Quote Board

River had a very good first experience sharing the gospel. In Primary last year the kids were challenged to give away a Book of Mormon. River thought and prayed about who to give it to. She really took it seriously. It took a couple of months of thinking and pondering, but on her own she told me who she'd like to give it to.

There was a girl that she got to know at school that was a couple of years older than her. Mom, River tells me, she doesn't go to church - I would like to give my Book of Mormon to her. We wrapped it up in Christmas paper and River wrote her sweet testimony in it in her own words. We put it in a pretty bag along with another present for Christmas and took it to her house. She gave River a big hug and put it under the tree for Christmas.

She came up to River after Christmas break to tell her she loved the gifts that that she had gone to church with her Book of Mormon. I talked to the Primary President in the other ward and she told me that she is not a member and that was the first time she had come to church. She just brought it up to me again tonight how happy she was to share that...Mom, I had a lot of peace in my heart and I felt So happy. We are never too young to share a simple testimony and set a good example.

River is such a good example to me. She is always looking out for her sisters and loves the gospel. She is always making cards for me and for Daddy, for her sisters...She wrote in her journal "Believe in Christ and My Famley is Special to Me"
I kiss Summer's toes whenever I change her diaper. In the car the other day she took off her socks and shoes and started kissing her toes. :)

Colt: When everyone yings I yang.

River enjoys learning sign language and Spanish. She thinks it is the neatest thing to have more than 1 way to say things. She recently discovered her name is "Rio" in Spanish. She has started calling herself Rio and writing Rio on her school papers. Sometimes she'll write on a homework paper: River and Rio.

When I am holding Summer and she wants my attention, she puts her hand up to my cheek and pulls my face down to hers. Then she chatters on about what she wants to tell me. She does this frequently when reading a story. If there is something she needs to show me she'll reach up and rest a hand on my cheek and then tell me all about it.

Silver has started to put things sequentially. If we need to go run errands, she tries slipping in her requested stops too: "Mom, how 'bout this: We go to: (holding up her fingers and ticking off each item) Daddy's office, the bank, the library, the store, and then to Rain's house (Or Ginger's house!) Deal?

Why are there never any toothbrushes in the bathroom??? At the end of the evening, we round up the toothbrushes to brush teeth. All brushes fall asleep safe and sound in their toothbrush holder. The next night brings on the search for the missing toothbrushes. Maybe they hang out with those socks that never have a match...

Silver: "My face dirty...Mom, me wipe my face on your shirt?"

River: "Mom - We're best friends! Yup, Best Friends Forever...Forever and Ever!!"

Silver says "yessirree!" for everything that gets a yes answer. Only she pronounces it Essss uuuu weee! With enthusiasm!

As Mommy and Daddy were attempting to fix River's flat bike tires River says "Boys are stronger than girls, but girls are smarter than boys!"

Quote Board

River visited Grammie for a couple of days and I asked her to be a good girl and help take care of Silver and Summer.  "Okay Mom!  I can do that!"  A while later when I said goodbye she broke down crying saying:  "I'm just a little kid Mom!  I can't take care of Silver AND Summer!!  I'm just a little kid!"  I had to explain to her that Grammie was going to take care of them and that I just needed her to give them hugs and be nice to them and help her figure out what they were saying.  "Okay, Mom, I can do that!!" 

River came running in "Mom!  Shayla and I are both wearing flip-flops and having purple popsicles!  Oh, we are SO sisters!"

River to Danika her babysitter: "There go my parents. They are my best friends in the whole wide world! I love them SO much!"
I love children's faith. They pray with such belief that things they request will be granted. It's like they have the perspective of the thing already happening and thanking the Lord for the event of the future. I love how they sing Primary songs throughout the day and talk of Christ like he's a friend. Silver today in the car while we were driving: "Jesus!" "Jesus!" "Jesus Loves MEEE!!!"

Sign on a meat truck advertising pork, chicken and beef brought to your door: "Our animals are vegetarian so you don't have to be" :)

River: I'm so totally BRILLIANT!!
Mom: What does brilliant mean?
River: It's like really Fantastic!!

River: "Mom!! I have the GREATEST idea: So, you know how I have a pen pal and we write letters and I get a letter in the mail, and I send her one, and then I get another letter in the mailbox? You could be my Present-pal! You leave me a present and then I leave you a present, and then you leave me a present!!"

I wish I would have had a camera today. I made a mental snapshot of the moment: River had fallen asleep in SG today, totally exhausted after the park and fell asleep before we got to the store. I put a blanket in the cart and put Summer (also asleep in her carseat) in the top front of the cart. It was the cutest thing with both girls snuggled in asleep :) And River hanging off the side of the cart. Precious Times!

Quote Board

Silver pronounces Summer's name as "Shuummaaaah!" Said with much enthusiasm!


In our preschool time we were learning about the seasons, and with the globe, talking about the way the Earth tilts, making it Winter on this side of the Earth and Summer on the other side. A couple of days later River says to me: "MOM! So, it's winter here and summer there. But they're on the other side of the Earth. But to them, that's their home, and we're on the other side of the Earth to them!!" Huge discovery!

So i was SO excited! I found a yummy chicken salad recipe that said "prep time 10 minutes" Wow! Delicious, healthy and FAST! Perfect. I started at 5:30 - plenty of time for 6:00 dinner right? I didn't get the dinner on the table until 6:40. This too shall pass....one of these days I can make a 10 minute meal in 40 minutes, hey I'd even be happy for 30 minutes, and extatic for 20. :) Meanwhile I'll love my precious helpers that dice the chicken oh so fine...read ultra-fine! And cut the grapes so meticulously...cut 1 eat 3...cut 1 eat 3.

I don't understand....girls like looking nice in their clothes....so why do guys have lots of options for pants....with waist and inseam clearly marked in their sizes.....32 x 36, 36 x 32. We girls have to settle for S, M, L, XL, and occasionally they come in short, regular and tall. Except for those of us who are statistically out of the bell curve (I loved statistics by the way).....and then tough luck with pants. I rarely can find an inseam long enough.... usually the longer the inseam, the bigger around the waist. :( I have the same inseam as Colt. :)

I finally found out what "Tam-pead" is! Silver keeps saying it over and over. We were reading and I always point out things in the pictures and have Silver repeat them. Mom: Dog Silver: Puppy Dog! Mom: Monkey Silver: Ooo Aaaa! Mom: Whale Silver: Shark! Mom: Mountain Silver: Tam-pead! Mom: Mountain Silver: Tam-pead! Aaaahhh! Finally broke the code!

I bet you can't spoon feed a baby her rice cereal without your mouth working - your mouth making the moves that you wish her mouth would make. Try it! I TRIED to not move my mouth...impossible!

Silver's words: (All Said with Gusto!) Ok Mom! Coming Mom! Thank you Mom! River Too! (She always watches out for River and wants to get her one of anything she gets). Said in a quiet voice - Whhhyyyy? Chiisss Stck (cheese stick) Tangy! Candy. Tummy Hurt - she doesn't eat well at meals and as soon as we get down, or especially go anywhere I get "Tummy Hurt - Hunggyy!" (Hungry) Tickied (Sticky) GO! (As in Let's Go!) Pottyy! It's a good thing that Mom's know their own kids language. It's funny how other mom's can't really make out what other kids are saying, but they can interpret their own. Well, most of the time. Silver will say the same thing over and over and over, many times I can't make out what she's trying to say, so I'll take her hand and say "Show Me" or she'll try to figure out a different way to say it.

River: "Mom, I've got a really hard question! I just can't figure it out!! So, Mommies have babies, and babies turn into Mommies. But if babies grow into Mommies and mommies came from babies what was first? Baby or Mommy?" Colt tells the girls a scripture story every night before bed. River loves her "stories that Really happened!" We told her that we would tell her the story of Adam and Eve for Scripture Story later that night. "Okay!"

Silver LOVES life - the bigger the better! She says "Big!" when she's washing dishes with me and she wants more water coming out of the faucet. "Big!" when she wants to be pushed higher on the swing.

River: "Mom, when I sleep in your bed, it's SO nice! When I sleep in my bed I feel like a lizard, frog and snake". Mom: "How does it feel to be a lizard?" River: "Wiggly! It's really hard to sleep when you're a lizard and so wiggly."

River and Silver have been having a really hard time going to bed. River comes in to tell me that it's not fair that she has to go to bed and I can stay up. We're a family she says, we should all do things together!

River has her backpack ready-to-go for school! Kindergarten doesn't start for another 7 months!!

Love Insurance

River talking to Silver: "Dad's going to the office. He earns money for birthday parties, books, our beautiful home and food."

A couple minutes later: "Mom, Dad earns our money....what would happen if Daddy died?"

River with her Daddy watching a movie

Mom: We would be Very Sad if Daddy died.  We would miss him Very much.  But as far as money - We have life insurance...that's when a lot of people pay some money and if one of the Daddy's die, then the life insurance gives their family money. We have life insurance so that if Daddy dies, our family will have enough money.

River: Oh. After a pause: MOM! What if Daddy didn't have life insurance?

Mom: Then I would need to go to work every day to get $$ to pay for everything.

River: Ooohhh! That would be SO sad!!

We then talked about how Daddy's job was to help people get life insurance. She brought up life insurance a couple of times that day and how greatful she was that Daddy had insurance, and that Mommy didn't need to work.

She was happy when we pulled up infront of Daddy's office the next day.  "Mom!  This is Daddy's office!  Life Insurance Office!

Movie Night!
When Colt's home - it's the funniest thing....
we all go from room to room like a school of fish following after Daddy!
If Daddy goes somewhere, it's not too long before most if not all of us are there too :)
He knows he's VERY loved!

As we were driving home, she was cute that she was trying to explain how thankful she was that if Daddy died we would have life insurance $$, it was difficult for her to come up with the words to explain her feelings:

Mom, When dad dies it will be great....no....i mean not great that he died but great that he had life insurance.....like.....I don't want dad to die, but it's nice that he has life insurance, when he dies, so you can stay home with us.

One more mystery of the universe figured out!!

Silver and Daddy!

I believe life insurance is one of the greatest things you can do for your family. When tragedy strikes, and you loose one member of your family....it's comforting to know that the kids can be taken care of by the Mom in the home instead of having to go out and work so hard to support her family.  This way the kids don't loose both parents - one to death, and the other to working.  Even though the Mom doesn't bring in a tangeable income, it is just as important to have life insurance on her too.  If she were to die, Daddy would be devastated and would want to take off some time to be with the family instead of having to jump back into work immediately.  I'm so thankful that we have life insurance on each of us...as with all insurance products, you hope you never have to use them....

I know it's uncomfortable to ponder, but seriously ask yourself....if my husband didn't come home today....what would I do?

If every Wife knew what every Widow knows, NO home would be without adequate Life Insurance. 
Life insurance is never for the one buying it...it's for the ones they leave behind....a true gift of love.....I like to think about it as Love Insurance.

It's amazing how inexpensive some life insurance products can be...Do you know that in many instances you can protect your family for around $20 a month?  $20 is worth it for that protection, and peace of mind!

Quote Board

For Christmas Morning, one of the presents was a container of Jelly Beans.  We told Silver she could have 3.  She studiously picks out one...then another...then a whole handful!!

When it rains and snows much our front yard/driveway turns into a GIANT mud puddle.  River and Silver were going to walk over to Paca's house for a visit and because Daddy was over there.  After 10 minutes I look out and see that they are still playing in the mud.  10 minutes more and Silver is knocking on the door after falling in the mud and getting completely covered head to foot.  After chaning everything she had on, I walked them over.  River kept walking and then going back to the mud puddle:  "I just don't know why my boots keep going to the mud instead of Pacas!"  After another attempt to go "Silly Boots, they keep wanting to play in the mud!"

Daddy overheard River pretending she was talking to Jesus:  I love Jesus more than Bears.....after a short pause...AND PIGS!!  River enjoys eating fruit snacks - when she was little she called them bears - like gummy bears so when she asks for bears, she's asking for fruit snacks.  Pigs are her favorite animal - because they're pink of course!  So to love something more than Bears AND pigs is truly more than anything else!

River brings me a pack of gum. "Mom! Smell this! Do you smell that yummy smell in your nose? It smells like Broccoli!!!" My girls LOVE broccoli! It is the first thing that is requested for dinner, and the first thing to disappear from their plates. Served with Ranch or cheese, it's the best!


Silver starts Screaming...a hurt wail. Immediately I hear "I'm Sorry, I didn't mean to!! I asked her why Silver was screaming. River "I accidentally bit her...but I'm SO sorry!"

I do not like olives. River reminded me that it is a rule in our house to try one bite of everything on the table. So, yes, I had to try olives again....

Halle-u-na! Halle-U-NA! HALLE-UU-NNNNAAA! River singing and dancing. She was trying to sing "Halleluja"

River has a very personal relationship with Heavenly Father. He is always on her mind and close to her. She says to me: I'll help you with that Mom! Mom: Thank you! River: "I just KNOW that Heavenly Father is smiling at me right now. My Primary teacher told me that when we do good things, God smiles...:) I always want to help God smile, instead of be Sad, cause when we do bad things, he frowns, like this....." Quite often she talks about God smiling.

We have jobs for River to do, and after she completes her jobs, she gets a ticket. She can turn in tickets to play with friends, tv time, special things, etc. She asked if she could watch a movie, and I asked if she had a ticket. She said no and asked how she could get a ticket. I said that if she cleaned her whole room she could get a ticket. She came back with "I have a great idea, what if I clean my whole room AND the front room." Hhhmmm, DEAL!

River: Mom, I just remembered a rule! Don't wipe your nose on your shirt, use a tissue. I kind of forgot!

Some of Silver's words: Chicken: Chichi or Chich-in Cracker: Cracki Blueberry: Blubblubblu :)

Imagine this said in Silver's little voice...drawn out and then voice going higher at the end. I asked Silver who each person's name was. Silver, what is my name? "Moooommmmyy". What is her name? 'Wwwiiiwwweerrrr" What is his name? "Daaaaddddyyyyy" What is her name? "Baaaaabyyyyy" What is your name? "Meeee!!!"
They asked me what name my account was under at the library. I answered "Brock". My goodness! I haven't been a Brock for 6 1/2 years!! I was known as Karin growing up. Everyone says my name differently. My family says car (like a car you drive) and -een like Halow-een. A lot of people called me Karen growing up and I was too shy to correct them. I also went by "Miss K", and "Brock" because people didn't want to mispronounce my name. On my mission I was Sestra Brock. Colt calls me Karin (careen - like a car careening out of control). Then I went from Brock to Henderson. While it was hard to give up Brock - it is an honor to share Colt's name and be known as his wife - becoming one! We were called "The Colts" by a family in Kanab and sometimes at church when they can't remember my name I am "Sister Colt". With River's friends I am known simply as "River's Mom!"

I asked Colt to bring us "something green" from the store on his way home. He brought us Brussell Sprouts and Artichokes. Hhhmmm, next time I'll need to be a bit more specific!

Fall Quote Board

River to Silver: "Silver!! NO toys at the table!! It's a Rule!" then to Mom: "Is that a Family rule or a Heavenly Father rule?"
River: Sigh....I wish I was 2 again...then I'd only have to take 2 more bites!!

Big Sister just wants to help: Silver yells "BABY!" every time Summer makes any sound at all. Silver loves Summer and many times just wants to play with her, whether she's awake or not! I regularly get a screaming baby where seconds before she was deep asleep.

Silver likes to rock baby Summer in her bouncer. She'll bounce her gently....sometimes. Most times she bounces so vigorously Summer's head is bouncing off the bouncer. After being told no and sometimes time out - 30 seconds later Silver's doing it again. Oh, having a newborn and a toddler not quite 2 has been challenging :) This I will say - Silver LOVES Summer, and shows that love ALL day long. Oh, the sweetness of kids.
 
Don't smell socks to determine if they are clean or dirty. Just trust me on this one - throw it in the hamper, it's not worth the risk of olfactory overload!
 
Colt and I were sitting at the table talking when in walks Silver carrying ....Summer! Summer was so tiny in Silver's arms she looked like a baby doll. We explained to Silver not to pick up Summer, but to call Mommy to get her up. Twice more the next day I caught Silver trying to pick up Summer. Yikes!

Silver's Sayings: "Whoah!" Said progressively louder as she bends over to examine something more closely. Today it was ants that found a cookie on the floor. "Whoah! (louder) Whoah! (louder) WHOAH! Bees!" She calls all bugs bees. Another cute thing she says all the time "Oohhh" When I explain something to her: Oh! When I tell her I'll do this and then we'll do that - I get a "K!"
 
I tell Silver she's my big girl for going potty or that she's a big girl and doesn't need a nuki anymore. Most every day she either crawls in the baby carseat or comes to me with her hand on her chest and says "baby" while patting her chest. It's really cute!

River says this multiple times a day "Mom (Or Dad) So, what can we talk about?" If I start talking about something she already knows, she says "Noooo Moooom! I want to talk about something I don't know...I want to learn about something!" Some of her topics: How do we get rice? After talking about that - "Oh, How do they pick rice? It's SO small!" What's a birth certificate? How do they make suckers? How do they make cars? How do they make houses? How do babies get in Mommy's tummies?

River: My Daddy can fix ANYTHING! Well, Except for my jewelry box!

River: "My Daddy's really smart - he knows everything." After a while she says "Mommy's know some things...not everything, but Daddys know everything!"

April and May Quote Board

With a name as unique as River I laughed when I saw today that there is another River in her swimming class - there are only 5 kids in the class. How funny that there is a River H and a River W.

River: Mom, Good thing there aren't any human traps! Mom: What's a human trap? River: Like we caught a mouse in a mouse trap. A human trap would be bigger and there would be ..... broccoli on the trap! (Both girls LOVE broccoli - on a plate full of food, the broccoli is always the first to disappear.) How cute that broccoli would be the bait of choice!

River: So, when Jesus comes again and the mouse and fish resurrect...how do they get out of the dirt?

River: "Mom, can I discover my world?" Asked when she's in a shopping cart and wants to get out or when she's wanting to go off and look at rocks or the grass or a tree. She loves discovering what's out there!  Also, when asked what she's doing..."Oh, I'm just discovering (or exploring) my world!"

River: Mom, we need to get a fish tank. When Jesus comes again, and my fish come alive again, they'll need a tank to be in!!

This is New! Silver came to me (fully dressed complete with socks and shoes) and asked for her shirt off. I was doing the dishes and took off her shirt. A couple of minutes later she streaked into the kitchen wearing only her diaper which she quickly discarded, and then joyously ran through the house free from any clothing hindrances.

Silver is learning how to sign. I'm a big fan of teaching kids how to sign. It is a precursor to language that helps them communicate before they can talk. She says Juice, Shoes, and Cheese (which 3 sound surprisingly alike, but each has a little twist to make it distinct) River, Mommy, Daddy, thank you and bye! She says bbbbhhhhh when she sees a horse and woof woof for Dog. She signs Up, Down, More, Eat and Change. For Coldy she says Ooohhh, oooohhh, while wrapping her arms around herself. It's fun to see them discover their world.
I think signing has helped Silver have less temper tantrums.  She screams and gets frustrated, and I'll ask her what she needs.  She either says "help me" or "please" or "more" or "milk" in sign.  It's really the cutest thing.  Seriously, how can you tell a kid signing "more" with little pursed lips no?

Silver loves to blow kisses. She'll kiss her hand and blow it to you (I'll try to get it on video: It's so hard when the shiny camera comes out to get stuff). When she kisses your cheek, she puts her whole face up to your cheek and blows her nose!

We had one of River's friends over today for a play date. River, Silver and the friend were outside playing. I took them out an apple for a snack. I went back inside and peeked out the window to see them all kneeling on the grass with their arms folded saying a prayer over their apples. It was precious!

It's the cutest thing! Silver has learned to click her tongue! She walks around the house with a little clicking sound wherever she goes. Also, clicks are another form of yes. "Silver, Do you want to go outside?" Followed by a huge smile and some clicks!

River's latest: instead of saying No, she says "Go Fish!"

River is a stickler for rules. She is really great at obeying rules, but has a really hard time when everyone doesn't follow the rules. This has made everything frustrating for her lately. In dance class she's constantly irritated as kids touch the curtains or talk to her or don't do what the teacher has asked. Library Time: Kids talk when they're not supposed to. Primary: Kids talk when they're supposed to be listening or out of the chairs. It's so hard to learn to be in control of only yourself and not worry about others.

River's comments about people around her: Of course, out loud and usually in front of the person she's talking about: "Mom, That guy doesn't have a shirt on." "Why is he not following Heavenly Father's Rules??" "I can see that girl's shoulders! She is NOT being modest!" "Isn't that SILLY!! That guy has colored all over his arms - we're not supposed to color on ourselves!!" (Tattoos) "Mom, that guy needs to wash, he's all Black!" (I felt really bad about that one) "Is that a guy or a girl" "Mom, her voice is really angry (scratchy from smoking)" So then I explained that when people smoke, their voices get scratchy, so whenever people's voices are scratchy she lets me know that smoking is a bad choice. "Mom, that girl is smoking...ew yuk!!"

Early Spring Quote Board

While watching "The Incredibles" Disney movie with River. Mr. Incredible is getting married to Elastigirl. River turns to me and says "Elastigirl is now Mr. Incredibles wife. Why?" I explained that when people marry, he is now her husband and she is now her wife. "Ohhh" After a few minutes she turns to me: "Mom, I want to be Mr. Incredible's wife" He'll have to be pretty incredible to get this sweetie pie!

River has never liked her hair washed. During a recent washing: "MOMMMMM!!! You're ruining my Life!"
Nicnames for our girls: River: Bug. Siver: monk-monk. She is such a monkey. She holds on so tight if she's scared or doesn't want to be put down. She gives tight hugs and loves to cuddle. She loves bananas and climbing and getting into everything. Out little monkey!

River says to me as we are driving and the sun is going down: "Mom, look the sun is playing hide and go seek with the moon. It's the moon's turn to hide right now, but pretty soon it'll be the sun's time to hide." I asked her where she heard that from and she says "Oh, I just figured that out myself!"

Quotes from Kung Fu Panda: Turtle: "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it" Turtle: "Your mind is like this water, my friend, when it is agitated it becomes difficult to see, but if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear." Panda's realization "There is no secret ingredient, to make something special you just have to believe it's special."

The Swiffer was one of the best investments we ever made...I get it out and River says "I WANT to MOP!"

After going up the canyon on a walk and having a cedar berry fight for an hour and a half and playing with one of River's best friends Danika, River asked me if she could go to Danika's house. I replied that we had a really fun time but now it was time to go home for dinner. She pouted and got into the stroller. "Mom, Lets go home and talk about this!"

I asked River to come out with me while I weeded the flower bed so she could get some sunshine and ride her trike. "But Mom, That will take just ages and ages!!" Mom: "Oh it won't take that long" River: "It will be like 15 Minutes!! Ages and Ages! "

We get out for a walk at least to the mailbox and back every day. On the nicest days we walk up the canyon behind our home. Cedar Berry fights are a regular and something River really looks forward to. "Mom, look! I picked hundreds and hundreds of Cedar Berries. Millions!"

Daddy occassionally brings River home a surprise. Today we made Daddy a surprise: hearts because we love him so much and a whole box of cedar berries. She walks around saying "Millions and Millions!!"

Silver has yes and no down. No is a very vigorous head shake. Yes is her whole face lighting up, she starts to bob back and forth and pants 3 times, sometimes pointing to the thing that she's saying yes to.

Silver has started to wave and blow kisses. She gives us all kisses before going to bed each night. What a sweet spirit!

River: "Mom, River's going to count to 5, when River counts to 5 you get Straight in here! 1....2....3....4....5!!!"

River talks most of the time in 3rd person: "A little girl named River heard a noise, and she was very very quiet. River tiptoed out of her room and she saw Mommy and Daddy watching a movie. But she didn't make a sound." Or "River wants to help with that!" "River likes doing that!" " A little girl named River is big enough to do that!" "You have to be big like River to do this!"

We had a role reversal one night: River was the Mommy and I was the Daughter. Me: Mommy, can I have a Candy? Mom (River): Daughter, you need to have a good dinner first!

River is a monster expert: Mom, Did you know that monsters like strawberries with the greens still on them? Mom, Did you know that monsters like to eat yucky things? Mom, Did you know that monsters step on cactus? Mom, Did you know that monsters take baths with mud? Mom, Did you know that monsters like to eat chocolate mud cream on strawberries? They also like to tear pages out of books and break lots of things from toys to computers.

Winter Quote Board and Happenings

Our newest discovery has been the circle of life. We started this off by talking about where eggs come from while making omlets? River: "Ummmm....Pigs?" Mom: "Eggs come from chickens." River: "Nu-uh Mom! Chickies hatch from Chicken Eggs!!!" We talked about how when there is a daddy rooster, then there are baby chicks in eggs, but these eggs didn't have a daddy.
The next day "Salty" one of her fish died. What a SAD morning! Her friend is gone! After a funeral service in the back yard she walks back forlornely to the house sniffing back tears and saying "It's okay Mommy, because of Jesus, our best fish will come back to life tomorrow." She's got the resurrection concept down - they do a good job in Primary sharing time! She can't wait until Jesus comes again, she wants to see him and tell him she loves him!
The same day in Primary the lesson is on...fish! Being grateful for God's creations, that God created everything, including fish! She brought 2 coloring pages home - a fish bowl with fish to color and cut out to put in the bowl. Tender Mercies of the Lord are all around us!!
The next morning we found "Ducky Swimmer" floating in the bowl. Oh NO! We now have 2 little mounds of earth with pretty rocks and sticks on them. Her two friends are no longer with us. Every day she says she hopes they come back to life soon. This kid has amazing faith!
She loves Heavenly Father. She tells me regularly that Heavenly Father Answers her prayers: "Mom, last night I was scared and I prayed and Heavenly Father gave me a good feeling and I wasn't scared anymore. He answered my prayer."
So we've been talking about death these last few days. We had a baby in our ward pass away, and River was really interested in figuring it all out. After many questions and pondering River comes to me: "It's okay Mom, because of Jesus, we all get to live together again"
So she's figured out that everything alive will eventually die. "Mom, Do Bears Die?" "So, Mom? Will Trees Die?" How smart!! I love watching their minds put things together - Trees = alive: Trees must die.
Here's her plan: "When all our gold fish die (we're down to Alicia) we'll get guppies, when the guppies die, then I'll get a puppy and when my puppy dies then I'll get a kitty."

Applause! It makes you feel so good as a mom when your kids sit up and eat!! I have Silver who will out – eat River almost every meal. With Silver you know absolutely if she loves something or does not like it at all. There is very little middle ground. She’s either clapping and squealing, or shaking her head vigorously No! This dinner got a clap after every bite for Silver with a mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! River gave me a “Don’t forget to make this favorite yummy food lots of times!” Okay! This will be a regular! (oh, by the way it was potato soup with bacon in it and then next time I made it both girls refused to eat it).

Some of my cravings when I'm pregnant: Guacamole, bouillon - yes, just plain salty bouillon (wierd I know!) eggs sunny side up, and watermelon.

Silver's new favorite thing is to wear a blanket as a cape. She brings a blankie and "asks" for it to be draped around her shoulders and tied around her neck. Then she proudly parades through the house until it falls off and then she brings it back to be put back on.

This is SO great! When you ask River to do something, her standard answer is "Yes Momma!" It's music to a momma's ears when you ask "Please put your toys away" and you hear "Yes Momma!"

River runs excitedly to me: Mom, look outside the window! There is a huge fire with a human standing next to it!!

Mom: Is it a he or a she? River: It's a Heaton! (The Heatons are our neighbors)

I enjoy playing the Piano in Primary. I like watching River sing and soak everything up. Yesterday we were talking about the Resurrection in Sharing Time. The teacher's hand represented our spirit and the glove represented our body. After we die our body goes in the ground and our spirit goes back to heaven. When we are resurrected our body and spirit re-unite. River pipes up "It would be hard to have a lot of arms and legs...like a grasshopper...that would just be hard" (like to put on all the gloves in resurrection :) hhmmm, complicated!

One Day we were pretending we were Lions. Mommy "Rroarrr" Daddy "RROOOAAARRR" River "Rroar" Silver's turn: She waited until her turn, and then belted out a great roar herself. After that she got the greatest kick going around and opening her mouth wide and roaring.

River: Whoa! Wwwhooooaaahhh, Woohoo! This road is really Tangly!

River: Dad, Can you Flush my pillow? We got her a feather pillow and she loves to have it fluffed before she goes to bed.

November and December Quote Board

River LOVES dancing, she pronounces ballett instead of baa leigh, she says it bu leigh, it's so cute. She has great dance moves that she's made up all on her own. Twirls and spins and has a wonderful time. She talkes with her hands alot. When she's thinking - she either taps her head or rubs her chin. She raises her hand in a wheel-of-fortune manner to show her different choices.
River: Well, mom here's the deal: I could watch my movie (with a wave of her hand with the palm up) and THEN take a nap (other hand raised with that option in the palm of her hand).

River: Mom, these Shrimpies are SO scrumptious!

River: I want to sit in the seat with the checklers (plaid)

River: Mom, these are my Bestest! Or, This is my Bestor!

I call Colt my Macgyver. Have you ever seen that old tv show? Macgyver is in these incredibly impossible situations and has to get out with the common things he finds around him. Colt can fix most anything and in the most creative ways with common things - hair ties (still making our toilet flush) hangers (oh, hangers are used for most everything including keeping car lights working) and duct tape. I grew up with baling twine holding the world together, Colt has introduced me to the value of duct tape. Isn't marriage wonderful, the merger of baling twine and duct tape - our home is secure!

River was telling us tonight that when she prays to Heavenly Father tonight, she wants to ask for a baby brother. When asked what good brother names would be, her answers: Mustasher, Eyebrower and Watchtver

Marrying in to Colt's family has brought the enjoyment of Rook at many family gatherings at our home. While playing Rook:
Kin: Is Yellow a Color? (didn't have yellow in his hand)
Kin: I don't do the communal food thing so well

Signs we live in a tech age:
1. River: Mom, I want to play Disney.com
2. River: Mom, I'll be done in just a sec. I have to send one last email.
3. Instead of a lemonade stand, a kid outside of a dairy store was selling MP3s and Cellphones.

River has entered the Why stage. Everything has about 10 whys. River: Mom, why did you put milk in that? Mom: Because that's how you make enchilladas. River: Why? Mom: Because I'm following the recipe, milk is one of the ingredients. River: Why? Mom: To make it yummy River: Why? (About 10 more times) She LOVES exploring her world!

River loves here Treasures: Freinds, special pretty rocks, little animal figurines, River loves small things that she can put in her pockets or little backpack or purse. She loves collecting and taking pictures of her treasures.

River: "Are my teeth still white?"River has learned about cavities and that we need to take good care of our teeth. Every day before she brushes her teeth she asks if her teeth are white, she's worried about them turning black.

Our girls are growing up so fast!
Karin: Can we pause time?
Colt: Nope, I'm afraid it's stuck on fast forward.

River is totally into Glue! She got a preschool book from Grandpa that she can cut out and glue. She has glued a picture of a little boy to the wall to remind us that she wants a little brother.

October Quote Board

River has a very dramatic side to her. Lately instead of doing what I ask she tells me she can't do it. "Mom, I keep falling down so I can't put my jams away" then she stands up takes a step and flops on the ground. Or "Mom, my arms hurt, or my tummy says I can't or my arms aren't long enough or it's too hard." She doesn't get out of it though. She still has to do her job (pick up toys or put away clothes) sometimes it can take a really, really long time.

I think I've stumbled upon why River doesn't eat. "Mom, if I eat too much then my tummy will grow really big" or "mom, I can't eat too much or my pants won't fit" I think she's worried about getting fat. We read a Bearenstain Bears book about junk food and how we need to make choices between healthy food and junk food. Sister and Brother bear in the book got pudgy because they ate too much junk food. We've had some chats about healthy food making you strong.

River: "A Little Girl named River is Hungry" or "A little girl named River wants to watch a movie right now"

River: When my Dad is gone, my whole world falls apart!

River wanted a tie to wear when she visits daddy's office. Daddy always wears a tie to the office, so she has a little clip on pink tie that she wears to go see Daddy.

River: Mom, when is Jesus going to come? I've been waiting a LONG time! He's going to come out of the clouds!! I want Jesus to come!

1 Samuel 12:24 "Only Fear (Reverence) the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you."
D&C 38:7 But Behold, veryily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me"

River: Mom, my tummy says I need to read a book. (River used to say that her tummy told her if she was hungry or not, but now her tummy tells her if she wants to do just about anything or not)

Silver Dawn is getting really good at walking while holding onto things. She will hold onto my pants while I walk around slowly and she'll walk with just one hand holding onto my pants. She also walks with the kitchen chair, she pushed the chair forward, and then walks to catch up. She walked across the kitchen that way, but of course when I pull out the camera she stops and sits down to come over to check out the camera :)

I turned the corner to find River with a huge frown look up at me with huge sad eyes: "Mom, you broke my heart!" (I had told her earlier today that we were going to stay home today and not go to visit any friends today.)

River: "Look, I'm coloring a picture of Jesus...I love Jesus....One day, Jesus will come out of the clouds and he will hug me!"

In the car driving the church, Daddy says: You're my Princess. River says: Yeah. After a minute of quiet thinking River says: So, if I'm a princess, then Jesus is the King!

We use the nursery manual as our FHE lessons. River was coloring a picture of a family to be used that night for FHE. She was coloring the Daddy, Mommy, Sister and Baby. Then she looks up...."Mom, Who is this BOY??" Mom: "That's a brother, some families have little boys and they are brothers" River: "Oooohhh......(after coloring the boy) .....Mom, I think we need to get a brother for our family too."

River: "Oh, I can't do that....I don't have enough air." (to explain to a friend that I'm playing with this toy now, I'll let you play with it when I'm done).

Aga, Zozo, Jaja are all names River has made up to name her stuffed animals. River's bear is white and named Mr. Carrots after a polar bear at the San Diego zoo last year that ate carrots and Silver's bear is brown and named Jaja.

River must have said this 20 times this morning in a caring voice: "Silver, you won't die....I promise"

River got the biggest kick out of Grandpa Brock's glider up in SLC. I wish I had a picture of it. It is a HUGE glider that I used to play on when I was little. It is big enough to hold adults too. Colt and I took her on it with Colt in back of her. I was surprised she didn't get scared - we went really high!! After the BYU football game, River and Daddy rode it and she laughed and had the wind blowing in her face.....had SO much fun. Today she kept asking to go to Grandpa's house for his glider. I said it was a REALLY long drive to get to Grandpa's house. That's okay Mom, let's hop in the car!!

Summer Quote Board

Colt says to Karin "You are a freak of nature"The situation: I can swallow a handful of pills at once (this morning 5 pills were gracefully put down with one swallow) Colt on the other hand has to take one pill at a time and use the momentum of his head whiplashing backwards to make the pill that has been strategically placed in the very back of his mouth attempt to go down the windpipe. It is not uncommon to have to try a couple of times to get the pill down and then it usually gets stuck. It is the funniest thing EVER to watch!

BUT MOMMMMM, It was just an Ask-in-it (Accident)

Colt and I were on a date last night - over dinner after a temple trip we were reminiscing about our girls. We like to say "remember when?" One of our remember when moments was when River used to say ALL the time "WHAT???" (said either really fast or slowly: Wwwwhhhhat?) and then "What you saaaaayyy?"She was really into finding out what everything meant and if she didn't understand a word she would ask about it. Oohhh, our sweet, smart little girl!

River tells us stories all the time. In her story she said "Princess River was in the highest room in the tallest tower of the castle and the dragon was flying this way. Oh no! So Princess River opened her backpack and there was her parachute! She jumped out the window and flew down. Whew!"

Silver got her shots today. River watched with wide eyes as the nurse gave Silver her shots. She counted "One, two - It's okay Silver. Oh No!!! You have to have another shot!! Three! Ooooohhhh, It's a ROUGH DAY!!!"

River just got a big girl bed. She LOVES being a big girl. She fell out of her bed last night and came in to me in the middle of the night crying: "Mommy......(sob)......my bed just squashed me....flat.....like a Pan-Cake!!!"

May Quote Board

I have a bad habit of saying "Oh my Gosh" or "Dang it". I didn't realize how much I did it until River started picking it up. So she was going around saying "Dang it" - I sat down with her and told her that that wasn't good to say. "Let's think of something else to say instead of dang it. I suggested "Oh no" Colt's suggestion was "Rats!" River's idea was "Gosh! That's a good deal huh mom? Gosh instead of Dang it!"

River uses logic and reason to try to get what she wants. We were over at Aunt Jane and Uncle Carl's home and River was throwing balls down the stairs. She wanted Aunt Jane to go pick them up for her. Jane said that River's legs were younger and stronger to go down the stairs. River says "Let me see your muscles.....see, you're muscles are strong....You could do it!"

River says this all the time (in a high soft voice) "Oooohhhh, that's cutes!"

Tomi Finicum is an 8 year old cousin that lives next door to us. After thinking awhile over things, she comes to amazing conclusions. Here is a recent smattering:Tomi: How old is your house? Me: It was built in 1998, so it's 10 years old. Tomi: Woah, So, the 1990's were a LOOONNGGG time ago!River found some of Tomi's Haloween candy. Tomi said that she could have all of it. I asked Tomi if she liked candy. "Uhhh Yeah!" she replied "Every kid LOVES candy.....I just don't want to get fat!"

"There's more to life than market share" -Karin

River says this ALL the time: "I could do this....I could do this........I'm a big girl"

River usually says "I have an idea" or "That was a good idea" This morning she said...."That was an credible idea" like incredible :)

"Ooohhh. That was a GOOD choice!" -River

"I'm SOOO glad her [Silver] could come to our family!" -River

Mom: River, please come help mommy wash the dishes.River: Hhhmmmm, that's a posibility.

River and I were outside. When she asked me what I was doing I told her I was pulling the weeds. "Oooohhhh, You're a weed girl and I'm a Shmellow girl! Welllll.....I'm really a chip girl." After a pause "Actually, I'm a chocolate chip girl"

Half way through checking Silver's temperature rectally River walked into the room. She promptly dropped her drawers and announced "My Turn!"

"I'm a Shmellow Girl!" -River River LOVES marshmallows

River is afraid of cars. This is nice for me while in a parking lot. We live down a winding dirt road. On the way back to our home after getting the mail, River was running along when a car turned the corner. She ran quickly over to me and said "Whew, that was CLOSE! We almost got Dead!"

April Quote Board

River: Mom, can I watch a movie?
Mom: We're going to have lunch first - you can watch after lunch.
River: Mom, can I watch a movie please?
Mom: You can watch after lunch. River: But......But......But......I said PLEASE!

River loves making up her own words:
Solutnee: name for her hummingbird.
Glubbers: "Mom, I think Silver will get her glubbers on your bed."
Hhhmmm, glubbers is a good word for it!

"Ohhhh, you washed my blankie just for mmeeeee? That was very nice!" -River

River's Prayer: "......and please bless our bodies to be strong so we could wrestle......"

River: "You wanna play hide and seek with me? OK! I'll go hide behind the couch, you count to 10, and come find me, okay?"

Highly Dramatized:"I have a BIG Job!" ......Panting....."I have to take care of Silver AND my Mom. They are Sssssssick!"-River

Sadly, with a big sigh: "I don't have a cow tongue. Only Daddy and Paca have cow tongues" (Colt and Ron can touch their tongue to their nose - she figured out that was just like the baby cow Lorna)