Crack up

We found Sarah in the kitchen with the bath and body works smelly things you can plug into the wall. I haven't used them for years and years, but Sarah found another use for them.

She wants to be just like mama!!

OUCH!

i thought i had 2 more years before i would have to make a visit to the emergency room. you know, because only little boys are supposed to spend time there. right?!

WRONG!!!

on thursday, sarah tipped over our rocking chair and crashed into the TV stand cutting open her forehead. julieann came to the rescue and watched luke (of course the day richard has a career workshop she does this) while "us 2 girls" spent the morning in the ER. she ended up getting 4 stitches. lucky for our pocketbook we still had insurance, but just barely. we'll probably remove the stitches ourselves since the insurance expires tomorrow. :(


sarah thought the ER was pretty okay until the stitch up part, since she got to lay on a bed and watch all her favorite shows she only watches on occasion at home. when it came time to stitch her up, they swaddled her so that she couldn't move and there were 3 of us holding her down. the hospital volunteer got a little queasy and had to leave the room so then i had to hold down her body myself. her face was covered and she just kept crying and hollering, "mama, i just want MY band aid back!!" over. and. over. again. due to previous experiences with band aids, where they magically make things feel better, she put 2 and 2 together and figured her band aid she had on when we got to the hospital was all she needed. luckily it doesn't take these skilled doctors long to do their business. and even more lucky, sarah was her chipper self by the time we reached the parking lot. however, we did spoil her the remainder of the day; in-n-out, diddy riese, and she got to pick out her own band aids and stickers.
sarah summed up the experience perfectly when on the way home she said, "mama, us 2 girls like it (while shaking her head)!!"

p.s.---the band aid on her arm is from the night before when she burned it on a frying pan helping me put the toppings on our omelets. nice work i know. poor girl, it's a pretty good burn too. she'll have a big rectangular scar there for sure.

SO LATE, yet so important

When it became just too far after Sarah's 2nd birthday, I just couldn't get myself to post pictures of her special day, but it was such a special weekend that I HAD to at some point. I decided that when she was 2 1/2, that would be the day. Today is the day. May 30, 2010.

Since Sarah's birthday fell only a few days after Thanksgiving and almost 2 months after Luke was born, we had all the family come to town for Thanksgiving, Sarah's party, and Luke's blessing. It was such a memorable weekend, but by the time it was all said and done, I was tuckered out and especially sick of standing in the kitchen preparing morsel after morsel after morsel!!!

For Thanksgiving, my parents and grandparents came into town from Boise. I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my parents since 2000, so it was a special occasion for me. The Johnsons came up from San Diego and the Steeles joined us for pie. We had fun, but I was so glad to have so many helping hands. Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner is a lot of work, and really, since turkey, in the form of a big bird, isn't my favorite, I might try to convince Richard of having pizza or something simpler one year.

Friday we spent preparing for Sarah's birthday party. Sarah's best friend Claire is 13 days older than Sarah and they adore one another so we combined our efforts and threw them a joint, Two 2riffic Girls are turning 2 party. SUCH FUN!!! We celebrated at Crestwood Hills Park on Saturday. The kids played, and the craft table with colored sand, stickers, and glue sticks was the hit of the party. We loved celebrating Sarah. We just plain, love Sarah! We pretty much celebrate her daily. :) Sarah's Grandpa and Grandma Atchley as well as the Arizona Atchleys came for the fun day, as well as all those we spent Thanksgiving with.

On Sunday we blessed Luke Edmon Atchley. Oh how I love this boy! The blessing was wonderful and it meant so much to have him surrounded by so many wonderful people for his big day. He didn't make a peep and looked quite stunning in his outfit. A while back Ron had been home cleaning out his closet and was going to get rid of the suit he wore on his wedding day with Adele. I kept it and used some of the fabric to make Luke his blessing pants. They turned out super cute and I love the sentimental addition.

It really was a terrific weekend, and with all the family around, we were reminded of what we were most thankful for. As I write this, the weekend doesn't sound like that much work, but I remember being completley worn out and so tired of the kitchen.

Thank you everyone for joining us for such a wonderful weekend. It really meant so much to us.

Beach Day---HOORAY!!

We spent Saturday at the beach and surprisingly, I really enjoyed myself. It could have been a perfect day if we had brought less of the sandy stuff home with us, but all in all, I'd give it 4 stars!! :)

Sarah has been all about the ocean lately and I have been trying to do more of what she needs, when she needs it and less of this..."Yes, Sarah we can do that LATER." The problem is, later never seems to come, so I have been jumping on things NOW!! It's been refreshing.

We LOADED up the stroller with all kinds of beach things: towels, flip-flops, suits, snacks, buckets and shovels, and headed out. We decided to combine our outing with exercise and ran down to the pier. Once there, we played in the sand, Sarah and Richard got fairly wet (Brrrrr), Luke tested out the water for the first time ever, we flew our kite, and we played on the playground.

The kite flying was my favorite. It really took me back to my childhood. We flew kites all the time with my dad. He was (might still be) the best kite flyer. He'd get them so high up in the sky that we had to use a power drill in order to get it back down. We didn't get our kite that high but it was SO MUCH FUN!

I am actually looking forward to our next little outing and I hope it's sooner rather than later. However, I do know I won't be going with the kids by myself anytime soon. Now, that would be crazy!!

Tour Guide

Sarah pushed Luke all the way up this hill and it has a pretty good incline. She

insisted on doing it herself and if you know Sarah well, that DOESN'T surprise you!! :)

"CHEESE!!"

"I show me Luke!"

Last night we went and walked around the Los Angeles Temple Grounds. Sarah walked and Luke was in the green umbrella stroller. It's been a long time since we've used that stroller. I know this because the last time she had to push it, she couldn't see over it and was swirving all over the place. Well, yesterday she pushed Luke perfectly. Seriously, when did she get so big? The best part however was that whatever I showed her, she would push Luke over to and tell him all about it. "I show me (you) Luke!"

She loves her brother and we love them both!

Randomness

GETTING HER INTO THE TUB, IS ALWAYS A LOT OF WORK, BUT ONCE SHE'S THERE, SHE'S BUBBLY! GET IT?!

SARAH IS VERY MUCH INTO DRESSING HERSELF. LOVE THE PLAID SHORTS WITH THE STRIPED DRESS. AND OF COURSE WHY WOULDN'T YOU WEAR THOSE SUNGLASSES TOO? RICHARD SAW HER TWIN ON HIS WAY TO WORK. HE TRIED TO GET A PICTURE BUT COULDN'T!

SMILING HAPPY BABIES!!!

We think Grandparents ROCK

We thought it was important for Luke to meet his namesake and for Great Grandpa Ernie to see his Grandson so we stopped off in Vegas on our way home from Salt Lake. It was so fun to visit him.

He's 95 years old and it usually takes him a little while to place who we are. Richard always shows him his driver's license and then the memories start coming back. "Santa Monica, that sounds familiar. Atchley, that's my last name too. You're Ronnie's son."

It took Sarah a few minutes to warm up to him, but once she did, all she wanted to do was show Grandpa Ernie her tricks. Wherever we were, he needed to be too.

I left his house with a strong feeling about the importance of grandparents. While Sarah doesn't know Ernie well, she loves him and I know this is because the grandparents she does know are amazing and treat her so kindly, that when introduced to another grandparent she knew that he must be a good person just for the fact that he's her grandpa!

Richard Ernest Atchley, Luke Edmon Atchley, Ernest Edmon Atchley

When we left sarah said, "Grandpa Ernie SO FUN!" She sure is right!!