What are we going to do with this kid!?!

Harper is our 'get into stuff' kid. Both Tate and Hudson never seemed to ever care about this, but this girl seems to make messes where ever she goes;

Rubbing cream on her face;

Coloring on the window seal;

smearing cortizone on the rug;

painting in her Sunday dress (30 minutes before church);

Playing with Powdered Sugar with her Cinderella glove;

Naughty Girl.

Tommy

Diapers have left our house.

At least for the next 4 months anyway :)

All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth...

Need I say more.

Tommy

Winner!?! Are you serious??

I just found out that I won a new dress. I know you are thinking, so what a new dress. But the thing is, I never win anything. And this dress is so cute and it is handmade and it is a maternity dress. I feel like a kid at Christmas. Now comes the wait for a package to show up at my door : ).

Check out how cute this thing is:
http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2009/11/hop-skip-and-jump-maternity-frock.html

And take some time to peruse the grosgrain sight. You won't be disappointed.

Christmas list...

...according to Tate:
"Mom if I could only have one thing for Christmas this year, it would be my baby brother"

Tate's life is not over....

**Photography courtesy of Tate :)

Should I be worried?

I have this saying with Tommy that I tell people that he is "just gay enough." To me it the perfect way to describe Tommy. He doesn't do the sports thing, he has a "man purse" to keep from losing his wallet (this is after he lost 3), he wears my crazy fitted Gap outfits that I pick out for him but he is not atracted to the male species. After today I am a little worried.

Last night Tommy went to go pick up an entertainment center for a Christmas present for the girls (more on that later). Anyway he picks it up from this guy, who helps him load in the car and chats with him for a few minutes. Tommy thinks nothing of the exchange until this morning when he gets an email from the guy thanking him for picking up the center and asking Tommy if he can repay him in some way. The guy then states that he gives great massages and they can be a great stress reliever. He also casually mentions that he has a bunch of other stuff he is giving away and Tommy can stop by anytime.

He wasn't even wearing the tight pants last night :). I am little worried Steve is going to try and give me a run for my money. Too bad Steve doesn't know how much Tommy loves women or should I say one woman.

The Hop, Skip and a Jump Maternity Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Hop, Skip and a Jump Maternity Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Man alive this woman amazes me. Someday I am going to take sewing lessons and make beautiful stuff for myself and my kids. This lady inspires me! I sure hope that I win, I would love to wear this little beauty to church.

Nightmare Before the Party

Here is our Halloween Costumes this year (Jack Skellington and Sally from 'Nightmare Before Christmas' - in case you can't tell). We are happy about how they turned out.

However, it was a little dramatic. I procrastinated the head (the hardest part) until the day of the party. After looking at a few designs online, I decided to do a Paper mache mask around a pumpkin (and break up the pumpkin once it was dry). It worked out well until it came time to remove the pumpkin - it wasn't going to happen, they were fused together. So, we had to go with plan B; Wear the pumpkin on my head.... Oh well. It looked good. And we got 2nd place; a free night stay at the Hampton Inn!

Tommy

I knew it was only a matter of time..

Before this little guy wasn't so little anymore.

I got my first glimpse of how big he is just yesterday. I was bringing in the groceries from the car and all of the sudden this little man pops up and starts hauling the groceries into the house. I had to go stop a fight with the girls and when I came back my sweetheart was in the kitchen putting the groceries away. How did my baby boy already grow up in to a gentleman?

The list

Tate's list of items he would save if our house was ever on fire:

1. His favorite blue blanket he has had since he was a baby

2. His mom's Ipod (thanks sweetie!)

3. The book of Mormon

4. A picture of his Grandpa Triplett when is was in the airforce

Them bones, them bones

Tate was born without a soft spot. When he was about 3 months, he had to have a surgery to fix the fused bone in his head. The doctor took out a piece of bone where his soft spot should have been, so that his head would grow normally.

This morning I was loving on Tate and asked him how it was possible that he could be so sweet. To which he replied. (seriously) Maybe the doctor took out my mean bone when he did the surgery on my head.

I think you are on to something my little man.

Keeps your hands at 2 and 10

This summer, we had a little scare with Hudson and a 4-wheeler up at Bear Lake; Her and I got dumped into the water. Even though we got her to ride one again, Hudson has been a little edgy about cars and ATVs. Every time I take one hand off the steering wheel, Hudson says, "Will you put your hand back on the wheel?". It's like having my own personal State Farm Agent in the car.

Tommy

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am in complete and total awe over these costumes. And the fact that she is giving them away. Wouldn't my girls just look adorable in these costumes. Now, if I could just convince Tate to be the rabbit.

Pumpkin Surprise

So, we are so excited. We attempted a Garden this year but had only minimal results (only our starts matured). Our Pumpkin plant didn't even sprout. Well, the other day, I walked through the back, back yard that's covered by trees and I saw an unusual plant. Hmmmm. Then I saw my sister's pumpkin plant in her yard (hmmm....1+1=2). So, Tate and I ran back there yesterday and "taa-da!!" - Pumpkins!

Tommy

Tate talk

Me: (On Sunday, October 4th). So, guess what today is guys?
Tate: Conference Sunday.
Me: It is also the day that daddy and I got married. It is a very special day.
Tate: You guys got married on a Sunday? On conference Sunday? Is the temple even open today?

Eight years ago today...

I was lucky enough to become Mrs. Megan Triplett. And it has only gotten better.

Dress Up

There are several "favorite" things I really like about having girls. One of them is dress up. My girls absolutely love to dress up.

Here are a few examples. In case you are wondering, the other red-head in some picts is their cousin, Eowyn (yes. from Lord of the Rings);

Tommy

Reason #256,712 that I love having girls

I have a formal dinner to go to tonight. I was trying on my dress last night to see if I could still squeeze into it. The girls came into my room. This is the discussion that followed;

Hudson - "Ooooo mom, you look beautiful!"
Me - "Thanks Hudsy"
Harper - "You are a princess"
Hudson - "Are you going to the ball?"
Me - "Yes I am with a very handsome prince"
Hudson (with big eyes) - "Which one?"
Me - "Daddy of course"
Hudson - "Daddy is a prince?"
Me - "Absolutely, a princess always marries a prince"
Hudson - "Wow, I can't wait until i can be a mommy"

Bicycle Safety

The FHE lesson, the Monday following this photo, was bicycle safety. Don't worry - no kids were present when we smashed this tricycle.

Sun Burn

While we do love spending time outdoors, we don't like the blazing sun on our kids' skin (especially with two redheads).

So, while we went camping a couple weekends ago, we were very diligent in keeping our kids slathered in sunblock any time they were out in the sun. However, we didn't anticipate Tate bending over for hours playing in the sand with his cousins . Ouch! Poor kid.

Pardon the butt crack shot.

Tommy

Password

The kids like to stand in doorways and put their arms out to block our way and say "what's the password?". Well, back in the day, when Tate was little, the password used to be "please". But after watching Dora a few times he changed it to "Abre" (which I'm assuming means "open" in Spanish). Hudson ran with that but made an addition to it. It's now "Abre Tutu" (I can only think that "tutu" came from dance class). This current form is now being passed down to Harper. We'll see what she does with it.

My Favorite Thing About Camping This Weekend

As we are driving up to find our camp spot at 10:00 pm on Friday night (yes we are those people). We are driving through the woods of the Uintahs when Tate says to me, "Mom, are there bears where we are camping?" To which I reply, "yes, Tate, bears live around where we are going camping." A few minutes pass by, Tate then says "I wish I wouldn't have asked that question."

ScienceKid

As many of you know, Tate wants to be a scientist when he grows up (Mark P. would be so proud). We have tried to encourage it since it's a step up from his two previous career choices; working the mechanical arm on the garbage truck and produce guy at the supermarket.

We document most of his science experiments anyway so we created his own website; http://www.isciencekid.com. He's works under the alias, ScienceKid. He's pretty excited about it and loves posting his experiments and science toy reviews.

Tommy

Come in and have Faith

One thing is for sure, Tate has amazing faith. He is never shy about sharing his views on faith. Like telling our neighbor who smokes, that she should be doing it.

One of the things Tate has done to express his faith are the signs he posted on his door about a year ago.

If you can't read them, the first one states"Be faithful in this room and have fun" (lower down is states: "Rules: no fiting. Put the toy in the right place even if you are in a hurry").

The second reads "Come in and have fun and faith" (lower down it states: "have lots of fun")

He does this stuff completely of his own mind without any input from Megan or I. I think it's hilarious.

So a couple of kids moved in down the street who are clearly not mormon. They are nice kids though.

After about a week, Tate mentions to Destiny, one of the kids, that she should ask her mother if she can come to church with us. Which she did. So the other day, her day came out and said he was fine if Destiny went with us to church. In fact, he said we could take both his kids.

Tate the missionary.

Waterfall Canyon

Went up to Waterfall Canyon (in Ogden) the other day with the kids.  The kids loved the waterfall at the end.  Hudson even had a butterfly land on her finger.

A Well Rested Harper vs. a Tired Harper

A well rested Harper will smile a big smile at you when you come in her room to get her. She will climb into your arms nuzzle you and tell you "I love you too, Mommy." She is sweet and fun to be around.

A Harper that does not get enough sleep is another story. When you come in her room to get her up, she takes one look at you, squaks like a bird and rolls over. She then pulls the blanket over her head and ignores you. If you pull her out of her crib she kicks and screams. You can count on the rest of your day to be a very patience trying day.

Today= a very tired Harper day.

And then there was the preschool graduation

Hudson graduated from her first year of preschool. It was tough. We weren't sure she was going to make it. But, phew, she did it.

Hudsy loves Ms Jenny. It is good that she is in our Ward so that Hudson can yell, "Hi Ms Jenny!" to her during sacrament meeting.

Raising Girls

So, here is an example of what it is like to raise girls. Some time ago, Megan bought colored plastic

plates, cups, forks, spoons, and knives. There is one set in each color of the rainbow.

So we've had it for about a year now and Hudson, being Hudson, is always adamant about eating with the pink set. This is not always possible but we try to accommodate whenever possible. I recently realized that Harper has been soaking in this process the entire time and has decided the that pink dinnerware is exclusively Hudson's. She won't touch a pink spoon, plate, or fork. She says, "Hudsy's Spoon" over and over until I submit. So, Harper, of course needed her own color and was relegated to the next most feminine color; yellow. Tate automatically was assigned to Blue. Tate really doesn't care, but his Sisters do. So now, whenever we set the table for dinner or try to give the cereal in the morning, I have to give each one their specific colored utensil OR deal with Harper's insatiable ranting that I've given the wrong spoon to the one of the kids. I never in a million years thought I'd ever have to deal with these kinds of issues.

Way back in May

Our playgroup went to Wheeler Farm. It was a super fun for the kids. Although, I think that they enjoyed the small stream running through the property more than the animals. Look at this little animal. Is it okay if I feed her and take her home with me?
Maybe these two do like each other after all. Maybe, maybe??
Harper makes friends with the natives.The unfenced raging river, which each kid was mysteriously drawn to.
Must find rocks to throw in the river, of course. Right now I am contemplating how I can salvage the camera and still grab Harper should she fall in the stream.
The view is much better from up here.
One of my little tricks to get Harper to: 1. look at the camera and 2. smile


Peek A Boo!Monkey see, monkey do.

What I wouldn't give to be in her head right now. Do you think she will ever get sick of me taking her pictures?hmmm??Sorry my kids were way cuter than any of the animals at the farm.

Snow what snow??

This is from spring break up at Bear Lake. If you know anything about Bear Lake it is not known for being very warm, even in the summer. So, you can imagine what it is like in April. That doesn't stop my kids (and Laney) from wanting to go down to the beach.

Check out the snow on the mountains and Harper in her snow coat.

And then the idea "how about we test the water"

Hudson's not so sure.

Laney shows her the water is not so bad.

Tate declares that the water is not that cold.

Everyone decides to try out the water.

Then after pants get soaked, it is time for daddy to roll them up.

Back to the fridged water, with not a care in the world.

Then the baby decides to get her pants rolled up. I think we are a little late for that sweetie.

3 minutes later, this is what the baby looks like.

Someone on the beach loves me.

Someone on the beach has tiny feet.

Someone on the beach has fabulous red hair.
It was only a matter of time before we had a sitter.

Now mommy needs to take the cold baby back to the cabin.

Our Spring Break. The End.