Chillin'

I made bread last week. For fun I will roll the dough and put the girl's initials on the top of three loaves, or make a picture. I came into the kitchen and noticed a mutilated loaf of bread on the counter. Daisy was sitting at the table, so I asked her if she cut herself a piece of bread. Her answer, "I cut it with the knife from the butter...and then I used my fingers." And it's smothered with peach jam. This is a "D" from her loaf. It is not the Daisy D, but the Dog "D" (in Daisy Dog Payne). When I was making the letters, I told her that her name was not really Daisy Dog. She actually started crying, and said (with puppy-dog eyes), "Mom will you please just make a D for Dog and a D for Daisy and a P for Payne?" She was whimpering!! How could I resist?
Lizzy's conversation with the soap dispenser:
Liz, as the dispenser: (singing) "I puh-po; I puh-po; I am puhhHHH-POOOO!" (I'm purple)
Liz: "You not puh-po! You tere soap!" (You're clear soap)
Liz, as the dispenser: "Oh. I tere soap?" (singing) "I teeeere soooaaap; I tere soap; (etc)"

And the ipod touch has been quite a hit, and very helpful with Brian's work... :)

Puppy Love

So, my kids like dogs...A LOT! I'm just wondering when it's considered an obsession???...
Lately, I have been trying to get rid of toys and de-junk the kids room. I've realized we have WAY too many stuffed amimals, yet I'll sit there going through all of them, and can't put them in the Goodwill box. Faye made these 3 into a family, Daisy talks to these 6, this one Lizzy cuddles with at night, etc, etc, etc. I realized they are each LOVED. How can I give them away???

Most of them are dogs (at least 17!)... Who needs a real dog, when there's already this much love?!?! (although a dog would be nice after/during meal-time :)...

(this is not the best picture, but it shows a lot of their dogs)

She's 6!!

I keep a journal for each of my girls, and try to write in it on/around their birthday's. This is part of Faye's Journal entry:

1/8/2011
Now that I'm 6 years old, I don't feel much older, but now I look like a 7-year old. I am getting more and more helpful for Mommy. She has me vacume, wash dishes, play with my sisters, make beds (some days I will make everyone's beds, even Mom & Dad's), and I am especially good at picking up toys & making sure they get put away in the right spots.
I am reading, now. I can read short stories and in our readers (either our own or from the library), I'm on Level 1. Mommy homeschools me, but I would be in Kindergarten. I like doing school most days, and Mommy says I'm good at Math. Daisy also does homeschool. Liz sits with us, most of the time on my lap. Sometimes Mommy makes her get off, so I can see my book better. I've been trying to teach Lizzy how to read, "but she just can't learn her letters!!" After I expressed my frustrations about Lizzy's incapability to Mom, she told me that 2-year olds don't know how to read and write (at least she didn't know any 2-year olds that could). That made me feel a little better.
Some of my friends are Tayson, Kylie, Emma, Kelsy, and Grant. There are some little kids and babies, who really like me and get excited to see me.
Some of my favorite things are:
-my blankets
-butterflies!! (Daddy made a butterfly stool for my birthday & Mommy helped paint it a little--Sister Ure, Tayson's mom, did most of the painting).
-Candy (the name of my pink bear)
-Pinky Pie (my other pink bear-Candy's sweeetie)
-riding Glory (the horse)
-talking to Aunt Krystal
-having responsibility
-inviting people over-especially when they like to listen to me talk!
-going to Tayson's house
-having pajama parties/movie night (Friday's) with my family
-helping others (I'm very thoughtful)
-being pretty (dressing nice, doing my hair, etc.)
-Choosing the Right!

For Faye's birthday, we went to the Payne's. We had a lot of family and friends over on that day, so it was very crowded-something Faye loves. There was cake, ice cream, bacon & guacamole (Faye's request), pinata's (yes, there were 2!!), music, candy, games, noise, more cake, and lots of fun!

The Butterfly Stool (and notice her favorite shirt--also butterflies)...

All of my photo's of Faye hitting the pinatas were too blury, but here's some of the aftermath (it was raining, so Daddy improvised a plan)...

Singing "Happy Birthday"...

Christmas with our other Family...

For Christmas 2010, Brian had to work, so we decided to do most of our traditions on Christmas Eve. This year was our very first Christmas on our own. We also decided to turn to our Other Family : our ward family. On Christmas Eve, we still had the usual "crowded" dinner by candle-light. We still had our traditional Nativity play (and enough people to play all the parts). It was a very spiritual night-I cried twice, and I don't think I have ever seen my girls that reverant at home (at the same time). A very special day...


This is my favorite picture (Faye is Mary; Brother Odiorn is Joseph):

Liz is the donkey; Daisy's a sheep...

Our girls recieved this gift from one of the sisters who came that night...

My traditional Christmas Eve pictures of the girls sleeping in their new pj's. It was hard to get a good picture of Faye & Daisy sleeping in the tent...

CHRISTMAS MORNING!! We actually had to go wake the girls up so that Brian could watch them open their presents before he had to go to work. They were a little groggy, but not as much as Mommy :)...

Daisy wanted a clipboard and a jeep for Christmas (she got both, thanks to HotWheels). She also had previously wrapped herself a old nerf ball, and was so excited to open it. Funny kid...

Faye wanted a neclace, "but not with beads." She also got a purse...

Liz wanted "a howt" (heart) for Christmas; she was especially "pleased" to find gum in her stocking...