September from beginning to end

Okay, okay. It's been a while. Combine the fact that September went by entirely too fast and our internet was out for a bit- I just am now updating. But, here is our September update.

A group of 4 of us in my ward are doing a rotating preschool for our little 3-going-on-4-year-olds. I took the first week when we started in September. It went well, and the little kiddos seem to really enjoy it. Let's just say an hour and a half with 4 little kidlets plus Allie is quite the whirlwind! But, so far it's been a success and Kenna really enjoys it. Everybody make the letter A!

Mom and Dad Otte came down for Labor Day weekend and we had a blast! They spoiled us with a trip down to St. George for dinner and then to go see "Aida" at the Tuacahn. The show was great, we loved it. Also many thanks to them for getting me jumpstarted on my peaches and pears. Also a BIG shoutout to another mysterious generous donor of a new outdoor camp cooker I can do my bottling on. You know who you are! THANK YOU! We are so blessed with such loving parents. (Didn't get a picture, darnit)

We headed up to Salt Lake for the State Fair. Always such a fun trip. I had a cold that kept me kind of foggy, but we still loved it. Kenna and Allie both showed a heifer and thought they were on top of the world. We pulled up a trailer full of cedar posts for Dad Israelsen, took the heifers back to Logan, then after unloading filled right back up again with pigs and a horse. The girls and I stayed in Salt Lake with my sister Steph, so Jacob just came by with the LOAD to pick us up.

***This is a little addition to the original post, but I just HAVE to add a little tidbit here. The picture of Kenna is with Aunt Marlene, and I must say that Aunt Marlene is just looking so darn cute! She is such an incredible person and a GREAT Aunt, the girls sure love her. She will make someone a mighty fine catch, I must say. Any single men out there go ahead and line up, but you must know she is prime so only the best of the best will get her! Sorry Mar, couldn't help myself- I just love that picture.





We spent a Saturday up the mountain getting wood for our fireplace. Can't believe it's that time of year again. We'll be stoking up the fireplace before we know it. Kenna and Allie had a great time "hiking" and playing in the dirt.

The other day, Allie decided to take her sweet self outside, let the dogs out, then follow them across the field and over to the neighbors cul-de-sac, all while Jacob and I were in the back of the house talking thinking all was well in Zion. We went out to check on the girls only to find the gate open and Allie missing. Thanks to a good neighbor who captured her and won't be calling us in to child protective services.

Allie's new thing is chewing gum (can I just say I have a GREAT BIG aversion to seeing or touching chewed gum, even my own child's, so this one is borderline for me). Well, while in the grocery store the other day, Allie seemed a bit stuffy. I wasn't sure why until she looked up and I could see a big white unidentifiable chunk up her nose. Far up her nose. I figured I'd have to take care of that when we got home. Well, the little darling took care of it herself when she sneezed and out flew a booger covered wad of gum she had decided to shove up her nose. Happy Halloween y'all. If that doesn't gross you out, nothing will. This child is giving me a whole new adventure, that's for sure.

We headed back up north AGAIN for a quick trip to Logan for Grandpa Floyd's 90th birthday party. It was fun to see most of the Israelsen family and celebrate with Grandpa. It was a quick trip, but worth it. Kenna cuddled right in to Grandpa Floyd and loved it. Allie of course was mostly interested in the goldfish.

Allie has learned to crawl out of her crib (yes, she's part monkey in so many ways), so we've had to switch things up a bit. Kenna's bedroom is now the official bedroom, and Allie's room has been converted into the toy room. I really like having all the toys in one spot and keeping the bedroom for sleeping, but getting the girls to sleep together in the same bed has been a challenge! They talk and giggle, and Allie loves pushing the boundaries on her new found freedom. We have yet to discover exactly how it will turn out. Wish us luck.

And last but not least, what more to life is there than discovering all the really cool things you can do with your feet?

We Love Visitors

We LOVED having you here this weekend Karl and Connie! And for some absurd reason I didn't get a single picture of you here with us. Jacob was in heaven having his brother Karl to help him cut down cedar posts and all sorts of other random projects. I loved having Connie to chat with, and run errands with, and she was so darn helpful in the kitchen. Especially thanks to her I got my first ever batch of strawberry jam made. Thank you so much! Not to mention the girls who got tons of TLC. Please come back soon!

As for the girls, here is what they have been up to recently:

They found some towels and dressed themselves up as Mary and Joseph. Allie was Joseph- I don't think she had a say in the matter.


Here is Kenna introducing me to her little kitty, "Ponka." aka: Allie. Yes, you may recall this isn't the first picture I've posted with Allie attached to a leash. I'll just say she did it willingly.


The girls love to sit on Jacob's legs to play "popcorn." He says "one, two, three, POPCORN!" And on "popcorn" he bounces his legs up and sends them up into the air. They just giggle and love it!

The girls were playing with the scale in the bathroom this morning so I had them both stand on it to see what they weighed. Turns out they both weigh exactly the same. Yep, despite the 20 1/2 months between them, they weigh the same. The only difference? Allie just needs to gain a few more inches and she'll be right on with Kenna. But then again, she already is in the 100th percentile for her height. Crazy! The problem is now I no longer have any hand-me-downs from Kenna for Allie to wear. Who'd a thought.

Night and Day

Here is one little lady who wanted to me to do her hair today to look like Cindy Brady (minus the curls). Yes, I admit, occasionally my 3 1/2 year old loves her a good episode of the "Grady Bunch," as she calls it:


And here is another little girl who would rather have a rat's nest coming out the back of her head and help daddy herd goats out of the trailer- she's pulling her arm back to give it a good swing at the goat:
The other day I caught Kenna and Allie simultaneously holding each other in a choke hold, neither would give in and let go, both were screaming. Now as I type away on my blog, they are happily playing together in the bedroom just best of friends. Go figure. I love it!

Why is it we always want what we can't have?

Tribute to Allie

First off, we must wish our little Allie Rae a very happy 2nd birthday! My baby turned 2 on Saturday. Kenna told her it was her dancing birthday, so they did a little jig for me. We'll just recap the past little while via experiences with Allie:

Earlier in July the girls and I accompanied Jacob up to Salt Lake for a work meeting. While daddy was working, we headed off with Aunt Steph, Claire, and Blake for some fun at the zoo. Allie loves animals. (Okay, this is about Allie but I really have to add Kenna's experience with the giant elephant figurine at the zoo. It looks like a big african wooden elephant thing that plays a silly little song then blows air out it's trunk. Well, Allie thought it was great and went right up to it. Kenna got within ten feet and, based on her scream of sheer terror, seemed certain that if she got any closer the elephant would swoop her up and carry her down to the depths of the underworld. Yep, all eyes on us. She couldn't get away from it fast enough!) At least the zebras are safe. Allie loves to play with cousins and friends. And eat goldfish from the bag.


After Jacob was done with meetings, we just headed up north to spend the rest of the 24th weekend with family. The ride getting up there, however, was a bit wild. Perhaps it was too much excitement earlier at the zoo. Perhaps she was just really tired. Perhaps she is just naturally plain old fiesty. Whatever it was, Allie just did not want to be in the car. So what happens when Allie throws a fit? She screams. No really folks, S-C-R-E-A-M. As in, I am going to make a down payment on a Miracle Ear because I am quite certain that within a short period of time I will need one. So, we were approaching Brigham City when both Jacob and I had HAD IT. We could stand the tantrum no longer. We exited off and found a great little fruit stand that had closed for the night. I found a little cinder block under some shade and sat her little tushy right down and told her to stay there until she was done. We then sat there a ways off in the car and waited for her to get it all out of her system. I admit we had a good laugh at all the experiences we are having with this whole parenting thing. It took her a while, but she got out all her steam and we were able to finish the ride somewhat in peace. Wow that child can drive us to the point of insanity real quick. Especially in a small confined space. Let's give a shout out to the fruit stand for the perfect time-out locale!



We enjoyed a nice afternoon at the Aquatic Center. Allie loves a good swim. I just love the stylish plastic pcover over the swim diaper that hang out under her swimsuit. Wouldn't it be nice to be a carefree kid again? Just like recently when Allie decided that she wanted to get wet out in the backyard so stripped down into nothing. My cute neighbor informed me she looked over just as Allie was whipping of her diaper. What a show! Of course when Allie does it, that means Kenna can join in. So there, within 2 minutes of me not looking, are my two little naked girls just carefree out on the lawn playing in the inverted swimming pool they filled with water. Way to pay attention mom! At least we remained clothed at the pool.



We enjoyed a fun 24th parade in Mendon. Allie loves a good parade. When the loud sirens come, she's not quite so sure so stays close to daddy. Just do as your sister Allie- collect candy in one hand while plugging your ear with the other:



When talents were being handed out in the pre-existence, I must have been sleeping when it came to gardening. In no way, shape, or form do I have a green thumb. I really tried to do some pretty pots and hanging baskets this year but they didn't make it very far into July. Sigh. What remained were some pots full of dirt. So what happens when a curious little toddler comes across a pot of dirt? This:



The picture just does not do justice to my dirt-covered little explorer. It didn't help that it just stuck to her sweaty little face. This was beyond the wet wipe, so we headed straight to the tub.

Happy Birthday our little Allie gal! You sure give us a run for our money but you are such a joy to have in our home and we love you so much. Thanks for adding so much to our family and always making us smile. And plug our ears. And, thanks for being a sweet little two-year-old who is just happy to be alive and could care less that we didn't get around to eating your cake until after 9:30 at night!

Campin'

This weekend we decided to get out of the heat a bit and head up the canyon for a little campout. Jacob wasn't too thrilled about finding a good camp spot out of the way via our car. It was just pure redneck for him to head up the rocky trail in the family sedan. We learned our car really doesn't have good clearance. I am happy to report the underneath portion of our car is still in tact (so far as we know). Hopefully the hunt for a new truck will soon come to a successful end.

Aahh, a great spot.


We went on a little hike. It was sure pretty up there. But this is my favorite scenery right here:


Nothing like a good wrestle in a tent before we call it a night. Allie sure gave Kenna a run for her money! These girls went into hyper mode after we got them in their jammies and in the tent. They loved it! They were giggling and jumping on the air mattress for quite a while.


This is Allie in the morning pretending I'm not asking her to look up at the camera and smile. This is her new trick. When she doesn't want us to talk to her she'll look down and the ground and glare. Our neighbor dubbed her "Allie Attitude." We obviously didn't get the best sleep. Good thing she makes up for it with some great smiles and loves.


Saturday we went to a fun little place that they stock with fish just for kids. The fish were jumping all over and we could even see them swimming in the water, but apparently we aren't very professional in the fishing arena. Not a single catch. Perhaps holding the pole in the water isn't the best form.

Forget the fish, let's just get wet! Let it be noted the attire (or lack thereof) was NOT my doing. I turned around and this is what I found. Did I mention something about redneck previously?....

Thanks girls and daddy for another memorable camp trip.

Summer Vacation

We got July off to a great start by spending over a week up North with our families. Yay!

The first highlight of the trip was seeing Aunt Connie and Uncle Ross who both came home from their missions on Thursday. Their flights were scheduled to come in only 2 minutes apart. Now that is time management! It was so fun seeing them again and they both look GREAT. We had fun spending time with them again, and loved visiting with all the family who came to hear them speak on Sunday. I wasn't quite into the picture-taking jive yet so I didn't get a picture of us with the newly returned missionaries. One of my "Duh!" moments.

The rest of the week was spent playing, hauling hay, relaxing, laughing, and all the good stuff that comes with it. Jacob can be proud of the approximately 3,456,789,000 bales of hay that he and all the boys got hauled, and I can be proud of helping my mom clear out approximately 2,318,902,001 pounds of stuff from her classroom (she will be the Librarian next year at her school- way to go mom!). I was in heaven having so many people to help love the girls. I think the girls were equally grateful for the change of scenery and all the attention. We drug our heels and grumbled at the thought of having to come back home- it went by too fast. Here are a few of our highlights:


Grandma's always have the best toys. And crazy Uncles make those toys even better!

Strolling along with Cousin Olivia. Quite a trio! Some advice for Cousin Olivia from Kenna and Allie: do as we say, not as we do, and your mommy will be very happy.

Let's give a big shout out to going to lunch with old friends who I don't see near enough. I had a blast Hayley, Linda, Ady, and Sienna, thank you! It was just too short.

Ready, aim, fire! Kenna has a wicked good arm for throwing pop-its. Check out that form!

What to do with 7 cousins on a hot summer day? Grandpa Kerry to the rescue with a pool!

Hooray for the squirty thing on the pool! Can you get any Allie?

Grandma Shelly scored big at the fireworks with the glow stuff for all the grandkids. They were a hit! It was a ton of fun being with all the cousins at the fireworks.

Uh oh, Allie ran away and is hiding from mommy again. Where did she go? Has anyone seen Allie?

Hey, here she is!

These girls can't get enough time on the horse with daddy! Especially Allie. Daddy wishes mommy shared the same equine exuberance....
Allie always loves a good toss. "'Gen, 'gen," she asks with a giggle. It's enough to just about send Grandma Marsha into cardiac arrest.

Jacob and Uncle Karl took Kenna frog hunting. Somehow I got talked into going. Perhaps my inner psyche wanted to see Jacob and Karl revert back to their summer days as little boys playing in the mud. I wasn't disappointed. This is the first catch of the afternoon, and as you can tell, Kenna thought it was such a great adventure. She just skipped around the banks waiting for each new catch. Yep, pink polka dots and tadpoles- a perfect combination!

However, as the frogs got bigger, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to hold on as long.

Now we're just looking forward for our next visit to see family. Thanks everyone, we love you!