Memoirs of a Mother: September 2008

9.18.2008

Back at Grandma's House

"How does this happen?"

Orioles game with the Powers! Cool stadium!

The boys at the game

More peanuts, please?

Wagon rides are fun! We're just the right size!

Basket!

Visiting the D.C. Latter-Day Saint Temple, where we were married in 2005

Grandpa's Firepit

Sweet thing!

Mom and Ann, the lead pickers

My Peter and I on a beautiful Sunday morning

Our sweet girl wears her goggles everywhere that we let her. It's very endearing.

Hanging out with Pops - I can't wait to play baseball!

Monkey Face!

We'll never know what goes on in Hadley's room but it sure must be fun because she and Jillian disappear up there for hours!

Driving in this car provides endless hours of fun at Grandma's!

Learning to pedal! She's a natural! Hopefully she'll follow in her Grandma's footsteps and be bike riding 10 miles a day when she 50+.

Peter learned to roll over right before he turned 4 months. Now he will flip to his tummy and hang out there and play with toys for a long time. When he gets tired, he can be found sucking his thumb and snoozing on his stomach- melt my heart!

Can you tell we've had a blast at Grandma's house???

9.17.2008

Richmond and the Toe Ring Gang

Growing up some friends and I decided to start a gang. It was probably the mildest type of gang out there and to be safe I'd call it more of a club now. One day we were at the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey and noticed that we all had TOE RINGS! We got a picture of our feet together and the rest is history. That was almost ten years ago and now we are all married and have moved all over the country with our husbands. I had the chance this September to get together with some of those wonderful friends, although we did miss those who weren't there! Joy and Ted were our wonderful hosts in Richmond. We loved seeing them with their new little girl Amelia. Karisa and Benson also flew in. And now Jackie and Doug live in Richmond too so we got to them too!

The stroller brigade! Walks get more complicated if you're trying to walk 4 wide!

Storytime together now...BYU roomies in the future! Looks like they'd make great study buddies!

A friendly game of Rook, that Kevin creamed us in!

I loved watching Jillian play on this statue in Maymont that I remember playing on as a kid with my cousins.

Here's the whole crew at Maymont. What you can't see is that we were MELTING! it was so hot that day.

The three newbies!

Go cougs!

Jackie and Jillian, Peter and I, Joy and Amelia, Karisa and Benson- So fun to be together!

Peter with his Great Grandmother Jamie Powers

Lake Gaston

The Lansings invited us to their lake house in Lake Gaston! It was so fun to meet Amelia for the first time and catch up with another friend Liz, and her husband Joel, Hawkins. Jillian LOVED being on a boat, and so did we for that matter!

Some scrumptious southern eats!

Kevin, a pro on the wakeboard

Eager for Ted to thrash us!

Cutie Pie!

Tricksters!

Relaxing on the lake

Jill was being so brave jumping right off the tube into the lake to me and swimming all around.

Cousins, Cousins and More Cousins

We were so delighted to spend time with Kevin's side of the family in Raleigh. Heather and Mike were there with their FIVE kids (you guys are amazing!) and of course, Matt and Doreen are now only about thirty minutes away in Chapel Hill. We had a great time swimming at Grandma's, throwing pennies in her fountain, snapping photos of the three baby boys, going to Marbles, and even enjoying the Bailey's lemonade stand!

Grandma, Jillian and Elissa taking a break in wishmaking to pose for me

Jill's EXTREME excitement with each penny toss

Sup bud. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?

Something really interesting down there?

The best we could do. The boys never wanted to look at the camera at the same time!

Ryen and Jill

Jill was quality control for the Bailey's Lemonade Stand

Loved this sign!

Yea for cousin time!

It's not everyday you get to play with a lifesize chess set!

The water station was a hit!

Pirate Hunter! Rrrr!

Krispy Kreme - A Gertsch family favorite!

According to Jillian...

5.2010 "Mom, can you take a shower today?" "Why, do I need to?" "You're just a tiny bit stinky."
5.2010 Announcement at dinner. "Hey, everyone! I love you!"
5.2010 "They're SO big!" "What is, Jill?" "The trees! They're SO tall."
5.2010 Hug my back, Peter. (Peter hugs her.) Okay. That was fun. Now hug my front.
5.2010 Sometimes princes hold your hand like this to kiss it.
4.2010 Convincing Peter to let Mom go take a shower. Peter, she's (Mom)so stinky. She's so, so stinky. She needs a shower.
3.2010 Jill, do you know how to draw a smiley face? "Of course!" And she draws one.
4.2010 My underwear is falling down. That's immodest!
4.2010 "What are you looking for, Dad?" "Some cookies." "That's a good answer!!" "I can't find any." "That's the wrong answer."
3.2010 Please help Mommy to be nice, very nice tomorrow and not a grumpy Mommy."
3.2010 Mom talking in a British accent. "You're not English, Mom. You're Spanish!"
3.2010 Jill, lying on the floor. "Peter, the princess died. Peter, can you come kiss her? Peter, come kiss me, come kiss me! Quick" Peter puckers up:)
3.2010 "Peter, say Loll." "Loll." "E." "E." "Pop." "Pop." "Now, say LOLLIPOP." "Mmm-pop." "I just taught him that!"
2.20.10 Mom, you're a grump. (totally diffused my truly grumpy mood).
3.11.10 Mom, you're in Peter's school. You're cleaning Peter's school. You're TOUCHING Peter's school.
3.11.10 But I FEEL like staying up.
Leaving Hunter and Mason's house. That was just fun!
2.18.10. Reading stories. Oh, it's a butterfly! It's so, so beautiful, just like you, Mom!
2.18.10 Peter's messy, and you spilled, so I get the Gold Medal for breakfast.
2.10. Watching the Olympics. I wanna try that (ice skating) some day. Maybe you can buy me all the stuff and you and Dad can help me practice.
2.10 Sometimes Statues of Liberties hold books.
1.10. Praying. Please help me to obey.
1.10. Spinning. I'm getting busy. The house is like a merry-go-round!
2.10.10 Opps. I just gassed. Sorry.
2.16.10 "Grandpa has sandwich breath" Whispering to me with a twinkle in her eye while Pops was falling asleep next to her on the couch.
2.5.10. In the car. I'm covering my mouth so I don't tell Peter we're not going to see Emma right now. (basically physically preventing herself from provoking him:)
2.6.10 While jumping in the crib with Peter one morning "This is us and you're watching the Disney Channel."
12.09 Hadley: Jillian. Jillian: What? H: Chicken butt. J: I ain't that kind of woman!
Role playing. "Sorry, I'm late." Do I say it THAT much?
Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me...manners at their very best and most urgent!
12.09 I asked Peter "what are you telling us about" one morning when he was fussing at breakfast. Jill's response "Probably the church of God, Mom."
12.09 Mom, after this (working out) you're going to be ALL sweaty and need a shower!
11.09 Mom, they're a family. Just like me and Mommy and Daddy and Peter are a family. (she calls everything "families" including pieces that are the same shapes from games or groups of animals or little people figures)
11.09 And what was your favorite part of today, Mom?
11.09 I'm just calling my friends. They live in Missouri.
11.09 "Mom?" "Yes?" "I guess I have none answer."
11.09 Someday, on my mission, I'll buy a bigger crown:)
12.09 Dad, you have sparkles on your chin (stubble).
12.09 I like my socks up 'cause one day I'm going to be a soccer player (Fun to see her brain working! I was about to scold her because we were in a hurry.)
12.09 I can't do it because I'm, like, really cute but not big.
11.13.09 I'm the vi-si-ting teacher.
11.12.09 "Do you like sour cream on this?" "This?" (Look of disgust at the thought of leftovers for lunch.) This? From the other day?
11.4.09 Mom, say I'm a good girl too!
11.4.09 The Blonx Zoo
11.4.09 "Where's the rhino?" "Maybe there was a fire and it got burned." "Uh?"
11.6.09 "Does that hurt?" (Pulling her lips out.) "No, Mom. It's funny! My friends were laughing all day!"
10.26.09 Oh, go to school, Peter.
10.20.09 In a very Francis moment "Mom, I would like some J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S." Some ice cream, obviously!
10.15.09 "I look like Lotta." (Lotta is a black character in a favorite show and book.) "Oh, really?" "Yes, because I'm smiling."
10.4.09 "You can go to the left of me or you can go to the right of me but you can't go through me because I'm not an alligator."
10.4.09 This week JilI has been singing the song "when we're helping we're happy and we sing as we go..." Mom loves the verse that she added that goes something like "we should all obey our moms...because we love them."
10.1.09 While praying "Thank you for the bootiful (beautiful) wedder (weather)..."
9.28.09 "What is your work, Jill?" "To go to school and be a good listener."
9.26.09 To Mom after, apparently, too many kisses. "Okay, Mom. I have to go now."
9.30.09 "Mom, I love you. You're so cute."
9.28.09 To Dad at bedtime. "Dad, I just want you to lay with me for two hours." "You mean two minutes." "No, I mean two hours."
9.15.09To Dad when has was asking (and apparently pestering) her about her Barbies. "Dad will you just talk to Mom now?"
9.12.09 "You know better." To Dad when he forgot to clear his dinner dish:)
9.11.09 "That's a better way of saying 'No.' I don't like your loud No's, Mom."
9.10.09 Emma and I got married. It was in the temple. Over there. (While riding bikes on the tennis court with a friend)
9.5.09 I like the kid's colors (referring to M&M's in some trail mix). They're really cool.
All.the.time. "Where's he's Mom?" When coming upon any new character in a book, a movie, on the street, she's always concerned and wondering where his or her mother is, no matter their age. It makes Mom feel loved every time.
8.24.09 After Mom chuckled at Peter "Let's not laugh about that 'cause it's kind of sad."
8.24.09 Tossing Peter the ball for him to retrieve. "Outstanding, Peter. Well done. Now let's do that again...Outstanding."
8.22.09 "Mom, let's print out my chart." "We can't now. The printer isn't working." "Oh, shoot! Well, let's go fix it with some glue!"
8.18.09 Obviously bored with Mom and wanting attention "I think it's time for me to go to bed."
8.18.09 I am dressed just like a princess in my pink dress...and my pull-up.
8.19.09 "I was trying to pump with Abby. I was working so hard on the big girl swing." "I know. You were awesome." "Shrugging and grinning, "Sanks, Mama."
8.20.09 "Hey, Mom, remember when I was born in Saint Louis?" "Vaguely."

So says my Little Man

3.2010 Jill, lying on the floor. "Peter, the princess died. Peter, can you come kiss her? Peter, come kiss me, come kiss me! Quick" Peter puckers up:)
3.2010 J to P: "Peter, say Loll." "Loll." "E." "E." "Pop." "Pop." "Now, say LOLLIPOP." "Mmm-pop." "I just taught him that!"
4.2010 Jesus DIED. BACK ALIVE! (But really he says this all the time, and with great conviction.)
5.2010 "Are you going to get married in the temple someday, Peter?" "MARRRRYYYYY....TEMPLE"
4.2010 "Peter, are you a banana?" "No." "Well, then, what are you?" "Funny."
4.2010 "Peter, do you like Legos?" "Yep, favorite."
3.2010 After dinner, Jillian, Dad and Mom were whispering about how we were going to have ice cream after Peter went to bed. We thought we were being sly until he whispered loudly "Y-e-a-h, ice creaaaaaaammmmmm!"
3.2010 After being told Peter said he didn't want to live with us for eternity in nursery. "Now, really Peter. Do you want to live with us, your family, forever?" "No." "Well, who do you want to live with?" "Emma's house!" Emma is Peter's first crush. She's tall and blonde and he can't help but say her name in a dreamy voice.

Memoirs of a Mother

9.18.2008

Back at Grandma's House

9.17.2008

Richmond and the Toe Ring Gang

Lake Gaston

Cousins, Cousins and More Cousins

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So says my Little Man

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