Update on Anna

So here is a little synopsis on Anna Banana at age 2 years and 2 months:

She is a little spitfire... she definitely has a strong personality in her own little way! She will repeat herself a million times until she has either gotten her way or she is too tired to say it anymore. I have been known to call or text T or Jammie and vent that Anna won't stop repeating herself and that I am going insane! She is stubborn (she gets it from her dad)!

Anna wants to do everything and anything that Owen is doing. This includes brushing teeth, playing with neighbor friends, sitting in a big boy carseat, wearing boy clothes, and wearing Owen's shoes. And don't forget games, puzzles, toys, computer games, running, etc.

Anna loves anything girl: hair, makeup, fingernail polish, high heels, and lipstick!

She also loves the dirt, dogs, horses, and helping dada.

She loves Owen, mommy, dada, Marnee, Papa, Staci, Kaisa and the kids, the dogs, the horsees, and many other things and people.

She says "YES" sort of like this: "yeths" It is hilarious! And she usually says it with a lot of enthusiasm, which makes it that much cuter!

She still loves macaroni and cheese, broccoli, beans, candy, and yogurt. But it depends on the day. Any given day she will eat only certain items.

She has recently began to talk a ton! We were worried for a bit cause she didn't talk as early as Owen... but right about her second birthday she started and sometimes won't quit! Be careful what you wish for... :)

Anna is a sweetheart. She loves to give hugs and kisses. I don't want her to grow up and not want to snuggle with me in my bed in the morning anymore. I love it.

She can "ride" (scoot) her barbie big wheel faster than most! She can almost keep up with Bubba...

She is the most beautiful girl in the whole world! Don't you think?

Owen's First day of his 2nd Year of Preschool

The pictures say it all! He LOVES school and was excited to go back to Miss Kristi's classroom.

Anna thought for sure she was going to stay...

We got out the "special plate" and served cinnamon toast - Owen's favorite at the moment.

Owen in a Nutshell

I was inspired by a friend's blog to give an update on each of my kids - so here goes!

Owen at age 4 years and 10.5 months!

Owen is a great big brother. He is VERY protective of Anna and is always making sure she is ok. If I happen to give her a little spank or raise my voice at all to her he is the first to tell me not to do that!

The other day Anna grabbed Owen's hands and wanted him to dance... I was on the computer and turned around to see them dancing in a circle. When he saw me watching, he got embarrassed and told me not to look! Then he switched his voice to a high pitch "baby" talk and said, "Come on Anna, let's go to the living room to dance!" His voice then goes back to normal as he tells me NOT to come in the living room 'cause he doesn't want me to see him dance. Too cute, huh?!

(when I asked him what his favorite picture was recently, he told me it was this one where he is sharing his lollipop with Anna)

Owen loves to follow rules and instructions. It usually works out great! He will follow a doctor's order to the "T" and loves to play the game we call "instructions." I give him a series of things to do in a specific order (example: run to the fence, do 10 jumping jacks, go down the slide, hop on one foot twice, then come give me a high 5). He is such a good listener and can do lots of steps without forgetting! It's good practice to have for later in life... and for getting chores done around the house or for getting ready to bed. (ok bud - go get your jammies on, brush your teeth, go potty, and jump into bed! I'll meet you there!)

Owen loves to eat PB&J sandwiches. I found out recently that he won't eat white bread unless it's Grandma's brand, it has to be red jam, and absolutely no wheat. We tried a variety while we were on vacation recently, and none of the above worked. He likes what he likes!

He's a smart little guy. Wow. It sometimes scares me a little! I want to make sure and channel his brain so he'll use it in the right ways. He knows the alphabet, colors, etc... and recently has starting teaching himself how to read! He is so interested in what things say, and then he'll grab a pen and copy down the word so he can remember it. Crazy! He is also GREAT at math! I have not pushed it at all - and he is just loves it! He can add and subtract like a little mad man. I've started to quiz him ('cause he likes it) so I'll ask him what 4 + 4 is and he'll hardly even hesitate with the answer! He also will do subtraction without using his fingers or anything!

He is really into money right now. He likes to know how much things cost and likes to count his own money. Recently I've been giving him 10 cents for every fly he "whacks" and he was fast to figure out he needed to get 10 flies in order to have $1.00! He has earned more than I care to admit by just whacking flies this fall! He used to keep it in a piggy bank, but likes to keep it in a ziplock bag so he can easily get it in and out to count it!

Owen remembers everything. If I tell him we can go to the store tomorrow, he will remind me first thing in the morning. If I tell him he can play a computer game later (after we get home from school) he will ask me! I have to be careful what I say so that I teach him integrity and follow through with my promises.

Owen's prayers are pretty much the same every time and they go about like this:

Heavenly Father, Please help us be strong and safe and healthy (he says that in one breath... you can hardly distinguish one word from the other!) thank you for our house and our food and our family. Please help the kids in Haiti that they will find a mom and dad and have some food to eat. And some toys. Please bless everyone that needs to be blessed. Please help the people that don't have any dinner tonight that they will find some. Help us choose the right. Name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Pretty cute. He has been saying the Haiti part since the big earthquake. He thinks Haiti is a different state, I think. And he wants to give his old toys to the kids in Haiti.

Owen loves to play with his friends Matthew and Sam, who live next door. Matthew is about 8 months older than Owen, and Sam is about 2 years older. They are awesome little kids that come from a great family. They ride scooters, play in the field, play soccer, Xbox, legos, jump on the trampoline, etc etc etc. I am very grateful for them!

He is in his 2nd year of Preschool at Kreative Kids with my good friend, Kristi. He loves it and looks forward to it each week. He always wants to look at the calendar to see what letter they are learning about that day and loves show and tell and "turn in ticket" day!

I can't even explain what a good kid he is. He has such a sweet spirit and a good heart. I could go on and on with all the cute things he says and does...We love him a ton!

I HATE FLIES.

Hate is a very strong word. In fact, growing up I was not allowed to use the word "hate." So you should know that when I say that I hate flies, I mean it with all my heart. What is it this year that they are so bad? I thought maybe it was just our house... we are surrounded by animals. But after I read my friend Pam's blog, I felt a little better about things. Just a little though. I know that she keeps her house immaculate (unlike mine) - so at least it's not just my house with the crumbs on the floor or the animals.

Can I just vent to you about how bad they really are though? I have been known to kill 20 in the morning before 9:30 am! TWENTY?! Yes, really. That is disgusting. But then to make matters worse, I'll get home from work and there are at least that many more!! Where are they coming from? We weren't even home to open and close the doors all day. Which means they are breeding in my house!!! And I HAVE seen them in action and it just ticks me off like no other!

The other day Anna was taking a nap on my bed. I went in to check on her, and lo and behold there were 3 flippin flies ON HER! I went into mama bear protective mode. I was fuming inside. I got the trusty fly swatter (which has been disinfected a few extra times this season because of all the guts) and tried for the next 10 minutes to kill those flies that dared to land on my baby! But I didn't want to wake Anna - that would be horrible! So I would shoo them away from her, then watch and try to quietly WHACK them with all my might. No wimpy shots here. I go for the kill every time. I'm sure it was quite the sight.

I was almost late to work today and didn't even get what I was supposed to get done, done - because of the damn flies. I can't stop killing them... I'll get a few, then turn around and there are 10 more!!! So I keep going. I don't want them to take over my house completely! There are guts everywhere, dead flies lying around... I feel like I'm living in the slums or something.

I could go on and on - but I did google "home remedies for killing flies" today and basically didn't learn anything good. There's the whole "fill up a ziplock bag and hang by your door" trick (but that just keeps them from coming in. I need something to kill those *&@#!!! once they are in. I tried making my own concoction with a bowl of water and some other random ingredients... hoping to suck them in and then drown them. I killed one. Not going to be enough.

So if you happen to know of any tricks besides whacking them with the swatter, let me know. I might be willing to pay you. Or at least trade for some chocolate covered cinnamon bears or something!

Trip to Arizona

T is originally from Eagar, Arizona - and I have NEVER once been to his hometown! So we planned the long-awaited trip and took off on a road trip. It is quite the job to pack for 4 for twelve days - along with 8 dogs and camping equipment! But we did it and after a long 12 hour truck ride, we made it! T (of course), planned the trip around a bear hunt...

Here are some of the highlights and interesting facts from our trip:

Anna and Owen LOVED the fireplace at Grandma's house. Owen and I hauled wood from the woodpile to the house, and Owen made sure there was a fire every night.

A beautiful scene up near Alpine, Arizona.

The Girlies!

Our little acrobat

Isn't he good?

Owen walked all the way across without falling off!

And Anna has to do everything that Bubba does...

Owen loved to throw BIG rocks into the water!

Aren't they cute?

Anna LOVES to throw rocks into "wawa"

This is Owen's first experience shooting a BIG gun.

He did pretty good! I thought he might cry cause of the sound, but nope!

Taking a walk

The two amigos

A shot of most the dogs

Just hangin out at camp!

Such pretty country!

T packed the hide off the mountain... crazy, huh?

T with Belle & Charlie

T & his Dad

T, Craig, and the Guy who shot the Bear

Owen's gritty little Belle dog

This tree is HUGE. The bear is HUGE. Can't really tell from this pic.

A monkey's bed made out of play dough... who ever thought?

-The funniest thing ever to a novice bear hunter like me: seeing the loser to an arm wrestle have to dress up in a gorilla suit, walk on all fours like a bear thru 32 dogs in camp... then have one dog unchained to chase the "bear" to the truck! Hilarious! I laughed so hard I cried. T let loose 8 more dogs once he got to the truck, and they were trying to jump up on him on the truck! Funny stuff there!

The Gorilla named "Owen"

The scariest gorilla ever named "Anna"

Not sure who this gorilla is....

Grandma Nelson - 85 years I believe and still going strong-ish!

We love her and was sure glad to spend a little time with her!

Love those beautiful blue eyes!

Just being us!

-The kids did amazingly well in the truck for the 10-12 hours it took to get there (and back)! I was so proud of them. I think it was harder for T and I than it was on them. I have no patience and get all wiggly by the 2nd hour.

-We saw elk hanging around in the forest like we see deer here in Utah. It was so cool!!

-Eagar is a small town and there is not a lot to do, and it is 45 minutes away from an Instacare, a WalMart, and a Diet Mt. Dew in the fountain. Funny what you take for granted living in a "city!"

-Owen learned how to swing on the monkey bars and was doing great... and then slipped, landed funny, and couldn't use his right arm most of the remaining vacation. We waited for a couple of days, made the trip to Show Low to the Insta Care to get an Xray, and found out he was just fine. But he sure had his mommy worried!

-The kids got back to the basics: no TV, no video games, and not as many toys as they are used to. And you know what? They loved it! We played with play dough, we colored, we swung, we played cards, we played Jumpin Monkeys... and we played Jumpin Monkeys some more! It's kind of nice to have a change in the daily routine - (1) to make you realize what we take for granted daily and (2) to not rely on electronics and "things" to occupy your time.

-We ate more ice cream than a "big outfit" (as T would say). G&G keep the freezer well stocked with ice cream... and don't forget the cones. Owen & Anna got spoiled with mint chocolate chip and/or cookie dough cones sometimes more than once a day!

-T put a roof on the old "little house" while we were there. I didn't get pictures, but it was a much needed task that needed to be done before winter - and I know his mom was very grateful for the time and effort.

-T and his buddies caught 3 bears... 2 were killed to fill tags and the other one was small. There were 32 dogs in their camp so they could run 5 or 6 each day and give the other dogs time to rest.

-Owen made his first big deal and sold his hound dog Belle. For $93.00! There was a couple of guys in T's camp that saw how Belle works around a bear and wanted to buy her. So when Owen got to camp, he marched over to tell the guys that Belle was NOT for sale. Well, money talks - and he came back with a huge smile on his face and a fist full of money. He was so excited that he sold Belle because he got a whole $93.00!! He could now buy ALL of the Bionicles, and he even thought he could buy a new dog and then sell it for MORE money! It was hilarious. He had it all planned out in the first 3 minutes. T and I were so surprised at our wheelin-dealin little guy! It took a few minutes to talk Owen into giving the money back and getting Belle back... we had to promise him to sell Charlie (another dog) this winter and he could have part of the money to buy a Wii.

-Got to go to lunch with Ginger... T's cousin whom I have only met once. We have been following each other's blogs, so I felt like I knew her so well! It was fun to hang out!

Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Meier for letting us stay with you! And thanks to Staci for being such a great auntie! We love you guys!