New Favorite

So this is my new favorite photo of the girls. It illustrates who they are right now: Emma is usually running around in the least amount of clothes possible and forcing Brooke to sit on her lap and play with her, and Brooke is still bald and loves to smile really big like that.

Thumb Sucking

My sweet baby Brooke who will be 2 in August is still sucking her thumb with no signs of stopping. Should I be worried yet?--or is she too young still? Any advice on how to help her quit without making it too traumatizing for her is welcome! Her doctor said it's too early to damage her teeth, but I should start occasionally removing it and saying, "You're such a big girl! You don't need that!" But she thinks it's a game. . .

How Can I Be

This is such a simple yet inspiring song. I love it! Plus the ukuleles take me back to living in Hawaii. If I already sent this to you on Facebook, sorry! I just really love it! Enjoy!

I Love Technology

Did you ever watch The Jetsons as a kid? I thought their video conferencing was so cool but I thought it would be a loooonnnggg time before we could have that technology for casual use in our own homes. But just today we got to video conference with Alan's parents, his sister, and her kids in Utah. And Alan video conferenced with Brady in Missouri yesterday. The imaging is a little fuzzy, but it's cool to feel kind of like the Jetsons!

Extreme Sports

Lately Emma has been very concerned, even to the point of tears, about why we haven't done any of the following things yet, and I don't even know where she heard about some of these:

*skating
*roller blading
*surfing
*skiing
*snow boarding
*boat racing/ paddling

So I bought her some roller blades along with all the proper accouterments. Next she'll be asking about hang gliding and sky diving! She already climbs the rock wall at the gym like a pro, too. I think we have a future Extreme Sports fanatic on our hands. . . It's fun to see how much she loves life. She's a good example to me.

T-Ball Tyler

Today we went to Tyler's T-Ball game. The kids are all about 5-7 years old so they're just learning the fundamentals of the game. Let's just say it was very entertaining! Sometimes if they weren't confident throwing the ball to the other players, they would just roll it. And of course there was plenty of grass picking and twirling going on in the out field. Emma kept telling Tyler he was "going to be awesome" when he was up to bat. She yelled to him when he was playing third base, "You need to be ready in case the ball comes right forth ya!"

Family Flicks

Alan and I watched "Evan Almighty" for the first time over the weekend. It was one of those fun, family flicks that leaves you with the warm fuzzies. My favorite part was when Evan tells God that building an ark wasn't in his plans. God laughs hysterically, "Your plans?!" God later reassures him, "Whatever I do, I do because I love you."
This resonated with me because trusting that God's plans are better and more important than mine and that He does what He does because He loves me isn't always the easiest thing in the world, but is it critical nonetheless. Also, Alan has now adopted Evan's hilarious, positive self-talk, "I'm happy, I'm healthy, I'm handsome, I'm successful." He says it every day and I laugh. :)
I love seeing these kind of faith-promoting family flicks. Another good one we saw recently that we highly recommend is "Facing the Giants."

Sue Happy

To help Alan with his law school homework, I've been editing cases for him to get them ready for him to review. I got a kick out of this cartoon (thanks Christy!) because I've learned from reading so many cases that people really do try to sue for almost any reason, and they even sometimes succeed! I tell Alan how dumb I think a lot of the cases are and he just replies, "You'd be surprised." Looks like he's in for an interesting career! He's always had a keen sense of right and wrong, though, so I know he'll be outstanding. And I'm not just saying that because I want you all to hire him. ;)

Bitter Sweet News

Ok, deep breath... So I'm pretty bummed about this but we are going to be moving at the end of July. Alan has been working full time and going to law school at night for the last year and it's become abundantly clear to us that he will not be able to complete law school if he continues with this schedule. He's been pushed to the limits of stress and exhaustion time and time again and although I am SO proud of him and how he's handled it all, I don't know what we were thinking... I guess we thought we were Superman and Wonder Woman. But it's just too dang hard like this and we have 2 1/2 years left still. So we are blessed to be able to move in with my parents in Petaluma, CA. Thankfully they have plenty of room. Alan will have a bit of a commute to Sacramento for school, but he feels it will be much better than working full time. He needs to just focus on school. And I agree. I'll be relieved to have grandma and grandpa's help with the girls, too. Not to mention the money we'll save.
I can't even say how sad I am to leave Folsom 5th Ward, though. I've learned so much from everyone. We've enjoyed every minute of living in Folsom, and you haven't seen the last of us! We plan to move back when Alan is done with school because we really want to raise our family here, so every body cross your fingers he'll find a job in the Sac area!
-Wannabe Superman and Wannabe Wonder Woman, signing off.

Only in Utah

I saw this on the Facebook page of a friend I have who lives in Utah. I think it's pretty cute. But only in Utah would this fly! Anywhere else, people would be like "What!?" It's good advice, though. I like it.

Attitude

Lately Emma keeps telling me, "Mom, I have had enough of your attitude." If she's saying that stuff already, what will it be like when she's a teenager!?! I know she probably doesn't even know what that means yet and she really is loving and sweet, but yikes!

Cute Brooke

Brooke was trying to climb up the slide at the park and she was becoming very frustrated. I kept taking pictures of her and she said, "I don't want! No Picture!" I thought that was blog-worthy.

Peas in a Pod

These two are total peas in a pod. Or maybe more like kids in a slide. But still!

One of the Big Kids

Brooke was trying to be one of the big kids at the park. She thinks she can do all the stuff they can. One day, my dear!

A bit artistic

I took this of Tyler as he was about to slide down the slide. It's a bit artistic if I don't say so myself!

Brother

Tyler's name for Owen is "Brother." He loves him so much. Whenever Tyler goes somewhere he says, "I'm gonna miss you, Brother!"

Brooke and Me

Emma took this one of Brooke and me and I really like it! Nice work, Emma!

Sneaky

Emma didn't want to take a bath so she thought she'd be sneaky by hiding in her hamper. But of course the giggling gives her away every time.

My 21 favorite words

Just for Fun:

Maple
Sand Dollar
Egypt
Turquoise
Opal
Seven
Quicksilver
Camera
Bundle
Summer
Liberty
OakTree
Mayflower
September
Buttons
Sparkles
Snuggle
Italiano
Booking
Chunky
Paperback

The reason I like these is because they either remind me of fond memories or I like the way they sound. I love reading and writing so I love words. And why 21? Well, why not? What are yours?

Thoughts on Philosophers. . .

Lately I've had the desire to learn more about the prophet Joseph Smith so I've been reading and studying about him as much as I can. Alan put Truman G Madsen's lectures on Joseph Smith on our I-Pod so I've been listening to them at the gym. All I can say is WOW. Madsen speaks powerfully about what a marvelous person Joseph was and what a miracle he accomplished in laying the foundation for the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I also was intrigued by his comparing Joseph Smith to the philosopher Plato. Many today consider Plato the greatest philosopher who has ever lived. But Madsen, a philosopher himself, points out that in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 93, Joseph has recorded through inspiration the greatest discourse of all time. He said Joseph was superior even to Plato in knowledge because he was divinely taught. So deep, so cool, and so true! I read Section 93 tonight and it is beautiful. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/93

Bad to the Bone?

Owen is all settled in at home now and doing well. (By the way he was 8 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long.) We went over to visit him and Grandpa Jeff showed up on his motor cycle looking all "bad to the bone," at least until he pulled out a Glow Worm for Owen. It's a tradition he's started, to give one to each of his grand children. We all know he's just a big teddy bear.

Emma's turn

When it was Emma's turn to hold baby Owen she said, " I was mean to my baby sister but I am very gentle with baby Owen." And no one remembers that like me! She was only 2 and I think she must have thought Brooke was a toy/ doll. I think the only reason she knows she was mean to Brooke is probably because I still talk about it. I'm not bitter. . . am I? :)

Dethroned

Brooke isn't sure how she feels about being dethroned by her new cousin, but I'm sure she'll get over it once she sees that he'll be her partner in crime soon!

Owen Don Daley is born!

Owen Don Daley was born April 5 at 2:41 AM. His big brother Tyler could not have been more excited or more proud. When he first saw him he said, "Oh, he's so cute!" I'm not sure how much he weighs or how long he is because she opted to hold him for a while before they took him to do all that, and we went home to get some sleep. But the nurses said he looks like he's in the 8 pound range and he's very long. Mom and baby are doing well! :) I will try to get a better picture of him today. (I felt bad putting my flashing camera in his little face/eyes!)

Today could be the Day!

My sister Cori Ann was due to have her baby on March 29th but as you can see, she is still pregnant as of this afternoon. Her doctor promised to induce her this Sunday but Kaiser just called her saying they can take her TODAY! (Friday the 4th). So I took these pictures right as they were leaving for the hospital. So let's all cross our fingers that Owen arrives today!!!

Best Friends

Emma and her cousin Tyler are best friends. I hope it always stays that way! Emma and Brooke are equally as fond of each other, too. Here they are saying, "Cheese!!!" (I know the snacks they're eating aren't the healthiest, but the pretzels are from Trader Joe's and that makes it better, right?) :)

President Monson

I'm very excited for General Conference this weekend to hear from President Monson, our new prophet. President Hinckley, who passed away in January, was the only prophet I've ever known so this change is a new experience for me. But I'm sure he will be marvelous! President Monson came to Ricks College when I was there and my roommates and I got up at like 4Am to be the first in line to get front row seats to see him speak. I was so tired from getting up so early that the only thing I remember is seeing him walk up the aisle and being so surprised at how tall he is!

Emma's Field Trip

Emma took a field trip with her preschool class to the Grocery store last week. They got a tour of the entire store and they even went behind the milk! I always wanted to go there when I was little! Luckee! They talked about how to buy healthy meals when you come to the store, then each of them got to take a turn being a "checker" and scanning healthy items such as strawberries, cereal, bread, tuna, etc. Thanks to Jenn, I have this picture because my camera's batteries died!