Logan's 6th Birthday

Logan has caught on to things a little slowly - birthday's being no exception. He was excited and happy for his 5th birthday, but his excitement building up to number 6 was a whole new ball game. His excitement had an effect on me and James, and as a result we did way more for Logan this year than any other year.

On his birthday itself my mom was hosting a wedding reception at her home, so that left us with just the morning to really celebrate. We decorated with balloons and streamers (including a big "6" balloon) and let him open his presents before James went to work.

 He got new clothes and candy from his Grandma Idaho.

 Money and an Angry Birds blanket from Grandma Ward.

 Hulk hands...

 and a camera from his parents.

 Instead of a cake on his actual birthday, I bought 6 donuts, and made a donut cake. He was pretty pleased with it.

 We took him to Chuck-E-Cheese's that night, per his request. It was CRAZY there, but the kids had fun, so it was worth it.

3 days later was his party. We had friends come over for dinner and to play.
Logan helped me make this pinata, and then he drew pictures of super heroes to put on it for decoration.

There was pinata fun and presents to open.

Then James brought out his cake. He asked for a hulk cake and I decided it would be easier to buy a hulk to put on the cake than to actually try and decorate a hulk for the cake. We left it as a surprise till we sang Happy Birthday.

I'm so glad I took this video of Logan. This was the first time he'd seen the cake with the action figure on it. His face is HILARIOUS. It shows how shy he really is. He couldn't handle having everyone see how ridiculously happy he was. 

See this guy?

I'm pretty fond of him. I think he's really great. He makes me more happy than I have ever been or hope to ever be.  He makes it pretty clear that he wants me to be happy and he's is always worried that he isn't doing enough for me or enough with the kids to make sure their relationship is stable and will last forever and ever.

This guy has been feeling stressed out for the last 6 years. He has a job, and at times it's been a great job, and at other times, like these times, a really bad job. Basically, it isn't a stable job, and that is stressful and has been from the day he started, 6 years ago.

The time has come that he can stand it no longer. We gave ourselves an ultimatum that something had to change before the end of the year or else.

We've both spent a long time combing the internet for jobs and other opportunities, and I'll tell you right now - there are not a lot of jobs out there for a person with an Agriculture Business Degree.

James doesn't have a job yet, but we have prospects, finally, and that is SUCH a relief.

Why am I blogging about this when I blog about little else? I don't know. I just wanted to tell somebody how excited and happy we are that a change is around the corner and both of us can hardly wait.  Unfortunately, that's just what we have to do.....wait.

Latest Creations

I've had a nice long break from decorating cakes. I don't think I've done a serious cake since October, and that cake had me losing hair. I did these last two cakes in the same week and I really liked doing them both. Not once did I feel like I was going crazy; that is some major progress for me!

 I did this white picket fence cake for a ward auction. I was watching My Fair Wedding on TV and saw this wedding cake in the background. I loved the idea of the white picket fence and knew that I wanted to do it one day, so I made it happen for myself.

For those of you who don't watch PBS, this is a "Super Why" cake. Super Why has the power to read, so I had him coming out of this book.

Anyway, I really enjoyed decorating both of these cakes and I just wanted to share them with my friends. If my friends still read this blog that is...

Going Out of Style

It seems to me that most of my friends who were once avid bloggers have become infrequent to non-existent bloggers, much like myself. So, it begs the question: is blogging going out of style?  I remember a certain college class in the year 2005. My professor had just gotten back from some conference of some sort or another. He was SO excited about the new thing he had just learned about called "blogging".   I thought it was the dumbest sounding word in the world.  Anyway, I do love the idea of blogs, and I love reading other people's blogs, so I hope that they don't stop, or that they start again. 

It's been a few months since my last post, so here are a few pictures to recap the randomness of our lives.

 I have cute kids don't I?  Logan looks especially cute with a baby hat on his head.

 Logan and Lizzy spend the most time with these cousins, Eva and Mallory. They can often be found on the couch eating popcorn and watching a show. That grandma of their's can also often be found on the couch sewing.

 Siri is still the most popular member of the family. She gets the most hugs and kisses. Today Logan started calling her his "bestest trophy".

 Like most babies, she is fond of toothbrushes.

 Ummm....I don't remember why this picture was taken.

 As you can see, Lizzy got into make-up one day. She thought foundation was lipstick I guess. I kind of think it's a good look for her.

 Beautiful girls.  Siri is giving you her bugged out eyes look that is still common on her.

 Cowboy and cowgirl. Logan found a holster that belonged to/was made by my dad.  He uses it to carry his rifle. In his regular toy holster he is carrying a church shoe with Iron Man inside the shoe. I wish you could see it in the picture.

 And these two pictures just demonstrate the basics of us.

 I'm notorious for being incapable of making a normal face for a picture. I start out with a normal face, but I can sense when the picture taker is about to take the picture, and some how I end up with a  strange look on my face for the picture.

Only 3ish good snows for the season and we finally got around to building a snowman after the last one. He's pretty tall too, but it was no match for the hot sun next day. Poor Frosty was a gonner only 24 hours later.

Maybe I'll update again soon. Maybe I won't...

Maybe you don't care.

Our 3 Year Old

I am a little alarmed that I have somehow become the mother to a 5 and 3 year old, and a new(ish) baby.  Of the three children, I think the 3 year old is the most challenging. I feel comfort in thinking that most mother's of 3 year olds would probably agree with me. Despite her attitude, we still love her to pieces. 

We celebrated Mickelsen/Ward style. That's code for it was very low key. James and I both grew up with low key birthdays, so that's how we celebrate with our kids!  We invited cousins over to help us celebrate. The birthday girl, Lizzy is in front. We got the kids a pizza (always a favorite) and soda! to drink. I'm pretty sure Lizzy didn't wholly grasp the birthday concept at first. She was just happy to see her cousins and eat pizza.

 Around present opening time I could tell she thought the day was pretty cool because she got to open presents.

 However, her day wasn't super special until we sang happy birthday to her. I SO badly wish I had recorded it on video. The song started and she thought it was all normal, but then she realized we were singing to her! The smile in this next picture shows how happy she was.  Her happy smile was SO SO CUTE!  I know she felt really special, and I'm glad she got to experience that feeling, because I think all to often she feels like the classic middle child.

Siri enjoyed the aftermath of the party. Balloons.

So, my little Lizzy girl. What should I say about you? I fear there would be too much to say. You are a bossy, sassy girl who loves unconditionally, loves to give hugs, be held, and give crazy kisses. I'll admit that your sass is so bad, that this next year might be a long one. However, when you are happy, your dad and I can't get enough of you.  Your smile is absolutely infectious.

Some quick facts about you.
-Lizzy, you are a tall girl. I'm sorry about that. When I took you in for your 3 year well check, the doctor thought you were 4 because you are so tall. At nearly 40 inches tall, that makes you taller than 97% of the other girls your age.
-You can count to 12, a trick that took us by surprise because we've never tried to teach you how to count.
-You only recognize a few letters, "W" being the one you are most comfortable with. Random.
-You know your shapes and colors.
-You are addicted to you thumb. We have broken the habit numerous times, but after about a month of not sucking your thumb, you suddenly start again.
-You love pink and purple.
-After I do your hair every day, you quickly find somebody to show off too and then tell them that you are pretty.
-You will NOT wear socks. You agree to wear them while you have shoes on, but once the opportunity presents itself, you will promptly take them off. You would rather play outside on a winter day with no socks and shoes on.
-You talk a lot, but you are hard to understand. Your speech isn't clear, but it's coming along just the same.
-You are my beautiful little girl, and I love you to bits and pieces. Thank you for being you. Sass and all.

Interesting Phone Conversation

On Saturday my sister called me to see our mom owned the Janice Kapp Perry music book called Just One Little Light.  She was searching for one song in particular.  I was able to find it in the music collection and we got talking about what it would take to legally make copies of the song for my sister's purposes. The book was published in 1988, and it included a phone number to call if you were inquiring about making photocopies. I called it and a very tired old woman answered with a simple hello. I explained what I was calling about, thinking that the book was so old that this number could no longer be valid especially after the simple hello greeting; as opposed to an official business of sorts that would handle copyright issues. Anyway, after explaining what I was after, the tired sounding old lady said, "Well, this is Janice.  What you need to do is go to janicekapppery.com and click on photocopies".  I thanked her and then hung up.

So now the question is, did I really talk to Janice Kapp Perry?

Sorry Pam

In high school I had a good friend named Pam. Pam had the most beautiful extra long hair I've ever seen. Down past her bum kind of long. It was healthy, shiny, and super fantastic to look at on the random occasion that she would wear it down. All through high school my hair was short. Really short most of the time. I somehow talked Pam into cutting her hair with the condition that I would grown my hair out to a certain length. Pam went through with the hair cut (don't worry, she still left it plenty long) but I, however, have never managed to grow my hair out to that specified length we agreed on.

Giving a point of reference.

 The specified length would be to where my finger is pointing. I really thought I might get there this go around with growing out my hair. But, alas, my hair has been falling out at quite an alarming rate since Siri's birth and James was pretty insistent that I cut it before I go bald. (Only two more inches and I would have done it!)

Now I look like me again. I thought I might be sad to lose those few years of effort in growing out my hair, but not so! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, having short hair again!!!  Makes me wonder why I waited so long to cut it.

Sorry Pam. Maybe, one day.