Holidays

Christmas was a success! Santa brought the girls just what they wanted and family far and close did a great job as well. We ended up with duplicates of some presents but the girls we are aloud to return them and they were able to shop one of their favorite pastimes but not mine.They love to look at everything in the store and weight their options I on the other hand like to have a list get into the store and get out especially when I have the girls and Mike with me.

The snow finally came to Illinois and stuck around for christmas and the days after, we had fun the other day trying to make a snow man and sledding down our hill in the front yard neither activity was succesful we just ended up playing in the snow and making snow angels.

We have had a lot of fun this winter break with the kids and are enjoying having Mike home for the rest of the week. We have seen on movie and are planning on another one tomorrow. Wishing everyone a Happy and safe New Year.

This is a picture of mike'shandy work in our basement , he did a great job and I love it.

Christmas is almost here and we have been busy making lots of goodies for teachers and friends. Cecilia really enjoys making chocolates but not cookies since they need to be watched and careful done, she prefers to just throw things together and call it good she may turn out to be our chef of the family while I am still the baker. Holly has been learning to deal with partial braces she was excited to receive them then after a few days she didn't think they were so great. She does like it when she goes to the ortho and she gets to change the colors of the bands. Maggie is talking so much more and loves to imitate anything Cecilia does which of course iterates Cecilia. Mike is getting closer to finishing up our built ins but every time he starts to work on it another issue which takes priority comes up. I am not doing anything different just the mom stuff ,keeping peace in the house and making sure everyone gets to where they need to be on time. We are wishing everyone a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.

Not a whole lot of things happening here in Peoria, just the usually mike is hard at work and is traveling alot but at least he has a job, the girls are hard at work doing their school work and their after school activities,Maggie is hard at work finding new things to get into and talking more and more. We just took her fall pictures and she gave the photographer a run for her money she wouldn't sit still and refused to smile long enough for a picture we ended up taking 150 pictures and only four turned out well, good thing it was a friend that took all the photos. Right now we are just getting ready for the holidays I can't wait my sisters are coming for thanksgiving it should be fun, hopefully the husbands will survive the three of us together.

Here are some of the pictures we took of Maggie.

Long week

This past week has been a very tiring week for me. It all started Thursday night when Maggie woke up at midnight with a high fever, we spent most of the night tiring to cool her down and get her to sleep. I then spent Friday watching a ton of kids shows and taking care of Maggie and her fever that wouldn't go away, Saturday I went to Nauvoo with the youth on a temple trip and left the mike and the girls behind ,when I arrived home nothing had been done and I then had to get everyone going on their chores as well as make dinner and take care of Maggie, how is it a mother never gets a break. Sunday through Wednesday we pretty much the same take care of the kids and stay up half the night with Maggie while mike was gone on a business trip. Thursday I saw a little light at the end of the tunnel Maggie wanted to eat and drink something she has refused to due all week. I am hoping that this little light grows larger and we are on the way to a happy healthy Halloween. Have a Happy Halloween everyone.

Firsts

We have had a busy begining of the school year the girls are doing well and are loving the change. Being home with mom can get a little dull and they missed their friends. Cecilia has joined the drama club at school and is keeping busy with all her school work and learning to babysit. Holly just started tumbling last night and did better than I thought she would. It still amazes me on how tall she is and yet still so graceful. Maggie also started dance class and she was shy at first but towards the end she started to have fun and talked about dance class the whole way home.
My kids push every button I have but at the same time they are so amazing, Cecilia came home from school and was thrilled at her grade on her science paper, she received an 100% on her periodical tables not all of them just 20 or so but she studied very little and said it was easy just like her dad. When it comes to math or science she is just like Mike which is a great thing the bad thing is she inherited my spelling problem which her Grandma Shurts likes to tell her it has been passed down and that she comes from a long line of horrible spellers. This of course does not help my case when I tell her to study more she just replies "Grandma says it is genetic so I will never be a good speller." Thanks grandma.
We are still building a bookcase in our basement I say still because it was started the first week end in September and I am not sure when it will get done. With mikes work and church schedule as well as family things he may get it done for Christmas. I love the fact that he is trying to build it but maybe he should stick with electronics they work better for him.

Summer Fun

Our summer has been a busy one and our latest trip reassured us that the Midwest is where we should be. We drove out to Idaho for mike's grandmas funeral and enjoyed our time with his family. Maggie who loves her pa pop Shurts was very excited to go visit him and was a little taken back when it took longer than usual to get there but once she met pa pop Payne she was in love, she followed him around and loved his cabin. She was very sad when we left and has been making pictures for him everyday, they just are not always on blank paper. Maggie has also fallen in love with swimming and would swim everyday if she could. We hang out at the pool as often as we can and it helps that all her friends go there as well. Holly and Cecilia went to scout camp this summer and had fun catching frogs and learning to canoe for city girls they love the country life. We just ordered school clothes for them and started getting school things together, the summer is going fast and as much as I want them to go back to school I am not ready for summer to end.

Vaction

What a great vacation! One I hope the girls will always remember. I am going to break it down day by day to make it easier to read.

Day 1

We climbed in the car around 2:00 in the morning and we drove all day to Florida. The drive was pretty easy. In the south they have a treat called boiled peanuts, we all tried them Mike and Maggie were the only ones that actually liked them. We arrived at our hotel around 8:30 that night all we did was crash.

Day 2 We took the kids to Cocoa Beach so they can say they swam in the ocean. They had a great time collecting sea shells and getting a mouth full of salt water. Mike and I both ended up with a very bad sun burn. It doesn't matter how much sun screen we use or how often we still burn.

Day 3

Today we started our week of Disney World. Monday was Magic kingdom, Tuesday was Hollywood Studios, then Epcot and then Animal Kingdom. It was so hot on this day that the kids felt like they were melting. The lines were long but they meet Ariel and rode on alot of fun rides.

Day 4

We were able to see American Idol, little mermaid and met JoJo and Goliath , Buzz light year and Mickey Mouse. Maggie loved meeting all the characters and seeing all the shows. Mike and I rode on the Aerosmiths roller coaster. It went so fast and was great. We went to see the light show that night but instead the rain came and we were drenched. They kids were laughing about how wet they were but at least they were not hot anymore. It was good to see them laugh about it and not throw a fit.

Day5&6

We walked and walked we must of walked at least 5 miles a day and sweat about five buckets full. The kids loved it and loved seeing everything. We were able to see Epcot's light show and fireworks. It was amazing to watch the lights over the water and they displayed images on the world along with music. It was beautiful. We were able to sample food from around the world and the girls fell in love with a chocolate cake from France.

Day 7

This day was Cecilia's Birthday and we let her choose what she wanted to do. Disney World gave her a gift card since we already bought tickets and she was able to shop for whatever she wanted. That was the best gift for her, the girl loves to shop. We went back to Epcot and bought her the chocolate cake she loved and put some candles on it and sang to her. She loved it. The day was going great we met Belle, Jasmine and Snow White, we ate lunch Mexico and then Holly threw up on the bridge , the people of DW were great and sent us to first aid while they cleaned it up, Holly spent an hour cooling down while Cecilia and I went on some rides, they wouldn't let us all stay in there. We then went back to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. While Mike and Holly and Maggie went shopping, Cecilia and I rode on some roller coasters, while shopping Holly found 50 dollars on the ground she turned it in and the people there were so happy as they were deciding what to do Maggie peed all over the store floor, Mike and the girls quickly left. We ended the day with a great dinner and watched the light parade.They girls loved it their eyes were so big through the whole thing.

Day 8&9

We drove home, it took us two days to go home because we woke up late each day and we didn't want to push it. We also stopped and looked at things we didn't see on the way home. We went to Metropolis IL and say a very large superman and had lunch at Dip n Dots the girls love this ice cream I personally think it tasted weird. For Father's day we gave mike a can of boiled peanuts he loved it. This ends our trip to Florida, it was packed full of fun and laughs. Sorry for the long post but I did shorten it there are alot more fun stories. Until next time.

Memorial weekend

This past week end has been a busy one and this week has flown by. It all started with my parents getting ready for their mission to SLC Family History, while getting all their doctor visits done my father found out that he has prostate cancer. So instead of a farewell BBQ we changed it to hope all goes well BBQ. My father went in on Thursday to have his surgery but before surgery he came over to the house and mike gave him a blessing then it was off to the hospital. I gave Maggie her lunch and a small nap before I dropped her off at a friends and then I spent the rest of the day at the hospital to wait with my mother and brother Paul. The hospital was so over booked that dad ended up waiting for the surgery in the children's section which is not an ideal place for my father. They whisked him off and that left me and mom and Paul to wait around in the waiting room. We had a great time talking and watch the monitor for progress in dads surgery. All went well and know he is home and poor mom is taking care of a 69 year old kid. The rest of the week end was spent with family we had a 40th birthday party for Paul nothing to big until Cecilia and her cousin Haley decided to have a chocolate cake food fight. They were covered from head to toe in chocolate we told them the only way they were getting home is if they were hosed off. Aunt Chastina stepped in and literally hosed them off. Sunday came and mike and I were assigned talks in sacerment meeting we were worried since neither of us like to give talks but I thought Mike did a great job and I actually talked long enough. It was then back to the house for a BBQ and then send family members home. The rest of the week just flew by with all the kids activities, soccer, softball. piano and church. I am glad to have today to rest and clean before the weekend where Saturday is non stop games and activities.Pictrues of the chocolate fight will come as soon as I get them from my niece.

Silly moments

This last week has been one for silly little moments. Maggie started it off , on our way to a soccer game we were caring our camp chairs and Maggie kept yelling "mommy your sit down" it took us a few minutes to realize she was talking about our chairs we tried to get her to say chair but she insisted that they were our sit downs. All we can figure is that we have told her to sit down so many times that now she assiocates chair with sit down. Holly has hit the middle child syndrome already with her she says "I wish I didn't have any sisters and why does everyone pick on me" and other such lovely thoughts. We have tried to reassure her that she would miss her sisters and we are not always picking on her, that doesn't seem to be working. It is funny though that when Cecilia went to her friends house for the night all Holly did was talk about her and wanted to know what she was doing, but we do need to remember Holly doesn't want any sisters. Cecilia is getting to be old enough to take on some more responsibility and one of them is mowing the lawn. Yesterday I went out to teach Cecilia how to mow the lawn and had to bit my lip so I wouldn't laugh to hard at this little 75 pound girl trying to push the lawn mower. She was trying so hard to push that thing on our flat backyard and instead of pushing the mower you would see her kicking her legs up behind her and grunting to try and push it 10 feet . It was so cute to watch her she did do most of the yard but I think I will wait until she has a little more strength in her arms. After she was down she said that mowing is a boys job and that when she is married she will have her husband mow the lawn. I argued that it was not a boy job and that you should share all the jobs of the house she said then I will hire someone to do my lawn mowing. You just got to love the things that come out of their mouths other wise I might just go crazy.

Busy week

Last week was a busy one, Cecilia was in her first play and it was great. She was Thing 2 from Dr. Suess stories. She didn't have to talk which is why she loved her part all she had to do was dance and sing and act silly she does that on a daily bases so it was a snap for her. So we spent the first part of the week getting her ready for that then on thursday we celebrated Maggies second birthday. She spent the whole day saying " Happy to me". When she woke up I showed her her birthday cake which was probably a mistake since as soon as I was downstairs she reached up and starting eating whatever she could reach which was icing. Her cake soon had little finger marks. She loved blowing out her candles and getting presents. She has spent the weekend showing everyone her new clothes and playing with her new kitchen set. Its good to be two. Holly has been busy being draged from place to place but she gets her pay backs, she has soccer and piano which means the other two will be draged to her activites for a while. I am going to try and post video and pictures but we will see if i can do it. They video shows her coming out with cotton candy I will see if I can find a better one.

Easter

This year for Easter we traveled down to Nauvoo to spend the week end with my parents. On Friday we left the children with pop pop(which is what Maggie calls grandpa)and grandma so that mike and I could go to the temple. We choose to do sealings this time knowing that our minds would not be able to focus on an endowment session, it was a nice change and of course it helps me to remember my sealing vows to mike. Later that night we took the girls outside to run of some steam Cecilia and Holly were running all over and climbing up and down the front of moms and dads house. Maggie was running right behind them yelling me too me too. Maggie couldn't quit climb the flower beds in the front so the girls helped her up. When the older two were playing in the woods Maggie was determined to climb the flower beds by herself next thing we knew she made it to the top. The flower beds are almost as tall as she is.
Saturday the girls went to Baxter's Winery to color eggs and play games Maggie wasn't able to make it because she was running a fever the rest of the week end turns out she has strep throat again. Cecilia won first place in her age group and Holly won third place in her age for the best colored egg. They each won a bag full of goodies. Well the kids are back in school and the usual crazy night begin again.

Terrible Twos

First off Happy Birthday Chuck! 40 years old and still looking good.
Now on to the tantrums of my almost two year old. Maggie has always done things early she rolled over early started walking early, potty trained right on time but along with all her accomplishments come the early tantrums of a two year old. This whole week her friend has been on vacation which has upset Maggie to no end. Every time we went out to do anything she would be under the impression that we would go to her friends house there fore when we arrived home she would yell and kick and say No Home. Her kicking and screaming did not stop there it also applies to not being able to get what she wants. She has discovered marshmallows and wants to eat them all the time. Oh the joy of having little ones.
As far as Cecilia and Holly they have grown out the little girl tantrums and moved on to that's not fair and she started it as well of stay out of my room, do you have to look or touch me. Having girls can be such a trail, but yet fun we outnumber dad and we do love to shop.

Cookie Craze

A cookie smack down about happened on Friday. On Friday I being the cookie mom for our troop went to the Ware house to help sort hundreds of cases of cookies. When we had sort all the troops orders for our area we noticed that some of the troops were short. We had a group huddle and the leader of the whole cookie craze told us that more were coming as soon as we knew which ones we were missing. This did not satisfy some of the cookie moms and if they were short they decided to take from others who not there. I was upset and told a mom to leave the cookie order alone that it was not right to take from people that were not here. She started yelling saying they should have been here and it was their fault if they are short because she was not going to be short on her order since she was there. I then told her that we should not punish someone for not being able to come and to leave the cookies alone and this went on for several minutes it got to the point were I wanted to B##### slap the women but instead I walked away and told on her like a three year old. Things were finally sorted out and we found the missing cookies and everyone filled their orders and cookies are being delivered this week.
In other news on Saturday I was able to escort two fifteen passenger vans down to Nauvoo to do baptisms for the dead. I was excited to finally get to go as an adult. We arrived at the temple and had all the youth get ready and I went to get my assignment I was happy to be there and do what ever they need me to do. I soon found out they needed me to be a mom. I was assigned to clean up the bathroom after the girls were done so that there wasn't water on the floor. I did my job well until the girls started to do their hair and the air was filled with way way to much hair product and i could not longer handle it and switched post with another mom. My new assignment was to wipe the stairs after each child is done being baptized. I could have stayed home and done this. It was a great experience and I will not be the first in line to help again but will help if asked.

What's going on

Most of you know that Maggie is going to be two at the end of April and like her older sisters has decided to get rid of the diaper. We have been potty training her for the last week and it is going pretty good. The first few days we had several pee accidents then she started to get the concept and has had very few pee accidents but we still are trying to figure out how to poop in the potty. You can tell our whole life right now revoles around getting Maggie to the bathroom on time.
Cecilia is working hard on her part in the school play and Holly is working on learning to spell and not ticking off her sister. Mike still has a job with Caterpillar and is working on getting projects done around the house. I am just working on keeping the family on schedule.

Here We Go!

Ok, so here we go! Hopefully this can be a way to keep friends and family up on what's going on in our lives through the days in the House of Mike and Amy Payne. Cecilia, Holly and Maggie are the "Drama Mammas" here. There are few quiet or boring days without some form of quality entertainment.