Whipple Family Blog

Teralyn had her first piano recital yesterday! Nicole Jensen (her piano teacher), Holly King, and Heather Connor all combined their students for a recital at the Connor's house. Well, it was great fun! All the kids did so well. I was really impressed. I have to say though that I think I was more nervous than Tera. She was so calm through the whole thing while I was just shaking in the chair. Yes, she did mess up on one of her songs, but she calmly started again and kept going. So, on the way to the recital I remembered my camera, but by then it was too late! I was pretty upset, but luckily my good friend Jenni was there to save the day! Here are some pictures that she took for us....

Christmas Eve day was actually really relaxing this year. We had everything ready, so we got to relax a little as a family. Then, that night we headed on over to our friends house, the Turpins, for a little fondue. We had cheese fondue for dinner and then chocolate for dessert. We loved it! We have done this a few years now because we are both family less during this time and every year we just have such a great time and eat so much! Our kids had a blast playing video games downstairs and so we had a great evening. We then acted out the Nativity (so sad that I forgot my camera!) and all the kids were so cute! We headed on home and our girls all climbed into bed with Tera (all on the top bunk) and excitedly went to sleep (at least I think they did). Bri and I watched Elf and laughed all evening while we prepared. The next morning we woke up before our girls (around 5:30), made some breakfast, put it in the oven, and then I went back to sleep (: . Bri finally woke the girls (and their m...

Some of our Christmas traditions... We love to go to the Symphony of Lights down by the hospital. Every year we pay the twenty bucks and let our kids get out of their seat belts and the have free rein in the car while we all enjoy the lights. Bri even lets them drive. Yes I know, crazy! But the kids love it and we really enjoy it too! Gingerbread houses. I know this is pretty much everyone's family tradition, but we started doing this about four years ago and have pictures from every year. One year my bro. who was on his mission here got to do it with us. Way fun! Anyway, we finally finished this tradition this morning. So, we all had quite the sugar high right before church. Christmas lights at the temple. I love this! Every year it is just the same, but the spirit is so strong and I love that my kids can also feel it. This year was really special to us. The live nativity scene was excellent and even brought tears to our eyes. I really wanted my little girls to understand the tru...

Okay, two things happened this last Wednesday that I just have to write about. One was that Raegan finally crawled! We were so excited. She has been scooting around on her tummy for quite some time now and just the day before, we were wondering if she was ever going to use her knees, but on Wednesday she did! Ashty and I got a cute video of her first little crawls.... That was the good news. The bad news was that that night Teralyn and I had gone to piano lessons and while we were driving home, we came to a roundabout off of Stephen's Road and a pickup truck didn't stop as he was coming into the roundabout and hit us on the back passenger side door. The window shattered all over the back seat and the door was smashed in, but Tera and I were just fine. The driver of the pickup truck said he didn't see us (I'm assuming he thought we were going to turn and not stay in the roundabout). He was actually really apologetic and we were just grateful that Tera wasn't on the o...

Every first Saturday in December Brian's work at the Applied Physics Laboratory has a family Christmas party. Every year we are sooo excited to go! This year they had Dora the Explorer and Boots walking around, they had all you can eat ice cream bars, a yummy lunch and dessert, Santa Claus, face painting, magic show and a one man circus show. Our kids love it and we do too. This year was a little crazy. There were so many people there, it was almost hard to walk around. Ashtyn even got lost once in all the people and by the time we found her so was crying. Thankfully we got there early though, so we saw the shows and then sat on Santa's lap when the second shows started. So, my girls have always been a little scared of Santa. I always just expect it. We stand in line the whole time and I make sure they know that they are going to be sitting on his lap and they seem fine about it, until we get there. Then they usually freak out a little. Well, this year was better. It was only A...

It's kind of a catch up week again. But, I am trying not to do a huge blog all in one day so I will do some over a few days instead. Every first Family Home Evening in December we go out to get our tree. We have gone to Home Depot every year, and this year we had thoughts of going to cut our own tree down, but as soon as we saw how cold it was, those thoughts were quickly washed away. So, we all headed down to Home Depot on the coldest night of the year so far. Well, because of the great weather, we were just about the only ones there! It made it great for picking out a great tree. After about forty five minutes of looking and turning down (oh, and making a potty trip in the middle), we finally decided on the fattest tree that we could find. We saw our friends from Columbia 2nd ward, the Laws, and they had come and gone before us. Oh well, we felt good about our fat little tree. A couple nights later we decorated our tree and it looks just like a family's tree with four little ...

Last Sunday I was released from the primary presidency after being in for five years!! And yes, I have loved every minute of it. Although I sometimes missed getting to know the sisters in the ward, I made some wonderful friends in the primary and loved being with and teaching those cute kids. When I first got in, I thought I would never get used to the two to three hour presidency meetings that we had every Wednesday, but after a while I learned to love them and they became almost my favorite part of my week (: . I have to say though that I definitely have mixed feelings about being released. On the one hand, I am really excited to get enriched in Sunday school and relief society (I know, that sounds weird, but it has been almost nine years since I have been in!). But on the other hand, I will miss the my friends who I have worked so closely with for so long and feeling the sweet simple spirit that you get in primary. So, about three days before I was released and before the calling wa...

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I forgot to get pictures of our yummy meal!! Oh well, maybe next year huh? Anyway, it was a great day and we got to celebrate it with our friends, the Jensens. Every year around this time I get a little sad thinking about our families in Utah and Idaho who are all together. We are the only family on both sides who live far away and we miss out on a lot. Our girls don't even know some of their cute cousins. We try to go back home every other year or so, but it still isn't time enough to really get to know them. Well, it does make me a little sad, but I just have to say that I am so grateful for the wonderful friends and families we have made out here. Thank you for making it easier to be away from our family! That is what I am most thankful for this year. Okay, on to the other stuff... Bri celebrated a birthday on Friday. He is now 32. We celebrated by me sleeping in (I really didn't mean to) and then we had a very relaxing day (prett...

You would think that we were over our eye problems, huh? Well, it happened again. Last night Ashtyn was wearing her lovely princess dressup shoes and fell, hitting the banister and causing another black eye. I'm just a little afraid what people are thinking now. I almost feel like I have to explain to everyone who sees her what happened, "you know, I really don't abuse her!" (although you would think so sometimes when she wants to go with a certain someone in the ward and BEGS to not come back to me!). Oh well, I guess she is destined for black eyes in her life. Oh, and for the record, I was out shopping at the time... (:

It's been a crazy week! It seems I am running and running now and never get a chance to sit down with my family anymore. Saturday night I finally got a chance to do that and loved it! We stayed home and did puzzles most of the evening. It was so great to not be running around and it was so fun to spend some time with my girls. Those are definitely my favorite times, the times when I can just sit back at home and enjoy my cute kids and my husband. We just finished our annual primary program yesterday. It turned out really well. The kids all did a great job and the spirit was strong. I was reminded of how much I love these kids. Everyone of them I have learned to love these last five years. I have thought many times how close they are to the Lord and what a great example they are to me. I am so thankful for the time that I am able to spend with these choice spirits. I feel very humbled that I am able to be in their presence and to help them feel the spirit in their lives. I also have...

Oh my, so much to write about, where to start.... Feel free to skip to the interesting parts.(: First of all, this last week Raegan has found out how to get on her knees! Yes, she is rocking back and forth and will soon be crawling. So my house is not baby proofed. I guess I thought I had much more time than I do. It's amazing how fast the time goes with your fourth. I can't believe she is already five months! The other thing that happened this week with Raegan is she tried her first solid foods. She has been eating like crazy lately and is always looking at our food longingly and not quite getting enough at each nursing, so we decided it was time. She actually is doing better with it than I remember any of my girls doing. Her tongue reflux is almost gone and she gets quite a good amount in her mouth (which is really saying something for the first few feedings). Anyway, she is growing up and I am feeling quite sad about it. It seems I was always waiting for the days to pass wit...

First, before I talk about all our eye problems, I just want to say how much I love my friends and their families who have been going through such a hard time right now. We have had an incident with a stranger in our church recently and it has affected so many wonderful people. My heart goes out to them and I am constantly praying for their sweet families. We sure love you and are slowing trying to pick up and move on. It's quite heart breaking to us all. Well, I thought I would tell about our crazy week. After our incident with Ashtyn last week with her black eye, we have had two more eye problems. The second one happened on Friday evening. I was quite excited because Bri was finally coming home early (after months of working late) and I was going to get a whole bunch of shopping and errands done. So, first I headed to the library. I got movie (for the babysitting group that we had that night) and got in my car ready to go to my next destination. My glasses were dirty so I took t...

We are having a few problems with church. Well not exactly with church, but with after church. This is the problem. It takes me a while to get my things together after primary. We have to wait for all the boxes and folders to come in, we straighten and put away all the chairs, we clean up from our sharing times etc. Well, while we are doing this, Bri rounds up our kids and drops them off in the primary room with me. Then he leaves and cleans the chapel and empties all the garbages, oh and usually finds someone to talk to. While he is doing this, and I am getting my things together, there is a party going on in the primary room with all the kids who are waiting for their parents. Kids are everywhere. Kids are on the podium, on the piano, on each other and especially in the cupboard with the secret treat that isn't really a secret anymore (does this remind you of a Curious George book or what?) Well, it doesn't help that they all pretty much missed their afternoon naps too. So,...

I went to a beautiful baptism yesterday for Alyssa Walburger and Darina Pierre-Louise. Alyssa has been such a great example to Darina and invited her to church for quite a long time. Now they both have testimonies and were able to get baptized on the same day. It was a wonderful baptism and I'm so proud of those little girls. It just goes to show that anyone can do missionary work. Okay so, I have been feeling a great push to get my years supply of food storage. Partly because when my mom came out she saw how piddly it was and started worrying about us. Then, my in laws came out in August and I guess they felt the same thing so they decided to send us some money to get a jump start on it. I guess I can't delay this any longer huh? In the past I have had about a two month supply, but definitely not a years supply, so here goes.... I have to admit that it scares me a little. I know that sounds weird, but for so long I have heard of getting years supply and in my mind I see bucket...

I just finished reading a book that Sarah Brown reccomended to me about hmmm... six months ago? She gave it to me right before Raegan was born and well, I just barely finished it. Mind you, I had a little bit going on in my life. Now that things are back to normal (at least sometimes) I find time to read again and I am loving it! Well, the book is called The Legend of Holly Claus. I have to say it was a little hard for me to get into because I just couldn't think about Christmas when it was ninety degrees outside. Well, turns out it wasn't really about Christmas and it was quite fun to read. The whole basis of the book was on faith and letting go of fear. At the same time it was entertaining and a book that I could read again (which I rarely do). Anyway, thank you Sarah for the book and for letting me keep it for so long! Oh, and Cami I still have your books and will return them.... next year or so. (:

So the other day I read or skimmed, rather, an article that said sixty something percent of people spend more time with their personal computers than their spouse. It made me laugh and I thought, "hmmm... we'll never be like that. I like my spouse too much". Well, I think it has happened. Since we got our new computer, we now have two computers up and running at our house, so that means we can both be on at the same time. Okay so, I am not really into the lastest and greatest of everything, but Bri has been wanting this computer for so long and I thought he deserved it (since everything we buy is usually for me). Of course, I didn't want a new computer, I mean who would want to spend my days blogging or checking email, or even shopping. (: Well, to be honest, it's been great, but I am not sure if it's improving my relationship with my spouse or not. Of course the obvious answer would be that it's not. Why would it be? I mean if I spend less time with hi...

Shay came home with a huge rip in her shorts. She said it happened on the playground today, poor girl. It was huge, right on her bottom. Then, when we got home, I was searching her backpack for papers and found a note from the school nurse. Apparently, she had gotten kicked in the head today, but no serious bruises (as stated by the nurse). So then, at dinner time we were talking and she said, "I was sad that a few people in my class didn't like my hair today." I asked her what she was talking about and she said that a few kids in her class told her they didn't like her braids. Well, after prodding it a little, I found out that her teacher said she liked her hair and asked the rest of the class if they liked it and most raised their hand, but some didn't. What a tough day! Well, despite everything that went wrong, I was surprised by her attitude. It made me laugh to see a huge hole in her shorts and we even walked today home from school, but she wasn't too emb...

This weekend was General conference. I love having Dish Network because we get to stay home as a family and watch it on television. It was wonderful, as it always is. We sustained Elder Eyring as our 2nd counselor in the first presidency and Elder Cook as the new apostle. I also have to say that it was great to have a little rest from all the Sunday activities. We all slept in (or at least I did) and we made our traditional chips and seven layer dip. Very relaxing and enjoyable weekend and now I have a million things that I need to work on too. (: Tonight I heard a funny conversation between my girls, I thought I would share. They were all in bed and I went up to put something away and heard them talking, so I had to stop and listen... Shay, "Tera, will you please go get dad?" Tera, "No Shay" Shay, "Why Tera? I need him!" Tera, "No, it's too scary." Shay, "Our closet isn't scary Tera, and our house isn't creepy." Tera, ...

When Brian first got his job at the APL he loved it! We couldn't have been happier with it. He was doing computer programming and working on interesting things (Tomahawk missile). It had great benefits and he never had to work longer than forty hours a week. He was very content. >Well, about three years later, they asked him to be project manager. At first he refused because he wanted to be doing technical work. They promised him that he would still have time for that, but just a few more responsibilities. Well, turns out he had a LOT more responsibilities and no time for programming. He really didn't enjoy it and to top it all off, there was no pay raise, but just a huge hike in responsibilities. As a result, he switched groups at the lab hoping to start over and work on some things that he enjoys. Things were going great again for about half a year. He was really enjoying work again and he was also learning some great stuff. After a while, his supervisor came to him and as...

So, about a year ago we started talking to Teralyn about what she would like to do (as far as activities). She is not so thrilled with sports and we didn't have a piano yet, so there wasn't much to choose from. We had already tried ballet and liked it, but it wasn't something that we thought would hold for her. Anyway, after thinking about it for a while, we decided it would be fun to get her into horse back riding lessons. Yes, I know, EXPENSIVE! Well, we called a few places and realized how much it was and then put it off. It has now been over a year since we promised Teralyn that she could take lessons. When we moved to our current house, she befriended a girl in her first grade class who became her best friend. Of course, she rides horses. To top that off, she has also become really good friends with a girl in our neighborhood who takes horse back riding lessons. We didn't stand a chance after that. Finally, after promising for quite a while, we decided to check it ...

Okay, so this last week has been a little crazy. I am relieved it's over. Let me recap it. As you know, Teralyn's birthday was Monday. So on Tuesday, Raegan turned four months (I will put some pictures in at the bottom) and Brian left for Boston (a business trip for a few days). So that night I was sitting at the computer and wouldn't you know it, I hear a mouse eating something under the piano!!! I could have died! I detest mice more than anything in the world. One time in our apartment in Logan I saw one and I grabbed Teralyn and waited all day on the couch for Brian to get home! Well, I guess it was just my luck that the day that he left, I find a mouse in my house. I quickly ran upstairs and of course dreamed all night about it and couldn't sleep. I even put sneakers on to feed Raegan in the night. Ahhh! Well, Wednesday morning we walked to school and then I went to presidency meeting until 12:00. Then I came home and put Raegan and Ashtyn down for a nap and stayed ...