Week in Review

Life, as always, hasn't been incredibly exciting over the past week. However I do have a few little tidbits to share. Once again, I warn you that this post will include quite a bit of whining and a wee bit of bragging. It's my blog and I'll be as annoying as I want!

Saturday, August 23rd - Attack of the chicken lovin' bees...

After our week-long quarantine, the boys were finally healthy enough to venture out of the house for a picnic with Grandpa Larry. We met up in Murray Park and had the wonderful idea of bringing along some KFC for our lunch. We spend $18 on an impressive spread of chicken and miscellaneous side dishes. We laid all the yummy smelling food out and had just starting digging in when we were overcome by more bees than I've ever had the misfortune of sharing my space with. They must've loved the smell as much as I did. Every time I took a bite of food, the stupid bees would follow the food right up to my mouth. And me being one of those girly girls - I'm a bit frightened of bees and yes, I do squeal and run around like an idiot. The bees would not be deterred, even with constant swatting and moving around. Our feast was soon abandoned and chucked into the nearest dumpster - mostly uneaten. I was so sad. And before you think I'm lame for throwing away perfectly good food just because of a few bees; you have to understand the sheer volume. Even Brandon and his dad (who aren't frightened of bees) were overwhelmed and agreed to get rid of the food. *sigh* What a waste.

Anyway, we forgot the meal and just let the kids play a bit.

After they had their fill of the playground, Grandpa Larry was so kind as to buy them each an ice cream cone to replace their lost meal. Is this not the sweetest picture of them and cousin Elliot crossing the road to the little food shack?



We also enjoyed a quick dip of our feet into the nearby stream.



So other than all the frickin' bees, it was a pleasant outing.

McKenna keeps on Dancin'

When McKenna finished dance last spring, we decided to give her a break from dance and try something new. She really liked the idea of giving gymnastics a try. However, after looking into prices, we decided that McKenna wouldn't fall off the social ladder if we kept her out of lessons for a year. Finances are just too tight right now. So when McKenna's dance teacher, Miss Kimberly, called earlier in the month to see if she would be seeing McKenna in her class again this year, we sadly had to tell her we just couldn't afford it this time. Miss Kimberly was disappointed, but understood. A few days later, we received another call from Miss Kimberly, letting us know that she spoke with the director about how much she liked McKenna, that she was sad to see her go, and that our financial situation wasn't great. In the end, McKenna was offered a full "scholarship" and is able to continue dance this year, with all costs covered! We were thrilled and flattered and McKenna is back to dancin'! She started up on Tuesday and is cute as can be, as usual. This is her dancing in socks, since I'm a bit scatter-brained and completely forgot her tap and ballet shoes. I love watching all those sweet girls trying their hardest to get the dance moves just right.

And for our final story...

The Plague Spreads...

While Mathew and Nathaniel finally seemed to pull out of being sick, Mathew oh-so-kindly passed the most miserable infection onto Brandon and I--the dreaded pink eye. I have never in my life experienced this horrible, horrible illness. Brandon went in to see the doctor who thankfully just told him to share his eye drops with me, saving us another $20 co-payment. Can I just say...I hate eye drops! They are nasty little drops of evil. I am somewhat convinced that the pharmacist gave us a bottle of pure acid, just to be funny. So this week we have once again been quarantined to avoid passing this miserable experience onto other unfortunate folk. Brandon and I are a sight to see. We both look like we haven't slept in weeks, having been crying for hours, and are high on a number of drugs. I have been having morbid fantasies about clawing my eyes out, giving them a good itch, soaking them in lotion, and popping them back in. Pink eye is evil, and if any of you ever get it...well, you'd better stay far, FAR away from me. Because if it's ever passed onto me again and I know the culprit, I will not be responsible for whatever wicked thing I may do to get back at you.

We have a bit of fun planned for Labor Day and I'm hoping we'll all be well enough to actually experience that fun.

That wraps up our week in review. Join us again next time!

ABC Tag

Here I go again, droning on and on about myself. I just can't help it if people find me so taggable! ;o) For those of you who choose to continue...enjoy!

A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached, of course!
B. BEST FRIEND? Katie and my sister, D'Ann
C. CAKE OR PIE? Cake...but only if it's gooey chocolate cake. Hot razzleberry pie with lots of vanilla ice cream will beat out any other kind of cake.
D. DAY OF THE WEEK? That depends on what I have going on. If Brandon is on one of his "let's spend our entire Saturday cleaning" kicks, then Mondays beat out Saturday. Monday, because I get yummy Mexican food with my sister.
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Lysol wipes. I use them everywhere for everything.
F. FAVORITE COLOR? I don't really have one. It all depends on my mood and what the color is being used for.
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Hmm...probably gummy bears
H. HOMETOWN? West Jordan, UT, as it still is. I'll probably live here forever.
I. INDULGENCE? Peanut butter cup ice cream mixed with milk
J. JANUARY OR JULY? July, by a long shot
K. KIDS? McKenna, Mathew, and Nathaniel
L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? Other than the obvious answers...(my family, gospel, etc) A good book
M. MARRIAGE DATE? March 11, 2000
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? I have 1 brother, 1 sister, 2 half-sisters, and 3 half-brothers.
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Apples
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Having something horrible happen to someone I love (especially my kids). And I'm quite terrified of spiders and swimming in large bodies of water.
Q. QUOTE? "Anything in this world that's worth having doesn't come easy"
R. REASON TO SMILE? Listening to my kids giggle and listening to the sound of a rainstorm.
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMEN? Superman, Wonder Woman's outfit is too revealing
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE? Whoever, wants, to, do, it
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? Whenever I see an individual word, like on a sign, I always read it and then automatically read it again backwards. I have no idea why I do it, it's just some weird quirk I've had for as long as I can remember.
V. VEGETABLES? Zucchini and Squash
W. WORST HABIT? Though I'm ashamed to admit it, I'm a total slob
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? In my memory, I've only ever had an ultrasound
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican food, of course
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Aquarius

Sick

What a rotten week. Seriously. Last weekend started out with a bang when both of my boys woke up with fevers and the gooey noses only a mother could love. So there went any fun weekend plans we had (and believe it or not, we actually DID have fun weekend plans...sorry Poulsons.) When Monday hit and the fevers still didn't let up, I made the inevitable call to the doctor's office. Unfortunately, my kids' usual doctor (who I absolutely love and adore) was all booked up that day and we were referred to the nurse practitioner, who, quite frankly, sucked rocks in comparison. After looking the boys over and making very few observations, I was handed a prescription for Mathew's ear infection, told Nathaniel just had a cold, and was left alone realizing I just spent $40 in co-pays for 5 minutes of examinations and a little piece of paper. Fabulous. So here I am, 4 days later and things are feel like they're just getting progressively worse. Mathew's fever hovers around 103 (reaching a high of 104.4 the night before last - but still not beating the record of 107.6 that took us to Primary Children's last year) and his right eye has become bright red and almost swollen shut, for who knows what reason.
This picture you see of Nathaniel is all I've been seeing (and hearing) for the last 5 days. In true male fashion, Nathaniel has been crying almost non-stop since the moment he got sick. I felt so bad for him for the first few days, but now I just wish he could understand me when I say, "You just have a case of the sniffles...get over it!" Really I go back and forth between sympathy and frustration. With a sweet face like this, the sympathy wins out most often. Mathew actually hasn't been too bad, other than the fact that he wants me to cuddle with him all day. I love to cuddle with my guy, but it becomes a bit uncomfortable cuddling with a space heater in the middle of summer. Oh...listen to me whine and whine. It's really not so bad. It's just hard to keep a sunny attitude when you haven't left the house all week and your background noise is the constant screaming of an 8-month-old. Isn't one of the joys of summer supposed to be not worrying about fevers, coughing, and snotty noses? Well, I really do hope that everyone else is enjoying good health and the last days of summer for us.

A Day at the Pool

Today I made a bold move and ventured out into public wearing a swimsuit. It was a little scary, but I'm pretty sure all of the unfortunate witnesses were able to keep their lunch down. Oh, I'm kidding. I saw at least two other people at the pool that looked worse than I did, and that's all that matters, right?
I was joined at the rec center pool with my good friend Brianne and her two fun kids. Bri didn't help my "I can't believe I'm wearing a swimsuit in public" complex much; since she looked smashing, all tan and stylish, even while being several months pregnant. Ah well, what can you do?

We all had bunches of fun. I discovered that I have a water baby. I'm not sure I've ever seen Nathaniel so happy. All the kids had a blast and gave award-winning "ah...MAN!"s when it was time to pack up and go home. We decided it was time to leave when I realized Nathaniel had played himself into a sleep-coma. He started shivering a bit and I cuddled him close to warm him up. Seriously about 10 seconds later he was out cold. Poor little guy. But enough boring chatter and onto the few pictures I took.

Pictured below: Chase and Mathew stealing my chair to warm up, Sydney and McKenna taking the few seconds they were willing to spare to pose for a picture, Nathaniel chillin' in the shade, and Bri looking gorgeous, with me wearing one of my huge, dorky grins.



After our fun 3 hours of swimming, we all went home for quick showers, wardrobe changes, and collecting of husbands; then met up at Cafe Rio for a perfect end to our day.

Quick subject change...
Nathaniel has reached the point in his development where he can stand while holding onto a sturdy object. The other night I stood him on this horrible, orange barrel chair that has been passed on in Brandon's family for generations (we're hoping to get it re-upholstered someday.) We were waiting for daddy to come home and he was so cute standing there by the window, that I, of course, had to take several pictures like the cliche mother that I am.



Not to be left out of picture-taking fun, McKenna and Mathew insisted on being featured in several more shots. I think they struggle sometimes with how often the camera is focused on little Nater. What can I say? Babies grow so quickly in the first year that you have to capture as many moments as you can.

Boy Crazy

I don't know what to do with my daughter. Everyday she comes home from school with a new crush. I bought her a notebook for school and page after page is filled with little hearts, names, initials, declarations of love...seriously, we have a problem. I've also discovered that everyday at recces she apparently chases boys (and yes, you're right Brandi - Boston is her favorite target.) I honestly believe that McKenna is totally crushing on any boy who so much as glances in her direction. I've gone from, "Oh, cute! McKenna has a crush!" to "Oh, dear. McKenna has another crush." I guess it's pretty funny, I just can't help being overcome by this horrible feeling that my daughter is growing up way too fast now that she's in school. Soon she's going to stop acknowledging me as her mother. I was going to scan a few of her little "love" notes for everyone to laugh at, but I felt like that may be crossing the embarrassment line for my poor girl.

I wish I had more to add to that, but life has been unbelievably monotonous. You know, full of all kinds of exciting things like dishes, vacuuming, picking up toys, and yard work. Oh! I do have a working oven/stove again. Brandon worked on it all day, determined to figure out how to do it himself without any help. So we've actually been eating home-cooked meals again, and between that and walking McKenna to school everyday, I've actually lost 3 pounds. Whoo Hoo! Alright, that little "whoo hoo" just used up all the excitement I've allotted for today. I'm off to bury myself in more super awesome housework. Being a stay-at-home mom is so FUN sometimes!

Girl's Night Out

Hurray!! Brandon is officially done with this semester. Let the games begin! The minute he walked in the door from his last final, we took off to have lunch with his mom and sister, Aleisha. Aleisha is off to the MTC today to prepare for her mission in Canada. Best of luck to her! I know she'll be an amazing missionary who'll touch many lives with her fun personality.

True to my word, a few short hours later I left my poor, burned-out husband with the kids while I had a night out on the town with the girls! Brandon's such a trooper. And I'm so glad he is, because I seriously had one of the absolute FUNNEST nights I have had in years. I had the amazing opportunity to have dinner with every one of the girls who worked as a Lagoon Ride Office Supervisor with me in the summer of 1998. Heaven only knows how we all managed to be free on the same night with practically no notice. It was the first time we've all been together in over 6 years. We all met at our former Office Mama, Kileen's restaurant - The Bayou. If you haven't been, you should. Seriously the yummiest food. And considering it's not Mexican food, it's a high compliment for me to say so. My best friend Katie and I walked into the restaurant to see the rest of the girls sitting there and it took all my willpower to not squeal like an annoying teenage girl. Actually, I think I may have squealed...just a little. We hung out long after our meals were finished and talked, laughed, and gossiped about everything from the good ol' days up to our crazy lives now. One of the stories from the good ol' days? Well, since you asked...let's just say a picture is worth a thousand words. And I have lots of pictures...



Pictured above and below are: Scary (Jamie) Spice, Posh (Katie) Spice, Sporty (Kim) Spice, Ginger (Kirsty) Spice, and Baby (Sheri) Spice.



You see, for the Lagoon Lip Sync Contest that year, we decided to be The Spice Girls and we ROCKED! We had choreography and everything. I've said it before and I'll say it again - this has got to be one of the dorkiest pictures of me in existence. I remember just wanting to put my own blond hair in ponytails, but the other girls insisted I wear this horrible wig that kept falling off. Everyone else looked AWESOME. Good times.

I guess we all eventually had to grow up a little, but we look just the same...minus the bad wigs and skanky apparel.



After dinner, Katie, Jamie, and I headed for the movies. For in my eyes, no girls' night is complete without seeing a chick flick. We saw "Mamma Mia" which was such a fun movie! I'm sure I was highly annoying throughout; dancing in my seat and singing along to the music, but I don't care. I loved every minute of it. I can't believe how much all the fun Abba songs took me back to road trips with my family, being a geek at high school dances, and rocking out in the basement of the ride office at Lagoon. I felt like a teenager again. Needless to say it's a feeling I'd like to hold onto a bit, so I'll be heading out at some point today to snatch up the soundtrack.

A big thanks to Kileen, Jamie, Kim, Kirsty, and Katie for such a fun night! I can't wait until we do it again...and we WILL do it again.

Preschool Days

So as if McKenna starting 1st grade last week wasn't a big enough blow to my "getting older" complex, I had to face Mathew starting preschool this week. I know that a lot of parents view their children as always being their babies, but in my mind, Mathew truly is my baby - which might have something to do with the fact that he really does still act like a baby. Whereas McKenna has always been older than her years, so I've never struggled with her starting school the way I am with him. I can hardly believe I now have two kids in school. I swear I can feel myself getting older by the minute (huh, I guess that was a dumb thing to say...since I technically am getting older by the minute, but you know what I mean.)

So here's my big boy on his first day of school. Hopefully the first of many first days at school.



I don't know what sort of weird picture-taking-sun-aversion my kids have. They're fine to laugh and play outside without a single thought to how bright it is; yet the second you ask them to smile for a camera, suddenly the sun is scorching their eyes. Though Mathew's unsuccessful pictures aren't nearly as entertaining as McKenna's were, I thought they were fun enough to share.



I enjoyed my little two hours of just Nathaniel and I. He took a nice nap and I spent the time being very productive...in perfecting my own napping skills. Mathew loved his first day at school and announced loudly to me as soon as I walked in to pick him up, "Mommy, I like my teacher!" Which is a MASSIVE compliment to her for two reasons: Mathew only ever says, "I like you" to Nathaniel, McKenna, and I. And for the most part Mathew only ever talks to or in front of Nathaniel, McKenna, and I. He's not big on spoken communication. He really must indeed like his teacher a lot. I'm honestly just happy he's found something he's willing to do without me there.

I'm currently in the process of trying to figure out a way to keep Nathaniel a baby forever, I'll let you know how this turns out.

It's that time again...

My practically non-existent husband is currently at the table studying for finals. In exactly 4 days, we will be getting a much needed break from school. Two blissful weeks that will pass by faster than it seems would be possible. Our to-do list for this two weeks is already overflowing and I'm estimating we'll accomplish about 2-3 things on it. The rest of the time will be spent taking lazy naps on the couch and kicking ourselves later for our lack of productivity...just like last time. But regardless, here are a few things I'm looking forward to during the break:

Getting my oven/stove fixed. Yes, you read that right. My post from about...oh, 500 years ago when I said my stove wasn't working - yeah, it's still not. I have gained 5 pounds last month from eating out everyday, and please don't ask how much money we have in the bank.

My lawn being mowed. Brandon hasn't had the time to mow it and sorry, I don't mow lawns. I'm rather scared of the lawn mower. As Brandon's dad said this morning, "You could lose a herd of cattle in your front lawn."

Rolling over in bed at 3 am and actually seeing my sleeping husband next to me.

Going to Lagoon! I haven't been in years and Brandon swore we'd go in between semesters.

Having my house thoroughly clean. I take a hit on my pride on this one. Sadly I am apparently incapable of keeping an immaculate house without my husband's help.

A paycheck from Brandon's employer that is more than $500 (that's for two weeks). I bet you all think I'm exaggerating on that one....I'm not.

This one's private. Let's move on.

Having a girl's night!! Oh, how I need it. And my first one is about 3 hours after Brandon's last final. I'm not about to waste any time.

Having help with the kids. Allow me to take this moment to give a big "YOU ROCK!" to all you single parents out there. It is not easy to raise my kiddos with help from my spouse, and near impossible to do alone.

Movie night replacing "I have to study" night. Before this nursing school business, Brandon and I would usually have one night a week where we'd watch a movie and eat microwave popcorn after the kids go to bed. We just have to make sure we dispose of the evidence before going to bed ourselves, or we receive a harsh lecture from McKenna the next morning about how rude it is to eat late night popcorn without her.

Overall, I'm just looking forward to having my hubby back for a splendid two weeks. Now I just have to explain to my kids that this goofy lookin' guy who will be hanging around us for awhile is their father... (to be fair, I'm obviously joking. Brandon is a great dad and husband, even when he's immersed in his studies).

Back to School

It's the day we've all been waiting for (and by "we", I mean McKenna and I). McKenna is off at her first day of 1st grade. I was awakened at 6:30 this morning to the sound of her ripping tags off her new clothes, anxious to get ready. I had to tell her that she still had 2 hours until school started and that she should really go back to bed. When those 2 hours passed, McKenna, Mathew, Nathaniel and I set off to walk to our brand new elementary school. Upon arriving in the school yard, McKenna immediately took off to take her place in her class line without saying goodbye, or even giving me a last look. I'm thinking she wasn't at all apprehensive about her first day.
So today's been nice. I met Brandon for lunch, who ironically had his last day of class for the semester today. We enjoyed a yummy lunch at Carls Jr and Mathew refused to play in the playland until other children arrived to keep him company. Mathew doesn't seem to know what to do with himself without McKenna around. He's taken to following me around all day which is getting old really fast. Thank heavens he starts preschool next week.

In honor of McKenna's first day of ALL day school, I thought I'd post some progressive pictures.

First Day of Preschool - August 2006

First Day of Kindergarten - July 2007

First Day of 1st Grade - July 2008

I can hardly believe how much she's grown. Especially since last year. Maybe it's the missing teeth, but she looks so much older.

She was really funny while I was trying to take her picture this morning. It was really bright outside and I guess for that reason she couldn't bear to look at the camera, even though the sun was mostly behind her. Here's a few funny pictures of her unsuccessfully trying to smile for the camera.



During the course of me creating this post, it was time to walk down and pick McKenna up. I was almost a little lonely not having her here and was kind of looking forward to seeing her and finding out how her first day of school went. When she walked out the doors, she ran straight for me. While she was running I thought Oh, how sweet. She's so excited to see me! But alas, the first words out of her mouth were, "Mom, can I go play at Sydney's?" Apparently she really missed me. Oh well. I was a mean mom and told her no. So instead she's at home sulking a little because as soon as I'm done on here we're going to clean up. Bundles of fun always waiting for her at home!

Summer Lovin' - The Rain

One of my favorite things about summer is the RAIN. Oh, how I LOVE the rain. I always love the rain, but in summer it's extra fun because you can go outside and play in it without freezing to death. We got a great rainstorm this last week. It really hit hard right as the kids and I were pulling into the garage after meeting Brandon for lunch. So naturally we ran out to play and got soaked in a matter of minutes. I, of course, pulled out my camera to capture the fun experience.

I was so busy taking pictures, that I didn't notice when the rain shifted and began pounding poor Nathaniel who, up until that point, had been fascinated watching the rain from the safety of the garage. I looked down to see him flailing and sputtering, helplessly strapped in his car seat. Poor little guy. The first few pictures in the collage are him safely enjoying the view, the last one is how soaked his poor face was after I saved him from the downpour.



Here's Mathew, who's favorite part of the rainstorm was getting to use the umbrella.



And finally McKenna. She had a lot of fun running around with our little next-door neighbor, Lily, who joined us in our rain dance.



I can hear thunder outside right now and I can only hope for another storm.

Mother of the Year

I try hard to be a good mom, I really do. But I'm here to say that it is most definitely not always easy. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has bad days. You know, the ones that make you feel extra guilty when you get those emails about how we seem to always speak nicer to strangers than we do to our loved ones.

The other day, McKenna was driving me NUTS! I guess it's just the boredom of summer and the fact that I can't take them somewhere new and exciting every second of the day. She was fighting with her brother non-stop and being such a sass. I thought kids didn't learn to talk back like that for at least another 3 years. So I (being the wonderful mother that I am) snapped like a twig and basically chastised her the whole day long and maybe day-dreamed a little about how nice it will be when she goes back to school next week.

The next day I was in her room changing sheets (yes, I do manage to do some housework most days) when I saw this little note on her "desk" (which is really just one of those plastic bins full of her drawings)



Now someone tell me this note does not say what I think it does. Because I could swear it says: "My mom doesn't care about me"

How sad is this?? I'm such a great mom, that my daughter thinks I don't care about her. I seriously wanted to cry......ok fine, I DID cry. I showed it to Brandon later and he told me McKenna is just being dramatic and not to worry about it. I know he's right, but it still makes me sad. McKenna is officially getting old enough to start hating her parents. *sigh*

I decided not to talk to her about it because I started feeling a little guilty. I think this is an early version of me reading her diary and I think she might be embarrassed if she knew I saw it -- let alone published it on the web for all the world to see. My mothering brownie points just keep racking up! I might as well start saving up for her therapy now.

Happy 33!

I'm here today to wish my most fabulous husband a Happy 33rd Birthday!! Brandon and I have been...well, let's just say not very rich for pretty much our entire marriage. Because of this, neither of us is very big on getting gifts for each other on all the various holidays (except Christmas when I'm a spoiled brat, but that's a story for another time). So when Brandon turned 30, I wanted to do something special for him and came up with the idea of leaving 30 little notes around the house, each listing a reason I loved him. So in honor of his 33rd birthday, I choose to be completely unoriginal and copy my once brilliant idea. Except this time I choose to share these 33 reasons of love with the massive viewers of my blog (that's right - all 5 of you!) This post is uber-long. If you choose to continue reading, I hope you have a good chunk of time to devote. I'll do my best to keep it interesting.


33 Reasons Why I Love My Husband:


1. Brandon is the most painfully honest person I've ever met. It was the main characteristic that attracted me to him. After years dating and always wondering, "Does he like me? What does he want out of this? Is he dating other people? Should I?" it was so refreshing to have someone sit me down, spell out his feelings and intentions so I could understand, and never leave me guessing and dissecting his every little statement and action. I'm not saying his honesty is always a good thing...if I ask him if an outfit looks good on me, he's not going to give the standard "EVERYTHING looks good on YOU honey", I'm going to get the truth. But I still love his honesty and am grateful for it, even when it bruises my ego.

2. I love that Brandon has GOALS. Goals upon goals. Some of them are unrealized, but he never stops dreaming, and he never stops trying.

3. I love that Brandon is always encouraging in MY goals. Really this is a love/hate reason. Sometimes, like when I've decided I simply must eat and drink my weight in fried foods and Coke, I don't want to be reminded that I have goals to attain that won't be helped by this addictive behavior and I'm bugged at him for invoking the guilt. But he knows my potential and he won't let me simply give up. The happy, ambitious girl in me LOVES this about him. The depressed, lazy girl want to tell him to go to....well, you get it.

4. I love that Brandon works so hard at a job he doesn't always love and tries his hardest in school for a career he's not always sure he wants. He does this even when I know sometimes he'd love to quit it all and become some sort of a contractor. And he does it because he really doesn't want to negotiate child support.

5. I love that Brandon has his list of things that he loves to do without me. Such as boating, mountain biking, and basketball. This is a true sign that we have been married for more than 2 years. This would have been listed on the things I hate if you had asked me in our months of dating and early years of marriage. But now I enjoy the time to myself and I love that he comes home happy and will occasionally even miss me while he's gone.

6. In turn, I love that he knows just when I'm about to be worthy of being committed and will let me take off to enjoy time to myself. Or that I can plan a girls night for whenever and know that he will enjoy his alone time with the kids, and not complain at me for leaving him for a few hours.

7. Confession time: I am a CRYER! I cry for every emotion. When I'm frustrated, sad, tired, angry, happy, overwhelmed, stressed-out, scared - you name it, I'll cry for it. I love that my tears always make Brandon sympathetic. You'd think after years of watching me cry at the drop of a hat he'd start rolling his eyes or make sarcastic remarks, but he really doesn't. He still wants to give me loves and make it all go away. And in turn, I never use my tears to try to win arguments (even though I know I could easily do this because it would work).

8. I love that whenever I'm laying by Brandon on the couch or in bed and he's awake watching TV, studying, or reading a book; he'll start (almost unconsciously) running his fingers through my hair or rubbing my back. It still gives me the chills and then relaxes me into the most tranquil stages of sleep.

9. **Caution: This next reason is a bit disgusting. You might want to skip to the next one if you have a weak stomach.**
So I'm human and I lose hair like any normal person, especially soon after having a baby. There have been a few times that I've gotten into the shower to see a few of my loose hairs (from my HEAD, mind you) spelling out the words "I Love U" on the shower wall. Simple really, but I think it is the most romantic thing in the world. Only Brandon would take my nasty old hair and turn it into a love note.

10. Speaking of bathrooms, I absolutely LOVE that Brandon cleans my bathrooms. Yes, you heard right. In all my days of marriage, I can count on one hand the amount of times I have had to clean a bathroom. Brandon knows how much I despise cleaning bathrooms and does it for me. (Sorry, you can't have him, he's mine). He also mops floors, since my skills for this chore leave much to be desired.

11. I love how great Brandon is with the kids. I've mentioned this before, but I suck at being a fun mom. I'm easily annoyed by the sense of humor children seem to possess and I quickly lose patience while trying to play all their dumb little games. Brandon is so great at it. He will chase, tackle, and tickle them until he's overtaken by pure exhaustion. He will talk to them in funny voices and listen to their endless (and frequently repeated) knock-knock jokes - most of which don't make any sense whatsoever. I'm lucky my kids have him or they'd be mighty bored.

12. I love that Brandon lets me spend what little money we have on all the things I'm sure are going to make me lose weight. I have wasted money on gym memberships, books, DVDs, weight loss programs and vitamins; as if owning all these things will magically make me lose my baby weight, even when I don't actually use them. Again, he's always willing to support me in my goals and if it means spending money we don't have...as long as it makes me happy and keeps me motivated.

13. In our years of marriage, I've always been the one who takes care of the finances. I love that Brandon never questions my ability to handle them correctly and he's always complimenting me for doing it well. His trust means so much to me.

14. I love that it's always Brandon who reminds me to kneel down and say prayers with the kids. Sometimes I am SO ready to be done for the day and I can't wait to get the little munchkins in bed. I shamefully admit I'll try to skip it sometimes out of pure exhaustion, but he'll never let me. What a great example he is setting for our children.

15. I love that he is always ready with a compliment for me just when I need it the most. And because he never lies to me, I always know he's sincere.

16. Do you ever get in big fat arguments with your spouse and then you both utilize the silent treatment to its fullest degree until one of you admits they were wrong? I don't. Seriously. Sometimes I'd like to, but Brandon is the King of Communication. We never have an argument that isn't resolved within an hour or two because he simply will not let it go until we both feel validated and understood. Sure it will sometimes drive me nuts, but for the most part I'm so grateful that we don't waste hours or even days being mad over something that doesn't matter.

17. I love that in 8 years of marriage, Brandon has never once raised his voice to me. He gets frustrated and he argues, but he never yells. I'm incredibly sensitive and know I would not respond well to yelling. The Lord really listened to my prayers when sending this wonderfully mellow man in my direction.

18. Hugs, hugs, hugs. They are the best thing in the whole world. And Brandon will drop everything to give me the best hugs when I need them the most. And he'll never let go until I'm ready to let go, which sometimes takes awhile.

19. I love that Brandon is so considerate of other people's feelings. He cares so much how other people feel and whether or not he's done anything to offend them. He can't bear the thought of there being someone out there who doesn't like him.

20. I love him because he's soooooo GOODLOOKIN'!

21. I love that he is so amazingly patient with me. I am the exact opposite of what a homemaker should be. I suck at decorating, I don't like to cook or bake, I'm awful at keeping the house clean....really I have no domestic qualities to speak of. But he loves me all the same and doesn't belittle me for my lack of Betty Crockerish qualities.

22. I love that he is ok with us getting a pizza or grabbing fast food or takeout when I've had a bad day and really don't want to cook. Which honestly happens WAY too often.

23. I love that we can still talk and talk for hours and never run out of subject matter.

24. I love that Brandon doesn't mind chick flicks and that he's always willing to watch a movie with me, no matter how unmanly it may seem.

25. I love how Brandon takes pride in making our yard look nice. If it were up to me, our yard would likely be overrun with unruly weeds and be covered with the tumbleweeds that always seem to be hanging around. Yes, it's true - my lack of domestic abilities extends to the outside of my house as well. Actually, if it were up to me, we would live in a small but fancy townhouse where there is no need to worry about yard work.

26. I love the way he's always trying to make me laugh, though there are times I am grumpy enough to want to punch him in the nose for it.

27. I love that he'll give up doing much funner things to help me clean the house when it becomes too much for me to handle alone.

28. I love that even though Brandon treasures his weekend sleeping time (since he gets so little of it during the week) he's still willing to get up with Nathaniel at least once so that I can experience an occasional full night's rest myself.

29. I love watching Brandon with Nathaniel. Though he loves all our kids and is so great with each of them, I can tell he's truly enjoying Nathaniel and every moment of his infancy. There is never a moment when Brandon doesn't want him around.

30. I love when Brandon comes to the gym with me. He almost always lets me pick what we're going to do and then follows my lead. It makes me feel like he trusts me and like I actually might know what I'm doing.

31. I love that when Brandon's bored, he loves to call and just chat with me. Though I'm not really a phone person and don't exactly love to talk on the phone, I love that he loves to talk me just the same. I'm sure there's a lot more interesting people on his contact list, but for some reason his picks me almost every time.

32. I love how affectionate he is. In church, when most couples are sitting apart to help keep their kids in check, Brandon always insists on sitting right next to me. He still holds my hand in public, sits me on his lap even though I weigh nearly as much as he does, he wants to cuddle when we're hanging out, and just generally enjoys having me near him. There are times I feel so very unattractive, both in looks and personality. But somehow he still wants me close by, despite all the little ways I may have changed for the worse.

33. Overall, I simply love Brandon for being Brandon. And I love that he loves me for being me.

Happy Birthday Baby! Thanks for choosing me to share your life, your eternity, and most importantly - yourSELF. I love you bunches!

TOOFless - and other McKenna stories

Just looking at this picture makes me realize I'm older than I seem to think I am. My little girl looks so big with her two front teeth missing. I apologize for the somewhat poor quality of the picture. This is what my camera has been doing lately. All of my pictures have a bit of a hazy look to them. Totally annoying, especially since my camera is only a couple months old. It's not exactly a top-of-the-line model, but I would think it would last longer than 2 months. Whatever. I'm one of those people who chooses to live in denial and hope their problems will just fix themselves. This, however, isn't working for my stove which has been broken for almost 2 weeks now and for some reason is still broken every time I check it. I really do keep waiting for it to magically work again of it's own accord. Brandon finally (after being sick to death of me using the "the stove still doesn't work, I can't cook tonight!" excuse) called to set up an appointment to get it looked at yesterday. They can't come out until Monday, so dangit if I still can't cook until then. (Please don't mention that I could still use my crock pot or barbecue or something like that - just let me enjoy this).

So I'm thinking I may eventually have to get my camera fixed too. I despise trying to find out whether or not something is still covered by warranty, since I always toss the little booklets aside that come with my electronics, assuming I'll never have a problem.

Anyway, I've gotten way off topic with my little rant. The whole reason I started this post was to talk about McKenna. It's been awhile, I figure she deserves some more blog time. Despite all my efforts to keep her young, my not-so-little-anymore McKenna keeps growing up. If you can believe it (because I can't) she starts 1st grade in less than 2 weeks. I'm realizing that all my summer fun ideas are going right down the drain now that we have so little time left. Not only is she growing up by losing teeth and starting all day school, but she is starting to talk to me about all kinds of interesting ideas. Today we had the following conversation:

McKenna: "I hope we have an earthquake soon. Wouldn't an earthquake be fun?"

Me: "No sweetie, an earthquake would be really scary!"

McKenna: "Why?"

Me: "Because our house could fall down. And lots of other buildings. And a lot of people could get really hurt."

McKenna: "Oh."

Then after a quiet thoughtful pause...

McKenna: "I just think an earthquake would be neat because after a big earthquake and a lot of fires, Jesus will come down from the sky (lo and behold, my child does pay attention in Primary) and so will all my great-great-great grandmas. And lots of people who have died, even if they were really young."

It's so interesting to get this glimpse into young children's minds sometimes. Unlike myself who, after learning of the 2nd coming of Jesus, had nightmares of being left on the ground to burn while all the righteous people were lifted into the sky (all the while frantically trying to grab hold of their ankles) my daughter finds this whole thing "neat" and can't wait for it to happen. How I wish I had her attitude, faith, and innocence.

Another funny McKenna story for you...earlier in the week, after our little family had a long day, we laid Nathaniel down for a nap, and then we all settled down for naps of our own. McKenna apparently didn't sleep long. Brandon, Mathew, and I all woke up to find ourselves decorated in princess accessories and dresses with the following note laying next to us.



For those of you who can't understand what the note says (it should be all of you, since it took me a few minutes and a few helpful suggestions from McKenna to figure it out myself) the note reads:

"I am sorry for doing this princess thing, but it was funny."

While her inventive spelling is no where near accurate, I don't think it's too bad for a 6-year-old. I especially like her misunderstanding of periods, thinking that they need to go in between each individual word. The entertainment my kids provide easily beat out lame daytime television, no contest.

Fun at DDD Ranch

What a day!! We have been going and going all day long. I'm so seriously exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open. So why not hop on the computer and blog all about it instead of resting my eyes! Sounds like a splendid idea to me!

Brandon had his annual work party today at the DDD Ranch in Herriman. Fun for all, including events such as hayrides, face-painting, bounces houses, pony rides, petting zoos, swimming, prize drawings, games, and all the food you can stuff into your belly. Sounds fun, right? Eh, it was alright. It would have been a blast, I'm sure, had we arrived in time to do the majority of these activities. Unfortunately, between work and school, my poor husband works his freakin' can off all week long and doesn't get much sleep. So come weekend time, it can be near impossible to get him out of bed before 11:00. (On a side note, I actually got to sleep in until 7:30 this morning and was pleased as punch) Needless to say, since the party started at 10:00, we were a bit late, arriving at 12:30. We got there in time to each some lunch, go on a quick hayride, sit around for an HOUR AND A HALF listening as everyone but Brandon won prizes, and then scramble to do whatever was left standing before the party came to a close. The only thing we managed was the bounce houses and a few minutes on the swing sets. Whoo Hoo! The kids were sorely disappointed to miss out on the pony rides especially. Our poor kids. Brandon swears next year he'll haul his sleep-deprived backside out of bed in time for the kids to enjoy it a little more. And now for the best part, like always....pictures!






Only moments after arriving home after the fun (well, most boring) party, we had to perform a quick change of attire and head out for my niece's wedding. I think I'll have to post more on that later. For some reason, my camera was on the fritz and all my pictures from the wedding came out blurry. So the remainder of our day is to be continued until I can steal my mom's photo card with all her non-blurry photos. Now I'm off to drag my kids in the house and put them to bed, so I can get some much needed down time.

Disney Days

If you are an avid listener of Radio Disney and live in the Salt Lake area, you may have heard about their sponsored Disney Days at the Gallivan Center this last week. I try to avoid Radio Disney as much as I can (though McKenna does drive me to the edge of insanity with her begging and I'll occasionally cave and let her listen to it during some of our shorter drives) so I did not hear about this myself. Luckily my fabulous sister-in-law, Vicki, knows that we are dirt poor and looking for some free summer fun, so she graciously invited me to join her for this afternoon of Disney excitement. We choose the more adventurous travel approach by deciding to take Trax into Salt Lake and the kids were so excited, as was I, since it meant I wouldn't have to drive. I made the horrible mistake of deciding to take my ginormous jogging-type stroller for Nathaniel and about had a heart-attack when I found I couldn't fit the back tires through the doors with the bar in the center. The little warning alarm was sounding and the doors were trying to close, my other two kids were already on the train and I was in a panic because I was completely stuck. Luckily a nice man (who must've had some sort of engineer-type training) helped maneuver my stroller inside just in the nic of time. Yikes. I made sure my stroller was nicely collapsed before attempting my exit.

Well, unfortunately that was the most exciting part of the day, but I do have cute pictures of the rest! Other than my near heart-attack, the day was a lot of fun (if not dreadfully hot). The Gallivan Center was uber-crowded and the lines for all the activities were crazy, but the kids had a blast. One of the first stops was to check out the Salt Lake Fire Department truck where the more daring kids (certainly not mine) were instantly soaked with the fire hoses. The slightly less daring kids (only one of mine) chose to cool off in this fun water feature.



That's Mathew and Jake getting soaked.

This is Mathew's reaction to getting soaked.



As soon as he got this wet, he immediately started crying and saying he wanted to go home. My son's a bit of a wimp, but not as much of a wimp as McKenna who refused to get wet at all. (I suppose I should include myself in the wimp category, since I wouldn't get wet either...but I'm not a kid. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.)

McKenna and Megan chose to participate in some of the more girly activities, such as getting their picture taken with a REAL...LIVE......cut-out of Snow White. Radio Disney spared no expense in creating the magic for all the princess lovers out there.



They, of course, had a fun little bounce house. The kids stood in line for about 15 minutes to jump in the bounce house for a rockin' 2 minutes.



And of course, what event is complete without a pinata! My nephew, Travis, went crazy on the poor thing and then turned to attack the poor kids waiting in line. Luckily he only managed to hit the fence around the hitting zone before realizing his mistake. Here's a funny picture (to me anyway) of him once he realized he had hit something other than the pinata. He told me later he thought he'd hit a person.



McKenna and Mathew each taking a whack!





And how was Nathaniel enjoying our day out??



Well, let's just say he wasn't. But it was a problem easily remedied.



After the Disney fun started winding down (aka it became WAY too hot to possibly find any outdoor activity enjoyable) we headed over to the ZCMI Center food court to meet my brother, Lynn, for lunch. How on earth kids can love McDonalds so much, I'll never understand. But here they are, thoroughly enjoying lunch.



After lunch, we took a walk over to Main Street Plaza (I think that's what it's called...??) so Lynn could gather his work things to journey home with us. The kids ran and ran around the huge fountain and I got a little picture happy with the beautiful view of the Salt Lake Temple.





And I must include a picture of my adorable nephew, Ben. Have you ever seen a cuter little tyke sporting glasses? I giggle everytime I look at him.



Traveling home wasn't nearly as eventful, once I was informed that if I just use the doors designed for people with bicycles, I wouldn't have to deal with the blasted center bar. We had a fun day. Thanks again Vicki for including me in your fun family plans!!

Remember Me?

So my friend Janet had this fun post on her blog, and I think it is a most fabulous idea. So please be a trooper and play along, it will make my day. May I introduce...

The Memory Game!

Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! If you don't have a blog and don't know how to sign in, please comment as anonymous.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you... either on your blog, in my comment box, or I will email you back!

(Sorry to totally c&p your description Janet, you just described it so wonderfully!)

I'm excited about this one and will be checking my computer like a mad woman, so don't leave me hangin'!

The Fun of Independence

I love the 4th of July. I really do. It's so much fun to gather with friends and/or family (and thousands of strangers) and take time to remember how lucky we are to enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted. This year we celebrated with our friends, the Packers, by attending all the Murray city fun. Apparently Kurt's family runs the Murray 5K every year, and since Amanda suffers from ouchy running knees (that's the proper medical term, right?) she always gets left in the dust because Kurt and his family all have the unnatural (and totally unfair) ability to run with ridiculous ease. So I was thrilled to join her in the non-competitive form of walking the 5K, while the babies enjoyed the ride in their strollers. We were the most awesome moms out there! We know that because all the lazy people sitting on the sidelines kept yelling "GO MOMS!" We were lightning quick and finished the race in 52 minutes and ahead of a whopping 5-6 people. I wish they would've given out a "longest time" award. We would've taken it home for our age group. In this case, I'm afraid slow and steady really doesn't win the race. But we had a great time. Here's Amanda and I nearing the finish line. Hot mamas comin' through!
**A big thanks to Kurt and Amanda for the use of their pictures, since Brandon didn't figure out how to use our camera properly until well after the race was over.





After Amanda and I finished our race with pride, the kids lined up for the Kids 1K Fun Run. Look how cute they are...







Minutes into the kids race, McKenna became overwhelmed and began to cry. She wasn't feeling well that morning, and I think all the kids flying past her left her self-esteem feeling a bit bruised (I understand sweetie!) So Brandon was a trooper and he carried her the remainder of the race. Mathew was awesome and ran his little heart out. Savannah (Kurt and Amanda's daughter) kicked butt, coming in 3rd place for her age group. And Owen wasn't far behind. I'm afraid my kids inherited my athletic ability (or lack thereof).

Here's a quick video of McKenna and Mathew (and Brandon) nearing the finish line. (Hopefully this video will actually work)



After all the races were complete, we all gathered to enjoy refreshments and our success, and of course pose for more pictures.





Here's my kids crowding in on the Packer cousin picture. They were all so proud showing off their shiny medals.



Once picture time was over, we stayed a little longer to watch the parade and then took off to enjoy a big breakfast at Village Inn. After breakfast, Brandon and I took the kids home for a few hours where we all enjoyed a big fat nap. I am thankful that I have been given the freedom to sleep when I want to (as long as the kids cooperate).

Feeling refreshed after a long nap (and a long shower for me), we headed out for greasy hamburgers and cheese fries at The Training Table. What's more American than burgers, cheese fries, and Coke? As the sun was getting ready to set, we met back up with the Packers and watched the Murray City fireworks from the comfort of their grandparent's lawn. I'm so glad we have nice friends with nice families who let us barge in on their plans.

During the fireworks, Mathew wanted to hold Nathaniel. Are these not the most precious pictures in the world?





The rest of the weekend was crazy busy and filled with even more great family, friends, and food. I love this country and I am so grateful for the freedoms I enjoy. I know I complain a lot about wanting this or that, but I seriously could not ask for more.

Baby Talk

This is the most fascinating story you'll ever hear (though I'm pretty sure he made most of it up)



**If for some reason the video isn't working for you, which seems to be happening about half the time, you can click here if you want to see it badly enough to watch it on the youtube website.