Summer O' Fun

Ok, I was only gone for two months this time. Not so bad, right? Here's a glimpse of what will be coming up in this next round of posts:
My parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration
Girl's Camp
Grandpa Tom's Memorial
4th of July
Zoe's 4th Birthday
Yet another visit to Payson Lakes

Summer has been good to us. We were gone most of June and then had family visiting for the first half of July. Now we're just enjoying playing with our friends around here and going to the pool. Only a few more weeks until school starts so we are really trying to enjoy the time we have left.


Zoe is potty trained! Huzzah! A couple weeks ago she decided that she wanted to wear underwear and with a lot of positive reinforcement she is now wearing it full-time (even at night). She wasn't having any accidents for a while, but now she's a little over-confident and has had a few problems over the weekend, but at least she's in underwear. We had our pediatrician refer us to a specialist so hopefully we'll be able to get a diagnosis soon and find the best resources for her (and us).


Owen is a parrot. He says everything. His favorite phrases include, "What are you doing?" "Have it" and "Bonk a head" (regardless of what has been bonked). His favorite color is yellow and he loves cars and trains (anything with wheels) and animals. He's at a really fun age and we enjoy him so much.

Here are a couple random pictures of our summer exploits.

Boys will be Boys

Last weekend (yes, I'm up to date around here!) was our ward's Fathers and Sons Campout. It was cold but James and Owen had a great time. Well, Owen had a great time wandering off in every direction while James did his best to corral him. James put the seats down in the car when it was time for bed and everything went smoothly.

So happy to be free!

Getting Colder

The morning after

Has anyone seen Owen?

Back at the homestead, Zoe and I had a girls' night in - painting nails, eating popcorn, and watching The Little Mermaid, her most recent favorite movie. It was nice (and oh so relaxing) to have some one-on-one time with her, but she really wanted to be out camping with her daddy and frequently declared, "I want to be a boy" bringing back many of my own memories of feeling overlooked during Fathers and Sons Campouts of my youth. It's tough to be a girl.

Grandpa Tom

As I alluded in my Christmas post, James' grandpa passed away. He was diagnosed with cancer toward the end of the year so we all gathered together for Christmas. On March 7, less than a week after he found out chemo had not worked, he passed away in his home. We love him and will miss him so much.

Ms. D'Lynn

Zoe

Zozer

The Dozer

Nuggle Bear

The Nuggle

Ah Zoe. Where do I start? We had a rough winter. Things started getting better a month ago when she got really sick and sent us back to square one. Now, with some occasional warm weather, she is back to her bubbly self. She loves to help me with everything and be a mommy (to Owen, Tigger, and Warner -her toy bird). She is steadily getting better at interacting with people and understanding feelings - her own and those of others. She is really excited for it to be summertime and asks every day if it's warm enough to go to the pool. I have to say, I am excited as well.

This Guy

Owen

Buddy

Mr. Budders

Buster

No matter what we call him, this guy is trouble. Fortunately, we love trouble. He is always smiling and always on the go. He is one tough kid, but also a snuggler. He loves to hug and give kisses. He's also really polite and started telling us "thank you" without being prompted. He insists on walking down the stairs and feeding himself. He loves fruit and juice. He loves telling us "no." He is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Preschool Wrap-up

Preschool has been such a blessing for both myself and Zoe. We have done some fun stuff and made great friends. I will be sad when it's over in a few short weeks. Here are a few of the things we've been doing in the name of education:

Pajama Party

Trip to the Fire Station

A trip to the dentist

Jumping Jacks
The Bean Museum

Hi Everybody!

Ok, I'm back. And with pictures. Without further ado, here we go:

Christmas: was great. We ended up canceling our trip to California at the last minute and headed to Oregon instead. Grandpa Tom was diagnosed with cancer so the whole family made the trek out to spend one last Christmas together. One of Cathy's friends was generous enough to let us and Fern's family stay in her house while she was away. It was great to have a little space to call our own and for Zoe and Owen to hang out with their cousins. We missed our wonderful family and friends in California, but we were so glad we got to see Grandpa one more time.

We spent Christmas day at home. I love being at home for Christmas - we opened presents and stayed in pajamas for two days straight. The big hits of the day were dress-up clothes for Zoe and Cars for Owen - both the movie and tons of hotwheels. We also got them a little tent and a tunnel that are endlessly entertaining.




After Christmas we packed up and headed to Oregon. We hung out with James' sisters, aunts, and cousins. All the girls went out to see The Princess and the Frog one day and had a blast. Most importantly, James got to spend some quality time with his grandpa.


Don't worry, I'll keep updating. For mother's day James let me lock myself in the office to edit and post pictures. It's been a lovely day.

WORD

The word on pictures: Spring. That's when the new Photoshop comes out. Until then, I'm up a creek without photo editing software. That's also the reason I'm reverting back to the old blog background. No software = no new blog backgrounds.

The word on the new computer: Awesome. We love it and are having way too much fun playing with it. I can't wait to get the new version of Photoshop and really start tinkering around. It will be just in time to start in on a big project for my parent's upcoming 50th wedding anniversary.

The word on James: Busy. He's got some business trips coming up and as the semester draws to a close, his work load will increase astronomically - no students in the classrooms means many more chances to get in to the rooms and maintenance the media systems.

The word on Desta: Tired. Most days I feel like I accomplish very little, if anything at all. I've been staying up far too late watching the Olympics and, before that, reading. I finished all 7 Harry Potter books in about 6 weeks. Now I don't quite know what to do with myself. But chasing the kids around and cooking and cleaning are usually on my list. And if it's Thursday then I'm in full Survivor mode! Loving this season. If I get any more excited I might just have a stroke. James said I can get "Colby" tattooed on my person, so I'm just trying to pick a place to immortalize my love for him...

The word on Zoe: Princess. She loves dressing up and doing her hair. But winters are so tough for her. She goes stir crazy and really needs the interaction that the warmer weather (and playing outside) brings. Thank goodness for preschool. She's been talking more to us and asking us questions. It's a good start and I've been making extra efforts to be REALLY EXTREMELY patient with her.

The word on Owen: Words. That kid is talking like crazy. His speech isn't as impeccable as Zoe's was (who at 18 months would often declare "It's snowing outside!") but he is a great communicator. His words include:
Baby
Ball
Bubble
Go! (which he shouts anytime anyone opens the door)
Fie (said while giving fives)
Snuggle (Guh-guh)
Care Bear (Ba-Ber)
Turtle
Pa (for pacifier)
Gui-Gui (for blankets, he made this word up all by himself)
No
Hi and Bye
Hello (when talking on the phone)
Milk (Mee)
Yogurt (Go-goo)
Toast (Toe)
Water (Wa-Wa)
Noodles (doo-doo)
Peanut Butter (Pa-ba)
Cheese (tss)
Vroom (for cars)
Mooing or Barking noises (for any animal he sees)

He is the complete opposite of Zoe in every way. He loves to eat, he gets into everything all the time, he doesn't miss a chance to tell us "no," he HATES diaper changes, having his nose or face wiped, and teeth brushed, he still takes two naps a day, and he is the most social kid in the world. If you are sitting anywhere near us in church you will end up with him bringing you toys, insisting on sitting on your lap, and he will probably try to give you (open-mouth) kisses. He loves to laugh and makes silly faces, and he is a great imitator when it comes to sounds and gestures. One more month and my baby will be in nursery.

So that is the word. Oh, and I've added the word verification to the comments, not that that affects many people, but we were getting quite a few spam comments that were annoying.

Farewell!

Well, we're coming to the end of an era in the Gillice home. I will no longer be blogging. . . . . from this computer. Our new computer came TODAY and since we spent the long weekend setting up the new desk and bookshelves, we're ready to transfer some files and enjoy a fresh start. James got our current computer back in 2003 (before there was an "us") and it has been running on fumes for at least the last year. Finally the planets and stars (and tax refunds) were all aligned so here we go.

But first, here are some things I'll miss* about our current (soon to be former) computer:

I will miss the buzzing sound our computer makes when we turn it on. If we give it a good kick it "quiets" to a steady whirring noise. I'll miss all the reading time I have while I wait for the computer to boot up (or a program to load). I'll miss the zillions of wires that run behind the desk. Speaking of desks, I'll miss the cheap desk that has gotten us by for the last year - for taking up so much room it certainly has very little usable space. Owen will miss the rather large power button placed right where little fingers like to play. And what will we do with the speakers that have not worked for years, but we insist on setting them up time after time? Somehow we'll live.

So, farewell inefficient router, adios "Low Virtual Memory" warnings, arrivaderci Photoshop CS2. It's not you, it's us. Goodbye forever PC.
Hello Mac!

Merry Christmas!

I tried for 12 days but didn't quite succeed. Somehow I'm ok with that. We've had a wonderful day so far - the big hits were cars (both toys and the movie), a tent, and a giant trunk of dress-up clothing. We're still in pajamas and the kids are hopped up on sugar so it should be a fun afternoon. Merry Christmas!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

I Posted on My Blog

To Market, To Market

Early in November we had another preschool field trip, this time to Payson Market, a local grocery store. The store lets schools take tours and the kids got to go "behind the scenes" in the bakery, service deli, and meat department. Along the way they picked up some souvenirs - cookies, apples, and stickers.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

I Posted on My Blog

Halloween! (finally)

We don't really get into Halloween around here, but we had an enjoyable year, nonetheless. Zoe had a Snow White costume that my cousin sent us and Owen was just barely big enough to pull off Zoe's old skunk costume. We had a ward potluck/ trunk-r-treat in the back yard then I took Zoe out for trick-or-treating. She loved it despite the cold. She has been obsessed with Snow White ever since. I let her wear some lip gloss and body glitter and now she insists on wearing some every day. She is turning into quite the little princess.

She was so patient during the curling process

The finished product. Painting her nails was her idea.

Me and The Little Stinker

The Scarecrow is actually a real person. Creepy.