For Love of the Killion

Happy V-day

2012-02-14T23:42:00.000-06:00

Blake + Cate = friends forever!

They have so much fun together. (Which is a good thing, as they will be married later on in life.)

Last week we hosted preschool at our house for the first time! We didn't have class on Monday because Cate was sick, so Wednesday was full of all things "T." We made some trains (neglected to take pictures of that activity) and we made some trees. Our "trees" had kiwi leaves, a banana trunk, and tangelo sand.

We ate lunch together. And Cate felt like such a star, hanging with the big kids!

Here they are, minus one friend!

The girls love cereal for breakfast. I couldn't help but take a picture of Cate because she was so cute, sitting there with her bowl of Fruit Loops.

Good morning, Mom!

Here is the sole picture of the morning of our playdate at the Wangberg's!

Later that afternoon we went to the library. (We missed you Blake, Reed, and Lois!)

Daddy took us to Coldstone on Saturday and the girls loved it, of course.

Lizzie especially loved the bear!

Like my shoes, Mom?

On Sunday night, we had a fun baby shower for Katya at the Heit's house. Lois had the cutest decorations for the celebration--elephants!

Jeff and Lois stumped us with guessing-the-baby-name-of-the-animal game. Many of the baby animal names surprised us for sure! Justin won though!

Of course the kids wanted to help Katya open her presents!

Our Valentine's Day was fabulous. I made pink heart pancakes for breakfast and we topped them with sliced strawberries.

Chris and I gave the girls Valentine mailboxes with chocolate inside, complete with a stuffed Valentine animal. Lizzie got the monkey and Cate got the frog!

We went to story time once again and afterwards, we invited everyone to our house for lunch and playtime.

Chris surprised me tonight with a huge chocolate covered marshmallow and an Apple Pie apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory (my absolute favorite)! Even with school and work, he still found the time to get me some awesome treats. Love you Husband! ;)It's a very good thing that we had Katya's baby shower on Sunday night, because Daniel was born earlier this evening! Congratulations to the Turman family on their newest addition! :)

2012-02-06T22:00:00.001-06:00

Last Wednesday, Cate and I met up with Lois and her boys at the Rio for a kids' show. (Lizzie was at preschool.) Reed was chosen to help out for a few tricks!

At one point, Cate went up front to investigate.

After the show, we stopped by the park because it was beautiful outside.

Reed was kind enough to help Cate down the slides!

Later that afternoon, after we picked up Lizzie from school and had lunch, we went out for a walk.

Library Thursday moments:

Concentration!

On Friday, we went to the Heit's for some Lego fun! The kids love them!

CHEESE, mom!

Lois also made cookies for the kids to decorate. Naturally we moms had to help them eat those delicious cookies :)

On Saturday, we stopped by the Montgomery Mall. The girls always enjoy the play area...except when Cate tries to escape to the 75 cent rides across the way, or to the escalator nearby. I think Cate and I rode up and down the escalator six or seven times!

Here are my Sunday girls. They love to pose in their pretty church clothes!

Well, we hope you have a great week!

Be sure to get some sleep, or else you'll fall asleep during scripture reading--

Living the dream

2012-01-30T23:31:00.000-06:00

"Cheese?" (Damascus library storytime)

Working on the letter R worksheets.

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Dad's little assistant (Whenever Chris prints something for school, Cate waits patiently by the printer and gives her dad every piece of paper that comes out!)

Kids' Day at Montgomery Mall. Cate doesn't care for the playground, only the 75 cent rides.

Thursday was a big day. We went to the Dulles Air and Space Museum for the first time. We've been to the Air and Space Museum downtown plenty of times, but I have to say that the Dulles museum is better. It's bigger.

Because of its size, kids can run and explore to their liking but you'll almost never lose sight of them. Lots of space= more freedom for the little ones! Seth and Lizzie (Isn't this SO cute?!)

All the kids

Lizzie with a Lockheed Martin plane!

Cate: "This thing behind me? No big deal"

Silly girls squeezing themselves into a small space!

Giant Rolo, anyone?

Miss Pink

The girls got control of a plane--watch out ;)

The kids loved the observation tower (Dulles airport is right next door)

One of the best parts of the day? Mickey D's, of course!

Outside the museum

This picture= time for naps. Clearly, Andelyne handles tiredness better than Cate.

On Friday we had a girls' day. Dressing up--

Painting our nails--

Living the life! Feet up and relaxation!

My Sunday girls :)

Ring-a-round-the-rosy--Cate kept "falling down" before the end of the song!

Daddy reads a bedtime story

Lizzie's Birthday Questions

2012-01-25T22:15:00.002-06:00

I saw a great idea on pinterest awhile back: conduct an Annual Birthday Interview--ask the same twenty questions year after year for your child. Although I remembered to ask Lizzie the questions, I forgot to post them. So here is a glimpse into the mind of Lizzie K.

1. What is your favorite color? pink2. What is your favorite toy? crab toys (???)3. What is your favorite fruit? strawberry; favorite vegetable: carrot4. What is your favorite tv show? Super Why5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac 'n' cheese6. What is your favorite outfit? a beautiful church dress7. What is your favorite game? tap the shoe (?)8. What is your favorite snack? animal crackers9. What is your favorite animal? giraffe10. What is your favorite song? I am a Child of God11. What is your favorite book? Beauty and the Beast (we do have that in book form)12. Who is your best friend? Cate/kate (I'm not sure if she meant her sister or her friend from church)13. What is your favorite cereal? Marshmallow Stars14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play tag15. What is your favorite drink? apple juice16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Halloween17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? bunnies18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? eggs and sausage19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? spaghetti and meatballs20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a doctorCan't wait to ask her these questions on her 4th birthday!**Anyone know how to fix the spacing of sentences with this new blogger? I want the questions in list form but I can't figure out how to do that.

2012-01-23T22:20:00.000-06:00

What would our week be like without our Discovery Room Thursdays? :)

On Friday, we brought some leftover trifle to the Heit house and they invited us to a concert at Cabin John Mall. It's a tiny mall but "Shake your Sillies" was a big hit with the kids. Every child had an instrument to make music.

And then, out came the parachute!

The perfect way to end the morning: chicken nuggets, fries, and the play area!

My mom, dad, and Julia came to visit over the weekend. I joined Pop-pop and Mimi at the temple on Friday night and on Saturday morning we woke up to snow!

Lizzie wanted very much to take them to The Peep Store at the National Harbor, so we did just that after touring the Lancaster County Dutch Market. Everything at The Peep Store was 40% off so we chose a great day to stop by!\

Ben and Jerry's wasn't open but that didn't stop Mimi and Lizzie from sitting on the cow chair!

January happenings

2012-01-17T21:41:00.002-06:00

Are we already in the middle of January? During the winter, I feel as if the days move as slowly as molasses. I think that feeling comes from the winter weather, which keeps us inside for most of the day. Lizzie has been starting to ask me if it is spring yet. No, Miss Liz, we still have a ways to go...Here are the girls on Sunday the 8th, their first official Sunday with Lizzie in Primary and Cate in Nursery. (Are my girls this old already?!)

The girls adore the big hippo at the GW bookstore!

We've been keeping busy at the library! We love driving to Damascus for their story time.These pictures are from last week's story time. We were joined by a new friend, whose name I don't remember!

This week the letter was B and the kids watched Corduroy at the end!

Cate and I went to the Kids' Day at the Montgomery Mall while Lizzie was at preschool.Reed got his face painted!

Cate and Andelyne were so cute together!

Hey there Mommy!

Last week at preschool, Lizzie studied the letter P. So of course we had to make pizzas!

After raining all morning, this afternoon was actually quite mild. So we walked over to the grocery store!

The Christmas post

2012-01-09T13:50:00.005-06:00

We had TWO Christmases this year. The girls were definitely lucky! On Christmas Eve (day), Chris took Lizzie to the National Zoo for a daddy-daughter date. They had a fabulous time! Lizzie even brought her camera and took pictures of everything. After the zoo, they went to National Harbor again, this time to see the jet-skiing Santa, elves, Frosty, the Grinch, etc.

Cate and I stayed in town and finished up the last bit of Christmas shopping, with the rest of Montgomery County. The Heit's invited us, the Turman's, and the Tanner's to their house for Christmas Eve dinner. Ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing, homemade bread, brownie trifle, mini cheesecakes...yes, we were completely stuffed by the end of the night and every bite was worth it! Later, Lois gathered the kids together to perform bits of the first nativity while Jeff read the story from the scriptures. The kids had a lot of fun and we adults had a lot of laughs :)

We celebrated Christmas day at our house. Cate woke up first (which is rare) and I brought her back to our room. Lizzie got up a little while later and then we were ready to open all the wonderful gifts Santa left in our living room ;)

Mom and Dad got some fun things too!

Sausage bake for breakfast has been a Christmas tradition in the Jett house for as long as I can remember, so we made some on Christmas morning. We invited the Heit's and the Turman's over to help us eat all of the sausage bake, and Lois brought some lime cardamom rolls--which were fabulous! We then headed over to church for sacrament meeting. The next morning, Lizzie and I went over to her friend Kate's birthday party. Lizzie had so much fun playing with her church friends!

After the party, we ladies headed up I-95 to New Jersey. We made it past Baltimore without too much trouble, but from the Susquehanna River on was bumper-to-bumper traffic. I think we averaged about 30 mph from there all the way through Delaware and onto the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Pure torture. Once we entered Jersey though, it was clear sailing all the way down to Cape May County. And once we arrived in North Wildwood, the Jett family had another Christmas ready for us! The girls got SO spoiled and they loved every second of it!

While we were in NJ, we relaxed! It was nice to be around family, and it was nice for the girls to see their Uncle Billy. Lizzie loved him, as you can tell ;)

We went over to the convention center to see Wildwood Catholic play in the Boardwalk Basketball Classic. Ashley, my good friend from high school, met us on Tuesday morning and it was wonderful to catch up with her!

We went to Tokyo for lunch one afternoon.

We goofed off in general! haha

We made it back home on Sunday Jan. 1. Chris had to work the whole time we were in NJ, so we thoroughly enjoyed this past week with him. We loved having Daddy home every night. But the new semester has begun and Chris is back to school. Lizzie also started preschool this week; we joined a group of moms and their kids from another ward. Lizzie is loving it so far, and I enjoy spending some one-on-one time with the Catie baby. Talk to you soon!

Weekend Fun

2011-12-20T14:12:00.011-06:00

I emphasize weekend because, for the second time this month, the stomach flu has hit the Killion House. Yesterday was Cate, this morning was Chris, and Lizzie just threw up. Tomorrow...well, I have a feeling I will be tomorrow's victim.

On Friday we had Reed and Blake over our house.
I love this picture of Blake! I realize he's on a pink blanket...ours is a house of girls after all! ;)

The older ones requested a silly picture!

But the young ones were serious, of course.

Later that night we joined forces with the Heit's again. This time we drove down to the National Harbor for their Christmas tree lighting and fireworks. SO MUCH FUN!

I had never heard of this place before (thank you Lois for discovering it!) but I know we will go back. It looks like it would be an awesome place to visit in the summer. The best store, besides Charming Charlie's for us ladies, was The Peep Store. We were in heaven!

I didn't know the company that makes Peeps also makes Hot Tamales and Mike 'N' Ikes. There was a lot to see and to taste!

On Saturday night we had our ward Christmas party, Polar Express-themed. The kids came in pajamas and everything was decorated so beautifully.
Lizzie and Cate were not afraid of Santa but as soon as Cate got her candy cane, she was ready to go (as evidenced in the picture).

There was a kid-sized train to ride, so naturally Cate stayed here nearly the entire evening!

All the children received a gingerbread house and Lizzie had a lot of fun decorating (aka eating) it.

Here is Lizzie with her card from Granny and Opa, and the gift she purchased with her $5. She felt very grown up carrying her money in her Dora wallet!

This is for Uncle John: Lizzie's newest favorite place to read books! haha

The Lizzie Birthday Post

2011-12-15T20:58:00.014-06:00

"When are you due?"

It was a fairly common question once I hit my third trimester during Fall 2008. Towards the last weeks of the semester, it became a daily question. And when I would reply, "December 12th," eyes would get large as brains realized that particular day was the last day of finals.

"Do you think you'll finish your exams first?!"

I thought so. Well, I knew so. Every night I would tell my belly that patience is the key--let Mom finish her finals, please. And what do you know--that is exactly what Miss Elizabeth did.

Lizzie was born on December 13th, the day after my finals were completed (besides a Span 445 take-home exam). I am writing this and I feel like I could be back at school, taking fifteen credits all while reading and writing my way through the English department.

But THREE years have passed. My BYU experience is over and I received two important things during that time in my life: my degree and most especially, my first daughter!

Lizzie is very much like me. She has my brown hair, my brown eyes, my skin tone. She loves to read books, to play at the beach, and to be friends with everyone. Lizzie is my friend, always wanting to help me cook dinner or to work on a craft. She teaches me to enjoy the moment. I love her so much! Happy Birthday to my Liz!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Saturday, Lizzie had her first birthday party with four friends! (We missed you, McKelle!) She had a marvelous time and she was so happy to have friends over to celebrate her special day.
Everything was PINK PINK and more PINK, of course!

Belle had to be part of the cake.

Uncle John had a princess-themed Edible Arrangement sent over--it was a big hit.

Blow out those candles!

Opening her muffin bake set, from friends Sophie and Chloe.

Lizzie and Mia

Chloe loved the balloons!

Kate found a ton of fun things in the toy box.

Cate pinning the crown on the princess (our version of pin the tail on the donkey).

All the girls: Chloe, Sophie, Mia, Lizzie, Kate. Thanks for smiling, Sophie :)

On Sunday we headed over to the Heit's to celebrate Blake's birthday! He's now one year old. Such a cutie :)
Lizzie is still talking about how awesome the car cakes were!

Here's Blake with one of his birthday books

"How much cake can I fit in my mouth at one time?" :)

On Tuesday (Lizzie's actual birthday), we went to IHOP for a birthday breakfast. Lizzie got a Happy Face pancake for the occasion!

If there are pancakes involved, Cate's happy.

After we finished our breakfast, a birthday sundae arrived for Lizzie, complete with singing from the staff of IHOP. It was great!

We had the missionaries over for lunch later that afternoon. Elder Gibb will be heading home to AZ next week and we wanted to have him and his companion over one last time. We will definitely miss him!

Later that night, we had the Heit's and Turman's come over for some more cake and ice cream! (When it's your birthday, you can never have too much cake or ice cream.)

Lizzie got a new Ken from Reed and Blake,

and a Disney Princess art set from Andrew,

and a Jake and the Never Land Pirates DVD from us.

Lizzie now owns a Rapunzel ATV, thanks to her gracious Uncle John. You should've seen her face--she started screaming and jumping up and down with happiness!

Chris is finished with this semester! Onto celebrating Christmas and enjoying the season without school...until January 9th, that is ;)

Good luck with your Christmas shopping--

See you next week!

Finally!

2011-12-08T21:29:00.012-06:00

Chris has been on the laptop quite a bit these last few days, in preparation for his final exams. I'm fine with that because I want him to do his best. But I DO miss being able to go to the computer at any time (hehe)! I realized that I better get a move-on and write an update of our week while he is on his way home from exam #1 (Property Law).

Well. Our week was...interesting. We got hit with the stomach flu. Then Lizzie developed the beginnings of strep throat, so she's been on antibiotics for the past four days. Cate began today with a stuffy nose and emitted a few coughs throughout the afternoon so I can only imagine how much worse she'll sound in the morning. Tis the season of sickness! (I wish I were kidding.) Despite our sick selves, we've had a good time decorating the house for Christmas!

Lizzie helped me decorate the tree.

She loved unwrapping the ornaments and hanging them on the branches.

Cate wasn't really interested in helping us until she discovered these little football snowmen (Eagles and Broncos, respectively).

We put all the kid-friendly ornaments towards the bottom of the tree. And yes, they are taken down at least once a day.

Christmas decorations took the place of the autumn ones.

The girls love Baby Jesus!

Granny and Opa sent us a package with Christmas ornaments and color-yourself Grinch plates. Lizzie loved coloring it!

A current favorite: HOOK 'EM HORNS! Lizzie does this all the time!

It wouldn't be a winter week without our trip to the library. I love watching the kids pour over books!

I left my hair dryer/diffuser in NJ and I've been a bit lost without it. I decided to try something new that I saw on pinterest: bantu knots.
Twist wet hair and allow to dry. (We slept in ours.)

Untwist and enjoy!

Lizzie's hair doesn't hold curls very well at all, but these bantu knot curls stayed curly all day. I will for sure do it for Lizzie again!

For me though...not ever again.
I think my issue is my thin hair. I've always had thin hair compared to my sisters, but it's even more thin after two pregnancies. I also made more bantu knots on my hair than on Lizzie's--another mistake. The more knots you make, the tighter the curl.
I had to put a bandana on my hair to flaten it out a bit.

I could not bring myself to take a picture of my hair without a bandana on it. It was honestly that bad.

We made some snowflakes this week too. Lizzie loves all sorts of crafts!

When you have girls, you dress up!

Mom is the horse. "Move faster, Mom!"

No matter how sick they were, these girls couldn't resist a good jump on the bed!

Have a great week :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-27T19:35:00.017-06:00

Before we took off for New Jersey, we went to the library. Always fun at the G-town libary!

Being a superhero is a tough job.

But someone has to do it! Lizzie's current favorite: Super-reader!

One of the highlights of our Thanksgiving week in NJ was Wildwood Catholic's production of MAME! (Pop-pop was kind enough to watch Cate while we went to WCHS; Lizzie joined us and did so well, sitting in her seat for nearly three hours.)

My sister Katie was Mame Dennis, a wealthy socialite whose life suddenly changes when she gains custody of her nephew Patrick.

My brother Joe played Ito, Mame's Japanese butler--accent and all. He was absolutely hilarious!

One of my favorite scenes was Vera (played by Sarah) and Mame's song, "Bosom Buddies." It was perfect for Sarah and Katie because they are such good friends in real life!

I also enjoyed the scene where Mr. Burnside brings Mame down south to meet his family--lots of dancing!

Coming onto the stage after the show--

Standing ovation, of course!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable night. I am so proud of Katie and Joe. They performed so well--all I heard throughout the night was "Your brother and sister are AMAZING! They are so talented!"

Thanksgiving day was busy but productive! We talked about the food we wanted on the table and made up a schedule for the execution of the dishes. Despite some doubt (cough cough MOM haha), everything made it on to the table without trouble! I think the cooking schedule needs to be an annual thing!
Our list of required items

Our time table

Check out the Mame apron!

Julia at the stove--

Checkerboard sweet potatoes made it on to the table for the first time this year--they are definitely a keeper.

The table full of food! Happy Thanksgiving to us!

Later on, my mom and Liz had a fun time building towers with dominoes. Lizzie was very protective of the tall tower!

IT'S GOING TO FALL!

On Saturday we all headed down to our neck of the woods because the Cape May youth had a temple trip.

Lizzie being silly!

Mom, Dad, Kate, Joe, and Chris went inside. Julia and I stayed with Cate and Liz and we went to the Visitors' Center, where we ran into...Havalah and her boy Luke!

(Brigg joined us soon after.) What a pleasant surprise!
Havalah and I lived on U Hall's 4th floor in Deseret Towers as freshmen, and we joined forces once again as Resident Assistants the following year (in U Hall). It was SO nice to catch up and meet each others' kids. Luke is a cutie who has red hair, just like Cate! :)

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

NJ Nov. Weekend #1

2011-11-15T19:56:00.014-06:00

We enjoyed one of the library's discovery rooms on Thursday afternoon. The kids have such a great time!

Even after our time was up in the discovery room, the older kids enjoyed reading books and picking out some books to take home.

Cate and Blake enjoyed the fish in the enormous tank!

We drove up to NJ later that night without any problems. (It helps to leave at 9pm--we ladies picked up Chris from GW and off we went!) We love driving through the city to get to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. "Look Mom, look Dad! It's the CAPITOL!" Lizzie always makes sure we don't miss it!

(I didn't take that picture but isn't it gorgeous at night?)

The best picture of the drive? Two sleepy ladies :)

On Friday night Chris and I treated Katie to dinner at P.F. Chang's in Atlantic City. The reason? Completing her BYU application essays early. Her entire BYU app is finished and will be processed soon, we hope! (I didn't take a picture because Katie happened to comment that she hates it when people take pictures at restaurants...you're welcome, Katie! hahaha)

On Saturday, we headed over to the chapel for Kelsie and Michael's wedding. My mom helped Pinkie all week with decorating and other wedding necessities so it was nice for us to see the finished product. Everything looked absolutely wonderful! The bride and groom were smiling ear-to-ear the entire time. We wish them the very best!

We had a fabulous time! The Candell's know how to throw a party!
Nice face, Julia ;P

Mom with her Catie lady

The girls found a toy from the Mothers' room!

Mom, Kelsie, me

Cutting cake!

Lizzie danced the ENTIRE time! I kid you not. She danced more than I did. She stole the show in the moves department ;)

After awhile, she had a friend join her!

We will be back in NJ for Thanksgiving. Talk to you soon!

2011-11-09T19:54:00.003-06:00

November is in full swing here in the DC Metro area, if you look at the trees.

But temperature-wise, it feels like early September! Mid to low sixties all week. No winter jackets for us!

We made some turkeys this week! Cate just wanted to sit on my lap and read a book,

but Lizzie enjoyed the craft. She made one for Daddy too!

This is Sophie and Lizzie at their dance class today--isn't this the CUTEST picture? I love it. Such sweet friends they are!

We went to the Montgomery Mall for their Kids' Day. We were late because of the dance class, but we didn't leave without...FACE PAINTING! The girls were in awe!
Lizzie requested a butterfly. She wasn't disappointed!

Every time Lizzie passed a mirror, she'd stop to admire.

Cate didn't sit long enough for glitter but she still looked so cool!

My butterfly girls with their telescopes

Per Lizzie's request, we redboxed "Barbie Princess Charm School" two days ago. They put on princess clothes and danced to their hearts' content!

Cate kept stopping to admire her skirt.

We're off to NJ this weekend for a wedding of a dear childhood friend of mine, Kelsie. Talk to you next week!

Spooky!

2011-11-02T10:12:00.015-05:00

That is currently Lizzie's favorite word. If it's dark outside, it's "spooky." If we walk under some shade from a tree, we are in a "spooky" dark forest. If it looks weird, it's very "spooky." Spooky is appropriate for the times because of Halloween!

Lizzie had her first dance class last week.

It's a "Mommy and Me" dance class, so technically I had my first dance class too!

(First one in...fifteen years or so. Yikes!)
Lizzie was in total heaven; we had a fabulous time! Our friends Bethel and Sophie are in it too--we're so happy to be in class with them! The girls loved the big mirror.

We had a Halloween Party at our house on Friday night--Heit's, Turman's, Killion's. haha I love Justin's face in this picture!

Lots of good food and sweet treats, BYU football game, World Series game, crafts, you name it we had it! The kids even got to practice trick-or-treating, which they loved! They especially loved the tutu on Lois's head!

Despite SNOW on Saturday, (it did not damper little girls' spirits, that's for sure)

our ward trunk-or-treat made it through unscathed. It just got moved inside :)

After going through the church halls to make one big circle, many of us gathered in the gym to eat some candy. The girls were so happy with their full pumpkins.

When actual Halloween rolled around, on Monday night, Cate and I were sick. Sore throats, coughing, runny/stuffy noses, the whole nine yards. We were in no condition to be out and about so Chris was kind enough to stay home from school so he could take Lizzie out with the Heit's and Turman's. They had a wonderful time!

Cate wanted to show you her pumpkin too!

Dad with Lizzie

All the kids, minus Cate!

It was a successful night for sure!

Happy Anniversary to my parents! They celebrated their 25th anniversary on November 1st. This is one of my favorite pictures of them, from our wedding nearly four and a half years ago.

See you next week!

Someone becomes 3-0

2011-10-24T21:50:00.010-05:00

Happy Birthday to Chris! He is thirty years old as of yesterday. (So funny--I called him "my old man" when we were dating but I barely use the phrase anymore, even though it is more appropriate now than it was then!) Have you had the Jr. Primary sing "Happy Birthday" to you recently? ;) Because Chris got that privilege! For his birthday dinner, I made rouladen and German potato salad--everything tasted awesome and I'm not just saying that because I made it! I say that because Germans are smart: they throw bacon in everything and bacon makes everything awesome!

We had the Heit's and Turman's over later that night for some cake and ice cream. Chris requested a sour cream cake for his birthday cake. It's his mom's recipe, and let me tell you what--it's fabulous! I'm glad he asked for that one :)

The girls wanted to help their Daddy blow out the candles.

Here are the kids at their table!

The Turman's gave Chris a glow-in-the-dark sports set: football, soccer, basketball. They're a big hit of course!

The Heit's gave Chris Mike and Ikes (his favorite) and baby food--because that's what you eat when you get old! hahaha And hey, banana is actually pretty good!

Guess who ran off with the Mike and Ikes--she was caught red-handed! And clearly, she has no remorse!

We girls got our Dad a nose, hair, and eyebrow trimmer, two shirts, a pair of pants, and a new pair of Uggs.

We spent the weekend in Williamsburg, VA visiting family. It went by so fast but we had so much fun! We hope to go back soon to visit the Nielson family. While we were there, we visited also Jamestown (remember Pocahontas and John Smith?) and Yorktown (where the Revolutionary War ended, aka where the British surrendered and we won). These three towns are known as the Historic Triangle (Williamsburg is included because it was the capital of colonial Virginia). There is a ton of history in this area and we absolutely loved it!

Jamestown, located beside the James River, is a really cool place. The girls loved exploring!

The girls love cannons!

The best souvenir ever!

Yorktown is next to the York River and we did the audio tour of the battlefield. The girls slept through most of this, but they woke up towards the end of the tour.
Note: Look closely at Cate in this picture.

Lizzie's reaction to driving through a flooded road!

From earlier this week:
Look who can climb onto the dining room table now!

You caught me, Mom!

Library time

Guess who is inside?

Playing at the park

S'mores--thanks Barbie

2011-10-17T22:04:00.012-05:00

This past week we stopped by the Family Fun Day at the Montgomery Mall. Complete success! We will certainly be returning (2nd and 4th Wed, every month). Good music, paper guitar decorating, treats from Chik-fil-a and Auntie Anne's, colorful balloons--the kids loved it.

We stopped by Redbox quite a few times last week. The girls enjoyed some movies (Spooky Buddies, Cat in the hat Trick or Treat, etc.) and I enjoyed some movies (The Conspirator, Thor, etc.), all by my lonesome while Chris was at school! One movie I got for the girls was Barbie Princess Charm School. The girls liked the extras more than the actual movie, I think. One clip was called "A-camping we will go!" where Barbie and her sisters go camping for a night. They made s'mores and Lizzie asked if we could make some later. She and Cate were so fascinated by the whole process. And naturally, they were a big hit!

Shelley hosted a Craft Day at her house later in the week. I was pleasantly surprised and very thankful that I finished the craft...Cate usually has a difficult time leaving my side! These Halloween jars are too cute! (Check Woman's Day Magazine for directions on how to make it.) I've decided to use the mantel in the living room during the holidays to house decorations--the girls can't reach it ;)

Upclose view

Lizzie has helped me with a ghost jar and a frankenstein jar--I'll get pictures of those when they are finished.

On Saturday, the Heit's watched Lizzie and Cate while Chris and I went to the temple. Later that night, we had Reed and Blake at our place so Lois and Jeff could go to the temple. The kids were too cute! (Cate fell asleep early, hence her absence in the pictures.)
Megamind was the movie of choice for the night!

Blake LOVED the Buzz mobile!

Sunday mornings aren't complete without scrambled eggs and banana pancakes :)

Jersey Week and Valley Forge

2011-10-08T20:39:00.027-05:00

We said goodbye to dear friends of ours recently. The Wilkins family moved west to Oklahoma; we miss them so much already! (We hope to visit with them the next time we are in TX.) Before they left for OK and we left for NJ, we got together for some play time.
Nice face, Elizabeth! ;)

On the day we left for NJ, we ladies joined the Heit's and the Turman's for some fun at the Rio. The kids had a great time--I loved this picture of Reed and Lizzie "riding their bikes!"

We also went to the park nearby and found some ducks along the way!

We went to New Jersey on Sept 23, intending to stay for only the weekend. The girls and I ended up staying for the week! Springer's Ice Cream in Stone Harbor, NJ needed some help with some end of the season things, since many employees went back to school.
Before Chris went back to MD, we walked the boardwalk and stopped by the Irish Festival in North Wildwood.

I loved helping out at Springer's! I scooped ice cream, washed dishes, and thoroughly enjoyed myself! I felt like I was back in high school :) It didn't really feel like work because I was surrounded by family and friends. I brought the camera and naturally, we documented as much as we could--

During the day, my mom went to Springer's to help out so the girls and I had that time to run errands for the family or to do whatever we wanted. We saw Katie play in one of her tennis matches and we saw Julia play in one of her soccer games too.
We enjoyed the very summer-like weather in the front yard.

We went to the beach to play!

We also went to 24th street park.

We even visited to the Cape May County Zoo. The zoo has great parks as well :)

When Chris came back to NJ, we ate breakfast at the Hot Spot on the boardwalk. It was AWESOME! On our way back to my parents' house, Chris spotted go-karts so he and Lizzie went for a ride. I only got two pictures because my camera died suddenly; the second picture is perfect--Lizzie had that smile on her face during the entire ride!

After a fabulous General Conference weekend, we headed back to MD for a day and a half before we once again packed our bags for another adventure away from home. Chris had some training to do up in Valley Forge, PA so we ladies joined him for the trip. While Chris was at training during the day, we kept ourselves occupied at The King of Prussia Mall and Valley Forge National Park.
Good morning from the Killion girls!

The best store in the mall was The Disney Store. Lizzie was in her element!

Cate slept during all of this but I had to put some Minnie ears on her!

We had a great day and a half exploring Valley Forge National Park because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We loved the wide open spaces and the fall colors blanketing the area.

On Friday afternoon, we picked up Chris from the LMCO building and we headed into Philly! My mom, dad, and sister Julia drove up to the city for a day trip (Katie and Joe still had school) so we decided to meet up with them. I LOVE walking through Philly's historic sights district--Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Carpenter's Hall, etc.

We discovered a new museum with beautiful portraits and statues of early American leaders like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, etc.

Liz found herself a bonnet and a little Liberty Bell!

We made it over to Butler's Orchard this morning for Sophie's birthday party! The girls had a blast (before Cate became cranky, aka needed a nap). Happy Birthday to our dear friend Sophie!

We are happy to be home--see you next week!

September happenings

2011-09-18T20:57:00.014-05:00

Currently, Lizzie's favorite thing to do during bathtime is make beards with bubbles.

Cate thinks it's hilarious.

Before the weather turned cool this past week, we enjoyed the sunshine.

On Thursday, Lois, Katya, and I went to a Discovery Room in the library and let the kids have fun! We plan on going back for sure--the kids loved it.

On Friday it was really cold outside so we HAD to drive to Frederick for some Wawa hot chocolate :) We also stopped by the Key Mall to let the girls play with a puppy.

I loved how Cate crouched down to get a better look at the beagle!

We drove to Hagerstown on Saturday afternoon. We managed to find some good deals at the outlets (new shoes for Chris and me @ adidas--buy one, get one 50% off) and the girls got some things at Gymboree and Carter's. There's a cute park in the outlet mall so the girls spent a lot of time there!

Look who decided to climb in the tub with her clothes on! (a la Uncle Bill)

Lizzie discovered this at Walmart the other day!

Remembering...

2011-09-11T21:04:00.004-05:00

Ten years ago today, I was a brand new freshman at Wildwood Catholic High School. We were just a few days into the new school year.

Ten years ago today, I was sitting in third mod Spanish class with Mrs. Bolle. I believe we were working on some vocabulary.

Ten years ago today, I was flooded with disbelief when our principal came on the loudspeaker and announced what had just taken place in New York City. For the rest of the school day, the TVs were on in every classroom as we watched the atrocities unfolding just a couple of hours away from us in three different directions: north in NYC, south in DC, and west in PA.

Ten years ago today, America changed.

I love my country. I love our diversity. I love the people who protect us and who fight for our freedom. My prayers are with everyone affected and they always will be.
A full decade has passed, but I will never forget the way I felt ten years ago today.

I hope you never forget. 9.11.01

Fall approaches!

2011-09-04T19:51:00.006-05:00

As much as I love summer, I look forward to fall. Chris finished his first week of his second year of law school. His Wednesday and Thursday nights will be long, but so far so good. The girls and I are holding up; this week was a bit difficult because both girls recognized that Daddy wasn't around as much. So naturally Lizzie tested every limit that she could! Good thing she's a sweetie ;)

I'm late with these pictures but on Friday the 26th, we went to the Germantown Splash Park with Ashley and Brylee Wilkins. Brylee and Lizzie play very well together and Cate loved keeping up with the big girls.

They discovered a frog in the midst of all the water!

This past Wednesday we went over to the Wilkins' for some more play time! The girls had so much fun outside--can you see why? Time to drive and to ride!

And time to climb trees, too!

Both girls insisted on bringing purses to our Target run the other day.

I managed to get Cate's hair into pigtails this week! She wasn't a big fan but it looked too cute!

The REAL Jersey Shore

2011-08-18T14:14:00.026-05:00

When I first arrived at BYU and said that I was from New Jersey, people always replied, "Oh, New Joisey!" And I'd say no--I do NOT speak like that. Nowadays if I happen to mention my home state, the response is, "Oh, like Jersey Shore!" NO. My town and its people are NOT like that. That TV show is nothing like North Wildwood. I am here today to show you what it's really like...

The beach-- Sun+sand+surf= a fabulous time had by all! It's a lot easier for us to go to the beach in NJ than our pool in MD because in NJ, we have a ton of extra hands to help out with the girls! Lizzie and Cate had SO much fun this past week and a half. They couldn't get enough of the water and the sand!

The boards-- "Watch the tram car, please!" We took the girls up on the boardwalk for their first tram ride, and naturally they adored it. We took the tram to the Crest end of the boardwalk and back a few times during the week.

The ice cream-- Springer's Ice Cream in Stone Harbor is like a Mormon party because many members of the Cape May Branch work there! We love stopping in to try tradional favorites or something new. Cate is not a big fan of holding her own cone but she loves trying everyone's ice cream.

The circus-- The Cole Bros. Circus was in town while we were in NW and my parents had a few tickets so of course we had to go. Thank goodness for the tickets because it's a small fortune to pay to get inside! Lizzie got cotton candy and rode a pony. Cate disliked the whole sitting-down-to-watch-something, so I spent the first 1.5 hours standing with her in the corner while my mom took care of her during the second half of the show. I hope she's more interested next year!

The basketball-- Julia has been playing basketball this summer in the Crest league (I did the same when I was her age!). She had a playoff game while we were visiting so it was nice to watch her play. She has certainly improved since she started playing ;)

The relaxing days in the yard-- The girls love playing in the front yard of the house. They love playing on the slide! Lizzie loves to help her Mimi water her plants and the Jett family garden. There's always something to explore outside.

The fun nights at the park-- I grew up playing at 24th street park so it's pretty cool to take the girls there so they can play. Cate was walking everywhere (she currently hates the swings) and Lizzie made plenty of friends while we were there.

As hectic as the summer season is for my family, we are always happy to visit! There's nothing like the REAL Jersey shore ;)

Summer fun!

2011-08-03T19:57:00.014-05:00

I figurec I should write a post before we take off for a week to NJ :)

Chris and Lizzie made it to Cars 2 (10am--no chance of a nap here!) and Lizzie absolutely loved it. She was so happy to see Lightning McQueen and Mater once again! (When we went to Walmart earlier this week, we stopped by the toy section and she showed me all the new characters of the movie.) Here are Chris and Lizzie before entering the movie theater--one of my new favorite pictures.

While Chris and Lizzie were at Cars 2, Cate and I shopped around the Rio. We stopped by Barnes and Noble for storytime too.

After the movie, the girls and I took a train ride. Lizzie and Cate had a ball! Now everytime we go down to the Rio, Lizzie asks to see the train.

Later on, we drove to Frederick to do some shopping and naturally, we had to go to Wawa for lunch! We found a picnic table in Buckeystown and enjoyed the nice [hot] weather.

On Monday, after our FHE, we drove to Damascus to get some ice cream at Jimmie Cone. Chris and Lizzie shared a banana split,

and Cate helped me eat a pineapple sundae.

Chris got Cate to stick out her tongue--

What a fun night! Jimmie Cone is awesome :)

This week I bought a watercolor paint set and paper pad for Lizzie and she has had a blast with it. We have a budding artist in the making!

Today is park/playgroup day, but it rained off and on throughout the morning, so I took the girls to the mall so they could play at the indoor playground. Cate wandered all over the place but her favorite today was the hollow "logs" and Lizzie joined her inside one of them. It's a little dark, but you get the idea.

Lizzie found this hat at Forever 21! She models it so well ;)

Surviving in the heat

2011-07-29T20:54:00.013-05:00

While it has been pretty hot here in Maryland, it feels relatively nice when compared to the days we spent in Texas. There's actually a BREEZE here!

Every Thursday morning, we head over to Gaithersburg (usually with the Heit's, Turman's, and Reese's) to the City Hall Concert Pavilion. There's always a show of some sort--puppet shows, music, dancing, everything fun for kids. Last week an Irish folk singer had plenty of songs to keep the kids entertained!

Cate keeps cool with her juice

We sometimes head to the park right next to the pavilion to let the kids play after the show, but it was way too hot for that. We went to Costco instead! Smoothies and frozen yogurt are good for you in such hot, sticky weather!

Lizzie loves the movie Cars, so Chris took her to see Cars 2 last weekend. She was so excited to see the movie "on a REALLY big TV!"

One problem...she fell asleep on the way to the theater and she wouldn't wake up! After a few unsuccessful attempts to wake Liz, Chris put her back in her car seat and they came home, where she continued to nap. They're going to try again tomorrow! :)

On Saturday we headed over to the Heit's to celebrate Jeff's birthday! Lois made a FABULOUS chocolate cake, complete with chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache, in addition to homemade strawberry sorbet. Heaven on a plate. It was such a fun night with the Heit's and Turman's, as always. The kids had to help with the candles!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Cate is climbing on everything and taking more and more steps around the house. She's gaining more confidence daily. She has recently learned how to pull herself up to the Toy Story table so she can join Lizzie at lunch time.

Cate has also learned how to climb onto the coffee table and dance! Lizzie joined her--aren't they so much fun?

Busting a move ;)

Superstar sisters!

At this week's show in the pavilion, Eager Beaver and his friends did some magic tricks for the kids. Lizzie ran up to the front of the stage like she usually does, but this time when they asked for volunteers, she ran RIGHT onto the stage! She loved helping and holding the magic hat!

We've done some shopping at Bed, Bath, and Beyond this week (another NJ wedding reception next month!) Lizzie found these tiny alarm clocks--that's what she's holding in her hand.

See you next week!

The Texas Post

2011-07-21T21:34:00.010-05:00

One word that sums up our trip to Fort Worth: hot.

Literally. Figuratively too of course, but we are talking about actual degree temperatures here.

After a semi-successful plane ride (semi because Cate screamed for a solid hour and would not sit still; successful because we finally made it to DFW), we got our luggage fairly quickly. We headed outside since John and Hillary were just about to pull up to the curb. The sliding doors parted...and the sauna commenced. The heat was incredbily intense. We learned it was 101 degrees.

It was 9:30pm. Unbelievable.

What do you do in Texas when your skin sizzles at the mere exposure to sunlight?

Swim! *I've decided that if we move to Texas, we WILL have a pool.

It was refreshing, so relaxing--Cate especially thought so because she fell asleep in her float.

A big thank you to Aunt Hillary for letting us swim!

Staying indoors is the another good way to beat the heat.

We found a McDonald's with an indoor playground for the girls when we met up with Great-Grandma Killion in Sulphur Springs, TX.

We found a mall with playgrounds for the little ones and we had a great reunion with dear friends at the same time. Temple, TX was the meeting place for the Killion's and the Stapley's, since we found ourselves in the same state!

**We figure that the halfway point for a four family reunion of Killion, Stapley, Holden, and Lee is somewhere in the Midwest...so we need to plan that! ;)

We had fun indoor projects to keep us busy--adding to the Killion family handprint wall!

The story behind the handprint wall goes like this--when the Killion family moved into the house, the entire kitchen was wallpapered. The biggest wall with wallpaper was scuffed up and scratched from chairs or whatnot so they got rid of the wallpaper. Wondering what to do with that large blank space, Chris suggested that every family member place his or her handprints on the wall. When I met Chris's family in November 2006, my hands got their spot on the wall. Lizzie, Cate, and Hillary now have their hands on the wall!

We went to the Dallas Temple (how I love this gem of a temple). This is the temple we attended for the first year of our marriage so I'm always nostalgic when we visit.

Hillary and I saw the midnight showing of Harry Potter at the Movie Tavern! We had such a fun time. Check out our Harry Potter 3-D glasses--they're pretty sweet, I know!

We had such a wonderful time in Texas. We truly did. It went by way too fast (it always does) and Chris is already trying to plan next year's trip there. We loved spending time with the Killion family and the girls definitely loved every minute with Granny, Opa, Uncle John, Aunt Millie, Uncle Paul, and Uncle Mark. Thank you for a fabulous time!

The Catie Baby turns 1

2011-07-01T19:34:00.009-05:00

Really. It's true. Wasn't this perfect little peach born yesterday? I feel like she was!

But yes, Cate is now a year older and wiser. The Birthday Girl!

We went to a outdoor concert in Gaithersburg with the Heit's and the Reese's. The kids were invited onto the stage for one song and Lizzie ran right up there.

We had a small party for Cate, just us family :) I've made funfetti cakes for Lizzie for her birthdays so I figured I would keep up the tradition!

Cate and her cake--she's definitely thinking: what is this?

First taste

This is good!

Would you like some, Mom?

Miss Messy after all

The girls loved every bit of their cake and ice cream :)

Cate got cards from Grandma Killion and Granny & Opa, and I am told there are gifts awaiting her the next time we go to NJ. :D

Here's what's been happening lately with the Killion's...

Reed, Lizzie, Andrew at the Unicycle Lady's show in G-burg

Lounging by the pool :)

Park fun!

Two weeks!

2011-06-21T21:10:00.018-05:00

We Killion girls spent a solid two weeks in Jersey and we loved it! I think it was the perfect time to visit because it was the last two weeks of school for Katie, Joe, and Julia. Most of their activities were drawing to a close, so they were home quite a bit and the girls loved that. We were running all over the county with my mom, too--that woman never stops! ;)

Enjoy the pictures of the fun Jersey times...

Relaxing time:
Bye bye old couch...enjoying some sun in the yard before someone took it away haha

Wedding Time:
Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Chaz Flud 6/4/11

MMS crew represent--we go way back!

Thumbs up haha

Cutting the cake

Park time:
Swinging at Allen Park

Wood chips are very fascinating!

Baby celebration time:
Genna Volchko's baby shower for little Olivia :)

Helping out at MMS Field Day--Lizzie insisted on trying out the bouncy house obstacle course. She did everything all by herself! What a champ :)

Bring out the kidde pool! The girls LOVED this. If we weren't at the beach, we were "at the pool"!

Some more fun at the MMS playground!

It's not a trip to NJ without Springer's ice cream :)

A trip to the Cape May County Zoo with our friend Riley!

Ahhhh the beach. Amazing.

LCMRHS 2011 graduation:
Katie, Mom, and me

Go Becca Walker!

MMS graduation! (Sorry, it's dark.) But on this night I realized that I graduated from Margaret Mace TEN YEARS AGO. Crazy!

Mrs. Parson's retirement party, courtesy of the 5th grade! Mrs. Parsons has taught every one of us Jett kids. We are sad to see her go but we wish her a happy retirement!

Uncle Billy is back from BYU! So where do we go? Springer's of course!

Cate is excited to see Aunt Julia!

Father's Day BBQ after church...enjoying the beautiful weather.

So there you have it. A Jersey vacay! Thank you to Pop-pop, Mimi, Aunt Katie, Aunt Julia, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Bill for making it memorable. See you soon!

Four years

2011-06-02T23:36:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite parts of the day is when Daddy comes home. The girls head straight for the door--Lizzie running and Cate speed crawling--Lizzie hugs Chris's legs while saying, "Father! Father, you're back!" Cate sits at his feet, hopping up and down on her bottom to catch his attention. He grabs both girls football-style and rushes them into the house as they sqeal with glee.

Four years ago today, we set the foundation for our future by getting married on June 2, 2007 in the Washington DC Temple. So much has happened in these four years. We are the parents of two beautiful girls who teach us every day that parenthood is the greatest blessing on this earth. "We" are in law school, 1/4 of the way finished...hey, I might not be attending classes with Chris, but I certainly know more about the law today than I did a year ago! We've been here in Maryland for over two years now--we love the area and the people in it. We have done so much and we have so much more to look forward to.

When we first met in August 2006, one of my journal entries read something like this: "If Chris Killion were to ask me out, I would totally say yes!" :) At that time, neither of us knew that we would marry each other, but we are certainly glad we did!

Chris is my best friend. He knows me better than I know myself sometimes! He is the best father for our little ladies. He possesses so much more patience than I do! He goes to work every day (not always enjoyable work) to put food on our table and clothes on our backs. During the school year, he goes to classes AFTER a full day of work and still finds time to accomplish his schoolwork and his home/church responsibilities. He will send me out the door to give me a break from a hectic day even after he has had a hectic day himself. He constantly puts others before himself, especially when it makes others happy. He inspires me so much because he always does the right thing--not because he has to do the right thing, but because he WANTS to do the right thing.

Christopher Mikel, Happy Anniversary--four years down, eternity to go! I love you!

To White's Ferry and beyond!

2011-05-23T21:20:00.003-05:00

Having Cafe Rio so close to us, after having it out of reach for so long, is quite nice. Chris said today that he doesn't remember going there too often while in Provo but since its arrival to the East Coast, we've been there a few times! Cafe Rio is awesome! We went with the Heit's on Friday night and enjoyed every bit of it. After eating pure deliciousness, we adults talked for a while while Reed and Liz had fun at the table next to us haha.

On Saturday morning, I went to the church to help out with the Primary Activity. The Primary kids got their very own "mission calls" to France, Latvia, Haiti, or Madagascar--what a great time! Lizzie came for the first part, when the Sunbeams learned all about the Haitian culture.

After the activity, we met up with the Clark's and drove out to the boonies to go on White's Ferry, which would take us to Leesburg, VA for some outlet shopping. We drove alllll the way there only to find out that the ferry was closed for the day! But, no worries, we came prepared for a picnic lunch at the park. We packed hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, chips, potato salad, the works!
A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead!

Cate likes to put her feet up

Scottie!

The girls playing with bubbles

Some other pictures from the week:
Lizzie got inside Cate's diaper box

Liz trying on Mom's shoes

Miss Cutie Cate, during lunch

Lizzie lady

Being silly!

Meet 'Fangs'

2011-05-16T13:48:00.015-05:00

...also known as Cate!

Yep, teeth #3 and #4 have broken through and she's as cute as ever.

We enjoyed the sunshine while we played at the park this week, before all the weekend rain.
Lizzie getting ready to run!

Andelyne and Cate, chatting in the shade :)

Some swing time!

A tasty but messy snack...teething biscuits

We went to the park by our house with the Clark's too!
The girls colored for awhile before we left.

Trying to sit together in the stroller...they love to be silly and have fun :)

Exploring

Sleeping Cate

Sleeping Scottie

On Saturday we went to the Lancaster County Dutch Market FOR THE FIRST TIME! (Only took us two years haha!) It was incredibly awesome. Definitely reminded us of Cowtown in Woodstown, NJ...so we will certainly be going back! We also went to the Germantown Library for a great booksale, where we picked up a ton of books for us and for the girls--everything cost us $6.75. We went up to Frederick for some Costco and Walmart shopping, and we browsed through the Key Mall. It was a fabulous Saturday!

Other favorites:
Cate crawling around the mall playrground

Lizzie in her Sunday dress

When I checked on the girls last night before I went to bed, this is how I found Miss Lizzie!!

A moment of peace

2011-05-10T17:44:00.016-05:00

I have a moment of peace bcause Chris has both girls occupied in the kitchen, baking some chocolate chip cookies. I like to say that Cate "supervises" from her high chair while Liz is the supreme sous chef. They love to be involved! Needless to say, we love having Daddy around after he comes home from work, now that school is over for the summer.

Last week we spent some time with the Clark's and we had so much fun. I mostly took some pictures of the little ones because they are too cute!

Chris wanted to buy Liz some sports equipment/fun things for the summer so we went to Five Below. The girls loved the purchases, as you can see--couldn't even let them go in their sleep!

We spent the weekend up in NJ. The weather was absolutely perfect! We had a wonderful time! On Saturday we went to the Cape May County Zoo. Everyone had a blast! Even Baby Cate who refused to keep her hat on her head. I keep reminding her that she is a fair lady who will burn...she listens sometimes :)

The zoo has really improved since I was a kid. They now have a gift shop, food court, merry-go-round, train, etc. We had to try some of it out!

As I said, the weather was gorgeous so we had to go to the beach for some exploration! It was too breezy to swim but that was okay.

Later on Saturday night was the Cherry Hill Stake Prom and after a bit of coaxing, Katie and Chris convinced me to go. I am so glad I did! What a great time...brought back lots of memories of my own Stake Prom. :)
Cape May ladies with their "chaperones" hehe

Katie and Mom

Ashley is home from UVU and she ended up coming too, so it was a blast from the past for the both of us!

Mother's Day was wonderful. Chris gave me a beautiful pair of peridot earrings and a new Vera Bradley baby bag in Paprika. Lizzie made an adorable card for me in Nursery and she actually drew smiley faces inside! Julia made a sweet picture frame for me and the family gave me a big bar of cherry blossom soap in a cute tin. The girls even played a song for me ;)

MAY!

2011-05-02T20:51:00.017-05:00

In the midst of the isolated thunderstorms, the weather keeps getting better and better. We love it and we are enjoying as much sunshine as we can!

Here are some fun pictures from playgroup this past week:
Lizzie and Hannah in the car!

Lois and the very handsome Mr. Blake

Ariana with Rachel, a good friend of Cate (who was actually sleeping at this point)

Lizzie and Sophie :)

Lizzie and the horse

Sophie's mom, Bethel, got a great video of the girls climbing the rock wall. YES, you read that correctly--they climbed the rock wall! (Sorry, I had trouble uploading the video.) After the first couple of times with some help from us mothers, the girls were quite proficient all by themselves. Now we really have to keep an eye on them when we are at this particular park!

On Friday night we went to CAFE RIO in Olney!

And yes, it was incredibly fantastic. We went with the Clark's and we saw the Pistorius family there too! We just love our Cafe Rio :) I'm already thinking about when we will go next...

We went to DC on Saturday. After Chris sold some of his textbooks back to GWU, we decided to take in some sights since it was a beautiful day! We walked a TON!
First we stopped by the World War II Memorial. We walked in through the Atlantic side, how appropriate since we live by the Atlantic Ocean!

We had to get a Texas picture, of course.

And a Jersey picture.

And we should've walked over to Maryland for the family picture, but the Jersey post did just fine ;)

The girls LOVED the fountain, especially the ducks swimming there!

Onto the Washington Monument! Lizzie kept telling us how tall it is. We wanted to go up but tickets were sold out for the day.

I just love how the top of the Capitol Building "sits" right beside the base of the Monument!

From the Washington Monument, we headed toward the Jefferson Memorial--my personal favorite.

Lizzie ran around for some exercise, but thankfully Chris caught up to her before she really ran away!

We walked through the FDR Memorial after we left the Jefferson Memorial.

We also passed the Korean War Memorial.

Then we reached the Lincoln Memorial!

Here is the Gettysburg Address.

And Abraham himself!

The Lincoln Memorial from the front.

On the way home,
Lizzie read The Jungle Book.

Cate FINALLY dozed off.

Mom and Dad rested their legs!

It was a VERY fun day and we can't wait to do it again!

Easter Happenings

2011-04-27T21:10:00.008-05:00

Spring is in the air! You can see it everywhere you look--at the trees, for example.

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather by taking walks around the neighborhood.

Well we had a fabulous Easter weekend, as the Jett family came to our place to spend part of their spring break with us! There is never a dull moment with my family :) The weather was rainy and chilly on Friday, so we kept busy with movies, naps, books, and a trip to the mall. We adults also went to the temple.

Don't worry, Lizzie really does like this book ;)

Saturday afternoon was much better. We headed over to the park, complete with tennis/soccer/football gear. That's how we roll!

The field was fairly muddy because of Friday's rain so when Katie went down sliding, the evidence was on her back!

Being outside in the fresh air and sunshine= wonderful.

Kisses from Aunt Katie to Baby Cate

After church on Sunday, Katie, Julia, and Mimi took some pictures for us. I insisted because the girls were wearing their Easter best!

We had a fabulous Easter dinner with my family and the Turman family! Food upon food upon food, with cooking by Mimi, Katie, and me. The Turman's brought some AMAZING potato salad and macaroni salad (I may or may not have had double servings of each...) Chris made a fantastic gooey butter cake to end the night! Fabulous!

We hope you had a beautiful Easter Sunday :)

Confession Story & Pictures

2011-04-20T22:49:00.008-05:00

For my eleventh birthday, my mom drove me and a few friends to Rio Grande so we could shop. We girls thought we were so awesome; we were going to shop by ourselves!She dropped us off and said she'd be back in two hours--we had two full hours to explore Peebles and Fashion Bug ;)

As we were leaving Peebles, someone said, "I'm hungry," and suddenly we were all ravenous. "Let's go get some wonton soup!" Amanda suggested. (There was a Chinese restaurant in the complex.)

Before I could stop myself, I asked, "What's wonton soup?"

Time stood still. My friends froze in their tracks, and I stumbled as I crashed into them.

"'What's wonton soup?!'"
"You're kidding...right?"

No my friends, I wasn't kidding. What IS wonton soup?

"Wait! Have you ever had an eggroll?"

...No.

Gasps all around. "Well, we are going to get Chinese food RIGHT NOW!"

So I had my very FIRST taste of Chinese food on a hot, humid day in August just before I started the sixth grade. Why had I never had Chiniese cuisine before this moment? I soon learned that my dad despises Chinese food--so naturally Chinese was never an option for dining out. It still isn't in the Jett household! Just thought this would be a fun tidbit to share. Love you, Father! :)

Enjoy some shots from the week!

It was time.

2011-04-10T21:18:00.008-05:00

I knew it was time to buckle down and really get Liz potty-trained when she smushed her hands down the back of her poopy diaper last Friday night. Lovely, right?

On Saturday night after General Conference and before the Priesthood session, we went to Marshall's and grabbed packs of underwear. We decided to start the next day, on Sunday, since Chris would be home and we'd be watching conference at our house.

We decided that we would try a reward system: for every success on the potty, Liz would get a sticker. I made a chart--when she filled up the chart, she would get ice cream with Daddy. Take her to the potty every fifteen minutes, whether she has to go or not, and gradually extend the time as the days go on.

Sunday, Day 1
Liz got up at 7am, so excited to put on some pretty underwear. Less than ten minutes later, she walked back into our bedroom and said, "Mom, I'm wet." The rest of the day was like that...we had nine accidents total. Liz went through every pair of pants that she currently owns and we did a lot of laundry of course! By the end of the day, she was telling us that she had to go...but it would be just a little too late. She also realized that she did NOT like the feeling of wet pants. Thankfully we had a success to top off the night.
A dry moment of the day, sisterly love

Monday, Day 2
Two successes sprinkled in between six failures, including her first real poopie on the potty. We also went grocery shopping--where she stayed dry--and she remained dry through her nap! Progress, progress!

Tuesday, Day 3
Three successes, only four failures! Every day really got better and better...

By Thursday the successes outnumbered the failures. By Friday, Lizzie's chart was full--not one accident all day!

Friday's record of successes

And every day has been like that since. We'll ask her occasionally if she needs to go, but for the most part, she is quick to tell us when she has to go potty and she goes! In our car rides and at our trips to stores and in the stores themselves, she has stayed dry. We are so proud of our Lizzie, growing up so fast.

So on Friday night we got the ice cream and made some banana splits so we could watch Megamind together! Here she is, enjoying her treat :)

Lizzie was so happy, and so were we!

Cate, we have a while before it's your turn on the potty, but I'm sure Big Sister will be happy to help you :)

Confessions

2011-03-30T20:41:00.002-05:00

The Clothes edition of Confessions

1. I rarely iron clothes. Rarely.
2. My idea of comfort as a teen= basketball shorts, hoodie, and my rainbows.
3. I once had 15+ pairs of jeans. I've cut that number down to six after my pregnancy with Cate, mostly because my body is very different after having two children!
4. I have more green and blue shirts than any other color shirt.
5. While clothes shopping (for me, the girls, Chris), I never look at regular priced items--I head straight for the sale section!
6. When I was young, I never wore brown because I thought it would clash with my skin tone.
7. In my closet, I have a skirt from the 8th grade...which I still wear! It's one of my all time favorites--plum and lilac paisley.

No reminders

2011-03-28T20:59:00.012-05:00

I decided to beat Julia to the finish line--write a post BEFORE a reminder from her. Surprise, surprise! :D
So we'll just look away when Mom says "SMILE!"

Lizzie loves to help in the kitchen. These pictures are from the past two Sundays, hence the pretty church clothes.

Lizzie loves to "prinkle" salt, pepper, and cheese onto dishes. If spices need to be measured, I usually let her drop them into the bowl. When we made cookies on Friday night, she helped roll the dough into balls, "roll around and around and around," as she says.

Drumroll please....say hello to Miss Catherine M. Killion's very first tooth!

Here is the closeup.

Cate has been extra cranky this week because of her new tooth. Both her top and bottom gums are swollen; more teeth are ready to make their debut--soon, I hope! In the meantime, she'll be right back after a quick nap ;)

Since Chris finished his oral argument and paper, he declared Saturday to be a break from school. We loved having our daddy with us ALL day. It was THE best!
We went to Tyson's Corner in McLean, VA. I had to get a picture of this:

We've seen handicapped parking, we've seen family parking, we've seen expectant mothers parking (thank you UT). But this marks the very first time we've seen HYBRID parking. So you better believe we took advantage of it! haha Best parking spot we've ever had at a mall!

Yesterday was Reed's birthday and we Killion's and the Turman's were invited to the Heit's for cake and ice cream.
Here is Reed with his awesome Batman cake!

The kids LOVED it and they were so excited to EAT Batman!

Reed digging into our gift.

Happy Birthday Reed! We were happy to celebrate with you :)

We are very much looking forward to the end of the semester to have THIS Dad around the house!

April 27th: last final for Chris= the end of the first year of law school! It also means the beginning of a fun summer :)

Julia's COMMAND

2011-03-19T19:44:00.007-05:00

Not merely a request from Miss Julia E. Jett. A COMMAND for a new blog post! Here you are, Julia...

Hello from the Killion ladies!

It was a tiring and busy week over here. But a good week all the same :)

Thursday was one gorgeous day so we took a walk to the park by our house. I got a hat for Cate to wear because of fair skin, and Lizzie insisted on wearing one too ;) The girls loved the swings and the sunshine!
Later that night the girls and I headed over to the chapel for the RS Birthday Party. The girls went to the nursery; Cate managed to stay and play for an hour! (Last RS activity she lasted only 20 minutes before screaming and crying to come back to me; Lizzie never suffers from separation anxiety--she kept saying "Goodbye Mom" before I left the Primary room!) The RS party was great; it's always nice to catch up with the ladies and enjoy some good food while we're at it!

Last night Chris had a make-up class for school (he usually has Friday nights off) but as he walked to White Chocolate after work, he noticed the front passenger side tire was flat. No class for him! We picked up him up in the Dark Knight and after some dinner and a walk through the mall, we went to Walmart to get a tire iron. Lizzie had a fun time "helping" Daddy get the spare tire on. I should've taken a picture of that, now that I think about it!! It was too cute.

When we were at the mall, we stopped by The Shoe Department to check out some sneakers. Well, Lizzie found this outrageous pair of red boots and she had to put them on! Cate wanted a closer look--

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: the Main Event

2011-03-14T22:04:00.006-05:00

Taylor Smith and Alexandra Pizza were married in the Cape May Branch Chapel on Saturday March 5, 2011. It was a beautiful ceremony, with Taylor's dad performing the ceremony. The reception immediately followed and it was a great night filled with family and friends of the Pizza's and Smith's. The decorations were absolutely fabulous (I wish I had remembered to take pictures of them, but trust me--the chapel looked terrific). We were so happy to be a part of their day and to celebrate with them!

Taylor and Alex have been married for just over a week, having spent their honeymoon at Disney World :) Congratulations to you both and best of luck in your marriage!

Confessions

2011-03-07T15:39:00.003-06:00

We arrived home early this morning--to SNOW of all things-- and we're in the process of getting back into the MD groove. Our internet is being finicky at the moment, but I thought I would post some confessions. I'll be writing a blog about our week in NJ soon!

The Feet/Shoes Edition of Mary's Confessions

1. I hate the feeling of wearing sneakers without socks. Same goes for wearing dress shoes without nylons.
2. I hate walking barefoot (except on the beach). I always wear shoes in my house. I definitely get this from my mom.
3. Huge pet peeve: open-toed dress shoes in the dead of winter. I don't understand it. At BYU, we'd walk to church--trudging through ice, snow, and freezing temperatures. Some girls wore shoes that were summer appropriate and then they would complain that their feet were cold. I had no sympathy for them.
4. I love heels. I hope I'm still wearing them when I'm an old lady!
5. I have never owned a pair of reeboks or filas--I've always prefered nike or adidas. I'm not sure why!

Ice cream with Julia

2011-02-23T19:39:00.008-06:00

Hello from the Killion girls!

Last week was awesome. Thursday and Friday were so beautiful! Temperatures in the high 60s! LOVED. IT. We spent a lot of time outside, walking around and enjoying the sunshine.

Pop-pop, Mimi, and Aunt Julia visited us over the weekend! We love their visits :)
Ice cream sundaes with Aunt Julia are the best!

On Saturday, we ladies went to the mall while the men went to a railroad museum nearby.
There was some little boy riding in the train but Liz decided she'd hop in too!

Mimi gave Cate some butter pecan ice cream :) She loved it!

Cate is SO very close to crawling. She can scoot backwards, move sideways, and roll over in every direction to get where she wants to go, but she hasn't quite mastered moving forward yet! It won't be long before Cate follows us around.

The other morning I left the girls on our bed so I could get their clothes from their bedroom. I walked into the room and for a split second I thought, "Where did Lizzie go?"
Do you see her?

What a prankster! haha

Tuesday Confessions

2011-02-22T20:09:00.005-06:00

1. Maraschino cherries freak me out.
2. "My eggo is preggo" --officially the weirdest way of saying you're pregnant. Just say, "I'm pregnant." We'll get it.
3. Chris brought home a box of Lemon Creme (Girl Scout) cookies last night...they are now gone. *I did share, but still. I love me some Lemon Cremes!*
4. I got my first B+ (in Algebra 1) in the eighth grade, and yes, I cried.
5. Once in a while, I love to reread my old journals. I was so boy crazy!

Julia's reminder

2011-02-16T19:21:00.010-06:00

Monday night, 7:12 pm. Cell phone rings.

Me: Hello?
Julia: WHERE IS YOUR NEW BLOG POST?!
Me: (laughs) Julia, I will write one, I promise. I can't write one right now because I feel like I'm going to throw up at any moment.
Julia: (slight pause) Oh, okay. But DON'T forget to write one this week!

I won't, Julia. :)

We girls went to the Clark's house for Valentine's Day dinner but we left early because I felt AWFUL. Earlier in the afternoon, I thought it might've been something I ate for lunch. But it only got worse. I felt so bad for leaving the Clark's early because Meg made a fabulous dinner (which Liz ate, thank goodness). Thankfully I got the girls into bed quickly so I had the rest of the night to spend nauseated. But Chris came home with flowers, chocolate, and a card, and then he ran to the store to get some ginger ale for me. What a great husband!

Some of our adventures in the last week included our friend Dilan's birthday party!
Liz was so excited for it! It was Elmo heaven and the girls had a great time :)
Here is Dilan the birthday girl with her awesome cake!

Liz really loved that cake!

Cate did too :)

Manicures with purple Dora the Explorer polish. She did them all by herself! Don't you love them?

Someone is TIRED!

Sometimes, Friday nights are 'Mom-is-taking-a-break-from-cooking' nights, so we went to Chik-fil-a, and we happened to see the Wilkins' family! Brylee and Liz had so much fun together.

Sunday Feb 13th, the girls looked so cute in their red church outfits. Liz refused to stand still for a picture,

So here is the Catie lady.

Some Valentine's Day pictures, more red clothes!

Gotta love trips to Costco--I especially love the double seats in their carts. Liz looks like she's about to cry, but she didn't!

Mom, Liz is sticking her tongue out at me. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Julia's request

2011-02-06T20:36:00.006-06:00

At the insistence of my sister Julia, I'm writing a post earlier in the week. Why?

The Killion family has purchased another car!

Drum roll please...

We are now the proud owners of a 2007 Saturn Vue, a hybrid. We call it "The Dark Knight: the Roja Braun." That's an interesting name, you say. Well, we shall explain it to you.
Our white Ford Taurus is called "White Chocolate: the Juergen Maria." White Chocolate refers to its color. Juergen Maria refers to the names Chris and I had in our respective high school German and Spanish classes; Chris was called Juergen and I was called Maria.
Now "The Dark Knight" refers to the Vue's color, obviously. We wanted to tie in the girls somehow, because we used a reference for us with the Taurus. Using their names in either German or Spanish would be lengthy, so Chris came up with the idea to use Roja (red in Spanish) to describe Cate and her red hair and Braun (brown in German) to represent Lizzie's brown hair. So there you have it! "The Dark Knight: the Roja Braun."

The Dark Knight was too good of a deal to pass up. It has only 24,000 miles on it!

We've been discussing the idea of a second car for awhile now, especially since Chris is at work and school for the majority of the day. During this semester we've let him take the Taurus a lot because of the dismal weather and the cold temperatures. That left the girls and me in the house...all the time. Now, he can take the Taurus and we ladies will have the Vue. We can run our errands, go to our appts, etc. without Chris having to wait for us to get ready in the mornings. Now he can take off in White Chocolate as early as he needs to. The Dark Knight will take us girls wherever we want to go!

Dark Knight, welcome to the Killion family! We look forward to having you around for a long time :)

A week off

2011-02-01T21:17:00.012-06:00

That's what NJ means to me in a nutshell: a week off. I get many helping hands with Liz and Cate! We love going to Pop-pop and Mimi's house. We went to Julia's basketball game, Joe's swim meet, and a couple of WCHS boys basketball games. Sprinkle in some quality shopping time, (in the shopping cart car, of course)

catching up on season 3 of Lost, (Cate isn't a fan, as you can see)

5+ showings of Toy Story 3, (who picked that, I wonder ;)

and we're a happy bunch :)

One of our fun nights in NJ was bowling at 3J's! The building itself has been around since my dad was in high school--the decor reflects its age (love you Father!)--it has a fun, retro feel.

The cutest part was Lizzie bowling, complete in size 7/8 bowling shoes which seemed made just for her!

I fed Cate her dinner as we watched Dad, Chris, Katie, Julia, and Lizzie bowl the night away! Don't you love the 80's high chair? So old school!

Here are some pictures at our house before we took off to Jersey!

While we were away, Chris got to work on his paper and do some research in a quiet house. He is the proud owner of a new dresser courtesy of IKEA!

We bought his old dresser at a cute store in a shady section of FW and we thought we got a great deal...the neighborhood should've given us a clue. It's a piece of junk after our moves to UT and to MD. I'm surprised it's still standing! Either way, that dresser will make its way to the dump. Farewell cheap, hello classy!

2011-01-18T20:14:00.006-06:00

First off, a big CONGRATULATIONS to our friends Dave and Meg on the the birth of their new baby boy Scott! He was born last week on 1/11/11 (how cool is that?!). He joins his big sister McKelle as the kids of the family. We can't wait to meet little Scottie!

I hate the winter. We're sickies in this house. Chris was kind enough to stay home with a sick Liz and a sick Cate on Sunday while I went to church so our Primary class wouldn't be left teacher-less. They're slowly but surely recovering, but I'm pretty sure I'm catching whatever is leaving their bodies. Stuffy nose, cough, sore throat, congestion...lovely.

Liz has been a pro on the potty! We bought her a little green potty from IKEA, which she liked to sit on...but nothing ever really happened. So we bought her one of those potty seats that go on top of the "big" toilet. Well, Liz is just fascinated by the idea of going on the "big" potty and she's already gone twice without me asking her if she needs to go.

Lizzie knows when she needs to go and tells me so (sometimes after she has already gone); this has been happening for a few months now. We still have a long way to go, especially since I'm not being very pushy about it, but we are happy with the start! I've read that the ideal time to begin potty training is between 27-32 months, and Lizzie is quickly approaching that period of time. Wish us luck!

Cate said ba-ba for the first time yesterday and she's been babbling that ever since! She's doing so well with eating her baby food; she just gobbles it up! This current cold/congestion has hit her pretty hard. Thankfully it hasn't disrupted her sleep or her eating habits. When she's happy, she's awesome!
Miss "I-like-to-make-noise-at-dinner-time"

Look at these two cuties! What sweet sisters :)

If you're looking for a good movie to rent, we recommend Inception and The A-Team!
Inception was SO GOOD. Very thought-provoking. We were very tired when we began it one night so we watched it again the next morning and we really liked it.
The A-Team was SOOOOOO FUNNY! I loved it! Well, I love Bradley Cooper so that's one reason why I wanted to see it. It did not disappoint!

I feel like soemthing has been lacking from my last few blog posts...and I've realized I've been lacking some confessions! How could I forget those?!

1. Professional pictures of pregnant women creep me out. Which is why I don't have any professional pictures of a pregnant me.
2. I despise winter. Have I mentioned that yet?
3. I watched Jerry Maguire for the FIRST time a few days ago.
4. Yes, Chris knows I love Bradley Cooper. I call him my white celebrity crush.
5. Taylor Lautner is my brown celebrity crush...my young, brown celebrity crush.

Mondays, Fundays

2011-01-10T20:46:00.006-06:00

We spent the weekend sick. I was sick on Friday, Chris was sick on Saturday, and Cate is now sick. It's pretty easy to tell when Cate is sick--not only is she even more cranky than she usually is, she sleeps a lot. She fell asleep everywhere!

We went to DC on Saturday so Chris could grab a book from the GW bookstore that he needs for the semester. Here he is with the ladies, ready for another day of work and school!

Lizzie has been full of words lately and it is beyond fun to watch her express herself so clearly. The other day we ladies were playing in their room and Lizzie plopped down next to me. She spotted the beach ball across the room and she started to stand up, but then she stopped. She turned to me and said, "Mommy, YOU go get the ball!" I fought the urge to laugh but I told her, "You can get the ball if you want it, Missy." She smiled. "Okay, Mommy." And off she went!
My favorite though was Saturday morning when we were playing in the girls' room. Liz put on her sunglasses and her purse and told me goodbye. When I asked her where she was going, she said, "To college. I'll be back!" She has such a fun personality :)

Cate is eating a variety of foods now. She's tried peaches, pears, bananas, peas, green beans, and oatmeal cereal. Her favorite things to eat are the fruit and veggie puffs! Her face just lights up when I put them on her tray. She's even picking them up by herself and eating them on her own, and you can see the pride in her eyes--"I'm grabbing these all by myself! I'm awesome!"
Last week was Cate's six-month checkup. Her doc was very pleased with her growth:
Weight: 17 lbs, 8oz (80%)
Height: 26 3/8 in (60%)
HC: 18 in (+95%) My girls have big heads for those big smart brains of theirs! haha

I looked at Lizzie's six month stats and they are virtually similar to Cate's stats. Liz was just a teeny bit taller. This past week I've gone through the clothes bins (yet again!) to rearrange and I found a bunch of Lizzie's clothes that will be perfect for Cate during the next few months. Score!

Wecome 2011!

2011-01-03T14:59:00.008-06:00

Yes, I slacked off during the last part of December. Julia called me the other night and asked, "Why haven't you written a new blog in awhile?!" Here is a review of the last few weeks!

Lizzie is now two years old! We invited the Clark's over for cake and ice cream. It was a Toy Story birthday for Miss Lizzie!

We went up to Jersey the weekend before Christmas so my mom and I could host a bridal shower for my dear friend Alex who gets married in March. It was such a blast! We were laughing and laughing the whole time. Alex got a ton of great gifts and it was so good to see some of our old friends from the Cherry Hill Stake.

We went back to Jersey for Christmas and it was wonderful. Since Lizzie has a concept of Christmas, Santa Claus, and presents, it was so much fun watching her open her gifts. She loves everything Santa brought her, and everything from my family! Cate is obviously a little young to understand Christmas, so she had a great time playing with the gift wrap and boxes that her toys came in.

My good friend Marlee came to MD to visit her in-laws over the break. We were able to spend two afternoons together and it was fabulous! Liz and Cate absolutely loved her! We wish she lived closer but we are definitely happy to see her when she does come up this way! We went to the mall and Liz sat in a train (I forgot to get a picture of Marlee and me!).

We spent New Year's Eve at the Clark's. We watched Toy Story 3 with the girls and then put them to sleep so we adults could watch Salt--which was awesome, if you haven't seen it yet! We actually missed the ball drop because of the movie but that's okay because we ended up talking and laughing for another two hours or so!

We went to the Pistorius house on New Year's Day to watch the Rose Bowl with a fantastic fajita dinner. The Bergs came over too and it was one big party! The kids played so well together and we moms and dads had a fun time. Liz didn't want to leave!

December happenings

2010-12-08T13:33:00.005-06:00

Hello from the cute sleepy girls!

We've been busy shopping so far this month! (Well, let's be honest...when are we NOT busy shopping? hehe)

December is always a busy month for the Killion family because--
Mom and Joe celebrate their birthdays on December 2.
Katie celebrates her birthday on December 9.
Bill celebrates his birthday on December 31.
And we can't forget our Lizzie, who celebrates her birthday on December 13 and who will be TWO this year.
Yeah, I don't believe it either! I feel like she's been around forever. We've been practicing how to say "Happy Birthday" and she gets very excited when she sees presents in store windows.

Chris's last day of school was Dec. 2. He has a final tonight, of which I'm confident he will ace--GO HUSBY! He has two finals next week and then a full two weeks off! I can't tell you how excited I am to have him all to ourselves for those two weeks. No homework, no reading, no studying! Heck yeah!

It's been VERY cold over here; temperatures have dipped into the 20's and MAN the wind just bites at your cheeks. We leave the house all bundled up and ready to take on the cold! I've been using the crock pot for dinner 2-3 times a week to make the house extra warm, and to make the house smell great, too.

We had our ward Christmas party this past weekend and it was too much fun :)
The girls talked with Santa!

Lizzie had a great time with all the kids crafts, including building a gingerbread house.

Cate was exhausted by the end of the night!

Lizzie models the new sweater Mimi gave her.

Liz in her big girl booster seat (the high chair has been officially delegated to Cate)!

Miss Cate Killion, at the mall.

The girls always have fun with Daddy!

McKelle and Lizzie, watching Toy Story.

When the end of the year approaches, I often think about how the year has gone. Did I do everything I wanted to do? Did I keep my resolutions? How will I improve this upcoming year? I'll probably write more about that when it gets closer to the end of the month (and year). See you next week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-30T20:25:00.012-06:00

* My format got all messed up halfway through this post, sorry!

What a holiday weekend! We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Chris proposed to me four years ago today; seems like it was just yesterday...

My family arrived just after 3pm on Thursday afternoon and we headed for Frederick to go to Golden Corral! When we got there, the line was out the door. We only waited about thirty minutes or so--we kept ourselves busy with the camera!

Once we got inside, we didn't have to wait for anything besides the meat (a line for turkey, steak, ham, etc). The Heit's and the Turman's were just a table away :) We had a great time while we ate to our hearts' delight. Our only disappointment: they ran out of pumpkin pie! A felony! But we forgive you, Golden Corral ;)

We took our time getting ready on Black Friday, but my dad took my mom to Kohl's so she could pick up a few items. One important thing we did: we pierced Cate's ears! She didn't take it as well as Lizzie did. She screamed and screamed...and screamed some more. Miss Cate was pretty sore for a bit but the worst is over. What a cutie :D
Before

After

On Saturday we drove to Ellicott City for a train show! (My dad loves trains.) It was pretty cool--the place was packed, wall-to-wall of trains of every kind. There were even some models of the Hogwarts Express :D There was a kid section with crafts and toys, which Lizzie loved!

Santa was there too so we had to get a picture with him and the Killion ladies!

We had planned on going to Harpers Ferry, WV for some sightseeing, but it was SO WINDY. We couldn't believe how cold it was. So we'll save Harpers Ferry for another day, when the weather is more tolerable. We went over to the Frederick Mall for some shopping and some playtime with a puppy!

On Sunday my family joined us in our ward. I have been released as the Enrichment Meeting Coordinator (or Relief Society Meeting Coordinator, whichever you want to call it!); Chris and I have been called to be Primary teachers! The four year olds, very cute kids. This is the first time we've been involved with the Primary...well, since we were in Primary ourselves haha. This should be fun!

Oatmeal cereal for the first time...not the biggest fan! haha
Little Cate is five months old today, by the way :)

Watching some clips of WCHS's Fiddler on youtube!

Lois and I went visiting teaching today (yes, we go on the last day of the month because we are awesome) and she shared excerpts from President Monson's talk "The Divine Gift of Gratitude." He pointed out that with the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, Christ was first thankful for the little that He had BEFORE the miracle occurred. Being thankful for the little things is important, much more important than obsessing over that which we don't have.

I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a fantastic husband who works full time, goes to law school part time, and still manages to make time for his wife and his girls. I have two beautiful little ladies who continually remind me of my calling as a mother. We have wonderful families who love us, the Jett's and the Killion's. We have a roof over our heads; we have a car that runs; we have clothes to keep us warm. Chris has a job that allows me to put food on the table night after night. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with these gifts.

Remember all the good with which you are blessed!

Pre-Thanksgiving festivities

2010-11-24T13:09:00.008-06:00

Thursday was great! The RS meeting was a complete success and I walked away with a lot of new ideas for creating traditions for the holidays with our little Killion family. I made a white Texas sheet cake for the "4th of July" part of the night, using my Gram's recipe. I'm so thankful it turned out really well!

(I used pie filling for the flag decorations, instead of fresh fruit which is readily available in the summer. It was Chris's idea and it was so tasty!)

Later that night I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1, with Bethel, Terri, Karen, Allison, Maricel, and Heather. It was INCREDIBLE! I mean, the book is always better, but the whole spirit of the book was captured with what was showed on the screen. I'm already having a difficult time waiting for Pt. 2 to come to theaters!

Chris took a final on Friday night--and got a 15/16 on it; GO HUSBAND!--and we took off for NJ!
Sis. Walker hosted a baby shower for Corie in the early afternoon. As always, it was wonderful to get together with the branch ladies for some great food and fun times! Lauren (and Logan, but he wasn't at the shower!) flew out for the holiday--so great to see her! Corie is now well-stocked for Baby #2!

Later that night was the Saturday performance of Wildwood Catholic High School's production of The Fiddler on the Roof! It. Was. FABULOUS! This play was done my freshman year of high school, so many of the songs were familiar to me. I loved every minute of it. Joe was spectacular. He got a standing ovation that night--he was engaging, funny, and wonderful with the part of Tevye. Next to him, Katie had the BEST voice up on that stage. She played a terrific Yente--with plenty of humor. Everyone, and I mean everyone, came up to me at the end of the night to tell me what talented siblings I have. I am so proud of their hard work and dedication.
The girls fell asleep before the end of the show, but I'm sure they enjoyed what they saw!

With our Yente

With our Tevye

We went to church in Cape May on Sunday, which was wonderful of course. My family had extra tickets for the Sunday matinee production of Fiddler so Cate and I went again. Fabulous!

We're back home in MD because my family will be driving here for Thanksgiving tomorrow! And guess how we're celebrating?

Golden Corral.

Yep. I said it!
It's something Chris and his family used to do while he was growing up, so he suggested it to my dad, who readily agreed. It will be lots of fun and I'm already looking forward to ZERO preparation and clean-up :) My family will stay for the weekend too! So exciting!

Lizzie said her very first prayer last night! It was beyond cute. She also said the prayer at lunch today. Go Liz! Lately, Cate isn't happy unless she has something in her mouth. She loves teething rings (Liz never really did) so thankfully we have plenty of them for Miss Cate!