One More Thing?

Being the overly enthusiastic parent of a Kindergartner that I am, I eagerly volunteered to be the room parent for Jacob's class this year. Little did I know that I'd be planning the first party the same week that we'd be moving into a new house... hmmm, bit off a little more than I can chew there, didn't I? Well, after the 2nd or 3rd day of running on little sleep, I am feeling a bit resentful. Nonetheless, I did accomplish the task of preparing:

30 of these...............paper plate spiders

25 of these........................hand sewn felt pumpkin Trick-or-Treat bags

and 27 of these..............whole wheat pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (to be decorated and devoured at tomorrow's party.)

Now all I have left to do between tomorrow morning and next week is make frosting, transfer over the utilities, finish packing, clean old house, clean new house, take care of kids, keep up with chores.....zzzzzzz

Crazy Hair Day

The kids are having a "Spirit Week" at school, and yesterday was crazy hair day. This was Ashlee's choice 'do.

22 weeks and growing...

Here are the milestones my baby has reached this week:

You are 22 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 20 weeks)

• The fetus reacts to loud sounds.
• Baby starts having a regular sleeping and waking rhythm.
• The mother's movements can wake her baby.
• Taste buds are forming on your baby's tongue.
• The baby is 28cm long (crown to heel) and weighs over 450 grams.
• The weekly weight gain has increased to around 70 grams.

Your baby is about 11 inches long and weighs in at about 1 pound. The eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed, and the fingernails cover the fingertips. Sounds from a conversation are loud enough to be heard by the fetus in the uterus. If you talk, read, or sing to your baby, it's reasonable to expect him or her to be able to hear you.


I woke up this morning and thought she had turned. I know from the ultrasound that she is breech, and all of her kicks are felt down low. However, this morning as I was lying in bed I felt rhythmic movement at the top of my uterus, which gave me hope that she had changed positions. Then I realized that it could've been hiccups I was feeling, not kicks, which would make sense that I would feel those up high if she was still in a breech position, so I am not letting my guard down yet. The midwives say I don't really need to think about it until 30 weeks or so. I, on the other hand, am hoping that she will find her bearings and get into a head-down position before she grows too big. I know there are several maneuvers a pregnant woman can do to get her baby to change positions, so I am not too worried about it, but I would like the peace of mind of knowing that she is head down nonetheless. Actually, I am feeling little flutter-like movements down low as we speak, which feel more characteristic of little hands than feet, so we may just be in luck! Good girl, Rachel. Good girl.

Primary Program

Today was the kids' Primary Program at church (wish I had pictures to post... darn.) From what I understand, this is quite the production that has pretty much been all year in the making. The Primary Presidency did an excellent job of orchestrating the whole thing and making it all come together. I have loved listening to the practice c.d. with my children these past few months and learning the songs with them; my favorite was "Teach Me About the Temple," so beautiful! Ashlee and Jacob both had their lines memorized to a "T," only Jacob wishes he would've had a longer one (next year, bud.)

As I sat in the congregation with Forrest, watching the kids up on the stand, a few thoughts came to mind. One of them was how impressed I am at how far Ashlee has come since we started investigating the church. I vividly remember the first time we were invited to church, and Ashlee was two. I sat nervously with her in the chapel during sacrament meeting, and right during the passing of the sacrament, she decided to leave the pew, tear down the aisle, and dart across the front of the congregation. Someone had to retrieve her and bring her back to me, as I was too terrified to move. After that incident I thought I'd never be able to sit reverently in church with my children like all the other moms. Never did I imagine that several years later I'd be sitting in the same congregation with not one but four... um, five... children, reverently enjoying the sacrament meeting. Each year the Primary Program is a good way for me to analyze our progress. The first year it was the emotion that swept over me as Ashlee stood up front and sang "I am a Child of God" with all the other children, the song that Forrest used to sing to her every night when she was a baby before I even knew about the church. Now here was our "baby" singing it back to us. Then it was watching Jacob his first year in the program; Noah was two and Kaitlyn was a new baby, and I left them with Forrest while I attempted to escort Jake up to the front to take his seat, only to have him make a mad dash back to the congregation, refusing to perform... now he's asking for a bigger part.

I could say more, but for the sake of not turning this post into a journal entry will stop there.

I already look forward to next year, when I'll have a new baby in my arms and Noah will be up there for the first time. It really puts a perspective on just how fast this life passes...

I am so happy I am able to give my children the gift of the gospel.

Apple Hill

Forrest had the day off on Saturday, so we made a last minute decision to drive up to Apple Hill (our last chance before Halloween.) It was a beautiful day.

Here are Ashlee and Kaitlyn in the pumpkin patch at Plubell's. They loved looking at and feeding all of the farm animals. We opted not to follow our usual tradition of buying pumpkins here this year in favor of the fact that we can purchase them at the grocery store for $3 each and save quite a bit of money. I did, however, pick up a pumpkin for my dinner-in-a-pumpkin... figure if we're going to be eating it, not carving it, it's worth the investment.



Caramel apples at High Hill Ranch. These were so delicious, but the bees were coming after them like no one's business! I had to swat them away, as they were quite aggressive. I later found Noah's apple so lovingly left on the back seat of my car. Thank goodness for leather seats, it cleaned right up.

The fishing pond- I had Noah posed for a shot, but at the last minute he decided he had to go potty and came bolting towards me (hence the action shot.)

Kaitlyn with her guinea pig- she calls it her "cozy." Actually it's Ashlee's webkinz, but Kaitlyn has sort of adopted it as her own. Ashlee only really cares about taking care of the online version of it.

My Christmas Rag Quilt

It's been nearly a year since I was first inspired to make a rag quilt. At last year's Relief Society Christmas celebration, ("Love in Every Stitch" was it?) I really enjoyed looking at the display of rag quilts hand-made by sisters in our ward, and from henceforth was determined to make one of my own. So, I did my research, priced the fabric, browsed many patterns for ideas, and came up with this:

It wasn't really a pattern per se, but rather a modge podge of coordinating fabrics that happened to be on sale at Hancock's. I wanted it to be a throw that I could bring out at Christmas time, and I think it turned out the perfect size.

I really love the frayed look of rag quilts. This attribute also makes them more forgiving; your seams don't need to be perfect.


I was surprised that all in all, I put only about 4 days of half-time work into this quilt. Here are the steps, in a nutshell:

Step 1: purchase fabric (do not pre-wash) and, using a rotary cutter and self-healing board (the right tools are essential,) cut into squares.

Step 2: assemble squares in sandwiches and pin together.

Step 3: pin squares together in rows, then join with a 1" seam allowance.

Step 4: pin rows together, join with a 1" seam allowance.

Step 5: Sew 1" border around all edges of quilt.

Step 6: Using spring loaded scissors, cut 1/4"-1/2" slits in seam allowances around every square and around border (taking caution not to clip your seams, as this would cause it to unravel!)

Step 7: run quilt through washer and dryer for frayed effect, then de-fuzz. Your quilt is complete.

Daddy-Daughter Activity

Last weekend the Activity Day girls had a daddy-daughter night. They all got to bring their hand-tied blankets they made a while back to put out on display.

A cute couple.

They had many fun activities, one of which was a race to see which dad could wrap their daughter in two rolls of toilet paper the fastest. Forrest was a little flustered by the fact that I sent him with two double rolls! It didn't make his job any easier. Oops.

Doesn't Ashlee look thrilled to be covered in... toilet paper?

They also had a relay to see who could run down to the end of the gym, dress up in these crazy clothes, undress and run back the fastest. Can you guess who this is??

I'm not sure if this is a picture of the dads and daughters getting ready for the 3-legged race or not... it looks more like dancing.