Mesa Arizona

How in the world does anyone have more than two kids and keep their minds? I hit the ground running every morning between 6 and 6:30 (when Leslie wakes up), and don't stop running until I go to sleep at night about 10:30. Still, I can't keep up with the laundry, cleaning, and playing that I am supposed to be doing. Every time I turn around, Leslie is telling me she is hungry, and I feed her at least 7 times a day. She must be growing. Jay is all about friends. He has made some friends with some of the boys in the ward, and is constantly nagging me to call one of them to play. Ashley is a very happy baby. THANK GOODNESS!!!!!!!!! She will lay and play all day. She loves it when Jay and/or Leslie comes over to play with her. She is always happy to see and talk to someone, but plays well on her own. She will roll onto her stomach and play, and then forget how to roll back. She puts her arms to her sides with her head lifted up and she looks just like a baby seal. She only does this when she is tired of being on her stomach, and inevitably, this is when she gets upset. I roll her over several times a day, and Jay also rolls her over. She will get the idea eventually. Leslie finally got to open her big Christmas present from Grandma Thomson. It was a play kitchen that was too big for our apartment in New Jersey, and Grandma Thomson had one at her house, so we left it in the box until last Sunday. It was in our spare room, and Leslie went in there to put her baby down for a nap. She saw the box and immediately wanted to play with it. She supervised the construction and was ecstatic when it was finished. She is turning into quite the little lady. Now that she can talk, her tantrums are diminishing, and she is more pleasant to be around. She has also started telling me how she wants things done. For instance, "Mom, I want to watch a movie, then I will take a nap". She is also good to tell me when I misunderstand her, and is usually very patient with me until I figure it out. She is learning how to kick around in the pool with her arm floats, but still likes me right next to her. We go to the pool almost every day, and she is improving all the time. Ashley also is getting to like the pool. At least she doesn't scream when I take her in anymore. I still have a lot of organizing to do, but most of our stuff is out where we can get it (or mess up the house). I still have to figure out what I am going to do with Jay and Leslie's room though. It is filled with toys that they aren't playing with because they are in boxes and totes. Eventually, I am going to go through them, pack away half of them, and organize the rest so that they can be played with. The other area that needs to be tackled is the room under the stairs. I want that room for food storage, but it is currently filled with boxes (mostly books and decorations yet to be hung) and some totes that still need to be unpacked. One of these days when I have nothing better to do (Ha, Ha, Ha) I will pull out all the pictures and start decorating. The books are going to have to wait until we get a bookshelf.
Speaking of the house, it is a wonderful house. It is 2600 sq. ft. with 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. The bedrooms are all upstairs with 1 3/4 bath also upstairs. Downstairs (the main floor) has a nice entryway and formal dining room, kitchen, family room, laundry room, and powder room. It is also nice to be able to park in the garage, and have storage space. I am also excited to have an extra room that JT can sleep in after he has been on call, so the kids and I can have access to my room and the computer. That was a complete novelty that I hadn't even considered before he brought it up. He is doing his last day of orientation, and will be starting in ernest on Wednesday. We are both excited to be moving on to the next step. The internal medicine department sent us all to the Phoenix Zoo last Saturday, and fed us lunch in an airconditioned pavilion. We went early and left about 1:30, but it was fun to see the animals. I was suprised to see that the Phoenix Zoo has not one, but two splash parks, and the kids had a lot of fun playing. The fun ended abruptly when I was reaplying sunblock, and Leslie rubbed it in her eyes. Oh well, it was nap time anyway. Speakin of naps, it appears they are over. Will write again as I can.