Fun in the Sun

The Doors

We replaced the front door and security screen. The front door didn't even close all the way anymore. And that screen! Turquoise? What were they thinking?

The front of the house when we moved in, December 2007.

The ghastly screen door pre-improvement.

New door going in.

Allen had to hand chisel the entire frame to fit the screen door on. What a pain.

Of course, Lexi was ready to help.

Much better, if you ask me.

Front of the house, April 2008. You will also notice that Kokopelli and the rusted southwestern sun are gone from the front of the house too!

Big Lady!

Today was Addie's 4 month check up. She is 16 lbs. 8 oz and 25.5 inches long. She was in the 75th percentile for both at her last check up. Now, she's up in the 90th percentile for both weight and height! That is a great development.

Addie continues to be a very happy little girl. She's on the verge of cutting her first tooth and doesn't like it one bit. She scoots on her back and is almost rolling from back to front. She sleeps well and has started eating a lot better.

We're so proud of Addie's growth. She is quick to smile and a really easy kid to have around. She's happy to just chill out while life goes on around her. We're so glad she's part of our family.

Spring Pics

Wordy Wednesday

How can you worship a homeless man on Sunday, and ignore one on Monday?

Things That Go Bump In the Night

Are probably just a 3 year old who's really supposed to be in bed.

On the Fence

Allen was back at work on the side fence again today. He had his helper by his side all morning. She had taken her hat off as the day got warmer, but when she noticed Allen had a pencil in his hat, she put hers right back on and asked for pencil of her own. Well, what if she needed to mark her measurements or something, you know? Lexi on the move. She must have realized she didn't have all of the tools she needed to work on her 2x4. Thank goodness! She found what she needed. She is totally at home outside with Allen's tools. She knows what she can and can't play with and helps herself to whatever she need to get her "jobs" done. The work is going so slowly. Because we have a number of other projects to get done, we might hire out the rest of the weld work for this fence. Allen can only be stretched so thin, you know?
Addie stayed inside. Her job is to look cute. She's very good at it.

Nana and Mart-eye

In March, my mom and sister came for a visit. The kids really enjoyed seeing them. Lexi was a little confused, though, and kept calling my mom "Hannah" instead of "Nana". Mom said she didn't really care what Lexi called her so she answered to Hannah all week long.

Marti and Lexi. And yes, she actually calls her "Mart-eye".

We had a little party for Lexi when they got here since it was the day after her birthday. A few days later, her #3 balloon started to die. We all took turns sucking the helium out of it and singing songs. Turns out, Allen had never done that before. We corrupted him and he took a trip on the "wild" side!

Wordy Wednesday

How come your fat doesn't fall out (or off, rather) like all of your hair does 3 months after you have a baby?
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Lexi's new favorite show is Agent Oso. Except when she says it, it sounds like "Agent A$$hole". I'm sure she's not the only one. Way to go Disney marketing team.
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Why is it that when people help you, you can't complain about it, even if they did a half-a** job? I even asked Allen about this. What if he asked me to dig some post holes for him? I'd do it. They need to be 3 feet deep. What if at about 6 inches, I got tired of doing it "his way" (it is only his way because he happens to be the poor soul who gave me the instruction...fact is that every post hole should be about 3 ft. deep, not because Allen's an anal retentive punk who wants me to work endlessly for no reason) and just quit? He'd go out there, drop his post in and it would fall over on his head. He would fall down with a concussion, cussing me the whole way down. Now, I ask you, is that really helping? Not really. Telling someone you're going to help but insisting you do it YOUR way and they better never, ever, in a million years make any kind of comment about your way or you're never, ever, in a million years going to ever help them again is NOT help. At least not the kind anyone really needs. I mean, if you're really going to help someone, do the job right people.

Freedom of Speech

This evening, I ran Lexi into Albuquerque for an after hours doctor appointment. Her cough has settled in her chest. I also have it and it burns in both my chest and back. I wanted to get her checked out since I figured she was experiencing the same discomfort. Also, the cough medicine we have isn't controlling the cough at all so I wanted to see if she could get something that would actually work (she can't; she's too young for codeine).

On our way there, we got caught in the TEA (taxed enough already) party protests. I had no idea they were even taking place. For miles, there were people on both sides of the busiest street in ABQ expressing their frustration with the government's spending. It was an awesome opportunity to teach Lexi a little bit about our country and the freedoms' we enjoy.

She looked out the window and gasped, "Oh! Look mamma!!!! Those people are holding signs in their hands! What are they doing?!" I explained they were sharing their beliefs. She thought it was about the coolest thing ever. The people went on for miles and miles so Lexi took the chance to wave to them as often as possible. I have to admit, I agreed with their sentiments, but I got a little ticked when some of the protesters took to standing in the middle of a 3-lane major thoroughfare. I mean, shout it from the rooftops, but get outta my way! We were 20 minutes late because of all the congestion.

Here's a few of the things we read on our way:

Obama

Pelosi

Reid

The axis of taxes.

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One

Big

Awful

Mistake

America!

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You can't SPEND your way out of DEBT!

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A debt our children will pay!

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Free market not free loaders!

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Socialism works great - until you run out of other peoples' money!

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We can't afford any more change!

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Please don't help me anymore. I can't afford it!

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Repeal the pork; your bacon is cooked!

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Your fair share is not in my pocket!

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I'll keep my guns, my money and my freedom -

you keep the change.

Fort Night

For FHE, Allen and Lexi built a fort. Lexi enjoyed learning about Nephi and how he "lived in a fork". As usual, the dog got in on the action. As soon as Allen had the blanket over the chairs, Mia crawled underneath. She hasn't come out yet. Lexi watched her new favorite show while laying with Mia.

Hoppy Easter!

We carried on tradition by coloring eggs on Saturday night. Lexi did a really good job. Lexi found the basket the Easter Bunny left for her first thing this morning.

We got all dolled up for church.

Then, we had an Easter egg hunt. We had to have it in the family room because it was raining and so windy outside. We played with the bubbles in the sun room. Turns out, Mia has more fun chasing the bubbles than Lexi does making them.

We watched some old home videos from last year and couldn't believe how much Lexi has grown up. Lexi loves watching herself and narrates the whole time. We finished off the night with strawberry shortcake.