A Day of Rest - Or Not

Josh was a beast yesterday. After lunch, I put Josh down for a nap and then Andrew and I went to take a nap on my bed (it's the only way I can get Andrew to take a nap these days). Thankfully, there's one responsible person in this family - Randy stayed up and cleaned the kitchen. Andrew and I were deep in slumber when Josh - who should have been fast alseep in his bed, mind you -came waltzing into my room. Randy hurried in to get him out and closed the door. Well, Josh was having none of that and wouldn't relent until I got up and attended to his needs - which were to have some cuddle time. The rest of the day, he walked around either screaming (for not getting a sufficient nap) or cuddling with me. He's at that stage where he wants something, anything - but can't quite figure out what it is.

We've been working on American Sign Language with him. He's actually picking up on quite a few words - and he's so proud of himself. My favorite sign he does is "helicopter". Whenever the helicopters fly over our building (which is quite often considering the helipad is located just yards away), he'll wave his hand. We checked out a bunch of "Signing Time" videos from the library - I really like them - the only problem is that their songs are a bit too catchy and I find them in my head more often than I'd like!

My Boys

I sure do love these two....

At 18 months:
23.8 lbs - 22%
33.0 in. - 70%

Josh is my little trouble maker. His top agenda in the day is to wander aimlessly and get into anything he shouldn't. He's so dang cute, we can't even stand it.

At 4 years:
36.0 lbs - 51%
41.1 in - 68%

Andrew is our feisty one, but very quick to forgive and forget. It's fun (and sad) to watch him grow up before our eyes.

We had success with pictures this year. It has always been a painful process for us -but they were both cooperative and I had several good ones to choose from. The lady that took Josh's pictures got him to laugh every single time - it was so cute!

Mud + Boys = Trouble

Flashback Friday: Our Favorite Doctor

We had our last appointment with Dr. Allred this week--it was sad (we'll be switching to a different insurance company). Here are some of my favorite memories of him:

• Andrew was 3 months old and he wouldn't eat (had a stomach virus) and I was frustrated. I took him in and Dr. Allred said, "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, he's normal. The bad news is, he's normal."


• Andrew's weight was always super low, once it was in the 5th percenile, but Dr. Allred still told Andrew, "Way to grow!!"


• Just before leaving the office, he'd turn back and say to me, "You're doing a good job."


• When Josh was just a few days old, I brought him in for a checkup--Dr. Allred took Josh into his arms and said, "There's just something so special when they're this new."


• He always promptly returned my pages.


• He took me seriously and prescribed medications without having to, "wait and see."


• When Josh was colicky & refluxy, he gave me permission to let him scream so I could get some sleep; he was very understanding and empathetic during that time.


• One of his daughters used to suck her fingers like Andrew does. He said she was his smartest child.

He sure will be hard to replace. Know any good doctors under the University Health Care plan?

Camping is Fun

After our restful night away from the children, we decided to pack up the play yard, tent, foam mattresses, sleeping bags, many changes of clothing, and every other belonging we've ever owned into our car for an overnight camping trip with the boys. We went for a hike:

We even ran into a rattler; it was already dead.

Throwing rocks in the water is Josh's #1 favorite pasttime.

They loved the tent
Josh threw some pretty sweet tantrums. He also won the "Get the Dirtiest" contest.
We made Tin-Foil dinners, Andrew helped Dad with the fire.

The boys had fun drawing pictures with chalk:

All was going well until it was time to turn in. Now that I have a bit of hindsight, I believe Josh was trying to tell us, "Where the heck is my bed, and why aren't I in it?!!" Andrew had his own sleeping bag and Josh shared with me (he had his own bed as well, but I forgot to pack his bunting and I was afraid he'd be too cold), we slept for about 3 hours and then everything fell apart. Josh would scream, we'd calm him down, get him to go back to sleep, then Andrew took his turn, he said his feet hurt. We calmed Andrew down and got him to go back to sleep, then it was Josh's turn to wake up and scream. By 4:45 am, Randy and I'd had enough fun for one night, so we hauled the kids down the mountain so they could sleep at Grandma & Grandpa's. That wasn't even good enough for Josh, so he went back with Randy and I to break down camp. By 9 am, we were back in Salt Lake, where Josh could finally sleep in his own bed:

There's no place like home.

**Josh has this cute little habit that I hope he never breaks. Whenever anyone (even complete strangers) asks him a question, he nods his head yes. When we asked him if we could throw him in the creek, he nodded yes.

***I think the next time we get an inkling that we want to go camping, we'll go up for the hike, the Tin-Foil dinners & roasted marhmallows, then pack up our things and go home to sleep in our own beds.

Best. Gift. Ever.

Randy's aunt & uncle gave us a night's stay at the Zermatt resort in Midway as a graduation gift. Randy's parents watched the boys for us and we had such a relaxing time. Very much needed!

When we dropped the boys off, Josh went straight for Grandma's arms; when I went to give him a goodbye kiss, he pushed me away. I come second when Grandma is around.

Hide in the Sink

On our camping trip this weekend, Andrew was inside the tent while Josh was just outside of it. Andrew said, "Let's play hide-in-the-sink," and then proceeded to cover his eyes with his hands and counted to ten. Too cute.

Perfect Fit

Josh, where's your belly?

Where's you nose?

And if you ask him where his eyes, mouth, ears, etc. are, he'll still put his finger up his nose.

Me? A Homeschooler?

When Andrew was a little thing, I had a neighbor that lived across the hall. She had two kids and one on the way. That in and of itself was impressive to me, but she also homeschooled her oldest; she made me tired just thinking about it! From the very beginning of my motherhood career, I never once entertained the idea of homeschooling my children. In fact, I think I was actually looking forward to the days when all of my children were old enough to leave the nest and I could have the days to myself again!

As Andrew got older, I decided I wouldn't send him to preschool when he turned three because I didn't think it was necessary. But I FOR SURE would send him the year before he started kindergarten. I also didn't want to do an at-home-co-op with other moms because 1) it looked like a lot of work and 2) I'm not a huge fan of watching other people's kids. Let me explain that a bit, I like kids, I really do. Just not unruly kids that annoy me.

However, the summer that Andrew turned three, some moms in our neighborhood asked me to be part of their co-op preschool. Two of them were teachers, so I figured Andrew would get more out of this co-op than with just me at home, so I signed up. It was hard at times, but we had a lot of fun, Andrew learned tons, and I'm glad we did it.

Andrew is now almost four and he has one more year before he starts kindergarten. And can you believe it? I'm not sending him to preschool! It was actually a very tough decision for me, but when push came to shove, Andrew made the final decision. I actually signed him up for preschool. It was a great preschool right on campus. I heard nothing but wonderful things about it. But when I took Andrew down there to pay the deposit, we took a gander at the classroom he'd be in. I told Andrew that this would be his new classroom. And he said, "Mom, don't leave me here." He was panicky. I was panicky. It was not a good thing.

So I did some research, lots of talking it over with Randy and the ladies on the playground (and some prayer), and I decided to keep him home for another year. We're actually going to do a co-op with three other moms, it all happened so perfectly and I'm really excited about it. We're also going to try something new this year, we're subscribed to a preschool curriculum:

They send you the lesson plan each month with book lists and the materials for all of the art projects. It looks so fun (and hopefully it will be easier on us teachers).

Another motivating factor for homeschooling Andrew this year is the money. In our city, preschool for 3 days a week is $180/month! We can get the curriculum above, a family pass to EVERYTHING, lessons, supplies, and we can go on cool field trips around the city for less than half that price.

Plus, I get to spend one more year with my baby.

And little brother can tag along.

Andrew is getting a head start this summer with his Summer Bridge Activities workbook. If you're looking for something educational for your kids to do this summer, I highly reccomend this book.

**author's note: I know it looks like we're always doing some fun activity and that my boys are always educationally engaged, but trust me, they also watch lots of TV.

The Monkey is Four

Andrew is a lucky boy. His birthday has always landed on perfectly beautiful days. We invited the neighborhood friends to have cupcakes, popsicles, and sprinkler fun today....

Happy Birthday, sweet kid.

Fun facts about Andrew:

• He's all legs and arms
• He's still obsessed with the color red
• He can write his name with no assistance
• He loves playing games & putting together puzzles. It has become part of his bedtime routine
• He is obsessed with "growing up," he talks about it almost on a daily basis. He says he wants to stay "medium" (brother is small, mom & dad are large)
• He knows the colors of the rainbow in the correct order (ROYGBIV)--I have no idea how he knows that
• He is very protective over his baby brother--so watch out!
• He also tattles on brother (a trait I'm grateful for when little brother is dumping water out of the tub)
• He's better with the computer than I am--he loves computer games
• His favorite TV show is Sesame Street, his favorite movie is Monsters Inc.
• When we go to the zoo, his top 3 requests are to see the elephants, tigers, and snakes
• He hates soccer, but he loves swimming & T-ball

When I asked Andrew what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he had only two stipulations:

1) It needed to have "letters" on it and
2) It had to have 4 candles

(Thanks Andrew for keeping your standards low, you'll never be disappointed in life with that kind of attitude.)

So we went to my favorite cake website and picked out a cake. Andrew helped me with the whole process (and boy is it ever a process, why can't I just go out out and buy a cake like a normal person?) and was so excited with the end result:

He guarded it with his life and made darn sure brother didn't go near it.

We had his party with our family, a fun tradition we've done since his first birthday

This is his cheesiest smile yet.

His one and only birthday request was "Geo Trax." It takes up his entire bedroom, but both of the boys LOVE it. The first day we had it set up, they took turns every two minutes (I had to set the timer, and yes, Josh screamed for an entire two minutes until it was his turn again).

Overall, I think we had a fun and successful fourth birthday.

The Grocery Game Re-Cap

We just finished our 12th week doing the Grocery Game. They say it takes about 12 weeks to see your grocery spending go down because by then you'll have a good stockpile started. We do have a good stockpile--I now have the challenge of finding room for it all! Here are our stats after 12 weeks:

Cumulative savings: $1050
% saved: 41%

(This is for all food, diapers, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, toiletries, etc. that we have spent in the last 12 weeks)

I'm happy with where we're at, and I think there's still room for improvement. In the beginning, I was hoping to get to 50%, but now I'm shooting for 45%, I think that's more realistic for us.

I also was referred to a great website that doesn't charge a membership fee: http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/. I use both the Grocery Game and this website. It's a fun little hobby for me and I love that we're saving money!

Want To Know How To Make God Laugh?

....just tell Him your plans!

We got a fatherly pep-talk from our Bishop yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. Why? Because our ward, that once housed 50-60 families will soon become 30 families with few prospects of any additions. The Bishop told us that many of us would have multiple callings, that presidencies may need to operate with one less counselor, etc. Sheesh! And we thought we were taking the easy road by staying in student housing! The Bishop's words today were very comforting, though. This whole situation (a change in "vision" of the University's master plan) has stressed me out a bit (ok, a lot), but I think this small trial will put us to the test and show us what we're made of. Bring it on!

I Chose Wisely

Driving back home from spending time with our family, Andrew urped (that's Randy's word, I don't know if he made it up, but I like it) multiple times in the back seat. Amazingly though, we still had smiles on our face when we finally arrived home. Randy is just that kind of person-you just take one step at a time and realize "it is what it is." The boys adore him and so do I. Happy Father's day Randy, we love you.

Our Summer Agenda

I thought this summer was going to be boring. Randy is studying for Step III of the boards and he starts his residency in July. Well, now we've got more to do than time to do it!

Firstly, we got family passes to:

Red Butte Gardens. We love this place, it's practically our backyard and we can walk there. They have a children's garden with a splash pad; it's a crazy beautiful place.

This Is The Place Heritage Park. We got a pass 50% off. We can go on train rides, pony rides, and there's a petting zoo plus lots more. We've been twice so far and haven't even scratched the surface.

Hogle Zoo. The boys (including Randy) love it. They just built a new carousel which I'm excited about.

Raging Waters. We've yet to use our passes. It's been a strange summer beginning, but I hear it's going to be in the 90's all next week.

We're also hoping to make our way to our favorite camping spot:

Hobble Creek Canyon. The place where Randy proposed to me.

And we're crossing our fingers we'll make it to Powell for a few days:

And in between, there's the summer reading program at the library. Every time we read, Andrew gets to color in a "reading bug", and every time we have 18 bugs colored, Andrew gets a prize. We've been reading like crazy around here!

We also have a 10-day vacation planned. It's far, we have to go on a plane, and I'm nervous about bringing my children, but I can't tell you anything more about it (it's a surprise, shhhh!).

He Fought The Battle (and lived to tell about it)

One of the things I love about Randy is his desire to set lofty goals for himself. As soon as medical school was out, Randy was in the gym or swimming pool training for his first triathlon. He was dedicated and trained 2 hours a day, 6 days a week. He has always been in good shape, but the added training gave him extra muscles and more definition (a benefit I sure didn't mind). He chose the Battle At Midway Triathlon, the course is a 1500 meter swim in the Deer Creek Reservoir:

A 22.9 mile bike course through Heber & Midway:

And a 5.92 mile run through Soldier Hollow:

Here he is, almost there! Aww, he even looks for us and waves...

And he still has enough energy to strike a pose...

Almost...to...the...finish...line...

Oh, woops! That pesky red carpet--it'll get ya every time.

Maybe it wasn't the graceful finish he'd envisioned, but it was a finish just the same.

Randy's uncle Lewis participated as well. And I sure am glad that Lewis lives in Midway, and that he leaves his house unlocked even when all 6 members of his family are away. It came in handy when Josh puked the SECOND time on our way to Midway. Yes, it was quite the day for us.

We're so proud of you Randy! Way to go!!

Flashback Friday: Our Big Comfy Blue Chair

When we moved Josh into Andrew's room, Randy asked if I wanted to get rid of the blue chair. It takes up half of their room, precious space for a dresser or something else more useful. I admit, I did give it a moment's thought. Extra space is a precious commodity in our tiny, 2-bedroom apartment--we're literally busting at the seams. But I just can't give this thing up...

Our first place as a married couple was an old Army barracks house that was turned into three apartments. We had a huge living room...with orange carpet....and no furniture to fill its ugliness. I don't know how I let Randy get away with this, but we never did buy furniture when we were first married. His parents gave us a new bed as a wedding present. Randy's grandpa gave us an old card table & chairs and a white vinyl lounge chair. Randy's aunt & uncle pawned off a desk that had been passed around within the family (it's actually quite beautiful). Our TV (given by Randy's parents) rested on an ice chest until my dad gave us a TV stand he had stored away.

Our comfy blue chair and our couch (our very, very, very ugly couch) was given to us from friends that took pity on us and our bleak living quarters. We shampooed each, covered up the couch, and we were happy. Well, I was happy, I don't think Randy minded watching TV from the floor. The couch has since been disposed of and replaced, but we have hung onto the chair. It turns out that this chair is perfect for rocking babies to sleep (and it's quite possible to sleep yourself). You can watch countless hours of TV while consoling a colicky baby in this chair. It's the perfect size to hold two children while reading bedtime stories. It's also a great place for a two-year-old to take a nap in when his toddler bed gets boring.

So even though it would be nice to have the extra space, our big comfy blue chair is here to stay.

And when I'm rocking my boys while singing songs and reading bedtime stories tonight....I'll be happy.

Now Accepting Applications

A Best Friend position has just opened up; here are the qualifications:

-Must be able to be contacted at all times, whenever I get a whim to talk to you
-Must know how to take care of crying newborns when I am too tired and frustrated
-Must be able to talk sense to me when I have illogical ideas; must be forgiving when I say/do something dumb
-Must be confident, have strong opinions, and know exactly who you are
-Must have excellent taste in fashion, both in clothing and home decor; must let me steal your good ideas
-Must go on shopping trips with me and help me to justify expensive shoe purchases
-Must be excited for me whenever I'm excited about something, and show interest in my latest project, great shopping find, etc.
-Must be able to cook well and bring my family yummy treats whenever you make them for your family
-Must be available for outings with our children to fun & new places. Must also be available when we go play at the playground
-Must love Dr. Laura, Jane Austen, fudge brownies, and kettle corn. And most importantly, you must love being a wife & mom

If you meet ALL of these qualifications and are interested in the position, please contact me.

You've got some big, fashionable, shoes to fill.....

Medical school wouldn't have been as wonderful (or as bearable) without this girl. I will miss her terribly.