What we do every day

Yummy breakfast...

Reading by the fire...

Playing with mommy's shoes

The magic of childhood

Yesterday, a children's store near us had a grand re-opening and on the flier I saw that Cinderella was going to come for a few hours. We didn't have any other plans and I knew that Julia would enjoy it, so we went. I have never seen such pure joy on a little girl's face. Julia was in absolute awe. She touched Cinderella's dress and then bent down to look for the glass slippers. So sweet. Julia definately drew a crowd in her little matching dress. Thanks to Aunt Jessica for the Cinderella dress-ups!The store owner and Cinderella's company asked if they could take pictures. What's not to love about this, right? Julia and Adria also rode the little train and thought that was awesome. Julia had her face painted right before we left - the lady did it for free because she thought Julia was so cute. I didn't get a picture though and I will kick myself forever. I was going to take it at home so we'd have a better backdrop, but Julia fell asleep in the car and smeared it all over. So sad.

Chuck E. Cheese's

Yesterday we decided to go do something fun. We were going to go play in the great outdoors at Wilderness Park, up near where Ben grew up. Unfortunately when we got there it was closed, probably because of all the fires lately. So we ended up hanging out at Chuck E. Cheese's which the girls didn't mind at all. You can see in the pictures that they weren't the only ones who enjoyed themselves. When I showed Julia the pictures I said, "Here's Julia, Adria and Daddy playing and having fun." She replied, "I want to see the picture of mommy putting money in." I guess that tells you what I did the whole time.

Snip-snip

Julia recently learned how to use scissors. I hadn't ever bothered to teach her before because I didn't want my house to be chopped into bits. She learned at Grandma's house a few weeks ago and has been surprisingly good about asking what she can cut. She uses her scissors pretty much every single day. She is very proud of her accomplishment and gets very excited about the things she cuts.

Potty training

I have to say that potty training has been one of the worst experiences I've had as a mother. I think that a large part of it has been Julia's personality. She doesn't like to feel like she might fail at something. I have tried the potty training thing several times and I know she understands and is completely capable, but she just refused to do it. Last time there were over 20 accidents with only 3 successes. I decided that I would just wait until she was ready and wanted to do it on her own. I figured it would be 6 to 9 months from now. Today Julia woke up and decided that she was done with diapers. Not one accident all day. I never reminded her. At nap time she asked for a diaper but I asked her if she really wanted it and she said no. Just before bedtime Ben and I took her to Target and let her pick any toy she wanted. While I know that it may all change tomorrow, I am so grateful to know that it really was just her personality and not that tiny little voice in the back of my head thinking that maybe I was doomed to a life of potty accidents. Thanks, Julia, for one accident free day.

Doing Laundry

Adria loves to help me with all the household chores. While it makes everything take longer, I love it. She gets so excited when she helps. It's adorable. Here are some pictures of her doing laundry. Nevermind the ketchup on her cheek, that's pretty normal.

Hey, up here!

I was making dinner yesterday when I heard Julia yell, "Boo people!" Then Adria's voice, "Boo beebo!" I looked over and the girls were standing at the window looking down at the people in the parking lot. Most people looked around, unsure of who was shouting at them. Only a couple looked all the way up here and waved. The girls entertained themselves for almost 10 minutes by shouting at all passers-by. If it was a car, Julia would shout, "Boo car!" and Adria would echo. The Halloween excitement is high here in the Pease home.

Piggies in a pumpkin patch

I think I have mentioned several times how excited Julia is about Halloween. Adria is excited too, although she isn't exactly sure why. On Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch and Julia almost exploded with happiness. The girls had a great time. Adria's only complaint was being put in a petting zoo where all the animals were three times her size. It didn't matter which way she ran, there were always more animals.

Happy 4th babe!

Today Ben and I have been married for 4 years! My friend made a list of 100 things she loved about her husband for his birthday a few months ago. I thought it was an awesome idea so I'm stealing her idea. Here are 100 things that make Ben such a great guy.

1. Being a dad is his favorite thing 2. I know he is more spiritual than me because he started crying in our sealing before I did. 3. His favorite book of scripture is the Old Testament. Specifically the story of Joseph in Egypt. 4. Ben remembers everything he reads. Seriously. 5. He is great with numbers. I guess that’s why he is successful in accounting. 6. He also remembers numbers, and uses it like a trivia game… Do you know how what percent of millionaires drive cars older than 5 years? Ben does. 7. He drives a 1995 Explorer and no one –especially me– can talk bad about “his” car. 8. He often surprises me by doing the dishes or vacuuming. He even does laundry for me sometimes. 9. He remembers people’s names from all sorts of situations, like “my 4th grade class” and stuns people when he walks up and says their name and how they know each other 10. When Ben is nervous, he just keeps talking and talking without realizing what’s coming out of his mouth. It makes for some really great stories. 11. He loves saving money, but never nags me about my spending. 12. Ben enjoys chick flicks (don’t worry, he still loves manly movies). 13. Pride and Prejudice is one of his favorite movies. I had never watched the whole thing until we were dating. 14. He wants babies more than I do. He also wants more babies that I do. 15. I often buy glass measuring cups (you know, the big ones) for him because he loves to eat out of them and he takes his meals with him a lot so they get lost or broken. 16. He took me to Washington DC on our honeymoon because I wanted to go there more than anywhere else. 17. I don’t know where he wanted to go. 18. Ben loves naps. 19. He is a morning person, thank goodness! I hate mornings. 20. He loves flip-flops. 21. Ben won’t kill bugs unless I am freaking out. He is a very live-and-let-live kind of guy. 22. He delivered Adria because the midwife was pushing on my hips. It was so sweet that he was the very first person to hold her. 23. A lot of the time Adria would rather be with Ben than me. He is her favorite person! 24. Ben is determined that I stay home with our kids. 25. This means that he works full time, goes to school full time and still finds time to be a good dad, husband and friend. 26. He doesn’t think that is very amazing. 27. Ben makes sure that I give the girls room to explore the world. He is there to stop me from smothering them with rules. 28. Ben wishes I would stop buying toys. 29. One of his fondest dreams is to own a dairy farm. His knowledge of facts and figures on this topic are broad. 30. Part of that dream now includes a second house for me and the kids…I don’t want to smell like cows. 31. Ben is the most loyal person I have ever known. I’m not just saying that either. 32. We have never paid for cable, neither of us are willing to pay for something we don’t really want. 33. Ben wants to write a book. 34. He is very generous and willingly gives more than asked to anyone in need. 35. I think he would live anywhere in the world and feel like it was an adventure. 36. He often talks about jobs he could take in places like Panama. 37. Ben truly loves to learn. He takes in knowledge like a thirsty man drinks water. 38. He isn’t picky about what he learns, he loves to hear anything new. 39. For a couple of years he’s been trying to learn everything he can about stocks and the stock market. 40. Ben likes computer games, but only games where he gets to create the world…Civilizations is one of his favorite. 41. Ben and I both love history. 42. Ben went through the Work and the Glory faster than I did. That’s saying something. 43. Ben wants a dog. 44. Ben loves all animals, a lot. 45. The girls both share his extreme love for animals. 46. Ben sings Dora the Explorer without realizing it more than he’d like to admit. 47. Someday Ben will start his own business. 48. Ben got his pilot’s license before he decided to be an accountant. 49. When we buy a house, he wants to have a really big yard. Something like 100 acres or maybe 1,000. He wants the kids to have a place to explore and have adventures. 50. I think he might settle for 1 acre if he has to. But no less. 51. Ben lived in California all his life and yet he doesn’t like palm trees. 52. Ben surprised me by proposing at the Provo Temple. He and my mom tricked me into going there. When he stepped out with a huge bouquet of flowers I thought, “That’s a nice guy surprising his girlfriend.” Then I realized that I was the girlfriend. I love surprises like that. 53. Ben loves his siblings. A LOT. He would do pretty much anything for them. 54. He has 5 brothers and 3 sisters. 55. Ben has an uncanny sense of direction. 56. He also can remember anywhere we’ve ever been and get us there without any trouble. 57. Every time I think he’s lost, I’m wrong. 58. Ben and I have completely opposite taste in food. One thing I do love are his Honey Brie sandwiches from Claim Jumper. He has to order two because I eat it. 59. He went across town at 11:00 one night to find nachos because I had my first pregnancy craving when I was pregnant with Adria. 60. He finally bought a can of nacho cheese from Costco because I kept craving nachos. 61. When I asked him if I could switch to paper plates because I hate dishes, he asked if I could do a cost analysis for him. 62. He thinks I look beautiful when I pregnant. 63. He can get the girls ready for church, even the tights. 64. He calls tights leotards. 65. He wants all our girls to have long hair. 66. He wants me to have long hair. 67. He has never complained about how much time it takes me to do my hair and make-up. Not once. 68. Before we had Julia he told me that he would never change a diaper. That lasted about 3 hours after she was born. Now he’s a pro. 69. Julia will cuddle next to him and fall asleep. 70. Ben’s favorite books are by Neal A. Maxwell 71. Ben loves my family as much as I do. 72. He prefers to sleep on my side of the bed, whichever side that happens to be. I don’t know why we have a king sized bed. 73. Ben makes the best French toast. Ever. 74. On our honeymoon he wore my pants. That still makes me laugh. 75. He likes to dance with me outside under the stars. 76. He eats ice cream in a cup with milk. 77. He likes milk as much as I do. 78. When I was pregnant we would go through 4 gallons of milk in a week. 79. He sometimes brings me In-N-Out instead of flowers. Yum. 80. He humors me in all my bizarre requests. 81. He often gets up with the girls in the morning. I love waking up to see 9:00 on the clock. 82. Ben is the one who taught the girls to swim. I was too paranoid. 83. He gave me pedicures when I was too pregnant to do it. 84. He rubs my feet when I’m stressed. 85. Ben loves people. 86. He can talk to strangers for hours. 87. One night he was 4 hours late because he was talking to someone at school about the church. I almost called the cops. 88. Now I wait 8 hours before I panic. 89. Somehow we love the same TV shows. SG-1, NCIS, The Office. In that order. 90. Ben takes the girls to the park when I am overwhelmed by the housework. 91. He likes going for drives on the weekend because it gives us time to talk. 92. He’s doing the dishes right now. 93. He lets me order Domino’s when we have pizza even though he prefers Papa John’s. 94. He honors his priesthood. 95. Ben enjoys doing home teaching 96. Ben loves going to the temple and sitting with me for a long time in the Celestial Room 97. He always tries to buy very thoughtful and meaningful gifts. 98. Ben likes bonfires and roasting marshmallows. 99. Ben balances me out in so many ways when we parent. 100. I get to be with him forever!

Warning: lots of very cute pictures!

Yesterday we took the girls to a studio in Provo to get their pictures taken in their Halloween costumes. I have to say, I LOVE how they turned out. I posted them small so the page wouldn't take forever to load, but if you want to see a picture bigger, just click on it.

Halloween time

Hi from Utah! Again. We're just up here for the weekend. I always seem to get the cutest pics of my girls up here. Julia is so excited for Halloween. I mean, really really excited. My mom decided to have a Halloween party for her while we're up here. I told her this over a week ago and now she keeps telling me that since we're at Grandma's, it's Halloween time outside. (But apparently not inside.) So here are some pics of Halloween time outside.