February Snow

This year we didn't have much snow for Christmas, but plenty this past month. We got at least a foot in just a few days one week! School closed and everyone declared to be "snowed in". Here's a glimpse into the creativity my kids have had being stuck indoors so much. They are very good at entertaining themselves lately--it's hilarious to watch.
A makes her own "house" as she calls it, and does story time with us. She also loves to do my hair with clips, as you'll see below. She took the photos of me herself. What a photographer in the making!

Staying Afloat

Lately I feel like giving up. I'm tired of everything. I know I've had a bad attitude--it's mostly because I get sick of trials. God gives me trials to grow, but a lot of times they're so hard for me that I get stubborn and stop trusting in Him. The kids seem to be fighting more than ever these days. I've found myself short tempered because of it. I've been too busy, and am learning to say no...anyway. It's to the point where I don't even want to talk about it.

As of yesterday, I'm trying to read my scriptures (yet again) and sincerely pray for strength. I seem to always fall in this rut where I think I can do things myself, but then end up failing miserably after trying. If I just let Him, God helps me more than I ever could on my own.

That's why this blog's been neglected. Let's liven things up a bit!

Kyle and Aaron (BYU-I friends) stayed at our place last weekend while they auditioned at CCM. It was Kyle's birthday that weekend so we had to celebrate!

Doug's aunt and uncle stopped by on their way home from serving a mission in Canada.

We had dinner and dancing. It was so fun to see them.

What more do you need: a purse, sunglasses and Diet Dr. Pepper?

We like to kiss each other on our way down the stairs to our apt.

A cold Sunday walk.

These two make me smile.

She's already a little "mommy."

Getting ready to fight.

Albert the kitty and blankie are Zach's favorites. And his pink chair. Poor boy, stuck with pink accessories. :)

December--Cincinnat Zoo

It's catch-up time! We were invited to go to the zoo with some friends to see the Festival of Lights. It was freezing cold but so fun. If we stay here the next few years, we're getting passes for sure.

Kylee, Aubrey, and Makayla playing in the sled

These three are about the same age. They need to play more often--they were having a blast!

Our family by the huge tree

Mrs. Santa read a story to us. I love Aubrey's "trying-to-smile-but-shy" look.

Boy was he glad to get out of the stroller!

Zach did pretty well with Santa.

So did Aubrey. "I want princess toys" was the theme for this year.

The carousel! Aubrey went twice and--despite almost falling off the entire ride--loved it.

We mailed out as many of these as we had postage for. (obviously, not many!) For the rest of you, here's our holiday card. Forgive us for not sending it out to all of you!

Happy Holidays from the Pews!

This year Aubrey turned three and Zach had his first birthday. Aubrey is reading and saying her letters very well and beginning to spell little words. She loves to sing, especially Disney songs, and we often hear her singing to Zach in the night when he is crying. She and Zach have their daily ritual of dancing on our bed to the Imperial March from Star Wars and theme from Indiana Jones. Her favorite food is without a doubt pistachios.

Zachary has been walking for a couple months now and seems to be into everything. He has quickly learned that his teeth are powerful tools when he is being attacked by his sister. He loves to build with blocks and read books to himself when he's not removing books and CD's from the shelves and playing in the toilet.

Janae has enjoyed serving with the young women in our ward and working at our local gym in the day care. She keeps herself very busy with the children and especially with her third oversized child. She finished the course in children's literature that she was taking and is submitting short stories to magazines. She just received a new calling in primary teaching the eleven-year old girls, and she's loving it.

Doug is in the second year of his masters degree in composition at the University of Cincinnati-CCM and has just finished applying to doctoral programs which may take our family to New York or keep us here in Cincinnati for another two years. He had his masters recital at the end of November and is working on completing his thesis.

We hope you all had a happy holiday!

Home for Christmas!!

Wow...I think blogs are meant to be journals AND to help each other out! Your comments really boosted my spirits--thank you! And, thanks to a good friend, I got the incredible idea of checking out flights to Utah. With gas prices going down, flights were almost half price off from last week. So...instead of using our Christmas money on gifts...we're flying home! Doug's parents live 30 minutes from my parents, so we'll be able to see both.

This is further proof to me that nothing matters more in the world than each other. True happiness doesn't come from ANYTHING material. I'm giddy just thinking about Christmas! Although I'm glad we won't be there for a month this time... {hey, living with family for too LONG isn't good either}

Happy weekend everyone!

Saturday

We went swimming at the pool on Saturday. It was Zach's first time!

This is what we did most the time...Aubrey kicked her feet and Zach looked around, splashing. I might have to put Aubrey in swimming lessons so she won't be so scared.

I went to Girls camp on Friday and Bunco on Saturday, so Doug had lots of fun spending time with Aubrey. Above is a tower...

Mr. Elephant

Mr. Elephant's tail

Mr. Bird

And this really entertains Aubrey when I'm making dinner: water and a paintbrush on the patio. Such fun!

Past week's events...again

Yeah, now we're back to normal life....or so we think.

1. Doug got called to be Executive secretary in the ward. He is also the primary pianist (they're offly short on pianists here).

2. Doug won the Morton Gould competition a month ago. We're so proud of him! He created a website now--just a basic one, but it will grow as he gets more compositions done. You're welcome to check it out here.

3. We used the reward $ from the competition to buy a Macbook. It was time to have 2 computers again, and Doug can use the laptop at school now to do homework. I convinced Doug that we had to have a Mac if we bought any more computers, so he succumbed. I love Macs (thanks to my brother)!

4. Went to a consignment store and got some great finds for the kids clothing. I'm gonna try out garage sales to get some more cute stuff. (Thanks for the idea, Diantha)

5. Did lots of laundry again....still need to do the "spring cleaning" of washing all the quilts, packing up winter clothes, organizing, and decorating the walls.

6. Got our insurance re-certified.

7. Finished my 8th assignment!

8. We're proud to announce that Zach has cut his 3rd tooth, but sad to announce that he has 5 more in the works, all on top. He enjoys biting, slobbering, and chewing.

9. Have started a bit of potty training, but decided to wait 2 weeks so we can completely devote our lives to "Aubrey's Intense Training Program". This will include all day, all night training, with no looking back (we hope).

10. Played at the park--Zach went on the swings for the first time and I FORGOT the camera! Imagine this handsome smile while swinging, with his cute navy blue hat on.

11. Worked at the gym again, went to YW's activity...okay, this is getting dull.

Now for some more pictures.
Zach's thinking of future soccer games

Aubrey thinks she's already "potty trained"

And here's Zach's famous grin.

Have a great week! We're loving this warm weather and are looking forward to many days outside.

Homemade ice cream, here we come!

A surprise came in the mail. Addressed to "Zachary and Aubrey Pew" from "The Great Nana's" (Doug's grandmas), this deluxe soft serve ice cream maker came just in time for summer. You're all invited to come over and eat some with us! What a fantastic surprise.

Loooong week

I owe all of you an update. It's been a busy week.

1. My birthday was last Sunday. It was a warm, inviting day, and we had "home church" (conference) so I even got to sleep in! Doug spoiled me by making me breakfast and lunch and taking care of the kids. I got spoiled with tons of gifts, including an iPod shuffle. We had our good friends the Olsens over for dinner--my favorite lasagna. Then Doug's dad flew in that evening (due to work) and was here just in time for cake and ice cream. He stayed until Wednesday. We had fun going out to dinner one day, Graeter's another, and watching Enchanted for the first time.

At Graeter's

2. Been working on my 8th writing assignment. It's been taking every bit of spare time I can find.

3. Yesterday I did 4 or 5 loads of laundry....I never caught up after being sick. I'm still not caught up.

4. Went to a Bunco party last night. It was my first one. All of us moms joked about how it doesn't take much to entertain us...dice, food, and no kids.

5. I got called as the 1st counselor in YW's, and I'm SOOO excited. Today was my first time and it made me feel young again...that is, until I realized that in 9 years, Aubrey will be in YW's.

6. Been shopping for the kids. I got a whole bunch of clothes for Zach from some friends in the ward, but still need to get Aubrey some summer clothes. They grow out of them so fast!

"Granddad? Help me!"

7. Tried a turkey hamburger recipe from Deceptively Delicious. It was NOT a hit, probably because we don't usually eat ground turkey. I'll try a few more before giving up on the book--the chicken nuggets are next on the list. (Good thing I checked it out from the library before buying)

8. The kids and I substituted at the gym. It makes me appreciate only having two kids full time...

This little piggy went to market...

Wee wee wee all the way home!

Can you tell they're related?

9. Got pulled over in our van, which hasn't been registered since '06. It was given to us by my parents, and they lost the title so we couldn't get it registered. What a big mess! Luckily the policeman gave me a citation. I have to get it fixed, then go to court in 2 weeks or else they impound the car.

10. Aubrey's ready to be potty trained. In nursery today she told the leader she need to go potty. They took her, pulled down her pull-up, then realized it was a diaper, and got me. She loves to sit on the toilet but never does anything. I'm planning on staying home all next week and starting the lovely potty training process. Oh my.

Trying to get the two kids to look at the same time is an endless feat.

11. A few weeks ago, Zach got his shots. He'd only gained 1 oz. in 2 months and still wasn't sitting up. He couldn't quite figure out how to use the spoon. So the doctor was concerned...and needless to say, I was too. I started nursing him more but then got sick and so I don't think he got much. But I'm happy to report that he finally started devouring solids, and now seems much happier (and heavier). He now says Dada, baba, eee, and an occasional "mama", and is sitting up! Still, I'm not sure he's getting enough milk. Anyone out there--do you nurse/feed a bottle before giving solids or after? He's eating 3 meals a day and I'm nursing around 5 times a day.

Okay, there's the update!

Photo-shoot

We didn't make it to church on Easter (we had the dreaded sickness) so we were excited to get out of the house for church last week! Daddy took pictures of us. Zach's sitting up now and says "Da-da". Aubrey loves holding Zach and being a big sister. Who knew that being parents would be the most wonderful yet difficult thing we've ever done!?