Today's Beautiful Moments ... Tomorrow's Beautiful Memories

A Time For Giving Thanks

2012-01-31T13:08:00.008-06:00

I have never had to cook a Thanksgiving meal! Don't get me wrong, I have contributed to many a feast, but this year was the first time in my entire marriage that I was confronted with the possibility of having to put on a Thanksgiving meal all by myself. We no longer live near Dan's family and with my parent's having moved to Scotland it seemed inevitable that I might actually have to cook a turkey. Luckily, our friends invited us over instead, and I was spared for one more year. I did make the rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a veggie tray though.

Cicialy's Kindergarten Thanksgiving play was precious. She was a little pilgrim girl and memorized her part perfectly. I am still not sure why her teacher put black spots all over thier faces. They kind of look they have small pox or something!

10 Years

2012-01-31T09:03:00.010-06:00

On November 16, 2011 Dan and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We decided to leave the kids with some friends and take a three day trip to New Orleans. We stayed at a great bed and breakfast in the garden district, ate amazing food, toured art galleries in the French Quarter, rode the trolley out to Audobon Park, shopped Magazine Street (thanks Dan!), and because I love Dan so much we spent a few hours at the National WWII museum.

What We've Been Up To

2011-11-09T13:06:00.008-06:00

We've been busy! I love being busy! Weston started preschool twice a week (the only downside is that every 5th week it is my turn to teach). Cicialy turned 6, got a new bike, and learned how to ride without training wheels. I am shuttling William, Cicialy, and other neighborhood kids to and from the elementary school frequently. Since the weather has finally cooled down a tad we are biking, and I love it! Cicialy started taking soccer and is really quite good for a beginner. She has scored several goals but is even better at assisting other players in getting goals. Whenever her best friend Kara makes a goal she runs over to her to give her a hug. It is so sweet. William is loving Kung Fu. I have starting running with friends 3 mornings a week after dropping the big kids off at school and doing toning/cardio videos together the other 2 days. I never thought I would say this but I am actually enjoying running! My Stake encouraged the sisters at the General Relief Society Broadcast to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. They passed out a schedule that included scriptures to mark each day, relevant quotes, and thought questions. I am really enjoying this as well. Below are some random pictures from the last few months.

Hogwarts Invasion

2011-11-09T12:43:00.006-06:00

I have spent the last year reading the Harry Potter series to the kids from start to finish, so for Halloween all the kids wanted to be characters from Harry Potter. William was Harry (which was great since that was his costume last year), Cicialy was Hermoine, and Weston (in his own words) was Draco "Moufboy". They looked great, especially thanks to the homemade wands whittled and carved by Dan. I was a little sad that Cicialy wasn't something a little more spectacular (I pushed for Sacajawea with William and Weston being the explorers Lois and Clark) but realized I needed to set my own feelings aside and let her make the choice. The kids had a great holiday!!

First Day of School

2011-09-09T10:30:00.005-05:00

School has been in session for three weeks now. Cicialy is loving kindergarten! She has the best teacher, and two of her very best friends are in her class as well. William also has an amazing teacher. I am excited for the growth both kids will experience this school year. Cicialy will keep busy with hip hop, jazz, ballet and soccer while William has started martial arts. Here are a few pictures from thier first day of school.

The Wedding We Had All Been Waiting For

2011-09-02T10:49:00.016-05:00

The main reason for going to Utah this summer was for Andrew and Tawni's wedding. We were so excited when they finally got engaged on Christmas Eve! Tawni loves bright colors and so she had all the boys in bright colored ties (our family's color was orange) and all the girls in pillow case design dresses that her mother made. The kids loved dressing up and feeling like a special part of the day. The night before the wedding we had a fun BBQ in the Packer's back yard! Here are some pictures from the two day extravaganza.

Packer Family Reunion

2011-08-23T12:17:00.015-05:00

We had to leave my family reunion a day early : ( in order to make it up to Utah in time for Dan's family reunion at Heber Valley Camp. The weather was so beautiful and such a nice break from the Texas heat (we even had to wear sweatshirts at night and in the mornings : ). We always look forward to this reunion that takes place near the 4th of July every other year. Since Dan's brother Andrew was getting married a week later we made sure we arrived in time for all the family fun. We participated in a COPE course, ate all the soft serve ice cream we could (thanks Uncle Spencer!), told campfire stories, played games with all the cousins and uncles, had a family fireside with Dan's grandparents, and went canoeing on the lake. It was so much fun!

Weston riding the mechanical horse Uncle Spencer brought. All of the kids rode this more times than I could count!

Bleu, Kenzli, and Cicialy in age order (only 5 months separates them)

Kaul, Tanner, and William

Weston and "his Sophie"

Cicialy with her great grandma!

4 generations - our kids, Dan, Bompa, and great grandpa

Weston loving his soon to be new Aunt Tawni and Uncle Andrew

Uncle Jake, William, Bleu, and Tanner

Kenzli and Cicialy in a canoe with me!

Dan's cousin, Weston, and Dan

Freeman Family Reunion

2011-08-01T12:22:00.015-05:00

This summer has flown by! Only three more weeks until its over : ( We have had an amazing time (the highlight being our 3 week adventure to San Antonio, TX and Utah), and I am sad to see it coming to an end. If you ask my kids whether they liked our family vacation to Disney World back in September or this summer where they have been able to see all of thier 25 cousins they will without question answer COUSINS!!!

The last week of June all of my siblings (Tiffany, Beth, me, Ken, Matt, and Mark), along with our families, and my parents got together near San Antonio, TX for a few days full of fun. My parents have moved to Scotland for a few years and wanted the family to get together one last time before they left. We spent a day at Schlitterbahn (an amazing waterpark), went tubing down the Guadalupe River, ate dinner one night at Salt Lick (the most amazing BBQ in the middle of nowhere TX), played hard at Six Flags, and spent all our free time playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii and just hanging out. Below are some pictures from the Freeman Family Reunion:

Weston and his cousin Kruize at Grandma's house in Houston before we left

Maddie, Devri, and Cicialy ready for Schlitterbahn

Dallin, Aden, and William in the boys car
Our stop at Buc-cee's

Sadly I have no pictures from Schlitterbahn or Six Flags but here is Daegon, Aubri, Cicialy, and William playing Just Dance 2

All of us that went tubing down the Guadalupe River minus Dan and Jeff who were taking the pictures. All the kids under 6 went with my mom, grandpa, Beth, and Matt and Miya to the San Antonio Zoo.

Daegon and Cicialy getting Hana to laugh, which is no small task. She never gives me the time of day but boy did she love her cousin Daegon!

The guys (Daegon, William, Aden, and Papagator) eating amazing BBQ!

Maddie, Aubri, Devri, and Cicialy enjoying thier dinner as well!

We hope its not too long until we get to see all my family again!

The Bluebird Solo

2011-05-23T12:35:00.009-05:00

Cicialy's year end ballet recital was held this past Saturday, and she was amazing!!! Not only did she do great in her group dance (they were Spanish Roses), but she performed a solo as well.

Cicialy performed the bluebird solo from the ballet Sleeping Beauty. She was the only girl in her age group to do a solo and has been working so hard on it since January. She did amazing, and I was so proud of her! Cici is often very shy but you would not have known that watching her dance.

After taking a few pictures her face clearly conveys "ENOUGH ALREADY!"

After the performance Cicialy received roses from Grandma Freeman and her brothers like every ballerina should. Can't you tell that was her favorite part of the event! Cicialy's bluebird costume was so cute! My friend Christa made the feathered headpiece, and I spent two and a half hours Friday night cutting out and handstitching on the fabric feathers along with sequins and beads. It was worth it!

A Good Day

2011-05-19T15:12:00.008-05:00

Today was Cicialy Belle's preschool graduation. She insisted on having her hair straightened and toenails painted for the big day! Her teachers gave all the students an award and Cicialy got "most witty". They also asked each student what they wanted to be when they grew up and Cicialy's response was "a ballet teacher." Each student got to walk down the aisle to the pulpit by themselves and Cicialy was so smiley and sweet. I am so proud of my girlie!

Cicialy with Conner, her friend from church.
Cicialy and her two awesome teachers, Mrs. Lyles and Mrs. Heron.

Weston and Connor's little brother Cody acting crazy together, like always!

Finally, Cicialy and I after the ceremony. I sure do love that girl!

The Takeover

2011-05-17T11:56:00.005-05:00

For the next two months swim team will be taking over our lives! The kids have practice every weekday and a day long meet every Saturday until the end of June. Go Eagle Springs Flyers!

And this is not related to the post, but Cici just looked so cute rocking out to her pink ipod nano she got for Christmas.

April Recap

2011-05-13T13:45:00.015-05:00

April was a great month! We kicked off General Conference weekend with a family campout in the back yard, which included grilling hot dogs, making yummy smores in the microwave(which are far better than fire burnt ones any day in my opinion : ), playing games and watching the portable dvd player all night long. We were able to survive watching all four sessions of Conference with the kids thanks to a little help from the candy game and activity packets courtesy of sugardoodle.

Cicialy had preschool graduation pictures and looked soooooooo cute!

Easter Sunday was wonderful and relaxed. The kids enjoyed thier baskets filled with books, movies, coloring stuff, flip flops, goggles, swim suits and of course candy! They loved the backyard egg hunt after church. Next year I think we might do the baskets and egg hunt on Saturday so Sunday is filled with the more reverant aspects of the holiday.

After a week of rookie camp, Cicialy made our neighborhood summer league swim team. (She's the one in the blue swimsuit). Cicialy and William now have swim practice every weekday afternoon until school gets out and then every morning until the end of June. They are loving it! Ask them to show your thier flyer flexes.

William did great at his 1st grade play/concert, "Frog and Toad". His class had to all wear yellow shirts and were the featured class for the song, "Cookies". The kids and I can't get all the songs out of our heads : )

The last weekend of the month we attended the school district's fine arts festival at the local Community College. We had been informed that one of William's art pieces had been chosen for display, so we had to go see it. He won a first place ribbon! The festival was amazing. There were hands on art stations all over the place. The kids got to make funny hats, magnets, bags, jewelery, sidewalk chalk art and much more. There was even a dance class every half hour that Cicialy got to participate in.

Family Pictures

2011-05-02T09:18:00.016-05:00

Way back in November we had some family pictures taken for Christmas cards. They did not get sent out, but here are a few of my favorite shots.

Texas Pride

2011-04-15T13:58:00.009-05:00

I am proud to be a native Texan! In fact, I got all teary eyed last year when William came home from school one day and began singing "The stars at night, are big and bright, (clap clap clap clap), deep in the Heart of Texas!" It makes me happy when the month of March rolls around and in honor of Texas Independence the schools start teaching all about the state I love so much. This even starts in preschool. If you ask her, Cicialy (and of course William) could tell you the following: The Texas State Motto (Friendship), the Texas State Flower (Bluebonnet), the Texas State Tree (Pecan), the Texas State Mammal (small - Armadillo, large- Texas Longhorn), the Texas State Insect (Monarch Butterfly), and the Texas State Bird (Mockingbird). As part of the festivities, Cicialy's preschool held a rodeo parade and concert. Her favorite part was getting to buy a stick pony. The other thing I love about March is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We look forward to it every year. Dan and I were able to go twice and saw Sugarland and Rascal Flatts (thanks mom and dad!), and then one Saturday we took the kids to the Livestock Show and Carnival. And of course my favorite part is always all the delicious food choices.

Cicialy really enjoyed the soil exhibit where you could plant your own sunflower seed and go digging in the dirt for worms.

The kids favorite exhibit is always the chicks hatching right before your eyes!

Only A Month Late

2011-01-26T11:19:00.011-06:00

We went to Utah for Christmas!!! Sorry its taken me until know to write about it, but upon arriving home Dan and I were thrust full force into the final preparations for a 4 stake priest/laurel conference. Now its over, and I've got a little bit of free time (for the moment at least : ). We had lots of fun; so much fun in fact that we forgot to take many pictures. Minus out the two day drive there and the two day drive back (which is always torture), we had a blast building snowmen, sledding, ice skating, sleeping over with cousins, and just spending quality time with Dan's family. Below are the few pictures I did manage to snap:

Cici, William, and Weston in their Christmas pjs right before reading the Christmas story and then going up to see what Santa brought

Weston with his scooter from Santa

William opening his Nintendo DSi (I caved because I wanted to see this face on Christmas morning. He has now earned it being taken away with the slight possibility of it being regiven to him as a gift next Christmas, if his behavior improves).

Cicialy loved the snow. It was so cold that I didn't want to leave the house, but she couldn't get enough of it!

Cicialy and cousin Kenzli being pulled on a sled by Aunt Cari. (While we were there Cicialy found out that Kenzli had gotten her ears pierced and that Aunt Cari had done it. Needless to say, Cici now has her own ears pierced too by Aunt Cari).

Weston and cousin Sophie

Dan's brother Andrew got engaged the morning we arrived, so we are excited to be heading back to Utah this July. We will try to actually visit with all of our friends then.

Witches and Wizards and Superman, oh my!!!

2010-10-31T13:58:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween!!! The kids are sad that today is a Sunday, which equals no trick or treating, but they enjoyed dressing up to go to grandma's trunk or treat Friday night. William didn't even have to think twice about what he wanted to be this year. We've been reading the Harry Potter books since the summer (we are currently on book 5), and he just had to be Harry! Dan whittled his wand from a stick in the backyard, and William helped him stain it just the right color. He insists that he wants to be Harry next year as well (and if he doesn't Cicialy has expressed an interest in being Hermoine so the costume will get some good use : ). It took some convincing, but Cicialy finally agreed to be the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. She loved having her face painted green and getting her very own pair of ruby slippers. She even perfected the line "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!" Weston was a whole other story. He said no to every idea we had, refused to keep any costume on, so last minute inspiration struck as I noticed that he was wearing his superman t-shirt on Friday - Clark Kent (I knew he would keep his church clothes on : ). Well, I am off to whip up some witches brew, bats and cobwebs, and monte cristo ghost sandwiches for our Halloween dinner. Hope you all had a great holiday!!!

Crazy

2010-10-29T10:48:00.002-05:00

It has been Red Ribbon Week at William's elementary school. They have had pajama day, crazy sock day, and finally the most anticipated day has arrived: Crazy Hair Day!!!

He was one excited boy going off to school today!

Oh What Fun We Had!

2010-10-21T12:26:00.032-05:00

Our family sorely needed a vacation, so we pulled the kids out of school for a week and headed to Florida. It was wonderful (dare I say "magical" : )! The kids were in heaven, Dan got some much needed rest, and I enjoyed soaking it all in and making memories together. Following is the Packer Family Vacation 2010 in pictures:

The kids are ready for the drive through the night to get to Aunt

Shelley's house in Florida!!!

Disney World Day 1 (September 27, 2010):

Our first day at Disney World was Cici's 5th birthday!!! Since her birthday surprise was lunch with the Disney Princesses at the Norway Castle in Epcot's world showcase, we spent the morning exploring future world at Epcot. The ride " Soarin' " was a big hit with the kids, but the shocker of the day had to be the kids insistence that Spaceship Earth was their favorite ride (creating their own world and seeing their faces on the ride screen in front of them was just too cool I guess : ). The princess lunch was amazing. Seeing the look on Cicialy' face as each princess came to our table and talked to her was priceless. Late that afternoon we headed back to our resort for a short rest and then spent a few hours at the Magic Kingdom so we could fulfill Cici's birthday wish of riding Splash Mountain.

Day 2:

We spent our entire second day exploring the Animal Kingdom (by far one of my favorites). The kids encountered loads of Disney Characters (Lilo and Stitch, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Eyore just to name a few), got soaked on the river raft rides (Cici loved it more than the rest of us), traveled back in time to the era of the dinosaurs (please mention to your children that they are really not going back in time and that the dinosaurs are pretend), enjoyed participating in the Festival of the Lion King, and experienced the best ride (in my opinion) Disney has to offer: Expedition Everest. Only downside to the day was the torrential downpour as we were exiting the park.

Day 3:

By the third day the Magic Kingdom was calling!!! We spent the morning riding Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin a million times, soaring through the air on Dumbo, and hitting 2 of the mountains (space and splash). We decided to take the afternoon off and swim at our resort's fabulous pool. We stayed at the yacht club and loved it. The pool had a sandy bottom, a small lazy river, and two waterslides coming off of a shipwreck. That evening Uncle Sam and cousins Tori, Tyler, Sammy, and Gavin drove up to explore Downtown Disney with us. The lego store was amazing!!!

Day 4:

We only did about half of what we wanted to at the Magic Kingdom the day before, so we headed back over to meet with some of our favorite characters (Daisy Duck, Pinocchio, Pluto, Jasmine and Aladdin, and of course Princess Tiana), sail through the Caribbean with Captain Jack Sparrow, fly over Agra bah on magic carpets and through Neverland on a flying ship, and last but definitely not least ride the last and final mountain (Thunder). We almost didn't take William and Cicialy on Thunder Mountain because Dan felt it might have been a little too jerky for them. That would have been a big mistake. Hands down it was Cicialy's favorite ride of the vacation - she giggled the entire time! Late that afternoon we headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. The only long wait we encountered the entire vacation was at the new Toy Story Mania ride. We waited 90 minutes, but William LOVED it! We took the kids to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show (much to Cicialy's delight and William's displeasure) and then braved the Tower of Terror. I am proud of both William and Cicialy because they went on it twice (once with me and once with Dan) even though Cicialy was scared out of her mind. She didn't want her daddy to have to ride it alone : )

Day 5:

We were so sad it was our last day at Disney World. We decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom and then Animal Kingdom and ride our favorite rides one last time. We also couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Mickey and Minnie. The kids hope we'll see them again real soon!

Last Day of Vacation:

We spent our final day in Florida going to the beach with cousins. It was beautiful!!!

Preschool and Potty Training

2010-09-02T12:52:00.005-05:00

Cicialy has been awaiting this day for some time now and it finally arrived ... the first day of preschool!!! Last year we participated in a mom co-op preschool, but since this is Cici's last year before Kindergarten she is attending a full day preschool run by a local Presbyterian Church (most of the preschools here are affiliated with churches). She will be attending two days a week from 8:30 - 2:30. This seems like such a long time, but it will be great preparation for full day kindergarten next year.

And what was she most excited about? Using her brand new butterfly lunchbox she picked out for the first time, wearing her new "diamond" studded puma's (you can't see them in the picture but since she needs to wear closed toes shoes she picked out puma's that have rhinestones along the sides - they are actually pretty cute : ), and getting to go to recess twice!!!! (She keeps reminding / taunting William that he only gets one recess)

This is Cici with one of her two teachers. I hope she is having fun because I sure do miss having her around already!!!

Since both William and Cicialy were going to be out of the house for several hours, I decided to spend my first day alone with Weston potty training. We dropped Cici off at preschool, went to Walmart to pick out Thomas the train underwear and incentive treats, and then dove right in. He is asleep now, but the morning session went fairly well. A few mishaps and several successes!!! I showed Weston how to potty train Cici's doll, then had him potty train the doll, and finally we had him start doing it himself (the key is to have most of the incentives be liquid so that the child has several opportunities to practice). Hopefully we just keep pressing forward from here.

First Grade and What We Did This Summer

2010-08-23T13:34:00.015-05:00

Today William started First Grade!!! He woke up super excited and so did I. I hope his day went well. We didn't take any vacations this summer (besides the pioneer trek and girls camp), but we did keep ourselves busy at the pool. Cicialy even started swimming early on in the summer so that she could do this ...
and this ...

and of course William spent all summer doing tricks off the high dive.

Here is all of them at one of the pools in our subdivision. Weston loves the water as much as his brother and sister and thinks he can swim even though he can't (maybe next year : ).
Besides swimming we did a lot of crafts. For some reason the kids got really into creating things this summer. Below are two of our favorites.

We had a lot fun this summer, but our little family needs a vacation. In just a few short weeks we'll be heading off to Disney World!!! I don't know if the kids (or I) can wait : )

2010

2010-07-22T16:45:00.025-05:00

I put this blog on the back burner, and honestly it might just stay there. But, a few weeks ago I gave a lesson in Young Women's on journals and how important it is to keep one, and it made me remember this little online journal I have here. So, here is my attempt to complete the challenge I gave my girls to either start a journal or write in one they already have. Many, many things have happened this year that I want to remember, so here is 2010 so far in a nutshell.

Cicialy and I went on a mother / daughter date to the Nutcracker put on by the Houston Ballet(this actually happened at the end of 2009 but Cici looked so cute in her Christmas dress that I wanted to post the picture). Cicialy loves ballet and was so excited during the entire show!!!
I spent my middle school and junior high school years living in Mandeville, Louisiana. Every time February rolls around I reminisce about Mardi Gras with all of its traditions of parades, food, and fun. Last year I told the kids about how yummy King Cake was but never got around to making it. This year I made it and am sure it will now be a fun family tradition!

Another family tradition we now have is to take the family to the Houston Rodeo in March!!! Dan took a half day off of work and we pulled William out of school to head downtown and have some good western fun. The Livestock Show was amazing as usual (this year we saw a piglet being born, chicks cracking out of their eggs, and of course a Texas Longhorn or two), the kids couldn't get enough of the carnival (though Mom and Dad could : ), and the food was to die for. To top the day off we got to see a pro rodeo and then Dirks Bentley perform live.

William turned 6!!! If you can't tell this was our attempt to make the requested soccer ball cake.

My brother Matt is in medical school at Texas A&M and we were lucky enough to get to visit for the baby blessing of his first daughter. The kids love baby Hanna and can't stop talking about how cute they think she is. My grandfather, Papa, was also there and they loved visiting with their great grandpa.

Our neighborhood did another great Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza complete with crafts, bouncy houses, petting zoo, pony rides, and ferris wheel. Will was sad that he had to leave early to make his soccer game.

Weston turned two in May. He is no longer a baby even though I try so hard to still imagine him as one. His favorite thing in the whole wide world is trains. That is pretty much all he plays with and all he talks about. Good thing we've collected enough Geo Trax sets by now to have our whole play room turned into train wonderland.

William finished Kindergarten in May and had a great year. He is excited about learning even more in First Grade.

Grandma and Grandpa Packer came for a visit. We had fun exploring Houston with them!!!

Cicialy danced to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in her year end ballet recital. She was soooooooo cute. Have a mentioned how much she loves ballet?! In the weeks leading up to her recital she was constantly reminding us that dancers get flowers after thier performances. She loved all the flowers her grandparents gave her (Cici was lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents in attendance).

William participated on our neighborhood swim team early on this summer. I was amazed at how well he improved week from week and now he is a super strong swimmer. His favorite event was the freestyle relay. I wish we had a diving team on this side of Houston because that is where his real interest lies. I can't pull that kid away from the high dive when we go swimming.

In June Dan and I were lucky enough to be able to participate in the Stake Pioneer Trek as the programs and activities directors. It was a lot of work (especially the month and a half prior to the trek since we were on the Stake Trek Committee) and pretty stinkin' hot, but so much fun!!! I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Finally, I just got back from a week at Girls Camp in Dequincy, Louisiana! Early on this year I got my dream calling of being the ward camp director!!! I loved getting to know the girls in my ward and doing one mutual night activity with them each month to prepare for camp. Our YW Presidency really wanted to make sure I was included in the program so I was even invited to attend YW with them each Sunday (and teach a few times). As girls camp approached I started getting so sad because I knew that once camp was over I would not be needed any longer : ( Much to my surprise I was called into the YW presidency just two weeks before camp!!! I am humbled and excited about this opportunity. At camp I was a counselor over a group of 2nd years. We had so much fun, but I am dead tired. I got up at 5:30 each morning to swim the mile and 1/2 mile swim with the girls and then went non stop until the wee hours of the morning.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2009-12-04T17:08:00.003-06:00

It's snowing in Houston! We can't believe it! The kids think its magical! William even got out of school early today because of the weather (was this really necessary - no - but kind of fun). Thanks to Cici's suggestion we are enjoying hot chocolate and looking out the window loving our one afternoon of snow for possibly the next 4 or 5 years. The crazy thing is that I was wearing flip flops yesterday.

(Cici is eating snow in this picture)

Nursery

2009-11-02T17:04:00.003-06:00

Weston is finally old enough to go to nursery, and he did great! We dropped him off, stayed 5 minutes to settle him into things, left, and never heard a peep for the next two hours of church. He did escape at the very end though when another parent was picking up their kid. My friend found him running down the hallway on the complete opposite side of the church. I guess everything couldn't go off without a hitch : )

We had a great Halloween!

2009-11-01T07:19:00.009-06:00

We hope all of you had a Happy Halloween. We sure did!

If you can't tell Cici is a peacock. I fell in love with the costume at pottery barn kids but thought I could make it a little cuter and a lot cheaper. Cici was sold on the idea after being told that her great grandpa and grandma Packer used to own peacocks. The headpiece was a nightmare to create but luckily I am married to an engineer. I thought she was so cute!

William was an astronaut again! We did make a new hat though.

Weston was our little cowboy/sheriff. His hat lasted on his head for about 5 seconds. Oh well, we tried!

Here are the kids at the end of our church's trunk or treat the night before Halloween. They had a lot of fun and got too much candy (and they still had trick or treating the next night to look forward too : ) Will and Cici enjoyed passing out candy when they were done making the car circuit almost has much as getting treats themselves.

Before trick or treating we enjoyed a dinner of spiders, eyeballs, jack o lantern grilled cheese sandwiches, ghostly gruel, and witches brew. The kids really enjoyed this part of Halloween.

Halloween was tons of work, tons of fun, and now we need to start thinking about what we will be next year (especially if I am going to be sewing any of the costumes again : )

I Don't Want to Forget This!

2009-10-15T13:00:00.006-05:00

With William in Kindergarten and Cicialy at preschool and then a friend's house, it has just been me and Weston today! I am loving it! We've played, wrestled, and snuggled. Weston has also managed to destroy the house while I worked on preparing my church lesson for Sunday. After lunch I told my seventeen month old boy that we needed to clean the house and began to wipe up a counter. He immediately went to the sink, opened up the cabinent, took out a dust cloth, and showed it to me. I told him good job and that he could go start dusting the house if he wanted to (not really thinking anything of it). After I finished wiping off the countertops I noticed how quiet it was and went in search of Weston. This is what I found!

He was actually cleaning! He sure was proud of himself, and I was proud of him too! I'm glad he is finding the joy in cleaning at such a young age.

I Can Now Stop and Breathe!

2009-09-30T13:17:00.011-05:00

Cici turned 4 this past Sunday, and her birthday turned into a weekend extravaganza. On Friday morning she had a princess birthday party with her friends. Since I waited until the last minute to prepare, I was up all Thursday night buying the food (heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit and dip platter, princess punch) and party favors (rings, necklaces, bracelets, lipgloss), preparing the decorations (big flower pom poms), baking the cake (two-tiered circular pink cake with tiara on top), cutting out and sewing together the felt princess head wreaths each girl would get to decorate, making the princess ribbon dance wands, and setting up the games (pin the kiss on the frog, princess and the pea game, pass the poison apple, and search for cinderella's slipper). But it was worth it. Cici loved her party, and I think all of the girls had a lot of fun!

On Saturday we went as a family to McDonald's after Will's soccer game. Cici had been begging for the past week to go since the girl Happy Meal toys were Barbie themed. She was very excited that she got the exact toy she wanted (a mirror compact with comb)! I spent the rest of the day shopping for her presents before and after the General Relief Society Broadcast. I am grateful Macy's is open until 10 on the weekends! I got it in my head that I wanted her to be able to open a present of a new dress in the morning to wear to church since her birthday was on a Sunday. I went to the mall in the afternoon and couldn't find anything I liked except for an okay dress at Macy's. I decided not to buy it and look at Target after the broadcast. Well Target had nothing and by that time it was 9:45. I hurried back to the mall just in time to buy the dress before the stored closed.

Sunday night Cici and Will got to make edible princess wands (an activity that we didn't have enough time for at her party), we had Cici's birthday dinner (french dip sandwiches, Doritos, and rootbeer) and opened presents. It was a great weekend but she is definantly not getting such a fuss made over her next year : )

A couple of weekends ago my parents threw a little party for Cici at their house since they knew they would be in Europe for her big day. I think 3 parties is enough for 1 little girl!

(Can you tell how excited she is - she got exactly what she wanted!)

Cici's Big Week

2009-09-03T12:41:00.006-05:00

Cicialy has been having a very exciting week full of momentous milestones. The first was starting ballet. For the past year Cici has been considering carefully what activity she would like to participate in when she got old enough. She threw out several ideas, thought about it, discarded a few, and then came up with the final three: ballet, gymnastics (especially after the olympics last summer), and ice skating (inspired from the Minnie Mouse vs. Daisy Duck scene in a Mickey Mouse Christmas). Throughout it all though ballet seemed to be the clear winner in her mind. She always wants to check out ballet books from the library and twirls around the house constantly. We tried out gymnastics this summer when a friend from church was taking it too, but despite having fun she wanted to take ballet this fall instead. So, ballet it is! On Tuesday morning you could just tell how excited she was, and it was so cute how she kept saying, "Mom, I'm just a little bit nervous." She did great and the next day asked if it was time for ballet again. I don't know if she'll be able to handle waiting a whole week inbetween classes.

And then today Cici started preschool! 3 other moms and I have formed a preschool where we take turns teaching using the "Mother Goose" curriculum. She goes twice a week for 2 and 1/2 hours each time. There are 2 girls and 2 boys in the class so it worked out pretty well. I'll let you know how it goes when its my week to teach. She seemed to have enjoyed herself this morning. Now with Kindergarten, Preschool, ballet, and soccer for Will coming up we are pretty busy and loving it!

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-24T15:49:00.002-05:00

Summer is officially over (except it is still in the upper 90s), and the day I have been anticipating and dreading all at the same time has arrived: my firstborn's first day of kindergarten. I didn't cry when I dropped William off because frankly I am excited about one less kid to entertain all day and being able to grocery shop with two children instead of three, but it did pull at my heart when he immediately found his desk, began coloring his assignment, and wouldn't even look at me when I said goodbye five times. The only thing that makes me sad is that my baby will never again be just mine all day long for the rest of his life : ( But, William was completely ready to begin this new phase in his life and loved his first day of school! And I must say I love how Texas has full day kindergarten; you can get a lot done in 6 hours! So hopefully the year goes well (I have heard some rumors that his teacher is not very patient) and I will be able to volunteer at the school frequently to keep an eye on my guy.

Firsts

2009-07-20T13:11:00.022-05:00

We've had a lot of firsts here in our family recently.

1) Weston had his first visit to the Emergency Room and his first black eye. The story: No matter how tight we strap him into things he always seems to find a way free. While shopping at Target he wormed his way out of the safety belt on the cart and then thrust himself over the side landing smack on his eye. Nothing we tried would consule him and within five minutes he was looking like Quasimodo with a serious drooping eye. Ten minutes later he was projectile vomiting. Since trauma to the head mixed with vomiting is not considered a good thing we were told by our doctor's office to take him to the E.R. Luckily after five hours and a clear CAT scan we were able to go home. He did have a nice shiner for a few days.

2) Cicialy started gymnastics for the first time this summer. She is learning to balance on the balance beam, become familiar with being on the bars, do forward rolls and cartwheels, along with different kinds of jumps on the trampoline. Basically just extremely elemental skills, but she is loving it! Her coordination is vastly improving too.

3) We took our first extremely long family road trip a few weeks ago. Since we had already flown to Utah two times in the past year and a half, we decided that this time we would drive. Our reasoning was so that we could stay longer and have access to our own vehicle the entire time. It took two long days in the car to get there but was totally worth it! We spent two whole weeks jammed packed with bar-b-ques, cousin sleepovers, going to Lagoon with all of Dan's siblings and their families (except for Jake whose on a mission), movies, cousins' baseball games, going to Idaho to see my sister and her kids for a few days, and visiting with some of our good friends from Stansbury Park ( Alisa I will never forgive you for not showing up - just kidding but I was really sad not to be able to see you on this trip) - Thanks Holly for all the planning and for the visit. The highlight of the trip, and our main reason for going to Utah as our family vacation this year, was the big Packer family reunion up in Heber on the 3rd and 4th of July. We had so much fun canoeing, participating in the challenge course, camping overnight in cabins, eating endless soft serve ice cream cones, and most importantly seeing Dan's grandparent's, aunts and uncles, and all the cousins, cousins, cousins. My kids were in cousin heaven our entire trip. During the drive back to Utah, and even now a week later, Will starts crying about how much he misses his cousins. Thanks everyone who took the time and effort to make our trip so much fun!

(Cici threw and in Will's eye right before we took this picture)

(I hope Cici is only itching her nose : )

4) Last week William started swimming by himself in the deep end for the first time. The motivating factor - his friend Riley learned how to swim while we were on vacation and I guess he didn't want her swimming around without him!

Preschool Graduation and Visit From Grandma and Grandpa Packer!

2009-06-10T09:11:00.022-05:00

At the end of May William graduated from Preschool. He loved it so much and is sad to be out of school for the summer (don't worry, going swimming practically every day is helping in that regard!) The ceremony was so cute with the kids singing all of their gospel pop songs, giving their moms flowers, and singing "You are my rock, my only rock, you make me happy ...." for the Dad's and giving them a big decorated rock. His teachers Ms. Glinda and Ms. Lori were phenomenal. We are all so proud of Will and all he has accomplished and are excited for him to start "big kid school" a.k.a. kindergarten next year.

The last two weeks of school were full of fun, fun, fun. Will had carnival day, which I was able to go to along with Cicialy. They had a big blow up bouncer and obstacle course, rockets, face painting, and an endless supply of snow cones and cotten candy. The last day of school was water day complete with two huge blowup water slides. Will sure is going to miss that place.

Towards the end of May Dan's parents finally came out to visit us for a week! The kids absolutely loved having Grandma Packer and Bompa around. We had ourselves a mini "staycation" visiting several of the area attractions. Houston has the best children's museum I have ever been to and the kids loved it too! We also went to Galvaston for a fun day on the beach and to NASA Space Center. We topped off the week by celebrating Dan's 32 birthday! We can't wait to see everyone in the Packer family when we come up for a visit in July.

The day after Dan's birthday was Memorial Day, and we spent the day swimming with friends from church at one of their parent's pool. Our friend Scott taught Will, our daredevil child, how to flip off of the diving board. Thanks Scott!

What We've Been Up To

2009-05-12T15:19:00.023-05:00

I can't believe how fast this year has been flying by. I swear it was just yesterday that Weston and I were flying to California to attend my mama's (maternal grandmother) funeral, but that was way back at the beginning of January. While I'm mentioning it, I just want to say that I miss the cutest little grandmother that ever graced this earth with her prescence a lot. I'll always remember her with a smile on her face cooking up something delicious in the kitchen. My favorites: oatmeal muffins and strawberries with milk for breakfast! I am grateful for all the opportunities I had to spend time with my grandparents (especially the summer before my junior year of high school where just I got to visit them for 3 whole weeks!) and the precious memories I have from those times. I also want to thank my papa for the wonderful care he gave my grandmother for the last two years when she was unable to care for herself. It was a selfless sacrifice that is very much appreciated by those who love her. Thanks mom and dad for making sure I could attend her service.

So, the following is our year so far in pictures:

Me and Weston, my cousin Lisa and Taylor, my sister Tiffany and Koen the night before the funeral

My grandfather with all of the grandchildren that could make it to California - my sister Beth, cousin Lisa, Papa, cousin Michael, me, and sister Tiffany-(2 grandsons were attending college and 2 other grandsons were on missions so they were unable to attend)

Weston loving his second plane trip in less than one year!

I had so much fun on my little trip to California. The weather was cold but beautiful the day of the funeral and we all felt like it was more of a day to celebrate Mama's life than to be too sad (though we all shed our fair share of tears). That afternoon we even went to the old concrete slide we visited as kids and had a blast almost killing ourselves on that thing (I wish I had pictures - LISA YOU NEED TO EMAIL ME SOME! - because I can't even begin to describe it).

A spot finally opened up at one of the area preschools right after I returned from California, so the second week of January William started attending! He loves it! He goes on Tues. and Thurs. from 9:30 to 2:30, so it has been a nice practice run for kindergarten and a nice break for me and him. Most preschools here in Texas are run by local churches and one of Will's favorite things is Chapel time. They sing gospel kid rock type songs with motions and everything. It is really cute to watch. When you see him this summer ask him to show you the superman prayer.

Papa came to Houston to visit with my parents and my family for a week. We had fun eating out a lot, and the kids loved going to the beach in Galvaston with their grandmother and great grandfather.
In March we experienced the Houston Rodeo, and I am officially inviting any of our family or friends who would ever like to attend a place to stay at our house. It was amazing! I already posted about taking William to see Rascal Flatts, and a week later I went with some friends to see Brad Paisley. The last day we took the kids back to the Livestock Show and Carnival. They had a blast! (Cici wore her Fancy Nancy tutu around pretty much the whole day - too cute!)

We had a fun Saint Patrick's day with green shamrock pancakes and everyone wearing green!
Two weekends before Easter our neighborhood Homeowner's Association hosted an Easter Eggstravaganza complete with Easter Egg Hunt, Petting Zoo, Pony Rides, Puppet Show, and Camel Rides. We really found a great neighborhood to live in!

We had another Easter Egg Hunt with a group of people from our ward and Will had one at his preschool (3 is more than enough!) On Easter the kids loved their Easter Baskets and having dinner at Grandma Freeman's and Papagator's House (I think sometimes they wish we still lived there - I'm talking about the kids!) We are just now finishing off all the candy : )

At the end of April I was able to chaporone Will's preschool fieldtrip to the Zoo. Houston has a great zoo and we had a really fun day!

We finally found the zebras after an hour and a half of looking and being rained on a few times!

Finally (I know this post has been forever long - sorry), the first weekend in May our neighborhood pool opened! We have two pools in our neighborhood and we can't wait until Memorial Day Weekend when the pool with the bigger slides opens up. Until then we are enjoying the athletic pool with its high and low diving boards and the adjacent kiddy pool complete with frog slide, aligator, and mushroom among other things. Anyone jealous? : )

Dan's been working like crazy (12 - 14 hour days all week and at least 2 Saturdays a month), I'm teaching in Relief Society, Dan teaches in primary, and we are having a great time. Now, if only I could find some cute clothes out there and good home decor stores my life would be complete! We are having fun!

Weston is 1!

2009-05-07T13:13:00.008-05:00

Well its official, my little Weston is no longer a baby ... he walks, sleeps through the night, drinks from a sippy cup instead of a bottle, hasn't used a binky in months, eats table food, says mommommom and daddaddad and a few other indistinguishable words, gets into everything, and on May 5th he turned one years old. Since Weston's birthday is cinco de mayo we had a little fiesta with just us and my parents complete with pulled pork soft tacos and virgin margaritas. His favorite gifts were his new remote control car and leap frog alphabet pal caterpillar. The highlight of the party was watching him completely demolish his cake. I love this little boy with his huge blue eyes, infectious smile, and open mouthed slobber kisses!

My Baby is Walking

2009-03-30T14:31:00.005-05:00

When you have your first child you hope they reach every milestone / benchmark of development on time or maybe even a little early, at least I did. Maybe we do this because it gives us another reason to think our child is brilliant or to brag about them, I really don't know. What I do know is that by the time you have your third child you stop caring so much. In fact, there are a few milestones you wouldn't even mind your child being late to achieve. So when Weston started crawling at 7 months and then one week later was pulling up on things and walking along them I was not overly excited. I knew all too well that my life would not be the same (as every mother of a child with newly acquired mobility can attest to). I miss those days of being able to lay him down somewhere and he stay put, of sitting down at the computer to have him play alongside instead of crawling all over it and dismantling the printer or turning it off, and of not having to have a gate at the top of my stairs. My Weston is just too busy. Well, last week he added one more accomplishment to his list. My 10 month old is officially walking unaided by walls, furniture, or cabinets. And all I can say is a little part of me wishes he wasn't because it means my little baby is not so little anymore : (

Happy Birthday William!

2009-03-06T14:18:00.013-06:00

My reason for not blogging since before Christmas is that my grandmother passed away at the end of December. I have been intending to write a tribute to her here but keep putting it off because I know it will be difficult for me. But, my baby turned 5 this week and I just had to share his special birthday with our family and friends.

Will's favorite song is "Life is a Highway", and so a month ago when Dan and I were trying to decide what concert we wanted to go to at the Houston Rodeo I had the brilliant idea that we should take Will to Rascal Flatts since it was the night before his birthday. For those of you not familiar with Texas, the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show is a 3 week long pro rodeo and concert series on a grand scale (I'm taking about almost as big as the pro rodeo championship in Las Vegas). It takes place at Reliant Park where the Houston Texans (professional football team) play. Every night there is a series of rodeo events followed by a concert (this year's artists include Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Clint Black, the Jonas Brothers, Brooks and Dunn, etc.). We left early enough to visit the livestock show (one of the largest in the United States) where Will was able to pet baby pigs and goats, get close to Texas Longhorns, see a cow milking demonstration, watch baby chicks breaking free from their eggs, and much more. It was awesome! The food there was amazing (Will enjoyed fried shrimp and Dan and I shared a huge cowboy burrito). This was Will's first rodeo ever and he loved the calf roping, steer wrestling, bronco riding, bull riding, and mutton busting. His favorite part of the night though was singing along to "Life is a Highway". We had so much fun!!! On his birthday we had a party at my parent's (who so kindly watched Cici and Weston while we enjoyed our night out with Will) house complete with his favorite dinner (chicken, rice, and sauce) and chocolate eclair cake.

Here are some facts about Will at this age. He is the best big boy helper. Anytime I ask him to go get me something or help out his sister and brother he is willing and ready. William loves going to preschool (we were finally able to get him into one in January) and loves loves loves learning. He is a little sponge that picks up on everything. He is extremely excited about beginning to learn to read (http://www.starfall.com/ is a great website for you mom's that want to help teach your kids reading skills). He loves transformers, legos, games (Sorry! is his favorite at the moment), and playing on the computer. He is a very outgoing kid who will say hi to all and make friends with any other kid who happens to also be at the park. We love him!

Christmas Countdown

2008-12-23T14:13:00.022-06:00

Our family has been having a great holiday season! Here is what we've been up to:

1) Putting up the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations (The kids really got into decorating the tree this year and are always asking if they can plug in the lights. They'll turn on the lights, exclaim how "magical" it looks, and then start dancing around and singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." They also really love their stockings made by Grandma Freeman (a family tradition from my great grandmother on my father's side). Sometimes they just can't resist and instead of just looking start touching and pulling on them. We've had a stocking along with its holder come crashing down three times.

2) Our Stake held a Nativity for the community, and we enjoyed helping with cleaning the church building in preperation for the event and then attending with our family. There were hundreds of nativities displayed throughout the building, and in the primary room they had a large stable and costumes where families could dress up and get pictures taken. Cicialy was really excited about being an angel, I was Mary, Dan was Joseph, and our big baby Weston was Jesus. For the first time in his life Will refused to participate, repeatedly telling the elderly volunteer who was trying to coax him to be different things that he didn't want to be anything at all. (He has since informed me it was because he liked his astronaut costume)

3) The kids each got to pick out a Christmas story from the bookstore to buy and bring home. We have since been reading them, along with the others we already had, almost every night.

4) As a family we made and decorated a huge batch of Christmas sugar cookies which were devoured in less than a week (I'm pretty sure Dan was taking more than his fair share to work everyday). The last two were finished off yesterday by the kids only after reassuring them that Grandma had cookies at her house to give Santa so we didn't have to save any of ours : ) I also had to make sure Grandma had carrots for the reindeer too!

5) Playing in the Snow! Yes, it did snow in Houston one evening and we woke up to a little bit still left on the ground. The kids thought it was a Christmas miracle!

6) Listening to Christmas music. Will and Cicialy love the classics like "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", and "Frosty the Snowman". They are constantly running around the house singing these songs. On Saturday while we were out and about in the car I put in a CD of beautiful Christmas music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. William immediately protested by stating, "MOM, this is not CHRISTMAS MUSIC, this is CONFERENCE MUSIC."

7) Watching tons of Christmas movies. We've watched all the classics that come on TV every year and borrowed lots more from my parent's DVD library (Elf, Santa Clause 2, Snow Globe and several other cute yet cheesy ABC Family Christmas movies).

8) Getting a visit from Santa Claus. When Santa Claus appeared at the end of our ward Christmas Party Cicialy went crazy. She started shaking and got the biggest smile on her face. Will and Cicialy both knew exactly what they wanted from Santa Claus and let him know the second he asked. (Cici wants a pink kitchen and Will wants the Geo Trax Airplane). Weston enjoyed eating Santa's beard.

9) Playing with our Little People Nativity. We bought this Nativity two or three years ago and it has been well worth what it cost. Our kids love playing with it and we've used it countless times to illustrate the Christmas Story. We set it up right next to the Christmas tree so they can play with it whenever they want and to serve as a reminder to them what Christmas is really all about. Yesterday we focused our family home evening on the true meaning of Christmas and had them read with us the Christmas Story from Matthew and Luke while using the Nativity to suppliment the story. We then had them listen to the primary song "Picture a Christmas" which reminds children to picture Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Angels, etc. when they think of Christmas. It really turned out great!

10) Getting excited to spend a few days at my parent's house and the arrival of some cousins! My kids can't wait till tomorrow morning when they'll get to see Aubri, Daegon, and Koen.

We love Christmas and really think it is the most wonderful time of the year! We hope that all of you are having a great holiday season as well and are taking the time to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Best Wishes for a happy, heathly, and successful new year (don't we all need that in these times).

Halloween and Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-21T14:39:00.019-06:00

For family memories sake I am blogging about and posting pictures of Halloween and Thanksgiving now, even though Christmas is only 3 days away. I am trying to play catch up on our meaningful moments together as a family and hopefully will be more timely with my posts in the future. Thank you for bearing with me (if anyone even reads this blog : )

Halloween

Will and Cici really love this holiday and who can blame them - tons of candy, playing dress up, Grandma's stack of cool halloween stories to read every afternoon, making treats and food that represent scary and goulish things! In fact, the whole month of October William and I would have conversations that went like this. Will-"Mom my favorite holiday is Halloween." Me-"Well Halloween sure is fun." Will - "Yeah, its my favorite holiday. But my most favorite holiday is Christmas, (pause) and my favoritest favorite holiday is the one where we buy you presents." I am pretty sure he was refering to Mother's Day and how sweet is that! Anyways, Cicialy's costume was a no brainer: Cinderella, her favorite princess. It took us a lot longer to decide what Will would be. He was a super cute robot last year and we knew that it would be impossible to top that. Besides we were still living with my parents and working on closing on a house. We decided to pay homage to the city we now call home and have Will be an astronaut (Houston is home to one of NASA's space centers). I found his costume at Costco and was excited that I didn't have to sew or gather any more parts to complete the outfit (he already had black rubber boots he used as "moon boots" thanks to Uncle Dude and Cousin Riley). The kids had a blast trick or treating and got to go twice since the church trunk or treat was on a different night (we are just now seeing an end to all of the candy). For family home evening the week of Halloween we carved our pumpkin and decorated our traditional pumpking sugar cookies, which the children really enjoyed. Holidays, especially ones like Halloween, are so much more fun with little kids around!

Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving at my parent's house this year, which is only about 40 minutes from our house. I hadn't had my mom's super yummy Thanksgiving feast since Dan and I got married so it was definantly a treat! My brother Matt and his wife Miya were also there and the kids had a fun time playing Mario Kart and other games with them. We stayed a few days and just relaxed, it was great! What I love about Thanksgiving is taking time to reflect on the positive aspects of our lives and showing gratitude for those things. Will really got into that and would ask us every night at dinner for the week leading up to the holiday what we were thankful for. Each of us took turns and it was really exciting as parents to see same of the values and ideals you are trying to instill in your children come to fruition, even at such a young age. This year in particular I was extremely grateful for my parents and all they have done for my family, for the birth of our third child who always is grinning and making us smile in return, for the trials and miracles that have really made my family stronger, and hopefully next Thanksgiving I can say that I am grateful for a summer in which my husband and I did not have to separated!

Dan was letting Weston eat all sorts of treats (mashed potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie) even after my death stares, I mean seriously he was only 6 months old. What if he had food allergies.

Family Pictures

The day after Thanksgiving my dad and I took some photos of our family and the kids in their backyard for our Christmas cards. Even though they are by no means professional, I think we got a few cute shots.

(The above picture is to document how Weston acted the majority of the time while taking pictures. I was unable to get any single shots of Weston (6 months) and Will (4 yrs. old) because they refused to cooperate. Hence one of the reasons I haven't gotten professional family photos taken yet. I know I would spend the enormous sum of money it costs only to have my kids refuse to take pictures : )

This is my favorite shot of the day. At least Cicialy (3 yrs. old) would let me take a few good pictures of her.

Me and My Herd

2008-12-12T13:37:00.004-06:00

If I get one more weird / disapproving look or rude comment directed my way when I take my surprisely well behaved children out to public places I think I am going to unleash a tongue whipping that goes something like this. "Yes all these beautiful children are mine. I am older than I look. I am not an uneducated high school dropout but a highly intelligent college degreed woman who has chosen to stay at home and raise her kids, and it is perfectly acceptable for me to take all of them to the store with me!" Sorry for the tirade but I guess me and my kids are a strange sight here in Texas (in Utah I would just blend in!), and Texans don't have a problem stating their opinions or being rude (I can say this because by birth I am a Texan). For example, at Walmart two days ago I was at the photo counter when a man came up to me and said, "Ma'am you sure have your hands full don't you." (I hear this every time I take the kids anywhere). Now keep in mind that my kids were not acting up but standing quietly and patiently next to me. I just smiled and said yes I do. He then moved on to point out that my baby wasn't wearing any shoes or socks. I just laughed and said that with my hands being full, as he had so kindly pointed out, every once in a while something gets forgotten. He then went on to lecture me that it was cold outside and that he should call my husband to let him know that if the baby was sick by the time he got home from work it was because I had let him catch his death from the cold. I just laughed but what I really wanted to say was, "Give me a break ... One Weston doesn't walk so he doesn't need shoes, Two I parked right outside the store so we have been outside a totel of less than a minute, and Three mind your own business. And why exactly are you in Walmart at 1:00 in the afternoon? Shouldn't you be at work or something." Weston was wearing lined pants, a long sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt so it wasn't like I had him out in shorts and a t-shirt. Then the next day as I was entering Office Depot one of the clerks walked past and commented, "Brought the whole herd today didn't you." Excuse me, my children are not animals and I don't take kindly to you insinuating that they are.

Finally a Minute to Blog!

2008-12-08T13:42:00.023-06:00

I know I've been a slacker and not updated this blog in over 2 months but I finally have a moment to play catch up while all the kids are napping or playing quietly. So, what have I been up to? I finally found a house, bought a house, moved into a house, unpacked all but the last 10 boxes, celebrated halloween, thanksgiving, and am trying to make sure my kids have a great Christmas season even though I am completely tuckered out. What follows are the things I should have blogged about sooner.

Trip to Utah

Aug. 30 - Sept. 3 we took a short trip to Utah for Ben (Dan's Brother) and Miriam's wedding. I decided it would be a brilliant idea to priceline our tickets. Worst idea of my life. We got a late flight out which cut out an entire day of our vacation and were routed through Minneapolis / St. Paul. Three hours on a plane, a two hour layover, and another three hour flight sounded like a nightmare to me, but once you accept your price there is no refund (I know because I tried) - f.y.i. you have to accept based on price before you know the flight details like what airline, time, and routes. Anyways, the kids were excellent and we had a fun but short trip visiting with family. We were so excited that we got to spend a short little afternoon with our friends Holly and Ryan, and Will was beyond estatic that he was able to see his best buddy Carson again. I'm sorry I didn't let anyone else know that we were in town but our visit was jammed packed with family events, so we hope to be able to get together with everyone in July. Will and Cici thought they had died and gone to cousin heaven the entire time, and seeing them having so much fun made it well worth the effort of going even though we were in the middle of a move. Thank you to everyone in Dan's family for spending so much time with us, we don't see you enough. Following are some pictures from our trip.

(Cici and Will on the airplane - they loved flying!)

(Will and his best friend Carson)

(Cici and her friend Braydon)

(all the Packer cousins and Uncle Rob too!)

(Dan and Weston at the wedding)

(Cici and her cousin Kenzli at the wedding - they are only 3 1/2 months apart)

(Will and Cici in their wedding outfits looking super cute!)

Weston at 4 Months

Weight: 17 lbs. 2 oz.
Length: 27 inches

What he is doing at this age: Smiling and giggling at everyone, rolling all the way across rooms, grabbing at everything and putting it in his mouth!

Cicialy's Birthday

Cici turned 3 years old on September 27th. We started out the day by having both her and Will make birthday crowns which they then insisted on wearing to church. After church we had a little party with Grandma Freeman and Papagator (we were still living with them at the time). We had strawberry ice cream cake in honor of Cicialy's love for Strawberry Shortcake and then opened Cici's presents. Her brothers got her the barbie movie "The Princess and the Pauper" and Dan and I got her puzzles and her big girl Princess bike! Grandma and Papagator spoiled her with a gap outfit and strawberry shortcake books.

I love this 3 year old little girl with all her spunk, sass, hardheadedness, and absolute sweetness. She proudly proclaims that she is a big girl except for when it comes to tiolet time - she then insists that she is a little girl and can only use the little girl potty (a.k.a. a small training tiolet) no matter what! This has proven to be problematic as she refuses to sit on a normal tiolet. Needless to say Grandma and Papagator now have a little tiolet at their house, one had to be borrowed from Uncle Ken and Aunt Cari while we were in Utah, and we must make sure she uses the tiolet before we go anywhere. Cicialy gives the best hugs (two types: hugs you while softly patting your back or squeezes super tight and then yells "Pop" when she lets go - I don't know where she learned either one from but they are super cute!) and zeerbie kisses. Her favorite toys are pet shops, disney princess polly pocket type dolls, and puzzles. Cicialy can put together 100 and 150 piece puzzles by herself and wants to do one almost everyday. Her favorite color is pink and she loves her brothers, especially Weston who is her little baby. She even loves to go shopping with me which I hope will lead to a life long partnership of girl bonding time between mother and daughter!

*Well the baby is now up and crawling all around and trying to unplug the computer so I will have to write about Halloween and Thanksgiving another time!

We Survived Hurricane Ike (and a brief update of our life)

2008-09-25T10:36:00.006-05:00

Life has definantly been crazy the last couple of months. For those of you who don't know we have recently moved. Dan has been working in Houston, TX since the end of June for Hydril (a GE oil and gas company). It wasn't a move I was really enthusiastic about making since I loved my house in Tyler and the people there too! I had lived in that house for less than 9 months and it was the house of my dreams for this stage in my life (granite countertops, custom kitchen, all brick fireplace, crown molding - it wasn't very large but it was beautiful). I also wasn't very excited about selling another house and moving again in less than one years time. But alas life sometimes presents (or thrusts upon us) interesting opportunities that must be made the most of. So, in short, Dan moved to Houston, I stayed behind for a month to sell a house, when that became unbearable I moved to Houston too, and the house sold three weeks later. The house closed on Aug. 25th and since that time we are officially homeless (we are living at my parent's in Houston while we determine where and what we want to buy - thank goodness we have family here to help us out). I never want to move again - only problem is that I am not sure I want to live in Houston for the rest of my life. I guess I might have one or two more moves in me, but they will have to be years apart from eachother! On August 30th we flew out to Utah with our whole family to attend Ben's (Dan's brother) wedding and to let Dan's family meet Weston for the first time. I will post pictures and write more about this in another post. Upon coming home I was to begin househunting only to be sidetracked by mother nature. Those of you who have never lived through a Hurricane I do not recommend the experience. We were not in a mandatory evacuation zone so we were told to shelter in place. My dad boarded up their closet window and that is where we slept the night the storm hit. Really the only way to discribe our experience is that it was loud and very windy. Luckily my parent's house came through the storm relatively unscathed but many others were not so lucky. Trees are down everywhere (on houses, fences, power lines and across roadways), lots of flooding occurred, and power was out for a long time (and still is for many people even two weeks later). Really the worst part was living without power for four days after the storm. Luckily the Lord blessed this area with unseasonably cool weather during that time period or it would have been utterly miserable. Dan and my dad braved the aftermath of the storm and immediately started helping ward members get trees of of their houses, tarps over holes in roofs, and unblocking driveways. Dan was having the time of his life. He even got two days off of work because of Ike. Now that things are sort of returning to normal I have begun looking at houses again. Only problem is I am discovering a lack of homes that meet my criteria. All the ones I thought would be cute and in my price range got damaged in the hurricane and have been taken off the market. I can probably get a much bigger house here than my last one but without all the upgrades : ( There just isn't a four bedroom, one story, approximately 2200 square foot home here with all the features my last house had. I wish I could just sit and wait for the perfect house to come on the market but I think my parent's would like their house back to themselves sometime soon. Wish me luck as I search these next couple of weeks!

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

2008-07-21T16:56:00.013-05:00

Help! With Dan being gone for the third summer in a row, I am running out of things to keep myself and the kids entertained. Any ideas or suggestions? Keep in mind that parks are out of the question because of the heat and my house has to remain pretty much spotless in case any prospectus buyers come to take a look. Here is what we have been up to during these hot, hot, hot summer days in East Texas:

Visiting the local splash park once a week:

Swimming when we get a chance (there are only private pools here)

Going to the Discovery Science Place

Eating lots and lots of popsicles

Playing with water guns (we need to get bigger ones!)

Playing Will's V-Smile or pbskids.org

Watching movies

Cleaning the house constantly

Trying to make Weston Smile

With Dan not home in the evenings the days seem to drag, cooking food is not as much fun, and I have less structure during the day. If you have any craft ideas, yummy and easy summer kid friendly recipes, or other activity ideas send them my way. How are all of you spending your summer days? And please PRAY that our house sells soon, keeping it clean is driving me insane!

Weston's Blessing and 2 Month Milestones

2008-07-11T10:07:00.010-05:00

Weston just barely turned 2 months old! He is growing way too fast, and I am trying to treasure every moment while he can still be called my little guy. Here are some facts about Weston at this age.

Weston's Two Month Stats:

Weight: 13 lbs. 2 oz.

Length: 23 1/4 inches

Head Circumference: 16 inches

Weston's Two Month Milestones:

1) He truly smiles now (it is so handsome!)

2) He loves to hold conversations with his mommy

(he babbles, waits for me to respond, and then babbles back at me - we had a 25 minute conversation like this two days ago)

3) He rolls over from his tummy to his back

4) Sleeps longer stretches during the night (usually 6 to 7 hours)

5) Has slept through the night 3 times

6) Loves to grab hold of mommy's hair and hold on for dear life

7) Loves having his legs pumped like a bicycle

8) Calms down when the family sings "You Are my Sunshine" to him

9) Loves to have the Baby Einstein soft plastic books read to him

10) He loves to snuggle!

On Sunday July 6th, Weston was blessed in sacrament meeting at our church. Dan peformed the ordinance with my father "Papagator", my grandfather Freeman, two of my uncles (Web and Ron), and my cousin Ronnie assisting in the circle. Weston Reed Packer is the name he will be known by on the records of the church and on this earth life and he was blessed with love and kindness, the ability to listen, to be a good example, to have foresight and a discerning spirit, to have joy and peace especially as he listens to the spirit, and to have a kind heart. Weston behaved great during the whole blessing. We were sad that no one from Dan's side of the family was able to be there, but were grateful that we had several members from my extended family there to share this special event with us.

4th of July

2008-07-09T20:20:00.004-05:00

I love the 4th of July and this year was no exception (though we didn't even try to top last year's festivities of the family reunion up in Heber with endless soft serve ice cream cones and seeing Brooks and Dunn in concert at Stadium of Fire) . Can it get any better than spending time with family and friends, eating great food, and watching fireworks?! The only downside to the holiday was that we were missing Dan's family and the annual Packer family reunion : ( The day started early with a pancake breakfast/flag raising ceremony/children's parade at our church. Dan and my parents met the kids and I there since they were driving up from Houston that morning. The kids had a blast and loved riding around on their scooters while all the adults cheered. We spent the rest of the day buying fireworks, watching movies, and preparing our dinner of potato salad, baked beans, and hamburgers and hot dogs! At nine o'clock it was finally getting dark enough to start our own firework display and that is where the real excitement began. Cicialy was scared to death of the fireworks screaming and refusing to even watch them, Will got to be grandpa's firework lighting buddy which almost gave me a heartattack every time, and we had to put out a fairly large grass fire, but the fireworks were spectacular and a lot of fun. We loved having Grandma Freeman, Papagator, and Daddy up here in Tyler for the weekend. Next year we will spend the 4th in either Utah or Houston - we can't wait!

Having Fun in the "Hot" San Antonio Sun

2008-06-30T14:40:00.019-05:00

Dan and I decided on the spur of the moment to take the family on a much needed vacation two weeks ago. We had not been on a family vacation since going to Disneyland when Will was two and Cici was five months old, so it seemed like a good time. Plus, after hearing their cousin Devri tell them how much she loved going to Sea World three weeks earlier, the kids really wanted to go. Good thing Sea World is only five hours away! We spent three fun filled and very hot days in San Antonio, Texas but at moments asked ourselves if we were crazy for embarking on this adventure with three small children on our own. Did I mention it was hot!

The first day of our trip we spent at Sea World attending all the shows and visiting the shark, penguin, and dolphin exhibits. After only three hours in the park I was more than willing to pay $15 for two souvinour mugs of soda so the family could try and cool off. Poor Weston was such a trooper barely making a peep even though I know he was very uncomfortable from the heat and the sunburn he got on the corner of his left eye where we missed covering him with sunscreen. The shows were amazing, but what was even more fun than watching them was watching Will and Cici's excitement as they watched. That made the whole trip worth it! Dan and I didn't get to go on any of the big roller coasters they have there since we didn't have anyone to watch the kids (which was sad because I love roller coasters), but we were able to take turns going with Will and Cici on the log ride. Will loved it! If the line hadn't been so long we would have done it over and over again. The kids also loved the little kiddie rides their dad went on with them while I fed Weston.

The second day we spent at Sea World's water park where we stayed much cooler than the day before. Before going to the waterpark though we promised the kids they could feed the dolphins, which they say was their favorite part of the whole vacation. The most traumatic experience of the trip happened that evening when we lost Will for about ten minutes. Dan had been playing with the kids in the large rope and net play area while I fed Weston. When I came out to meet up with them, I found Dan frantically looking for Will who had pulled away from his dad's hand and ran away (he had a problem during the vacation insisting that we needed to do what he wanted to do). He had decided that he wanted to play in the sand box area instead of coming to look for me and his baby brother. Luckily we found him pretty quickly, but it scared me to death because of how big the park was and we didn't know which way he went.

On day three we found a Mimi's Cafe to have breakfast at (we have missed this since leaving Utah) and then went to visit the Alamo and the Riverwalk. Before going to downtown San Antonio I had explained to the kids that the Alamo was where an important battle in Texas history had taken place. The whole way there they discussed amongst themselves about how they were going to go see a battle take place. They were sorely disappointed when there was no battle nor any soldiers at the Alamo. Instead they chose to fight their own battle with sticks in front of the place. Dan especially found it very interesting and we were glad that we took the couple of hours to visit it before heading home.

( The above picture is the only one we have of the whole family from the trip)

Things I learned while taking three children ages four and under to San Antonio on a family vacation:

1) Soda is worth $15 when you and your children are hot, cranky, and thirsty

2) Make sure you put sunscreen on the corners of babies eyes

3) Theme Parks are fun but even more fun when you go with other family members or friends, so that adults can ride adult rides and kids have other kids to hang out with

4) Now that Sea World is out of the way (which is more fun to do with little kids anyway), I am going back to San Antonio with only Dan to experience the #1 water park in the world Schlitterbahn and Six Flags (maybe the kids can come too, when they are older, much older).

A to Z about me ...

2008-06-24T14:43:00.010-05:00

My friend Holly tagged me a couple of weeks ago, and since life has been really crazy lately I am only now getting around to doing it!
A- Attached or Single? Attached to Dan since April 7, 2001 (our first date)
B-Best Friend? Dan
C-Cake or pie? Cake
D-Day of choice? Any holiday and Fridays
E-Essential Item? A slimming pair of jeans
F-Favorite color? Green
G-Gummy bears or worms? Neither ... sour patch kids and peach-Os!
H-Home town? At this exact moment in time it is Tyler, Texas, where I was born (not necessarily raised), but not for long ... (I have also called Provo, Utah, Corvallis, Oregon, Mandeville, Louisiana, Bethel, Connecticut, American Fork, Utah, and Stansbury Park, Utah home)
I-Favorite indulgence? Blue Bell triple chocolate ice cream covered with caramel sauce and Smoothie Skittles
J-January or July? July (The Packer family always has their huge family reunion this month and who doesn't enjoy celebrating the founding of our great nation with yummy summer food, fireworks, family, friends, and fun?!)
K-Kids? William 4, Cicialy 2, Weston 1 and a 1/2 months
L-Life isn't complete without: FAMILY and good FRIENDS!
M-Marriage date? November 16, 2001
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 2 older sisters and 3 younger brothers
O-Oranges or Apples? I really do love all fruit, but I'd have to agree with Holly ... STRAWBERRIES ... and Peaches
P-Phobias? Snakes
Q-Quote? Today's beautiful moments are tomorrow's beautiful memories.
R-Reasons to smile? 3 beautiful children and 1 amazing husband
S-Season of choice? Fall
T-Tag 3 people: Casey, Cori, and anyone else who wants to
U-Unknown fact about me? I used to think David Bowie was really hot
V-Vegetable? Carrots
W-Worst habit? Eating ice cream almost every night after the kids go to bed!
X-Xray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y-Your favorite food? Dan's Strawberry Shortcake
Z-Zodiac sign: Scorpio

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T17:23:00.008-05:00

Today the kids and I would like to pay tribute to and thank Dan for being such a great Dad!

From Will: "Thank you daddy. I like to play your chess game everyday. You really are handsome and thanks for helping me listen and obey. Hey daddy, I always like going to the Discovery Science Center with you! I like cooking breakfast on Saturday mornings with you for mommy. And daddy, I super duper love you! I am apoligizing for being naughty."

From Cici: "Daddy you are handsome! You help me listen and obey. I love how you help me play computer games like pbskids.org. I love you all morning and all night."

From Weston: "Thanks for holding me and loving me even when I cry all the time. You try so hard to help my tummy feel better and I appreciate that. I love being up in the middle of the night with you. You are the best daddy!"

From Cathie: "Dan, I appreciate all you do for me and the kids. I love how much you love to play with the kids and all the time you spend teaching them to behave better. You are the best Dad a kid could ever want!" We would also like to wish Papagater and Bompa a Happy Father's Day. We love you!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

2008-06-15T16:37:00.007-05:00

Finally Will is old enough to participate in a team sport! He wanted to play soccer this spring but didn't turn 4 early enough, so he was super excited when we found a t-ball league that he was old enough to play in. His first game was this past Saturday and it was hilarious. Will has a bit of an attention problem while playing in the outfield (dancing around, kicking up dirt, holding his glove over his face), but the second the ball is hit he hustles to get it even if he is the farthest player away. Most of the other kids just stand there and do nothing, but Will runs and dives for that ball. Cici loved cheering for her Will and wishes she could play too. At home she goes outside and practices with Will and Dan, and the day Will got his uniform she wore his batting helmet to bed (we have since had to hide it). Anyways, Will was a terrific hitter and played a great game. Go Will Go!!!

Family Tummy Time and the Big Roll Over!

2008-06-02T14:06:00.007-05:00

Will and Cici are in love with their baby brother! In fact, they want to be involved in every aspect of his life from giving him baths to changing his diapers (even if it involves "irritating" {in their minds loving} poor Weston to tears). So, on Saturday evening when Weston had tummy time they wanted in on the fun too.

Well, unlike Will and Cici who thought tummy time was hilarious, Weston hated it. In fact, he hated it so much that at only 3 weeks and 5 days old he rolled over on to his back. We were all amazed at Weston's new trick but thought it must be a fluke. We put him right back on his tummy, and he did it again! (Below are pictures of his second successful turnover).

Oh, I almost forgot, Weston is four weeks old today! Wow, time flies when you are the mom of three kids ages four and under.

And Then There Were Three!

2008-05-11T16:24:00.006-05:00

On monday May 5 at 3:07 in the afternoon our little baby boy was born! After remaining nameless for the first day of his life, we finally chose to call him Weston Reed Packer. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and measured 20 1/2 inches long. The baby and I are both doing great. Below is a picture taken right before leaving for the hospital to have Weston and a few pictures of the baby for you to enjoy!

Our New Favorite Place

2008-04-17T11:56:00.015-05:00

Three weeks ago I took the kids to the Discovery Science Place with our playgroup. They loved it! In fact, they loved it so much I had to buy a year long family membership ($50 - a Great deal, especially since they let our entrance fee from that first day apply to the price). After more than 3 hours of playing, I had to struggle to get my kids out of there (hence the reason I bought the membership, promising Will and Cici that they could come back whenever they wanted to convinced them that it was okay to go home). Well, I have definantly gotten my money's worth because we have already been back 3 more times. They were just dying to take their Dad with them so we spent another 2-3 hours there one Saturday, and now it is where Dan takes them to play while I go to my OB appointments during his lunch break. Of course when I go to pick them up they throw a fit if we don't stay at least another hour or two after Dad's gone back to work. When we first get there they love to explore the cave and play on the ship. They even love all of the science stuff and Will is learning a lot. They are learning about gravity, friction, shapes, colors, light, weather systems, x-rays, the human body, magnets, etc. Cicialy loves to play in the pretend town that has a grocery store, bakery, cafe, vet, mechanic, baby hospital, bank, ambulance, theater, opthomologists office, and more! What I love about it is that it is only 15 minutes from the house and that it is indoors. I have been told that once the end of May hits until about October it is too hot to take your kids to the park. For summer and winter it is the perfect place to get out of the house and play. So, if you are ever thinking about us and wondering what we are up to, we are probably having fun at the Discovery Science Center!

Mommy Tag

2008-04-07T15:16:00.018-05:00

1. Typically what time do you wake up?
I am more often than not awoken in the predawn hours of the early morning somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00 by a cute little girl standing on the side of my bed whispering "Mommy, I love you and your beautiful." What a nice way to start the day. I only wish it wasn't so early! (Cici is bound and determined to make sure she is awake in time to spend some precious moments with her Dad before he leaves for work).
2. On a good night what time are your kids in bed?
The kids are always put to bed between 8 and 8:30, and they used to fall asleep shortly thereafter. Recently though we hear them either yelling at eachother across the hallway or requesting drinks and snacks until 9 or 9:30.
3. How long have you been a mommy?
I have been a mommy for a little over 4 years. Most days I love it, but there have been a few times I've thought "what have I gotten myself into!"
4. How old were you when you became a mommy? 23
5. What is your favorite kids tv show/movie?
I love Mulan! Cicialy and I also really like Enchanted. Cici pretends she is Giselle while we watch it and acts out the entire movie (it is especially cute when she faints after eating the apple and only her father's kiss can awaken her : )
6. What is your least favorite kids tv show / movie?
I can not stand the movie Alice in Wonderland.
7. What is your favorite chore?
I must really like scrubbing down and sanitizing my kitchen countertops since I do it about four to five times a day! Seriously though, I do love to have the kids rooms and closets neat and organized, so I pick all the toys up and put them away at least 3 to 4 times a day.
8. What is your favorite meal to cook?
I am 8 months pregnant right now so I don't really like to cook anything! I do like Dan making me strawberry crepes though.
9. What is the meal you cook most often?
My kids love any combination or flavoring of chicken, rice and sauce (e.g. haystacks, ritz cracker parmesan chicken, apricot chicken, etc), so this is often found at our dinner table several nights a week in various forms.
10. What is your kids favorite meal?
For dinner their favorite meals are chicken, rice and sauce as mentioned above and manicotti. Their favorite meal for lunch is for me to make them homemade lunchables. I give them a stack of ritz crackers and cut squares of turkey and cheese which they then proceed to create mini sandwiches with.
11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids?
I love everything Dan does with the kids. He is the best dad! Especially right now with me being so tired by the end of the day, he is always entertaining them in the evenings by playing board games with them, taking them to the store by himself to get a few things we need, supervising them playing at pbskids.org, making up games for them to play outside, etc. I especially love it when he cooks / bakes with the kids. They love helping him make pinwheels, biscuits, muffins, or navajo bread for breakfast on the weekend.
12.What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom?
#1 Watching Will and Cici's imaginations work as they play pretend. Just this morning they were flying around the house on imaginary broomsticks as Harry Potter and Hermaine and protecting me from bad guys by casting spells with their wands. #2 Snuggling with them on the couch as we watch movies. #3 Peaking in on them after they have fallen asleep and seeing how precious they truly are. #4 Hearing Cicialy yell across the house "Mommy I neeeeeeed yooooooooooou!" #5 They get so excited about Family Home Evening (in fact we have to have it informally at least one more time each week) and more often then not they choose "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam". I love watching them stand in front of us and jump every time they sing the word "beam"!
14. When was the last time you went out without your kids?
Easter weekend we went to Houston and my parents watched the kids while Dan and I went shopping, out to lunch, and then to the temple.
15. What is your favorite past time/activity to do with your kids?
I love to go swimming with the kids. My kids are fish and would stay in the water all day if I let them. In the winter they go swimming in our big bathtub.
16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom:
I said I would never let the kids eat in the car. Well that went out the window the second Will was old enough to eat real food. Trips in the car, even short trips, are much more enjoyable if the kids are eating fish crackers or fruit snacks. Thank goodness for leather interiors!
17. What is your favorite quality that your mom has?
My favorite quality my mom has is her dependability and willingness to help. No matter how far away her children live from her, she has come out to help with the birth of every baby and made it to every major life event of her children and grandchildren.
18. What is your advice for new moms?
Take a shower, get dressed in something cute, put on some makeup, and do your hair! I'm not saying you have to do this everyday, but if you do it often you sure feel better about yourself and have more energy to get things done.
19. What is the scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom?
It is always scary when your kids hurt themselves. I don't react very well when blood is involved so the 3 times Will has had to have stitches were always anxious moments for me. (I am fine while he has had to have the stitches put in but not at the moment of the accident when there is blood spilling everywhere). Dan is much better at handling these kind of situations.
20. What is your most joyful moment of being a mom?
I have great kids, so I have a lot of joyful mom moments. It always makes me happy to see how often they share and give eachother hugs. One of the most fulfilling moments was one day when out of the blue Will said to me, "Mom, I'm glad Daddy goes to work so you can stay home and play with us!"
21. When was the last time you were told 'I Love You' by one of your kids?
I am very lucky because my kids tell me "I Love You" all the time.

Our Easter Weekend

2008-03-25T14:16:00.025-05:00

Dan had Good Friday off of work, so we decided to travel the 3 1/2 hours down to Houston where my parents live so the kids could spend Easter weekend with their Grandma Freeman and Papagator. All of us had so much fun! In fact, the entire ride home on Sunday afternoon they cried and insisted that we turn around and go back.

Some of the highlights of the weekend were:

1) Dying Easter eggs (something I did every Easter as a kid but my children have not).

2) Watching the kids participate in two Easter Egg Hunts (one put on by my parent's HOA and the other in their backyard). They were so cute! Will and Cici definantly have different egg hunting styles; Will runs around searching for all the green (his favorite color) eggs he can find while Cicialy inspects each egg individually as she collects it and cleans off all the dirt and grass. Will was being the best big brother and would help Cici find all the pink eggs! (Side Note: Please remember that I am 7 1/2 months pregnant in all these pictures).

3) Relaxing and enjoying the 80 degree weather. It was absolutely beautiful the entire weekend (sunny with a slight cool breeze), so we spent a lot of time outside.

4) Waking up to buckets filled by the Easter Bunny! Will and Cici loved the buckets their grandparents got them that we stuffed with movies (Enchanted for Cici and The Bee Movie for Will), books, crayons, coloring books, candy, Diego and Little Mermaid underwear (yes, my children love underwear since it is the only character clothing that I allow them to wear), and their special egg with money inside.

5) Getting dressed up in our new Easter outfits and going to church to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (the real reason we celebrate Easter and why we did all the other activties on Saturday).

All About Us

2008-03-17T14:33:00.024-05:00

Once Upon A Time ... a handsome prince charming met a beautiful princess while attending Brigham Young University. They fell in love, married 8 months later, and are in the process of living happily ever after with their scrumptiously adorable and perfectly well mannered children, prince William, princess Cicialy, and the soon to be arriving prince ?. Seriously though, Dan and I met in a Teachings of the Living Prophets class at BYU, and the first words uttered out of his mouth, "Welcome to the back row", shortly followed by "I am so sorry you're not from Zion" upon discovering I was from Connecticut, were definantly not charming! Since I thought he was kind of cute, I overlooked this initial display of weirdness and continued to sit by him for the rest of the semester. He finally asked me out on our first date with just three weeks left till summer break. We had an absolutely perfect first date of country dancing, except for the fact that he didn't walk me to the front door and it was snowing. Because I was leaving in two and a half months for Study Abroad in London followed by four months in Africa, our dating period was drastically shortened and ended with our engagement on May 22, 2001. Needless to say, I missed Dan terribly while in London and ended up foregoing my semester in Africa. We were married on November 16, 2001 in the Salt Lake Temple. For the next 3 years we lived as poor college students in a tiny little apartment located in American Fork, Utah. We owned one car, a falling apart 1989 Honda Accord, both worked only part time since we were full time students, and had no money, but looking back I wouldn't trade those days for anything. We had so much fun! I graduated in 2003 with a degree in History Teaching and taught at a private school until a few months before giving birth to our first child William Franklin Packer. Dan graduated the following June (2004) with a degree in Manufacturing Engineering and Technology. Upon graduation he was hired by Northrop Grumman in Salt Lake City as an Industrial Engineer, and we bought our first home in Stansbury Park, Utah. We lived in Stansbury Park for three years and loved being a part of a tight knit community of young families. While living there we made life long friends, had our second child Cicialy Belle Packer, and survived a summer apart while Dan trained in Ohio as a production supervisor for KraftMaid Cabinets. This last spring (2007) we made the decision to seek new employment for Dan. In July he was hired by Carrier as an ACE Coordinator / Lean Manufacturing Engineer and they relocated us to Tyler, Texas (my birthplace). We encountered several bumps in the process of our move (we were separated for several months while trying to sale the house, the sale of our home in Utah fell through at the last minute causing us to lose the house we had initally put an offer on here in Texas, Will had to get stitches twice in a three week period, I found out I was pregnant which I had not planned on nor was ready for yet, Dan's crown and post on his front top tooth fell out and we had to start the process of implant surgery, the kids and I had to live with my parents in Houston for a month and a half while Dan lived with my aunt and uncle in Tyler once we used up our temporary living relocation benefit and our home in Utah had still not sold, etc.), but have ended up extremely blessed. We love the house we ultimately ended up buying, are making new friends, and beginning to feel like we belong here. We feel really needed at church and are enjoying getting to know my extended family that lives in town. We still get homesick for Utah sometimes and miss all of our friends and family we left behind. I miss my bookclub, all of my friends, taking my kids to the the park around the cornor from our house where all the neighborhood moms and kids would be, having so many children my kids age in the neighborhood and at church for them to play and interact with, and just hanging out with the neighbors. It is different here in Texas, but usually different is good. It helps us to stretch, grow, and learn to adjust. I know this seems like a long introduction to our family and this blog, but one of the main reasons I have decided to undertake keeping a blog is for taking down a history of my family. In addition, I hope that this will be a good way for our friends and family that live far from us to keep up with what is happening in our lives. So with that, I invite you to come back often and see all the craziness, fun, and sometimes mundane things that make up the life of the Dan and Cathie Packer family.