July has been a busy month for our Sieg family. This month we have driven to (or through): Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, California, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Missouri. And nine of those ten states were visited in the last week. Yikes! At the moment we are back in sunny California for Bryce's wedding but one of these days our lives will slow down. Until then, we'll be enjoying the transitory life! We better because after we stop driving, I have no intention of going anywhere for a very long time!

My sister Kathleen watched our boys so I could drive with Jamesy in this fancy yellow 26-foot truck to drop off our things in Kansas. We sorta thought it was going to be like a nice long date but on day three of driving through the day and night, we were ready to have our date end! Road trips across America aren't as fun when you have to take hills at a whopping 35 mile speed.

November Siegbits

 I haven't been posting as much of late but you really haven't been missing out on too much. Life has been slow moving but happy. Here are some of the little things that have been going on around here:

• The weather is getting colder and colder outside (it snowed yesterday) and we are more and more content staying inside for the majority of our days. 
• After about two weeks of some sickness or another, our boys had become very used to watching more than their fair share of movies and shows on the computer. Finally we put our foot down and stopped letting them watch anything. It has now been over a week and the boys don't even ask anymore and are much more fun to have around. I sometimes miss the break that Winnie The Pooh gave me, but it as been well worth the extra work on my part. Our boys are only going to be small once.
• Charlie figured out how to climb out of his crib (Mason said he fell on his neck. Yikes!) so now he has graduated to a big boy bed. Boo. James and I are very sad. Will he ever take a nap again?

•  We are reading books like they're going out of style. Charlie loves Clifford. So much that he mangled a Clifford book from the Library so that we could keep it for our own.
• James has just a couple weeks left in the semester and we are so excited to have him to ourselves for his Christmas break! Just one more semester to go before we have to refer to him as Master Poppy.
• After 16 years of not touching the piano, I have started playing it again! My poor mother tried to get me to learn when I was young but I had no talent and no interest so she finally gave up on me. Now I love it! I still stink, but boy is it fun to have music in the home!
• Speaking of music, Char sings all day long. His favorite songs are, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, In the Valley, and I love to see the Temple. We get a kick out of his vocal skills.
• An elderly woman wearing a fur coat sat in front of us in church today. As a result, Charlie meowed repeatedly at her and said, "Cat!" for the full hour-long meeting.
• Charlie loves cats.

See? Like I said, nothing eventful really. But we are all healthy and happy so I can't complain.

New house!!!

James and the boys outside of our new place

We're here! For the last week we Siegs have been living in our new place and we LOVE IT!!! It may not look like anything special to you, but here are the top 10 reasons why we think it is a beaut.

10. There is heating in the upstairs. Yes, our boys no longer have to freeze to death at night and we no longer have to worry about them using a space heater.

9. We can play outside as much as we want without a crazy old man trying to mow the lawn.

8. The counters aren't covered with contact paper (or the walls for that matter). Oh, and we don't have to open our oven to get to our silverware drawer. 

7. Our stairs have railings on them. 

6. Our house actually locks. Safety isn't overrated after all. Go figure.

5. The floors don't feel like they are going to rot out underneath us. I guess it was handy being able to call through the cracks to whoever was in the basement below, but we can adjust I suppose.

4. The garage/ basement isn't all dirt and rock (and spiders and rodents) and wasn't carved out of the ground with a mule and cart 100 years ago. Mason was a little confused by the big square things going up and down (our garage doors) but he will eventually adjust to the 21st century.

3. There is no carpet in the kitchen.

2. DISHWASHER! DISHWASHER! DISHWASHER!!!!! First time in 5 1/2 years. Hot dog!!!

1. Mason put it best when he said, "We have a new fridge and even it don't shock us!"

Needless to say, we are pleased as punch and so relieved to not be spied on constantly for the first time since August. Home sweet home!

House Hunting

First off, I strongly STRONGLY suggest you never rent from old grouchy people who grew up in the home you are renting from them. Especially if they still live next door but spend the majority of their waking hours on your property. After trying to get our landlords to fix our blinds and a unsafe stove for the past five months, we called the city inspector. This offended our landlords so much that they want us out by the end of the month. Apparently they think that we should pay for any maintenance that their 80+ year old home requires and they weren't concerned that our stove was shocking us since they figured it was just static electricity. As you can imagine, this was not what a mother of three little boys wants to deal with right now. Getting our little brood dressed for the day has been challenging enough for me. Packing and moving are way off of my list of fun. Oh well. Since having your feelings hurt by your tenants is not grounds to be able to legally evict someone, we don't technically have to be gone from this hole till June. All the same, we are on the lookout for a place to move as soon as possible. The other day we drove around the area looking for possibilities. James is really hopeful. I'm not so much. Mostly because the house below was a great example of our options:

Not too bad, but the Rapunzel tower sorta made me want to cry....

Get me off this devils machine!!!!!!!

An update

I haven't been that great about blogging of late. In case you have been wondering how we are adjusting to life with three boys, here is an update:

and
What we don't do is sleep. Overall though, life is pretty good. We can't WAIT until Spring comes and lets us venture outside a little more, but we are surviving just fine all the same.

Wow, I even got dressed (in something besides this robe, I promise) that day and I still looked like this? I am so tired.

Play me a song piano man

Mason, posing with our new piano! James picked this trailer up while we were on a walk in our neighborhood in Provo. A man was in the process of putting a free sign on it and James claimed it then and there. As you can imagine, I spent the rest of our walk jeering at him while he casually pulled it along behind him. Needless to say, being able to actually use his sweet find to haul our piano was a sweet victory for my man!
One of the many things I love about Jamesy is that he is constantly surprising me. When I first was getting to know him, I was surprised to find that this big manly man owned two standard poodles. Boy was that endearing! From there I learned that he loves poetry (the classic good stuff) and is quite the cook. Recently I learned that he has always wanted to learn how to play the piano. From someone who despised piano lessons growing up, the idea of actually wanting to play both fascinated and inspired me. Our house is currently in dyer need of more furniture, so owning a piano instantly went straight to the top of my "need" list. Thanks to Craiglist, last weekend we got one! And for only $100! Hot dog! So what if some of the keys are chipped at the tips? As I sit here listening to James serenade me with scales and Twinkle Twinkle, I wonder if the piano has ever sounded so good. Who knew I married Mozart?!!!.....well, Mozart at age three.

Firsts and Lasts

Charlie and Mason helping their Pops clean his company car for the first and last time this Summer
We Siegs have been so busy moving these past so many weeks that not much has happened with this blog. So many big firsts and lasts have been going on, but by the time I am done packing or unpacking, I am too tired to do anything else. Even pulling out the camera has been taking a bit too much effort. So this catch up post will have to do.
Firsts:

• For starters, Mason went to the dentist for the first time ever this month! Boy oh boy was his momma nervous for the little chap! I HATE the dentist and I really didn't want my little chap to have to have a bad experience. So I did what every good mom would do. I flat out lied about how much fun the dentist was and how much we love them. Low, I know, but it worked like a charm! He was so excited for his big boy adventure! So excited, in fact, that while I was getting my exam (and trying my best to not have a panic attack) he happily bit my toe (another first. He has never been a biter). What fun.
• Since we are moving and we want to make a good impression, I decided that instead of give Mason the normal homeless haircut that he sports so well, that I would take him to someone who actually knows what they are doing. Mason felt like the man of the hour while oodles of women faun over him.
• At nearly eleven months, Charlie finally had a tooth break through his adorable little gums. I will miss his toothless grins, but boy will this make eating easier!
  

Charlie's gummy smile...and a close up of how truly ugly our wallpaper was in our Provo upstairs bedroom.

• James was able to feel our little baby move for the first time the other day. This little one has been kicking around inside me for a while now, but seems to be a little shy of anyone but their mother feeling their acrobats. I am glad that James felt a kick though. Makes it all the more real.
• We officially became Cache Valley residents! So far we are in hog heaven!
• James and the boys got to experience their first rodeo! Mason now wants to be a cowboy.
• Mason and Char got their first cowboy hats.
• Mason went to nursery for the first time in a long time. He LOVED being in the singles ward for the past 18 months but few things compare to getting to eat snacks and play with toys for the majority of church. Dropping him off with his fellow toddlers was a happy event for us all. I spent the rest of church calculating how many more months before Charlie gets to join him.
• I started filling my Halloween orders on Etsy. What a busy and happy season! It is good to know that there are other people who start preparing for holidays way before its time.
• Mason and Char are now sharing a room and completely adore it. There have been a couple naps that haven't ever happened as a result of their being too excited to sleep, but overall, it has been great. There are few things that warm my little heart more than seeing them happily jumping in their beds and squealing together.
  

Lasts:

• James had his last day of work as a State employee. Now we have a two week break with him before he starts his Masters. He feels like a bum, but the rest of us feel like the luckiest of all to have him to ourselves!
• We went on a walk through the tree streets for the last time. I will miss those welcoming neighborhoods.
• We explored Hobble Creek Canyon for the last time.
  
• We said good-bye to all of our friends in our singles ward. What a treat this time with them has been!
• We went to the Provo Library for the last time. Happily, I was able to find and return that last sneaky book that had been hiding under Mason's crib for the past two months.
  
• We packed up and said good-bye to our little house in Provo. We had a wonderful two and half years there and feel incredibly blessed to have been able to have met so many wonderful neighbors and friends.
  

Well, as you can see, nothing really monumental. Just life rolling along. I'm just glad that I finally posted SOMETHING!

James and the boys enjoying our last Sunday drive/stroll in Hobble Creek.

June Siegbits

We are still here and plugging along, I just haven't had it in me to take many pictures or make much effort in anything (if you saw my hair on our average day, you would know that I am not joking nor jesting). Anywho, here are some updates over at Sugar Sweet Farms.

• James got into a masters program at Utah State University several months ago. Just recently, we found out that they will pay for his tuition, health insurance, and pay him enough for us to survive each month! Hot dog! We feel incredibly blessed and grateful for this opportunity. He'll be starting on August 30th.
  
• Our friend Whitney helped us find a wonderful little home near campus that sits on an acre and a half of land!!!! Thankfully, we got them agree to take pets so we will be sprawling out on our very own park (as Mason refers to it) for the next year or two. Visitors will be very VERY welcome. :)
• Mason is pretty much all the way done with potty training! He still sleeps with pull ups but during the day he is reliable as rain (whatever that means). The only problem he has is occasionally peeing on the very bottom of his shirt when it gets in the way. The other day this happened but I was too busy with Charlie to take care of it right away. While Mason waited to get cleaned up, he stood at our front door and started talking to a couple walking by. After a quick introduction, they told him that they liked his shirt, to which Mason replied that it only had a "little bit of pee-pee on it." They wordlessly moved on. I'm not sure if it was because of the gross new information they just received, or because of the roaring cackle that was coming from a crazed mommy inside.
• Charlie has been crawling and climbing for a while now. The other day I watched him crawl up our front step, sit down and happily snack on a leaf. How did he get so old?!!!
• James has been playing on an inter-mural soccer team with friends in our ward and we have been having a ball watching them play(no pun intended) in the evenings.
• I am 11 weeks along tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT to not feel pukey anymore! I can't complain too much though as this has been my easiest pregnancy to date. Fourth time's the charm.....four Summers of being pregnant in a row.....Yikes. I wonder if all things warm weathered will forever remind me of feeling gross and pregnant?
  

Hmm....I really thought I had more to report on. No wonder my poor boys have been so bored of late! Just a couple more weeks....

Going Private

Mason and his little "Cheekies" back when they were little
I vowed that I would never do this, but I think I am going to go private with this blog in the next couple of weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it has been eating at me for a while now and I figure I should just take the plunge. If you still want to stay abreast on all of the Sieg happenings, then just give me your e-mail address. You can either e-mail it to me at: malivance@gmail.com or you can leave it in the comments. Whatever floats your boat. Thanks for being understanding.
Love,
Mal

July Siegbits

Our most recent family picture....just ignore the double chins.

Well, July has been a very VERY busy month. Add the fact that our computer has been giving us sass and you end up with not many blogging posts. If there is anyone out there who has been anxiously awaiting an update from the Sieg home, this post is a shout-out to you!

July Siegbits:

• James is in love with his little puppy, who he has now named, Gunner. Yep, Gunner. If you can't guess by the name already, he has high hopes for this pooch to be his hunting buddy this fall.
• My family came into town at the beginning of the month and partied hard with us for about a week. Family time is always wonderful.
• My brother Tony and his family moved to Utah from Georgia, as Tony will be teaching at BYU in the fall. They now have a lovely home nearby so we are excited to see them more than once every two years for our family's Christmas. Mason is in hog heaven to have more cousins around.
• We headed down to Zions with our singles ward for a hiking adventure.
  
• My sister, Kathleen, got her mission call to the Fort Lauderdale Florida Mission and will be speaking Spanish over there starting in September. As you can imagine, I am THRILLED for her to have this chance of a lifetime! She will be a great missionary!
• We headed to California this last week for a Sieg Family visit. Very fun and nice to see everyone. We got to sneak in a little Vance time as well.
• I have been making and selling custom pinatas all month long. Good times... I think I am ready for my maternity leave. :)
• Our garden is out of control and we are pleased as punch about that! Today we picked our first tomatoes and squash! Hot dog!
• I will be 28 weeks along in my pregnancy on Sunday. Mason came at 37 weeks. That means we better get our rears in gear and actually think of a couple name options. The thought of possibly only having 9 more weeks before this baby comes is exciting and TERRIFYING!!!! Fortunately, I'm as healthy as a horse and everything has gone great so far.
• We had pictures taken of the Sieg side of the family while we were in California by the talented Julie Campbell. If you want to see her stuff, check out her website here.
• We have now floated down the Provo river. We Siegs LOVE doing this all Summer long so we were happy to reunite with our Summer love.

All in all, life is good and busy as ever. I hope your Summer is going well on your end! Enjoy the rest of it!

April Siegbits

Things have been moving along swimmingly in the Sieg household. Here are a couple updates:

• 2 of our 3 little chickies went to live at a farm nearby. I know that normally is code for dead, but in this case, it really is true. They wandered away one evening when we were out (they were enjoying the fine Spring weather in our back yard) longer than we had expected. We didn't return until after dark and our little chicks were nowhere to be seen! Our neighbor told us that one of the guys that live in his building found them and took them to a nearby farm. I guess he didn't expect them to be any one's pets....has he not heard of the Sieg's Suga' Sweet Farm?
• Samantha (my little chick) was savvy enough to elude him and was found the next morning under our neighbors car. She was loudly chirping until we came and got her. Now she is even more of a pet than ever and spends half of the day on our shoulders.
• Jack ended his time at the Sieg residence. His shedding (etc.) and my pregnancy were not the best combo. We found him a good home where he will be appreciated for the kook that he is. I know, I'm the devil.
• James' mom gave Mason a fine set of cow plates, dishes, and silverware. He LOVES them and moos every time he gets down to the bottom of his bowl. I think they are wonderful, too. Especially on days like today (and yesterday) when nearly everything else is sitting dirty in my kitchen sink. They have been the extra fork and spoon that came in handy when I would have otherwise resorted to my measuring utensils when eating my meals. Whoohoo! Yeah...call me lazy.
• James' semester is all over (besides finals) so he has been home more and Mason and I are in HOG HEAVEN!!!
• I fell in love with 2 new stores nearby where you can buy produce for incredibly cheap prices. As a result, we are now eating more fruits and veggies and feeling so frugal and healthy! We have gone on a fast-food fast (because we are too cheap) and are doing just fine on our own, thank you very much. Although, we do miss our friends at Little Ceasers and wonder how they are doing without our frequent visits.
• I have started to feel the wee one moving inside me. Little flutters here and there. Probably one of the most glorious feelings ever! I am now 13 weeks and feeling SO much better! Traloo-tralay!
• Our family got placed in a singles ward on campus and even though we miss our married student ward, we are having a ball where we are serving....except for Sundays. Then we miss the beloved nursery that gave us 2 happy hours of freedom. D'oh! James does a great job in his calling and I get to talk about relationships till the cows come home! Hot dog!
• I am starting to feel the itch to be crafty again. I am a little sad about not having any holidays for a couple months (although James has been so kind to remind me of his important birthday holiday in May). However, this gives me the chance to get ready for Halloween and Christmas! I know I am weird, but a girl must prepare ahead. This late snow surprise in Provo has really helped me get into the mood (poor James has to live with me).

A New Little Niece!

Tony and Sarah just had their third child/first little girl this afternoon at noon! Leah Elizabeth Vance. Hot dog! She was seven pounds eleven ounces and was nineteen inches long. How fun! This makes the third little girl born on my side of the family in the past 5 months. Now little Sadie better get her cute little rear in gear before she misses all the cousin fun. I can't wait to see Leah this Christmas!

Random update

I have been having a hard time updating this blog for some reason. I just can't get myself to sit my hiney down and do it! At any rate, life is good and we are busy as always. James has been working really hard at his three different jobs and going to school. I've been working really hard at trying hard not to think about the holidays coming up (I'm such a dork and am WAY too excited for Halloween). Also, we just got James' vet applications in to different schools all around the nation, so keep us in your prayers. Pretty exciting stuff!

Mason has a little corner of the front room devoted to his toys and books. He putters over to his corner and plays by himself for a good 30 minutes a day, which gives his mommy time to do the dishes (on a good day). I think he is so cute in his little toy basket. Such a little stinker.

"Get me off of this devil's machine!!" I thought Mason would get a kick out of riding on one of these coin machine's with it actually running. I guess not...

My brother, Tony, came into town to interview at BYU for a job as a professor in the information system/business program. It was so nice to see him. He is such a hard worker. He just finished his PhD in 3 years and did very well. Plus, he is one of the nicest people I know and one of my finest examples.

Mason has found an old stethoscope that James got from his sister, Conni, forever ago. He loves that thing! He puts it around his neck and crawls around with it on for hours. Our little future doctor.

Welcome to the world, baby girl!!!

At 6:14 this morning little Sydney Lane Bethards was born! Hot dog! We went from having no nieces on my side of the family to TWO in less than a month! She is adorable! 7 lbs 9 oz and 22 inches long. She has big beautiful wide eyes and mouth and is pink as can be. Aria was also pleased to see that she has some brown hair. Everyone is doing well and is resting. I would have wanted to stay all day, but they needed a nap and Mason was getting jealous of his mommy's attention. He better get used to it, 'cause I plan on holding that little gal quite often!

The proud dad, Tommy and little Sydney

Aria, looking incredible for just giving birth naturally

The proud aunt. Excuse the bra peeking out....I was so excited to get over there that I didn't take the time to make sure I was all situated and decent. D'oh!

Meili GraceVance!

I'm an aunt again! Woohoo!!! Marshall and Jennie had their second child, a little girl, on the tenth of this week! She came three weeks early weighing 4 lbs and 15 oz and 18 inches long. A cute little thing! She looks so much like her older brother to me right now. I can't wait to see her in real life! Also, we found out that my older brother and his wife are going to be having a girl for their third child in October! Hot dog! It is the year of the baby girls in my family. Up to this point, we have only been having boys. Times change and we change with them. Maybe this will stick for a while and James and I will get one whenever we are ready. Sadie Jane Sieg (James finally okayed the name. I've been working on him for over two years). Don't be holding your breath though. :)