"W" is for...Whirlpool

So anyone who knows me, knows that I am HORRIBLE at laundry. If you have ever caught me in the midst of my endless laundry piles I will often say "I can wash OR dry OR fold OR put away, but I can't do all of them at the same time". This is so true even now, but I have to share with you the love affair I have with my Whirlpool Washer.

On our recent trip to Utah I realized just how much I missed it. We were gone for 2 weeks and obviously had to do several loads of laundry at several different places along the way. This is when I realized how much I LOVED my washer and dryer. At home I never had to worry that something had come clean. Or that the clothes needed an extra 10 minutes of dry time or washed again because the soap was still clumpy all over in our clothes, or not clean.

I am one of those people who most often makes bad decisions on big ticket items. Therefore resulting in buyers remorse and hating the object every time I use it wishing it were different. Not this time. Determined not to make yet another bad decision, I started researching. I polled friends, family, neighbors, searched stores, pondering what I wanted. I finally decided on the Whirlpool Duet Sport with pedestals and thus began my love affair. Not with laundry, but with clean.

I am amazed that I can put my kids chocolate, koolaide, spaghetti stained shirts in the washer and they come out sparkling clean. Avalon the queen of blowouts has not ruined one outfit yet thanks to my washer. The dryer is wonderful as well. My clothes don't seem to be as wrinkled and dry in a mere 23 minutes and seem to smell all that much better. Oh and did I mention the entertainment it provides for the kids. My kids think it is better than TV. They will watch most of a 54 minute cycle while I fold clothes, watching for their clothes as they turn about. All this and it is SUPER energy efficient, what more could a girl want? So may I say if you are in the market for the most AMAZING laundry experience, buy a Whirlpool Duet Sport.....you will not be disappointed.

So here is a big hug and kiss to my laundry pair. I may not like to use them, but when I do it's a job well done on their part.

"S" is for...Six Months

Avalon is six months....what???? I don't know where the time has gone? I know every one says that, but I really don't know. I think number 3 makes time go faster somehow. I hate to admit it, but I am not sure of the last picture I took of Avalon and I have yet to write anything down on her calendar. How sad, sad, sad! Hopefully my time blogging will make up for that. So here is to our baby at six months.

Avalon has taken the "best baby" award in our family. She has turned into a great sleeper and a super happy baby most of the time. She is sitting all by herself and has done so for a couple of months now. However in the rolling over department she has not mastered that skill yet and I really don't think she will. You don't have to know how to rollover to be successful in life, right?She loves, loves, loves to watch her brother and sister and be right where all the action is. Anali is the only person that can make Avalon laugh on demand and it is so cute. Avalon is not stingy in the smile department. She smiles all the time, if she is not smiling she is drooling. She had her check-up and I was surprised to see that she was still on the charts in the chunk department. She weighed in at a whopping 19 pounds 4 ounces. that is 10 ounces heavier than Anali at six months and we thought she was chunky. Avalon has several nicknames right now and seems to answer to Chunky Monkey, Princess, Smiley, Miss Jade and Baby. She is a wonderful blessing in our lives!!!! Her personality shines through more each day and I am loving getting to know her!!

"N"...is for Name

Ok I know you all might be getting bored of the photos and stories from our trip, but I feel that I have to document......so here we go.
Monte and I have always wanted to name one of our children after Grandma Dudley, but was afraid of the problems a child with the name "LULA" may encounter. We finally got creative and came up with the name Avalon. This fit our "A" tradition and was connected to Grandma. She has lived on the farm since she was little....a farm that her father, my Great Grandfather homestead. A small section of land that he homestead he eventually gave to the Community. When the land was given they decided to let my Great Grandfather name the town. He decided on the name "Avalon" which means beautiful land. Now anyone that has been to Avalon would for sure have to question his name as sage brush and red dirt hills in my book come far from beautiful, but I think maybe he saw what it could be. Even though Avalon is past it's prime, there is still a few little places around town and we thought it would be fun to take some pictures with Avalon and her namesake town.

"D" is for...Dreams do come True

It is True!!!! Dreams do come true and not just at Disney World. Aden's dream came true in the good ol' Avalon. Grandpa took Aden up in the field on the John Deere Backhoe and dug a "Big, Big, hole". Aden was so serious the whole time. I think he loved it, even though in the pictures he doesn't really look like it. He said he was concentrating. Once the hole was dug, he was so proud of himself!

He also went for several rides on the 4-wheeler, not as exciting as the Backhoe, but still pretty fun. I think it is so funny that he is so serious in all these pictures. He is concentrating so hard and taking it all in that if he smiles he might miss something.

Thanks to Grandpa for making Aden's year and taking the time to make his dreams come true!!

"G" is for...Great Grandma

What a special day!!! The day that my children get to meet their Great Grandma for the first time! I am very close with Grandma and know what a special person she is, she has 94 years of wisdom to offer so this is always a special time. We always make a special trip in the early months of their lives so that they are able to meet Great Grandma.

This trip to Utah was especially needed as Avalon had not had the chance to meet her namesake, Great Grandma Dudley. Grandma loves babies and I always find it so special to be the witness of the babies looking into Grandma's eyes and getting to know her, soaking in her knowledge and wisdom.

What a special bond that is made in such a short time.

This trip we also took the time and made a side trip to Burley, Idaho to see Monte's Grandma Rucker. Our kids were able to spend a day with her and get to know her as well. It was a wonderful visit and we had a great time catching up with her.

I love that we made it possible for our kids to meet and get to know their Great Grandmas. We did miss seeing one Great Grandma as she was in California visiting her sisters, her age has not slowed her down, that is for sure. I am so glad that we took the time to share our children, see our precious Grandmothers and enjoy all their wisdom, advice and love that they have to offer. I do believe that with age all things become better!!

Anali celebrated her FIFTH Birthday in the best way a girly girl can. She had a glamour party with 5 of her closest friends. They were taken to the Salon for makeovers, where they transformed the girls from little cuties to beautiful princesses. All including hair, make-up and polished nails.

This is the group of girls before their makeovers......

And this is the end result from the front....and from the back.

Lastly we ended the day by eating pizza (Anali's pick) and returning home to unveil the much anticipated present. Dad had worked on this all day and just before bed we led Anali down to our basement where from wall to wall was a TRAMP. Yes we were crazy enough to put a full sized tramp on cinder blocks in our basement. We knew that this was the one and only thing that Anali really wanted and to us it just did not seem fair to give her a box and say "when it gets warm you can have your present" so Monte being the great Dad that he is began measuring spaces in our house that a 14 foot tramp may fit. For a while the location was to be my living room, which I was finally able to talk him out of as he realized we would have to crawl on our hands and knees to have access to our 2nd floor. The tramp has been a wonderful addition to our house and it is a favorite of every child that comes to our house. We are hoping for spring to come and then it will be moved permanently to our back yard. I am only afraid that the kids will expect it to be moved back to the basement next winter. I do believe Anali had a great Birthday and the Tramp was the topping on the cake! I'm not sure where the last 5 years have gone, but we love Anali and all the spice she adds to our family. Happy Birthday Princess!!!