Full House

We had the Hicks' children at our house this past weekend. We've talked about doing it for months and it worked out that this was close to Hillary and Charlie's anniversary (13 years - holy shmoly!) and their deadline for getting the house inspected is just around the corner. The plan was they could use this weekend as back up in case they weren't done with all of their projects yet. But luckily they pushed and got almost everything done so they had a weekend all to themselves!

We loved having the kids here. We squeezed everybody onto air matresses, couches, and into the spare bedroom in the basement (poor Alexis slept there - you can hear every squeak from upstairs in that bedroom). We had pizza and went down to the park and played for an hour or two on Friday night. Then Saturday we had a big breakfast, Makayla helped me make bread for Family Dinner, we played some video games, broke in Harvey's new train set, made fuse bead creations, weeded my garden (not fun, I know, but I paid them), went to Harvey's friend Simon's 2nd birthday party, played in the pool and slip-and-slide, had hot dogs and cake, Jaxson helped me make more bread for Family Dinner, everybody took baths or showers, Chelsea helped make airpop popcorn, watched Coraline, and finally went to sleep. I don't know about the kids, but Kurt and I were exhausted. Jaxson came and asked me to make it bedtime about 20 minutes into the movie so he must have been pretty tired, too. On Sunday we got up and Chelsea and Makayla helped me make monkey bread and we had sausages shaped like hot dogs, which lead to a lot of confusion. Then we all hung out for the morning and played with lots more toys before we got ready for church. The kids were great about helping pick up and packing their stuff when the time came. In fact, the kids were great the whole weekend. I think the only crying was when Makayla tripped while running in her flip flops the first night. She got a really big scrape on her knee but she didn't complain about it at all and did a great job keeping up on changing her bandages. Kurt and I are looking forward to the next time we can have the kids down to visit. I think a weekend at our house is going to have to be something we do more often.

My favorite moments about this weekend:

Alexis: Alexis made fast-friends with a girl at the park the first night. Though the park is definitely geared towards younger kids, her and her new friend had a great attitude and found ways to amuse themselves without picking on the younger kids. Not many pre-teens as advanced as Alexis would have kept such a good attitude. Lexie kept up that same great attitude all weekend, how awesome is that?!

Merrit: I loved that by Sunday Merrit could name all of the different moves that we were doing in Super Smash Brothers. That kid has some serious analytical and strategic abilities. And he did a great job of playing with the other kids who weren't as good at the game as he was. He'd always try to help them out or show them ways to get better. Maybe he'll be a teacher like his dad.

Makayla: Makayla and I went to the grocery Saturday morning because I hadn't had a chance to go shopping before they got there. So I had a list of all of the essentials we needed to get through the rest of the weekend. I had also let the kids vote on what fruits we would bring for Family Dinner and I'd forgotten to write those down. Well, it was a good thing Makayla was with me. I kept forgetting things on the list or walking right past them. She was an awesome helper and kept reminding me of all of the things I was forgetting. She also wore her apron to the store which was precious. I hope she always keeps that creative spirit and the good patience while dealing with the scattered brained.

Chelsea: Chelsea did a really good job of eating while she was at our house. It is hard for Chelsea because she only likes certain things and, other than pizza on Friday, I didn't serve any of her favorites all weekend. But she did a great job eating the food anyway. She even ate the goulash after she realized I had snuck carrots into it. She also wore every single dress in the dress up box at one point or another this weekend. I think she made up a different story to go with each. Some characters had the dog for a pet, others had the penguin. I'm looking forward to where her imagination is going to take her in this world.

Jaxson: This weekend was a challenge for Jaxson. I think he is right at the age where Harvey is too young to be a play buddy yet and he isn't always old enough for or interested in the games his siblings are playing. He had a really great time at the party, though. He had so much energy but was still really good with the toddlers who were trying to use the pool, too. He also was so excited when I told him he could have two pops at the party. It was the happiest I saw him all weekend. If such simple pleasures will keep him happy, he'll be a satisfied kid as he gets older.

So, this ended up being a really long post. Here are some pictures for anybody who managed to read through all of that.

Photography

As many of you may or may not be aware, I've been searching for jobs for a little while now. Well recently (thanks to much prompting and a good kick in the pants from Mom) I went to LDS Employment Services and they hooked me up with a photographer position that was opening at Herff Jones the infamous yearbook/graduation announcement/class ring company. So I went to go fill an application out this past Monday. I received a call the same day asking me if I would be able to come in for an interview the next day. So I went to that interview and nailed it. The manager and I were joking through the whole thing, and just generally having a good time. The next morning (Wednesday) I was called again to see if I could make it in for my second interview the next day (Thursday). So I went in on Thursday, sat down with the same manager as before and he asked some of the most general interview questions that you'd expect to have in any interview for any job anywhere, and I felt like I nailed that too. After that, one of the ladies that was there showed me around some of the equipment that I would be using if I got the job, and I got to take a few practice shots, and got the shots perfect on the third try (Score!).

So I wake up this morning to find out that I have a missed call. The voicemail tells me that its from Herff Jones, so I'm figuring that I have another interview. So I give them a call back and we talk a little while and he tells me that "We'd love to have you, and if you could come in... say Monday to fill out some paperwork, we'll be all set." So now I'm going in on Monday to finish out the rest of the business to become Herff Jones' newest photographer.

Funny story, when I went in on Tuesday for my first interview, there was a lady sitting at the desk in the front that started talking to me as soon as I walked in the door. Turns out she is LDS and in Hillary's stake. Anyway, we chatted things up for a good half an hour while the guy who was going to interview me finished some things, and she really helped calm me down.

I know Mom and Dad have been praying for me to get a job, and I want to thank them, Heavenly Father, and any of you who might have thrown me in to a prayer or two. Thanks guys :D

Fun Stuff!

Our counter tops came this morning! I'm so excited I can't even describe it. I never realized how much I took counter tops for granted until I didn't have them. I'm so glad we went dark.

Charlie finished tiling the upstairs shower and the laundry room shower. These pictures are of the upstairs. He used match sticks for spacers because they are skinny. I thought it looked funny. I"ll have to post pictures of the finished projects of both showers soon.

This first picture are carrots we planted in our garden. We obviously didn't space them well enough apart. I'm sure our bunnies appreciated that. The next picture is of the freezer jam we made with the wild raspberries we have growing in many places in our yard. We haven't tasted it yet, but I hope it's good because raspberry jam is my favorite.

We are almost finished with the house. We only have the kitchen left and a few small things here and there to put finishing touches on. We hope to finish up by this weekend. I can't wait to be done fixing the house for a while! I need a vacation!

Charlie and I went to see Harry Potter for our anniversary on Monday (can you believe we've been married 13 years!?! it's awesome). Has anyone else seen it yet? I thought it was pretty good. We went with another couple. The guy we went with hasn't read the books and was lost in some parts of the movie. So I thought about it, there are several parts of the movie that assume you know the books. I wonder if that will hurt its revenue at all.

Angela

I read Angela's blog yesterday and discovered that she's expecting in Dec.! No one tells me anything. We had an old friend of mine from Kaysville here in the last few days, Barbara Hammer. She flew into Detriot to go to a family reunion in Ontario, and she stayed here, along with her daughter, Mary, the night they got here and the night before they left. It was so great to get to visit with her. Kari had dinner at Grandma's on Sunday. Dad talked to her, but he didn't say anything that was newsworthy to me about what she said, so I guess they're all doing well. I'm sure she'll tell us about it later.

vertigo update

Ok, so there isn't much to update. I spoke with an Ear, Nose and Throat medical resident on Sunday (he luckily goes to our ward) and he knew a lot more than the doctor I saw on Friday. He seemed to agree that the vertigo should go away in several weeks, but very fortunately did not think it would be reoccurring. HALLELUJAH! I'm doing well, up and washing dishes and doing laundry, but everything takes me twice as long to accomplish because I have to steady myself so often. It is such a weird feeling. On a happier note, I GOT MY AWESOME STROLLER TODAY! We still have to assemble it, but I'll post pictures soon. I can't wait to try it out!

Sparklers and Jousters

Okay, I finally remembered to post the pictures I took last week for Independence Day. We had a family dinner at Mom and Dad's on Thursday night. I didn't think of it until we had already gotten there, or I would have picked up some sparklers. Mom was able to find some old boxes of them, though. Really old boxes. I'm fairly sure I remember using the same ones when I still lived at home. But they worked! There were only enough for each of the kids to get about 3, and they were tough to light, but they did work. Most of the shots I took were way too dark, but these came out alright with a little tweaking.





Yesterday, Saline had its annual Celtic Festival. We went and enjoyed the afternoon with some friends. Here's Harvey giving his friend Archer a hello kiss.


According to the owner, who yelled out and scared Harvey, this cow was about to gore him when he walked up to it. It was really a very nice cow.



Plus, they had jousting! It was pretty neat. They actually rode past and broke their lances on each others' shields. No one was wounded in the making of these pictures.

a Wicked case of vertigo

We've had an eventful week over here at the Hairs. On Tuesday Jason and I finally saw Wicked, my Christmas present. (We bought the tickets clear back in October!) It was AWESOME! I didn't realize the show was that funny! Galinda (later Glinda) was hilarious, it is definitely worth seeing.

Wednesday my vertigo started. Around lunch time I noticed if I moved too quickly the room would start spinning. After a long nap, it was worse. I had to call my friend to come over and take care of Addie because I couldn't walk. If I kept my head completely straight I was fine, but as soon as it moved in either direction, the room would whirl around. When I woke up in the middle of the night to feed Macie, it was worse. Just simply opening my eyes made the room turn. I threw up a couple times from nausea and went back to bed. I seemed to be a bit better in the morning, but it became increasingly worse again and I had another friend come over and take Addie for the day. I just layed on the couch the entire day with Macie. Friday started out well, but after lunch I became sick again from the spinning and finally went to the doctor.

I was told I have a problem with my inner ear that is not likely to go away soon. He said it would probably bother me for several days up to a few weeks, sometimes I'd feel decent and sometimes it would be incapacitating. After this initial episode, he told me it was very likely I'd have other episodes randomly for several years. Woowoo! He said there is a chance it may happen just this one time, so I'm really praying that is the case. Even now, although I'm feeling generally ok, nothing is completly still and it's tiring to try to adjust. I often am off balance when walking and am afraid to drive. Because I am nursing I can't use the only prescription drug there is, but he did say I might get some relief from dromamine (motion sickness medication).

Jason is going to give me a blessing later this afternoon and I would also appreciate your prayers. I'm worried about taking care of my two little girls alone during the day. Sometimes I can't carry Macie because I'm afraid I'll drop her. I hope this doesn't last long. Anyhow, thought you should know what's up with me. Vertigo stinks.

This is Adelyn on her birthday in the pretty dress Heather and Kurt sent her. This is how Macie would look with long, dark hair. Haha!

Busy Week

Last week was a GREAT week for us. Tuesday was our anniversary-3 years! YAY! We went to dinner at the nicest restaurant in town (Ruby Tuesday's) and went to a movie. Doing both is a treat since it meant that Noah had to be watched for 4 hours instead of the usual 2. We have great friends here and we will be trading them for their anniversary in August. It took me a good 2 hours to do my hair just like Eric likes it and I have to say the curls were quite a success.

Forgive the toliet in the background...we just happen to be in the bathroom-I know random. We still love each other after all this time.

The day before the 4th the town had a little fun in the square with music and a BBQ and a car show. It started to rain so we only stayed for the cars...but it was still fun.
I love this color-a nice olive green-so pretty for a car.
And then on the 4th, we went to lamest parade ever-it only lasted 15-20 minutes and the floats were trailers pulled behind cars with streamers and balloons. Oh well, we got a good stash of candy. Here Noah is playing peek a boo and giving us a big grin.

He really is such a cute kid. We had a fun BBQ after the parade at our house...oh I should have taken a picture of all of us. A family just moved in and their last name is Peterson, making there 3 families now with the same last name and we had a party on the 4th. We bought our own fireworks and since pretty much all fireworks are legal in Missouri we had an awesome time. It was a great week.

Kurt pictures?

Kurt, how about posting some of the pictures from the great sparkler event last Thursday night?

Musings

It's been awhile since I added anything to this blog so I thought I would add a few pictures I took while we were in Memphis. I am trying to upload a cute, short, little video of Addie dancing; I'm on my second attempt and may get it, or I may not. We shall see. At any rate, here's what I have so far.









Also, I've been trying to come up with a vanity license plate for Mom for quite sometime. She wanted "Mrs H" while the girls were in High School but it was already taken. I finally came up with one that I have given her for an early Birthday present. When I ordered it they canceled the old registration and since we received it in the mail today, I thought I would just go ahead and give it to her now instead of putting on the temporary license plate they gave me and waiting until her birthday. I took a picture of it on her car for those of you living at a distance and not likely to see it for awhile. Hope you enjoy it.

Hair Cuts!

We all got hair cuts today and thought we'd share them with you. Granted, Lexi and I don't have our hair properly styled, so you can't really see what it's suppose to look like, but this is how short we went. I cut the boys hair and then took the girls to the salon. I'm not brave enough to cut girls' hair yet. The stylist thought it was funny that we all chose short cuts.

We also got fish today. We are hoping to grow them a bit bigger and then put them in our pond. We hope they will help clean it up a bit.