Ok - so it has been a while "again"! I do have more stories to tell. I need to hurry and tell them before the "olds timer" gets worse. Again, I love my girls. I love to watch them and the choices they make. I don't think I could be any prouder. My Heavenly Father truly has blessed me beyond my capacity to say.

Well telling about Cassie and Alex in the last blog was met with mixed reaction ~ all culminating with tell us more. So here goes!!!

Vern and I bought our first house and moved into it just 3 days before Chelsea was born. I will always have a soft spot for that house. It was the perfect house for 3 very small girls. We lived at the end of the cul-de-sac that was filled (as noted in my last post) with 26 young children all very close in age. What an awesome experience for kids! Since our house was right at the end of cul-de-sac we were able to go and sit in the front yard and see "everything and everyone". Cassie and Alex learned to ride bikes, Chelsea learned to toddle and be a part of it all. What a fabulous baby. I called Chelsea my "angel baby". She was born and went home with Dad before I left the hospital. She slept 6 hours that first night home and never had a time when she didn't sleep through the night. She came with a love for music!!! As a baby even, I could put Chelsea in front of a Disney musical and she would sit for hours watching the whole movie. Her favorite was the real Cinderella with Leslie Ann Warren. By the time Chelsea was 3 she was entertaining any who would let her with her singing. She learned "all" the words to "10 Minutes Ago I Met You". Not just Cinderella's part, but Prince Charming's part as well. Then she would sing it for all of us. It was so funny because she would change her voice on the Prince part so she could sound more like a guy. She entertained us with songs and dance moves from Grease, Little Mermaid, Cinderella, "I'm a Little Tea Pot", "Once There Was a Snowman" (when it melted, she ended with 'oops, I'm a puddle'), rap version of 5 Monkeys jumping on a bed, and of course the song she was most famous for "I Went Down To Grandpas Farm, Billy Goat Chased me Round The Barn". Grandpa called her his Bumpity Bump Girl. I say Chelsea got her love for singing from watching Grandpa Lloyd and Grandma Karen from Heaven. Then when she was ready for bed, the easiest way for me to get her to sleep was to sing primary songs to her. I did this for as long as I can remember. I'd lay in bed with all of them and sing softly. I'm not the best singer, but they all seemed ok with it. (I did sing to all of you! Not just Chelsea). I am so proud to say that she is going to graduate from college soon with a degree in music. I love to hear Chelsea sing and pray that she will "always" share that very special gift that came from Heavenly Father.

My favorite memories with my girls are driving in the car, like when we would go to the cabin or on vacation, with the radio turned up or our favorite CD in and we would all sing along. Leann Rimes was one of our most favorite CDs. We would all sing along at the top of our lungs. And, I loved it when Alex got good enough on the piano to play the hymns or some other fun songs. Alex would play and the others would sing along. I loved those times. I think I miss them most!!!! I had to really push for Katie to get in and sing with her sister. She always felt like she couldn't compete with them. But now, Katie has finished her first year of college and voice lessons and I think she has finally realized that she has an amazing soprano voice. I hope she continues to sing FOREVER!!! I may not be the best, but I truly believe that music can make all your troubles go away. Life without music for me would not be worth living. I pray that my girls (all of them with their amazing talents) keep music in their life.

The oldest girl in the neighbor hood was Valerie Bell... They lived right next door and so our front yards were joined together. She would love to sit and hold Chelsea and do all of the other girls in the neighbor hoods hair. She even did the boys (her little brothers were about the only boys in the cul-de-sac). She would do their hair all the time. While this was an adorable thing to watch... it turned out to be our worst nightmare!!! Can you say head lice? Oh it was awful.... I had three little girls with long, thick, luxurious, beautiful hair!! I was not about to cut it off. I quickly bought some nit shampoo, stuffed all of their favorite animals into plastic bags and into the freezer, washed and rewashed pillows and bedding, bought sprays and chemicals for all of the furniture, and "picked" each strand of hair for hours and days and weeks to be sure that we were completely rid of those nasty little bugs. And every Mom in the neighborhood was doing the same. But I freaked, more than any of the other Moms.... My poor girls they had to endure the most anal Mom lectures in the world... do not share brushes, no more is Valarie to do your hair, do not share hats, barrettes, hair bands, combs or brushes!!!! I'm really sorry they had to endure it, but I'm not sorry I was that anal.... cause all the other families in the neighborhood went through head lice TWICE. But not us!!! Once was enough for my very bright girls to learn. :)

I love my girls! We had so much fun in that house on Lena. Vern played softball and basketball with the ward. We loved to go to the games and watch him. I even played a little softball with the ward. We spent a lot of time at the baseball field between Dad and I both playing. Oh those were good times. It has been really fun remembering the times I had with my girls. I have so many more stories to tell. I will have to dedicate another blog to more stories. :) Just know this!!!! I love my family.