Half a year sum up.

It’s nearly July!  That means Stephen and Lisette are both a year older and Stephen and I celebrated our 7^th wedding anniversary.  That also means a lot occurred this month.  But I’ll give a summary of everything leading to this point…

January = a haze.  Honestly I don’t remember much about that month.  February: I (Lisl) began having a lot of pain in my hand (remember the story of spraining my finger back in August?) and it was causing pain in my left arm.  We battled with Lisette getting sick on and off again; her canines were cutting through all at once and it took over 2 months for them all to FINALLY poke through.  Franklin got an ear infection in March and he still talks about Daddy taking him to the doctor.

I had to finally address the issue with my arm and hand very seriously in March.  My visit to the Orthopedics office reunited me with a familiar face.  My very first roommates’ husband; Cole Bryce, who is now Dr. Cole Bryce!  

Dr. Bryce gave me a very painful, but happily accepted shot in the arm that helped with the pain while waiting 2 weeks for surgery on her sprained finger.  Surgery was quick and the anesthesia was just right.  Grandma April came for a few days to help and after she had to return to work our amazing ward jumped in to help me through the next month.  April felt long and slow and the constant wind didn’t/hasn’t helped.  Isn’t it March that’s supposed to be windy? 

Easter was very enjoyable and fun for the kids.  Our ward had a major egg hunt at the ball fields next to the Temple.  Then we had a huge (and very rewarding for the kids) hunt in our own backyard.  Earlier this Spring we decided to expand the fence for our back yard; so we more than doubled our yard from last year and had many places to put lots of candy-filled eggs.

May began with birthdays.  We tried our best to celebrate Stephen’s birthday as work had gotten busier for him.  We also took on a project for Lisette’s birthday which included building a back porch.  Stephen did just about all the work and the Elder’s came to help put the deck together.  I was very grateful since I’m not allowed to use my left hand as much.  

June has been crazy busy.  The heat came, and the wind still insisted on battling our mood.  The second weekend we went to Gilbert for a family gathering with the Randy Quinn clan.  Their youngest son, Trevor, was baptized.  Back in Christmas they had given us tickets to see Les Miserables that very same weekend.  So we left the kids still swimming in the pool (they were being watched, don’t worry) and went to see the most amazing show!  We’ve had Les Mis stuck (very happily) in our heads for weeks.

The next weekend was supposed to be Lisl’s 10 year high school reunion and the celebration of 7 years of marriage.  Alas, Stephen was on-call and because of many different factors coming to play, we decided not to go.  I was planning on seeing some old friends still, but a fire had been threatening the area.  

My parents’ neighborhood went on Pre-evacuation and just as we decided it was time to get out of the pool to pack, another fire began just west of us.  We were surrounded by smoke on 3 sides of us, with the helicopters and airplanes practically on top of us.  Officials were so busy with battling both fires that not a lot of communication was going on and we all felt the urge to evacuate immediately.  

So I never saw my friends, and as quickly as we could manage, we all got out of there; I took two of my mom’s cats to stay with us for a week.  My parents did go on mandatory evacuation 2 days later and a few days after that they were allowed to go back home.  

The following weekend (last weekend) my high school Show Band was having a reunion.  Coach (our director, we always called him Coach) had reached 40 years of directing Show Band.  So as many who could make it got together for reminiscing and putting together a concert.  I had no intention of playing, just singing.  I actually started crying when I found out I would get to sing I was so excited.  However, at the dinner on Friday night I was told that I should play and represent my years (I was a part of Show Band from fall of ’98 to spring of ’01) and ended up playing for both decades; the 90’s band and the 00’s band. 

It was so much fun and such a blast that I never wanted it to end.  Sorry to all my fellow Buena ’01 classmates that I ditched out on.  I hope you can forgive me and I hope to see you at our 20 year reunion and I truly hope it’ll be during something like Homecoming and nowhere near my anniversary.

p.s. Stephen and I didn’t get to celebrate much, so we are hoping to get a short vacation with just the two of us in the fall when Stephen isn’t so insanely busy.  And I’ll have to get back to you about how work is all going when it’s behind us and not at our throats.

The 2010 year Newsletter

We've been desperate to get newer, up-to-date pictures on the wall.  So as I was uploading pictures I got to review 2010 in photographs, looking back on the year.

2010 was a time for change and lots of growth.  The year began for us in Lehi, Utah.  It was cold and white; just how winter should be (not without the white part).  We knew our time in Utah was coming to an end and we didn't even need to pray about where our lives should go next.  Instead, Lisl fought, argued and cried for 2 weeks, the end of January into February, about how she didn't want to move back to Thatcher, Arizona.  Half way through Feb. we made a visit to Arizona to find a place to live in Thatcher.  Our search was only 3 days but felt very long, tiring and we were afraid we'd end up in the wrong home.

On our last day of searching we gave one of the homes on our list a second glance.  With the promise of a few improvements before moving in, we signed a lease.  We hurried back to Utah with just a few days to pack up everything including the two kids and two cats and began our journey to our new home.  Just as March began we settled into a new home, a familiar ward (it was Stephen's home ward growing up and Lisl knew a few from college) and Stephen began a great new job.

April was full of family and friends, between Easter (including a horrific sunburn from being out in the hills and forgetting that Lisl actually burns in Arizona: she still has a tan line from that burn - at least we were concerned enough for Lisette since she inherited her mother's fair skin and kept her shaded) and the Gila Valley Temple Open House.  We also began to do a LOT of work around here. 

There was zero landscaping on our propery.  We had a few early rains to get an idea of what was in store for us for monsoon season with all the mud. 2 different gardens were planted; flowers and vegetables, rocks were laid for a place to park our vehicles and to walk to the door, and we tried our best to make a back lawn with lots of grass.  We then discovered the gopher problem as well.  (We know exactly what to do about all the many obstacles for this coming Spring, that's for sure)

The Open House ran on through half of May so we managed to visit twice.  All the landscaping and growing various things continued into May.  At the start of the month we celebrated Stephen's birthday and at the end of the month, our little girl turned 1! 

In June we celebrated our 6th anniversary and got in a short get away before the busy season with Stephen's job took over for the rest of the summer.  July was hectic and crazy with work for Stephen.  August became even more so, but we still managed to celebrate Franklin's 3rd birthday!  We began the potty training process with him 2 weeks before his birthday.  There were many awful accidents over the next few months and lots of back and forth with progress.

In September, Stephen's employer sent everyone on a weekend getaway to the Arizona Grand Resort and fun at the Oasis park.  It was lots of fun and very much needed since we hadn't been able to do much as a family for a few months.  Lisl had been called as the ward choir director over the summer but didn't begin practices till Sept.  At first it seemed too overwhelming and seemed as if she was in over her head, but the first performance in October went very well. 

October was still incredibly hot during the day, but the nights were just right.  We decorated our home for the season and Lisl began listening to Christmas music, for her calling (She discovered at that point that she was in charge of the entire program for the Sunday before Christmas).  Stephen was gone for half of the month, on and off.  He had testing, classes, all for work, then at the end of the month he went on a hunting trip with all of the men from the Quinn family; Stephens dad and all 4 of his brothers (first and maybe even the last time that will happen, so we are all so glad he got to go).  Halloween was a bit last minute for Lisl and the kids.  We were so happy that "Mom's mom" (that is what Franklin calls Grandma Reed) got to come and spend it with us.

November was surprisingly (and truth be told a bit disappointingly) hot.  Lisl had been asked to sing for the Jazz clinics performing for some of the World of Music classes at the college.  It was so much fun and it brought back lots of memories; almost as if we never left.  The next week was Lisl's birthday followed by Thanksgiving in Sierra Vista with Heidi Lewis (Lisl's sister) and her family.  We seriously enjoy doing things with family since that didn't happen much while we lived in Utah.

As December began the pressure was on for Lisl to complete the Christmas program.  We decorated our house and tried very hard to make it feel like Christmas since the weather was still too warm for us.  It was also during this time that Franklin seemed to fully and completely grasp the concept of, and the necessity of potty training.  We haven't rewarded him for going #1 in a while but we began giving fun size candy bars for #2.

The weekend before Christmas was very busy and went very fast.  That Saturday Lisl sang with a Jazz Combo at her cousins wedding reception.  That was definitely a treat for all and an amazing opportunity for Lisl.  The very next day was Lisl's Christmas program which went very well.  She had already began ideas for next years program.

Christmas was exciting.  The Fellers (Lisl's sister Inga and her family) came over from San Diego and Stephen got a last-second day off for Christmas Eve.  We headed to Sierra Vista a day earlier than planned and really enjoyed all that time with family, especially for all the little cousins.  On Christmas day we traveled back to Thatcher to spend the afternoon with everyone on the Quinn side.  It was so much fun to spend the holiday with so much family!  That was what made it a wonderful Christmas for us.

Happy New Year everyone!  We know that this year will be even more exciting and hopefully we will see more family, more often.

Lots of Funny Shorts

My life is a comedy, at least I'm telling myself that so that I can look back and laugh at more things than to be stressed out. Here's a few few funnies from the Quinn family.

Raise your Feet

Lisette is very flexible, it almost makes me sick.  She likes to show off her flexibility at the table by squeezing her left foot from under the table, through the small space between her belly and the table, and up on top.  Every time we have gathered at the table you will hear at some point "Lisette, foot off the table."  She usually complies.  Moments later "Lisette, foot off."  Most times if we have reached the point of asking her 3 times in a row, that foot will quickly go from under the table, to right on top in just a second flat.  "Lisette, stop... put your foot down... Lisette, no feet on the table... stop it!"  Each time that foot goes down, then right back up.  And so on.  She tests her limits; with her flexibility and her parents all in one go.  Of course sometimes Franklin joins in "Wisette, foot down!"

Gross!

We are a very affectionate family.  We hug and kiss all the time, parents and kids alike.  Stephen and I decided long ago that our kids will grow up knowing that their parents do kiss.  Stephen came home for lunch, a somewhat rare occurrence now, and as he was leaving I stopped him at the door to give him a kiss.  Franklin was standing on the couch and had been looking out with window.  Just as we kiss we hear this very loud, "Gross!!"

He actually outbursts with "Gross!" many times about random things; the cat, his sister, me, the potty, food, his room.  Makes me laugh every time I hear it.  I know he picked that up from me.  And sometimes we might hear him say "oh crap!"

Kiss it

I've been very amazed and happy at how much a kiss can cure anything.  From the non-boo boo's that don't actually hurt but need a kiss, to the fell-down-large-lump-on-skin that must hurt far more than a kiss should cure.  I've also learned that blowing a kiss can heal just as well.  Now this has happened more than how many fingers I have...  Franklin pretends to fall down a lot; such a silly boy that is just like his father.  F: "Mommy, kiss it better."  M: "Did you hurt yourself."  F: "Yeah.  Kiss it better."  M: "Where do you want me to kiss?"  F: "My butt."

Franklin decides multiple times a day that I need a kiss.  I don't mind, usually.  Every so often I lay on the floor, on my stomach.  Usually that isn't wise for anyone near toddlers and preschoolers.  Of course its only fitting that my children turn me into Mommy-playground when I did the same to my mom, especially if I give them that opportunity.  On one occasion, Franklin quickly came, nearly belly flopped on my back, and then, with his face already so close to my bum, proceeds to kiss it, "Mommy, I kiss your butt."  He has found many occasions to kiss it, while I'm doing dishes, or cooking.  Yep, that kid doesn't get the concept of personal space.

Contest

My children are very silly and can be very loud.  Every morning I usually enjoy a contest between them.  They have 3 different contests that occur daily.  At breakfast they usually have a growling contest.  Yes, growling.  It starts simple: "Grrr!" from Franklin.  "Aaarrrr!" from Lisette.  And so on until it is very loud and high.  Yep, so fun.  I was on the phone with one of my sisters once when one of these contests began.  I explain what she's hearing in the background and that its all out of fun for them.  She replies, "How cute."  I respond, "to you." 

My favorite is in the car, the "No!" contest.  Don't misunderstand.  They aren't upset, or mad at each other.  It just starts with Franklin (he's always the one to start these contests) telling Lisette, very kindly, "no".  She smiles and says it back.  Usually this one has the most laughter between them as they get louder.  However, the most common contest in the squealing.  The most disruptive and least fun.  This one often ends with Lisette mad; you can take that to mean she is losing the contest to her brother.

'Fess up

(*disclaimer, TMI in this one) I wish I could say we have 100%, accident free success with potty training Franklin.  However, he's had a very recent and happy breakthrough with going poop in the potty every time when he's already up for the day and in underwear.  Our biggest struggle with him was getting him to tell the difference between passing gas and needing to poop.  He'd constantly announce, "Poop, mommy!" as he releases gas.  Not too fun when in the middle of a store and he says it loudly.  Now he'll say "Mommy, skinky!" when he farts or "Wisette skinky" when she has a bad diaper.  Not long ago I wasn't sure where the stink came from and I asked in general, "who farted?"  Franklin laughs and with his very excited enthusiasm "I farted mommy!" all proud of himself.  At least he doesn't get embarrassed, yet.

Christmas!

Though it hardly feels like winter; wearing shorts, T-shirts and flip flops, and running the ceiling fan in the middle of the day because of the heat, we are so happy to see Christmas lights.  Around 5:30 every evening, it is dark and the lights come on.  If we happen to be out and about, every home we pass with lights is announced, each one as enthusiastic as the next, "Christmas!" by Franklin.  He used to say "Snowman!" to everything Christmas.  Not sure where that came from, but we've been working on it.  I suppose he misses the snow as much as I do though.

Take Nap

Franklin is obsessed with the Wii.  And we don't let him play it as often as you might think, mostly because of his obsession.  It started to become our way of talking him into a nap.  Yes, he is 3 years old, but that boy still shows signs of really needing a nap just about everyday.  So now he says every day, "Mommy, play Wii, take a nap."  I ask him if he wants a nap and he'll say, "Yes, play Wii, take a nap!"  Nope, sorry kid.  Its the other way around.  Of course if he does take a nap, he doesn't forget that we made that deal.  The first words out of his mouth always are "Play Wii!!!"  Sometimes he even pretends to take a nap, but we are not fooled. 

Of course we even started using it as an incentive to leave Grandma's house, or where ever we might be and he doesn't want to leave.  We don't even mention it anymore and he'll still be happy to leave, all the while saying "Go home, play Wii."  Maybe once a week we actually let him play.

I have resorted to letting him watch a show in his room, with the curtains down, white noise low, and in bed.  Sometimes that is the only way I can get him to sleep.  He's like his dad, he can fall asleep watching something.  However, the doesn't work for Lisette.  When we're in the car, she will fight hard (and win) to stay awake if there is a movie on. But once its off, that girl is out.  It doesn't matter for Franklin though.

Mommy's Stress Ball

It's large, bouncy and green.  It helps me stress release at times and can be a lot of fun.  It also happens to be enjoyed by both the kids.  Franklin will bring, or toss, me this big green, bouncy ball and I will proceed to peg him with it.  Lisette will even go get the ball and throw, or hand, it back.  Yes, I toss this ball at my kids, as they laugh with delight and even try to hit me back.  They even try to hit each other with it.  Of course if they pick up any other ball to use they are quickly corrected, hopefully no harm done, and we all enjoy play time with mommy's giant stress ball.

Gabriel's Oboe

This one may not be funny, but it is unusual, though it makes me very happy.  We aren't very successful in taking away Lisette's dependence with her pacifier or animal blanket.  More like our dependence, I suppose.  She can scream and fight like no one's business when we are in the car, without her two items, and she is tired.  However, we turn on The Mission soundtrack, and play "Heaven on Earth" featuring "Gabriel's Oboe" and she instantly calms down.  So we listen to that song, a LOT.  Good thing its such a beautiful piece and I'm obsessed with the oboe. 

I should probably add right here that, thanks to Geoff DeSpain (band director at EAC), I have an oboe in my possession and have begun playing again.  I hope to play with the Symphony Orchestra next semester and I feel that I'm making good progress right now.  I've also began singing again.  Last month I sang at the college for 5 classes, doing a Jazz clinic with the Safford High Jazz Band and the Gila Jazz Connection for the World of Music classes.  This weekend I will be singing at a wedding with Tom Sullivan (my old band director: pianist for Gila Jazz Connection)!

Hope some of these made you laugh! 

Terrible two better not last 2 whole years

So much going on and so many stories to share. I realize that I am failing horribly on the writing blogs multiple times a week thing. And since there is so much, I'm going to shorten as much as I can so that you all can keep up and not get overloaded.

We started painting in the kitchen. Mostly just the cabinets but its a huge improvement. And, no, we're not done. Stephen was gone a lot during October. He had NATE classes and testing, a 4 day long Comfort Adviser training and workshop, and the hunt. He enjoyed all of it, apart from stressing out about his test and we will know the results of it soon. All that time of course left me at home with the kids and Franklin is DEEP into his "terrible twos" now. Two words for you: NOT fun.

I've opened up a new shop on Artfire. I'm very excited about this new shop, there are fewer fees and it takes far less time to upload and create on it. I've also been working hard on updating new photos for everything. Its been a lot of work, but we are serious about my business and enjoy it very much. We hope to get an LLC this coming spring!

Now on to the good stuff everyone wants to hear.

Lisette has been very fun, funny and oh so daring. That girl can get running, without really wanting to. She turns 18 months this month but has been going to nursery already. She can push back when pushed and is an eating machine. We went to Casa when my parents visited me (on Stephen's hunting trip) and my mom was feeding her beans. She wasn't being fed fast enough, so she got her own fork, turned it around and used the handle part to scoop up the beans and feed herself.

My favorite thing Lisette does is putting herself to bed. I was rearranging Franklin's room while he was playing at Grandma's. Lisette was refusing to nap until she was so tired she couldn't fight it anymore. I gave her her giraffe blanket and she climbed onto Franklin's bed and instantly fell asleep. Ever since, at night when she's "put down" to bed, we don't let her out. She plays in her room till she's ready to sleep. She'll fall asleep in the just-crawled-into-bed position. Very funny! I LOVE that she's great with her toddler bed. I made a few adjustments to it myself. Its working out great, looks better and is completely safe.

Franklin has been getting into so much; and most of that is trouble. A wise woman once told me, when Franklin was starting his terrible twos before he was 2, that, "Its not called Terrible Two's because it starts at age 2. No. Its called that because it lasts for 2 years." It has almost been 2 years since that wonderful, angelic, can-do-no-wrong little Franklin disappeared and the wrath of Franklin began. It has been tolerable until now. He throws the most dramatic, emotional fits over something as little as not wearing the right colored bib, or putting on the wrong pajamas, to him calling our home "Grandpa Reeds house" and me correcting him saying, "No, this is our house".

He has been a HUGE bully to Lisette. Good thing she pushes back. He will hit her just because she was in arms reach. He'll forcibly take something from her, or push her off of things. Remember those two words? Not fun! There's been a LOT of crying here. But don't worry, there are a few funny stories of Franklin to share, as well as some good.

I had Franklin screened at Brighter Day Preschool. His non-sense way of talking has caused problems at home with his highly emotional state. Though most of you love and adore Franklinese, I don't, at least not as much as I used to. His screening went well. He ranks average for his age with speech on single words. They did tell me that when Franklin uses sentences he gets ahead of his thinking. That's why he understands me, but I don't understand him. He is very smart though, knows his ABC's very well, and can count to 15 (working on higher numbers) without trouble, though he likes to get ahead of himself counting sometimes too.

Franklin has been a sneaky devil to top it all off. A week before Halloween we made sugar cookies with some friends. It was fun, but I forgot to put those cookies away. Franklin gets up before me, all quiet like, and helped himself to all the ones that were frosted and a few of the not frosted ones. 2 mornings later he saw bags of candy on the table. Tried opening one bag; no success, but lots of evidence that he tried. The other bag had been opened, and wrappers from half of the candy was strewn about the floor.

3 mornings later he rummaged through my junk drawer in the kitchen where I had Smarties hidden for when he did good deeds and hid in the corner of the dinning room to eat them. Would have gone unnoticed if I didn't catch stupid Rizzo trying to eat the plastic wrappers. Nearly a week later he gets banana bread off the counter, pulls the plastic wrapping back and tore off chunks to eat. That last one I thought was his dad being in a hurry to get out the door but Stephen let me know he had nothing to do with it. Needless to say, all the Halloween candy they collected at Trunk or Treat on Saturday is hidden in my closet and daily the child-proof gate is put up in our bedroom doorway. No way is he helping himself to all that with his track record. And because I never saw him actually do any of it, he never got in trouble for it, but I know it was him.

Here's a few pictures of the past month. Enjoy and sorry that this still ended up being long but thanks for sticking with me!