BFF's

So, we were able to spend a MONTH in Utah visiting my family. The best part about staying for an extended period of time was my kids getting to know their grandparents a little bit better. Jolie warmed right up to my dad and now they're BFF's!

"I'd rather be spinach!"

Here is a conversation I over heard Ethan having with his friend...

Friend: "I'd rather be dead than in a coma for the rest of my life. I wouldn't want to be a vegetable."

Ethan: "I'd rather be a vegetable. (pause) I would be spinach! I love spinach!"

Good choice Ethan! Keep eating your spinach and you'll be strong like Popeye!

Sink, Swim...or Float!

Okay, so this being swimming season and all, I thought I would try to start exercising so I wouldn't be too embarrassed sporting a bathing suit in my backyard this Summer. I know, it's kind of late to START exercising if I want to get into good enough shape to feel confident, but better late than never, right? I figured the big kids are out of school, so they can stay home and watch the little ones while I go for a run etc. Well, I got dressed to go running, then decided to go for a swim instead. Water aerobics is supposed to be a good work out, right? The funny thing is, I DON"T KNOW HOW TO SWIM!!!

Lucky for me, I was able to hitch a ride with this friendly crocodile! I kicked back and forth across the pool for a while, floating on this little guy. I didn't want to get my freshly colored hair wet. Well, I got my hair wet, so I figured "what the heck", and I attempted to swim a few laps. My doggy paddle just wasn't cutting it, and I swallowed a bit of water. In the process I discovered that our pool isn't that deep, and I can touch the bottom all the way across, so then I decided to RUN back and forth across the pool. Needless to say, I didn't move very quickly and I wasn't getting the results that I wanted. Feeling a little defeated, I gave up on trying to "feel the burn", and instead I inhaled a big, deep breath, laid back, and floated around on my back for a while. Although I didn't have the experience that I originally desired, I got a whole different, equally rewarding one instead. It was so relaxing listening to the birds singing in the trees, the distant sound of a neighbor's lawnmower, and just looking up at the sky. I was out there, alone with my thoughts, floating around. It was so nice!

This is what it looked like.

So now I've decided that I'm going to go for a run, then come home and float around in the pool for a while. That's a great combination! I'll be able to get the work out that I wanted, and then unwind and meditate for a while.

Guitar Gang

Here are Ethan and a bunch of his friends with their guitars under our tree out front. This is how they spent their Memorial Day. Aidan's even rocking out with his Guitar Hero guitar. They say they're going to form a band. This will be the cover for their first album.

Just Because She's So Darn Cute!!!

I Want My Mullett Back!

So, I've been known to wear these pop-in hair extensions from time to time, and as I was taking them out the other day, my son Ethan asked me to put them in his hair so he could have a mullett.






His hair is blonde, and so straight and coarse, so they didn't really blend very well(or at all), but it just looked so funny!


Not to be left out, Aidan had to get in on the action. Here he is playing his air guitar. Billy Ray Cyrus, eat your heart out!

Jolie Turns Two!!

Happy 2nd birthday to our sweet Jolie Olivia! How did we get so lucky to be blessed with such a beautiful, sweet, smart, happy girl? We are so grateful to have you in our family. You have brought so much joy to our lives. You are growing up so quickly! I can't believe you're two years old already! What a special girl you are! You have got such a sweet disposition. You are always so happy and smiling...and laughing! What a laugh you have! You have the funniest personality. The best part about it is that you KNOW you're funny. You are so observant and smart. Here are a few of the things you are into these days...
You love to sing songs. Your favorite songs to sing are "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", "Rock-a-bye Don't You Cry", "Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree", "The Wheels On the Bus", "Ring Around the Rosies", etc. You've also got a few not so kid-friendly songs in your repertoire, such as (1)-"All the Single Ladies" by Beyonce. You sing the "Oh, Oh, Oh" part, and you wave your hand back and forth like she does in the music video. (2)-"Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas. You roll your hands around and sing "I like a boom boom boom, I like a boom boom boom." (3)-"Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. You try to sing the words "poker face" at the same time she does, but the whole p-p-p-poker face thing confuses you. You just love music and singing and dancing. You've got some nice moves. You love to watch Elmo and Dora and the Wonder Pets on TV. You have your Elmo movie that you love to watch, VHS because we still live in the dark ages, and you'll just go pop it in and watch it whenever you want. You're a little tomboy since you play with your big brother, Aidan, all day. Instead of pretending to be a princess, you pretend to be Spiderman. You fight and wrestle and make fake sound effects. At the same time, you are so cute and girly. You play "Mommy" with your baby dolls, you love to do my hair, and you get into my make-up all the time. You haven't discovered the Disney Princesses yet. You wont sit through a full-length movie. You are little miss independent. You insist on dressing yourself. You get so frustrated when both of your legs get stuck in the same pant leg, but you try to stand up and wear them anyways. You are a little parrot-you repeat EVERYTHING! You have an extensive vocabulary. You can express yourself perfectly. I can seriously have a conversation with you. You also use a few signs (More, please, thank you, milk, bread, poop, Mom, Dad, pig, elephant etc.). You are so polite and always use such nice manners. When you talk to me, you end every sentence with "Mom". "Okay, Mom", "Thank you, Mom", "I promise, Mom", "Hello, Mom!" etc. It's so cute! It makes me love my name, Mom. You are obsessed with cheese. You would eat Popsicles all day. You love your pink milk, and you have to shake it up all by yourself. You actually love hot, spicy food. You love the water! You lay back in the bathtub so your hair floats around, and you say, "I'm a mermaid!" You love to play hide-n-seek. You count like this, "One, seven, nine, ready not here I come!" You will stay in your hiding spot, which is usually under the covers of my bed, so quietly and hold so still. I pretend that I can't find you and you start laughing, but you try to laugh quietly so I won't find you. You sound like Ernie from Sesame Street. You still suck on your two fingers, and like to play with your hair. If I ever have my hair in a ponytail, you take it out so you can play with MY hair. When it's time for bed, you have to give EVERYONE a kiss. Even Eddie, our dog. You are always the one that reminds us to say prayers. You fold your arms and say, "Heavenly Father,". Sister, I could go on and on, and I already have, but I just love you so much I can't stand it!!! Happy birthday sweetheart! I'm so glad you are my daughter.

Fountain Hills

A couple weeks ago we went up to Fountain Hills. No big deal, but we had so much FUN!!! There's a HUGE fountain that goes off every hour for about fifteen minutes in the middle of a lake filled with ducks. Aidan(4) saw it and said, "That's a geyser!" Yes, he's a genius! We picked up some KFC and just hung out at the big park there. They had an area with all of the squirty water things that the kids had fun in.

And there were SWEET statues to pose on.

The weather was beautiful, there was a nice breeze, people were roller blading, walking their dogs, laying on blankets and making out. Oh, nix that last one. Anyways, we will go back. It's one of our new favorite places, and it's only 1/2 hour away.

Sponge Curler Head Jolie

Sponges don't only live in a pineapple under the sea...they live on Jolie's head!!! Seriously people, who uses sponge curlers anymore? They still make those things? Where do you get sponge curlers? Well, I found them in the bottom of a box, left over from when Avery was little.- Yep, I tortured her too. I actually think I got them at the Dollar Store. I used to HATE it when my mom would put sponge curlers in my hair. In my third grade school picture I have ugly sponge curler hair. They make your hair so much shorter...and FRIZZY. I just have to tell you the reasoning behind my decision to "pass the sponge ". Jolie's hair has gotten a little out of control. It's getting long and stringy, and her bangs are always in her eyes. She walks around with her head tilted back so she can see out from under them. I put her hair in cute pigtails every day, but she likes to twist her hair while she sucks on her fingers, so she always pulls them out. I cut her bangs a few times, but she ended up with "square bang syndrome" and looked a little dorky. When we moved back to Mesa there were SO MANY cute little girls in our ward with the CUTEST stacked haircuts. I took her to the salon to get her hair cut, but she pitched a fit and we were out of there in two minutes flat. So, I'm going through boxes on Saturday and I come across a little, plastic, zip-up bag full of sponge curlers. The wheels in my head started a'turnin, and before I knew it, I had pulled a Lois and stuck my kid in sponge curlers. She sat so still and let me put them in. I was sure she would pull them out so she could twist her hair to go to sleep, but in the morning they were all still in tact and VOILA - Sponge Curler Hair!!! Or S-C-H as I like to call it. It actually turned out pretty cute.

It's May Sird!

Happy, happy birthday to my beautiful cousin Shareen! I was lucky enough to live next door to her my whole childhood. She's the closest thing I have to a little sister. When she was little and you would ask her when her birthday was she would say, "May sird!" She's all grown up now with FIVE kids of her own. She is such a great mom, canner extraordinaire, and just an all-around great gal. She is a ball of energy and talks a mile a minute. She is HILARIOUS and has kept me laughing with her belching on command, Firemarshall Bill impersonations, and especially her SWEET dance moves! I love you Shar, and I can't wait to spend some time with you this Summer!

New Blog Address

I had to create a new blog. For some reason my computer would always freeze on my old blog, so I imported all of my old posts over to this one. I've got my computer working again - for now - so I'll try to get on the ball with the blogging again. All you private bloggers - add me to your lists with the new e-mail account chapmanblog@hotmail.com. I'm getting so frustrated because I can't get to you.

This One's Gonna Be A Doozy!

It's been over TWO MONTHS since I last blogged! My computer pooped out on me, but now (thanks to Ann and Steve) I am able to blog again! HALLELUJAH!!! I seriously went through some major blogging withdrawals, but time heals all wounds and it got easier each day. I am so excited to get back on the blogging horse! I can't wait to see what ya'll have been up to! I've got two months worth of stuff to catch up on, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the little ride I like to call CHAPMANIA!



October




Ethan was one out of only three fourth graders in his school to get straight A's in the first quarter! He's so responsible. He comes home from school every day and gets his homework done without being reminded.












Avery also got straight A's! She's only in sixth grade, but at her school they change classes like a junior high, so she has seven different classes. She has adapted to the schedule very well. Look how miniature she is. I really do feed her.










Avery had a choir concert. She was SOOO nervous, but she looked so cute up there smiling and doing the little actions. She did a great job!







This is the only picture I got of Halloween. The batteries died in my camera, but you can sort of tell that Jolie was a lion, Ethan was a scary hockey man, Avery put together this last-minute punk rocker get-up, and Aidan is a caterpillar - he went through a few other costumes, and this is what he decided on. We didn't have any trouble keeping track of him in that bright green outfit.






November

Three of David's beautiful sisters, Kelly, Liz and Ann, had birthdays this month and we were able to go out to lunch to celebrate with them. I didn't have a lot of cash to get them presents, so I had to get creative. I channeled Maria from "the Sound of Music", and turned my extra curtain pannels into aprons for each of them.

TWILIGHT! Avery and I went to the 9:50 showing on the 21st with Avery's friend Chyanne and her mom, Pam, and sister, Matracia. We got there 2 hours early and were already behind about 200 other die-hard Twilight fans. We had a fun time and enjoyed the movie. We can't wait for the next one to come out, but rumor has it our favorite guy, Taylor Lautner, may not be playing Jacob Black this time around. BOYCOTT! Start a petition! (All you Edward fans had better ZIP IT!!!)

We got to go up to Utah to visit my family for Thanksgiving! We had a great time catching up and eating lots and lots of delicious food!







We went to visit my cousin, Shareen, and her husband, Kevin and their kids while we were there. They have a farm with all sorts of fun animals, so my kids had a blast! I must admit, I had a great time too.

December

My mom's birthday was on December 2nd. I love my mom! Everyone loves my mom! I'll have to do a separate, special blog about her. I'm trying to hurry and get this blog finished and she deserves a little more thought and time. As does my Aidan who turned four on December 6th. Stay tuned... many more blogs to come. I also had a birthday this month. The big 3-0! Yep, that's right, twenty-something no more. I've been dreading this one, but it came and went without a hitch. We had a big birthday dinner the weekend before for myself and David's sister, Amy, who turned 40 this month. Thanks to Ann for organizing it!

My sister, Diana, and her daughter, Rowan were even able to fly in from Utah to be here for it! Here are just a few pictures from the fun night.

There's the past two months in a nutshell. I've got many more blogs to do, but they'll have to wait until another day. Christmas is just a few days away, so I'm sure there'll be many more, but I'm only one woman people.

My Marlboro Man!

In an effort to remain at the top of your "most recently posted" blog lists, I have been trying to post a blog every day! It's also a way to pass the time while I'm busy not cleaning my house, and neglecting my children.

I'm sure many of you are familiar with http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. I know you are because I see it all over your blogs! On this sight the author of the blog, Ree Drummond, a country mom and housewife, shares her delicious recipes and beautiful photography, along with helpful hints and entertaining stories. It's my new favorite sight to go to. Growing up on a small farm myself, I'm a country girl at heart, and her pictures make me feel at home. She's living my dream life. Anyways, my favorite feature on her sight is "LOVE STORY - Black Heels to Tractor Wheels". Here she shares the story of how she met and fell in love with "Marlboro Man", which is what she calls her husband. It has been so fun to read! She has the funniest personality and has done a great job of writing it. Every couple weeks she'll add a new chapter to the story. I started reading it the other night, and I couldn't stop! I'm all caught up now and can't wait for the next installment! It's worse than waiting for the next Twilight book to come out! I've always had a thing for those cowboys in their Wranglers and boots! Funny how I married a man who wears baggy jeans. I've always wanted to get him in a pair of Wranglers and boots! I think that's what I want for my birthday now! He swears he's not going to sing to me, so maybe I can get him to wear Wranglers and boots! It doesn't matter what he wears though, he's still my Marlboro Man!

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!

I recall a phrase that a wise, old mother rabbit once told her young son, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". I come from a family of name callers! I'm one myself. Whether it be good or bad, we always end our sentences with a name, and not usually the one that belongs to the person we are talking to. Where, to most people a term of endearment might be "sweetheart" or "honey", ours were "poopy head" and "butt hugger". Anyhow, growing up I had some older brothers that liked to tease. I had red hair, crooked teeth, and freckles, so I was a pretty easy target, but for some reason, they always found the ugliest GUYS to name me after. I think I could've handled it a little better if they were at least naming me after ugly girls, which they did too, (a girl in our neighborhood whose last name resembled swine) but these are a couple of the meanest things they called me.

ROCKY, from the movie Mask. I mean come on, I'm sure he has a sweet spirit, but they didn't call the movie Mask for nothing.

MALACHI, from the Children of the Corn movies. One of my brothers would follow me around saying, "They want you too, Malachi." (a line from the movie)

Now days I'm positive that NAPOLEON DYNAMITE would've made the list.

As would CARROT TOP!

I'm sitting here, laughing my head off, but when you're a little, awkward, red-headed girl, it can do some damage. I'm all grown up now, and I understand that when we're younger we do some silly things. The problem is, I still do it!

When Avery's being a stinker, I've been known to bust out NELLY OLSEN.

Aidan has a HUGE head, and when he gets in front of the TV I might say, "Hey, JIMMY NEUTRON, could you move your noggin?"

I'm usually just trying to be funny, which sometimes backfires on me. Children have tender, little feelings, and I know I should be more cautious. Obviously, I'm setting a horrible example for my kids, and in turn they are name-callers themselves. I need to heed the advice of that old, mother rabbit and just KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT!!! It's time to break the cycle! If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all! We know I can't keep my mouth shut, so I'll try to think of something nice to say.

Mammy's Little Baby Loves Shortnin' Bread!

Put on the skillet, put on the lid, Aidan's gonna make a little shortnin' bread!

Aidan found some wheat and decided to make some bread...

He ground the wheat into flour...

(Pay no attention to the Fry's bag on the counter.)

Kneaded it and let it rise...

Formed it into loaves...

And baked it in the oven!

Mmmmm! We love homemade bread!

I remember reading a history of David's grandma, Elsie Burk Chapman, in which it talked about how when she was just eight years old, she would mix homemade bread, twelve loaves at a time, and she had to stand on a crate because she couldn't reach the top of the table. I may be off a little, but it makes for a good story. Anyhow, I figured if she was doing it at eight, it wouldn't hurt to start Aidan at three. We actually inherited Elsie's big, stainless steel mixing bowl. It still has her name on it on a piece of masking tape. It's obviously not the same one she mixed it in when she was eight, but I imagine she's mixed many a loaf of bread in this bad boy.

I decided to let Aidan help me make some bread to keep him from playing on the computer all day, which he would do if I would let him, and believe me, I have. He had fun, and while we were doing it, I was teaching him the song, "Shortnin' Bread". My dad used to sing me that song when I was little, and I can't believe I hadn't taught it to him sooner. It brought back good memories, and we got to eat some yummy, homemade bread in the end.