Christmas morning though, so much going on!

Reading Bedtime stories with Mom

Grant and Emma making toffee

Leah with Santa

Becca scared of Santa, Emma was too scare and just hid behind us!

Chef Becca

Grant opening his presents

Emma wearing grants new shirt

Google Nexus!

Christmas Morning!

Becca helping Grant take video. She liked that way more than the presents!

Leah and Becca(below) helping mom make the rolls for Christmas Dinner!

Happy New Year!

Just a few of the exciting things that happened in our family last year.  Also here are some recent pictures from the holiday season.  Always have a hard time taking pics on Christmas morning though, so much going on!

Christmas 2010

So as usual I haven't written much lately. But it has been an exciting couple of months at our house. To start in September I woke up one morning in awful pain and had to go to the hospital. Turns out I was pregnant but it was ectopic. So after a few awful days of pain and luckily no surgery everything was fine. It took awhile to get back to normal and then yet again unexpectedly in November I found out we are having another baby. This time we have been blessed that everything seems normal including the morning or shall I say all day sickness. Between these two rather large events life hasn't really been normal for awhile.
But life does have a way of keeping going. Emma has been going to a joyschool preschool twice a week and loves getting to be with her friends. Leah loves Emma being gone because she gets mom all to herself!
Emma is really excited for Christmas and adds at least 5 things she wants to her list every day including cheetos and barbies and anything else she sees. Leah just likes taking the ornaments off the Christmas tree and dropping them on the floor, which we usually try to stop. So this afternoon while I was resting on the couch I looked up at Leah with her hand about to touch an ornament and she said "leah! no touching ornaments!" I think she has finally got the message.
Emma is as dramatic as ever. Tonight Grant was trying to get her into the car while she was extreme unwilling and bonked her head on the door. Emma then cried most of the way home how he broke her bones and that was one her "truths" that shouldn't be broken. I think she meant rules, but she then went on to list a whole bunch of her truths that we should follow so she will be happy. She comes up with the funniest things sometimes. Especially names for the new baby that she has decided is going to be a boy. Her latest name of choice is Frunger. When asked what we should do if it isn't a boy she said "it could work for a girl!"
Leah and Emma have become fast friends and spend most of the day playing puppies, traps, or rapunzel from their new bunk beds. It is nice that they are enjoying each others company more, it means less entertaining from me. Well that is a quick update of our crazy few months. Hopefully things will not be too extra exciting until the baby comes in July!