Our little neck of the woods

Good times

2012-01-14T14:32:00.007-05:00

Another successful trip to Utah has occurred, and we had a wonderful time. The flights out were relatively stress free, which is nice. It's always so fun to surprise Carolina with an early morning wake up call that lets her know we're heading to Grandma's house. She gets so excited. The kids just love being at Grandma's house (my dad always wonders why it isn't referred to as his house), and my parents are so good to spend time with my kids and give them lots of attention. They are also so good to John and me and give us lots of parenting breaks. John and I were able to go to SLC for a few nights, which was a lot of fun. While there we mastered the downtown transist system and felt like true locals.

We're now home and recovering. I'm trying to reprogram the children to the rules of normal life, which is proving difficult since they are both sick. Cash always seems to get the worst of it, and he is pretty pitiful when he's sick. I'm trying to be patient.

For some reason I didn't take many pictures this go around, but here's some of them.

Back in Cash's happier times, which seems so long ago. I think he looks particularly handsome in this picture.

Carolina thinks I am the coolest mom because I have trophies from when I was 13. Once in a while I'll hear her tell people out here, "My mommy has lots of trophies in Utah." Yes, twenty years ago I was pretty awesome.

Gingerbread house completed successfully.

Nightime reading with Grams.

The highlight of the trip was probably getting to stick their head out of the roof while going through the festival of lights.

Santa's note and cookies.

Patiently waiting to open presents.

Carolina is a bit of a hypochondriac. She used this cane for several days because she thought she'd broken her leg. My parents have lots of supplies to perpetuate the myth.

Carolina's second Christmas that she prepared for us. She picked out and wrapped two presents for each of us. She's pretty thoughtful.

Five

2011-12-05T20:23:00.002-05:00

Sweet Little Lina had her fifth birthday this past week. It's hard for me to believe my baby girl is five. Carolina is usually a wonderful little kid. She loves to help me with things, she keeps me laughing, and she is a very good big sister. If Cash had been the older sibling I don't know if he would have been as patient having a younger sibling following him around all day. But, for the most part she loves it. She does have her spicy moments though. Like in this picture when she told me I never do anything for her, so I told her she could clean everything up from breakfast and do all of the dishes. My plan backfired though because she loved doing it, she made a big mess, and I had to re-wash all the dishes anyway. Oh-well. She is one of my greatest blessings in life.

She got to have her first birthday party. She was very, very excited about this.

Her sweet friends who came to show their love. We had the party at the church which was nice, and less stressful for me.

The deliciousness.

I unfortunately didn't take many pictures at the church (I can't concentrate when I'm in charge of things). But, we did make these cute snow globes at the party.

I've been seeing this all over Pinterest, so I had to give it a try. Carolina loves anything that makes her feel special (I suppose most of us do), so she loved this.

It was a wonderful birthday and Carolina is thrilled to be five. She keeps asking when she's starting school, since we've always told her she'll go when she's five. I am just amazed when I look at her, how much we've grown in our relationship. When I first brought her home from the hospital, well, those were some terrible times. I just felt shear terror and I remember whenever she'd wake up crying from a nap I would just get knots in my stomach. I had no idea what to do with this crying little baby. I just love to look into her eyes know and realize what a great little human she has become. And hopefully I've grown to.

October

2011-11-02T20:35:00.006-04:00

Face painting at the Apple Festival. Very cold and windy.

At the pumpkin patch with the cousins. I love how Cash is clinging to Carolina.

Playing in the leaves with their buddies.

Can you guess what we are? Either this or this. You choose.

We woke up to this wonderful sight a few days before Halloween. Break out the snow gear!

Haircut

2011-09-04T13:41:00.003-04:00

I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to get Carolina out of the Dora hairstyle phase. I've tried to grow it out twice, but I can't stand it after it gets past her shoulders. She hates for me to style it and it seems pretty fine and wispy when it's longer. Luckily, I still think she looks pretty cute with it short. Maybe I'll just try growing out her bangs next time.

Carolina has been begging to have a sleepover with her cousins Brooke and Hannah. Aunt Tonya was nice enough to let Carolina go stay at their house for two nights. She was so excited and packed for days (before she even knew when she was actually going). She did call the second night crying and telling me how much she missed me, but I think that mostly had to do with being over tired (although it was nice to hear). Little Cash sure missed her. Whenever he heard John walk in the door he would get a happy look on his face and say, "Liney?!?".

Carolina getting ready to say goodbye.

Home again.

2011-08-17T13:43:00.006-04:00

We have gone and returned home from Zion. We actually made a trip to the real Zion this time (more on that later). I flew American Airlines with the kids, and every flight was delayed (some by four hours). I will never fly them again. The kids were troopers though. They may not be able to drive 30 minutes without whining, but for some reason they are wonderful airline travelers.

You know it's a small town parade when you just show up in line 10 minutes before it starts and they let anyone be in the parade. No sign on the car or anything. It did help that we had candy. This is Mitchell driving Carolina, Lydia, William and Thomas in the Mona parade, where my mom grew up. It's just a fun place to be for Pioneer day.

This pictures represents the circle of life. When my cousin and I were little we used to ride on my dad's red convertible (in our bathing suits) in the Mona parade. Now Carolina gets to experience it with her cousins.

Kitty cat face. Face painting is always a hit.

Lion.

John and I were able to go down to Vegas for four days. We had such a fun time.

My dad let us drive the convertible down, which was fun at night. During the day we couldn't put the top down because it felt like we were sucking on a blow dryer while inside an oven.

John went and rode some bumper cars (or Go Karts as he called them...sounds more manly).

Our fancy camera did a great job of capturing this blur.

Ran into Whoppi.

The Las Vegas Temple. John spent lots of time here on his mission.

John and I drove through Zion's National Park in search of the arch that is on the Utah license plate. Yeah, it's not there...we were only five hours off path. I should be ashamed of myself. We had a very scenic 2 hour detour though. I saw beautiful parts of Utah I'd never seen before.

William and Cash at the parade in Heber. William was so good to little Cash.

Grandma consoling Cash who is afraid of the horses.

Amanda and I were able to sneak away from the kids and have brunch, a massage and a movie. It's hard to be us.

The cousins snuggling up for a movie.

It was a great trip. I was able to see lots of old friends, which always helps feed my soul. I feel blessed to have friendships that have lasted so long. It's also so wonderful to see the family and spend lots of time with them.

Happines is...

2011-07-15T14:54:00.004-04:00

Paper towel towers,

fighting with the sprinklers,

and these two.

Zoo-rific

2011-07-03T21:08:00.004-04:00

One of the insurance companies John works with was offereing a Family Fun Day at the National Zoo, so we decided to go and take the kids (you know, since they're part of the family). The day was to begin with breakfast with the lion cubs at 8am, which meant we had to be there early. So we decided to go stay at a hotel in D.C. the night before. That was our first mistake.

I'm not sure how people travel with small children. Our kids needs naps and a good night's rest or they don't function well. And good sleep never seems to happen at hotels. Cash refused to sleep in the hotel crib so John slept with him and I slept with Carolina. She tossed and turned and woke up all night long. Thirty mintues before the alarm goes off she falls deep asleep. And stays totally alseep while we turn on all of the lights and get ready for the day. Go figure.

Once Cash finally fell alseep he slept fairly well. It was pretty adorable how excited they were to sleep in a hotel. You'd have thought we'd taken them to Disneyworld.

John and I discovered that we would stink at The Amazing Race. We knew which street the zoo was on, we knew it was a few miles from our hotel, we even knew it was on the right hand side. Plus, we'd been there before. Yet, we managed to drive right past it and didn't realize it for another 3 miles. It should have clued us in when Carolina said "look at those lion statues". Nope. We acknolwedged her and just kept driving.

Carolina with Carolina, the pig.

They have ropes throughout the zoo that lets the organutans walk from tower to tower. It's pretty neat, but a little unnerving to think if they fell they would fall into a crowd of people.

The insurance company had a section of the park reserved for us where they provided lunch and had face painting, bouncy castles and snow cones. Carolina wanted to be a dragon, but the face painter couldn't paint that, so she settled for a pink tiger. Roar.

Cash was a kitty. We need to quit telling him to smile, because he automatically closes his eyes.

It was a fun weekend, but it's always nice to be at home. I guess we're just homebodies.

A boy who turns two

2011-06-12T14:00:00.014-04:00

While I cannot argue the irresistibleness of little babies (especially chubby ones), I must admit that I find parenting more enjoyable/rewarding/fun the older my children get. Like a fine wine, they get better with age. My mom has always told me that I've gotten better with every year. She still tells me that, which means I must have started out pretty rotten. :)

This fine wine turned 2 on June 12th and we were lucky enough to celebrate it with our family.

It began with a homemade cake, that always looks easier to make than it actually is. It also never looks quite like the picture, but I gave it a valiant effort.

Presents were opened and very appreciated.

Candles were blown out and the cake was enjoyed (may I add, it had a layer of raspberry mouse filling...mmmmm).

A last minute picture was taken before everyone headed home. We were blessed enough to have 1st cousins and 2nd cousins join us.

Even a (faint) double rainbow was seen. What does it mean?!? It must be good luck.

Cash's official birthday was Sunday and luckily we had Stake Conference, which meant we didn't really have church, so we got to spend the morning being lazy. He opened up ALL of the gifts from Carolina. Lina has spent the last 2 months going "shopping" around the house and wrapping gifts for Cash's upcoming birthday. It has been very sweet of her.

Each gift came with a personal message from Carolina via mommy's handwriting. This one includes the message that Lina is the best sister. You love her.

Carolina had forgotten she'd wrapped Tiggs, and immediately confiscated him.

John and I have had this gift hidden for about 6 months. It was luckily a hit.

Cash "smiling" (aka closing his eyes) for the camera.

While part of me will miss having a chubby little baby, I love watching my kids grow up and seeing them become their own little person.

Sometimes even little boys deserve Sunday pictures.

2011-05-31T13:59:00.001-04:00

Toddlers and Tiaras...

2011-05-24T20:26:00.008-04:00

or as close as we'll ever get.

Carolina has been taking dance class as the community center for the past five months. They had their annual dance recital last Saturday. It was pretty entertaining. I asked her to show me her dance and she would spin around a few times and say, "then I just look at the other girls." Apparently the other girls didn't know what they were doing either.

Carolina is the second from the left. What I love is the big gap between the girls. I also love how half of them aren't paying attention. I especially loved how Carolina's eyes were glued to her teacher (the entire time) who is standing off the stage doing the dance for them to follow along.

Not to be out done by big sister.

Grandma came to town.

And painted Lina's face,

and helped out with the kiddos (we even got a rare date night!),

and made Lina sad when she left.

Mother's Day gift

2011-05-08T13:50:00.002-04:00

Since I am a lame daughter and didn't send my mother a Mother's Day card (but, of course, she is not lame and sent me one) I am giving her what she asks for every Sunday...a picture of Carolina in her Sunday dress. So here you go mom, it's the least I could do (obviously). I love you.

Better picture of Carolina, and

a better picture of Cash.

Entrepreneur

2011-05-07T14:17:00.004-04:00

The kids and I made a morning of going yard saling. Our neighborhood and the neighborhood across the street all have one giant yard sale the first Saturday in May. It's quite an event. The streets are jam packed with people. Hamburgers, BBQ, hot dogs, nachos, baked goods, and all sorts of beverages are being sold. It's fun just to experience it. Anyway, as soon as we got home Carolina went up to her room and, without a word, brought down some of her toys and went out to the front lawn to sell them. It made me smile. She had a good time running back and forth to her friend's houses bartering items. We left her out there for a few hours and she actually made $4. Everything started out at a nickel, but I have a feeling she increased the prices.

New things

2011-05-03T20:33:00.002-04:00

New toy!

New glasses.

Close-up.

New hair-cut.

New scrapes.

And a new calling in church for mommy. We're back to the Primary presidency. :)

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T13:23:00.006-04:00

Carolina showing Grandama Jones how much she loves her new Bambi.

New pics - please!

2011-03-22T20:57:00.003-04:00

I'm so tired of seeing the same pictures on my blog, so although nothing exciting has been happening, I must add some new pictures. It's much like my children's winter clothes. I am so sick of seeing the same clothes and was very happy to start putting short sleeve shirts on them last week (unfortunately I think we're back to long sleeve for a few more weeks). Cash insists on closing his eyes if I say "smile".

Enjoying the sunshine. We went to the eye doctor this week and Carolina STILL has to be patched. This will be year number three. We could be dealing with much more difficult things though, so I'm not complaining (too much).

The look on Cash's face says it all. He has been the ruler of the house lately. I'm not sure what his problem is (molars?), but he is ridiculous in his moodiness. If you look at him the wrong way (or heaven forbid, give him the wrong spoon) he cries for five minutes. Today when Cash was whining Carolina said to me, "Why did you want another baby? Weren't you just happy having me?" Ummmm...what do you say to that?

Good times in Zion

2011-02-06T13:25:00.002-05:00

In the TV zone.

Trying on Lina's new swimsuit.

Getting married (after college, of course).

Our beautiful view. Can you spot the deer?

Princess jammies and horsies

Afternoon chats with grandma.

Sleepovers with cousins.

Lydia teaching Carolina to play like Taylor Swift (or Lydia would prefer Justin Bieber).

C and C

2011-01-23T20:18:00.005-05:00

Cash has recently learned that he does not like having his picture taken. Which is unfortunate because he's been sporting some pretty cute outfits lately.

I love the sympathetic hand Carolina has placed upon his back. Funny, considering she is the one making him wear this cape.

finally a good one

Lina the dancer...
Outfit for dance class #1. Such a look of disappointment.

Outfit for dance class #2.

I signed Carolina up for dance at the local community center. Since it's fairly low key I thought for sure kids would just wear their play clothes. How wrong I was. The first day Carolina was the only girl not in a cute leotard with a tutu. I felt bad because she felt bad. So we went and bought the pinkest/frilliest outfit we could find (okay, I just let her wear the cute dress-up costume her Aunt Tonya gave her for Christmas) and she was very satisfied.

Our Christmas

2010-12-27T14:31:00.002-05:00

Began with the viewing of Polar Express on Christmas Eve.

Carolina who says she is dressed up as Mary.

Reading of Luke 2. Carolina enjoyed it because she loves to pretend she is baby Jesus.

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast (just the Pillsbury kind, we're not that ambitious).

Being patience because they really have no idea what's down stairs.

Their big Christmas present. They love it (I'm so glad, because you never really know how certain presents are going to go over).

Carolina with her owl. Little Lina had a difficult time trying to think of something she wanted from Santa this year. Finally about five days before Christmas she decided she wanted a stuffed owl (what in the world?!?). Luckily, Santa found a teeny tiny one at the Farmer's Market on Christmas Eve. In her sweet innocence she thought she'd wake up Christmas morning and that's all that would be waiting for her, and she would have been perfectly happy with that. I'm sure I don't have too many more years of that attitude.

This was the icing on the cake to a great Christmas! I think I'll be set for the next few years on bodywash. Mmmmm....I can smell me now.

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas. I'm grateful we could celebrate it with John's family and for technology so I could talk with my family. I have so many blessings in my life and I'm determined to be more aware of them in 2011.

Mrs. Claus

2010-12-23T19:57:00.004-05:00

Carolina and I went to have tea with Mrs. Claus. We had a wonderful time, even though I brought great shame to my mother by having Carolina be the ONLY girl not dressed up in her Christmas dress. It never even dawned on me to dress up for a tea party. Even the moms were dressed up and I was in jeans. Regardless we had fun, and we'll know better next year.

Mrs. Claus read them several of her favorite books and chatted with them for a while.

After the books the girls (and a few boys, yes, also dressed up) came and sat with their moms while we had hot cocoa and a plate of cookies.

Careful drinking of the hot cocoa. She feels very grown up.

She even had a cute Christmas dress she could have worn.

Just a cute picture of Cash and his cousin Grant from Thanksgiving Day. Cash is adorable even though he is in a terrible hitting phase (sorry, Levi).

Joy

2010-12-17T19:42:00.001-05:00

Hallelujah

2010-12-12T19:45:00.000-05:00

There are few milestones I look forward to more than this one.

Apparently Cash is pretty happy about it too.

Four on the fourth

2010-12-06T19:41:00.004-05:00

Our sweet Carolina turned four a few days ago. Time flies. It just amazes me when I look at her and I remember those feelings of shear terror when we first brought her home from the hospital. Now she's this smart little girl who sticks by my side all day long while we pretend to be different animals/characters. She's certainly taught us a lot and we love her so much.

Carolina loves to hang out with her cousins, Brooke and Hannah, so we had them come down and we all went to the new children's museum. Carolina spent 95% of the time painting her face. She always loves to do this and when she's done her face is usually completely black as evident in the above picture.

Cash on the local news station.

Back to our house for cake and ice cream.

But first the opening of the presents. Carolina finally got the Pillow Pet she has been wanting for about 6 months courtesy of Grandpa/Grandma Waters.

Blowing out the candles. As you can see, Carolina helped me put on the sprinkles.

She also got a new costume and cloak. You might not be able to tell from her face (she is in character) but she loves them and has been dressing up non-stop (thanks, Aunt Tonya).

We're thankful

2010-11-25T20:45:00.004-05:00

for these two...

and for portable DVD's to help whiney children calm down.

Costumes 2010

2010-11-01T19:46:00.004-04:00

Princess Leia.

Dragon Master.

Clark Kent.

And Lois Lane. :)

Family pics

2010-10-18T20:58:00.001-04:00

My good friend Beth took some pictures of us while we were in Utah. They turned out great! Here are some of my favorites.

Poor Beth. This is how Carolina was acting pretty much the entire time.

Utah

2010-10-13T19:54:00.007-04:00

We had another successful trip out to Utah. I pushed back our trip a little bit in hopes of enjoying the crisp fall weather, but no such luck as it was the hottest September on record. Oh-well. Carolina loved following Grandma around all day and answering all of Grandpa's questions. Cash was extra whiney and clingy, but only if I was around. If he was with only my parents he was happy as can be. Go figure. They both did amazingly well on the plane. I am always SO anxious to fly with them (especially when we get them up at 4am) and they always surprise me with how well they do (knock on wood). Here are some pics.

Who knew we'd go to Utah and attend a Civil War Reenactment? Amanda did a great job putting on a reenactment extravaganza in Heber. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work on her part.

During the shooting of the cannons Carolina kept covering her ears, while groaning "Get me out of here". She loved it.

Amanda and her dad after the battle. They are the medical personnel.

2/3 of the Jones cousins at a neat park in Spanish Fork.

A collision about to occur. The big guy won.

Carolina at Thanksgiving Point. The weather was perfect that day.

Carolina had fun with Annabel and Levi, my good friend Emily's kids.

Proof that I was there and that I got a haircut.

Two cute bonus pictures of Cash. He is such a little boy now.

Pics for Grandma

2010-08-24T10:36:00.006-04:00

Grandma Jones has been asking (demanding :) pictures of the kiddos, so here they are:

Carolina on the rides at the County Fair. She loved them this year and showed no fear on even the big rides...like the helicopter.

Cash was a good sport as he was much too young to ride in anything but his stroller.

Jeffrey the giraffe up close and personal. When I was around 19 I drove back from DC with Emily and Andi Petersen. When we were in Kansas (I think, Emily would know for sure, she never forgets those types of things. Right Em!) we stopped off the highway at some crazy place with "exotic" animals which had been advertised on billboards for at least 100 miles. It was the most depressing place I've ever been. One of the animals was a poor cow with 6 legs. Ever since then I've felt bad for these poor animals that get carted around from place to place with people gawking at them. But, here we are gawking at Jeffrey while he's being fed 500 carrots for only $1 each.

Playing at the pond.

Cashy and dada.

New jammies.

So cute.

I love this picture. Cash loves to run up and grab something of Carolina's so she'll chase him around the house. They both love it actually. I'm so grateful to have my little kiddos home with me all day. I love that we're this little family that just hangs out with each other all of the time. While there are definitely days when the kids drives me crazy, I'm not really looking forward to the day when they're always off doing other activities and playing with friends all the time.

Adorableness

2010-07-25T20:00:00.006-04:00

I know most cute things kids do are really only cute to their parents, but this is extra cute. :)

Cash doesn't quite know what to do with himself when Lina's not around. If he wakes up from his nap and she is still sleeping he'll sit and whine in front of her door. I make him stay in my room, but as soon as I say "Let's go get Lina", he'll drop everything and go to her door and try and open it.

Pushing and pushing trying to get the door open.

Rushing in.

Climbing on bed to wake her.

Giving her love.

Riven Rock

Lina cuddling with her kitty.

Ringing the bell for Christmas in July.

Carolina trying to fly with the help of her kite.

More adorableness.

Weekend

2010-07-04T20:05:00.003-04:00

Stylish, swim diaper and all.

Happy 4th.

Carolina heading out on her first sleep over at the hotel with Aunt Tonya and co.

Turning One

2010-06-24T20:29:00.004-04:00

It begins with the traditional sneaking in to sing "Happy Birthday" when you first wake up.

Which goes over about as well as it did for your sister.

Carolina turning two.

A stylish birthday look.

Birthday presents which include every type of ball.

Eating of the birthday cake and a beautiful smile.

Birth

2010-06-12T10:11:00.006-04:00

Cash on his birth day.

I love this picture. Carolina was a C-section, so I didn't get to experience that sweet moment of holding my baby right after she was delivered. I wanted that experience and I so looked forward to it. It was one of the main reasons I had a VBAC with Cash. I still remember how warm he felt. What joy it was to finally hold him. To see that he was healthy and screaming.

Our baby boy turns one today. What a sweet little guy he is and how lucky we are to have him in our life.

Handsome

2010-05-24T20:02:00.001-04:00

Highlights

2010-05-11T00:04:00.009-04:00

I decided to take a last minute trip to Utah and we've had a wonderful time. Here are some of the highlights.

HOGLE ZOO

Both kids fell asleep on the way to the zoo. They had a bit of jet lag since our flight was delayed 2 hours and we didn't land until 1:30am Virginia time.

I guess the eye patch isn't too effective when you're asleep.

I think every kid who grew up in Utah has a picture of them standing in front of this water fountain.

Sweet Cashy. It was quite cold. When we first showed up at the zoo there were snow flurries. I was determined that WE WOULD ENJOY THIS!!!

Gorilla exhibit. My favorite.

On the train with the kiddos. This is about the point Cash reached his boiling point.

FAMILY

Enjoying the new trampoline Thomas received for his 8th birthday.

I was finally able to experience the infamous Stein Eriksen experience where Mark works. We felt like celebrities staying in the Kevin Costner suite. It was such a fun weekend consisting of lots of candy, hot tubs, massages, good friends and family.

William was really cute with "Baby Cash". He played with him most of the weekend.

Carolina loved the hot tub. What a beautiful view! Yes, the mountains still have snow on them.

Cute boy.

Riding the Trolley in Park City.

Mark and Little Miss Lydia.

We just happened to see this little calf being born. My mom and I took the kids down to feed an apple to the neighbor's horse. On the way we noticed a cow laying on the ground looking at us in a painful daze. We wondered if something was wrong with it. We walked around to the other side and we saw a little baby was starting to come out. We watched for about 10 more minutes and saw the miracle of life happen right in front of our eyes. It was pretty neat. As soon as the momma gave birth she stood right up as if nothing happened. I guess that's what happens when you don't have an epidural. :)

New Woody pajamas.

Traditional bath. Now a double bath.

Good night books with Grandma.

-*This post reminds me of what Betty White said on SNL this weekend. Looking at pictures of family vacations used to be considered a punisment and now we post them for all the world to see. Sorry.

Run for the roses

2010-05-01T20:12:00.007-04:00

Me in my swingin' singles days when I could decide the day

before to drive to Kentucky and go to the Derby all by my lonesome.

I love Derby Day. It reminds me of my old Kentucky days and all of the kind, fun, unusual and wonderful people I encountered on my mission. Being a missionary was especially fun on Derby Day because everyone would be outside BBQ-ing and having a grand old time. Most people were talkative and generous to us.

Speaking of horse tails...

This is Carolina from the front. Her beautiful, nice sleek hair and then...

BAM. BED HEAD!! Why does she only get bed head on that one spot? It cracks me up every morning. And, no, I did not tease this at all. Thank goodness for spray in conditioner.

Our happenings

2010-04-19T20:03:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to a nearby lake to feed the little ducks. Carolina so badly wanted to join them in the water.

Thomas' first grade class was sending out "Flat Stanley" to visit various places throughout the world. He came to visit us in Virginia so we took him to a Civil War Battlefield in honor of Amanda. It's neat to think we live right where great leaders of the Civil War fought. Carolina looks so grown up to me in this picture. Yes, she is always wearing pajamas. Sigh.

Where's Waldo.

We were about to hold a chicken pox party last week, until Cash was officially diagnosed with impetigo. After a round of antibiotics he's all better.

Such a sweet girl. Just a few nights ago at dinner she told me she wants to live with her friends and have no parents. It's going to be a long 15 years. :)

Not a great mommy picture, but a cute little boy picture in all his glory.

We {heart} hand me downs.

2010-04-06T20:21:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of these cousins.

I may be a bit biased...

2010-03-29T09:52:00.007-04:00

but these are some cute kids.

And thanks to Aunt Amanda for totally letting me copy her kids Easter outfits.

Why I love spring...

2010-03-17T20:30:00.001-04:00

my kids cute legs start showing.

Argh!

2010-03-13T20:06:00.004-05:00

With no foreseeable end in sight to Carolina's patching, I decided to invest in some cute fabric patches that go over her glasses. She has always been great about wearing her patch, but I just hated pulling off the sticky patch every day. The eye socket just seems like such a tender area to have a band-aid pulled off from. I think these new patches are really neat although I'm sure the stares will increase ten fold when we go out in public. Luckily she is too young to feel self conscious.

We also got a dragon fly one. I love her luscious lips.

See Grandma, it offers full ocular coverage so you don't need to worry.

Sweet Cash and his forehead. Should I be offended that at his 9 month appointment yesterday the doctor said, "Well, he's always had a big head." That's okay, she also said he was smart.

Before John took the clippers to his hair.

After. I just love a nice clean look.

From behind.

For those who were about to call child services on me, I have officially potty trained Lina. Luckily she was old enough that she (knock on wood) has picked it up easily and is doing great. Even tonight at the Chili cook-off we found her and Henry in the bathroom helping each other use the potty all by themselves. They are trouble.

No matter how difficult a day is, seeing my sleeping babies always recharges me for the next day. Cash was also blessed with luscious lips.

My funny Valentine

2010-02-21T10:31:00.005-05:00

As my friend Laura said on her blog regarding her kids "they are with me all day, and they are cute, so I take pictures." I feel the same about my kiddos, so here is our Valentine's day in pictures.

It began with the traditional Saturday morning pancakes courtesy of John...

but Valentine's day brought a special shaped pancake.

The kids couldn't have been happier (well, at least one of them was happy).

For Christmas Cash got a stuffed puppy named Scout which says his name and sings songs, etc. Carolina has been very jealous the past few months so we delighted her with a Violet all her own. She was so excited when it said her name she was nearly trembling. They are fun little toys.

Heading out to dinner. When did this girl get so big?

Violet along for the ride. Safety first.

Nothing says romance like a nice date night with the kids.

They were fairly well behaved.

Sunday Valentine's outfit.

This is the pose I got when I asked her to please stand up so I could see her shoes. So cooperative. :)

Pictures, pictures and a few more pictures

2010-01-05T19:52:00.003-05:00

The clanking of glasses on New Year's Eve (time: 8:15pm)

Mmmmm....delicious sparkling cider. Now off to bed, please.

The traditional bath in Grandma's sink.

Fun for the cousins at Kangaroo Zoo, which is a 'Pump It Up' equivalent only bigger. Carolina throughly enjoyed it. She especially enjoyed the fact that Thomas and William were fighting over her and both wanted to slide down with her.

Lydia on the other hand, didn't have so much fun.

My mother, SIL Kim, me, and SIL Amanda baking...which is rarely done in this home.

My handsome brothers Lance, Mark and Mitchell.

Baby Kami and Baby Cash meet and are instant friends.

Amanda was very kind to sew these skirts for the girls. They are SO beautiful!!! Obviously Carolina is very happy to wear hers.

After some TLC from Amanda, Carolina is willing to be photographed.

Southern Belle ready for the ball.

Photo shoot

My good friend Beth has a nice little photography studio in her home and she was kind enough to take the kids pictures. I just love the way they turned out. Here is a sampling...

and a couple more

2010-01-05T19:50:00.002-05:00

White Christmas

2009-12-28T21:28:00.012-05:00

Cousins out having fun (I can't get these first two pics to be where they are supposed to).

Baby Jesus

Stage 1

John and I decided to try and beat the big storm that was headed towards the east coast so we left for Charlottesville Friday evening for our early Sunday morning flight. We decided we'd stay in a hotel for two nights...it would be fun, right? Well, two nights turned into five as our flight got cancelled, they couldn't reschedule us until Wednesday and the roads home were undrivable for a few days. It was a LONG five nights. I never sleep well in hotels. Luckily the kids did pretty well. Carolina was in heaven with constant snacks, unlimited TV and pool time.

How John survived in this mess I'll never know. :)

Hotel tip: whenever we stay in a hotel we ask for a handicap bathroom so we can put the crib in the bathroom. That way Cash could still nap and go to bed early. It saved us.

Fun in the pool with the snow outside.

Stage 2...we made it!!

Carolina has been very happy to have so much entertainment in the form of cousins.

Little buddies.

I love these mountains. I also feel very proud to be wearing my brother's 1980's skiing outfit.

What an adorable Christmas gift.

Carolina "helping" Cash open his gifts.

Amanda was so great to make up a little Christmas program where all of the kids dressed up as a part from the nativity. It was really sweet.

'Tis the season

2009-12-14T10:00:00.004-05:00

We had a cookie exchange/playgroup last week at our house. I had a really great time. I feel truly blessed to live around and be friends with so many great moms. We may not live around a lot of cousins, but Carolina is lucky to have so many young friends.

Proof that Carolina has friends other than Henry. But wait...where is Carolina? Oh, that's right. She ran off because there was no room next to Henry.

We had our ward Christmas party last week and it was a huge success. The ladies that put it together put so much work into it. We had a great time.

Lina looking a little rough.

Where is Carolina? Oh, that's right. She is the corner trembling because Santa walked in. Cash is doing his "I could care less who is holding me" pose.

Did Santa come...

2009-12-06T20:22:00.008-05:00

is what Carolina said when she woke up and saw her birthday gifts. She turned 3 and this is how we celebrated.

A card from Daddy and a bookcase from Grandma Jones.

A new headband

A trip to 'Pump It Up' with mommy, daddy and brother. And it only took 15 minutes of wailing and "I want to go home!" to convince Carolina that this was actually a fun place.

Mastering the obstacle course

A brother that is just happy to be here.

Going down a giant slide.

Lunch at Dairy Queen while mommy and daddy waited patiently while I slowly ate my entire ice cream cone

A new hiding place. Do you see me?

Having snow sent to us from Grandma Jones. Makes mommy's heart sing!!

Daddy building a snowman that made Carolina come running into the house afraid that it would come to life (darn that Frosty the Snowman song!)

Maybe next year, Cash.

Cousins joining us.

Everybody singing to Lina and eating a very fancy cake.

Ending the day with two favorite things: new jammies and a new stuffed animal.

and a cute Cash picture

Bath time

2009-11-18T21:36:00.004-05:00

Is there anything sweeter than freshly washed youngins? Nope.

Does this cellulite make me look fat?

Except for sleeping ones.

Sunday pic for mom (what I love about this picture is how sweet Carolina looks, when in reality I had to drag her out from under the table to get the picture).

Just around the riverbend.

2009-11-01T09:10:00.007-05:00

Little Pocahontas at the ward's Halloween party.

Pocahontas and Henry the Lion. Carolina literally held on to his mane most of the evening. He is so patient with her love.

Baby pumpkin.

I was really looking forward to taking Carolina to the Hallelujah party at the local Mennonite church, but she ended up with the croup the night before and I took her to the ER. There is nothing quite as scary as waking up in the middle of the night to your child wheezing for air. So she ended up watching Dora and handing out candy.

We went to the local Arboretum to take some family pictures. We took 125 of them and this is about how good all of them turned out. Carolina is looking at the camera in about 5 of them.

This one did turn out cute.

It's so nice having Grandma Carolyn for a visit.

And we (aka John) painted our basement blue. Looks so great!

Chubba Bubba

2009-10-13T19:26:00.006-04:00

I am now four months old and here are my stats:
-27 inches (95%). The Dr. says I will make a good football player, but momma won't let me play after the segment she saw on 60 minutes about football players and brain injuries.
-17 lbs (75%). My mom thinks my chubbiness is adorable, but she got a little nervous after reading this article a friend posted. Yikes!
-I sleep through the night (most of the time)!! I can barely keep my eyes open past 7pm and I open them around 7:30am. Momma so happy.
-I am learning to pick up things. It's very cute because I act like my arm weighs 20 pounds and it won't bend at the elbow when I'm reaching.

Local fun

2009-10-11T13:58:00.005-04:00

Milking the cow

Piggy races

Content

Duck race

Cow train

Rope course

60 ft slide

Cold (er)

2009-10-02T15:44:00.003-04:00

It's starting to cool down here and I love it. We're hoping it will force Li'l C.1 to finally start wearing clothes. So far no luck since she just puts on her hat and gloves and thinks she's "warm".

Henry is my best friend

2009-09-26T14:56:00.005-04:00

I hear that quite often around our house. Carolina is always wanting to play with Henry. I asked Carolina who she wanted to come to her birthday party and all she said was "Henry." I asked if she wanted anybody else and she thought about it and said "and Cash." It's nice to know she at least kind-of likes her brother. Anyway, we got to take Henry to the children's museum this past week. It was Henry's mommy's birthday so I took him for the morning. We had a lot of fun. I got the kids all set up for this picture and then realized my battery was dead. I took the battery out, put it back in and it gave me just enough power for one picture. I was so glad they all looked so cute.

Fun Saturday

2009-09-21T09:50:00.000-04:00

I feel like my life can be a bit boring, so I must blog about it when we do something fun. We ended up having a great Saturday. First we went to a birthday party for a little guy in our ward. He was turning one and his parents provided a great celebration.

Little Cash man enjoyed the cool breeze while he slept.

We had fun playing with this for quite some time.

The birthday boy. Very cute.

Carolina and her little buddy Felix.

Next John's family came down and we went out to eat for John's birthday. Brooke was sweet to read Carolina a book at the restaurant, but not for long...

because I turned around a few minutes later and saw this. I tell ya, I cannot keep this girls clothes on. Brooke kept saying, "can I look now?" She didn't want to see little Lina naked.

Aunt Tonya who is having a baby in February!

Happy 33rd!

Sugar and Spice

2009-09-19T16:45:00.004-04:00

Aren't little babies in jammies just so cuddly? This is Cash's first night wearing pajamas. So cute. I decided to not swaddle him and give him pajamas and that night he slept through the night for the first time (12.5 hours straight!). Let's hope it continues.

I am 3 months old

2009-09-12T14:11:00.004-04:00

Aren't I cute? Things I am doing:

-I just learned to put myself to sleep in my CRIB (not the swing...it's a weakness of mommy's). I hold my buddy, aka blanket, and fall peacefully to sleep.
-I love to watch my crazy sister and can't figure out why she is whining and crying so much. She is also a fun sister who gets right in my face to tell me how cute I am. I love her.
-I wake up twice a night. Luckily I am so sweet that my mommy doesn't get too annoyed.
-I smile a lot and love to watch the world go by. I am very pleasant and keep my fussing to a minimum.
-I also spit up a lot. Fortunate for me I have many cute outfits to be changed into.

Here are a few pictures from a local event we went to with Henry and his mommy.

It's nice to see a beauty queen with glasses. :)

Cash did SO great just watching everybody.

Lina and Henry waiting in a non moving line. The popcorn kept them happy.

Carolina entering her meltdown stage right after her glasses broke for the first time.

When you have an older sister

2009-09-09T14:25:00.003-04:00

Your mom comes in to see you with a hair bow on your head (and yes, he had just spit up...yum).

Baby steps

2009-08-30T13:26:00.005-04:00

I really have no interest in potty training my child. The thought of being out grocery shopping, having to drop everything and run to a restroom where I dangle Carolina over a dirty toilet just doesn't appeal to me. But I know it must happen eventually so we are taking very small steps towards this goal. Hence...the new princess undies. She insisted on wearing them as soon as we got home from buying them. She also insisted on wearing her diaper underneath so I'm not quite sure she gets the concept. As soon as she put them on she said, "Look, I'm wearing panties just like Henry." Henry would be mortified to think his big boy pants were referred to as panties.

I'm not sure what's happened to my sweet daughter, but she has taken her whining up about six notches. It's as if she's had some life changing event happen within the past few months. I'm trying to remember that and be loving...and patient with her.

Starting to like each other (plus a funny clip)

2009-08-28T14:52:00.002-04:00

I'm copying this clip off one of my friends because it's pretty funny and rather insightful. Poor first children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHttp9QOsKg

The County Fair

2009-08-23T13:40:00.003-04:00

Carolina was really cute on the rides this year. I thought she might be afraid to ride alone, but she did great. I love the picture of her waving.

Cash did such a good job hanging out in his stroller. He hardly fussed at all. It's a little strange for me to have a newborn that is, for the most part, quite content.

Not at the county fair...just a cute picture.

Help

2009-08-19T20:24:00.001-04:00

I've been swaddled and I can't get out.

I'm cute

2009-08-09T21:36:00.000-04:00

Growing up

2009-08-04T20:58:00.005-04:00

Cash is getting bigger by the day...even though I don't really notice it until I look at old pictures. He holds his head up very well, has gained 3 pounds since he was born and has had one cold. He is a fairly pleasant little guy. He really only cries when he is hungry or sleepy. Or when Carolina is forcing a pacifier into his mouth.

I think hearts just melted everywhere. So innocent. He hasn't even started disobeying me...yet.

Little Lina's life has changed quite a bit these past 7.5 weeks. She has learned to dress herself (well, only if she is wearing her princess dresses or jammies...of course, that is the only thing she will wear besides a diaper). She has apparently even learned to do her own hair.

What a life. She has really enjoyed the additional TV time she gets as I'm trying to put Cash down for naps.

I love this picture. Carolina sits at my feet while I'm feeding Cash and looks at this catalog over and over. It's pictures of Halloween outfits and she is constantly changing what she and Cash are going to be. It reminds me of when I was little and I would pour over every single item in the JC Penny Christmas catalog.

My gorgeous girl.

Hope

2009-07-20T18:49:00.001-04:00

The kid on the left gives me hope for the kid on the right. Carolina was fairly crazy the first 6 months of life. But now I look at her and she can understand and follow directions, she can tell me why she's freaking out, she can get in and out of the bathtub all by herself and she can even sit patiently in her car seat while Daddy runs into Wal-mart. These small accomplishments give me hope that one day I CAN function with two children. The newborn stage with both my kids has been a challenge for me. I am really trying to treasure each day because I know how quickly it passes. After all...who couldn't love these faces.

The old fashioned way

2009-07-14T09:19:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure how it's possible, but I went to the hospital delivered a 8 lbs. 10 oz baby and came home only 5 lbs lighter. For some reason the baby weight hasn't magically melted away, therefore I have recommitted myself to losing it the old fashioned way...diet and exercise. Blah. Yesterday was our first venture out. Doesn't Cash look comfy. He slept the whole time.

Sweet boy

2009-07-12T20:07:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures of sweet Cash that my friend Geneva took a few weeks ago.

Cash was born with this exact scowl on his face. Often when I say something at him he'll look at me with this face. I'm not sure what that's going to say about his personality. It makes me a little nervous.

Of course, Carolina is naked!

Blessing

2009-07-06T19:29:00.002-04:00

Little Cash was blessed yesterday and it was a wonderful day filled with family. John gave him a beautiful blessing. I was actually quite relieved that he made it through without crying (Cash that is :) We've been listening to the audio recording of Carolina's blessing where she screamed through most of it, so this was a nice change of pace. This little guy has been such a joy already.

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T10:58:00.001-04:00

PS- Thanks for the cute dress Amanda.

For my mother...

2009-07-03T11:03:00.002-04:00

who doesn't believe Cash and Carolina looked alike as newborns.

Summer fun

2009-06-25T20:26:00.002-04:00

We just can't seem to keep Carolina's clothes on. The moment she sees her little pool off go the clothes and diaper. All these cute outfits that just sit in the closet.

Buddies.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T08:58:00.002-04:00

John certainly loves his little kiddos and they love him. Thanks for all you do to help me out, John.

Happy father's day to my dad too. Look forward to seeing you NEXT WEEK!

New friends

2009-06-17T15:32:00.001-04:00

While Cash isn't a ton of fun yet, and he cries a lot, Carolina is still smitten.

Introducing...

2009-06-14T14:43:00.005-04:00

Cash Mitchell Waters
8 lbs. 10 oz., 21 inches
June 12, 2009, 3:47 pm

STATS:
Water broke: 11pm Thurs.
Hours of labor: 16
Hours of labor with an epidural: 8 (I love you Dr. Anesthesiologist. I love you).
Minutes pushing: 45
Times mommy wanted to hurt daddy: Once, while daddy was trying to encourage mommy to push. It was like we were in a football huddle.
Delivered by: Brother Aamodt (A member of our bishopric. Could have been awkward, but who really cares at that point).
Nights in hospital after delivery: 2 (thank you night time nurses).
Looks like: Big sister
Hearts captured: Too many to count.

Home stretch

2009-06-08T09:15:00.001-04:00

This is the week...we'll see if anything happens. They won't induce me (which is fine) since I've previously had a C-section. Anyway...

My friend Geneva was kind enough to come over and take these photos. I just love them and will always treasure them.

When I first saw this last one I started to cry (still do). I have grown to love my little girl so much. More than I ever thought possible. When I look at this picture I want to make time stop. I feel like once Junior arrives Carolina will just grow up too fast. There will be a day when she won't want nearly as much to do with me, so I'm cherishing the fact that her mom and dad are at the top of her priority list right now. Half of me is really sad to see our exclusive one on one time go, but I am also excited to see the new relationship Carolina will forge with her brother. It's certainly not always easy, but raising her is by far my greatest joy.

Free!

2009-06-04T09:13:00.002-04:00

We are very grateful for our friends that gave us this swing (because they are moving). I am especially grateful for the endless hours of pushing in the hot sun while 9 months pregnant. :)

Where has my baby gone?

2009-06-03T14:02:00.000-04:00

Namaste

2009-05-30T08:52:00.001-04:00

Carolina has become my little yoga partner. Well, mostly. Half the time she is crawling all over and under me and the other half she is actually listening and trying to do the poses. It's really sweet. She'll tell me do to the things she hears the teacher say like, "make room for baby" or "watch your balance." These are the moments I treasure.

(Yes. There are some discreetly placed shapes in an attempt to help me maintain some dignity.)

Splash!

2009-05-23T11:10:00.003-04:00

Who needs a water park. Or a swimming suit. Or warm water.

Summer time

2009-05-21T21:19:00.005-04:00

Carolina was so happy today when we pulled out the pool. We asked her if she wanted to get in her swimsuit and she kept saying, "It's summer time?!?" Now we just need some prescription sunglasses.

Yes, I am brave for posting this picture (not my best angle), but I'm just so darn excited about my new baby carrier. With guidance from my knowledgeable friend Geneva and much indecision on my part I finally went with the Baby Hawk. I can't wait to use it with Junior (or Oxford as my dad calls him). It holds youngins up to 40 lbs so Carolina thought it was pretty neat to ride in.

Tigger.

Amanda, we need you!

2009-05-13T09:38:00.003-04:00

I just couldn't wait until the next time we see you to give Li'l C her haircut so I went for it. I'm tired of trimming the bangs so we went short...maybe a little too short. At least I got the highlights right. :)

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T13:59:00.004-04:00

As one of our Primary kids said yesterday "I have the perfect mother for me." I agree. Thanks for all you do mom. We can't wait to see you soon!

PS- Is it just me or am I really starting to look like my Dad?

Big girl party.

2009-04-26T14:15:00.006-04:00

As sad as Mommy was to see it happen it was time for Carolina to leave her crib. After a trial run on Thursday didn't go very well (she was sobbing saying she "wanted her crib") I figured we needed to do something special. We decided to throw a little "Big girl party" to mark this milestone.

We started by going to her old room and collecting all of her favorite books to take to the new room. We told her that she was too big for the crib now so she had to start sleeping in her big girl bed. We told her she needed to tell her crib goodbye. It was SO precious when she walked up and put her hand on her crib and said, "Goodbye crib. I'm gonna miss you."

Saying goodbye.

Surprise! Her new room was throwing her a welcome party complete with streamers and balloons. She's really into lions so we got her a lion balloon that she just loves. We had some fun things to play with and then she got to eat a doughnut.

She also got some new Mickey PJ's. I think the little party will help with the transition. She slept great last night, but did cry when she woke up this morning. I'm sure with time it'll get better. Getting her out of the crib has been one of my big worries we had to do before Junior arrives. We're on our way... although it can be sad to see her growing up so fast.

Sunday dress pictures so Grandma can stop asking. :)

National Zoo

2009-04-18T09:02:00.003-04:00

Carolina and I headed up to DC for the day. My Mapleton friend Becki and her family live up there and are moving this summer so we wanted to see them before they left. We spent the day at the National Zoo and then ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (mmmmmm.) Even though it wasn't that hot I was hot and tired (who ever designed this zoo thought it would be okay to build it on an incline so you're walking up hill half the time.) So I didn't get a lot of fun pictures, but we did have a great time.

Carolina has been talking about seeing the lions for weeks now. She was very excited to get going.

The one lion wouldn't cooperate and walk around, but we did get to see a lot of the tiger.

Carolina with Becki's kids Ben and Eli (in green.)

A little fuzzy (I'll blame the camera not the operator :), but this is us.

Once upon a time I did work in DC so I know I'm capable of being a city girl, but the traffic that day was driving me crazy. The zoo was so crowded that the parking lot was full so we had to find parking on the street which was next to impossible. Becki found this very tiny spot for me and I was so impressed with my parallel parking that I had to take a picture. My pride really beamed when John saw this picture and asked how I got my car in there. Still got it! :)

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:30:00.003-04:00

Carolina at the ward Easter egg hunt. Luckily they had a section just for the toddlers. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of Easter Sunday because Carolina came home early with Daddy because she was sick (after having a MAJOR meltdown because they ran out of sacrament cups and she didn't get one.) We'll try again in a few weeks.

Garden, etc.

2009-04-08T09:30:00.005-04:00

John decided it would be a good idea to start a garden. As I have never gardened in my life, it was all left up to him and Carolina. It's looking great. He even fabricated his own giant sifter to get rid of the many little rocks.

Carolina was so happy when I handed her a little yellow chick to play with. She was even more happy when she realized it was a Peep and she could eat it.

I think Carolina's glasses make her look older, especially when she is wearing a polo shirt. She looks like she should be working at The Gap or something.

This kid loves her books and her crib. This morning she didn't want to be taken out of the crib. She just wanted to "read".

PS- Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Doll

2009-03-31T09:47:00.001-04:00

Is it just me or does Carolina look like a little doll I just bought at a London doll store?

Big girl things

2009-03-26T19:19:00.005-04:00

Here are some of Carolina's new "big girl" things:

I finally purchased our new double jogging (aka walking) stroller. I'd been researching them for a while and just wanted to take the plunge and buy one. We went with an Instep brand which will certainly suit our need of walking around the neighborhood. I'd been using an old one I bought at a yard sale, so this one is a dream...so smooth. The neighbors probably think I'm strange for pushing around a child and a monkey.

Carolina's new quilt for her new bed. We haven't taken her out of her crib yet, I'm going to wait as long as I possibly can since she LOVES her crib, but we do have her new room all ready. John's sister's mother-in-law (confused) is a wonderful quilter and she made this ladybug quilt for Carolina. I just love it!!

Carolina's hair is stick straight so I bought some curlers to hopefully give her a little volume (my mother should be so proud.) They didn't work too great the first time so I'm hoping I can get her to sleep in them.

Playing hide and go seek with Daddy. She is always so hard to find. Especially if we say "where's Lina" and she says "I'm right here, Daddy."

Like father like daughter

2009-03-19T10:15:00.001-04:00

Improvement

2009-02-19T14:40:00.003-05:00

Carolina's "smile" face.

The first few pictures of Carolina with her patch were quite sad. She is actually doing really great now. She doesn't mind a bit, except when we have to pull it off. She wears it two hours every morning. So does Libby.

Conversation

2009-02-13T15:39:00.007-05:00

Me: Carolina, do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?

Lina: I want a puppy.

Me: Sorry, love. You're getting a brother.*

*estimated to arrive June 11th-ish.

Eye, eye captain

2009-02-07T19:49:00.003-05:00

Our little pirate with her new patch. It can be so heart wrenching to have to do something to your child that they hate and makes them cry, but that you know will be for their best in the long run. I guess that's what parenting is all about. She is actually doing better than I'd imagined...thanks to some new movies. Our little trooper.