Fancy Ali

 have you heard of the Fancy Nancy books?

well, we are living with the real life version.

I wish I had had the camera close by every time she has emerged in her hilarious get ups, but I think these few can give you a pretty good idea of what we have on our hands.

let's just say she changes her outfits 12 times a day and they are usually awesome enough to make me stop in my tracks, giggle, and admire her dedication to all things fancy.

this, for example, is how she emerged from her room when I asked her if she wanted to help me cook something. 

she called them her cooking clothes. 

(she explained that the mittens were so she didn't get her hands too hot.)

  the similarities to fancy nancy don't end there...her letters have extra fancy loops and her vocabulary is enough to make you question her age for sure. 

even her mannerisms are fancy.

the other day I had wheat thins for the kids to snack on. If you ask cole what a wheat thin is he will say "a square cracker". Ali's description..."these diamond cookies are delicious!"

oh and don't worry she is already teaching piper her fancy ways.

piper looks thrilled about it doesn't she? 

dad's are good for...

dad's are good for lots of things.

they are good swinging buddies.

and they are perfect at kissing owies all better.

they are good at finding "smark-el-ly" things in the water.

and they are really good at skipping rocks and teaching you how.

they are experts at holding hands too.

they are fabulous at teaching self defense...

and even better at stepping in and whacking things for you.

(mom say's that will come in handy when I am a teenager, I am not quite sure what that means.)

and they are awesome at taking nice leisurely drives around town so we can chat.

but if I have to pick one thing that dad's are the best for it would be loving me...cause my dad is an absolute expert at that.

a swingin' time

 today I tried something new.

I was a bit skeptical at first, but when dad started to push us, it became super fun.

I am still a beginner at this thing...

but some day I was be a master at it like her.

I can't wait!

wax on, wax off

set, HIKE!

can't you just see him on a football field somewhere, someday?

for now the field is our backyard, and the teammate is dad.

Justin and Cole play football constantly, and I think daddy is pretty proud that his son shows real potential...and interest in the game.

Cole LOVES playing with his dad. and he gets so into it.

check out his tongue after he throws...total concentration.

I just had to document the adorableness...I mean pure awesomeness of this activity.

He makes amazing catches...

and let me assure you, dad throws HARD.

he never takes it easy on him. but I have to admit, it has paid off, look at those fingertips!

he is so into it. I love his faces.

and what you ask do the girls do during this? well, piper is content to watch for now, but al is a whole different story. don't think for a second this girl gets left out. whether its playing...

or goofing around with the boys, she is in the middle of it.

but cole doesn't seem to mind. just look at that face, it's my favorite.

I guess I can handle a lifetime of football if the result is that face.

B.Y.U!!!!!!!!!

ok, so BYU may not have done so well this week, but we had a different kind of victory.

we indoctrinated yet another child into the BYU mania!

after getting all our garb on we headed to bleed blue with some of our friends.

ali is quite skilled at cheering for BYU...and I am sure piper will be trained to do so as well...as if she'll have a choice!

we are so not fair weather fans. BYU football brought me my amazing husband and their fabulous daddy...we can't help but love that legacy!

farewell bladder 'o the gall

on monday of this week I had my gallbladder out.

I had known I had a stone in there since my ultrasound when preggers with cole, but had yet to have it removed.

well, a few weeks ago I landed myself in the E.R. with a gall bladder attack.

worst.pain.ever.

(and I have had 3 chillins)

the verdict was it had to come out. 

that meant I needed lots of help since I wasn't supposed to lift and would be on medication.

I was spoiled. my mom and grandma came up to help.

Justin and I got in a free date night before surgery day. and I had one day to shop with them before I went in too.

everything went well, except they had to "bag me" a few times in recovery because I kept forgetting to breath. not really want you want to hear when you are coming to. apparently I am a "lightweight" when it comes to anesthesia. the nurse said it was because I was a redhead...until I told her it was totally fake. That is the third time medical staff have blamed my red hair for something. (the other 2 being...bad veins: I am a really hard stick, and then I was asked by my labor and delivery nurse if I was a bleeder since I was a redhead.) things went smoothly....although I am not a fan of being pumped with air for surgery...2 month olds cry for a reason when they have gas floating around in there!

Justin was able to take 2 days off and take care of me. and it's a good thing my mom and grandma were here for the week. they did everything for me. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night for a solid week! My grandma made awesome meals and stalked my freezer with cookies and texas chocolate cake brownies. (which tasted amazing after having to eat like a rabbit for the past two weeks since the attack.) They changed Pipers diapers (and everything else a baby girl could need), took Cole to and from school, helped him with homework, took Ali shopping, let me sleep as often as I could, and just generally spoiled us all. It was hard to see them go. Things are still returning to normal. I have a 20lb weight lifting restriction for a month, so good luck to me for the next 3 weeks with 3 kids. I am so glad it's over and that I never have to feel those attacks again. yikes.