The Harrington Family

Christmas Time

2012-01-14T12:56:00.003-07:00

You know the Michael McClean song I Cry the Day That I Take the Tree Down? I don't really share that sentiment. For some reason it feels like a good and happy thing to take the tree down. I often wonder why I feel this way, because I love Christmas. I haven't come up with an answer. I just thought I'd let everyone know what was on my mind. Anyway.

We had a wonderful Christmas. Something about a six-year-old brimming with excitement, explaining to the three-year-old all the wonders that await her on Christmas Morning give the season an almost magical touch.

Here was our Christmas morning:

Little Hallie was adorable, ripping paper was fun to her. And she enjoyed her gifts...

But every parent knows that the real wonder begins at the magical age of 3. Since this little girl asked for, "thingonail poliss," it was easy to go above and beyond her wildest dreams (so fun to watch)...

And what did Brecken get (I love taking pictures of genuine smiles)?...

An Easy-Bake Oven?! Uh!!! No way!!!! Ok. She had been telling everyone since December 25, 2010 that this would be her request to Santa, so the surprise element wasn't totally there, but the thrill factor definitely was.

Merry Christmas!...

I know, you probably thought this was over. But I thought I would be a little wordy, and let everyone not in the mood for wordy end satisfied. So those not in the mood for wordy: Happy New Year!

This Christmas Season was really wonderful for me. I really felt the spirit of the season, and had so many opportunities to think about Christ, His birth and His life. When I truly pondered, it was little wonder to me that though His birth was centuries ago, the world still celebrates the amazing miracle of Jesus Christ each Christmas. His birth marked the beginning of His life. And His life's purpose was to show us the way, atone for us, die for us, and prepare a way for us to live with Him again.

It was interesting to watch Christmas movies this year. A theme that struck me was the "Believe" theme. Don't get me wrong, I love Santa Clause. I love movies about Santa Clause. We even watch Polar Express every Christmas Eve (well for a couple years anyway :]). But I find it very interesting that in a lot of the movies they equate the magic of the season to believing in Santa Clause. And of course, if you don't believe in Santa, then the magic of Christmas is gone. When you've given up "believing" you enter the realm of "Grumpy old Christmas Hater"(maybe the themes weren't that harsh).

It made me grateful to realize that the true wonder of the season isn't believing in Santa Clause, it's believing in Christ. The spirit of the season is the spirit of Christ. The wonderful feelings at Christmas time aren't something to be given up as a grown up, because Christ is real. The feelings of love and kindness don't stem from magic, or reindeer, or presents; they stem from Christ, and I truly feel like He blesses the world with an abundance of His spirit at Christmas time. Anyway, belated Merry Christmas, everyone! And because I really feel it right now: I love you all! ;)

Remembering Disneyland

2011-11-21T15:59:00.004-07:00

We recently had friends swing by and stay with us. Their daughter, Emma, is a little older than Brecken but it had been a year since they had seen each other. On the day of their coming Russ said "Brecken, do you remember Emma?"

Taylor interjected, "I do! I know Emma! I remember Emma!" We couldn't figure her enthusiasm knowing she probably did not really remember Emma. But she continued, "Emma C, see ya real soon. K-E-Y..."

Yes. Somehow everything gets back to Disneyland.

Perhaps this post is better suited for our Cute Things blog, but since I'm adding pictures it'll go here.

Our Disneyland spoils...

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T23:01:00.005-06:00

What an original title. This year was a very happy Halloween. What made it so joyous? The one year old. Trick-or-Treating has never been so amusing. Once she realized the name of the game she clutched that little plastic pumpkin like it was her life source. She toddled along, bucket in one hand, dad's hand in the other; no smile, strictly business. And the other girls were of course cute too. As usual.

Here is the little bumble bee...

All smiles once she got home and could delve into the goods (no making fun of her toes hanging over her her sandals, we had a shoe crisis just as it was time to leave)...

Oh, so cute. I love this girl...

And this girl at every house said "I'm a chicken." So adorable...

Doin' what chickens do...

And last, but certainly not least is our beautiful fairy. I don't know how she managed, but she literally had twice as much candy as Taylor, and three times as much as Hallie. She was leaving everyone in her fairy dust as she flitted from house to house. I love this girl. She's too much like her mom :)...

Happy Halloween.

Random Joys of Motherhood

2011-10-27T16:00:00.001-06:00

Just a few things that have made me smile recently.

There are times when all grows quiet. You bask in the quietude, then fear what it means. You search out your children, wondering what has produced the sudden stillness, and find this...

Other moments are simply amusing...

And there are some times when you just have to laugh. Even a year an a half later...

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-09-29T23:03:00.008-06:00

The Harrington Family did it. We had our first annual week-long family vacation. I know, I know. You're probably thinking we vacation all the time. And we do. But this was our first real, week-long vacation (with our whole family and no one but our family).

So where to, on this momentous occasion? We wanted to go somewhere that would spoil us for the rest of our vacationing career (can I say that? is that an oxymoron?) Somewhere that would make every vacation after this seem lame by comparison. Girls, we're going to...

Disneyland!

We started the trip off by visiting family in California (but who takes pictures of that?) which was amazingly fun, and shamefully overdue. The rest of the trip, well, with about a thousand pictures to weed through... gear up for a long post. Because I know you want to know every nitty gritty detail of our week of awesomeness.

Day 1 of the Beach ...

Hallie discovered her love for the ocean (if you'll note she has a rock in each hand, her first love is still for rocks)...

Brecken is showing me a seashell (sorry, I accidentally blurred it a bit too much). Her first love. I think seashell collecting was as impressive as Disneyland itself...

And Taylor discovered her love of chasing birds...

And also the sorrow of defeat. After defeat...

Day 2 of Beach...

This time Huntington Beach, which we have decided it is the best beach in ~~California~~ the world.

This picture is even more adorable when you know that Hallie is not walking. She stood in this exact position for an entire minute...

Dad and his girls...

And now for the good stuff. The Happiest Place on Earth...

I will start with the Princesses. Brecken could not rest until we had seen Cinderella. It mattered not that we could get on any ride we wanted to in less than ten minutes, Cinderella must be seen. Hour long line and all. But, may I say, every minute of the wait was worth it...

Rapunzel...

And then there were lots of pictures of lots of princesses, but moving on. We ran into Alice...

Minnie's house. Where every minute my back was turned Taylor was running back to hug Minnie's leg (ruining dozens of strangers' family pictures, no doubt)...

Enjoying every magical crack and crevice of Disneyland...

And the rides! The tea cups were a general favorite of the kids (not so much the dad's- something about spinning round and round)...

And Hallie's favorite ride was the train. In all seriousness. She waved to everyone and everything. She loved it. I don't know who had more fun: Hallie waving, or me watching Hallie waving. Probably Hallie...

And Taylor on the train, just 'cause she's cute...

Our own Sleeping Beauty (hey, Disneyland will do that to you)...

LAAH! (that's my attempt at a chorus singing) It's the Disneyland Castle!!!! And us in front of it (us minus Hallie-she's taking the picture)...

Brecken and her most prized posession...

And there were two favorite things to see in Disneyland: The "mean queen" opening the curtains of the Snow White ride (that's a picture of Taylor's face when she saw the queen)...

And the parade. It was un. be. lievable...

At the end of the day...

Disneyland Day 2 (which was really California Adventure)...

In the morning while getting ready the girls were occupied. Much to Taylor's dismay I had to answer "no" to the question: "Is MegaMind in Disneyland?"...

There were more rides...

And fun random moments...

And, of course, more characters to meet...

We brought so much food with us every day. Eating was almost as fun as riding the rides. Actually not. But it was fun nonetheless. This is us eating lunch (just in case you didn't catch why I was mentioning the food we brought)...

And when all was said and done, Taylor's favorite ride was the carrousel. Really. She tells that to everyone. So when you look at this picture, you are looking into the face of perfect felicity...

Day 3 of the Beach...

Huntington Beach was so perfect we had to go back again...

This time so Russ could do this...

And this (oh, he'd be embarrassed if he knew I put this on here)...

And Day 3 of Disneyland...

Our final day. The pictures of this day need a little preface. The previous two days of Disneyland, everywhere we went there were kids, adults, teenagers, normal people and weirdos wearing their Mickey Mouse Ears and Disneyland Shirts. Inwardly I scoffed (not at the children), equating them to nerds who dress up in their Darth Vader costumes on the opening night of Star Wars (no offense Star Wars Nerds). Well, after two perfect days of Disney Bliss, I was singing M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E on my way to the Disney Store. The ears were a bit much, but I could handle a shirt. We are now the Disneyland version of Star Wars Nerds (again, no offense)...

More characters (we met dozens... so feel lucky I spared you most of them)...

How Hallie entertained herself in the character lines (which were always longer than the ride lines)...

We kept meaning to get back to the castle and get a picture of the Harrington ~~nerds~~ family wearing our Mickey shirts in front of that great Disney edifice. But, in all honesty, we were having too much fun riding the rides, watching the parade, enjoying the fireworks, and reveling in the wonder of Disneyland to stop. At the end of the day, all three girls were asleep. So I took a picture, Harringtonless, of the castle.

It was an amazing vacation. There were no melt downs. The weather was beautiful. We rode our favorite (well, the girl's favorite) rides four and five times, Brecken found a million seashells at the beach, we met every character the girls had hoped to, and Hallie only had one poopy diaper a day at Disneyland. When so many things like that go right, I really have to say Heavenly Father blessed us so much.

Disneyland, M-I-C, See you real soon K-E-Y, Why? Because we like you. M-O-U-S-E.

(only, it won't really be real soon, but we do like you)

Bryce Canyon

2011-09-18T23:18:00.002-06:00

As the title denotes, we spent a little time in Bryce Canyon (the most beautiful national park in all the united states. no argument.) We headed down over Labor Day weekend and had a little fun with the Allen Clan. Some of them, anyway :)

We'll start with a family picture at Mossy Cave...

Then move on to Nicole and Luke...

Now Austin and Luke...

And now just Luke. Who is either really concerned about having his picture taken, or has a very "unique" camera smile. Either way he's adorable...

We missed you Dest :(...

Hallie reveling in her time with Grandma...

Brecken and Taylor...

And Brecken, dare I say it, was more beautiful than the scenery...

Of course Taylor did not cease to be cute either...

A little creek time (which happened to be freezing, if you'll note as little skin to water contact as possible)...

And here's the whole group at the Bar G Wrangler performance (not to be confused with the Bar J Wranglers in Jackson Hole... not that anyone was confused, or has even heard of them)...

And since you can see in the above photo that Austin has "I love to shake maracas" written all over his face, they put his mad skills to the test...

The next day we parted ways. Allens to the North, and Harringtons... Well, we stayed in the park a while.

And my instructions for this photo were "Ok Brecken and Taylor, now try to strangle and smother Hallie so that I can get a really awkward photo." Ah, but still cute...

And of course some more hiking, in which Brecken and Taylor preferred climbing and exploring...

While Hallie preferred playing with rocks...

And Mom preferred snapping photos, while Dad preferred making his girls laugh for said photos...

Some of the impressiveness of Bryce Canyon on our hike...

And some more of the impressiveness (minus cute six year old)...

Happy Trails to You, Bryce Canyon...

As they say, until we meet again.

Thanks, Mom, for the wonderful trip!

Good Bye Terrible Twos

2011-08-30T00:30:00.009-06:00

Well, it happened. Our little Taylor is all grown up and... and turning three! I can hardly believe it. And (dare I say it?) is leaving the terrible twos behind. Yes, this little sweetheart is a sweetheart. Of course, that didn't stop her, this morning, from attacking the marshmallow bag with her teeth and frantically biting her way to sugary goodness while my back was turned, but nobody's perfect :) Let's take a look at a few of the pictures from her birthday weekend, shall we?

Part of growing up is finding friends in your siblings. And these two really are best friends right now (it doesn't stop them from being worst enemies occasionally, but let's relish in the moment)...

My family drove down and spent her birthday with us. As you can tell there are always good times to be had...

She even got to relish in the infamous waiter-waitress-birthday-chorus...

And what happens when you make all of your three year old's dreams come true? If you have a camera in you hand, you get a picture like this...

The proud new owner...

We can't keep her off of it. Ok, we hardly try. Who wouldn't want their toddler entertained for hours on end? Oh, and did I mention she got dress-up for her birthday as well?...

And, coincidentally, Russ had a work party on Taylor's birthday. Of course she thought the celebration was all for her. Why wouldn't dozens of strange adults gather in honor of Taylor Rae? Shivani got these pictures (aren't they great?!). I can hear Taylor's little voice saying"Look at my thweeming thuit!" Awe ...

And Hallie, it's not your birthday, but you're just too cute!...

(Brecken, you weren't there or I'm sure you would have been too cute too :])

Day two of Taylor's birthday (she is going to have a warped sense of how birthday celebrating happens in the real world) we had a party with Russ's fam...

(Silly boys :])...

...Who supplied her with (and modeled) her pink ballerina dress up and a plethora of accessories. Thank you for the rings, the headbands, the hair clips, the necklaces, the purses, the tights, the shoes, and every other thing that likes to spread itself and re-spread itself over every inch of my house :) But Taylor's enthusiasm for it all makes it well worth it! She is so adorable! I can't get enough of her these days!...

I guess now we just wait for next year's birthday...

Ah, little Taylor. Happy Birthday you sweetest, cutest, cuddliest, funniest, craziest three year old!

Summer

2011-08-24T21:58:00.017-06:00

Well, I thought of the different ways I could catch up... several posts, a few posts, one long post, no post. And honestly, it's been a toss up between the latter two. However, since I do wish to have a record of the Harrington going ons... I decided to weed through the pictures and pull out a few worth mentioning. Quite a few. Ok, few is probably the wrong word. There are a lot. So with no further ado, chronologically, our summer...

Georgians in Utah

Rob and Amber came out with their little fam and while they were here Russ gave them a Genuine Salt Lake City Tour...

I had to stick this in here because I just love President Hales... Brother Hales... Um... Brook? No, I'll stick with President Hales :)...

And this picture made it through the weeding process because I was proud of Russ capturing it (the picture, not the bird)...

awe...

And if a wife stumbles across an image such as this, I believe the law states it must be posted on the blog...

Park City ~~Babies Crying~~ Girls Week.

What could be more fun than getting together with the girls?... And the six-year-old, and the two three-year-olds, and the two two-year-olds, and two one-year-olds, and two less-than-one-year-olds, and cramming them all into a house that doesn't work? I'll tell ya: not much :)

ah, but we managed good times. Like the one second it took to press down the shutter button...

I happened to be snapping shots of Hallie when Dasia came wandering by. I got the following sequence...

For those who can't see because they are so itty bitty, that was some binky-swiping action. They're gonna be best friends. I can tell.

And these two pictures pretty much sum up the trip...

Yes. This was the vacation we called Girls Week in Park City. Were there any good times to be had??!!

Yes. There were. It was called bed time :) Ok, Ok. And a few times in between...

Except this photo is totally fake. They fought and screamed the whole week. This was, I think, the only showing of loving affection. And it was posed...

And I am sure you are thinking "Serenity shouldn't blog when she's tired. She must be in a baaaad mood." No... I'm pretty sure that if you ask anyone about the trip to Park City they will tell you that it was the vacation from... the black lagoon.

Week with the Rangel Boys...

And only one picture to show for it :)...

Sweet Summer Moments...

The ups...

The downs...

(although these pictures were taken days apart, it is not unusual for Taylor to experience both of these emotions in the same one minute)

Hallie's First Birthday!

Yes. It happened. She turned one. And she doesn't even get her own post, poor girl. But to compensate, I threw in plenty of pictures.

Here she is, on the big day, her and her daddy sporting the dress look.

And now going casual. Wow. So good looking. I know this section of the post should be dedicated to Hallie, but man, Russ, you look good...

I, being the overachiever you all know and love, put a lotta love in Hallie's cake(s)...

It's the love. I knew it would make her happy...

4th of July

There was the carousel ride that the girls loved...

and refused to get off of...

and there was... a whole bunch of stuff that doesn't make it to the blog, but here is a pic of my patriotic sweet hearts...

Of course Summer is not officially Summer if you don't make a trip to the pool...

Nor, is it officially summer if your two-year-old does not crash dead asleep in between bites at least once...

Weekend with the Goodlads

In which weekend we hiked (unless you prefer the term strolled) around the red rocks.

Hallie filled her time with banging these two rocks together...

Taylor was adorably cute...

And Brecken learned to...

Almost...

Come on, you can do it...

There! We got a real smile...

wow. this post just keeps going doesn't it?

Allen Family Reunion

Complete with Piñada...

Which, after Brecken swiped down in one shot, she decided to beat the candy out of it...

Another First for Hallie,

Pigtails!

Ah, the D man came to celebrate his Bday with us. Happy Birthday, Derek!...

And this summer venture is known as "Leave the Cool Whip in a two-year-old accessible area, so that said two-year-old can gift the entire container of said Cool Whip to her highchair-trapped one-year-old sister"...

Oh the joy....

And that's it. I don't have any last big hoorah summer picture to end on. We'll have to settle with the Random Cool Whip Photo.

Summer, it was good to know you.

Father's Day

2011-06-20T01:02:00.005-06:00

I couldn't let the day pass without paying tribute to the father of my children, it being Father's Day. And in lieu of the fact that this is his seventh Father's Day as an actual father (am I over-using the word "father"?), I have decided to list the top seven reasons Russ is a wonderful dad...

Reason #7

This man knows how to give a mean horsey ride to his girls. Every night. It's a Harrington ritual now. And by "mean" I mean fun. Not mean-literally.

Reason #6

His idea of "doing the girl's hair" is parting it down the middle and combing it down with gel. Really. I've seen it done. More than once. But this does not thwart him in his efforts to pitch in and do their hair. He is a ha-uge help. And believe me, I love the part down the middle look. It means Russ came to save the day.

Reason #5

He is adorably cute about telling the girls stories from his childhood. He has about six that he rotates through (that may be pushing it, maybe four), but they LOVE hearing his childhood tales. And so do I. I could listen again and again. Which is good. Because I get to :)

Reason #4

You have to know his phobia of changing poopy diapers to appreciate this. But... we have a deal (that works out in my favor) in which he is exempt from changing poopy diapers. But (drum roll please...) he has changed several poopy diapers in his fatherhood career. AND keeps his end of the deal. Yes, babe, I notice. Thank you.

Reason #3

He wants me to be a good mom (ok, that sounds lame, of course he would). But he is always trying to help me be better. But not in a "you're not good enough you should be better" kind of way. More in a "hey hon, I know that it can be stressful with the kids, do you need a break so that you can be filled with patience" kind of way. He is sooo good at that.

Reason #2

Russ genuinely loves spending time with his girls. And, though he may say he can't wait for his boy to get here (which he will... someday), I can't imagine him being happier than when he's wrestling with the girls, giving shoulder rides, giving bike riding lessons, tickle fights, cave exploring, and the myriads of other things that he loves to do with his girls.

and the #1 Reason Russ is a good dad...

He puts Heavenly Father first. And because he does that, he is just a good man who is sensitive to his girls needs. And because he does that he has soooo much love in him that naturally he bestows on his children. And because he does that he is filled with the desire to serve; and I am the primary target of service for him, and you can only imagine in which ways he helps (and then multiply that by... six).

Yes, hon, if you read this, I just want you to know: You are a good dad. You are the best husband, and I am so grateful to have you.

(and I just randomly picked a picture I saw with him and one of the girls)...

Happy Father's Day!

-- -- -- --

I was also going to do a post about my dad, but.... he's been a father for 32 Father's Days... and.... it took a long time jotting down 7 :) But, pretty much the same things might be said for my dad as was said for Russ. Except I can't honestly say that I've ever seen my dad change a poopy diaper. But that doesn't mean that he hasn't. I'm just not certain.

But to name a few:

I loved being able to say on the playgrounds of elementary school "My dad can beat your dad up."

I loved pretending to fall asleep because I knew my dad would carry me up to bed.

I loved going camping with the anticipation that my dad would scare us all silly with ghost stories around the campfire.

I loved kicking and hitting, and screaming every time my dad grabbed my foot in an effort to tickle it. Well, I didn't love it, but I can look back with fondness now :)

I loved laying down on the floor by my dad, flipping through the TV guide, circling which movies we were going to record in the upcoming week.

And now I love going home for visits and chatting with my dad late into the night.

I love vacations we get to take together. And memories we still get to make.

I guess to sum it up... I love my dad. And I'm pretty sure he'll never read this, but if you do... "Orange you glad you're my dad?!" (yes. inside joke)

Sistas

2011-06-10T01:36:00.011-06:00

If I don't post this now, I never will. Usually that is due to procrastination issues. This time, it's more or less because I will regain full use of my brain later on. And once that happens, I am sure to regret this. But for now, well after midnight, I have to say: photobooth rocks.

yeah. don't ask. I don't know.

Wicked Amazing Friends

2011-05-15T23:15:00.005-06:00

I have not been back to Boise since we moved. Until now. Well, actually, until last weekend. In a word: amazing. In two words: wicked amazing. You may have guessed, we saw Wicked while we were there. (Or you may not have guessed, and just thought I was extremely weird for using that term as an adjective). But Wicked truly is amazing. And I was there. And I have proof.

I think you will all agree that that is, most obviously, my hand holding the Wicked program...

So that was the wicked part of our trip, here was the amazing...

The food. It was unbelievable. And, I guess, the company wasn't bad (muahahaha... just kidding). Yes, the amazing part was our friends. To say, friends, sounds so ineffectual. Everyone on facebook is my friend. The Goodlads are... the word that means... family that has no legal or blood tie. In other words: really, really good friends :)

The trip was too short. We stayed up too late. Slept in too long. Ate too much. And had too much fun. In two words, it was wicked amazing.

The Sound of Laughter

2011-05-03T13:01:00.006-06:00

Does a mother really want to know what is going on in the bathroom when the unattended two year old begins laughing? Does she really want to find out what mischief is taking place when the sound of two year old laughter is echoed by ten month old laughter? To be honest, sometimes this mother wishes she could let the old adage ring true: Ignorance is bliss. But we all know, that isn't safe.

So what do we find? Toilet water. Everywhere. But mostly on the ten month old. Of course, I wasn't pleased, but I know that years down the road I will find humor in this. So I'll take a picture for those days when I can say "remember when..."...

(notice the two year old is absent from this picture, I couldn't have her see me capturing this on camera, that would only encourage such behavior)

And just for kicks...

I love their seriousness.

Easter Birthday

2011-04-30T22:00:00.002-06:00

One of my greatest blogging downfalls is that I often forget to grab the camera when it really matters. One of my greatest blogging strengths: Excuses.

This year, our little Brecken turned six. On Easter. And since her next birthday to fall on Easter will be her 90th, it was kind of special. The Easter Bunny even brought her a present ;) But between the special Birthday breakfast, hair-doing (for three girls), and trying to make it on time for nine o'clock church, there was no time to capture on camera that only moment when three heads of hair are actually done (and looks like it), all six feet have shoes on them, and everyone is smiling. After our church meetings we headed off to grandma's for festivities and, you guessed it, forgot the camera. So there are my excuses.

Despite the lack of evidence we had a wonderful day. Spending time with family will do that. I am pretty sure that Brecken thought all of the celebrating was for her and her birthday, (of course family from all over the states would gather just for her :]) But that is part of the novelty of an Easter Birthday.

I did have to snap at least one shot of our beautiful six year old the actual day. Plum tuckered out after a long and glorious birthday...

The next picture (sigh) needs explaining. Most of you know. We... are a dog family again. Our dog, Butch, was such a big hit for her fourth birthday present (see post here) that we decided to give him to Russ's dad for a while, and then regive him as her sixth birthday present (more or less :]) I'm still not sure how I feel about it...

But Brecken is...

So. Can I just say, I love Brecken. She is such a good girl. And I mean that. Really. It's not something I feel I have to say because this is her birthday post. Not only is she beautiful. Not only is she smart. Not only is she creative, and fun-loving, and spunky, but this girl is good. I mean, amazing. She loves to give you the last bite of her candy bar because she knows you love it. She loves to surprise you with making your bed. She loves to sneak into your bathroom and put a picture that she's drawn for you on the counter. She loves to tell Taylor stories to cheer her up. And she is sweet, and sooo forgiving. And She is always so penitent when she does something wrong. And now, she is six. Wow. I love you Brecken, my six year old!

Can't Get Enough Hallie

2011-04-23T07:00:00.002-06:00

Something is wrong with me. I am blogging more than my usual self. I think I am doing everything in my power to avoid the mounting mess that is surrounding me. More specifically the laundry. But while I am at it, you may as well enjoy a few adorable pics (taken today, another manifestation of procrastination-as is the homemade bow in her hair) of my favorite nine-month-old...

But just so we're clear that I love all my girls :) ...

awe, look at Hallie's cute little finger in her mouth! But no faves ;) I love 'em all!

Fully Animated Awesomeness

2011-04-20T00:55:00.006-06:00

After talking with Russ (and pointing out the eyes, nose, mouth and hair, and then pointing them out again) it became apparent to me that I had been staring at our Bathroom Friend waaay too long. All I can see is a face. She's a person to me. But others... well, they see a knot in the wood. So. In fully-animated, awesomeness form Bathroom Friend... with a body...

Wow. I'm good.

Ok, so it isn't really fully animated. It doesn't move. But it is awesomeness.

And if you didn't read the post below, this won't make sense to you. And quite frankly, after reading this post, I wouldn't blame you if you'd rather not.

Bathroom Friend

2011-04-19T14:18:00.013-06:00

A while back, while doing odds and ends around the house I heard Brecken chatting away in the bathroom. When she emerged from the bathroom (knowing no one else was in there) I asked "So who were you talking to?"

I was more or less making conversation, she's always talking to herself, or to her dolls, or making the comb and the brush talk to each other. So it caught me a little off guard when she so matter of factly stated "To my bathroom friend." My curiosity was piqued. I had to be introduced, and Brecken was more than willing to make the introduction.

So, now, may I introduce to you (drum roll please) Bathroom Friend...

You have to admit, it's hard to escape the face-like characteristics of this knot in the wood. It often seems more akin to a hand-carved work of art, than an accident of nature. But perhaps that's just because I've grown rather fond of Bathroom Friend. Dare I say she ? has given cause to many a chuckle when in the girl's bathroom. So here's to you... Bathroom Friend.

They Called Her on a Mission...

2011-04-14T13:10:00.010-06:00

Well. I have been knowing (for the past several months) that this time would come. And it is upon me. Destinee Is gone. Those far away Floridians of Orlando don't even know how lucky they are.

Dare I get sentimental? No. Best to not. I'll save the mushy sad, gushy missing goings on for my pillow. And maybe letter writing. But there are a few things I will miss.

This...

And of course this...

This one (though posed) is her "I am mad. But I won't tell you I'm mad. I'll try to act indifferent" look, and it will be missed...

as will this...

And because it is against mission rules to read blogs, I can post this...

But mostly. I will miss this...

Awe, Dest. I don't think you know how I miss you!!!! I guess this could be called my "Ode to Destinee." There are perks, I suppose, for having a word name. Odes sound much cooler. Maybe someday someone will write an "Ode to Serenity"...Ok, I just googled it. And they have. It's.... an interesting painting.

Kamry Lynn

2011-04-06T11:30:00.003-06:00

This was a post from two years ago, but thought that I would republish it. More and more, I look back at this time with such sweet tenderness, and remember how close our family came to each other and to the Savior.

April 6, 2007 Kamry Lynn Harrington was born to our family. I just wanted to write down the events of that day and share my testimony of a loving Heavenly Father.

I woke up on April 6 and knew this was the day that my little baby girl was going to be born. I had been in labor most of the night and my contractions were starting to get mildly strong. I called my mom around 11:00 am to tell her the good news. She had taken Brecken for me two weeks before so we could do some odds and ends and have a little alone time before the baby came.

While we were talking she told me that my cousin Kimberly's baby had been born earlier that morning and seemed to be doing well. This was such a miracle because they had to deliver her 2 or so months early.

While we were talking I had the little thought Wouldn't it be ironic if Kimberly's baby lived after such a complicated, difficult pregnancy, and my baby died, where there have been no complications or signs of anything wrong whatsoever. Not liking that thought, I dismissed it immediately... later realizing Heavenly Father was preparing me.

My contractions got a little bit stronger but didn't ever get the "five minutes apart" they were supposed to so I started getting things ready to "pass the time." I got myself all ready, vacuumed the house, folded the laundry, and rechecked my hospital bag.

I was tempted to call Russ home from work, but felt like it should wait. I wanted to wait most of it out at home... put off the uncomfortable labor beds of the hospital. I decided that I would call Russ with the big news when the contractions were closer.

When I ran out of things to do I sat on the couch and began timing contractions. Still about ten minutes apart. Staring at the clock wasn't helping as a time passer so I decided to read. I felt prompted to pick up the April Ensign. The story I opened to was about a mother who lost her baby minutes after birth. I felt this obviously this couldn't be what Heavenly Father wanted me to read so I flipped through and found an article about Mothers... This, I was sure, was what I was meant to read. The next article I read was entitled "Sealed on Earth, Sealed in Heaven."

It was around this time that I noticed Kamry hadn't moved in a while. Actually I didn't really remember the last time she had moved other than for sure 1:00 am when I had gone to bed the night before. But I really didn't know... a moving baby in the belly was second nature now, so she could have been moving all day unnoticed. I tried to think back to when Brecken was born. Did she move when I was in labor? I couldn't really remember. I kept a prayer in my heart asking Heavenly Father to let me know if I needed to get to the hospital quickly. A calm feeling came over me and I felt reassured that staying home was the best thing to do for now. This was around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon.

I kept timing my contractions and they stayed anywhere form 7 to 15 minutes apart but they were definitely strong now. By 5:00 I was pretty anxious for Russ to get home from work.

He got home shortly after 5:00 and I let him know we could go to the hospital whenever he was ready. His "getting ready" included mowing the lawn... which was fine. I mean really, my contractions weren't getting much closer together. We left the house a little after 6:00 and decided to grab a bite to eat on the way.

We got to the hospital and checked in around 7:00. Finally. All day I had been waiting for this. I got all set up in the little pre-labor room so they could check me. The nurse came in to look for the heartbeat. She kept searching. Nothing. My heart immediately sank. She left and got another nurse to assist her. Still nothing. I kept waiting for the words "There's the heartbeat!" but they never came.

Because of Heavenly Father's tender mercies, my doctor, Dr. Klomp, was the doctor on the floor that night. He came in to do an ultrasound to help them find the heart beat. As I watched the screen I could clearly see her tiny feet, perfectly still, not moving as they pressed on them. And then I knew there was something drastically wrong. My little Kamry was not one to hold still when she was being pushed.

Moments later Dr. Klomp said "I am sorry to have to be the one to tell you this..." And then I broke down. I don't remember what he said next.

It came as such a shock... but at the same time it didn't. Heavenly Father had been preparing me for this all day. In His infinite goodness He prepared my mind so that I would know that He was in control.

I remember calling my mom not too long after and just crying. It was so hard to have to put into words what was happening. I wanted her so badly to just be with me so I could cry on her shoulder. But she couldn't be there.

Russ called our Bishop to let him know what happened. The bishop and his wife dropped everything and came to the hospital to be with us. On this Friday night, when their kids were gone, and alone time being pretty scarce for them, but they sacrificed it to be with us.

Heavenly Father knew I needed them. He knew I needed my mom and since she couldn't be there He sent me the next best thing, Lori Belnap. Bishop and Lori were extremely sensitive to the spirit that night. Whenever Russ and I needed to be alone, without being asked they would excuse themselves. When I needed someone to hold my hand Lori would come and hold my hand. With everything they said and did they couldn't have been more in sync with our needs. I know it is because Jesus Christ knew exactly what are needs were, and through the bishop and his wife he fulfilled them.

Shortly before Kamry was born Bishop Belnap gave me a beautiful, powerful blessing and everything he said brought comfort to me. It was such a neat experience.

And then she was born.

I was holding my tiny, beautiful, little baby girl. She was so perfect. Her little hands. Her tiny fingers... Everything. Her tiny heart just wasn't beating.

The spirit in that room was so powerful. Despite the sadness, there was so much peace. I know that it was hard, but my memory of those moments are so precious and sweet to me. I got to hold my little girl and kiss her, and rock her. It was as though she was just asleep and we were saying our goodbyes.

The hospital did so much for us. They arranged for someone to come and take pictures of our little Kamry, for which I am so grateful.

My family got to the hospital about 1:00 am. There was so much emotion. I got to cry on my mom's shoulder. My dad cried with me. And my brothers and sisters. It was so good to see our little Brecken who had been gone for two weeks! She showered us with hugs and kisses which Heavenly Father knew we would need.

I think the hardest part of the night was watching Brecken's excitement over little Kamry. She hugged her and kissed her and patted her so sweetly. It broke my heart all over again to watch her. It was such a bitter-sweet experience.

My three older brothers who weren't living at home also dropped everything to come be with us. They got to the hospital around 5:00 am. I can't even say how it felt to know that they would make that sacrifice. They brought with them so much comfort I can't even put it into words. Just to be with family in times of trial is such a blessing. I needed them so much at that time, and they came... I am still just so grateful.

The next few days and weeks were so miraculous. I have never been closer to the Savior than I was through those times. He carried me through and spared me so much heart ache. I don't know how he did it. There were times when I would sit and feel such peace I would wonder how it was possible. I was sad, of course, but because Jesus Christ knew what I would suffer, he knew exactly how to comfort me and lift my burden from me.

I look back at the miracles that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ allowed during those times. I know that the reason I felt so good about not going to the hospital first thing was because Heavenly Father was looking after me. If I had gone to the hospital early in the morning and Kamry had not yet died, or there were small signs of life they would have whisked her away and she would have had wires and tubes... and I know it was Heavenly Father's plan to take her. But he allowed me to hold that precious baby, free from tubes and wires, free from nurses and doctors rushing about, just calm, and peaceful moments with my little baby.

I know the reason that Brecken was with my mom for those weeks before Kamry was born was because Heavenly Father knew we would need her affectionate love at that difficult time. If she had stayed with us and my family had come to be with me, Brecken would have wanted nothing to do with us. But Heavenly Father provided the circumstance where she would shower us with her healing hugs and kisses.

The week before Kamry was born I had a hymn go through my mind. So much so that I would wake up at night thinking of the hymn, so I learned the words. I thought, at the time, that it was to help me get through the last "tough weeks" of pregnancy... but after Kamry was born, I knew it was to help me get through the weeks that followed her birth.

The Hymn was #125 How Gentle God's Commands:

How gentle God's commands!
How kind His precepts are!
Come cast your burden on the Lord
And trust His constant care.

I know that our Savior lives. And I know we are in His constant care. He has lifted my burdens from me time and time again. I am so grateful to Him. I love my little Kamry so much. I know that we will be with her again and that our family will be together forever. I have a testimony that this is true and I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father for this testimony. And for His goodness, and His Plan of Happiness.

Singing. At its Finest

2011-03-22T12:33:00.003-06:00

With talent such as Taylor's, it must be shared. This is her debuting ABC's (minus letters T-V) and a Harrington original, The Binky Song:

She altered The Binky Song in rebellion. The original lyrics are as follows:

No more binkies

Taylor Rae

I am such a big girl

Yeah Hooray

And because it's subtle and easy to miss (well, because, let's face it, the girl has speech impediments) The last four lines she sings:

I'm not a big girl

No Hooray

Oh Taylor. I love ya.

Tea Parties, Shiners, and Sleep Lines...

2011-03-05T01:10:00.008-07:00

...Oh my.

So what do three sisters do when they get together for a week filled with girlie fun? A lot. Too many things to list. So I'll share what we took pictures of. The tea party.

And for those of you wondering: No, I am not too old for tea parties. And yes, by tea party I mean hot chocolate in a teapot. Oh yes. We did...

And little Hallie got her first shiner (I won't mention any names)...

I know, it should be a sad thing, this black eye of hers. but honestly, I thought it was rather cute (of course, not cute enough to give her one intentionally, just cute enough to take pictures of)...

And since we're on Hallie. I have to say, I just love sleep lines...

Nothing says "I'm cute and I just woke up" quite like 'em...

And, it was a few weeks ago, but... Happy Valentines Day...

I mean, when you put that much thought into a hairdo, it must be shared.

Oh, and Taylor insisted on showing off her do as well.

Or would you call this a don't? It's not the before picture. This is how she looked. All day. Backwards Boston shirt. Mismatched tutu. Crazy, adorably snarled hair. Why mess with perfection?

Happier Milestones

2011-01-29T00:11:00.007-07:00

Our little Hallie is sitting up all by herself! I know, mom's think that the simplest things are so much cooler than they really are.

But doesn't she look happy to be sitting up?!...

Ok, the grass was kind of throwing her for a loop. I couldn't get a smile out of her. That face you see there, well that's how she feels about sitting on grass (and don't worry, the cement in the background is way further back than it looks, if she had fallen she would have only grazed her head, not split it open ;])

And still not a smile, but slightly more pleasant...

Congrats to Hallie!

Milestones...

2011-01-28T10:42:00.002-07:00

Can be pretty traumatic...

Yep. No more binkies. It's been pretty rough on this little girl...

And every once in a while I'll find her huddled in some corner of the house with Hallie's pacifier in her mouth, clenching it with her hands, and sucking the life out of it. I refrain from taking pictures, however comical (no need to encourage such actions).

It has been a week and a half now. Withdrawals are easing up, and on occasion she will even sing the binky song we wrote for the occasion:

No more binkies

Taylor Rae

I am such a big girl

Yeah hooray

And, yes, once while singing she began softly crying afterward. Poor girl. She's a champ.

cute things...

2011-01-11T18:27:00.005-07:00

... is finally updated. here :)

The Holidays... For Real This Time

2011-01-11T03:30:00.005-07:00

Here is my much more detailed (or rather picture overloaded) post of our Holidays. Well, December. I was a dork and didn't take any pictures of our awesome New Year's goings-on.

Half of December we spent with the fam up in Grantsville. We got our White Christmas fill and enjoyed the sunny "jacket weather" of Saint George on Christmas day.

So here's the Phelps Family Christmas Party that started off our December (It's kind of like Where's Waldo... only Where's the Harringtons... you have to love huge family get-togethers)...

And our Anniversary was somewhere in December. Celebrated by a stay at the Anniversary Inn (we could have done the Romeo and Juliet Room or something Romantic like that... but Swiss Family Robinson was sooo much cooler-oh yes. our bed was in a tree)...

And, oh yes. Our shower was a waterfall. We will one day have this in our home :)...

Mostly what kept the Holiday Season busy was spending a little family time...

This was a stay up til 4 shot. and she's still gorgeous...

Not everyone is cut out for 4. but they tried. actually they didn't...

This one is in here because, well, I just love the look on Hallie's face...

The Christmas tree (ahhhh... sipping hot chocolate by the tree... mmm...)...

The view from my window (in g ville of course)...

A stroll down our lane...

sheep. yep. not much to say about em. Other than it's kinda fun having them live down the lane...

Friends (that, dummy me, didn't take enough pictures with)...

And of course our Allen Family Christmas party, which is never complete without a talent show (I will let you use your imaginations as to what insane skills were being shown off)...

And our own Harrington family Christmas Eve was so wonderful!

(sometimes, a no-smile shot is even cuter to me than a smile shot... especially on chubby babies)...

The Harrington Christmas tree...

Which is much cuter with little girlies in front of it. So I thought you'd like to see a few of the attempted photos that went along with trying to get a picture of all three. I'm sure you can guess who the trouble maker was...

She's leaning...

Now blurring...

Ope. She's gone...

There we go (after a bribe or two and 20 pictures later)!...

And Christmas dinner was so wonderful! Which I, again, shamefully forgot to take any pictures of people (yes, I'm a dork)...

But the surroundings were great ;)...

And Christmas morning...

Merry Christmas Everyone (again)!!!

*** as a side note, the friday thing isn't working like I thought it would. obviously. I'm thinking December was just an off month because of the crazy business, but still. I think I'll switch over to a once a week thing, and not pin myself down to a specific day. just so you don't all think I'm slacking on my promises... more than I already have anyway :)***

Merry Christmas

2011-01-04T04:29:00.003-07:00

Yes, a much longer and detailed post was planned, but time slipped away from me. So to all I say...

Merry Christmas!

And yes, to all a good night!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T22:24:00.007-07:00

I didn't blog last friday. The internet didn't work. And now it does. The problem now is deciding if this is gonna kill two birds with one stone and count for this coming friday as well. We'll see :)

Since this is my Thanksgiving post I thought it only right to list a few things I am thankful for. So here goes in no particular order of importance:

I am grateful my family has never known hunger (despite my girls constant use of the phrase "I'm starving").

I am grateful that I have never wondered if I would have a home to go to. It may not always be clean, but that is of my own neglect.

I am grateful that I have a husband that makes me feel he loves me more than he loves himself. To put it plainly, he takes care of my needs above his. I feel a little selfish.

I am grateful I have three beautiful, good, happy daughters here with me on earth. They truly make being a mother my greatest joy (and a very interesting joy).

I am grateful I have a daughter waiting for me in Heaven to remind me of everything pure and good.

I am grateful for my brothers and sisters (in-laws alike). I never feel like I am alone, some one is always just a conversation away. They are my best friends.

I am grateful for all of my extended family. I have been so blessed with people I love and care so much about, that love and care about me also.

I am grateful for my parents who are also my best friends. They do more for me than anyone could imagine. Well, you could imagine it, but you wouldn't believe it.

I am grateful for Russell's parents. Not only did they provide me with the spouse of my dreams by raising such a hard working lad, but their genetic combination was just so as to produce a very good-looking, hard working lad. And they, too, have become some of my closest friends.

And I am grateful for my actual friends. Not just the family kind :). There aren't many people outside of family that I have become very close with in my life, but those I have are as dear to me as family.

I am grateful for sunshine. I don't make it a secret that sunshine makes me happy. And I love being where the sunshine is. I am so blessed.

I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. For His gospel. For the peace that He gives me always. It has been very seldom that I have faced trials in my life (of any real significance-I don't count Taylor drawing on walls :]) and when those times come Jesus Christ has been my comfort and my source of peace. He has carried me through times I would have expected to feel unrest and sadness and filled me with His love.

I am grateful that because of my Savior, and because of my Heavenly Father's plan for my family, we can be together forever. That all of those I love so well on earth I won't be parted from forever, and those who have already passed on I will get to see again, and not only see, but live with, and be sealed to. I am so grateful for this.

I have so many things to be grateful for!

But... I will skip to the picture portion. These are just some pictures of our day. It was filled with family and food. My two favorite things...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Memory Lane

2010-11-19T06:30:00.007-07:00

Since nothing out of the ordinary happened this week [unless you count the 96 loads of laundry folded (ok, slight exaggeration)] I feel I have license to take a trip down memory lane instead.

Let's go back six or so years. Russ and I were newlyweds. He was in school. We both worked. We lived in a quaint little basement apartment. And we were just figuring out what each other were really like. This is when I was introduced to how Russ handles sickness.

It began as any other day, I don't remember the particulars, but in the evening we attended a play at the college for one of Russ's classes.

In the middle of the play Russ started coming down with a cold. He was in pain, and it was obvious. So what does any normal person do when cold symptoms set in (sore throat in particular), and it's after hours? A trip to the emergency room, of course! Russ was in pain and it needed remedied! Immediately! (for those of you wondering-he knows I'm in jest)

Of course, once the emergency room was brought up I began thinking it must be more serious than just your common cold (I mean, come on, the emergency room for a sore throat?). So I (being the devoted, loving wife I am ;]) began feeling anxious as to what could possibly be ailing my new groom. Enter nurse:

Nurse: On a scale of one to ten, how bad is your pain?

Russ: (very dramatically) Ten.

Nurse: (somewhat condescendingly) Ok, ten would be like they are sawing your arm off. (then looks to Russ to restate his obviously exaggerated response)

Russ: (in a tone that would suggest "I'm fully aware of how the rating system works" he acquiesced) Nine.

Oh yes. He said nine. And he would have kept with ten had he not felt obligated to restate. Now, curiosity more than anxiety for my spouse set in. What was this pain in his throat that was as bad as having his arm sawed off?? Was it a tumor? Of course a few tests were done, a few lights shown down the oral cavity, a few tongue depressers and cotton swabs.

In the end, they handed us two pieces of paper: the diagnosis, and a prescription for Lortab. What was the diagnosis worthy of such a pain killer? It read:

"Pharyngitis (sore throat)". No, it wasn't a tumor. It wasn't even strep.

Yes. This was a foreshadowing for how my husband handles sickness. Due to this being already too lengthy of a post I won't go into the moaning throughout the night, the relentless tossing and turning, or the days off work, etc. etc. I'll leave it to your imagination. But, I will say, he is worth every second of it. I love that boy, and I wouldn't change him for anything. I even love when he gets sick... it's rather endearing :)

And no post is complete without pictures, so even though it has nothing to do with anything, here is little Hallie grabbing her toes (don't worry mom-though sockless-she is still warm)...

Aw.

Questions Unasked... and Introducing

2010-11-12T23:59:00.003-07:00

It is no secret that I often take advantage of the built in babysitting services that comes from having a large family. Brecken, Taylor, and sometimes both will spend a day or two (or three or four... or five or six) with Grams and Gramps in Grantsville. Which means aunties and uncles are the on call sitters (yes, they are angels).

Normally I don't ask too many questions... in order to avoid the feelings of guilt that come from stories of crayon on the wall, broken decor, screaming, fit throwing etc. etc. Ignorance is bliss. I guess I figure: if it's bad enough... they'll tell.

I'm beginning to question my methods. Only, it's not the aunties and the uncles I should be questioning. It's my children.

I've been spending the week with my family and my brothers and sisters have been their angelic selves helping out with the children. Destinee (sweet, sweet Destinee) took it upon herself to dress Taylor one morning.

Notice anything unusual about the outfit?

Nope. It's just not quite fitting...

In her defense, the three girls were all sharing one suit case. And I am sure she has seen that outfit on Taylor before... of course, back when Taylor looked like Hallie...

Not that dressing a two year old in size 3-6 months brings into question the entire competency of one's babysitting skills. I'm just thinking a few more questions might be in order. For the aunties and the kiddos. Ah, Dest, you know I love you! and hey, you can't beat free babysitting :)

And now, introducing my newest nephew (which is a rare thing in the world of Allens)... Drum roll please....

Luke Darrell Allen at six days old...

of course this little cutie was asking to hold him every five seconds :)...

awe, chewing on his little fingers!...

ooooohhhh, I am smitten!...

Congrats Dan & Nicole!!!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-05T14:43:00.009-06:00

Ok, I know Halloween was, like, a week ago, but it's not my fault that it happened to be on the absolute furthest day from my designated blogging day. And I don't want to get all ambitious or anything and post more than I promised :)

So. For the pictures... First up: Our cowgirl.

Along with Halloween came Brecken's first Halloween Parade at her elementary school. There was a little bit of picture overload going on, something to do with being first-timers (I sensed a bit of inward mocking from the more seasoned parents), but I'll just post a few...

Struttin' her stuff...

Love you cowgirl!...

And now for the chicken...

The little twerp wouldn't let me snap a front shot. I think we both circled this rock about ten times...

So, you get a back shot (a very cute back shot)...

And our little chubby bunny (awe) It's almost cuter that she didn't smile...

And for those who get Russ's costume: "Way-elll. Obviously... Run and tell that. Homeboy."

And of course, the whole reason for the costume ritual has nothing to do with dressing up...

Aren't we all just in it for the candy? That's why I sent my kids out. Their loot... is my loot. Oh yeah.

Brain Dead

2010-10-30T14:36:00.004-06:00

So I did my whole blog last night without posting the main events of the week. Definitely brain dead last night. Main event number one: Brecken's first school picture ever! I know, I'm a total newbie. Only a newbie would mark this as a milestone.

awe, my little grade schooler!...

And the real highlight of the week? Brecken's primary part!! She did so well. In the video, I have to chuckle, we need to work on her "smile" during delivery. But other than the overkill on cheese, she did great! We are so proud of her.

My Three Girls

2010-10-29T22:50:00.007-06:00

Well, it's friday, and I have a lot of Halloween-costume-ish pictures, and pumpkin carving etc... But I'm gonna save that for another post. Just in case I get some better shots tomorrow :) So you just get the boring run down on the kiddos.

Brecken: Lately, she's been loving dancing. Well, not lately, she always has. But lately she's been loving me taking pictures of her dancing, so that's what you get on her :)...

Hallie, ah, my angel child. When there is a newborn in the home, it is hard not to have a favorite...

And due to some accidental funky camera settings, this one is better in black and white...

Taylor, sheesh, there is always much to be said about Taylor.

The sound of silence can mean one of two things. Either Taylor has been creating a work of art with make-up, food, or toothpaste or she needed her diaper changed and I forgot about it. Until I realized I had had 20 minutes of silence...

(no need to tell me she should be potty trained. I realize I have two in diapers. believe me. I realize it)

So I'm not usually lucky enough to get that kind of silence. But she is always good for a laugh...

weirdo :)...

And this last picture has nothing really to do with the post. It's just because I think my husband is good looking, and I like to look at him. Even on my blog :)

Harrington Randoms

2010-10-22T12:02:00.006-06:00

Well I decided to give a little update on each of the Harrington clan. We'll start with me :)

A few days back just as we were crawling into bed, Russ (cute, cute Russ) pulled something from the closet. My birthday present (which isnt for two weeks)! The intention was to just show me the beautifully done wrapping job, compliments of himself. Well, one thing led to another and soon shreds of wrapping paper and remnants of ribbon were strewn across our bed.

Now, I felt like a little spoiled two ear old when I opened it. You know, whine about something so you get it. Well, you may have noticed, I whined about the camera that we have (in previous posts) and so, yes, I was spoiled... drum roll please......

I thought the camera might get insulted if I snapped a shot with my phone, so you get the mirror image :) Now, I am far from proficient at using this camera. One: I don't know what all of the nifty features do. Two: I don't know how to take a creative shot to begin with. And three: I definitely don't know how to combine one and two. So, please, forgive the underused awesomeness of this camera... I'll get there.

For an update on Russ, well you just get an amazing sky view he snapped and me telling you he is awesome :)...

We'll move on to Hallie. No milestones yet. Still cute, with a few battle wounds compliments of Taylor...

Taylor? Well, she must know the law that states: When a mother thoroughly cleans the kitchen, (i.e. sweeps, mops, scrubs etc.) It must not last longer than two hours...

The little ~~twerp~~ cutie :)

Brecken's latest: She learned to ride a bike! A little negligence on our side prolonged this inevitable feat, But in two days she had it down!...

I love her look of concentration...

And when encouraged to smile this is all she can muster...

Until of course she's no longer riding, then she can focus on cheesing for the camera :)...

And I cannot keep her off of that thing!! :) I am so proud of her!!

And that about wraps up the random goings-on of the Harringtons!

A Thing of Beauty...

2010-10-15T22:43:00.005-06:00

... Is a joy forever.

Look at it...

Isn't it beautiful?...

ahhh....

What is this reverie I find? Why, it is a lock on the pantry door. And what's this? It's out of Taylor's reach! Even with her infamous stool! Yes, I believe it was the best two dollar investment I have ever made. Actually, four dollars. I loved it so much I bought two. I'm not sure where the second one is going, so many options. The bathroom. The closet. The girl's bedroom (muahahahaha... no, that's going too far).

But while this last week has been free from honey on my floor, powdered sugar on the bed, syrup in the carpet, cereal on the counters, peanut butter on my walls, and all of the above on Taylor's fingers, face, and clothing (excepting at meal times), it is not a cure all.

She still manages things such as this...

Before you gasp and think "what veiny child is this??!!!" those are not veins. It is pen (a gasp is still in order)...

I caught her red handed, but even if I hadn't her right arm would have given her away. The little culprit...

And here is the real thing of beauty!...

She is just so sweet!!! I love my Hallie. Well, all of my girls. But right now, I am basking in the joy a baby can bring. Nothing is sweeter than a baby, resting her perfect little head on your shoulder, her dainty little fingers on your chest, her bright eyes looking about, the only movement is her perfect tiny breaths... now that is beautiful.

No More Excuses

2010-10-07T03:16:00.001-06:00

I think I should stop coming up with excuses every time it's "been a while." Because apparently... It just takes me "a while" to blog. And if you saw the pile of laundry in every bedroom in the house you'd know that it isn't just blogging. But that's beside the point.

So. Now I have set a goal. Every Friday (I hope I don't regret this) I am going to blog. The only reason I am publishing this goal is for a little accountability. I do keep a journal, but honestly, my blog is a much better journal. And it's been lack-ing. Heavy on the lack. So. No more excuses. Blog world here I (re) come!

This is gonna be a lot of catch up.

(oh, and this is dedicated to my lovely sister Destinee who inspires me to blog-and many other things. love you Dest [i never got a response back, you did want me to dedicate this to you, right? :)])

Boston

2010-10-07T03:15:00.010-06:00

Boston. Wow. Boston. It started as a dream. Russ's actually. It has always been a dream of his to go to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park (silly baseball fanatic :]) Well, mid September my parents made his dream come true. We didn't just see a game at Fenway Park... We. Saw. Boston. It was amazing. It helped that Heavenly Father blessed us with perfect weather. And it helped that we got to leave Brecken and Taylor with Aunties and Uncles :)

I guess I'll just dive right into the pictures (I'm only posting a handful)...

The cemeteries in Boston were so neat. So old. It really made me reflect on the men who were buried there, many of them died fighting for freedom. Wow. This is in front of one of them...

And a picture of said cemetery (now if we had a really cool camera, and gone from a really cool angle, we could have gotten a really cool picture, just pretend)...

This was the Old North Church (you know..."one if by land, two if by sea") and Russ lookin' pretty cute...

In front of Paul Revere's home. Oh yes. It is...

Russ lookin' cute again. Oh yeah, and a ship...

And dinner at Ruth's Chris was worthy of a picture (imagine, again, a really cool camera :]) The food was so good here... some of us cried (really)...

What we didn't get any pictures of was the Boston Opera House. Or us seeing Wicked at the Boston Opera House (amazing).

More sights that were just to amazing to put into words (read between the lines-I'm too lazy to go into detail)...

Some trees too unique to not climb...

Some poses too unique not to photograph (oh, dad :])...

All of us at the North Bridge...

This is the famous Walden Pond (actually it's Russ and I at Walden Pond)...

And might I say, this little cutie was an angel the whole trip?! (I had to get her little eyes peeking out)...

Ok, this next picture needs a little narration. Everyone that goes to Boston needs to meet a Jimmy. If a Jimmy is not met, the Boston experience is not complete. This is Jimmy...

We met Jimmy at the train station on the way to the Red Sox game. Now, believe it or not, Bostonians are very hospitable. Jimmy was no different. He was the epitome of a true Boston Born and Raised. Imagine, if you will, a very raspy smoker's voice saying "Watcha gatta do is pak ya cah, take the Challie, and that'll take ya to Fenway Pak so ya can watch the Red Sax game. But you've gatta watch ya back, cuz if you crawss the gangs rand heeya they'll kill ya." (translation:What you've got to do is park your car, take the Charlie, and that will take you to Fenway Park so you can watch the Red Sox game. But you've got to watch your back because if you cross the gangs around here, they'll kill you). Yes. Jimmy was great. The written word does not do him justice.

And now, the grand finale, the moment of moments, the reason behind.... The Boston Red Sox Game at Fenway Park!!!...

(of course a little Red Sox merchandise is in order)...

Never too young...

And here we are. At the game...

That's it. I know you're probably thinking "Wait! This is an abrupt ending!" and to that I say... Yes it is.

Hallie's Blessing Day

2010-10-07T02:51:00.006-06:00

Such a neat day. I just love my Hallie. And so many people came to support us (thanks thanks thanks so much!)! But I have to confess something. I didn't think to get any pictures of Hallie in her blessing dress (duh). So as an afterthought, yesterday I threw her dress back on her and snapped some pics with my phone. So the ones in the long white dress... nope. It's not the blessing day. And not the best quality (well let's face it, my camera wouldn't be "the best quality"). Wish I would have got more pictures of everyone but here you go...

But here is Hallie on the actual day. Smiling. :)...

The fake day (her dress looks yellowish, that's my camera phone for ya, it's really white. i promise)...

And let's face it, she wasn't too happy to wear it again...

Terrible Two's: Officially

2010-10-07T01:52:00.008-06:00

You may be asking yourself... Is she officially terrible? or officially two? Yes to both. Little Taylor had a birthday. The scene at the end of August 27 (her birthday) sums up Taylor perfectly.

The day was spent in Grantsville. Taylor had gotten away with pretty much everything. Each time a "well it's your birthday, do what you want" was uttered in excuse. And of course there were the dozens of "Happy Birthday Taylor!"s given by the aunts, uncles, grandma, grandpa etc. etc.

Now imagine, it's ten o'clock at night, the birthday cake has been left on the counter, the aunts and uncles are each in their own corners of the house, and Taylor is left alone in the kitchen. I (by chance) got to peek in and see Taylor scoot her chair across the floor, climb the chair, hoist herself onto the counter, grab a nearby (used) plastic spoon, dig into the cake, shovel it in, and with a mouth full of frosting say to herself "Happy Boofday!!!"

Awe, she's cute. And it's a good thing too! All of that extra cute-ness almost compensates for the lotion, baby powder, shampoo, gel, toothpaste! (always the toothpaste), make up, honey, powdered sugar, syrup, crackers, and peanut butter that make it on my floors, walls, counters, and mirrors every day. Well, not all of it every day. But some of it every day. Oh, I love that girl!!!

Just a few pictures that capture Taylor...

Happy Boofday little two year old!!

All Grown Up and... Starting Kindergarten!!

2010-10-07T01:22:00.004-06:00

It happened. something I never thought would (ok, I never never thought it would). My little Brecken is a grade schooler. Wow. I am the mom of a grade schooler. I don't feel responsible enough. Mature enough. Old enough. But here she is, first day of school!...

(just so you know I told her I would do her hair however she wanted. However she wanted!! and this is what she chose. A pony tail. sheesh)...

Little Miss Confident...

And of course little sis has to get in on the action...

and as a side note... Brecken loves school... I hate homework... and she is really learning a lot!

Hallie: One week

2010-10-07T00:41:00.006-06:00

Oh my Hallie! Time has just flown by. I have to post these pictures. Now, I've taken my share of newborn pictures, and let's face it, they just don't turn out very cute. Maybe it's my camera, maybe it's me, (maybe it's that newborns are a little funny-looking). But Emily Menzie is amazing, because she has captured the cuteness I see in my little newborn Hallie:

Awe.

Here's My Excuse...

2010-07-09T15:36:00.001-06:00

So. It has been a while. Let me make a confession. For a while we were... how do you say... borrowing our neighbors wi-fi connection. Well, they moved. Wi-fi: gone. And being the frugal family that we are, we decided to just live with it (or rather without it). But there is one spot in our house, if you stand in the corner of our office, with the computer just so... Voila! Connection! Sometimes. Due to the iffy-ness of it... I (as you may note) have become a total internet slacker. Again.

But here I am, standing in the corner of my office, crossing my fingers that the connection holds, Blogging! So excuses behind... Now I'll post some real stuff!! (and probably not chronologically... we'll see)

Hallie Ann Harrington

2010-07-09T15:12:00.006-06:00

She's Here! Our little Hallie was born a week ago today; July 2, 2010 at 6:42 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long.

Having this sweet little baby in our home has been so neat. Little newborns have such a beautiful spirit with them, and I love being able to have that spirit in our home.

Little Hallie is an angel!!! So with no further ado, are some pictures of our little one...

Can you sense the excitement here? :)...

But still tender...

Waving goodbye to the hospital...

This one literally makes me chuckle every time I see it, so I had to throw it in...

So peaceful...

We love you Hallie!!!!

Random Harrington Doings...

2010-07-09T14:53:00.004-06:00

Precious Moments...

A Sunday evening at the temple grounds...

Baseball Days...

What the girls really did to have fun at the game :)...

Sweet little curls...

Good times!

A Day in Zion

2010-07-09T14:30:00.007-06:00

For those of you wondering (probably none, so for my own record) this is what we did over Memorial weekend. It was so much fun! We spent the day in Zion National Park!! We drove up, got on the shuttle, did a little hike, a little more shuttle riding, a picnic, some more shuttle riding, and then home again. Such a good family day!! And here are a few of the pics:

I'll start off with some of our shuttle pics...

hehe...

Ok here's a good one, no finger in the nose...

to keep her occupied...

part of the hike (our beautiful little girl)...

And the mode of transportation for our little one when not on the shuttle...

Brecken admiring her stick creation...

Little Taylor is such a funny girl!!...

My sweet little five year old!! (I just really love her)...

Me and the hub (I just really love him too)...

Just one, big happy family :)...

Thanks for the wonderful day hon!!!!

Our Little Girl Turns 5!!

2010-07-09T13:56:00.003-06:00

Well, it's true. Brecken Dee Harrington turned 5 years old. And I thought it deserved its own post (a little late, but its own post none the less).

Let me just say that I just love my little girl. She is so sweet and helpful. She often says to me "Mom, you're my best mom in the whole world!" And it just melts my heart :) She loves being a big sister, she loves being a big helper, she loves playing with her dolls, with her daddy, with her cousins, she just loves everything! She got her dad's excitement for life! And boy do I love this little girl! So here she is on her big day...

Why Brecken wanted a party (thanks everyone)...

Why little kids want to come to parties :)...

Awe... little sis feeling left out...

Oh wait... she just wanted a little cake action too. all better :)...

The little princess!!!!...

We love you Brecken!!!!!!

Arizona

2010-04-13T12:20:00.015-06:00

Five Diamondbacks baseball tickets...

One Hundred Fifty Dollars.

One trip to the concession stands...

Seventeen Dollars.

Making it on the big screen in front of Twenty Two Thousand Fans...

Priceless.

That was probably the highlight of our Arizona trip. But I'll back up and start at the beginning. We were heading down to Phoenix to see Russ's Dad and his wife. Last minute we decided to leave a day early and see the Grand Canyon (oh yes. we did).

We promised Brecken swimming at the hotel and found out too late that the pool was closed where we stayed, so we improvised (yes the bathtub-but with a swimsuit and a floatie :])...

But pool or no pool, every hotel is good for this...

The next morning on the way to Grand Canyon, Breck sporting the Grunge look...

One of the stops in Grand Canyon...

Dad and the girls at one of the lookouts...

Little Taylor sayin' cheese...

Here's Breck in an official Grand Canyon Tree...

Here she is again. And there the Grand Canyon is...

Our two little cheesers...

I love this one...

Ok, after Grand Canyon it was off to Phoenix and the Diamondbacks. Here are a couple more pics from the game...

Russ and his dad...

Daddy-Daughter at the game (notice all the empty seats? yes we had to get there early)...

With Grandma and Gramps...

Awe, what a cute couple. Look we match. No, not on purpose, and no, neither of the teams colors were blue and white...

Ok, here are some pics at the little park across the street from Grandma and Grandpa...

Taylor loved the swing (almost as much as Brecken loved pushing her)...

Grandpa and Taylor...

And of course one with Breck...

Definitely a fun trip! Thanks Dad and Michelle!!!

This One's for My Man

2010-03-24T09:59:00.004-06:00

Ok, this one is going to be a no picture post (sorry, boring). BUT I just had to say something about that cute guy I married. Lately he's been saying he wants to be involved in the community. And I am here to say this guy is involved. He came home from last night's caucus meeting and told me he was now a County and State Delegate. So, let's see here...

On to Board of the Hurricane City Chamber of Commerce

Member of Washington City Chamber of Commerce

President of the Twister Club (yes, it's real-no, they do not play Twister)

Vice President of BNI

VIP rep for the Hunstman Senior Games

and now

Washington County Delegate

State Delegate

(oh, I had to say no to coaching baseball-he's a little... busy)

Well, I think he's achieved "involved" status. Love you babe!! Of all the things he does, he still is best at being Dad.

And what do I do? I blog about my incredible husband :)

Brecken Art

2010-02-25T12:43:00.004-07:00

Brecken drew this for me today. It's me and her. I'm the one with the circle for a belly :)

So art probably isn't a career for her... But I have to say, sentimental value... very high :)

Oh, and it is supposed to say Love, Brecken :)

It's A....

2010-02-18T10:13:00.003-07:00

Well, I was gonna think of some clever way of revealing the news... but... let's face it, lately I've been a little on the lazy side. Then I thought about putting up a picture of the ultra sound and thought... well, that involves scanning, and most people just see "black and white blob" anyway. So then I thought... eh, what the hay. Just say it. So here goes. It's a...

GIRL!

Yep. I guess that's just how we roll. Girl number four. I must say I was a little surprised, but now that a full day has gone by since learning the news... I am very excited! I love my girls!!!

Another Video Debut

2010-02-16T15:10:00.003-07:00

For some reason (he's just cute) Russ wants me to post the link rather than the video. It's Brecken doing a little demo at Russ's work... pretty cute... but I'm bias :)

So click on...

Brecken's Video

to watch :)

Made My Day

2010-02-12T17:11:00.002-07:00

Shoot... made my weekend! My month!! Best hubby in the world. Thanks babe!

Happy Valentines Day!

Feeling Guilty... Taylor's Latest

2010-02-01T16:11:00.002-07:00

Ok, it was a LITTLE lazy of me to not add any pictures (even though I am sick) to the last post. So I pulled out my phone, used the camera function, snapped this video, and I'm putting up here for all of you to see...

Taylor's Latest...

The only things this doesn't quite capture are her two favorite words: "No" and "Eat"

It's Only Fair

2010-02-01T14:24:00.002-07:00

Welp, for the first time ever (ok, fourth) I am going to post without pictures (it was either that or don't post at all... which is tempting).

So what happens when trimester one is over, you're still sick off and on, soon things start looking up, then you have a week practically nausea free?

I guess the only fair thing would be for life to throw a cold your way. Complete with sore throat, of course. But to soften the blow, I was spared a cough. For now.

But I really don't want to complain. We are so blessed. Russ is such a hard worker, and has a wonderful job, Brecken is trying to be a good girl, Taylor is growing and learning every day, our needs are always being met, I live in a place where the sun mostly shines, I have the best sister-in-law literally down the street. Heavenly Father has been very, very good to us.

Excuses. Excuses.

2010-01-26T14:47:00.005-07:00

Well, I'm sure you've guessed... But I have a few for why I haven't blogged. Or been on email. Or facebook. Ok, been online altogether. And instead of play catch up, I'm gonna list my excuses.

Not in any particular order:

Excuse number one:

We got new carpet. So? You may ask. Well I'll tell you the so. The office chair (yep, the one that sits in front of the computer) got moved to the garage. And, well, it hasn't been moved back. Hopping online isn't quite as appealing without a chair to sit on... and I don't really feel like moving the chair back from the garage. Such a hassle. (but today I had an epiphany... grab Russ's laptop and take it to the couch. ha!)

Excuse number two:

I haven't been taking pictures. (No, I will not provide excuses for excuses). And we all know that I am not going to post without pictures. Where is the fun in that?

Excuse number three (and probably the biggest):

Lately I have been tired. A lot. Nauseous, now and again. And really, really...tired. And, well, since I am shirking in my regular duties... blogging kinda fell to the back burner. Actually it didn't even make the back burner. It got put in the fridge. But now that trimester one is out of the way (yes another baby Harrington is on the way), I'm feeling a wee bit better, and I think (don't hold me to it) I'll be back to my old blogging self.

And here is a LITTLE of the Harrington news...

Remember this guy?...

Welp, he is no more. Well, no more with us. We gave him to Russ's dad. I could say a lot more, but...

Taylor is still into eating. But now she's into doing it all by herself...

And into finding food, carrying off into a corner, and then doing it by herself...

And Brecken, well she is very excited for the baby in mommy's tummy to get here. This is a shot of her and little Lucy (our friend's little baby girl-so precious)...

And this was a clip Breck did a while back (note the christmas tree in the background) for a training Russ did. She was so cute that I thought I'd throw it up here...

And that's it. Til next post I guess.

Favorite Sunday of the Year

2009-11-16T11:51:00.002-07:00

So It's the time of year. Better than Mother's Day... Better than Easter... It's the Primary Program! I love this day (ok so maybe not more than Mother's Day and Easter really, but it's up there).

I love watching the little sunbeams wiggle, laugh, poke eachother, and whatever else sunbeams do (which is a LOT) I love the singing! The older kids are practically rolling their eyes through the song and you'd bet money that no sound is coming out of their barely moving mouth, and the younger kids who are so excited to sing that they shout every word they know at you (which is sometimes only the last word of every line) But mostly it's just sweet.

Well this year was Brecken's first. So however much I loved it before... it just quadrupled. And of course pictures were in order :)...

The big day!...

Here's her "I'm so excited I don't know how to really smile or stand" look...

And here is what she practiced for weeks!!! She did so good! We were so proud of our little four year old! (and for those of you who are tempted to not push play because you are already bored, this is worth watching.... well at least I think so :])

Another Year Older

2009-11-13T11:33:00.006-07:00

Well it happened again, I got spoiled. My family made a trip down for my birthday... unbeknownst to me it was a plan that had been in the works for quite some time.

There I was, day before my birthday, no clue what I was going to do for my big day... and who shows up at seven o'clock at night? My mom and sisters!!! And who shows up at 3:30 am because he had a meeting until 10:00??? MY DAD!!!!

Can you say surrrrpriiiiise!!!! ? It was the best having my family there! And they spoiled me rotten, I am embarrassed to tell you all the things they did and got for me. Let's just say, spoiled... rotten...very rotten.

And I only got a few pics (dummy me)

We went swimming. Yes we did...

Gotta love Brecken's face...

And a lotta this...

Leads to a conked out this...

One of the greatest discoveries of my Birthday? Photobooth. I will never be bored again...

But of course, if you've been to my mom and dad's blog, those photos are old news. Anyway... Thanks guys for coming down!!! it was a perfect day!!!!

(did I mention they took me out to dinner, got me a cake, made me goodies, cleaned my house, did my laundry, SPOILED me with gifts, and stayed up late with me? yes. perfect day)

Halloween and Stuff

2009-11-03T13:59:00.009-07:00

Ok... First off, Halloween.

Let's start off first thing in the morning (and I mean first thing) before the sun was up do you want to guess what we woke up to? Brecken screaming and crying. Halloween nightmare maybe? Nope. Worse. She was sick. Burning up with fever and a bad cough. Poor girl. All day she laid there. Like a slug.

I did her hair just in case she wanted to go trick or treating. which of course she did (who could blame her?) So here she is laying on the couch pre-trick-or-treating...

She put on her princess dress and managed a smile...

Due to the lack of Halloween enthusiasm with Breck being down, I totally forgot to dress up Taylor. So here she is un-costumed...

Lucky for us we had a ward Halloween party a few days before and there was someone there who snapped this (it's a witch... minus the hat:])...

Here's Brecken's piddly little lute (being sick=short trick-or-treating=small stash=happy mom)

And the girls rummaging through...

The rummaging through is cuter if captured on video :)...

And then Russ went to bed at eight (yes eight... and that's pre-time change) Brecken and Taylor went to bed at eight thirty, and I made it to bed by one thirty (don't ask) HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

And now the Stuff...

Well Brecken got a shiner. She was going to the bathroom when I heard a blood curdling scream. I asked her what she hit her face on and she said she didn't know, It was either the floor, or the cupboard door. That's gonna go over real well with anyone who may be suspicious of foul play. "So, what did you hit your face on?" "Ummm... I don't know. The cupboard? No...The floor? I don't remember. All I know is it wasn't my mom" (not a real scenario)

So here it is. This is a fake frown and the shiner is fading, but you can kinda see it...

What other stuff... oh! Have I told you Taylor is addicted to movies? Yes. Sad. But occasionally (ok a lot of times) nice. She sits like this forever...

And I had to throw this in. Brecken picked this outfit out all by herself. Can you tell? (you had better say yes) green pants. purple tu-tu. polk-a-dot skirt. striped shirt. and blue bows. and amazingly, very cute...

Did I mention Taylor loves movies?...

But just so you know she doesn't do this all day, I'm throwin' in a video of her latest tricks :)...

Cute Things

2009-10-27T02:43:00.004-06:00

So what do you do in the middle of the night when you can't sleep?... You create another blog. And it works. I'm pooped.

Actually, it's nothing new. It's just the Cute Things List that's been in the side bar forever. But Russ said he wanted it to be its own blog. So here you go babe. This one's for you ;)

Cute Things

is now a blog.

I know I really should be updating you all on our family life. Like how Taylor loves to fold her arms for the prayer. Or how Russ suddenly decided to become a runner and is running the half marathon in a couple weeks. Or how I... hmm... how I still do nothing.

But updates will have to wait. Actually, scratch that. I'm counting the above as an update. Consider yourselves updated. :)

Georgia

2009-10-13T16:26:00.009-06:00

Back in September (I don't want to hear anyone say slacker here) Russ, his mom, and I took a quick little vay-cay over to Georgia. (and yes that was all who went. no kids. heaven. thanks Kari :])

Why, you may ask, would you go to Georgia?? Three little words: First. Sergeant. Ciaccio (pronounced Chaw-cho... with a name that cool you've gotta say it right).

Ok, Ok I know that doesn't really clear things up. Russ's oldest brother, Rob (First Sergeant Ciaccio to all of you) and his family live in Georgia. Amber, his wife, invited us to be there for the Change of Responsibility Ceremony when he became First Sergeant. So we took them up on the invite.

So here he his. That's right. He's my brother-in-law...

And here we are (really enjoying the no kid bit of this... ok, I did miss them a little:] actually a lot) Look at my hubby's blue eyes!...

Russ's sister Krissy came down from North Carolina which was SO FUN (she's the best)...

Rob, Krissy, and Russ...

Did I tell you they made him his own cake? That's how cool he is :)...

Mom and her boys posing by the First Sergeant Ciaccio Sign...

Just the boys. Another pose...

And I couldn't help but ask to get a picture with Rob by the sign. I kinda felt like a little kid asking Mickey Mouse if I could take my picture with him...

And then back at the pad Amber threw a sweet party. This was after. Mom and her kids :)...

Rob & Amber, Krissy, Me & Russ (someone needed to tell Russ to cross his right leg over, haha)...

Can I just say we had a blast? Rob is seriously the coolest. Ok, he would probably make fun of me for trying to make him sound that cool. And Amber was the perfect hostess! She is such a blast to be around!! I already miss you guys! I vote that all of us (Rob, Krissy, Rich, Kari, and Russ [and spouses plus kids]) need to get together!!! Oh, and I have to send another shout out to Kari for watching my kids. It was awesome! You're the best!!

Alright, Alright... Time for an Update

2009-09-14T10:57:00.007-06:00

Sheesh! Ok, where to start? Well I haven't blogged in a while So I'll try not to make this overkill. Let's see.... What didn't I blog about?

Well I didn't blog about Brecken's swim lessons (yes, she put her face in)...

And as you can tell, she's proud of it :)...

And I didn't blog about the camping trip we took with our bff's (hehe) the Goodlads...

Brecken and Johnathan...

And I also didn't blog about our sweet garage sale (oh yeah. it was incredible)...

Ok then. I didn't blog about either of our family reunions...

Derek and cute little Hannah...

And I just love this of Taylor and Grandpa (hehehe)...

And of course I have to mention the fun Girl's week in Park City...

This little girl was teething and miserable the whole week :( Poor thing (but she sure is a cutie)...

And somewhere in there we moved to Saint George. Of course we had a little Zion action in there...

And Bryce Canyon...

Let's see after that I went to Education week...

And of course! Taylor's First Birthday! (which I know deserves its own post... but I'm just that kind of a mother to lump it in with the rest of it... I know. I'm awful)...

But she does get her own video debut :) This is her Birthday (I love her little wave)....

AND She's walking all over the place now so I thought I'd throw a video in for those who haven't seen old tubbo in action :)...

Well that about sums up what's been up with us. Of course we're missing things like Taylor's first teeth, and playing with cousins... all the little odds and ends that make life... life.

Oh, and I have to mention we have been so blessed by Heavenly Father since we've moved. Russ got an awesome job (with his awesome skills of course). And he also got his Associates. So Associate down.... Bachelor to go! And on we go with life in Saint George.

Taylor's Latest

2009-06-19T23:22:00.008-06:00

What do you do with a baby who is learning all sorts of new things? Show her off of course. Since I already have the pictures and the video I know she won't bring shame to the Harrington name by refusing to perform.

So what can this little cutie do?...

She can stand up. That's right. No hands...

And she can do it while sucking on her pacifier (so proud)...

And then of course she's mastered the stairs. Going up anyway. Coming down on the other hand... well she's come down a few times, but her method usually results in tears and bruises...

And I know you all want a live performance of Peek-a-Boo, so here you go...

Ah... Standing. Climbing. Peek-a-Boo. Clapping. Waving. What mother could be more proud? :)

Love you little Taylor Rae! (oh, and for those of you wondering... I would still be proud if all she could do was lay there :) )

Oh, And as a Side Note...

2009-06-19T23:21:00.000-06:00

The Harrington Family is moving to Saint George. Yes. Moving. Yes. To Saint George. Come August 1, 2009 We can no longer claim to be Idahoans. We will again be joining the ranks of the Utahans (actually not quite sure what they're called-but whatever it is, we'll be it). Ah, the mixed emotions....

Catch Up

2009-06-03T14:43:00.012-06:00

Well, I thought about breaking this up into several different posts... But I'm lazy, so it's all in one.
And then I thought about writing in detail about all the events of the last little while. Like how I got spoiled on Mother's Day (yes, I know, forever ago), or how I almost missed my brother's wedding... But again, I'm lazy. So I'll just throw a bunch of pics on here and write a little blip about each.

We'll start with Mother's Day (and I did get spoiled)

Brecken kept saying all day "Mom, this is so nice of me. I'm going to..." and then whatever good deed she was bestowing. Ah, the little cutie...

My Breakfast in the making (notice, also, my Mother's Day bouquet)...

And the finished product. From the grill. Let me just say it was good. Real good :). Thanks babe!...

Then there was a Park Day somewhere in there...

The two cuties together (can I just say I love summer?!)...

And Daddy and Taylor. So sweet...

Ok, Then I headed Off to Grantsville for a week and half (Russ joined me later). Here are the happenings...

There were seven of these running around and Brecken was in love...

Memorial Day...

The four of us girls...

Brecken at Kamry's grave...

Brecken had a pine cone and a stick that she wanted to give to Kamry. Funny, sweet girl...

Later that day in the car (it's how we keep her happy)...

Then we did our traditional Out to Dinner (thanks Dad!!)...

Then there was The Wedding...

My brother Dan, and his, now, wife, Nicole (and let me just say that I just love her!)....

We saw a lot of this...

Ah, wouldn't they look good with five little ones runnin' around?...

I love this picture of Brecken chasing down her cousins...

And of course she wouldn't stop until she caught them...

But she is sweet...

I know, we take a lot of pictures of Brecken...

This is her camera pose (no joke, every time she sees a camera she does this, what to do with her?)...

And of course my good lookin' hunk gettin' the baby to sleep...

And here's Taylor scrounging under the table for dropped food... or anything else she can find...

The guys...

The guys again...

The girls...

And no, not the girls again. Just Mark and Taylor (well not just Mark ;) )...

This is my adorable niece Charity...

My sister, Destinee and her... a.... friend ;) ...

And here's the whole Harrington crew. Yes this was the best shot we got. Even with Brecken picking her nose...

And then there was the Princess Cupcake...

Brecken has been in love with Kara's Cupcake Blog since it started. In fact I'm convinced if you look at her counter half of the hits are from Brecken (maybe not quite that many) So while we were down in Utah Kara made this for her and she hasn't stopped talking about it. Yes, it's a giant cupcake...

Can you detect a little excitement here?....

But of course the best part....

Ah, it feels good to be caught up. At least until I take another picture :)

Even Four Year Olds

2009-05-06T14:58:00.009-06:00

If only we could slow time down. Relive favorite memories. Save time in a bottle. None of us are immune to an occasional pining over lost time. Apparently not even four year olds...

As Brecken must have been contemplating these very thoughts (maybe not in so many words) she had her chin on her hands at the counter and a far off look in her eyes as she stared into space...

"I am getting so big..." (her fourth birthday must have hit her pretty hard) She let out a long, heavy sigh and continued in a melancholy voice "If only I could be two years old again." another long heavy sigh...

Ah yes... Two years old. Life was good then... Happier. Easier. Less complicated.

I had to chuckle to myself thinking of how she wished to be two... if only she knew how good, and care free four is...

But let's take a look at the wonders two years old can hold...

Ah, yes. Two was good :).... I love my little four year old!

Birthdays and Nevers...

2009-04-28T13:25:00.017-06:00

The Birthdays...

Well, Brecken did it. She had a birthday. She has now joined the ranks of the four year olds! And do we ever love our four year old!!

Here she is the morning of her big day...

We had a little family lunch at Brecken's favorite place, good old McDonald's...

I love how she's eyeing the presents across the table :)...

Opening the goods...

Her birthday happened to be on a friday. And since we happen to trade babysitting on fridays with fellow want-to-date-but-not-pay-for-sitter-every-time-ers... And it was our turn... We figured we'd throw ourselves a little Babysitting Birthday Bash (you know, kill two birds with one stone).

Here's the crew (minus a couple wandering babies)...

Here's one of those wanderers. We couldn't resist giving her a party hat (gotta love the one sock)...

We love you little four year old!!

And now for The Nevers...

There are some things in life we say we will never do. And you know what they say, never say never. But I said it. And it jinxed me. The never I am referring to has to do with pets. Dogs specifically. Over the past five years Russ has conditioned me to be what you might call anti-pet. Not that I don't like pets... But what with allergies and shedding etc. etc. etc. ... I did say we would never have one. But because a certain little girl had a birthday, and her father had a certain, crazy idea, here we are one dog later...

This was on her birthday, and he's seen a lot more totin' around where that comes from...

This cute little guy's name is Butch. Yes. Butch...

I'll admit I'm rather fond of the little mutt. I wouldn't throw myself in in with the dog lovers quite yet... but I'm gettin' there :)

Oh the "mutt" is a mix between a miniature poodle and a corgi :)

Slumber Party

2009-04-23T16:31:00.010-06:00

It's official. Brecken had her first sleepover! Huge. I know (ok, not really). Her little cousin (second, I guess, if you're keeping tabs) Sammy got to spend the night with us.

After playin' hard all day we finally wound down and had scripture study...

Russ could tell their faces weren't as captivated as he would have liked, so he had me retake the picture. This time he told the girls to open their mouths wide as they looked at the picture (haha gotta love him :) )...

Snuggled in bed....

Playin' in the morning...

Their cute matching outfits are thanks to Aunt/Grandma Karen. Aren't they adorable?? (I love Sammy's face)....

And I tried to snap one right before she left, but as you can tell, Dora was a little more interesting than the camera...

And where was Taylor through all of this? Well, I'll admit... I did find her in some random places :)...