Linnea Loves...

Silly Mountain High

2011-12-28T21:21:00.001-08:00

We hiked today with pregnant Heather, Mike, Thomas, Emerson, pregnant April, Mason, Sabrina, and Nathan. I've never done that hike before. I really liked it. I carried Allie the whole way because at Thanksgiving I carried her on a different hike and I remember it being not a big deal. So instead of bringing the backpack I have for carrying her in, I wore a different backpack with water and diapers in it. And hence carried the 21 month old up the mountain. And as I'm sitting here tonight with a sore neck and shoulders, I still think it wasn't that bad...but next time I am definitely bringing the backpack! :)

I had a good time. I hiked up with Rusty and down with Lindsey. Haylee was nowhere near. She couldn't be stopped. She had to run and climb on everything and be with the older kids and thoroughly enjoy herself.

When we left, we went back to my mom's house for ham sandwiches on her homemade rolls. They were so good. Then we (I) pigged out on oranges from the Orange Patch. The kids sat and watch Aladdin and then flew helicopters at the park. The day was full and a success.

I love spending time with my family. It's so good to be with them and be reminded that these are the relationships and memories that I am trying to create with and for my own kids. Good day.

Rusty's 5th Birthday at the Park

2011-11-08T13:59:00.001-08:00

Since the weather has been so fantastic, I decided to do Rusty's birthday at the park. The weather was perfect and we had fun. We stopped by Panda Express to grab some dinner and then we were off.

Rusty got a Transformer, a Transformer mask, Captain America shirt and underwear, Transformer sweatshirt, a baseball glove, bat and balls and silly string for everyone.

Then we played. The playground was small, a swing set and a huge climbing boulder. It was fun.

Me and Allie

Rusty is King of the Mountain. Haylee, Russ and Allie aren't.

Allie Wubsie

Haylee with her butt in dad's face.

Lindsey

Allie and dad

Halloween night 2011

2011-11-08T10:21:00.001-08:00

Russ took the kids trick or treating. I stayed home with Allie that night since she'd been sick and my neck was out. But here's what happened. My mother-in-law Jimmie knew of a haunted house, so all the cousins met up and went. It was in my aunt Mary Nielson's old neighborhood, something someone had put together in their backyard. Apparently the man was a doctor and used real skeletons. The kids said it was pretty scary but that they loved it.

Then they went over to aunt Raeni's neighborhood to trick or treat.

Haylee

Lindsey

Lacey

Haylee

Aven and uncle Brandon

Tyler

Tyler

Nash

Call

Lindsey and Calli

Rusty and Lindsey

Uncle Rand and Rhiannon

Haylee

Jace

Lindsey

Church Trunk or Treat 2011

2011-11-08T09:36:00.001-08:00

I wish I had gotten shots of the kids inside the house where the lighting was better but they still look cute.

Haylee was a vampire.

Lindsey is a cute cheerleader.

Rusty is a Transformer.

Allie is the bumblebee. All the kids wore this costume at this age. I love it!

After we ate hot dogs, pasta salads, popcorn and cotton candy, we hit the booths and crafts. There was face painting, apple bobbing, a cake walk, trick or treat bag decorating and more.

We also had a bouncy house. That was Allie's favorite.

The kids trunk or treated at the end of the night.

We got a few more cart rides in before going home.

All in all, an awesome night!

Location:Madera Ward on Elliot Road between McQueen and Copper

Kid Language

2011-09-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Since we blow up tires when they're flat,
it made perfect sense for Rusty to tell me
that both of the tires on his bike were blown down.

2011-09-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight we all went on a walk, the whole family, dog included. There was nothing special about our walk. It was hot and I was sweaty. Boone barked at all the other dog owners walking their dogs. Lindsey walked half of it barefoot. Allie fell on her face. Rusty wanted to ride in the stroller the whole time and Haylee wanted to walk by her dad. It was a typical family outing. But all those typical happenings are what made tonight special. We all looked at the beautiful pink sunset. It was pretty amazing. We stopped at the park and the kids played for a few minutes. The kids took turns catching Allie at the bottom of the slide. Rusty did the monkey bars. I tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to do a pull up and a chin up. Russ had dog duty. (Get it!) And we created a family moment, a beautiful memory. I told Haylee that I remembered taking walks with my parents and sisters on Sunday nights, just like we were doing. I remember those things. And I think it's pretty cool that we are creating those little moments that turn into sweet memories.

Just Another Manic Monday

2011-04-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

Wake up

Scriptures

Prayer

Breakfast

"Hurry up!"

School drop-off

Cleaning

More cleaning

Clean-up dog throw up

Clean-up poopy diapers

Dishes

Laundry

Hold crying baby

Kids in bathtub

Spank kids in bathtub

Clean up water

Shower?

No shower

Go to work

Paperwork, paperwork

Running late

Drive around like a mad woman

Dinner?

Fine

Homework

Sweet hugs

Kisses

Sleepy kids

Rock-a-bye Allie

Stay-up-late Haylee (every night)

Computer time

Try to keep eyes open

Brush teeth?

Maybe

Goodnight

It's A Girl!

2011-04-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Lucy had her baby on Sunday, April 10, 2011.
Haylee named her Ruby.
Russ is getting back into the swing of things, bless his heart.

Do you see the tongue?

Just look at that soft, fabulous fur (hair, hide, whatever).

I just love her doe eyes.

Making Bread

2011-04-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today we attempted to make bread.
I ended up throwing the dough away.
It was a new recipe that called for powdered milk.
So I use some old, clumpy stuff that I thought would dissolve.
But it didn't.

The kids had fun though.
There's something magical about pouring the ingredients in.
It means they're big and smart and helpful.
They are so dang cute.

Rusty and Lindsey

I swear I have a picture of me
sitting on the counter next to mom's mixer,
helping her make bread
that looks just like this picture of Lindsey.
Leg up.
Head tilted.
And all.

Cute Girls

2011-04-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

Allie and Haylee
Haylee came up to me, holding Allie,
and asked me to take their picture.
They sure are cute sisters.

Beautiful, Sweet Allie

She walks everywhere, all day long.

Super Busy!

Boone (Who I Sometimes Call Rusty After Going To Melissa's House)

2011-04-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

This is Boone.
He was our Happy Valentine's Day surprise.
Haylee has wanted a dog since, well, forever.
I said we'd get one when I didn't have a crawling baby around.
Did that happen?
No.

Russ was looking at dogs
and really wanted to get an American Fox Hound.
But in order to get one of those
he would have had to fly to Virginia.

Weimaraner. Next best thing.
I've always loved them.
And I have to say that Boone is a very handsome dog.
Sometimes that's his only redeeming quality.

He is growing on me though.
He's potty trained and that was the biggest thing.

He's super good with Allie.
They just hang out together. It's pretty sweet.

And he's a great running dog.
He just goes and goes and goes and stays pretty focused.

So anyway. This is Boone.

World's Worst Mom...Ever

2011-04-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

Allie turned 1 on Tuesday, March 29, 2011.
But did we celebrate?
No.

Allie and I were pretty sick.
So I planned to celebrate that Saturday,
maybe go to the park or something.
But I didn't feel better until Saturday and guess what?
It was General Conference weekend.
And instead of buying a gift and baking a cake,
I watched Conference.
All. Day. Long.

The next day, Sunday, we went over to Grandma Jimmie's
like we do for every Harper birthday.
She made a cake and had a gift.
We all sang "Happy Birthday."
It was a regular celebration.
Plus Grandma Thomas brought over a gift on Allie's birthday.

And so, I just left it at that.
I didn't buy her a birthday present.
I didn't make her a cake.
And she'll never remember or feel cheated or anything.
Hmm. World's Worst Mom or World's Smartest Mom?

Grandma Jimmie, Cousin Lacey, Lindsey, Allie and Russ.

Happy (Belated) Birthday to My Sweetest Allie!
(Love those orange corduroy pant btw!)

April 1, 2011

2011-04-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Allie's sick and sleeping quietly at home.
I'm so grateful for my other kids.
They're really thoughtful and helpful with my sick sweetheart.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!

Walking Babies

2011-03-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

I love Allie.
She's walking but I don't have pictures or videos to post, yet.

She started walking sooner than the other kids at 11 months.

The other kids were all 13 months old.

She's adorable.

Girls Night In

2011-02-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

We had a girls night in tonight because the boys are gone!

Russ took Rusty on a scout camp-out in the snow. Blah!

Probably very against the rules
but he doesn't care too much for rules.
(surprise, surprise)

His justification is that he is gone most of the time working

and if he is going to be gone for scouts
then he is at least taking his boy
so that he can spend time with him.

You know, doing manly things.

Boy bonding and all that.

Russ really doesn't have a group of boys that he's over
and I think it makes a difference.

He is the 11 year old scout leader
but there is only one boy who never comes.

The dad initially said that he didn't want his son going to scouts

(#1) with no other kids to do it with because that isn't any fun and

(#2) alone with two scout leaders. (And I agree!)

Russ agreed too and worked it out
that they would join the older scouts.

The dad said great
but every time Russ called to remind them about activities,
they were busy.

Finally, he very nicely told Russ that basically,
"We're not interested in scouts."

So, regardless of being a boy-less leader,
Russ has still been going to the activities
and the camp-outs to help out

and Rusty is along for the ride.
He's in serious boy heaven.

Being the only boy with all these sisters,
this is a dream come true.

He is very into boy things.

He still isn't over Eldon's pink shirt.

He brings it up from time to time.

Still.

So anyways, I bought a few goodies for the boys,
things I don't normally buy.

Some Black Bean and Garlic chips, yum.

And some Oreo's...

Did I mention I got them from Costco?
It's an enormous package!

I split everything with Russ.

As soon as he left, the girls and I started eating
and holy cow did we get sick!

We didn't even wait for dinner, in fact, that was dinner.

We just popped in 'Despicable Me'
(because it is the greatest)
and binged.

Then we did Yoga.

Then we read Pippi Longstocking.

And now I'm trying to keep my eyes open.

And then tomorrow it's cleaning day,
because I've been a little sick all week

and I've really let things slide.

And I'm excited for a clean house!

Spanglish

2011-02-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

For homework, Lindsey needed to count two groups of apples and circle the group that had the most. She started to count, "Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis". Now, if that wasn't funny enough that she out of the blue started to count in Spanish, what came out of her next just made me love her spunky little self even more. She continued, "Siete, ocho, nueve, diez, eleven, twelve." She didn't even pause to think about it. I need a heart symbol on my keyboard. I heart Lindsey. She makes me laugh everyday.

Allie and Grandma Thomas

2011-01-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

I like these pictures of Grandma with Allie.
I think they're sweet.
When everyone was down for Thanksgiving,
we went to see the Temple lights.
We went before the official opening,
which is the only time to go, in my opinion.
No crowds, no waiting, no losing kids... for the most part.

Wubzie

2011-01-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

November 23, 2010

Winter Sing 2010

2011-01-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2010

This is the best picture that I could get of Haylee at the annual Winter Sing. Twice a year the school performs. Their amazing music teacher Mr. Fincher teaches songs to the whole school and each grade performs. It's pretty cool.

Haylee performs how she always has, completely stone faced and inanimated. I love it. I put her in a little singing group when she was five. She would come home and sing all the songs just fine. When they had their performance she stood there and stared with a frown, the whole time, and didn't sing one word. Not one. Let alone perform any of the actions. It was hilarious. She sings now but it's nothing like what she does at home. She sings almost constantly. I don't even think it's stage fright. I don't know what it is but when I watched her again this year I just kept thinking about Miss Jenie's class and her first performance ever. I love her.

Sneak Peek

2010-12-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got my Christmas cards made. I've been working on it for awhile. I had something else in mind but I couldn't get it to work. I was using a new program and it was just too new. Instead of spending even more time trying to figure it out, I just got on Picasa today and finally got it done. Picasa is so quick and easy. It kind of stinks to think about how much time I spent on the other program but, oh well.
Look at how cute my card turned out! I'm pretty proud of myself!

I decided to make one this year because I didn't like anything that Costco had to offer. I looked around on some other sites and found some really cute things but no one can beat Costco prices, like not even close. I noticed that Costco would let me make my own card, so I did! Plus, I got to throw in as many pictures as I wanted to. I think that really made it worth it. I hate choosing just one picture. These are a bunch of pictures that I took real quick one morning before school and there wasn't that one perfect picture in there, but I think that they look great all together. It kind of shows more personality by having a few pictures. I mean , look at how stinking cute and rascally Lindsey is. And really, getting four kids to focus and smile perfectly at the same time is pretty ridiculous. :) I just hope that they print as cute as they look on screen.

A Favorite Picture

2010-12-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

2010-12-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

I saw a height predictor on BabyCenter.com, so I did it.

Haylee and Lindsay are both predicted to be 5'8" by the age of 18.
However there is a 90% chance of their being 1.8 inches above or below this.

Rusty was predicted to be 6'4" by age 18.
And there is a 90% chance of his being 2.1" above or below this.

Fun.

I'm On Top of the World

2010-10-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

Last night Haylee and I stayed up late. We were doing a bit of karaoke. It all started with talk about 9-11. I thought it was a little grim and didn't want to send her to bed with thoughts of crashing aeroplanes.

Suddenly I remembered something I've been meaning to look up on YouTube with her. See, her school puts on two Sings every year, The Winter Sing and The Spring Sing. They have this absolutely amazing music teacher, Mr. Fincher, who blows my mind. He teaches each grade 3-4 songs for each Sing. What got me was that he had 60+ Kindergartners busting out harmonies together and they sounded good! Impressive.

Well last year Haylee would come home from school singing her songs for the Spring Sing and I recognized one of her songs. The arrangement was different but she was singing 'Sing'. I don't know if The Carpenters actually wrote that song but when I sing 'Sing', I'm thinking of Karen Carpenter.

So I've thought about looking that song up so that Haylee could hear the old school version and it seemed like the perfect way to switch the topic of conversation and send her to bed with sweet thoughts instead of sad. She loved it! I mean, who can resist The Carpenters? (She did mention however, that the brother (what's his name) had really scary hair and I agreed.)

We sang along "La la la la la" and it was great. Then I scanned the list for other songs I recognized of theirs and we started 'Rainy Days and Mondays'. That's when I realized how utterly depressing that song really is. I stopped that suicidal melody and told Haylee that we were going to listen to one of grandpa's most favorite songs ever. It's also the happiest song ever. Please enjoy:

Great isn't it? We sang along twice before Haylee said, "Mom, can we watch it again? Only don't sing this time." She wanted to sing along by herself. I was laughing at how amazing cute she is. I think I should mention that everyone else was already in bed and mostly asleep but we kept on singing. It was a great night. We went on to watch Michelle Moyer's videos and one from Carrie Underwood (the song that Michelle sang).

Haylee and I have continued singing 'On Top of the World' today and for the most part, it's been a pretty good day. Tonight, however, I've sent her to bed and denied her requests for another night of karaoke. Russ can only handle so much. :)

I love it! I love writing about this and capturing this moment in my life. I love moments like these with my family! These individual moments that make memories and build relationships. It's one of the most important things in life.

I love this age with Haylee. I love learning about her and how kind she is. She is thoughtful and thinks about other people. She loves doing nice things for others. She's always writing little notes and making little things to give. She is truly interested in those around her. She is the sweetness. And maybe I'll write about Lindsay tomorrow night because she is the spice. :)

2010-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is what we did last night after I got home from my long run. (A whole 3.5 miles :)
It started out with the kids showing me and Russ their tricks and turned into a contest of who could stay up the longest. I love my family so much.

2010-10-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

2010-10-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

2010-10-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

2010-10-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

2010-10-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

2010-10-13T11:05:00.002-07:00

2010-10-13T11:05:00.001-07:00

2010-10-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

2010-10-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

2010-10-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today Russ and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary, a day late but what do you do? We went to The Farm at South Mountain. It's a seasonal restaurant set amid pecan trees. Dad took me there once when he worked for Sky Mall. The weather was perfect and the grounds are really pretty. The food...expensive and not as good as it should have been, but we still had a good time. We walked around the place. It has a large garden area where they grow their own food for their three restaurants. We walked back to their art gallery, which was not super impressive but there were a few things that were interesting. They also had an art studio where they offer classes, a energy healing center, and a massage spa. I think the grove of pecan trees was my favorite feature of the place. It really is beautiful. So happy 9th to us.

2010-10-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't get any pictures of the rain today. It was the storm of the decade. Amazing. I was working in the office with Russ while the girls were at school. Rusty and Allie were with Gilda at the house.

Since it was so nice out, Gilda decided to take the kids to the park. And that's where they were when the storm hit. It all happened so fast and they were caught outside under a tiny ramada area. Gilda put the kids in the stroller and faced them away from the storm. Then she turned her back to it but still got soaked and pelted by the hail. She said that Rusty was crying and that she was a bit freaked out too.

I personally have never seen a storm that strong before. It got crazy and was relentless. The wind was amazing to me but if I had been caught in it, especially with two small children, I would have been freaked. I've never seen so many trees down from one storm. It was powerful.

I have been so grateful today that they were kept safe. It was a wild one and everyone has been sharing stories of where they were when it hit. I think Gilda, Rusty and Allie have everyone beat.

I was standing in the carport of Russell's grandma's old house and had to go inside at one point because the wind was blowing so hard. I was wet and cold. The hail lasted for several minutes. I couldn't see Southern Avenue from where I was standing. There were cars still driving by, very slowly. It was the closest thing to a hurricane that I've ever seen. And the water! In a manner of minutes everything was flooded. It was amazing. I wish I had been there with my kids. Thunder and lightening and everything frightening. Wowzer what a day.

2010-10-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. I spent it mostly in the kitchen. I bought a box of Utah apples and borrowed mom's apple peeler and dehydrator. I dehydrated a lot of the apples. I also made apple crisp. I made three apple crisps actually. I gave one to my neighbor just because I think she's awesome. We ate one tonight for family home evening. And we will probably eat the other one tomorrow night (let's be honest) because it is so amazingly good. It's shocking that I didn't like apple crisp when I was a kid. What was I thinking?

I went over spelling words with Haylee just before bed and I used the words in sentences. 'More'. I would like some more apple crisp please. 'Wind'. Who has seen the wind blowing through the apple trees? 'Made'. I made an amazingly good apple crisp tonight. She thinks I'm hilarious. :)

I saved a few apples for Haylee to peel when she got home from school. I remember using the apple peeler when I was a kid and I thought it was so cool. Some things never change. Lindsay and Rusty took turn after turn this morning. Then they took the strings of apple peel, wrapped them around their heads (yes you read that right) and into their mouths and walked around eating and playing with their food. It's like the longest spaghetti strand ever, only better.

Haylee led us in our Family Home Evening. The lesson was on tithing. She is so cute. Just a responsible little leader. She probably drives Lindsay and Rusty crazy, or she will, because she is such a good kid. :) Hopefully they will all be responsible little leaders each in their own unique ways because they are all such good kids, just in their own unique ways. Sometimes in very unique ways.

Allie is just fat and sassy. Well, fat for my babies. I can't resist her thighs. They are so squishy. Anyway, it's late and I'm extremely tired but I've been meaning to write more about our day to day lives so that when I'm old and gray, I can look back on this time of my life and enjoy it over and over again.

2010-08-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Rusty and I went on a walk this morning around the temple. We only went around one time because it's so hot. When we got home, I told him that his cheeks were red. He moved his eyes around trying to see his cheeks, so I told him to go look in the mirror. I hear him walk into the bathroom and then I hear him quietly say to himself, in almost a whisper, "Wow!"

I love my 'handsome' (not cute!) little boy.

2010-06-18T14:17:00.001-07:00

Russ left early this morning for Fresno, CA. He has a job there working on a daycare center. I took the day off from working too. I needed a day...or two. So I thought I would take the kids to Mesa High School tonight and walk around the track, but my sister-in-law Amy called and reminded me that we had plans for a sleep-over this weekend. So Haylee, Lindsay and Rusty will be over there. Tonight it's just Allie and me. Too bad I just finished my really great book, whose ending was kind of sad and disappointing, but not. It's called The Uglies, The Pretties and The Specials. Actually, it's three books. But I do have a Netflix movie that's been here for over a week. The Time Travelers Wife. So I'll probably go grocery shopping and then settle down with a movie. I haven't watched a movie in awhile. I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet and yet not. :)

Allie

2010-04-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Allie Ann Harper

2010-04-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Allie Ann Harper
Born: March 29, 2010
(on her due date!)
at 11:16 p.m.
Weight: 8lbs. 14 oz.
Length: 21.5 inches

2010-03-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't add this to the poll, but we've been contemplating Zoey.
What do you think?

Good Food

2010-02-23T20:36:00.001-08:00

I had javelina tamales today. The guy that Russ works with is Mexican. He went hunting, shot a javelina, made tamales and gave us some. I tried not to think too hard about it being javelina so I could enjoy it, and I totally did! It was so good. It helps that his tamales are amazing anyway. I just kept thinking, this is way better for me than store bought pork. Truly organic, truly delicious.

2010-02-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009

2010-02-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

2010-01-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

This is Life. This is their life.
Making fire pits in the back yard
and pretending to be dinosaur adventurers.

A New Years News Reel

2010-01-01T09:08:00.000-08:00

This is what we're watching this morning.

We've seen the jump at least 50 times.

Every time we see it,

Rusty gets real tense and says, "Wow!"

2009-11-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

I'm Having A Girl!

First Day of School Pictures

2009-09-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Haylee started 1st grade this year.
She's still at Franklin West.
Her teacher is Mrs. Hale in Room 3.
This week she is the Star Bear.
She loves it.

Lindsay started Pre-school this year.
She goes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Her teacher is Mrs. Hartman and she teaches out of her house.
When we went to meet her for the first time,
Lindsay said that her house looked like a witch's house. :)
But she loves Pre-school.
She has homework, just like Haylee,
and every Thursday she gets to bring something for Show and Tell.
They get a snack every day.
That's awesome!

Suspicions!

2009-07-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my suspicions at the cabin but suspicions are confirmed.

Baby #4 is on the way!

I think I got the spacing right this time.
Three and a half years between Rusty and this one.
That seems so relaxing compared to 19 months, or even 22 months!

I think it's a girl.
Russ thinks it's a boy.
All bets are on!

Coming March 29, 2010!

Pictures of Our Summer

2009-07-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is a summer favorite of all the neighborhood kids.
We use Russell's gym as a slip-and-slide.

Lindsay, Cousin Lacey and Haylee

Lindsay and Rusty in the dryer!

Just hanging out!

Kindergarten Awards Ceremony

2009-05-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

What more can I say?
She is beautiful!
She is awesome!
I love her!

Kids Say The Darndest...

2009-05-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

Rusty wanted to say the prayer the other day
and I was going to help him like usual
but instead he busted out with his own prayer.
Not a memorized prayer
because he was saying his own stuff:

"Thankful for Jesus.
Be nice.
Share.
I didn't do it.
Name Jesus
Amen."

Where did that come from and what didn't he do?
Hilarious!

Corn on the Cob

2009-05-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

I remember nights on Evergreen......summer nights. It was pretty great. Sometimes my mom would come home with those brown paper grocery bags full of corn. I remember helping shuck the corn and I thought it was great. I remember eating corn on the cob and thinking it was the best. But it wasn't the best. The best is that my kids get those same memories. They will remember summer nights on Pepper Place, eating corn on the cob and loving it. That's awesome!

2009-04-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well, this is another blog post based off another conversation with Russ. When this whole swine flu pandemic thing hit the news, I should say dominated the news, he wondered if something was being covered up. Sure enough, he found a health care bill that Obama was preparing to sign that will only cost the tax payers 3.something trillion dollars. That's on top of the trillions that he's already spent getting us out of this economic recession. My mom said that Glenn Beck was talking about this on his radio show which I love but can't listen to all the time because I get too depressed and anxious, even though he is hilarious and he is my favorite talk radio host. But back to business, did you know that our federal debt went from $10 billion in 1997 to $14 trillion in 2009? I think both parties, Democrats and Republicans are corrupt and are destroying our country, with our permission of course. Did you know that a report just came out that out of the 109 supposed swine flu deaths in Mexico, that they are only acknowledging 7 of them as actual swine flu deaths. Did you know that "they" are advising us to not go to the doctor if you get the flu because you don't need to unless your symptoms progress to the point that you would normally go to the doctor! As much as I worry (thanks to the media) about my children catching an illness that could potentially kill them, I think this is all a bunch of crap. My children could die in a car accident, they could fall down on their bike and hit their head just right and die that way too. They could get knocked out from my make-up case falling on their head and drown in the toilet, I mean come on. The list could go on and on and I refuse to live in fear of something that is being thrown in our face, but is probably just a cover-up of big people spending big money that isn't theirs.

2009-04-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

Russ and I have been having some interesting discussions lately and I've learned something that I hadn't really thought about before. I've often heard our dear Presidents of the United States ramble about our need to spread Democracy, but we are not a democracy! We are a Republic! (...And to the Republic, for which it stands...) I've been reading a little about the difference and it is huge. Did you know that most people use Democracy and Republic interchangeably. But they aren't. A democracy is majority rules, which therefore does not guarantee rights to the individual. A republic is law rules, or in other words, the constitution rules. It guarantees the rights (our God-given, inalienable rights) of the individual. That's why The Constitution is so important. That's why The Constitution must be protected.

2009-04-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Some random thoughts.

I saw a license plate the other day: TOODLES! Who else has ever said that I'd like to know? Obviously someone.

How come some kids are attached to binkies and some aren't? Mine never were.

I just finished reading "The Hiding Place" again and it is still an amazing book. A must read!

I have a super nice husband who rarely points out my many faults and who tells me how pretty I am. I hear that at least once a day, whether it's true or not and it's so nice to hear.

Good News!

2009-04-14T17:54:00.001-07:00

So, last week I finally went in for this thingy on my shoulder. My family doctor thought it was most likely basal cell skin cancer, which is extremely common and not life threatening. We did a biopsy and that is not a pleasant thing. Well, the results came back today and it was not cancer. It was a ruptured cyst which look a lot like basal cell skin cancer. So I am extremely happy about my great news. :)

Question and Answer

2009-04-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

I just overheard this conversation.

Lindsay: Rusty, you don't like boobies?
Rusty: No.
Lindsay: Well, that's why Heavenly Father didn't give you any.

That's funny!

Grunge

2009-02-26T20:38:00.000-08:00

I had a nice compliment from a neighbor today. A group of the neighborhood kids were playing in her yard. My kids were especially grungy. Lindsay had chocolate and who know what else all over her face. Rusty had red chalk all over his shorts. They were pretty disgusting. She said something to the effect of, "I like when your kids come over to play. It makes me feel like my kids are normal, dirty hands, clothes and faces." I take that as a huge compliment coming from her because her kids are always outside playing. They are happy and well-behaved kids. I like to think that my kids are happy and healthy. They are always playing outside, riding bikes and playing in the dirt. They love it. I love it.

Countdown

2009-02-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast time goes. We're going to Hawaii in two days and I'm not ready! I really don't like the idea of being gone so long from my kids. It sounded great but now that it's almost here, I would rather not go. Isn't that funny? Anyway, I don't have much to say. I've just been trying to get ready for the trip. Russ has been trying to finish his gym and the mat is finally done! Good job Russ! It really looks great and he's excited about it. Haylee and Lindsay are excited to go to Aunt Melissa's house. And Rusty just wants to be held.

A Whole Lotta Pictures

2009-01-29T21:46:00.001-08:00

My beautiful Lindsay Kate
At aunt Raeni's house.
Eatting ice cream with the cousins after Out of Africa. Jace, Haylee, Lacey and Lindsay.
Out of Africa with Grandpa Harper and Grandma Jimmie.
Haylee and Lacey on the bus.
My beautiful Lindsay.
Pilgrim the giraffe.

Boom, Boom the Rhino and Haylee.
Lacey, Haylee and Lindsay with Boom Boom.
Me with Haylee and Rusty. Lindsay refused to be in the picture and Russ was volunteering at D.I. that day. Too bad.
Rusty had run off and I got a picture of him.
Jace, Rusty, Lacey, Haylee and Grandma Jimmie
Rusty and his chocolate milk.
The cutest picture of Haylee and Lacey. Sweet cousins.
Russ on Thanksgiving at my mom's, 2008.
Haylee, Thanksgiving 2008
Lindsay, Thanksgiving 2008 (with Thomas)
Rusty slept through all the noise of Thanksgiving 2008

Please Go Away!

2009-01-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

I'm referring to the picture of Barack Obama that has graced my blog since Halloween! Please go away and don't come back.

I finally got a computer of my own. It's the world's smallest laptop and I love it. I've networked it to Russell's computer but still can't seem to get access to all our pictures. That's my excuse for not blogging sooner. Blogs are funner with pics. I'll work on that.

I have two exciting coming ups. The first is that in less than a week, Russ and I are going to Hawaii for a week! His good friend Clint Teague is getting married there. Needless to say I am ecstatic. My sainted sister is watching the kids for us. Yeah, I know. She's crazy but I won't be the one to change her mind. The kids are so excited for a week at aunt Melissa's. It makes me laugh because she's watched the kids before for me and a well known fact is that her dog has the same name as my cutest little boy. When anyone says, "Rusty!" two little heads perk up. Imagine a week of that. :)

The other thing is that on May 2nd, Melissa and I are going to run a half marathon in Prescott. That is slightly over 13 miles. I don't know if I've ever in my life run 13 miles, let alone in the conditions that we're going to be facing. Imagine this. Starting at about 5000 ft. and in 6 miles climbing 2000 ft. to a total altitude of 7000 ft. Now I could be wrong but I thought I read that by the half marathon turn around, you've done the climb. I also read that it is one of the top 5 hardest marathons in the U.S. Granted that we're only running half but seriously, this is crazy. I so excited.

In other news, our business continues to do well and I'm grateful. I work there with Russ, which I love. We moved our office to where I had my salon and I haven't regretted it one bit. Instead of driving out to my in-laws every other day, I just walk outside to the backyard. The kids get to be home and our fantastic babysitter Gilda hangs out with them. They really love her and that makes me happy. For a semi-working mom, I've got it good.

Russ is continuing to work on his gym. I'll post pictures. "That bad boy's a monster." He's almost done, thank goodness. He also just bought a drawing pad something that he's super excited about. I'll have to learn more about it.

Haylee is doing so well in school. She is reading and doing 1st grade math. That's typical in the Franklin schools. It's been amazing to watch her learn.

Lindsay is still my rascal but Rusty gives her a run for her money. He completely loves Russell's gym. He'll sneak outside, put gloves on and punch the bag. I need a picture, it's hilarious. But he also likes to do that inside, without the gloves and on his sisters.

That's it for now.

Love, Linnea
(everybody does)

P.S. I've been thinking about changing the name of my blog to Love Linnea because I use to sign all my letters that way, with the post comment of 'everybody does'. But I also use to say Tootles a lot too. Which still to this day cracks me up. Hmm. What do you think?

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

I sure love my kids. Isn't Linds so beautiful. She was thrilled to be a witch this year. This is an old dress-up costume. I think it was my nieces' Halloween costume years ago. It was tattered and ragged but when we found the $2 witches hat at DI she was thrilled. Rusty didn't care about anything but the candy, which I figured. That's why I got him a $4 superman costume senza the cape. He didn't even know it was missing

2008-10-31T14:11:00.001-07:00

I know that no one reads my blog since I rarely blog. But how horrible is this socialistic communist! He hates our country and democracy and free enterprise! Vote McCain!
Do I get too dramatic? :)-

2008-09-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

Haylee started Kindergarten this year at Franklin East. I really like the school. She goes in the morning on the bus with a lot of the other kids in the neighborhood. Her teacher is Mrs. Vincent. Haylee had a hard time the first week or two and Mrs. Vincent's husband was there to help. He told me later that she left her desk and walked over to him. She said, "Can I tell you something?" He said, "Sure." Then she said, "I just want my mom right now." How cute right. So he gave her a little hug and a few encouraging words and she was fine after that. She came home happy. So although she is already giving me the old, "I don't want to go to school today!" I think it's good.

She's learning the sounds of the alphabet. Today she tried to write scissor and showed me how she had written "szzr". What a little smarty pants, right. She is so beautiful.

Her grandma Jimmie just finished sewing her a dress. Haylee had it all designed in her head and told grandma all about it. She's made clothes out of paper and staples, grocery bags and staples, blankets and clips and I need to get a picture of this... She takes a necklace, one of those firm, round ones and she takes her arms out of the sleeves and inserts the necklace instead, then puts the necklace on. She cracks me up. It's a red carpet design. Modesty issues yeah but come on. I love her.

I guess that's a drop of what's going on. I, like so many others, still think about Christian and Stephanie daily. Still pray for them daily. Something I find myself thinking often lately is to really enjoy this moment with my family, whatever it is that we're doing.

Innocence

2008-06-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

So the other night a salesman stopped by the house. He was a recently return missionary using his missionary skills to try and sell me a $1,800 family plan for the cartoon scripture movie things. He was using his soft and soothing voice, you know the one to sound sincere. He was pious and proper and everything good. Then Lindsay comes out of the bathroom singing, "Wiener, wiener, wiener! Wiener, wiener, wiener!" That was too funny.

I'm so Dizzy!

2008-05-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

We live in downtown Mesa and we have a few landmarks. One of these is a crazy named Dizzy. He stands on the corner of Stapley and Main doing his thing. He dances, sings, yells out a few sayings such as: Peace, Praise Jesus and Halleluah. He also gives you the occasional bird. He's quite the character. Well, Russ always honks the horn and waves at him so my girls have followed suite. One day we were waiting for the light to turn green and the girls were get really excited and wanted to say hi to Dizzy. They said his name over and over and rolled down their windows and said hi. We drive on and a minute passes before Lindsay turns to Haylee and says, "Someday I think he'll go to Dizzyland." It still makes me laugh but maybe because it came out of my sweet Lindsay's mouth. Come on though, that's funny.

Mondays

2007-10-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Monday is a house cleaning day. This is when Haylee loves to tell me two things..."Mom, no one is in charge." She's basically telling me that I can't tell her what to do. And the other is.."Mom, I love living in a dirty house." I love her. Seriously, how funny is that?

In the Eyes of My Two Year Old

2007-10-02T11:09:00.001-07:00

As I was making lunch today,
Lindsay opened the fridge and took out the bottle of Pedialyte,
which I use for fevers, vomiting and most recently, diarrhea.

She handed the bottle to me and said,
"I have diarrhea. Mom, I sick."

She said it a few times and when I didn't give it to her she stopped.

Ten minutes later, as we sat down to eat,
she handed me the bottle again and forcefully said,
"Mom, I want diarrhea!"

It must be that good.

Wee Wee Wee, All The Way To The Toilet

2007-09-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

Lately these little girls cannot make it to the toilet.
Why?

Lindsay actually stood in front of the toilet
and peed on the floor while still wearing her panties.

I guess I should take it in sride because really,
when I think about it,
that's nothing compared with what she usually does.

Let's see:

creamy eye make-up smeared all over her entire body

laundry soap all over the floor

conditioner dumped out but at least it was in the shower...easy clean up

salt all over the counter

eatting Rusty's formula

smearing almost an entire jar of Bag Balm on the wall

markers

knives, no cuts thank goodness

lotion on the mirror

diaper rash cream applied you-know-where

peanut butter

and most recently she discovered how to open the sugar jar

So maybe what I'm saying is that I need to step it up a notch at my job!
:)

A Gaggle of Gook...or Two...or Three

2007-05-29T22:40:00.001-07:00

I don't understand why watching my kids puke all over the bed, couch, floor, me and occasionally in the toilet should stir my motherly, tender emotions...but it does. It's so tragic watching and not being able to do anything to help them except let them know that I'm right there with them. It's heartbreaking listening to them cry for water and giving it to them, all the while knowing that in 20-45 minutes, it's coming back up. First my little Lindsay, then my Rusty James, then me. How was your Memorial Day Weekend? :)-

Book Review

2007-05-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

"Mrs. Honey's Hat"
by Pam Adams

Hmm. I knew a Pam Adams once, my friends mom. I can't imagine her ever writing a book. Especially not this one because it's too cute and obviously English. Mrs. Honey goes to the sea-side, she visits a castle, she picks dandelions to make wine. It's cute, it's fun and most of all my 4 year old loves it! 10 out of 10.

Book Review

2007-05-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

"It's Not About the Bike -- My Journey Back to Life"
by Lance Armstrong

To be honest, I couldn't put it down. Well, maybe that's putting it a bit too strong. I was interested enough in the book to finish it and I finished fairly quickly, which isn't always the case. I leave a lot of books halfway through, but this book was interesting. It's about Lance Armstrong for Pete's sake.

The book was sometimes sluggish. Also, I don't really care for his personality...I don't think we'd be friends because by the end of the book I realized that I really can't stand him. :) The last sentence in the book is absolutely cheesy! That was kind of a let down. :) But it's his story told by him and I'll say it again, I found it interesting. So whether your interest is in cancer or cycling or just in reading, it's an okay book but not a must-read.

Side note: He uses the f-word several times for those who care. I do.

Haylee Turns Four!

2007-05-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today was Haylee's birthday. I started the day out right, with oatmeal for breakfast. It's her favorite. Later we went to Chander Mall. We played at the play area. Then we shopped but didn't find anything. Then we got an Orange Julius (not as good as I remember). Then we got balloons. One was made into a flower and the other one was a flower hat. Then we got a cookie with red sprinkles from Paradise Bakery. I got their lemon zest, yummy. Then we went back to the play area. Fun, fun. From there we swung by Costco to get a cake because my oven is temporarily out of commission. (Lindsay shoved something somewhere. When I turn it on the house smells like burned plastic. Who knows! :) Then we dropped Rusty off and headed on over to The Glitter Box. It's this overpriced but cute little store in downtown Mesa. They have it all set up for little girls, complete with stage with a live video stream to a t.v. where the girls can watch themselves dance, and a mini-salon where they get their hair done for free in a funky up-do topped off with glitter. From there we headed on to the park. We dined on In-and-Out, sang Happy Birthday, and open presents. What Haylee really wanted was a falling down scooter. Carli Johnson has a 3-wheeled scooter that doesn't fall down but Haylee wanted one like Cameron Wright. (And Ridge and Rane.) Everything we got her was pink. A pink Barbie scooter, a pink jumprope, a pink cheerleading outfit with pink pom poms, a pink Barbie car for her dolls, a Candyland game (it has pink in it), pink sparkly shoes that she saw at Target and I said no way but they were $3 so I snuck them into the shopping cart when she wasn't looking. a pink flower crown, pink tassels for her bike. And I did get her a necklace from Glitter Box but that was purple. Hmm. I did look for a pink one. :) And that was her day. I only wish that we had made more time for her to play with friends. That's the only other thing that she wanted to do today that we didn't get to do. Oh well. It was fun and she can always play tomorrow.

First Tooth

2007-05-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. Rusty finally has his first tooth. It broke through yesterday on his bottom right side. What a milestone. He doesn't do much else though. He eats a mighty good diet of: mothers milk, formula bottles, bananas and plain yogurt with a bit of wheat germ thrown in the mix, the daily dose of organic baby food and yesterday I gave him a pinch of a bread slice. Yummy! He's been sleeping through the night since 1 month, from about 8:00-6:30 although with that tooth, it's been earlier and with interrupted naps. I can't complain though, he's such a good boy. He only cries when: he's hungry, he's tired, he's poopy or his tooth is coming in (and even then I should say that he's fussy, not that he cries.) He laughs, smiles and gives the best hugs. He loves people, hanging upside down, patty-cake and horsey rides. He doesn't quite sit up yet and that's okay. He's starting to reach for things and he scoots backwards quite nicely on our wood floor. He has finally figured out how to walk in his walker. And he's been wearing 12 month clothes for about 2 months now! (That's since he was 4 months old!) He's such a champ and I love him. My little Rust man.

Freedom

2007-04-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've had my very own car. I would say that it's been on and off for almost a year now.

Crazy, huh?

It hasn't been too bad, really... until lately. Initially I was very pregnant with two small and very excited, very cute little girls, so I really wasn't going anywhere anyway. Then I had another baby. Again, not going anywhere. However, now that Rusty is almost 6 months, I am ready to get out of the house!

Today I had my first taste of the freedom that I've been missing out on. Russ went to Show Low for work today, so I had the truck all day long, without having to worry about the switch off time. Actually, at first I couldn't decide what to do or where to go: the gym, Costco, the mall, errands, you name it! We ended up at the Mesa Public Library and it was great. :) We stayed for as long as we wanted and it felt good.

Now, the truck will be permanently passed on to me in the next few days or so. (We downsized Russ into a Toyota Tacoma but are still waiting for it to arrive.) So now my excitement is about deciding what I want to trade the truck in for. But do you want to know what I'm actually more excited about? I am so super excited that I will have a vehicle to take me around to all the different car lots to check out other cars in person instead of just looking and dreaming online. I think if you haven't been home bound for any length of time, you just can't appreciate how wonderful that really is. Yeah, it's the little things that make life sweet. :)

Tashbag Kites

2007-04-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

It was SO windy today and we had fun!

It all started when I noticed some neighbor girls standing outside trying to get blown away. I ran out and told them to get trashbags and rollerblades. As I went inside I thought, "Why aren't we doing that?" So I grabbed some trashbags, shoes and the girls.

We had a pretty good time!

The girls ran up and down the street and thought that was just fantastic. Then we got kite string and tied it on. That went well... Lindsay only got it wrapped around her neck once and it really didn't choke her unless the wind blew.

Eventually Haylee's and Lindsay's became one and Haylee claimed it for herself. She was very excited to have a double garbage sack kite, but it all went downhill from there, at least for Lindsay. I gave her mine, but it just wasn't the same. She either got it tripped up in the other kites or she lost her grip and it went floating away. Still, what good times. It even rained for about an hour and it was pretty cold outside. What a nice surprise.

Hooray for windy days.

Ta-Da!

2007-02-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

Since this is my first post on my first blog, I feel like I need to write a spectacular introduction. "Hi. I'm Linnea." I'm going to be 30 this year. I've been married for 5 1/2 years to Russell Harper. We have 3 kids:

Haylee Jane (3, well 4 in May),
Lindsay Kate (2)
and Rusty James (3 months).
Hmmm. I don't know if that was spectacular, but it was an introduction. Next time, when I blog, I feel like I can really be open, now that the introductions are out of the way.

So until next time...

Cute Haylee

2006-04-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

Silly Haylee

2006-04-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

In Hospital with Lindsay

2006-04-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Baby Lindsay Sleeping

2006-04-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

Haylee in Pink

2006-04-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

Princess Haylee

2006-04-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

Small family photo

2006-04-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

Haylee Jane with hose

2006-04-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Family Photo @ Mom's

2006-04-06T07:20:00.000-07:00