My Ballerina Girl!

Well this adventure all started months ago. Yes, months. We couldn't find a preschool that fit our needs for Anna this year, so we decided to enroll Anna in a different activity instead and save school for next year. We did a bit of research and a lot of watching the Olympics to decide just what our sweet girl should dabble in. She really, really, really wanted to be a ballerina. While getting ready to enroll though, we discovered that there was also a gymnastics class available. I gave her the choice of either class and this was her real response: "Well, nastics is tricks AND dance, but ballet is dance for princesses." Therefore, ballet was the clear winner. So, we enrolled her. And thus began, "Mommy, is it ballet day?" Every day. For months. Imagine her excitement when last Friday, September 12th at 6:43 a.m. she crept into my room and in the sweetest 3 year old early morning whisper she said, "Mommy, is it ballet day?" and FINALLY, I could answer her with as much excitement as I could, "Yes, honey, today is ballet day." Little did I know she would be antsy for the next 3 hours until it was time to go. Fortunately, that gave us plenty of time to get her clean and ready and have a fantastic photo shoot. I really think the getting ready and celebrating a big first for her was more fun than the class itself. As a second child, I imagine it is hard to watch big brother have so many firsts while waiting for your own to come. And at long last, it has come. My little girl has become a big girl. A ballerina at that. She can now venture off into her own class and leave Mommy behind in the hall with the babies. Man, how time does fly. I was just so glad to have this moment as the mother of a very girly girl (I was a total tomboy) and to dote on her and watch her excitement. It was such a magical morning. Hopefully you can tell that from the pictures. I think this one will be etched in my mind forever. Maybe one day she will get to do the same for her daughter. Oh, how I love my Anna Kathleen.

Her smile once Mommy got the bun all done. It only took me 2 tries and she immediately told me it was as good as if her Aunt Kiki (the hair guru in her mind) had done it. Phew!

The back of the hair. Seriously, what a masterpiece I created. I was so proud of myself.

Her first pose for the camera. She was just getting warmed up.

What perfect arms she has. Also, notice the adorable leotard. We had to choose between 2 at Target. In the dressing room, she immediately went up on her tiptoes and twirled in the mirrors to decide which one was prettiest. The skirt on this one pushed it into top place. I think 6 of the other 8 ballerinas had it too.

She looks like Jake with all her ribs showing.

Quite possibly my favorite picture of the day. She stopped posing to look outside. For some reason, I love it even more than some of the ones of her looking at me. Maybe it is the masterful hair?!? No, I just love her little profile.

Dad, can I put on my jacket yet? Is it time to go yet? How much longer? We don't want to be late, Mom! Hurry up!The warm up outfit. It was raining, so thankfully we had a warm up outfit like all real ballerinas do! It took awhile to convince her she had to wear her Crocs to the studio and not her ballet slippers. The rain doesn't hurt shoes, Mom!

A preview of what she'll look like coming down the stairs for Prom! AHHH!
She kept posing and posing so Bart kept shooting the pictures. Now she has lipstick on too!

The lips MUST be shiny too!

My sweet girls in their warm up outfits. Oh man, I love them!
Almost a smile on Rachel's face. This may be the closest one we have. It makes Anna look so grown up to me.Rachel started squealing about now.
We convinced our friend, Claire, to take the class with us. They look a little nervous going in. I couldn't get them to smile. We were laughing pretty hard as we said goodbye and sent them in to meet Miss Nicole.

Afterwards, the smiles came more easily, but they were a bit distracted by the butterfly stamps they got on their hands!All in all, it was one of the best days ever. I was completely exhausted before we got there, but what a special day for a special girl. I wonder if she really will grow up to be a ballerina. It used to be her aspiration to be a cheerleader, so I like this direction a bit better. I bet it will be some type of performing....I wonder where on earth she got that from?

Our little daredevils at Elitch Gardens!

We were lucky to come into a couple of free tickets for Elitch Gardens a few weeks ago. It turned out that 3 year olds were free and so we were excited that Dad would be able to take both kids to the Amusement Park. Naturally, he would need a little help to make sure that they could ride every ride in the park, so Nana went along to help out. Mom and Rachel had a great afternoon at home cleaning the house! They came home completely worn out from a gorgeous Fall Day at the park. Bart took so many great pictures so I picked a few (okay, a lot) to put on the blog here. I love watching the true happiness that can only come from spending the day together having fun! I wish I could have been there too. Soon enough Rachel, soon enough.


Anna at the top of the Mile High City in the Ferris Wheel....Mile High Stadium in the background of course.Jake steers Anna towards the fun. I like this one because my Dad used to do that to me when I was little. By the way, I told her that she had to have braids so her hair wouldn't get stuck in the rides. Hope I haven't scarred her for life!

This was Jake's favorite ride...the spinning balloons. Annie liked it too. They went several times in a row.

If you squint and look closely you can see how hard they are laughing. It makes me laugh to look at it.

No amusement park is complete without the boat ride is it?

The jungle gym.

My little rule keeper, Anna. Look at her feet. Apparently she thought she had to keep her feet on the marks and stood that way the entire time she waited. I love it.

Are you ready to spin?

Glad this isn't the real school bus that high up there.

They loved the swings. I love that ride too. Look at the smiles.

Seriously, how cute.

Can we get moving yet?

Nana braved the spinning balloons with Anna, but had to make her stop a few times so she didn't throw up.

This picture sums up the day, according to Bart. Jake HATED the roller coaster and Anna ate it up. Anna went on every ride and anything remotely scary, while Jake played it a bit safer and stayed close to the ground and safety. I think Anna will always be the daredevil when it comes to this stuff. She always wants to prove how tough she is. Oh man, the looks are priceless.

House Decorating 101

Well, we are finally getting moved in and cleaned up and now I have the pictures to prove that at one point in time, my house was all clean! My parents and my sister, Karin, her husband, Sean, and cute little Everett took a jaunt through beautiful Wyoming to get to our house last month. They were amazing enough not only to drive, but to pull a trailer with a new dining room table for us. It is my grandparents old table and is still in great condition. I have NEVER had a nice table and never had a dining room to put it in either! It was so fun to move things around and to decorate a bit. Karin, Sean, John and Linda were such troopers to help me decide and to give opinions and sweet Bart climbed a ladder a few times and hung a few things too. It made our house feel so much more like a home in one short weekend. We did some other fun things too, but my Dad took all those pictures. All in all, we were so glad that they came to visit. We had fun at the pool, the butterfly pavilion, shopping, celebrating Grandpa's birthday and of course, decorating the house. I have a long way to go, but thanks to their help, it is at least a start! So, here are some pictures of the house!
Jacob's room with the new cute, on-sale curtains! This is me standing in the dining room doorway looking into the kitchen and then into the family room on the other side of the sink.
Now I am standing in the family room looking back at that doorway (into the dining room). The step in the picture leads to the living room and the front door.
This is the little decorator box above the fireplace in the family room (back by the kitchen). I have redecorated it a million times, so this is it for now until I acquire something better for the space.
Now you can see the whole fireplace. I love this one, but really miss the real wood burning one we had in Maryland. My sister-in-law, Beth, got me hooked on real fires!
Here I am standing in the entry way looking into our living room. To the left are the stairs. To the right is the dining room. This area was the masterpiece my family helped me to create. I have a thing for turquoise blue right now, so I adore this piece from my favorite store, Home Goods. Imagine how excited I was to learn they have them in Colorado AND are building one about 3 miles from my house. Wahoo!

Standing at the edge of that step in the living room looking into dining room with my new table and curtains and the picture that my adorable love hung for me! One room is finished!
This was the other masterpiece my family helped me with. I had started it, but they helped me add a couple of other things. Bart stood on the ladder listening to WAY too many opinions before we got it just right. This area is right above the coat closet and to the left of the stairs.
And here are the stairs....2 bedrooms to the right, bathroom at the top of them and 2 bedrooms to the left.
Standing at the top of the stairs looking down into the living room.

There aren't pictures of the girls' room as we are waiting to get the curtains hung (hopefully this weekend!) and I haven't even started thinking about our room. Well, I think about it but you know how projects are.....and thus concludes the Williams Family Home Tour for now! So, for those of you bugging me about pictures, enjoy these while you can!

Labor Day Special...

Well, this post isn't much yet, but hoping to add pictures of the kids this weekend while at the in-laws and have a chance to use the internet. I am also committed to Bart to giving up Diet Coke and the disgusting amount of money we waste on it to improve our cable and internet situation. Alas, this gives me hope that I will one day be back to blogging paradise. Which brings me to the question that I have been contemplating ---which would you rather have at home--more channels to watch Football on (and other fun shows too) or the internet? Just a quick poll to prove to my sweet lover that I am right yet again! We'll see if you all agree with me or him! More to come, I promise!

Trying to catch up!

Well, I have obviously been absent, but through no fault of my own. We don't have internet at our house and that just makes it near impossible to add to a blog. I can do it at my in-laws house when we are there on the weekends, but we aren't always there. So, that is my excuse. Anyway, we just played at the pool before the heat advisory went into effect yet again, so here we are cooling off inside and Bart had actually put a few pics on the computer. So, we'll start with a couple of my favorites from Bear Lake back in June, followed by a few of Rachel who is big enough to eat cereal and veggies now, and then a couple from just yesterday when we discovered a new fun beach right by us. We called yesterday our "almost Maryland" day. We had a small beach at the reservoir and some sno-cones that were almost like sno-balls. Jake and Annie were disappointed that there weren't any crabs there, but we had a great day together. Can't wait to go back again! So, without further adieu, here are the pictures!
The cousins from oldest to youngest, Tillie (holding Kate), Samara (holding Darla), Jacob, Isaak, Jack, Anna (holding Rachel), Everett and Jonah at Bear Lake in June.
The 3 dads holding the girls in matching "Daddy's girl" shirts. L to R: TJ with Kate born May 2008, Bart with Rachel born March 2008, and Erik with Darla born Dec 2007. It will be so fun to have them all 2.5 months apart as they grow up. What gorgeous girls...I guess the Dads aren't half bad either.
Jake and Rachel on the 4th of July before ward pancake breakfast, neighborhood parade and a day of swimming. Of course we topped it off with a BBQ and fireworks. I have never been so tired, I swear! Anna isn't pictured in her red, white and blue due to her temperment at the time.
Rachel's first cereal...what a cute face. She wasn't sure at first and now I can't get it in fast enough. So far she loves sweet potatoes and squash too. Man, how time flies. I love how she looks so serious. I guess eating is serious business when you aren't in control of when you get to eat!Jacob was all thumbs up for his day at the beach. He didn't want to stop for long, but I liked his pose!
And here is adorable Anna, man are we in trouble, or what?!?My sweet and HOT husband holding Rachel in the shade! What a fun day we had, can't wait to do it again soon!

A Crazy Few Months!

We went last Saturday to the Parker Country Festival. We had no idea it was such a big deal--way more stuff than we anticipated. It was SUPER hot and so we spent some time on the rides and then headed home for drinks and air conditioning! Anna was so proud to be able to go on the rides by herself. Just look at her smile!

I took this picture (above) to mark that Rachel had turned 2 months old. Obviously I am at least a month behind in photos. Anna couldn't stay away, so here is a cute one of the two cutest sisters we know! Since then, Rachel has started smiling, laughing and chewing on her hands all the time. We love watching her grow.
Nana and Papa were so good to us, they took Jacob and Anna to the school fair for a night. Bart, Rachel, and I got to go out for the evening, which was a great break for us all. Among all the food, they got to ride a pony, get their faces painted (anna decided against it), ride a train, and dunk a few of the teachers. At the end of the night, they were all exhausted, but Jacob's Tiger face was too cute to pass up the photo op. They slept so well that night! Thanks Nana and Papa!
Here is a "pre-blessing" picture. I got Rachel all dressed and put a bib on her so she wouldn't spit up on the dress. It was such a great day and Bart did a wonderful job with the blessing. We were so glad to have Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, Sissy, and our friends, the Larsens there for our special day. And to our surprise, we were EARLY for church and got to sit in the nice seats! Wow!Nana and Papa with Rachel. Look at her cute eyes!



Thanks to Stephanie, we have some great family pictures before the nice clothes were exchanged for play clothes! We have a great family! I love them all!
I think Rachel is the most blonde and has the most hair of any of the kids. What a special day and I love our pictures on our new front porch. Look at my model, Anna, too. Oh, how they crack me up! So, there is a short update on us, hope to try and be more regular now. We'll see how that goes!

A Grateful Heart

Well, I have obviously ignored my blog for far too long, and I don't have pics ready for this post, but wanted everyone to know how grateful I am for my blessed life. Really truly, I am blessed. Since my last post we have moved to our new home and been adjusting to life in a new place yet again. It has helped my kids to settle down and we are hoping to get this routine thing down. We had Bart home for 2 whole weeks to help move and unpack which was so great. We were bummed when he headed back to work. I also took Rachel to Utah to meet my family and enjoyed a weekend of my siblings. It never seems like there is enough time, but it was so nice to take a quick weekend jaunt and to focus on just Rachel. Kudos to my husband for braving the weekend with Jacob and Anna...which he later admitted was harder than he thought it would be! Ha! I knew it! Anyway, shortly after my return, my parents were scheduled to come for Rachel's baby blessing. However in one of the top worst phone calls, my parents called Wed night to let me know that my Mom wasn't allowed to fly. It didn't sink in for a few minutes but out came the details of my Mom's recent medical issues. I had known about them and along with a couple of siblings been pushing her to go to the doctor. It is really too long of a story to tell, but my Mom's heart muscle wasn't moving in one place and they figured she had a mild heart attack about 2 weeks before hand. They were keeping her in Utah to do an angiogram and angioplasty the next day. Turns out she had to wait until Friday with all of us in tears and stressed beyond belief. When they did get in there, she was 99% blocked and literally would have died if she had come over to see us. All of the "what ifs" have definitely been going through my mind. The procedure went extremely well and they placed a stint that is doing an excellent job and they are certain she will not have to do bypass at this point. Definitely some lifestyle changes, but those we can handle. And then about an hour after my Mom got home from the hospital, she got the call that my adorable sister in law, Sarah, who has been on bedrest for a couple of weeks, was ready to deliver 2 weeks early! They were concerned about her and decided to go ahead with the induction and get this baby here. In one of the longest and most difficult labors from what I am hearing, she managed to get the baby here on Sunday morning. I believe something like 20 hours later. She had a beautiful baby girl that weighed the same as our Rachel. In the end, everyone in my family seems to be doing well, but this has definitely led to some contemplation about my life. How grateful I am for a Mom that I care so much about that I was literally physically sick and had to call my in-laws (who are also amazing) to come and help me out. I am so grateful for her example and undying love for our family. I am grateful for her words of inspiration when I need them most. I am grateful she lets us make fun of her and has such a great sense of humor. I am grateful and frustrated both that I am turning into parts of her sooner than I anticipated. I am grateful that in my time of need, I could pray to my Father in Heaven. I am grateful that I was able to be comforted. I am grateful for my 6 year old soon who immediately said 3 prayers during my one phone call and another one when I was done. I am grateful for his sweet innocence and yet deep understanding of the situation and reassurance that Grandma would go right to heaven if something happened. He knows more than I do sometimes! I am grateful that we could have a new baby in the family as well and the feelings that evokes in me too. It seems that within about a 48 hours window of time we had a chance to glance at both ends of the spectrum--that of life ending and that of a life beginning--and how rare an opportunity that is. I am grateful that everything turned out the way it did and for the lessons and thoughts that I know I have learned. I am grateful for my crazy family that drives me nuts at times (and me too) and yet for the closeness that we share and the ability we have to pull together when it counts the most. I have been surrounded by them in times of need probably more than my fair share and yet they still come. Aren't families the best and most amazing? I guess that makes this entry come full circle to my title and the grateful heart that I hold and for my Mom's heart and this new baby's heart. What an amazing and integral part of our bodies and our lives. May we all realize how blessed we are...even when my house is a mess, the kids are dirty, and I am tired! And I promise pictures soon!