Kelsie happenings

Kelsie is getting funnier by the minute. She has learned to spell both her first and last name, and is constantly repeating the letters over and over. She has also learned to write several letters of the alphabet. She is so smart like her sister.

The other night at dinner we were having potatoes. She ate every bite, and was quick to ask for more potatas in a true southern style. It was hilarious! Our girls love their potatas and biscuits that's for sure!

Kelsie's dinner prayer last night went a little like this. Please bless that we can go to Target on Thursday. Please bless that we can go to Sister Rickard's on Tuesday. (Sister. Rickard is a lady in our ward who has a pool, and we have been swimming at her house all summer) Please bless that we can go to church on Saturday, and please bless Alyssa that she can go to school. SO CUTE!

Last but not least, Kelsie loves to be the boss especially of her big sister. Our bishop encouraged us on Sunday to not watch as much TV, and so I was telling the girls that we should limit our television. Alyssa really wanted to watch a cartoon that was on, and Kelsie quickly said "The bishop said to not watch TV, are you just going to watch TV all day?"

Thank heaven for little girls. I can't imagine my life without them!

Alyssa happenings

What's happening to my cute six year old? Along with first grade has come a terrible attitude. Any question that I ask her is answered with a quick "what do you think?" The attitude is going to end really quick. Oh I wish that I could just protect her from the world but I know that I can't. It's time to let her grow up and stand on her own two feet. Hopefully we can lose the attitude this week.

Alyssa is loving first grade and has been so confident in learning her way around a new school, and making new friends at the same time. Alyssa loves to read, we literally spent all summer at the library. Needless to say I think Alyssa's teacher was a bit surprised when she found out that Alyssa wasn't just reading at a first grade level. She quickly gave Alyssa a computerized reading test, and found out that she was reading on a third grade level. The next day she sent Alyssa home with the book Because of Winn-Dixie. The book is 182 pages long, and I wasn't sure if she would understand it and more so be willing to read it. Well she not only understood the book but finished reading it in one day. Alyssa has a book report that she is doing about the book, and has answered the questions beautifully. I read the book for proof that she understood it, and it was pretty in depth I thought. The book also does not have any pictures in it. I am so proud of Alyssa for her willingness to learn, and to stay focused on whatever it is that she is doing.

If we can lose the attitude, life will be beautiful again!

You need to see this!

Kevin and I went on a date alone, without children, just the two of us. (well actually there were four of us but you get the idea) Kevin even planned it if you can believe it. We went to see the Opryland hotel. The inside of the hotel is absolutely breathtaking, I can't get over it. We took so many pictures, but you have to see it in person. If you ever come out to visit us, you need to stop to see this amazing place. Inside there are waterfalls that cascade into a 12,500 square-foot indoor lake. The story behind the water for the lake is actually really unique. So they have a Jack Daniels pub inside of the hotel, and Gaylord Enterprises decided to mail out over 1700 two-ounce beer bottles around the world to collect water for the lake. The first one back was the River Jordan in Israel. Water came in from 30 other countries - some sent several samples. On opening day, they combined all of these 2 oz samples of water with 450,000 gallons of water from the Cumberland River and that's what's flowing in the Delta water system. They called this "The merging of the waters". They also feature water shows but unfortunately they weren't going while we were there. Kevin and I rode a little boat that runs through the river, it was really neat. I just know that we have to stay at the Opryland hotel before we can leave Tennessee. I can't say enough about the hotel, it's gorgeous! I told Kevin that we are going to get a professional gardener one day who can make our back yard look as beautiful as the inside of the Opryland hotel. It smelled so good throughout the entire hotel of fresh flowers. I kept my eyes peeled for "celebrities" but I didn't see any. After the hotel experience, we enjoyed our peaceful dinner at the cracker barrel. It was a very nice day, and I appreciate my thoughtful husband for planning it.

Pictures of our house finally

We have lived here now for almost three months, and I have been promising everyone that I would post pictures and still haven't until now that is. We are loving the house, and it's been so nice to be in our own place. We still are trying to work on the yard but that will come with time I guess. There is still a lot that we want to do on both the inside and outside. (We were glad to find out that the house wasn't really haunted as we had heard from our crazy neighbor across the street.)

Nashville Zoo

Kelsie and I went to the Nashville Zoo, I was really impressed with everything there and we had a lot of fun!

a quick update

Just a quick update... We are all doing well in the Preece household. Alyssa has been in school now for two weeks and we survived. I wasn't sure how waking up at 5:45 a.m. was going to work out but so far it's been okay. I still can't get over the fact that school here starts at 7:15 a.m. (that's just pure torture if you ask me) Alyssa catches the bus right in front of our house at 6:30 a.m. I love just being able to walk her outside and put her on the bus. All summer Alyssa has been dying to be back in school so needless to say she is excited to be back in school. Kelsie seems to be adjusting well to having Alyssa gone all day. We try to stay busy with different outings and things.

You might be a redneck if......

Kevin and I had to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday. I am not much of a public speaker, and of course I always end up saying dumb things that I usually regret. So, I started off my talk by saying how I didn't really want to live in Tennessee, and I had this preconceived idea that Tennessee was just kind of a hillbilly town with a lot of people who piled junk on their front lawns and such. After my talk, our stake president gets up to speak and tells Kevin that after church he needs him to come over to his house, and help him put some cars out on his lawn. The jokes continued all through church, and Kevin and I were just dying. Anyway, it was pretty funny. Kevin said that in priesthood they even threw in some funny jokes about Utah. I couldn't help myself and have to list these redneck comments just to make myself laugh today.
So you might be a redneck if.......

You think TACO BELL is
the Mexican Phone Company

Your state's got a new law that says
when a couple get divorced,
they are still legally brother and sister

Your house still has the
"WIDE LOAD"
sign on the back

You got stopped by a state trooper.
He asked you if you had an I.D.
And you said, 'Bout What?'

You think the OJ Trial was a Sunkist and Minutemaid taste test.

You know yer a redneck when you take a load to the dump and bring back more than you took.

You had to remove a toothpick
for your wedding pictures.

The Halloween pumpkin on your front porch has more teeth than your wife.

You think "taking out the trash"
means taking your in-laws to a movie.

You carried a fishing pole into Sea World.

If you can burp
and say your name at the same time,
you're shur'nuff a redneck

You believe that beef jerky and Moon Pies
are two of the major food groups.

YOU REFER TO THE TIME YOU WON A FREE CASE OF MOTOR OIL AS "THE DAY MY SHIP CAME IN."

WARNING:
IF TWO OR MORE OF THE ABOVE ARE TRUE ABOUT YOU.... YOU ARE A REDNECK, AND SHOULD SEEK CIVILIZED HELP IMMEDIATELY..

Aunt Jemima

Yes, this is a picture of Aunt Jemima. Did any of you know that she is Kevin's aunt? You must be asking how Kevin got his natural white glow if his posterity is this dark in color. (my thoughts exactly!) Well, Kevin likes to tell the girls all kinds of stories about his aunt also known as Aunt Jammie. As we were down the syrup isle at the grocery store the other day, Kelsie noticed Aunt Jammie on the syrup bottle and was quick to point out that it was a picture of "dad's aunt" I laughed and we kept on with our shopping. A few minutes later Kelsie starts yelling across the store "Mom look there is Dad's aunt" as a dark colored woman is standing in the isle. It was classic is all I can say.

cheap entertainment

The kids got some fun packages this week from their Aunt Tracy in Utah. She sent them each a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, a barbie skateboard, and some barbie roller skates. It's a good thing that our formal living room doesn't have any furniture because the girls love playing in there, and it has come in handy with learning how to skate. Alyssa and Kelsie will be entertained for months. Thanks Tracy!

another adventure

It's our final weekend to have some girl time before Alyssa starts school on Monday. This morning we went to Alyssa's school and met her teacher. Her teacher seems really nice, and I feel confident that Alyssa will have a wonderful year in first grade. After we went to her school, we headed to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville. The girls had a great time playing, learning about the body, solar system, and climbing around on all of the exhibits.

341 hours spent working hard!

Kevin started working at Vanderbilt the first week of July, and they didn't break him in very easily. He started out working in the ICU working insane hours. Well, we did the math and he worked a total of 341 hours for the month of July. He even got his first paycheck! We haven't seen a paycheck in over four years so this was real excitement at our house! I had to take a picture of him holding it just so we can treasure the memories, and before I go spend it....

Aren't they cute or what?

I went to the doctor today for another ultrasound just to check the measurements of our baby girls. Both babies are doing remarkably well, and now weigh exactly 1 1/2 lbs. each. People have been asking me if they are sure that they are both girls and the answer is YES, they are both girls. My doctor said that everything looked perfect and things should very smoothly with this pregnancy. He sees to reason that I should deliver prematurely so that's always good. My doctor is so cute, and has such a fun personality. Today he kind of chuckled as I was leaving the office, and said "you know four weddings are going to be expensive." I responded. "yeah I know, the weddings are the least of my concerns, think of all of the estrogen that is going to be in our house."How do you raise four teenaged daughters."

You know you're really a mom when...

1. You count the sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they 're equal.
2. You want to take out a contract on the kid who broke your child's favorite toy and made him/her cry.
3. You have time to shave only one leg at a time.
4. You hide in the bathroom to be alone.
5. You child throws up and you catch it.
6. Someone else's kid throws up at a party and you keep eating.
7. You consider finger paint to be a controlled substance.
8. You mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.
9. Your child insists that you read "Once Upon a Potty" out loud in the lobby of the doctor’s office, and you do it.
10. You hire a sitter because you haven't been out with your husband in ages, then spend half the night talking about and checking on the kids.
11. You hope ketchup is a vegetable because it's the only one your child eats.
12. You can't bear the thought of your daughter's first boyfriend.
13. You hate the thought of her husband even more.
14. You find yourself cutting your husband's sandwiches into unusual shapes.
15. You fast-forward through the scene when the hunter shoots Bambi's mother.
16. You obsess when your child clings to you upon parting during his first month at school, then obsess when he skips in without looking back the second time.
17. You can't bear to give away baby clothes--it's so final.
18. You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "Not in your good clothes."
19. You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.
20. You read that the average five-year-old asks 437 questions a day and feel proud that your kid is "above average."
21. You say at least once a day, "I'm not cut out for this job," but you know you wouldn't trade it for anything.

As I was saying before, where has the time gone? Just as quickly as I think Alyssa has grown, I think the same about my sweet little Kelsie who is now three. It's hard to believe that my colicky baby who never stopped screaming could even possibly be three years old. Kelsie is so much fun, and continues to make us laugh and want to pull our hair out all at the same time. Kelsie worships the ground that Alyssa walks on and the two of them are inseparable. It's been so fun to watch them play together, talk to each other, and love each other the way they do. The other day Kelsie said "we're sisters and that's why we love each other." They have such a great relationship, and it makes me just smile every time I see them together. Alyssa loves being Kelsie's mentor for most things and has been her ballet instructor, her teacher, her playmate, her hairstylist, her dentist, and most recently her piano teacher. She even taught Kelsie how to play twinkle, twinkle, little star. Life with Kelsie is filled with joy, and I love what a tender hearted child that she is. She has been so good with adapting to Tennessee even though she misses her friends in Utah terribly. My mom asked her the other day if she missed Utah, and she said. "No, my Mom thinks that I do but I just love it everywhere." She really has adapted well, and is just making new friends here right and left. Kelsie is a sweetheart, and I can't imagine life without her!

Where has the time gone?

The old saying "time flies when you are having fun" has really hit home to me this week. I sit here in awe and wonder how it happened that the time passed by so quickly. I am sending Alyssa off to first grade in six days. Can that really be happening? It seems like not that long ago I was bringing home my new little baby from the hospital not knowing a thing about raising children, and six years later here we are. I am so sad to send her off to school all day. Most parents tell me that they can't wait until their children are in school and that as a Mother that's the day that you look most forward to but already I am having anxiety about it. It will be okay, or at least I just need to keep telling myself that. Alyssa is a great kid, and I know that she will have so much fun in school. She is the kid that loves school. She has spent the summer with her nose in a book constantly. She loves to learn, and absolutely loves school! It's been a great summer and I guess that we are off to the beginning of a great school year.

Fun facts about Alyssa
1-Alyssa is a tom boy at heart, she loves bugs, camping, getting dirty, playing sports, etc. She absolutely hates wearing dresses and getting her hair done.

2-Alyssa has a huge heart and is always thinking of others. When she was in Kindergarten they had a toy drive for the local children's hospital. Alyssa came home and bagged up some of her favorite toys and took them to school without me or Kevin prompting her to.

3-Alyssa loved to cut her hair when she was younger. She had very beautiful blond, natural curly hair and one day she told me that she found a way to make her hair short. Sure enough she had, and when I went into the bathroom I found her beautiful blond curly locks all over the floor. (it was so sad)

4-When Kelsie was born, Alyssa really wanted a brother. We kept her telling her that she was getting a sister, and she insisted that it was a brother. After Kelsie was born she would have nothing to do with Kelsie for several months. It was quite funny actually.

What a joy it has been being Alyssa's Mom. She is so special! Here are some cute pictures of my sweet little Alyssa!