Buddy-Boy

First, let me start by saying that there is no mystery as to why my car seems to always be dirty and as to why it is a weekly job around here to clean out the car.

The girls were able to find other, more entertainint engagements which left Drew to run errands with me for two full days, two days in a row.  It was two mega, marathon errand days!   It's really almost fun to shop with just one little buddy.  You would think three wouldn't be too bad, given their ages, but it turns out it's still enough to drive me crazy.  

Drew is a trooper, but it takes some incentives at times . . .

Plus he gets to watch Toy Story ("Bu") with no one complaining

(there's a slight chance he's watched all 3 of them a little too much and we are all sick of them for now). 

One of those days I grabbed him chicken nuggets and as I'm driving along, a chicken nugget hits me in the side of the head and while my brain is still processing that, I hear "tank too."  So I offered him new nugget and he's "all done."  Well, thanks for the heads up there, buddy.

Still going strong!

Summer . . . I have to try and pound it into my head that summer is NOT easier, summer is NOT less busy, summer is NOT less crazy . . . summer is just MORE fun!  Everyone is just as busy, just as crazy, just as tired . . . we're just having more fun hustling around minute to minute!

We ran through Wendy's drive through for dinner one night Ansen was gone golfing.  Oh, I remember the days I could get through Wendy's for less than $4 and call it dinner, but now Cafe Rio is just as cheap (but not as fast).  We had a picnic outside, Olivia flipped Frosty in Addison's hair, we got cool toys to play with and Drew got ketchup from here to kingdomcome (is that the right saying?). 

I do love summer!

Except, I am soooooooo sick of hearing "Mom!  Drew is hitting (or pinching) me!"  Hearing it is not necessarily the problem, but the fact that someone has to say it because Drew is doing it is the problem.

Happy Father's Day!

Here we are, rolling a little late again . . .

Happy Father's Day to our best Daddy ever!  Olivia calls him "our best daddy" and even though he's our only daddy, he is our best daddy.  He's the Dad that makes the good breakfasts, the Dad that takes them to Trafalga instead of bed, the Dad that has the patience to listen to all the stories, and the Dad that mows the lawn every week with his little 2 year old side kick in tow. 

But most important, he's the Dad that toughs it all out with me!

And regardless of what these pictures may indicate . . . Drew really loves his Daddio too!  Everyone knows how hard it is to be a two year old.

Drew: 2 Years Old

Drew is still such a mellow, happy little guy.   He's really just a dreamboat little boy.  He would spend, literally, all day in the back yard with a few balls and the princess scooter if we would let him.  He loves "the girls" and everything girlie that comes with them . . . bows, nail polish, Barbies, the princess dolls.  He loves Mom and Dad with equal preference, which is nice.  We should have stopped with the "beanie" (binky) months ago because he's developed quite the dependency now, but his Mom is a big whimp and she's lazy since it's just so much easier to stick a plug in it.

Accomplishments:  He can kick, drop kick, run and kick . . . he's just good at kicking, he says full sentences ("I want my cup" "where's my binky?")  finally, Gets out of his crib with complete ease, Puts his own shoes on, Pretty much constantly keeps himself busy, Yells "Ididit" about everything, and started sleeping in until 8:00 some mornings if we keep him up late enough!

Why We Love Him Right Now: 

We see it now . . . it's in their make up . . . boys like to wrestle.  And since Olivia is the next size closest to him, he is always trying to start something.  But Olivia's tactic is just to freeze and whine until someone rescues her.

He listens too us with these big, blank eyes. And although he knows exactly what we're saying, with the right facial expression and those blank eyes we might think he doesn't get what we're saying.

He's a hitter and a biter.  Then when he realized those are not appropriate behavior, he became a pincher.  We're still working on it, but we've never had a biter or a pincher before and only a minor hitting problems.

He's constantly looking for his shoes (or any shoes), so he can put them on and sneak outside.

He loves the Ariel Barbies.  We have 2 Ariel Barbies (one with legs and one with a tail)  and it doesn't matter which one it is, but Ariel is the favorite.  He sleeps with Ariel most nights, takes her in the car, in the tub and to the store.  I'm not sure if Ariel's red hair reminds him of someone else he loves so much or if he just likes Ariel.

He can stare anyone down (mostly Mom).  If he doesn't like what you're saying, he's in trouble, etc. he can stare you down . . . with not an ounce of expression and big, long blinks.  I guarantee he's got more patience and he will prove his point every time with the stare down. 

Instead of just "thank you,"  it's always "tank too ya wecome."  In his vocabulary, they go together.  He also says the cutest "ah yoo" which is his shortened, quick "I love you."

New Year's Eve! 2010

No big plans this year, not in the absolute least!  We had just gotten our pass of all passes to Trafalga so we headed to the Orem location for mini golf - indoors. 

Turns out the 15+ years since I have been there has not been good to it.  It was so much cooler in my mind.

But it was pretty much just us there that night so we had the place to myself and the kids thought it was

 NEAT -O.

It was "fun" golfing with a little boy obsessed with holding and throwing balls (didn't matter whose ball it is).  It was "fun" golfing with a little boy that liked to stand, sit and, lay in the middle of the golfing area of every hole.  It was "fun" that there was a big pool of water in the middle of the course and that it was "fun" to throw balls into it (again, it didn't matter whose ball).  And lastly, it was "fun" to carry around a stick that apparently was actually made to hit things (or maybe just balls). 

We even just sat in the little theater with the 3-D movies and watched one after another.

I can't remember what we did after that . . . no pictures . . . so I'm guessing it wasn't THAT cool.  Still a good night, with our little family.

Christmas Eve 2010 . . . so late, late,late!

 So Christmas was 6 months ago, I know.  But I still want it in my blog book!

Christmas Eve fondue dinner!  I think (I can't remember the details already) that we opted for just dinner and not dessert since we're always way, way, way too full anyway.

And then the Nativity. 

Addison has officially taken over as Angel and Olivia as Mary.  This year we had some minor arguments over who got to hold the baby . . . his mother or that really, really cute shepard - the little one. 

And then onto cookie decorating.  It's a tradition, but we really took it to the next level this year . . . I think I may say that every year.  But really, we did this year.  Matt had a problem with the almond flavoring Lisa added to the frosting, though the rest of us were just fine (had to remember this part . . . it was funny the whole night).  We did frosting bags and lots and lots of interchangeable tips. 

Lisa and Jeff thought they were at a clear advantage what with their cake decorating classes and their jobs decorating ice-cream cakes . . . but it turned out with no classes and only birthday cake practice at home, the girls and I were able to hold our own.

At 12:30 Ansen finally pulled the plug on decorating. Drew was asleep, but the girls were still there going strong creating.  But Mr. Grumpypants definitely had some logic and we called it a night.  Drew woke up and so he became my happy little helper as we finished up with the rest of Christmas Eve night festivities.

Oh and I almost forgot until I saw the pictures, but we made a soda run right before cookies.  We were all a little tired and needed a pickmeup.  If you know my mom, you know this is soooo not her ideal plan for Christmas Eve (or any day for that matter).  But we did it and it was fun . . . it was worth it for the memory of driving in Jeff's jeep on the ice with the stick shift . . .  

Baby Love

Even though Ryan, Kendall and Halle were here for almost a month, after they left we all commented that we didn't get to hold Halle enough!  They kids LOVED holding her, talking to her, kissing her, anything to do with her.  And I loved snuggling her!  Luckily they'll be back in 1 week!

Drew was finishing a sugar daddy sucker and decided to plant a big, wet (sticky) kiss on little Halle.  She didn't even flinch! (and we washed it off before Kendall and Ryan saw)

Addison is keenly aware that there are three years in between each our kids and that the three year mark is coming up.  Too bad life feels a little hectic right now, too bad this a "good summer" again with three pretty independent kids, too bad I have to loose weight first, and too bad we're already exhausted all the time  . . . .

Ahhhhh!

I was sewing in the basement while Addison and a friend were playing. 

They had divided up all the play money and were buying toys.  The friend ran out of money and wanted to start buying things with a credit card.

"You can't do that because a credit card is the same as cash.  You have to have money to pay your credit card or you can't use your credit card."

When the friend suggested that she could pay money later . . .

"No, you have to pay it at the end of every month, not just wait until you get more money because you might never get more money to pay your credit card."

I was proud. 

I know she's at a complete disadvantage in this game, but if she'll remember this principle, she'll be at a complete advantage in life. 

Spiders!

I just HATE spiders.  I have a deathly FEAR of spiders but I have really tried to reel that in since becoming a mother.  I didn't want my kids to inherit my paralyzing fear of spiders, so while inside my head I am absolutely dying at the prospect of killing a spider myself, my outside actions try to convey a clam, brave countenance.  With great, great effort I have been fairly successful until today. 

I was a screaming lunatic!

 It all started at about 8:30 this morning when the girls found a fairly large spider on the ceiling.  No biggie.  I can't reach it anyway and I was not about to try getting the sucker above my head when he could possibly fall and eat my face off. 

So we just decided to keep an eye on him until Dad got home.  The girls dutifully did their job. 

The first, big spider eventually found a second, smaller spider friend to hang out with.  But then we realized that they were not friends.  Have you ever seen spiders fight?  We got to watch it all.  Their front legs were out and at the ready for an attack and they slowly inched closer to one another. 

I had everyone stand back in case they came swinging down and we were all at the ready with one of Ansen's shoes. 

There was a small attack, one swung down, we screamed and they separated.  A little later they found each other again, they attacked and this time were both hanging over the kitchen table.  The neighbor kids came over to play right in time.  I stood on a chair spraying bug killer at them (yes, in our house), screaming every time they swung in my direction and the 5 kids ran in and out of the house screaming. 

After the spray, I was able to trap one under a glass while the spray did it's job and Olivia smashed the other one (that's our Olivia).

We survived, but my cover was broke WIDE open . . . I HATE spiders.

We called and told Ansen all the details, it was just so exciting! 

It was a creative way to spend a summer day.

And speaking of spiders . . . here's a few "spiders" I am not afraid of.  In fact, I think they're cute!

Drew is Two!

Happy Birthday Drew-B!  He's 2!

and he's so cute and it's so sad that's it's going so fast, but I just love every minute!

We went to dinner at Pirate Island Pizza!

 Played the arcade games, won tons and tons of tickets . . .

and got a few suckers.  Whoa . . . I know.



Then we went to Banna and Branda's for cake and presents.

And this gem of a cake is Buzz Light Year's shuttle . . . or a bell.   It was kind of a last minute idea and it wasn't my best, but Drew was just fine.

Drewy got a Toy Story dinner set, some clothes, a big ball, clothes, a little flying toy, and some mini M&M's. 

He was feeding the girls and Banna some M&Ms with his new spoons. Eventually Drew dishes out a few M&Ms onto the floor, waits and then gives a little bark at Banna.  That was apparently the signal for Banna to play his little dog.

And lastly he got a soccer goalie set!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW!

Olivia came in, looked at my computer over my shoulder and gave a laugh (the kind that you blow air out of your tight lips because it's kind of a sudden laugh you didn't expect).

"Oh Mom, I see someone that I love."

(she had seen the teeny - tiny icon of this picture stored on my desktop)

Our cute, little, chubby cousin, Halls (Halle - but Olivia gave her a nickname)

And my pre-school follow up for Olivia.  We ran into Miss Shannon at the store 2 days ago.  Olivia hid behind me and would barely talk to her  . . . because she was starting to cry and she didn't want Miss Shannon to see.  She sure misses her teacher!

Summer Bucket List 2011

We made our Summer Bucket List 2011 on Sunday with a little bit of everything . . .

 fun . . . projects . . . random . . . ambition . . . work . . .

And we'll see how it goes.

1.  Go to an Owls game
2.  Make homemade ice-cream
3.  Read all the BOB books/15 new books
4.  Go see Rio again (with Dad)
5.  Fly kites
6.  Go to Lagoon
7.  Go 4 -wheeling
8.  Organize CD collection
9.  Walk to get snow cones
10.  Go to Thanksgiving Point
11.  Picnic at the park
12.  Go to 7-Peaks
13.  Go fishing
14.  Go to a Bees game
15.  Hike to Timpanogos Cave
16.  Go to Logan to see our friends
17.  Re-do back deck
18.  Go see the last Harry Potter movie
19.  Have a water party
20.  Make our own Popsicles
21.  Go to the Zoo
22.  Go to an outdoor movie
23.  Have a backyard camp out
24.  Make a craft
25.  Go to Oregon
26.  Take swimming lessons
27.  Play night games
28.  Finish Roman shades in basement
29.  Go get good ice-cream
30.  Vacuum edges of carpet
31.  Read Fablehaven 1
32.  Play soccer with Drew
33.  Run a 5k
34.  Boating with Banna & Branda
35.  Go to Bear Lake
36.  Catch up on photo albums
37.  Have a water balloon fight
38.  Have smores in the canyon
39.  Sew Christmas quilt
40.  Finish the Book of Mormon

And off we go . . . Any thing look fun?  Come with us!

Night Out

While Ryan, Kendall and Halle were here we went to Trafalga one night. 

We played the arcades first.  Never in my childhood do I remember my parents shelling out money for arcades.  And I in turn, also have a hard time with the expenditure.  However we actually played arcade games twice while R & K were here.   Maybe everyone will totally be into Nicklecade next time . . . I've been gunning for that family activity for years. 

Ummm, for the record, I totally kicked Ansen's butt at air hockey. 

I realize that all my "experience" came from Roller King in Roseville when I was 10 and Ansen had his own air hockey table . . . but whatev.

Drew needed only one token for Iceball and it kept him busy the whole time. 

We had to dig balls out from all over.

Then pizza and golf.

We kept score (something we don't usually do when it's just us and the kids) and we let Olivia call in her own score . . .

Little did I know we had a golfing genius on our hands who rarely golfed over a 2 on every hole.

Last Day of School!

Thanks to Michelle (where I got this idea) we decided to sneek attack the school kids with a water balloon fight on the last day of school.

That fact that there was only 1 1/2 hours of school the last day didn't bother me until I was filling up water balloons and it just wasn't going fast enough.

Here are the little kids hiding in the playhouse ready for the attack!

(We went over and over the rules of the game . . . if you decide to play you might get wet and you have to just laugh)

They were all a little more aggressive than we expected and the moms were definitely the wettest!  It didn't help that we were aiming for their feet and they were aiming for our faces.

We (the moms) were laughing SO hard the whole time even though some of the kids took turns with little crying fits.  This is good, right?  It toughens them up.

The Players (minus Kamree and Annabell)

Next year, all of them but 3 will be against us. 

And next year, the dads will be helping with the balloons the night before. 

And to continue the celebration . . .

we headed to the new splash park in Alpine with some neighborhood kids!

And Drew . . . maybe he really needed a nap . . . and maybe he ran around throwing fits until he finally took off his own shorts and I finally figured out what he wanted.  But he did do a great job at keeping track of both of those binkies the whole time . . . one in the mouth, one in the hand . . . and switch. 



And then home for a 2 hour nap for all of us!

I am SO, SO, SO (get it) excited for summer!

The Carpool Foursome

My own neighborhood school carpool gave me so many fond "childhood memories."  And I can only hope that my kids get as many weird, funny and random experiences as I did to take with them in life.

And I think we are off to a good start with this year's carpool.

Parker, Kate, Addison and Luke

(minus Luke -  I waited until the last week of school

and there wasn't one day they were all there together for pick up and a picture)

These 4 are all less than 6 months apart, but the girls are in second grade and boys are in first grade.

I absolutely LOVED the conversations I got to listen to every morning,

I LOVED seeing these four "dancing" around on the corner waiting for me after school,

 I LOVED that everyday they nominated each other for "dorkiest," "dorkier," "dork," and "dorkless" awards,

I LOVED the morning Kate announced they were taking her cat to the pound and Parker told her they kill cats at the pound,

I LOVED that Luke and Addison got my jokes and Luke would sit with a smirk on his face,

I (kind of) LOVED the day they planned to pelt my car with gravel when I pulled up,

I LOVED that some mornings when I pulled up to the school they were too busy talking that they would not get out of the car,

I LOVED that all year they met up inside the school and always came out together.



Dance Festival

What a week! 

The last week of school, less one day for Memorial Day, and oh my goodness! it went fast!  And honestly, I can't even tell you what we were busy doing, I just know it was super busy and it was super fast!

One thing we did do, was go to the Dance Festival at the school.

This year, the 2nd graders did Grease's We Go Together. 

Perfect weather and of course, the groupies came with me.