The Little Cuties

Kate's Naughty Streak

Kate was a bit challenging to potty train. She made sure that I knew that she was in control as shown in this photo. We were putting stickers on a chart when she went on the potty, but she decided to pull that chart right off the fridge and pee on it!

I put Kate down for an afternoon nap and she found her library book and ripped every page out of it.

Mexico with My Sweetheart

Dereck planned a wonderful trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in January for our 10-year anniversary. We mostly relaxed at the resort, but we enjoyed snorkeling in the caves and cliff jumping at Xel-Ha. Thank you to Dereck's parents for taking good care of our precious ones while we were gone.

Dereck is still the one I want after all these years. I love him more than ever!

Be Kind, Please Rewind

So, I have been absent from the blogging world for some time now, as many of you have reminded me. There's no motivation like being sick and homebound! I will insert a series of photos to show what we have been up to!

Kiara's first day of dance at Utah Dance Center. She loves her little friend Grace.

Kiara jumped for joy when we got to go to Disneyland last fall. What a fun trip! October was a great time to be there.



I have the funniest friends! A great neighbor threw a Halloween party, and while the dads took the kidlets out trick-or-treating, the girls got to eat and talk (2 of my most favorite things to do!).

"Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella"

The Sweetness of a Slumbering Child

We had a hard day. Kiara hit Kate. Kiara went to time out. Kiara came out of time out. Kiara hit Mom. Kiara went to time out. Mom got very, very frustrated as her toddler continued to be aggressive and downright mean. Mom cried on the phone to her husband. Mom yelled. She did not know what to do. She had never been the mother to a dramatic 4-year-old before! Mom went back to Kiara's room, talked about why she was feeling sad, read her several stories, gave her many hugs, and told her how much she loved her. Amazingly her sweet Kiara returned! Sometimes Mom feels so dense for forgetting to shower her love on her daughters. She makes many, many mistakes.

It's amazing how differently you feel about your child when you watch them in peaceful slumber. All frustration is swept away and replaced with pure love. I snuck into Kiara's room tonight and knelt by her bed. I was so overcome with love for her that I sobbed. I saw Kiara for who she is and not the attention-needy toddler I see in the day. She had her little white lamb clutched in one hand and her hair wrapped tightly around the finger on her other hand. The moment felt sacred to me as I felt gratitude for the privilege of being her mother. I always thought I would name my first child Hannah, so when we had hard times I could recall the words of Hannah in the Old Testament, "For this child hath I prayed." For you, Kiara, I prayed. Now, Lord, help me to be deserving of the blessings I have received!

Check It Out

Sometimes other people's talents are so inspiring! Jon Schmidt is one of those talented people. If you have never been to one of his concerts, it is a must see. Here's one of his latest videos.

 

Sisterly Love

There are some moments in motherhood that make my heart want to just beat right outside of my chest because it can not contain all of the love and joy I feel. (There are, of course, other times when I want to scream and cry and drive to another state and change my name.)

I absolutely love it when I see my daughters love each other. We were on a preschool field trip with Kiara on TRAX, and Kiara was really loving Kate. Please do not email and ask my advice on how to get your children to get along. I do not know. Most of the time they don't. Kate thinks it's really funny to tackle Kiara to the ground and then pound her fist in her back. Kate loves to see Kiara cry. There are spontaneous moments, however, when out of the blue they giggle over the same thing, gibber gabber in the same language, and really seem to enjoy each other. I cherish these fleeting moments.

2008 in Review and Holiday Greetings

We are sending our warmest wishes to our friends and family this year. We have so much to be grateful for, and you are among our greatest blessings! 2008 has been great!

Dereck started the MBA program at the University of Utah in August of 2007 and will finish up in April 2009. His program ends with a two-week international trip to Prague and Budapest. What an adventure! Dereck was released as Elders Quorum President after 3 1/2 years of service and was called to the Stake High Council. He is enjoying his association with wonderful people. Dereck is fortunate to still work at Zions Bank. He is going on his 9th year there!

Adrienne enjoys mothering her little girlies. She also enjoys sewing, quilt group, book club, girls nights out, aerobics, and traveling. We had a fun year of trips in 2008. Highlights were San Diego, New York City, Jackson, Canada, and Disneyland. Adrienne was recently released as Primary secretary after three years and is now Relief Society Enrichment Leader. She is trying to remember how to act around adults.

Dereck and Adrienne just celebrated 10 years of togetherness!

Kiara will turn 4 in January! She loves going to preschool and dance. Kiara has a talent for being dramatic and very imaginative. She likes to make up songs and occasionally shares her toys with Kate.

Kate is 2 1/2 and all smiles, unless you try to put her bed. She goes to our neighborhood co-op preschool that Mommy takes a turn teaching. Kate is hard to keep with us at church because she would rather socialize with strangers.

We wish you the merriest Christmas ever! May all of your wildest dreams come true!

Happy New Year!

I thought I'd share some of our favorite photos from 2008. Lots of Love to all our favorite family and friends.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

To the Love of My Life-Here's to Forever!

Today Dereck and I celebrate our 10 year anniversary, which we are not actually celebrating until we go to Mexico in January!!! But I have been very reflective this year about the decision I made 10 years ago to marry Dereck Jacobs. It remains the best decision I have ever made. I love Dereck a hundred times more than I did in 1998, and boy, was I ever in love then!!!I remember the first time I saw Dereck Jacobs. He was shopping at Smith's with his roommates, as was I. Dereck and my sister were conversing and my heart was pitter pattering over this tall, dark, handsome, and genuine Prince Charming. 

I saw him next in the accounting lab. He became known to me and my roommates as the "accounting lab boy". 

They liked to tease me about him. I never had a crush on anyone like this without even knowing him! One day in the accounting lab he asked if he could sit by me. My heart almost leapt out of my chest. Was this really happening to me? Was the man in my dreams really asking if he could sit by me? The next thing he asked was, "Do you like rodeos?" I told him that I really didn't because I thought it was cruel. 

I'm pretty sure that was the wrong answer for this cowboy to hear, but he respected my opinion. 

Later that same month I was trying to study for finals and I just couldn't get Dereck Jacobs off my mind. I simply could not concentrate on anything else. I said a prayer, "Please help me to forget about Dereck Jacobs so I can get some studying done." And the still, small voice whispered that I should not forget about Dereck. It was a happily received revelation!

After finals (by the way, I slept through my alarm the next morning and failed a final) and the semester ended, my roommates and I moved into the Elms apartments to be closer to BYU campus and guess who was in my ward AND my Family Home Evening group? My beloved accounting boy! From there things went quickly. There were many Sunday afternoon walks and talks. There was a trip to Canada to meet his family and to see the most beautiful place where he grew up and I fell hopelessly even more in love. 

Dereck has remained my truest friend. He has been strong and stable, constant and true, and I love him more every day! Here's to another 10 years and then another 10, and then another 10, and all the way to eternity! I love you, Accounting Boy!

Reunion Sweet

Back in August we had a fun reunion at my brother-in-law Bill's cabin in Woodlands (just past Kamas). My mom is cute with her "themes". This year it was Peter Pan, so the girls were princesses and the boys were pirates. We tubed the canal, rode four wheelers, and had a great time!

First Day of School

Kiara is loving Miss Martha's preschool. Here is Kiara and Kate on Kiara's first day. Miss Martha said Kiara "only" cried for half an hour. It was hard to leave her so sad, but I knew she would be happy when I picked her up. She was happily eating a mini bag of M&M's when I went to get her.

In the meantime, Kate was reveling in her time without having to share the shopping cart with Sister. I had to snap a picture at the grocery store. 

Kate had her own first day of preschool. We are doing another co-op neighborhood preschool for Kate's age this year.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, it's a black widow, and it was in my garage! Dereck was at school, so I knew I had to do it...I had to kill it. With steady hand, I sliced it in half with a garden shovel. I'm not saying I wasn't squealing the whole time. Just thought I would share. A couple weeks later I caught a hobo spider in my basement. I put it in a jar and Kiara adopted it as a pet, much to my dismay. She wanted to carry the jar with her everywhere. She wanted the spider to watch cartoons with her and she even put a blanket over the jar at night. It finally died a few days later and I had to rid of it while Kiara was not looking. Needless to say, we have had our house and garage sprayed more than once this fall!

Make a Smilebox photobook

I Forgot to Mention that Kiara Was in the Olympics

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I recently re-finished one of my favorite books, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I like how Betty Smith just writes down everyday events in an extraordinary way. This sentence summed up the book for me, "To look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory." 

Moves We Learned at the Canadian Barn Dance

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O Canada! (2008)

We had a great August week in Canada this year. Mountain View is a little piece of heaven on earth (especially in the summer when the wind isn't blowing). 

One night Bishop Johnson drove us across Waterton Lake and Troy and Stacy brought a delicious dinner of ribs to share. It was the most beautiful weather I have ever seen in Waterton. 

Kiara & Taylor at Waterton Lake:

My happy Kate at Emerald Bay:

One day we picked wild raspberries by Beaver Dam Lake:

One night we camped and fished at Belly River. Here's Kate with Grandma Linda:

Kiara even hopped on a little motorbike with Dylan:

Kiara was in heaven playing with all of Grandma's toys. She became especially attached to this mullet baby with a blue scribbled on face.

Both of the girls surprised us this year by not being afraid of the horses. Whenever we would pull in the driveway at Grandma and Grandpa's, Kate would say, "I want to ride" because she could see the horses out in the field. Here Kate and Daddy are on Big Fred. He is Grandpa's parade horse. What a nice looking horse!

Here Kiara is riding with cousin Josh.

Kiara and Kate throwing rocks into Waterton Lake, a 20 minute drive from the ranch.

The girls loved the treehouse this year as well.

Preparing for Canada

I could tell how excited Dereck was to go to Canada. He put on his cowboy boots, found his rope, and practiced his skills on the girls. Kiara and Kate had fun running past their dad as he tried to rope them.

Dereck Rides

For years and years Dereck has talked about buying a bike, but being the unselfish man he is, he has never actually bought one. So for Father's Day this year we went bike shopping and he picked out a great bike. He special ordered an extra tall frame and handle bar extension. It has been a lot of fun to watch him enjoy his bike. Along with his bike, we also bought a bike rack and bike trailer. We were glad to see the trailer did the trick at nap time while we were camping at Tanners Flat.

Pioneer Day Fun

I like our tradition of going up in the Wasatch Mountains for Pioneer Day. It is, after all, what the pioneers used to do to celebrate Pioneer Day. At Silver Lake (at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon) there is a plaque that describes the shin digs the pioneers used to have there in July. It is a great way to escape the valley heat and to spend some quality time with family.

Some words of wisdom from one of our favorite quotable prophets:

"I am going to explore in the mountains and I invite you to go. Take your wives but not your babies unless you take a cradle to keep them quiet. The outdoor air is what the people need for health. It is good for them to camp out." 
    - Brigham Young, 1855 

Lezli, being the wonderful grandmother and great-auntie that she is, brought up some fun toys for the kids to play with. The big wheel was a big hit!

On Friday after Pioneer Day, we spent our fun ticket at Snowbird. We did the Alpine Slide, zip line, and we took the chair lift up to the tunnel that comes out in Mineral Basin. 

Kate, Zach, and I were on the chair lift behind Dereck and Kiara. Here they are going down the mountain. Utah sure has spectacular mountains!

My Little Puppies

The girls had fun at Lizzie's birthday party, where they got to pretend to be dogs to their heart's content. They decorated dog houses, ate Scooby snacks out of dog bowls, and got their own set of ears, tails, and a collar. When they girls came home they wanted to play in their dog houses.