Season Passes

We bought season passes to Disneyland in May when a bunch of our friends came into town. We spent 2 days at the park so it was economical to just buy season passes. Our passes have been blacked out all Summer and just became valid again last week. So Jon dragged me off of the couch tonight and we took the boys for a few hours. Besides feeling sick and it being 100 degrees outside (even at 5:30 when we got there), it was a lot of fun. It wasn't very crowded at all and the boys loved it! It was nice to not have to worry about getting everything in before it closed or worry about taking pictures of everything. We didn't even take a camera! We're excited to spend many Fall evenings at Disneyland or California Adventure and take full advantage of our season passes!

Final days of Summer

As I sit here and reflect on our Summer I am both happy and sad that it is almost over. Happy because I absolutely love the Fall and I love how it rolls right into the holidays. I also love that Summer being over only means that I am that much closer to feeling better and being over this morning sickness!

I am sad since I really do love Summer and everything associated with it. I love swimming, going on vacation, going to the park, going to the beach, barbecuing and eating lots of watermelon! We have had a busy, fun filled Summer and I don't really have any regrets (except that my boys still aren't potty trained!).

Boys in training!

The boys love to copy whatever Jon does, so he has decided to teach them some catch phrases that every little boy must know! If you can't understand what they're saying, here are some of the highlights:

"BYU- Cougars!"
"Go- Jazz"
"We're #1"
"Football rocks!"
"Daddy is- awesome!"

and the newest favorite that isn't on the video...

"Delta- rabbits!!!"

Our Saturday

Today I actually got dressed and ready and went to lunch with my friend, Heather. She's in town for the weekend and took me to The Cheesecake Factory. Even though I was feeling pretty sick, I was actually able to eat most of my meal and could stand the smell in the restaurant. It wasn't until after lunch that I ended up laying on the couch for the remainder of the day feeling so sick. Gotta love being pregnant! It was really fun to see Heather and get to spend some time with her. She has always been and continues to be a great friend!

The boys have kind of lost interest in the big blow up slide recently, so we decided to blow up our little pool for them to play in. They thought it was so fun to slide down the little slide into the pool! We could have saved a lot of money on the other slide had we known this all along!!!

We watched my parent's dog, Boo, this weekend while they went waterskiing. The boys loved having her here and playing with her all weekend. Jon and I have always said that we would never get a pet, but this weekend he said that it might be fun to have a dog! Come on, Jon, hold strong! We can always visit Boo and we don't have to take care of her. That's the best kind of dog!

Number 3

So we were going to wait a little while to tell everyone, but seeing as though that I had an ultrasound yesterday and everything went well, I am feeling morning sick, and my little sister Carli has apparently told everyone she's run into, including her whole ward, I decided that it might be time to announce! I am due April 11 and we are very excited!!!

Congratulations, Kathryn and Marc!

I keep separating this into paragraphs and for some reason every time I publish it, it combines it back into one long paragraph. So frustrating!

Last weekend we took our last trip of the Summer (and hopefully the last one for a long time!). Jon's little sister, Kathryn, got married on Saturday. We drove to Manti on Friday and did a session with all of Jon's siblings who are endowed. It was really neat to be in the temple with all of them. I also love the "live" temple sessions- they are much better for keeping me awake!

We spent the night in Manti and then went to the sealing Saturday morning. The sealer did a great job- it was a beautiful ceremony. We then took pictures outside of the temple which Jake and Nate were not too fond of. All they wanted to do was run around the temple grounds.

We then drove an hour and a half to Delta. The wedding luncheon didn't start until 3:00 so we decided to take the boys to the park and let them run around for a little bit. They were still in their white shirts and slacks, but we looked and and didn't see anything that would get them dirty, so we let them play. I left to run to the store and when I got back I noticed Jake standing there covered head to toe in mud. Apparently Jon ran into someone he knew and started talking. He looked over and noticed Jake running full blast toward the one mud puddle in the park. He couldn't get there in time and watched Jake dive straight into the mud. I wish we would have gotten a picture so you could understand just how muddy he was. So we stopped by Jon's house and threw his clothes in the wash so they would be clean for the reception that night.

We then went to the luncheon which was so good! They used a new caterer in Delta and she did a great job. Jon and I switched off playing outside with the boys since they had no interest in sitting for 2 hours while everyone ate and the parents gave speeches.

Once that was done, we went to Jon's house and got ready for the reception. We then headed over to the reception. Kathryn's colors were red and yellow and everything looked so nice. Jon's mom did a great job with everything. We took a few pictures with the boys and then took them home and had a babysitter watch them during the rest of the reception. It was fun for Jon and I to be there without them and actually get to talk to people. Overall, the wedding turned out great and we are so excited for Kathryn and Marc!

We made the 10 hour drive home yesterday which was pretty much a nightmare. We hit a lot of traffic and the boys were just so sick of being in the car. Nathan threw up twice (I know I can't complain, Andrea, but my kids have never done that!!!). I think he just drank too much juice and got a little car sick. He seems fine today. Nathan also tried to get out of his set by taking his arms out of the straps at least 20 times. I thought I was going to go insane. Needless to say, we were so excited to get home last night and to not go on another road trip for a long time!

Ants and a Free Movie

So I woke up this morning, came downstairs and discovered that we had been attacked by ANTS! Anyone that knows me knows how I feel about them and that I used to have nightmares that they were crawling all over me and I would jump out of bed and start dancing around trying to get them all off. (OK, so maybe that just happened once, but you get my point!) All growing up I remember waking up to ants in the pantry and being so disgusted by it. I was concerned when we moved back down here last Summer that the same thing would happen in our house. Thankfully, we haven't had any problems with ants or any other living creature- until now. So I did the only logical thing, I called Jon at work and in a high pitched voice exclaimed that there are ants all over and that he needs to come home right now and take care of it! He said he would try his best to sneak away, but that he didn't know when that would be. So I did the next logical thing, I got the kids dressed and went to the movies, leaving the ants to roam the house!

Every Tuesday and Wednesday during the Summer our local movie theater shows kids movies for free. Today was Ice Age, The Meltdown which we had never seen before. Jake has been really into the original Ice Age movie lately so I thought he would really enjoy this. I dropped Nathan off at my sisters (he's not so into the movie going thing yet) and Jake and I went on a little date to the movies! It was so much fun. He sat there and ate his popcorn the whole time and really liked the movie. We then walked over to Trader Joes to get some fruit and my favorite chocolate mints (yep, some people go to Trader Joes because it's healthier, I go for the good candy!) and then went and picked up Nathan. Jake fell asleep in the car which is so funny. For some reason he can go all day running crazy and never tire, but take him to the movies for an hour and a half and he's out like a light!

So after we picked up Nathan, I had to face the inevitable, going home to those darn ants. Jon hadn't had a chance to come home yet so they were still there, but not nearly as many. Jon finally arrived with the ant spray and killed them all and wiped them up. He then sprayed the outside of the house as well so I am hoping that there won't be any more ants in our future. Now dates with Jake, I could take more of those any day!!!

I'm a big boy now!

Nathan turned 2 in May. He could have easily moved out of his crib and into a big bed then, but he was content in his crib so why mess with a good thing! Last week the moment finally arrived when he noticed the twin bed next to his crib and said, "Big bed!" I asked if he wanted to sleep in the big bed and he said, "Great!" So I put the railing up and layed him down. He was so excited- it was really cute. I left and about 30 seconds later I heard him get up, come to the door and yell, "Mommy, where are you? Where'd you go, Mommy?" So I went back in, layed him down again and left. Again, he got up, came to the door and called out for me. This happened at least 8 more times before he finally gave in and fell asleep. The next day he did this about 6 times before falling asleep for his nap. That night he had a babysitter and she said he only got up twice. Ever since then, he has layed right down and gone to sleep. One thing I am very grateful for with my kids is that they have always been really good to just lay down and go right to sleep on their own. I was worried that moving Nate into a bed would ruin this, but alas, it only took a little practice and now he's back on track. What a big boy he is!!!

Tim and Faith

About four months ago I bought tickets for Jon and I to go see Tim and Faith in their Soul to Soul tour. I marked it on my calendar and have been looking forward to it ever since. Let me tell you, they did not disappoint! Friday night was the night so we left at 5:00 and had dinner at The Crab Cooker. This is our favorite seafood restaurant. The food is delicious and it's just a fun place to eat. We then made our way to the Honda Center for the concert. It started at 8:00 with an opening act by Half Way to Hazard- never heard of them, but they were pretty good. Tim and Faith then both came out and sang a couple songs together and then Faith took the next hour and a half or so. They then sang a few more songs together and then Tim came out and took at least an hour or so. They both came out again and sang together at which time we decided to go since it was now midnight and we had a babysitter at home! Jon was a good sport, although I couldn't get him to stand up and dance with me. There were two girls on the other side of me dancing so I just acted like I was with them!!! Overall, it was a really fun night and I can't wait to go to more concerts!

PS- Thanks to everyone for your nice comments on my last post. I teared up reading all of them- you are all way too nice. The weekend was definitely better so I'm hoping that this week continues to go well!

Bad Day

So today was a really bad day. Jake has been having a bad week as far as his behavior goes, not sure why. So this afternoon Robyn invited me to go the beach club with her and Erin and all of our kids. I thought that this would be fun since Jake loves water and is usually pretty good when he's playing in it. Not the case today.

All he did the whole time was run around to everyone's things throwing whatever he could find to throw. He wouldn't stay near me and kept getting a little too deep. He then had a poopy diaper that is always disgusting to change when it's all wet. Thankfully I caught it quickly and it was contained. This happened despite the Immodium I gave him before we left! He didn't want to get out of the water at the safety break and overall I was just tired of following him around and doing damage control. Thankfully Robyn and Erin were nice to watch Nathan while I was dealing with Jake.

I finally decided we had all had enough so I tried to get them out of the water to leave. This was not a popular decision and I ended up carrying Jake the whole way to the car while Nathan followed. The whole way there Jake was screaming, hitting me and trying anything to get down and run back to the water. As soon as I said bye to Robyn and Erin I just lost it. I cried the whole way home and then for a while after. Thankfully Jon got there shortly after I did and took care of the boys the rest of the night.

I love Jake so much, but sometimes it is so hard to deal with his challenges especially since no one can figure out what is causing them and why he acts the way he does. I just wish I could understand him better. Most days are better than this, but every now and then I just have a breakdown. I feel sad for him that he has to have these challenges and that none of the kids his age ever want to play with him. This is understandable since they are too young to understand that he has special needs, but still sad as a mom to have to watch. I know we are in for a long road and that I need to just take it one day at a time. For some reason that is easier said then done.

Alright, enough venting. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Tag it up!

So I have now been tagged twice, so I guess I should take my turn!

Jobs I've had:
-Sports camp director (AKA Warnick's tennis camp)
-Activity Club worker with SVUSD
-Receptionist for Bob
-Telesurveyor (for about 3 days at BYU)
-Subsitute teacher
-5th grade teacher (3 years)
-Night stocker at The Gap

Places for a weekend getaway:
-Las Vegas
-Northern California

Movies I can watch again and again:
-Elf
-Ocean's 11
-Music and Lyrics
-Father of the Bride

Guilty Pleasures:
-CHOCOLATE
-Golden Spoon (is it really fat free?!!!)
-Chocolate Drizzle (from Target)
-See's caramel patties

What I first thought when I saw Jon:
-He's really cute and nice
-I like his legs (we played tennis on our first date)
-After I first talked to him I walked out of his apartment and said, "OK, I'll marry him!" We were engaged 3 weeks later!

Places I've been on vacation:
-Yosemite
-Yellowstone
-Hawaii
-Utah
-Idaho
-Seattle
-New York
-Washington DC
-Philadelphia
-Baltimore
-Europe
-San Francisco

Favorite Foods:
-Crunchy Corn Bran
-Bread
-Italian food
-cheese

If I'm in a jam with Jon, tactics I use to get out of the doghouse:
-Thankfully we don't argue very much, but when we do I usually give Jon about 10 minutes and he always feels bad and apologizes! Of course, if I'm in the wrong then I just apologize.

Places I've lived:
-Provo
-Las Vegas (Henderson, actually)
-California

Websites I visit daily:
-e-mail
-Blogs

First kiss location:
-my first kiss with Jon was on the doorstep of my apartment in Provo.
-my first kiss ever was next to a dumpster- romantic, I know!

Places I'd rather be:
-Hawaii
-Europe
-Back East
-anywhere with Jon

People I tag:
-Andrea
-Natalie
-Janae
-Melanie

Campin' it up!

(Side note on the title- my sister and her husband started saying "it up" after everything we were going to do. So if we were going hiking they would say, "Hike it up!" or if we were getting on the shuttle they would say, "Shuttle it up!" It sort of became the catch phrase for the trip!!!)

We had such a fun time in Yosemite with my family. Everyone was there except for my sister Wendy and her family. Her little baby got sick and so they decided not to come. I was happy that we got to spend time with them at the cabin the week before. We were at Yosemite from Thursday through Sunday and tried to squeeze in as much as we could. The boys loved playing in the dirt and trying to see just how dirty they could get. As much fun as we had, we were all definitely ready to go home and shower by the last day. I feel like we have been gone for so long and it is really good to be home. We actually get to be home for a week and a half this time until we go back to Utah for Jon's sister's wedding. Fun times for all!

Chillin' with the ladies!

Each family had a different colored bandana. Ours was green and the boys wore them for all of 5 minutes before they ripped them off!

For any "Troop Beverly Hills" (it's a classic) fans out there, Becky and I saw this log and just had to reinact the ending of the movie. Becky played Phyllis Nefler and I played her daughter, Hannah. I thought we did a pretty good job!

We pulled over to the side of the road to get this picture with Half Dome in the background. All of Yosemite is so beautiful!

We hiked 1.3 miles up a steep incline to get to Dog Lake. The boys walked the majority of the time- we were so proud of them! Once we got up there, we ate lunch and then let the kids swim. We noticed there was a shallow sand bar that went all the way out to the middle of the lake so we walked out there with the boys. It was pretty cool to be able to stand up in the middle of a lake!

Nathan and Jon walking together at the end of the trail. Nathan is so stubborn that he will never hold our hand. He ended up falling a few times, but just got right back up and said, "I OK!"

Smore time! The boys don't care about the graham crackers and the chocolate, they just want more marshmellows!

I think the binoculars are bigger than him!

We stopped at this river on the last day and let the kids play in the water. We saw a bear catch a fish about 100 yards up the river- it was so cool!

Carli handed out awards the last night and Jake and Nathan both got the awards for "The Dirtiest Campers!" The sad thing is that they loved every minute of it- what is it with boys and dirt?

Definitely time for showers!