shining like the top of the Chrysler building

So Keely was in the bathroom for a long time the other day and I figured she was getting into trouble but I was too busy to care; all I knew is that she was busy and entertained and I had a lot to do. After about 45 minutes I decided I'd better check in and I was like, "Keely, whatcha doin?" to which she responded, "Just cleaning the bathroom mom!" I have to say that as soon as she said this I imagined a massive puddle of water on the floor with rugs and towels strung all over the place so I hurried into he bathroom to see if I could minimize the damage. To my great surprise the bathroom was gleaming! I won't pretend that she didn't use a hand towel to clean (gross), and the strong smell of watermelon would suggest that she also used a large amount of hand soap but regardless it smelled and looked great; the sink, the floor, the cabinet, the mirror...the only thing she missed was the toilet (thank goodness!). Relieved and happy I just turned back around, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Wow... good job!"

10 Years Baby!

Last week Shawn and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. I can't believe how quickly time has gone (and how much older we look!). I made a video for him but for some reason blogger wouldn't let me upload it. Anyway, since it was our big 10 how could I not make a list of 10 things I love about Shawn? So here they are in no particular order:

1. I can always be myself with you, whatever I’m feeling. If I’m happy, I can be all the way happy, if I’m sad I can be all the way sad and I know that you’re with me trying to experience whatever I’m experiencing.

2. You’re a mean competitor. You’ve never let me win a game on purpose once and believe it or not, I like that.

3. You’re a great dad. I love that you call and tell stories to Keely every night when you’re on a business trip, even if you’re in London or Ireland. I love that Ben’s your biggest fan.

4. Relationships mean so much to you. You’ve always been better at keeping in touch with both friends and family and you’re always aware of people’s needs and what they’re going through.

5. I love your lack of opinions when it comes to clothing, home furnishing, etc. Sounds funny, but I love that you’ll just wear (almost) whatever I buy and that when it comes to decorating the house your only opinion is “comfortable.” I don’t know how I’d manage with someone who had strong opinions in those areas.

6. I love that you’re so cuddly. I know I’m not the most cuddly person ever, but I really do love that you are. There’s something comforting in knowing that you’re always there with a hug when I need it.

7. You’re one of the most content people I’ve ever met. Whether we go out for the night or just stay in and get a movie, whether I cook or we go out to eat, you’re just happy being with people you love.

8. You’re so thoughtful. I love that you still write me letters, realize when I’m stressed and that you’re always there to help with whatever’s going on.

9. You have such a strong testimony. One thing I’ve never doubted is your belief in the church and you take whatever responsibility or calling you’re given so seriously. You’re such an example for both me and the kids.

10. That I knew what kind of person you were after our very first conversation. You have always been completely genuine and you live exactly what you believe. I knew after our very first date that you were the kind of person I could spend forever with.

...and here it is

Yay! We move in the first of June and we're so excited. After LOTS of looking, bidding and praying we ended up with a home that we feel will be just right for our family and we're super excited that we'll live near grandma and grandpa when they get home, and until then we get to be right by Kristin and Abram! It feels like June will never come but I'm sure that with all that we have to do before we move we'll stay plenty busy and time will pass quickly.

A Slimy Frog

Well things are still hectic here and we are still waiting to hear on our house, but in the meantime I will attempt to blog every now and then, so I’ll share a new one with you. I must say that I realize that most people blog about happy, shiny things but I tend to want to record all things because I often think (hope) our imperfections add a little personality to life.

Yesterday Keely got put in time-out because she wasn’t sharing with her cousin and she hit him. I was on my way down the stairs when she started screaming for me to come back. Here’s pretty much how our conversation went:

K – “Mom, come quick it’s an emergency!” (repeated about 4 times)
Me – (heading back upstairs) “It better be an emergency!”
K – (I have now entered the room) “This skirt won’t stick” (regarding a dress-up princess book she’s playing with)
Me – “That is not an emergency…and you are not supposed to be playing when you’re in time-out!” (now I’m heading back downstairs) “I’d better not hear you again or you’re just going straight to bed!”
K- (at the top of her lungs) “I’m not going to bed you slimy little frog!”

Ouch! Did she call me a slimy frog? Seriously, it’s creative and new and I have no idea where she got it from but it kind of stings. As you can tell I think we both need to work a little on our communication skills, or maybe we communicate a little too well?...whatever the case may be the scene ended up with a good stare down (from both sides) and an apology (from Keely). I'm only hoping that at least one of you can relate to that experience, otherwise I'm in trouble! Don’t worry though, all was happy and good by the end of the night and she even told me that I’m the best mom in the world when I tucked her in (see, happy and shiny).

What I've Been Doing

I realize I've been pretty much non-existent in the blog world since we got back from Australia and here's why. Before we left for Australia we were super excited to find out that Kristin and Abram (Shawn's sister and her husband) were moving back to Ann Arbor. Seeing as to the fact that they are 2 of our favorite people we offered to let them move into the Quinn home (for those of you that are confused we've been living in Shawn's parents' house while they're on their mission) and said that we would just buy a house since it's such a great time to buy. What we didn't realize is how quickly everything would go. Abram found a great job at a law firm and they sold their house all in just over a month, and by the time we returned from Australia we had 5 days to ready everything because they were on their way!

So, here we are 1 week later. the Ellis family arrived last Wednesday and we have been living on top of each other since. Keely and Ben have had a blast with their cousins Aviva and Max here, and Shawn and I have loved the company but unfortunately all the kids have been sick which adds a whole other dimension to our fun. So, that's my life right now. Cleaning, packing, unpacking, moving things up and down and house hunting like mad! We made an offer on one house and we're just waiting to hear so who knows, maybe my next blog will be about our new home. Anyway, needless to say things are crazy busy right now - and also just plain crazy!

The Rundown on the Rest of Our Trip

Okay so we got back last Thursday and I am really behind (I’ll explain later) but I wanted to at least share a few of our highlights from the last part of our trip:

“Beach Fun”

We had lots of fun going to a couple different beaches. One of Keely’s highlights was getting her face painted when we went to the beach in Glenelg (she’s supposed to be a kangaroo)

Ben loved the beach so much that he wore himself right out
I have to say that it was surreal watching the grandmas and grandpas playing with the kids, I was so aware that our time was short and it made me kind of sad, Ben and Keely had such fun with their grandparents
“Keely’s Crush(es)”

The thing about Keely is she falls hard but she gets over it quickly. After leaving Alice Springs and doodling “I love Elder Collett” all the way home on the plane from Adelaide Keely quickly found someone to fill up that empty space in her heart, and this time Elder Bass was the lucky man. Luckily, he has a 5 year old brother and knew just how to handle her 4 ½ (she never lets us forget the ½) year old personality. It was really funny actually. One night we had the office Elders and the Assistants over for dinner and Keely latched right on to Elder Bass and also began to grow fond of his companion Elder Loertscher, whose name she had a tougher time remembering. So, that night in her prayers she said, “Heavenly Father, I’m so thankful that I was able to meet Elder Bass and also that Elder with a little hair, but not a lot, but some hair.” I was doing my best not to bust out laughing, but I have to say it was pretty funny.
“Our Friends”

The thing about taking a trip like this where you stay in the mission home is that it’s really hard not to get attached the missionaries, they were really a huge part of our enjoyment on the trip.

Elder and Sister Smith helped us with EVERYTHING and were really like an extra set of grandparents for our kids. Sister Smith was so patient with Keely always wanting to hang out in the office and even came up with “really important” ways for Keely to be able to help out. Let me tell you, Keely is quite a good secretary.
The Office Elders and Assistants were also wonderful with the kids and Elder Kroll even took the time to prepare a very sweet FHE lesson for us which Keely really loved. These guys really helped make our trip even more memorable and more fun. “Goodbye to Mom and Dad”

Watching mom and dad walk away at the airport was really hard. I think that after they left on their mission I always had a knowledge that we would be flying out to see them so I didn’t really have a hard time with it. This time it was a lot harder, I kind of had a sad, empty feeling but I loved that we had the time with them that we did have and I will always be grateful that they are out in Australia serving a mission, they really are incredible people and incredible missionaries and I’m so proud of them.

“And Another Goodbye”

And if one goodbye was not hard enough, 2 was almost impossible! Saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Quinn was another tough one. Bob and Delsa more than went out of their way to make our trip happy and memorable. I thought I was going to keep from crying until Keely gave a hug to her Grandma at the terminal and Delsa started crying. It was so sweet to watch our kids build such a strong relationship with their grandparents and it made me so happy that we had the chance to see them making a difference in so many people’s lives.

Keely can’t stop talking about her time in Australia and mostly that’s because she fell so in love with her grandparents. I love this picture of her and her grandmas. This has really been an experience we’ll never forget!

A Perfect Day

Last Saturday we got to go to the Adelaide, Australia temple and have Ben sealed to our family. I loved that we were surrounded by not only our parents, but the room was full of missionaries who we've come to know and love. One of the most joyous experiences of the day was watching Ben explore the sealing room as we all waited for the sealing to begin. He was dazzled by the chandelier and to the enjoyment of everyone there walked happily around on his shaky little legs just as content as can be to explore this new place. I can't even begin to describe the happiness and love we felt toward this little guy as we watched him, he really did light up the room. One of the main reasons we wanted to come to Australia so badly was so that our parents could be at the temple with us to share this happy day and we are so grateful we did!