Loving Life...

Because I have been absent from blogging lately you may wonder what has been going on at the Ray House...Let me answer that for you, complete with pics.

February 22nd Kimberley turned 12. A great milestone for any LDS girl...a day when she graduates from Primary and moves to Young Womens. Kim has been gushing about all the fun being had at the activities...and she's only gone 3 times! Here she is opening presents. Notice the extreme excitement at receiving a gift card...this small piece of plastic allows her to purchase clothing that is so much cooler than anything her mother could pick out. (But just so you know when we went shopping she bought a sweater EXACTLY like one I already own...guess I don't have such bad taste after all.)
She loved each and every present! Most especially the cell phone Steven and I got for her. Now...before you all get offended that you don't have her phone number, there is a reason. She only gets 10 minutes of talk time a month and text messages cost 10cents a piece. So mainly the phone is for emergency situations. Unless you all want to scrounge up $10 a month then we can bump her up to 60 minutes a month and unlimited text messages....Perhaps one day, but for now she is just excited that she can look cool with her phone that plays music and has a QWERTY keyboard so she can pretend text people.

Here she is laughing and trying to get away from Steven taking her picture. Wasn't very successful was she....Did you notice the baby gate on the stairs in the last pic? Yep...Evan is becoming a little beast just like his older brother Owen.

I know...I know you look at this face and think what a sweet little baby....But lurking behind that sweet grin is a little demon...

Okay....he still looks absolutely precious, but you can see the mischievous-ness in his eyes. Every time the gate is down he crawls like a bandit and starts climbing the stairs, laughing the whole way up. Then he sits at the gate upstairs and swings it back and forth. Or if the bathroom door is open he plays in the toilet. Or if there is paper on the ground he shreds it up into confetti and eats it. Catching my drift yet!?! Also notice the teeth...yes, Mr. Evan has 6 little teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom) all gappy and cute...that is until feeding time...I keep telling myself only a few months left.

Speaking on beasts...Owen has been trying to be good...well, most of the time. We now have to lock the pantry and the fridge because 3 days in a row when I went upstairs to shower or switch over laundry or put Evan down for his nap, Owen opened the freezer got out the chocolate ice cream, retrieved a spoon from the drawer and sat on the kitchen floor eating away to his hearts content...well, until I came downstairs and found him...

(That isn't a picture of the event...just my smiling little man.)

We are working on behaving. His new phrase "I be a good boy" has been helping some. When he wants to make a bad decision I ask him "Do you want to be a GOOD boy or a BAD boy?" Normally that helps him remember what he should be doing instead of what he wants to do. A couple days ago he was whining about something relentlessly and driving me nuts. I told him, "Owen, go upstairs and play. You are wearing me out." To which he responded in the most innocent voice with his big brown eyes in full force "Mom, I not wear you out."

After the above picture was taken, I tried to get him to look at the camera. Instead he swung the binoculars and whacked himself in the face...hence this picture...

Logan our big boy is just along for the ride. He has been enjoying going to work with me so he can play with some kids his age. Tuesday afternoons his favorite friend a boy named Owen (who we have to call Big O to keep him and my Owen straight) comes into the gym and they have a grand time running from killer bees or playing the Leapster.

Last month we submitted our paperwork requesting he be admitted to Galileo Elementary. It's a math and science based magnet school out in Eagle. They had the lottery last Tuesday, but it totally slipped my mind and we totally forgot about it until yesterday. So we won't find out if he was admitted for a couple weeks. If he didn't get in, Steven and I have decided to homeschool him for a year and try again next year. Wish us luck either way.

Here he is being silly. Don't ask why he is sucking his toe...I don't know why and when I asked he just laughed at me.

Things are going pretty good for Steven. His boss came to him the other day about switching over to another section in his department. He would be getting paid to write computer scripts....something he loves and enjoys. It would mean less stress at work and a better chance at getting him enrolled in a masters program focusing on computer programing. (Honestly, I've been bugging him about going back for his masters on and off for a few years, but he keeps putting it off...I'm hoping this would get him more motivated to do it.)

For your viewing pleasure...Steven playing a flute. As part of Kimberley's band class she had to teach one of her parents how to play her instrument for their concert. After much disagreement and threatening to let Kim fail that part of the class Steven stepped up and learned. I think he enjoyed his time with Kim wonderfully. (And isn't too bad at playing either.)This year, since I'm not pregnant or completely distracted, we got around to planting some seeds for early indoor starting. Since they are older seeds we will see if they sprout. (If they don't I know a place that sells starts for cheap....) We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, cabbage and watermelons. Look how excited the boys are. I let them put the seeds into the dirt and they helped fetch water from the fridge for me.

And here is the newest addition to the Ray family...our piano.

It is gorgeous! We got it free from some neighbors that moved (sniff, sniff...we miss the Ramages). According to our research it was made about 1911, so my new baby is 100 years old. We had a lady come out to give us a quote on getting it tuned and fixed. Since it is 1/2 to 3/4 a note off it will probably take 2 tunings and some TLC to get done. But we figured $200 is worth it for our kids to learn to play the piano.

All in all, I am doing pretty well. I keep busy reading, checking blogs and cleaning...I am working on a couple decorating projects to sprouce up the house. First I am tackling our Living Room. I got new curtains and have a paint color picked out. Working on pillows and the wall art. Don't worry...as the projects get completed there will be pics. Work has been going good. It sure is nice getting paid to watch my kids and watch Disney movies.

So...there is your update. Hopefully, I will get better at posting more regularly. But then again...between work and spring being just around the corner we might be out more often....