Caldiero Family

Youth Parade

2011-07-21T23:03:00.001-06:00

The girls were in the Days of `47 Youth Parade. It was a long HOT morning, but they felt like celebrities.

Then the firemen let the kids take charge at the fair

Fun day, fun memories!

Tasha's braces are off!

2011-07-21T22:51:00.000-06:00

After almost a year, her braces are off. Now for phase for two...retainers

Before

During

After

4th of July

2011-07-21T22:39:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July!

We went to the Provo parade.

Natasha's riding instructor was in the parade riding one of the horses she rides...

We had family over for a BBQ and fireworks. Isn't my niece Lola darling?

My parents and in-laws laughed and laughed...

A classic look from my father-in-law

A spectacular firework show. Great holiday!

Happy Birthday Natasha

2011-03-07T23:22:00.004-07:00

These pictures were too special that I couldn't let any of you who don't do face book miss out! Natasha's 9th birthday party at Whitaker Stables with her extended family. She will soon be starting lessons, and was in HEAVEN riding Page.

Cassie loved getting into the action too!

This is an amazingly beautiful Fresian horse that is about 7 feet tall. His name is Xander, and yes, this is him bowing. Such an stunning animal!

Clear the clutter

2010-09-18T13:00:00.005-06:00

Jessica has started a new blog all about organizing, sales, coupons, and getting through the day. Check it out at www.jessicacleartheclutter.blogspot.com

Finally updated

2010-04-12T12:43:00.002-06:00

Don't die of shock that I have actually updated the blog. Be sure to scroll all the way through, there is a lot I have missed.

It all started when I got my "little lady" for Christmas. That is what we call my new netbook. I love it, and have used that for everything, so I haven't even been on the family computer where we keep all of our pictures, so that has slowed me down in the blogging world.

Finally today, I took the time to sit down, dowload the over 500 pictures, and work on the blog, only to find that my husband has changed everything on the home computer, including the operating system. My typical program for downloading and editing pictures is not on the computer anymore! AHHHH!! So, when my darling gets home from work, and puts my programs back on, I will be able to have all of the pictures facing the correct way. Gotta love those tech savy husbands... :)

Baptism

2010-04-12T12:39:00.002-06:00

Natasha was baptized on April 10. It was a wonderful and special day. I will post more of the professional pictures taken the day before when I get to it. They are amazing!

Easter

2010-04-12T12:35:00.002-06:00

Easter was great, the girls looked BEAUTIFUL in their dresses. We colored eggs, and had 4 egg hunts, mom is still slowly giving them the candy they collected!

Natasha is 8!

2010-04-12T12:31:00.002-06:00

Natasha turned 8 on March 5, a big day, she was finally able to be the "big girl" with out the legally required booster seat. She is thrilled. We had dinner at her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. Later we had a party with all of her friends at the aquarium. They all had a fun time, even Cassie and her friend Tyler were interested in seeing the sharks.

Pronghorn Antelope

2010-04-12T12:27:00.002-06:00

We were given basically 48 hours to complete a HUGE project for Natasha (remember this is only second grade). She was given pronghorn antelope to work on. We quickly learned that it would not be possible to acquire the necessary antelope figurine in the time given, so we performed "surgery" on a deer figuring and gave it the markings of an antelope. It was a lot of work, but she did get the whole 5 points possible for that part of the project.

More St. George

2010-04-12T12:23:00.002-06:00

We have been lucky enough to have taken two trips to St. George so far this year. We love visiting the Great Grandparents. The weather wasn't great the last time, so we took the girls to their new ice skating rink. It was a lot of fun. Then, on a complete fluke, we were able to cross paths with an Uncle as we was traveling across the country doing training, and happened to be on the same road we were on, so we stopped for a brief visit!

Crochet projects

2010-04-12T12:21:00.001-06:00

We have been busy teaching Natasha how to crochet, and making fun "accessories". It was great to have 4 generations all working together!

Christmas

2010-04-12T12:14:00.000-06:00

Christmas was great. The girls loved thier dolls, and we had wonderful family time that evening.

Christmas Tree!

2009-12-13T18:54:00.003-07:00

So here it is, the infamous peacock tree, and my wonderful sister who has helped me decorate for the past 13 years. This is the first year, I think, that I haven't had to "fix" anything after she went home. My girls were on a fun adventure with their amazing Daddy, so Jordan and I had the day to ourselves, to watch our favorite Christmas movies, decorate, laugh, and eat. We finished by 2:00, a huge record for us. We are getting really good!

Our first Halloween Parade

2009-10-29T14:37:00.006-06:00

If I am going to play catch up, I better include the pictures from today, who knows when I will update next.
Today was the Halloween Parade at Natasha's school. It was a really nice treat since we have always been off track on Halloween. Natasha was a vampira, and little Cassie couldn't be left out, so she came to see her sister in her witch costume.

Utah in the Fall

2009-10-29T14:32:00.002-06:00

We have had some snow storms in the mountains so we made sure to get up the canyon to see the leaves before the first snow fell.

Good-bye Lucy

2009-10-29T14:29:00.004-06:00

Grammie and Papa's dog Lucy has been around since before Tasha was born. She had become really sickly and we had to go for our final visit before she went to heaven. The girls were very sad to say good-bye.

Bear Lake

2009-10-29T14:23:00.004-06:00

We spent Labor Day weekend at Bear Lake. Gramie and Papa rented a boat and we had a lot of fun!

We rented a bike/buggy thing that we could all be in together. We rode to an icecream shop where the girls got cones and the adults had raspberry shakes.

Vegas

2009-10-29T14:11:00.004-06:00

At the start of Summer we went to Vegas, it was a great time. The Monte Carlo was very family friendly and had unbeatable pools. The 18 inch deep kid pool that was gated off, extra warm water, and had short chairs for the adults to tan in was our favorite.

The girls really enjoyed the water show on the strip.

I woke up from a nap to find that Aunt Jordan had tried to straighten Cassie's hair. She was laughing so hard when she saw it that we all were cracking up for hours.

Natasha the munchkin!

2009-06-04T21:49:00.002-06:00

Natasha has taken dance all school year, and they had their recital the day after Memorial Day (with a practice on Memorial day, downtown - but we won't get into that!). The ballet students of all levels put on the Wizard of Oz, and she was a munchkin. Thanks to the family who came out to support her, she loved having you there.

Cassie is three

2009-06-04T21:42:00.004-06:00

Cassie is three, and had a darling monkey party. She chose the theme back when we were at the party store for Natasha's party. It was a bit wild with 7 2 and 3 year olds, some sibling helpers, and many moms. Thank you to everyone for all of your help! We made monkey necklaces, animal hats, did bubbles, and ate a monkey rice crispy cake - don't laugh, I did my best! She had such a great time, it wore here right out. Halfway through dinner after the party, she burst into tears and asked to go to bed. Gramie helped her out with some cuddle time.

A little red in the face!

2009-06-04T21:28:00.004-06:00

Natasha's 1st grade did a darling program, and she was asked to be one of the leads, Rossie # 3. She had a LOT to memorized, but did a great job. We went to the "dress rehearsal" on the first day, and things went really smoothly - the next day it was for real in front of the school. For some reason, that morning happened to be when she tried out the special pills from Crest. They had a lesson all about proper tooth brushing and gave them hot pink pills to chew and they would show you where you aren't brushing well enough. I guess she found out that it also made for a fun "paint", and painted her face with it after she had brushed. She was having a great time, until it wouldn't wash off. Then she remembered, "I have to sit on a stage with a spot light on me in front of the entire school!". A little 7 year old drama to say the least, but it all worked out. I wish the picture did it justice, because it was pretty bad. Her teacher asked me, "Okay, WHAT did she eat for breakfast this morning?!?".

In case you were wondering, I had NOTHING to do with the bow! I didn't even know they were doing anything with her hair till I got there. Gotta love Utah!

Yes we still exist!

2009-06-04T21:23:00.004-06:00

Sorry, it has been a LONG time, but here they are, a few updates, fast and furious.

In April we took a fun trip down south to visit the Great Grandparents, and also went to Zion. The girls loved it, and their hair is the perfect match there!

Cowgirl mania!

2009-03-10T10:00:00.004-06:00

We had a wild week of birthday fun. 5 parties/activities, plus one special shopping trip with Aunt Sara to Justice, and bringing 27 toy horses to her class with tags that said, "Natasha has finally turned 7 and now she is in horse heaven!", all her idea. Needless to say, we are tired, but had a great time. She said, "this was the best birthday ever!".

On her actual birthday, she requested Pizza hut and cupcakes. Easy for mom! Aunt Jordan surprised us when she was at our house after school, she came down early from Logan and got to have the birthday dinner with us!

Her favorite gift that night, hands down, was her cowgirl boots! She even hugged them in her sleep.

Daddy surprised her and gave her a "secret cowgirl mission". He had a special computer surprise that told her she gets to be trained by a specialist in horses and kids, and will get to go riding. She is very excited!

The next day was her cowgirl party. It was a great time, with her darling friends! They liked to pretend that they were mean cowgirls - just for the picture though.

They played pin the tail on the horse.

It was a fun time for all!

Daddy thought we were nuts at first, but yes, cowgirl boots can be great at church too!

Mommy knows best

2009-03-10T09:36:00.004-06:00

After a few days of Cassie not feeling well, she finally spiked a fever and started with a really strange cough. Luckily I had kept her home from nursery the day before. We took her to the doctor, and she has croup and a sinus infection. Poor girl! Sometimes a Mommy just has that feeling when to keep their baby home. She spent much of last night crying in our bed. She felt awful. Today will be a lot of rest and extra love.

Happy Birthday Natasha!

2009-03-05T09:46:00.003-07:00

Natasha turns 7 today! Technically not until 11:15 tonight, but we won't make her wait that long for her gifts. She looks darling today, and was excited to wear her birthday headband. Hope you have a wonderful day Tasha, can't wait for the cowgirl party tomorrow!

Had to throw this in too. Dr. Seuss's birthday celebration was Monday at school, and they asked the kids to dress up like a character from one of his books. She chose Cindy Lou Who (sp?) from the Grinch, it was a task to try to get the hair like hers, but we did our best!

Big Girl Bed!

2009-03-05T09:34:00.004-07:00

Okay, she was getting WAY too big for the crib! Yes, she will be 3 in 2 months, and I hadn't put her in a bed yet. With Natasha, we knew it was time to put her in a bed when she climbed out at 20 months. I figured Cassie would let us know the same way, but she LOVED her crib, and it never occurred to her to try to climb out - VERY different girls. The bed arrived this week, and she is in heaven. She still doesn't try to get out of the bed by herself and will say, "I REALLY want to get out!", when she wakes up. We have bed rails up now, but they didn't match the decor, so I took the pictures before we put them up. She is also thrilled to have a "theme" of her own now. It is a garden/flower theme, and she was in heaven at Tai Pan with me shopping for accessories. Such a big girl!

Confessions of an Exhausted Mom

2009-02-13T12:08:00.002-07:00

I went to the midnight showing of Confessions of a Shopaholic with my sister, and I am exhausted. I think I got to bed around 3:00 am. It is after noon now, and I am still not dressed! It was a fun time, and a cute movie. I am glad that I have such a great little sister who makes such fun suggestions to me to do things that I would never do on my own. Jordan, you keep me young!

I love to see the temple

2009-02-08T20:26:00.002-07:00

The Draper temple near us is having the open house before it is dedicated, and we had a wonderful time being able to take the girls on a tour. I remember when I was about Natasha's age and went on an open house tour of the Chicago temple. That visit always stuck with me, and I was hoping that Natasha would enjoy it as much as I did. The girls really looked forward to it, and insisted on wearing white dresses, even though the tour only requests church attire. They did pretty good on the tour, weren't as quiet as I would have like, but I think they felt the spirit, and learned a lot.

After the tour they have an area for treats and we were able to take a picture. Yes, Aaron did enjoy himself, despite the strange look on his face!

MLK weekend tradition

2009-02-08T20:22:00.003-07:00

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a wonderful holiday, and means a lot to us, even more since we have been on the steps of his famous speech. We talked a lot about the holiday with the kids and did our best to give an age appropriate explanation as to why we had a day off.

Our tradition for MLK though, has nothing to do with the holiday, it just happens to be when we go to the car show. We have gone for years, and Aaron really loves it. We have typically gone with some friends of our and their boys, but they were sick this year so it was just us. The girls loved running from car to car, being able to touch everything!

Christmas Catchup

2009-02-08T20:11:00.005-07:00

Yes, Christmas really did exist at our house. I LOVE Christmas and prepare for it all year long, but when I am done, I am done, so it has been hard for me to want to post about it - mind you I have already bought my first Christmas gift for this year's Christmas. I am strange, what can I say.

After a nearly 2 hour wait, we finally got to talk to Santa. Next year I will never wait till the week before Christmas to see him!!!

The girls were both able to decorate the ginger tree this year, and they loved working together.

They had beautiful green Christmas dresses. Our color options are limited since most of the Christmas dresses are red and don't always work with their beautiful hair.

They were so excited on Christmas Eve, they could barely contain themselves.

Natasha got her coveted "Spy Kit", and she was in heaven. These glasses have mirrors and allow you to see behind you!

I surprised Aaron and got him what we now call the snow beast. To call it a snow blower really isn't accurate. It is a beast, and does a great job, even if it is taking up nearly all of the shed!

Cassie loved her Elmo from Santa, but Christmas day she wore her "cooker outfit" for hours. We love all of her pretend treats she makes for us.

New Family pictures

2009-01-06T18:03:00.012-07:00

We had some new family pictures taken in November by my amazing friend Suzanne. Here are some of the highlights.

Caldiero Cousins

2008-12-18T17:27:00.004-07:00

Yesterday Cassie and I had a fun afternoon visiting our cousins, Lola and Vinnie. Aunt Nichole was brave enough to let all of them paint in her kitchen! They did a really good job and had a great time. It is wondeful to have cousins so close by!

All I want for Christmas is a fixed front tooth!

2008-12-18T17:23:00.002-07:00

Natasha chipped her front tooth. Thank heavens for a wonderful dentist and staff that could get us in really soon. Little did Natasha know that she would be getting a $102 tooth for Christmas!

First Recital

2008-12-18T17:16:00.003-07:00

Natasha started taking dance this August, and her first recital was this week. She has really enjoyed her Combo II class which includes ballet, tap, and jazz. She is one of three girls in the class and it is great to get so much personal attention, we love teacher Pam!

They danced to "When Christmas Comes to Town" from the Polar Express, and they all did a great job. Natasha is very graceful when she is following her teachers instructions! Great Job Tash!

The MOST wonderful time of the year!

2008-12-04T20:34:00.005-07:00

I LOVE this time of year, and truth be told, I get ready for it all year long! My favorite part of the holiday season is the decorating. I love to come up with a new theme each year. As I gather things for my tree throughout the year, I never know quite how it will come out when it is all put together. I am really happy with how this year's Polar Express tree came out. My sister Jordan came and decorated with me the day after Thanksgiving, a tradition since she was 7. We have never put so much on one tree at a time, but it turned out great, and we had a wonderful time together decorating and enjoying our Christmas usuals - A Christmas Story, and White Christmas.

A few close ups of our hard work!

Jordan also helped by doing a beautiful wreath. Hopefully Aaron will help me get it hung up in our vaulted entry way this weekend. It will be beautiful!

I also let the girls decorate their own trees in their rooms. They were in heaven, and I am sure they will have a long future of Christmas themes coming their way. I hope their husbands are as kind about it as mine is!

I can breathe!

2008-11-12T10:35:00.004-07:00

I had surgery on Monday - my third laparoscopy, and finally the air seems to be almost gone! Anyone who has had these types of surgery knows that the air they put in you gets trapped after the surgery and it is VERY painful! This time it was stuck under my collar bones and in my diaphram/lung area. I couldn't take a deep breath and couldn't get comfortable to lay down for a while, but am MUCH better now. I slept through the night last night, and now can even cough to get some of the crap out of my lungs that has been building there since I haven't been able to take a deep breath or cough in almost 48 hours.

Strange to post this type of personal thing, but I guess that this is part of the blogging world too... this surgery has given us the realization that I am not meant to have any more babies. Finally we know why I have been having so much pain and problems, and we know what needs to happen to make it better. Many of you know what a struggle it has been for us to get the two darling red heads that we have, and we are thrilled to have been given two miracles. TWO miracles, I couldn't ask for anything more.

Thank you to everyone who has been so wonderful to bring us meals, treats, and phone calls of concern, you are the best! I was sad to miss last nights Girls Night Out, the first one I have missed in over a year, but it was still great to see those who stopped by and called.

Halloween Activities

2008-11-09T10:43:00.005-07:00

We had a lot of fun with our pumpkins this year. Daddy even let Natasha use the drill. She loved it!

Natasha was a beautiful snow princess and Cassie was a darling "monkey George".

We went to a tri-ward trunk-or-treat, it was a zoo, but a lot of fun. Daddy even got into the action by being Cassie's partner in crime, the man in the yellow hat.

We tried to get a picture of all of the Caldiero cousins together, but it was a bit difficult to get 5 kids from 6 to 4 months to work with us.

A day with Aunt Jordan

2008-10-29T12:46:00.003-06:00

We are off track right now, which is quite the adjustment. We have been busy taking Natasha to Super Sport, sleeping in, being lazy, and yesterday we went up to Logan to visit Aunt Jordan at USU. The girls have missed her a lot, and didn't even complain on the almost 2 hour drive! We got to see her dorm, meet some of her friends, take her out to an off campus lunch (very exciting to someone who doesn't get to eat out much!), and walked around the beautiful campus. Along our walk, we couldn't help but notice all of the beautiful color and the leaves all over the lawn. Taking cute pictures in the leaves turned into a leaf fight, but the smiles are well worth it. Miss you Aunt Jordan!

My how times have changed

2008-10-29T12:43:00.004-06:00

We went to Gardner Village over UEA (us and the rest of the world!) with some of my highschool friends and their kids. When we went to lunch and had to add up how many seats we needed, we were shocked to find out that although there were only three adults, we were a party of 11 - 8 kids!! Times have certainly changed, now we talk about potty training, dicipline books, and funny things our kids do. A little different from the lunches at OHS dreaming with our Bride's Magazine!

The Binkie Fairy came

2008-10-29T12:37:00.003-06:00

The binkie fairy came to our house a few weeks ago. Yes, Cassie is almost two and a half, and still used a binkie at nap and bed time. Enough was enough so we put all of her binkies in a bag for the fairy to take away. The girls also added a small table with treats and water for her, along with a bed just in case she was tired from the long "flight". The fairy took the binkies and left her a stuffed bear, "Penny". She was really excited about it. Although it took her a little while to adjust, she has done really well, and hasn't even asked about her "di di" for over a week. It has made the potty training go back a few steps, but hey, one thing at a time.

Our little Conan, Gateway, and a 2 wheeler

2008-09-25T10:14:00.007-06:00

With all of the changes with Natasha's hair, it has made me want to play around with Cassie's more. Since we have more time for the two of us during the days Natasha is at school, we play more than we ever have before. One day I decided to try to blow out her hair to see what she looks like with striaght hair. Well, lets just say, the Lord knew what he was doing when He gave Cassie curly hair, she looked like Conan O'brian! This photo also shows the other two things she is all about right now. 1. Potty training (she is wearing a pull up in this shot), and 2. She wants to show us her teeth all of the time. Big sister is loosing a lot of teeth right now, and gets a lot of attention for it, so she doesn't want to be out done.

We took the "train" into the city on Saturday with the girls. They loved the fountain, Natasha tried to be in it without getting wet, and did a really good job. Cassie only wanted to watch, no desire to get wet on her part.

Last night we planned that we would take Natasha to have some serious biking lessons without her training wheels. We are far behind on this one, and it has been frustrating for her that her friends have already learned this. What can I say, Philly didn't have a lot of places to teach her. Anyway, she did great, and Daddy was a wonderful teacher. I am also trying out some new photography techniques. We had a great lesson at our last Relief Socity Enrichment night, thanks Denise. I got her in some open shade, got closer up, and turned off my flash. I still haven't read the owners manuel to my camera, but I will get there!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

2008-09-16T21:41:00.003-06:00

Natasha cut her hair today! After YEARS of only letting us give her tiny trims, she decided to cut off over 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love. She looks darling, thanks Heidi!

Before

During

After

She loves her new sassy do and couldn't get enough of playing with it during homework time tonight.

NY trip

2008-09-15T11:24:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful trip. Here are some of the highlights!

Even though the picture didn't come out very well. I had a WONDERFUL time visiting my friends and eating at my favorite restaurant, Maggianos!

This picture is for Camille - in case anyone was wondering, Ben Franklin's grave is in Philadelphia, not Boston.

some of the fun sights.

Our hotel was right by Aaron's work. The hotel is the red building on the left, and the huge one on the right is the World Financial Center. In case you are wondering, we got in trouble for taking Aaron's picture on the outside of the building. Security is very tight there. We could see the Statue of Libery from a walking area by the hotel.

We had a ton of fun on Canal Street in China Town.

We saw Jersey Boys on our anniversary (11 years!). We still have all of the great music stuck in our heads.

Cassie loved the China jammies we brought her.

This weekend we went up to the mountains to see the beautiful leaves. Natasha figured she would get a wedding bouquet ready - just in case.

Start Spreading the News!

2008-09-02T20:37:00.001-06:00

Start spreading the news, we've left today! We are in NYC!!! We arrived today and will be back on Saturday. My Grandparents have been wonderful enough to watch our kids for us so that Aaron can have his business trip, I can play with my friends, and we can have a great 11th Anniversary! See you all next week.

1st grade, Dance Class, and where not to practice

2008-08-26T12:51:00.006-06:00

Natasha has has some really excited things going on lately. She started 1st grade and is loving it. She loves eating lunch at school, and having recess twice a day.

She also had her first day of dance last week. She is taking a combo class for one hour a week where she is learning tap, jazz, and ballet. It is a really cute class and she loved it.

Unfortunately, she learned the hard way that you shouldn't practice your new dance moves in the shower. She hit the soap dish on the way down and ended up with 14 stitches.

The doctor told her over and over that she was the bravest girl in the hospital. She was a real trooper at the ER, and didn't complain at all while she was getting her stitches. She was given a purple bear by the hospital staff, and mom and dad gave her the choice of anything she wanted for dinner, a hot dog at Sonic, and a hot apple pie at Mcdonalds.

Cassie Craziness

2008-08-26T12:43:00.005-06:00

Cassie is a darling girl, and we love having her in our family. She is very different from Natasha, and some days it is easy for me to forget that she is in that very curious 2 year old stage. Here are some recent pictures of what I found when she was quiet for too long.

She got into Natasha's nail polish and painted her doll's face. Amazingly she only got a little on her hands, and none on the white bathroom rug where she was painting!

For some reason, Panda Bear needed to have a bath, or so she told me when I asked why in the world he was in the toilet. We washed him up and cleaned everything in sight.

Jessica turned 30!

2008-08-26T12:30:00.003-06:00

As most of you know, I turned 30 on August 10. People kept asking me if turning 30 was going to be hard on me. My response was always, "I have a house, two kids, and a mini-van, I have be 30 for a while already!". It was a nice day, Aaron and the kids pampered me, and we had my family over for a BBQ. Aaron is always very creative and thoughtful with his gifts, but he really pulled out the stops this year. Most of you know that he requested you to send in stories, memories, or pictures related to me. He put them all together in a blog and surprised me with it that night. Thank you for all of your warm, funny, and somewhat embarrasing stories and pictures! It is always funny to see yourself through others eyes. He has included a link to the blog on our main blog, so you can check it out. If any of you haven't had a chance to get yours in and still want to, feel free to e-mail him and he will include them as well.

Update

2008-08-26T12:28:00.001-06:00

I know it has been a while since I have done a post, but my last one should give you a little idea as of why. Things are somewhat better on that front. Natasha hasn't woken up at 3:00 since that first day, in fact we had to drag her out of bed this morning at 7:30 so she wouldn't be late for school. She still has about three times her normal energy, and getting her to finally fall asleep at night is a challenge, but it is MUCH better than the first day. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Pray for me!

2008-08-13T09:06:00.003-06:00

This isn't the post I was planning on today. I was hoping to post about my birthday, and the wonderful gift my husband gave me, but that isn't working out. We are in the beginning of changing Natasha's medication to hopefully improve some issues, as well as make things easier at school. We are weaning out one and slowly starting on another (all regulated by her doctor, of course). Yesterday was our first full day of change. She was happier it seemed, which was great, and there was certainly an increase in energy, which means VOLUME as well, but nothing that was too terrible. This morning when Aaron got up around 6:00, he found a WIDE awake Natasha on the couch, it appears that she had been up for HOURS based on how many movies she told us she had watched. It is just 9:00 now and she has done more things this morning than she normally does all day. She has thrown a major fit with her father, and then cried to me about it for an hour, taught Cassie how to play tag (remember the volume is up, so now add a screaming 2 year old as well), played on the computer, fought with her sister over a frizbee they are calling a pizza, had a big breakfast, played with every toy in her closet, cleaned all of the toys, made her bed, and is now giving us a quite amazing magic show. My head is spinning and I am exhausted all ready. We might have to slow down this weaning process, but for now, pray for me to have enough energy to get through till quiet time, and enough patience that Natasha will make it that long too!

Farm Fun, First Hikes, and Starfish

2008-07-28T19:31:00.007-06:00

A few weeks ago, we had a Family Home Evening at the farm at Thanksgiving Point, the girls were in heaven!

On Saturday, we took Cassie for her first "hike", up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Natasha kept saying that it was only a walk/run because it was paved and pretty flat. The girls did get to see a few mountain critters and get dirty in the brush, so we could consider it a real first "hike" for Cassie. Maybe she will be ready for Moab soon?

After our hike it rained, A LOT. There was a beautiful double rainbow after it finally stopped.

Natasha started her swim classes today, and it is all she can talk about. she will be going three days a week for the next three weeks until school starts. It is a great time for her, but very hard for Cassie to have to sit on the side and watch. Somedays it is really hard to be only two.

Summer Time!

2008-07-09T10:22:00.008-06:00

It has been a while since I updated and a lot of things have happened, LOTS of pictures to share.

Natasha and Cassie spent most of Saturday in the kiddie pool with their good friends Libby and Zack. Mommy was on hand at all times for saftey, and water and treats as needed. Aaron worked in the yard till 7:30, he was exhausted, but did enjoy being in the sun.

We had a great time at the Provo 4th of July parade. We went with Gramie, Papa, Aunt Jordan, and Aaron's long time friend Brandon and his family. You can see Natasha lost her front tooth!

That night we were lucky enough to be given two free tickets to the Stadium of Fire where Miley Cyrus was doing a show! Natasha was in HEAVEN!!! Thanks Uncle Dave, you made her day, and we had great seats!!!

Natasha had her Kindergarten graduation, and it was darling. I didn't cry on her first day of school, but I certainly teared up at this darling program! She is the future class of 2020.

Mrs. Lo was a great teacher!

Natasha did a great job on her part, "K is for Kindergarten we can't believe it's done, but we sure are excited to go to grade one!"

The "cute boy" in class sat at her table, and she was thrilled.

The week before school ended we had a field trip to the Zoo. I was able to bring Cassie and we all had a wonderful time seeing all of the animals that the kids had done their reports on.

New Flooring

2008-06-26T18:32:00.005-06:00

The floors are done, more or less. They are coming back to fix a few things next week, and we haven't finished putting all of the new baseboards on, but other than that we are good to go. I realized that I always take pictures of projects at night, because the kids are down, and the house is the cleanest, but then you don't see all of the wonderful light that we get from my large windows. Well, pictures at night may not be such a bad idea because the sun streaming in made the picture hard to see the colors of things, the floor is not as red as it looks in some of the pictures. I have also realized that my kitchen pictures have given the impression that our cabinets are black, they are not. They are actually a really dark brownish color, so I threw in a picture of the cabinet next to a black frame so you can see the difference.

Aaron is mowing the lawn now, I caught up on bills, and all of the laundry is folded and put away, so we are well on our way back to our normal life, we hope.

Aaron thought we would be able to pull up all of the old flooring ourselves. HA! Long story short, we will never be doing that again. We tried to keep our TV area in tact for as long as possible, cutting the carpet out around it until the last minute.

We are putting in the new baseboards ourselves, and it has been an interesting learning process, but I am happy with the way it came out, the ones that are done at least.

See they are not black, but really dark brown.

Playing Catch Up

2008-06-25T13:11:00.003-06:00

I am a fairly organized person, I can pack a lot into a day, and I am often asked how I do it. My routine is the best answer. I have a way that I need to run my day in order to accomplish what I want, and have things running smoothly for myself and my family. Take away my routine, and I am worthless. We are in the final touch ups of having the flooring replaced in our kitchen, dining, and front room (our main room we use in the house), and needless to say, my routine has been shot to hell. I am a all out of sorts, I didn't get my "quiet time" (a MAJOR part of my routine) for 6 days! I used to feel that quiet time was a nice, pampering thing to do for myself, but now I know, it is a completely necessary part of my day if I am going to function. Now that the furniture is more or less back where it belongs, and quiet time can resume, I am playing catch up. Yesterday was laundry, I lost count afer 6 or 7 loads. I guess today will be a lot of folding. It may take me a while to get things back under control, but I will get there. Pictures of the new flooring will be coming soon, but now I am going to take what I hope will be a nice long quiet time.

Xander the Great

2008-06-19T11:52:00.002-06:00

We have a new newphew and cousin! Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave welcomed baby Xander on June 12. He is healthy and beautiful, and we are thrilled he is here.

Uncle Dave is a proud new Daddy.

Natasha was excited to be able to hold her new cousin when he was less than 4 hours old!

Doin what comes naturally!

2008-06-05T17:31:00.010-06:00

It is not my fault, I come by it honestly. Many of you wonder, and I am sure worry a bit about my unconventional stress level when faced with disorder, untidiness, and dare I say... dirt. But really, I come from a long line of freaks when it come to the cleaning thing. Never did such a reality slap me in the face as when I was at my parents on Memorial Day while my mom's parents were visiting.

We had a great meal with some type of bread, I don't remember what though, and afterward dish duty came. You never have to worry if the dishes are going to be done when my family is around. To leave them for an hour is pure craziness, and overnight, well, that is not even an option. So there was the packed kitchen with people trying to help out, "many hands make light work", my grandma says. Well, the HORROR of the pan the bread was cooked on became obvious at this point. You know how cookie sheets get after a while, no matter how hard you try, and believe me we do, to keep the "crud" from forming on the pan. The only way to avoid it I have found, is to buy a new pan almost every month, or just use the jelly roll pans instead, which is what I do.

So, the awful pan could not go through one more cycle while the Mead clan was in the house - that is my mom's side of the family. Out came the "bible" of cleaning books, and a remedy was found.

1. Place your dirty pan on your stove top, centered over two burners.
2. Pour in warm water till the pan is about half full.
3. Sprinkle a generous scoop of POWDER dish detergent (this I don't have, but I am learning it is a necessary thing according to the cleaning bible).
4. Stir the soapy mixture with a wooden spoon (don't use metal, this will scratch your pan and then you will have a rust mess on your hands) while you try to get the water to boil using the two burners it is laying on.
5. As you get a good boil, and a good soap/water mix going, the awful marks on your pan will start to float off the pan as you stir/scrape with the spoon.
6. You will eventually have a clean, almost new pan again.
WARNING - it may be MUCH faster to just go down the street to Kohls and buy a new pan, but where is the fun in that?

I know what you are thinking, "They are nuts", and even I, although born into the cleaning cult thought it was a little over the top, until I was awarded my turn with the wooden spoon. It is sick but true, it really was a rewarding experience... We are all crazy, I know, but hey, my pans are cleaner than yours I would bet, but you may have more free time... so it is a trade off.

My first baby girl is all grown up

2008-06-03T10:03:00.008-06:00

My little sister, Jordan graduated from high school on May 30. I am nearly 12 years older than her, but we are extremely close. She was my first baby girl, and has certainly been the most well behaved baby girl I have ever had. I was there when she was born, on her first day of school, for her first formal dance (which I flew in from PA for), and I am very glad that I was there for her on this important day as well. I love you Jordan and am very proud of you! Good luck at Utah State in the Fall!

We were lucky that all of the grandparents were able to be with us.

Cassie wanted to join in the fun.

My three baby girls!

This group has been friends for YEARS!!! They all live within a few streets of eachother, and are a great group of kids!

Jordan looked beautiful in her graduation dress.

Natasha wanted to pose just like her aunt.

Cassie was amazingly good at the long graduation, but when it came to the dinner afterward, all she wanted was her "PASSA!"

Jordan is leaving for a trip to Europe in a few weeks, and we thought a set of luggage would be a good gift. Maybe I went a little overboard, it is so huge she can fit in it!

A special day for Natasha

2008-05-27T21:00:00.013-06:00

Natasha has been a huge helper lately. We have been doing a ton of yardwork the past three weekends, and big sister has watched Cassie for us during a lot of it so we could actually get some work done. We decided to treat her to a "special day" with just mom and dad. We got a sitter for Cassie and headed out for a day of surprises.

First we took her to Justice and got her a new outfit that she wore out.

Next we took her to Sweet and Sassy, and salon for kids. She got her finger and toe nails done, complete with nail art and a ring and toe ring.

She then had the chance to choose a fancy "up do". She chose the princess style (of course), and it topped off with glitter spray and a cotton candy scent.

After the day of beauty, we took her to her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden, where she even got to have her own fancy drink.

On our way home, she said, "This has been a superb day!".

"How old are you?", "Yellow!"

2008-05-16T22:05:00.005-06:00

Cassie turned two on the 15th. She had been getting excited for days because of cards that had been coming for her. She wore the birthday headband all day and loved the attention. When dad came home we took the girls to the Mayan for dinner. Cassie loved the diving show, and stayed in her seat for longer than her usual for restaurants.

We did gifts and cake at home.

Tasha's gift takes the prize though, she gave her a small Thomas the train figure, "Choo choo Thomas!", is what we hear all day now. Thomas comes everywhere with us, and was even chosen over her binki to sleep with tonight (we will see how long that lasts).

Her new trike works great, she feels independent, and mom and dad don't have to kill their backs helping her keep on the sidewalk. All day when we asked her how old she was, she proudly said, "Yellow!".

After such a struggle to get her to this earth, some days I still can't believe that she is really here. Even though it has been two years, she is still my miracle baby!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2008-05-09T21:29:00.002-06:00

Today was "Career Day" at school for Natasha. In preparation for this day, they have been learning about what people do at their jobs, and we have been talking as a family about what people that we know do for a living. Natasha was to choose what she wanted to be, and dress up as that profession today.

She has been saying for the last few weeks that she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up. We had a perfect outfit chosen, cleaned, laid out and ready to go, but... When Natasha came home from school yesterday, she told me that her teacher had asked the kids to draw a picture of what they were coming dressed as, and that she drew a cheerleader. What?!?! Where did that come from... oh yea, we had a discussion on how cowgirls spent time with horses all day which sounded great to her, but we also let her know that meant cleaning up after the horses too, so I guess that didn't sound as appealing as she had though. Sometime during that discussion, she talked about cheerleaders and said that sounded like a fun "job" because you got to clap all day...
okay.

After a lot of drama, and a tear filled confession of trying to get a new outfit out of the deal, Natasha bought herself a cheerleading outfit, and she looked darling in it.

Last week she had a Rodeo Day at school, and was thrilled to be able to dress
in her cowgirl outfit that we already had. She was asked to make a stick horse and decorate it. It really turned out cute, and it was a wonderful day for her!

Cassie didn't want to be left out of the fun.

Finally some progress

2008-04-30T22:04:00.003-06:00

I have been working on a lot of house projects lately. Really, I have. But, if you were to come to my house, you would wonder what I have been doing with all of my time. My problem is that I made a "to do" list with about 50 things I wanted/had to get done. I started checking off the easier items, leaving the more time consuming things for later. Well, that produced several projects that were partially done. I couldn't take the chaos anymore, and finally had to bite the bullet and do some of the more time consuming things.

All of the kitchen cabinets are painted!!! I finished the painting, and have added all of the new hardware as well. I painted the island a different color, which Aaron thought was a strange idea, but I like how it turned out. This darker color has made our white microwave, stove, and dishwasher really stand out, but we knew that would happen. All new stainless appliances are on the list...one of these days.

Natasha's room is done (almost). Just a little more touch up on the trim - rounded corners and trim don't get along very well. OCD that I am, I could play with it for the next year and still not be happy, but I will try to leave well enough alone...soon. One thought though, do you think I should leave the closet doors white, or paint them the lighter brown color to match the trim, and possibly make it look more like barn doors? This is by far the most daring paint choice I have made, and I don't want it to be too dark in there, but the brown doors might be cute, or would they just make the room door (which is white) stand out more... you see my dilema. Let me know what you think!

A day with Uncle Isaac

2008-04-24T20:10:00.001-06:00

Natasha is making the most of her last few days off track. Today she went to the rock climbing gym with her Uncle Isaac. It was a special treat to be able to spend this time with her Uncle, and she loved it. He taught her some good basic climbing techniques, but of course she wanted to do the fancy stuff like Isaac does. She looks forward to going again, and wants to do a Summer camp that they offer after school is out.

We are very proud of Isaac. He has been climbing for 11 years now, and is very well known in the climbing world. He travels all over the world accomplishing new feats. We look forward to the DVD from his climbing trip to Thailand that will be coming out soon.

The best surprise!

2008-04-21T18:44:00.002-06:00

We had the best surprise the other day. An unexpected knock at the door brought an unexpected package, which Natasha quickly realized had her name and Cassie's name on it. We opened the package to find gifts for the girls. No reason, just darling gifts from my cousin Kirstynn. The girls were thrilled, it truely made their day. Also included were Target gift certificates, they were in heaven!! Natasha got a Hannah Montana shirt, and Cassie found the sales so she got a Minnie Mouse shirt and and Ariel shirt. This was such a wonderful thing, I think I will have to start sending people packages for no reason. Thanks Kirstynn!!!

Cowgirl room is coming along

2008-04-08T10:32:00.001-06:00

We have done a lot of work on Cassie's room in the past few weeks, and I was afraid that Natasha was feeling a little left out. Yesterday we picked her up from school and went in search of accessories to go with the cowgirl theme of her room. We have slowly been adding things to her new theme, but I figured that we would really make an effort that day. We went to three different stores, and were able to find at least one great thing at each place. Her favorite find was the star board that we turned into a headboard. A little paint and finishing work, and her room should be in great shape!

2008-04-04T10:53:00.003-06:00

It has been a while since I have updated friends and family with the latest info and pictures, so here they come fast and furious.

My first time using vinyl. These are Cassie's initials for her room. I thought it turned out really cute.

Our master bath is really looking nice now!

It is nice to have a place for all of my craft stuff, and a computer desk again!

Natasha had a wonderful birthday!

Easter pictures - including Cassie picking her nose while the rest of us tried not to squint too much, the sun was right in our faces.

I just got back from a trip to Michigan for my Grandfather's funeral. It was going to be a joint birthday party for my Grandparents, turning 75 and 80, but Grandpa had other places that he needed to be. The funeral was a sweet and touching family moment, and then we went ahead with the party as planned. It was an incredible party, with talent provided by my witty and nutty family, it included stand up comedy, fire breathing, Mexican ribbon dancing, skits, biking tricks on top of tables, and on and on. It was a wonderful day to celebrate the life of a wonderful man.

Caldiero Family

2008-04-03T20:42:00.000-06:00

Alright, enough already I will start a blog. "Everyone is doing it!", I have been told over and over, by ward members, friends, and family. Now, my darling husband is even telling me, "I hear it isn't too hard to do...". So, here is it, simple for now, but a blog none the less.