The McPhie Pride

I want to be like my mom when I grow up

2012-01-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

My mom came and stayed with us for a week after we had the baby. It was heavenly. Really, it was so nice that it made me consider having another baby right away just to have her back again :).

My mom is almost perfect. I only say "almost" because I am sure she does have a flaw, even though I can't think of one. I am so lucky to have a mom like her...but it is also hard! I mean, how can I ever live up to that? I try, but I can never be quite like her! Here are some of the hundreds of things we did while she was here:

She put up valances in both my family room and kitchen. I already had the fabric...oh wait, it was fabric that SHE had sewn and sent me from Idaho. I am really really embarrassed that she sent it to me months ago (it was the same fabric that I bought up there and recovered our kitchen chairs). So it looks great. I love it.

She help me organize my whole house. Literally, the whole house. We went from room to room and just tore things out of closets, decided if we wanted to keep it, made a box for it, and put it away or threw it out. All my linens and towels now have a place to go. All my cleaning supplies are organized. Kids clothes...ALL purged. We went through so many baby and kid clothes and organized everything. Oh man, I felt so free! Even the kitchen stuff...she made space in our kitchen I didn't know we had. Everything looks so much better and the drawers aren't so cluttered. It was amazing. Now (as Scott put it) my job is just not to mess everything up :)

She cleaned. Oh she cleaned. Every cupboard, every drawer. Every inch of the floor. Every item that could be washed, she helped me take to the laundry mat and then fold it and put it away (I think we did eight or nine loads). The bathroom was perfectly spotless. She dusted every shelf and desk and fan and dresser. She vacuumed every nook and cranny in this place. I wish you could have seen this woman work. She is a true professional.

She went to Target, Costco, and Walmart several times for big trips in stocking up on groceries and buying bins for all of our organizing and even random house items that would make our home more functional. Then she would go back and return/trade them in when we wanted a different color or size.

She cooked and cooked. Not only did she make all the meals for the week that she was here, she made two of everything so that we could put it in the freezer and have another meal. She also cooked probably 10 lbs of ground beef and put it in different bags in the freezer, so now I can just pop one into the microwave to unthaw it and my ground beef is ready. She also just helped me brainstorm lists of all the meals I want to make in the next few weeks and made sure I had all the ingredients for everything on hand. She did anything and everything ahead of time that she possibly could have to make things easier for me.

The first few days, she took the baby in the middle of the night. She woke me up when it was time for Drew to eat...but feeding him is the easy part. It is the countless times that the binky falls out or he needs to be burped or held to sleep that is really hard. But she sent me off to bed and I put in earplugs and got lots of sleep. Unfortunately, after the second night, she was starting to feel sick and we didn't want to take the chance of getting the baby sick. (By the way, she did all of the other things I have mentioned all while feeling under the weather). But during the day, I got nap after nap after nap. I got at least a two hour nap just about every day she was here.

She played and played and played with the kids. She did SO much with them. They went on walks, played at the park, went to Happy Hollow (I went with them and mom rode on the rides with them), played "The Green Arm" which is a game that she made up with the boys and they played it for hours out in the parking lot and apparently I don't know how to play it right because I have tried and they always tell me I am doing it wrong. She made them delicious meals and the boys continue to ask for "Grandma's oatmeal" or ask that I cut the toast "the way Grandma would cut the toast". She made cinnamon rolls and cookies with the boys. They played with light sabers that Grandma made out of paper towel rolls or something and just this afternoon I told the boys that I was going to throw them away because they were totally smashed and broken. They both cried. And when I finally said they could keep them but it would have to be back in their rooms and not right in the family room they said "We can't. Grandma put them here so that our light sabers would charge." When I told them that I was pretty sure that the light sabers could charge in their bedroom they both looked skeptical and asked to call and ask Grandma. (Like I said before, I will never live up to the legacy my mom is leaving)

She "helped" me give Drew his first bath...which turned into my mom taking pictures of Drew getting me very dirty (yep, it is what you are thinking) and me calling for her or Scott to help me and they just laughed so hard that they cried and kept taking pictures.

Last of all, but probably most importantly, she and I just talked and talked. We laughed so hard. I pretty much sat on the couch while she did all of these amazing things and she just listened to me and gave me advice and made me feel like I was the most wonderful person.

I am completely blown away by how amazing my mom is. I am not at all joking when I say that I want to be like my mom when I grow up. She is truly just the kind of person I want to be. I love my mom so much. I am 30 years old and I cried like a baby when we dropped her off at the airport. She is my very best friend (besides Scotty, of course). I just keep on trying to be just like my mom!

Here is my wonderful mom with the three boys. They love her so much!

Riding the roller coaster..Cam is with her and Ty is right behind them. You can tell that Ty wasn't very happy that he didn't get to ride with Grandma.

Riding around on these little scooter toys. It might look easy..but those things are hard to ride and she chased the boys around forever!

This is a very embarrassing picture for me to post...so you should know I am posting this so you could see that she took this picture while laughing hysterically as I am begging for her to help me.

Loving little Drew.

Just three weeks ago...

2012-01-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been three weeks already! Sometimes it feels like it has been three days. And other times it feels like it has been three months!! (the wee hours of the morning tend to feel as if they go on forever).

Three weeks ago, our precious Stephen Andrew McPhie was born. He was 10lbs 10oz and 21 1/4 in long.

Here is the deal about his name....

We are calling him Andrew or Drew. We LOVE LOVE this name. It has been on our list from the very beginning. But, we also really wanted to use the name Stephen, which is Scott's dad's name. We considered doing Andrew Stephen...but something just didn't sound right about it. We really liked the sound of Stephen Andrew. It just sounded better to us. And since Scott is really Michael Scott and he just goes by his middle name, I thought it would be just fine to name him Stephen Andrew and call him Andrew. I will tell you what...I LOVE his name. I love that we call him by his middle name. For some reason it just totally seems to fit him. But we do keep getting the raised eyebrow and and the puzzled looks when we tell people that he is going by his middle name. It doesn't bother me though. Scott and I both feel like it is the perfect name for our little guy.

I wish I had more time to write all the details of the birth and how things went. But for now, I will just say that the C-section went perfect. All went smoothly and I feel like it was the easiest birth yet. I am recovering very well and feeling wonderful. For me, the greatest part was right after they pulled Andrew out, the doctor leaned over the curtain and said "I think you just gave birth to a 3 month old!!" Andrew was HUGE! All of the doctors and nurses couldn't believe it and many of them came into our room during our stay just to see the "nearly 11 lb baby".

He is such a joy and we are loving this little guy so much!

39 weeks and 3 days

2011-12-26T21:02:00.001-08:00

Today we...

Took down ALL the Christmas decorations, including the tree, ornaments, and all the other random things we put up and packed them up and put them in storage.

Cleaned the entire house from top to bottom. We are talking...dusting, vacuuming, wiping, mopping, scrubbing, organizing, etc. I went way overboard with dusting all the pictures that are hanging up and even started doing all the baseboards on my hands and knees until I realized that I wouldn't be able to stand up if I kept it up. Scrubbed the kitchen floor on my hands and knees too.

Bathroom toilet got clogged...it had been working off and on for the past few days but flushing the toilet isn't something that you really want to be "off and on". So we called the plumber to come out and fix it. He checked our house and said it must be the main line and he was heading out to fix it. So we were putting the Christmas decorations away while he did that and Ty came in and said "There is yucky stuff all over the toilet and floor." So nasty. I mean, I am glad the main line got cleaned out, but did it really have to come out of our toilet??

So, I spent a good long time cleaning the bathroom. A good. long. time. But, not it is sparkling clean. I even had Scott take off the shower sliding doors and I scrubbed those puppies down. I had wiped them down before, but this was intense.

Scott finished up some more caulking in the bathroom. And it made it look even better than just sparkling :)

I cleaned and vacuumed out the car. I LOVE MY CAR SO MUCH. I really do. I feel like I treat it like one of my children. It has to been cleaned and wiped down at least once a week (don't worry, I make the kids bathe more often than that). Anyway, I knew I might be neglecting the car over the next few weeks so I gave it a last good clean and scrubbed it all out and wiped down the inside. I even got all the car seats cleaned up and wiped down and then put in the baby car seat base. So the car is all ready to go.

Then there was the laundry...oh, the laundry. I think that we did 7 loads. All the sheets, towels, and all the clothes that we want to wear in the next few weeks :) And then the real kicker is that we folded it all and put it away! That is always the hardest part for me.

Guys, this was an incredibly productive day. Baby boy McPhie, we are SOOO ready for you!

9 Days and Counting

2011-12-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

I suddenly realized that I should do at least one more post before I have the baby and totally neglect the blog. I don't have too much to say, but I thought I would just give some little updates.

First off, I went to the doctor one week ago (last Monday) and he said that the baby is already measuring at 40 weeks! To be honest, I didn't think it was that crazy. I feel like I have been ready to deliver for a couple weeks now. Everywhere I go and everyone I see has some comment to make about how massive my stomach is or how it looks like I am going to pop. I don't even really care anymore about the random people that touch my stomach as I walk past them. The doctor said last week that he really thought I would go into labor within a week...and here I am, one week later and still pluggin' along. I go in tomorrow again for my last appointment and then my C-section date is still on December 28th.

Another important piece of information about my pregnancy is that over these past few months this thing called "pica" has gotten out of control. Pica (isn't that what it is called??) is when you have the desire to eat non-edible things...and I totally suffer from this. I tell you what, I have almost tried to lick the leather seats in our car because they smell so good. When we were walking around Walmart the other day looking at bikes, it was all I could do to keep from biting the rubber tires...they smelled delicious. And all of our cleaning supplies smell so yummy too. The lemon scented kitchen cleaning spray is my favorite, but when I get out the Oxi-clean...man, I have to remind myself that I can't even have a little taste. Everything just smells like it would taste so good. Oh the things that we go through during pregnancy...

We are just giddy with excitement at our house for all the fun things that are going to be happening. Christmas is, of course, making everyone so excited and wondering what they are getting from Santa Clause. Ty and Cam stay up talking every night about what they think they are getting. When Ty sat on Santa's lap the other day at his preschool Christmas party and Santa asked him what he wanted he confidently replied "I would like a double barrel shotgun, please." The laugh that came from Santa and his elves was some serious belly laughing. They couldn't believe what came out of Ty's mouth.
But the honest truth of it all is that Ty and Cam are probably more excited for the baby than for Santa to come. They just know that Santa has to come first, and then just a few days later, the baby will come. Plus, they know that while I am in the hospital having the baby they get to play with Papa and Mimi. Nothing could be more exciting. And then to top it all off, after Papa and Mimi leave, Grandma gets to come. Truly, these boys are in for an exceptional next few weeks. I am mostly nervous for how things will go after all the dust settles and everyone leaves and we don't have anything to look forward to. Luckily, the boys will be settling back into their routine with preschool and joy school and hopefully things will normalize without many problems.

Next lets move onto my wonderful Scott. He has been "nesting" lately (although, I am pretty sure he doesn't like it when I call it that). He has just been picking project after project and fixing up things around the house and making things more organized and clean. I love seeing the difference and how much more functional our house is. He put in a shelf in the bathroom this weekend and now we don't have to keep our clean towels in on top of our dresser. And we actually have a place to keep our cleaning supplies that is out of reach of small children. I love it!
And a few weeks ago (maybe I already posted about this) he re-grouted the bathtub. It was in serious need of some cleaning and he spent many hours in there fixing everything up. It looks amazing and I actually don't shutter at the thought of my children bathing in there anymore :)
Speaking of cleaning the bathroom...cute Tyler is really into cleaning lately. I have been trying to show the boys lately that if they aren't careful when they go to the bathroom, then it can make our toilet really gross. (Did I say that in a way that wasn't too descriptive, but also got the point across?) Anyway, Tyler has started getting those Clorox wipes and cleaning the toilet and floor almost everyday. He really likes doing it and does it without me even asking. He recently came to tell me that we needed to go to Costco to get more of those cleaning wipes or else he can't keep up with cleaning the bathroom :) I am not complaining because cleaning the bathroom is my least favorite thing to do. He does a great little touch up and it makes it easier for me when I have to do it.

Lastly, I did want to say what great friends I have who threw me a "non baby shower" just to celebrate our upcoming addition. It was SOO much fun to just come in our comfy clothes and hang out together one night. They decided to bring my favorite restaurant to me...Plutos. It is a make-your-own-salad place and it is no joke people. They offer tri tip steak for your salad and about 50 different toppings. And yes, these ladies offered just about everything, including the tri-tip. It was amazing. They actually went and bought the dressing from the place so that it would taste just like it and then they had the entire table full of toppings. After that, we had an amazing dessert selection with cheesecakes and an ice cream sundae bar complete with homemade hot fudge. Seriously, I have the most amazing friends ever. The conversation was delightful and I am pretty sure that I didn't get home til almost 11:30pm.

I also had the most amazing birthday ever. Truly, Scott really outdid himself this time. We had almost an entire day to ourselves (Many thanks to Amy and Erik who took the kids for us...especially Erik who was the one who fed them dinner and put them to bed at their house). We started the afternoon with the movie Breaking Dawn..which I was really disappointed with. I love the other Twilight movies..but this one was mostly just funny and kind of boring. Not my favorite. But what was my favorite was that we got to go see a movie in the middle of the day and not worry about nap times or if someone was hungry or if someone had to go to the bathroom. Then we went out to dinner at our all time favorite restaurant The Melting Pot. So perfect. Oh man...even just thinking about their cheese fondue is making me hungry. We love that place so much. I love just being able to sit for 2 hours and just talk with that cute boy I am married to. We never run out of things to talk about and he always seems to make me laugh so hard I can't control myself. After the most delightful dinner, we drove up to San Fran and saw the cirque du solei called Totem. AMAZING!! It was so amazing. We loved it. After a long fun day, we picked up our kids after midnight and brought them home and put them to bed and we even got to sleep-in in the morning. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

I think that is it for random updates for our family. Hopefully I can get one more post in about Christmas before the baby comes.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T20:14:00.001-08:00

We had such a fun Thanksgiving weekend. I am loving all this family bonding that we have been getting lately, especially right before the baby. Here are some of the things we did:

Wed:

Scott got home early from work! Such a surprise...we had no idea he was coming til he walked in the door. We spent the evening just playing and having fun together.

Thurs:

Got up and Scott started right away on his amazing stuffing that he makes every year. Seriously...this year was (by far) the very best it has ever been. We made two pans of stuffing and we ate every bit! He had started drying out his bread on Monday and getting other little things prepped...so Thursday morning was putting it all together. He is a master!

I made my first pumpkin pie and I feel like it turned out pretty good. I also did rolls again this year (which I usually feel like don't turn out right) but this year I was also pretty pleased with these. And lastly, we made the yams...which we smothered in butter and sugar and cinnamon and marshmellows...yum! We went to our friends house, the Harmans, and met up with the Nelsons there and our three families enjoyed an amazing spread of delicious foods. I felt painfully full by the time we were done. We got home in time to sit around the family room and talk about the things we were thankful for and then the kids went to bed. I was so exhausted that I went to bed shortly after (Thanksgiving is an exhausting day!)

Friday:

I spent a couple of hours on Friday doing some shopping. I wasn't the "get there when the doors open" type of shopper. Just left around 9am and was home by noon. I really hate Walmart. But I also love it. Got some great deals. And I am totally done Christmas shopping. When I got home I was so busy being excited about some of the stuff that I found that it took me a few hours to realize I had lost my wallet. I totally lost my mind and was having a panic attack. I drove back to Walmart and waited in the long, long customer service line. When I finally got to the front of the line and asked the lady if a red wallet had been turned in, she kind of wrinkled up her face and shook her head. True depression started to hit and then she said "Oh, this?" and held up my wallet. I gasped as if someone had just punched me in the stomach and then burst into tears. Right there in front of everyone in Walmart on black friday. That is a lot of people, but I couldn't help it. I was so relieved.

We used most of the rest of the day just getting little things done. Scott has this knack for fixing up everything around the house when he has free time. So, he went around and just did little projects while I found more little projects for him to work on :). Boys rode their bikes around the parking lot for hours while we cleaned and organized and put stuff away and got Christmas stuff out. We set up the Christmas tree (just actually set it up, without lights or decor).

Saturday (today):

When we asked the boys what fun Christmas traditions/things they wanted to do this year, they both mentioned that they wanted to have juice and donuts when we set up the Christmas tree this year. It wasn't really a tradition or something we meant to do last year, we just happened to have some leftover donuts and let the boys eat them while we listened to Christmas music and Scott and I did lights on the tree and then we all decorated the tree afterwards. But they loved it so much, that we decided to do it again this year. Scott went out first thing this morning and got donuts while I got everything ready for us to eat donuts and juice and put lights on the tree. It was SO much fun. I love doing little fun things like that with my family. Then we all helped decorate the tree. We also put up the rest of our Christmas decorations and had a relaxing afternoon. Ty and Cam played with the nativity pieces all afternoon (fun new toys!). Then we went to the Global Winter Wonderland just down near San Jose. It was basically just a huge display of lights and castles and decorations from all over the world. We saw the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, the Golden Gate Bridge, pyramids from Egypt, castles from all over the world, etc. It was so much fun. We got dinner there and the boys got to choose one ride to go on. They chose this "bumpy slide" where you walk to the top of this slide and zoom down sooo fast. Ty rode by himself and Cam rode with Scott. The smiles and giggles on their faces were well worth the very over-priced tickets for one ride :) We got ice cream on the way home and the boys are still in their bed talking about it right now. I can hear them giggling and talking about around the fun things we saw.

I am excited for a nice relaxing and spiritually enriching day tomorrow. I am so excited that we are finally in the Christmas season. I feel like I wait for this time of year all year long. I loved singing songs and saying family prayer by the Christmas tree tonight. I love the fun family things we get to do. But I am really excited this year to really focus on the Savior and his marvelous gift to us.

Funny Thanksgiving Happenings:

-When Scott was preparing the stuffing on Thursday morning, the boys were following him around asking if they could help. After a little bit, Scott said "Ok boys, now it is time to go and chop the onions and celery" to which Ty said "Cool. Are we going to chop them with an ax?"

-When we first arrived at the Harman's house we were getting things settled in the kitchen and Ty went out the sliding glass door to check out the backyard. After he came back in, we closed the door behind him and we were just chatting there with the adults. Suddenly, Ty came peeling around the corner and, assuming the door was still open just how he left it, ran smack into the door. He hit that door hard. Face first. Poor kid fell back on his bottom and just started to cry. He had a nice big bump right on his forehead for the day.

-When we were talking about the things we are thankful for as a family on Thursday evening, Scott said he was thankful for his job and that we were very lucky because a lot of dads didn't have a job.

Ty: Well, that would be good cause then those dads get to spend more time with their family

Scott: That's true, but then they wouldn't have any money to buy the family what they needed, like a place to live or food to eat

Ty: They could just eat the food that they already have at their house.

Scott: But soon they would run out of food and they wouldn't have any food to eat and they would be hungry, Ty.

Ty: But then they would just die and then go back to live with Heavenly Father, Dad. So it is ok when dads don't have a job.

Ty sees the silver lining of unemployment :)

I know there were a few other things I wanted to post about, but I can't remember them anymore. We had such a fabulous, wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and we truly are so thankful for our family and friends and the many wonderful blessings we enjoy!

For Maren

2011-11-14T20:14:00.001-08:00

Well, I had successfully dodged everyone's requests for pictures of me. I hate pictures of me when I am pregnant. I just look awful. I look chubby all over. My face swells up. I just don't like pictures of me. So usually when people ask I respond with something like "Oh, I should do that shouldn't I" or "I will try to get around to it". Something really noncommittal.

But Maren wins. She is holding some recipes hostage that I desperately want and she won't give them to me unless I give her a picture. I thought I would get dressed up cute and do my hair and makeup and find the perfect angle so that I didn't look so...well, so big. But instead I just got off the couch and had Scott take two pictures of me and that was it. So you are really getting the real deal here Maren. If you came over to my house right now, this is what you would see.

So, here it is for the whole world to see.

This is me at 34 weeks pregnant.

Can I really be getting this old?

2011-11-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I am going to be THIRTY soon. I can't believe it. I feel like I just barely hit my 20's. Can this really be happening?

I made this realization this morning and almost had a heart attack when I told Scott. He asked "Is there anything you want to do while you are still in your 20's?" I have been thinking about this all morning and now I am feeling kind of trapped. Because no matter what things I think of, none of them are things that I can do while being 34-36 weeks pregnant. I am getting old and there is nothing I can do about it.

Am I crazy that this is bothering me??

Surprise for Scotty

2011-10-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

For the past several days, the boys have been begging me to surprise Daddy at work by wearing their costumes in and bringing him Halloween cookies. So today was the day.

We got to work first thing in the morning...well, first thing after I slept in and had the boys watch cartoons and then we lounged around in our pajamas because Thursdays are our only day where we don't have anything going on...and started making our famous homemade oreo cookies. But these weren't any oreo cookies. The boys spent FOR.EV.ER placing little licorice legs coming out of each cookie and two skittles for eyes on the top. We all thought they were the creepiest spider cookies ever made :) Then the boys put on their costumes and off we went to Scott's work. The boys were giddy in the backseat and Ty kept saying that he was sure that dad would think the REAL Spiderman was at his work and would have no idea it was him.

And it turns out we showed up at a pretty inopportune time...Scott had a few guys in his office working out some important details of some important thing.

Then Spiderman and a SWAT team guy rounded the corner and all conversation stopped. I think that everyone was wondering what was happening. I think Ty said "Hi Man!" to Scott and Cam shouted "We brought cookies for everyone!"

Scott took the boys around the office and they handed out cookies to everyone and Cam made sure to tell everyone that the spider cookies don't bite. We had a grand old time.

I wondered if Scott would be a little bit embarrassed or anything. But as we walked out to the car to go to lunch together he looked at me and said "I just love my wife and kids!"

Mission accomplished!

Funny quotes lately...

Ty said the other day after I told him that he couldn't go ride his bike outside without me watching him..."But Mom, I will try my very best to not get killed!"

Cam decided that the best insult for Ty lately is to call him a procrastinator. It really irks Ty. They learned what it means to procrastinate from a CD we have about Dependability and now it is the insult of choice.

After I asked Ty to do something this afternoon he replied "Copy that mom!" and ran off to do it.

Cam has been going by the name of "Frozone" for the past few days and won't answer to Cam anymore. Funny thing is that he forgets the name "Frozone" about every 30 minutes and comes running up to me asking "Who am I again??"

Cam discovered hair on his legs a few days ago and threw his fist up in the air and shouted "I get to be a daddy soon!! Does this mean I get to get married Mom??"

After a few recent incidents with hitting lately, I told Tyler and Cameron that I was really getting frustrated that they weren't working things out properly and so next time it happened there would be a bigger consequence. After Tyler hit Cameron the next time, he had to sit in time out for twice as long. As he sat there he said to me "This isn't even a very big consequence Mom. I can still hear the movie from here." Wrong thing to say buddy. I said "You are right. I think you need to go in your room and close the door. You can come out when you hear the beeper beep." He was so mad. So. Mad. And in his anger he was yelling from his room "This STILL isn't a good consequence!!" Oh how I love being a mom.

Another big piece of news around here is that Cam started riding a bike with NO training wheels. I know...crazy! He just barely turned three. Ty started riding his bike with no training wheels just a few months ago or something and so I hadn't even thought of trying to teach Cam yet. He just took right to it all by himself. I mean, he always loved to ride the Strider bikes of our friends and we they were done using it we asked if we could borrow it for a bit. We have had it for about three weeks and Cam popped on a two wheeler and took off. He is crazy adventurous and had no idea what he was doing. I was terrified that he was going to get hurt (or that a car in the parking lot would get hurt:)) but he just figured it out as he went and loved it. He lives life on the wild side, that kid!

I am 31 weeks along now. I was so sad because I thought I was 32 weeks. I have it written in my calendar that I was 32 weeks on Sunday. But sadly enough, I must have written it down wrong and I am only 31 weeks (this coming sunday). Great. Just added another few weeks to my internal pregnancy calendar :) All in all, I am feeling pretty good. Boys are keeping me pretty busy and worn out and I know that by the end of the day I am waddling rather than walking. But after these long and busy days, the boys sleep well at night and so do I (if you don't count the countless times of rolling over to get comfortable and the many times to get up and go to the bathroom) so we don't have much to complain about over here. We are getting so excited about our little one coming. Just the other night as Scott and I were sitting on the couch watching tv after the kids were in bed, Scott said "Can you imagine that in just a few months we will be sitting here and I could have a little baby falling asleep on my chest!" It got us both so excited for this little guy to come.

That's it for the update. Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I promise to take some from Halloween and post!

Merry Christmas to Me!

2011-10-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

Our house is covered in spider webs with spiders hanging all over the place, autumn leaves that Ty and Cam have collected are now on display on the top of the piano, a "Fall Leaves" candle burning, Halloween lights around the window, and cute Jack-o-latern creations are ready to be displayed in our windows. I really didn't think I could be happier.

Until Scott told me that my Christmas present would be arriving today in the mail.

And arrive it did. In fact, I am writing this post on my brand new laptop!

I have never owned my very own laptop. I have used Scott's since we have been married and it usually works fine for me. But there are just some things that I want to have my own way.

And the first (and only) desktop I ever owned for myself was bought over a decade ago and we got rid of it years ago.

So this is big people.

And since we are having this baby in a few months and we are staying in our two bedroom apartment, but baby will be occupying the "computer room" or computer closet. It made it hard when Cam was napping in there because the few times that I even had a minute to do something on the computer was when he was napping...and he napped in the computer room, so I never could be on the computer. I had been thinking about this with the new baby coming and realizing that my times of using the desktop freely were about to be taken from me. I whined and complained to Scott about the woes of apartment living and then got over it and moved on.

And then this came in the mail. I am so happy. Just so happy. I really do have the most kind husband ever. He is so cute. He vowed this year that he was going to wait until Christmas Day to give me my gift. But when he finds something he knows I will love, he just can't stand it and he goes crazy waiting to give it to me. It is the cutest thing to see him get all excited and almost every night say something like "You are going to love your gift this year. I already know what it is. Do you want some clues? Oh man, I can't wait, you are seriously going to love it!" And then finally he can't wait any longer and he cracks and gives it to me. The best part about it is that it is almost like having a surprise Christmas Day...you never know what day you might get the most amazing gift at your doorstep! I am proud of him that he made it to October this year :) And now I get two extra months of using this delightful laptop.

As a side note, Scott and I spontaneously slow danced in our living room the other night after the kids went to bed and we were watching tv and a cute song came on and I told Scott that it reminded me of a slow dance song at a youth dance. So he stood up and asked me to dance right there. It might have been my favorite moment in a long time.

I am in love. With Scott. And with this laptop.

Today: A Cure for a Bad Morning

2011-09-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

It's Friday. Scott went out to see a movie (don't worry, he okay-ed it with me first and I said I was happy to just have the evening to relax) and so here I am catching up on some blogging. In case you haven't noticed...I was a little behind :) Anyway, there are a couple other posts before this one so don't forget to check them because I finally have some pictures!

So...today. Today started off pretty bad. I was so tired, I could barely get out of bed. I wanted to get up early and exercise before I took the boys to school, but that didn't happen. That is always a little disappointing when you wake up and you have already not done something that you wanted to get done. I was rushing the boys through their chore chart and trying to get them ready for school and they just weren't having it. I was super stressed and they were playing and wrestling and teasing each other. Cameron found the spray bottle and was spraying everything and everywhere, including Tyler. Tyler was frustrated and was un-making Cameron's bed so that he would have to make it again as punishment for spraying him in the face. Both boys were crying at one point. I will spare you all the details...but in the end, I was trying desperately to unscrew the door knob from the bathroom door which Cameron had locked from the inside (he wasn't in there...he had walked out and closed the locked door behind him). I couldn't get it done and so just ushered the boys in to the kitchen for quick bowl of cheerios and decided to have breakfast myself, completely forgetting about the fasting glucose test I was supposed to take this morning. Still couldn't get the bathroom door unlocked and so we skipped brushing our teeth in the morning (gross) and went off to school in a flurry to not be late. AAAAHHHH!!

The Cure:
After I dropped the two boys off and talked with the lab at the hospital and realized I couldn't go in and take the glucose test because I had eaten, I did the following:

-Went home and exercised (in the video there is a part where you do punches (ie hooks, jabs, etc) and the lady says "Come on, really punch it and get out all your stress." Don't worry, I really punched it!)
-read my scriptures
-turned on Christmas music really loudly. Loud enough I am sure anyone walking by on the street would have heard **(this part is key to all the happiness)
-And then I cleaned the whole house..I dusted everything, vaccumed, swept the kitchen, mopped, wiped down all the cupboards and chairs, cleaned the entire bathroom..did the floor on my hands and knees, organized the bookshelves, cleaned off all the clutter on top of the piano, took out loads of trash after going through the fridge and pantry and getting rid old, stale food and consolidating other food to make more room, got some of the big spots off the carpet (although it just needs to be professionally cleaned at this point). All this done while singing Tennessee Christmas by Amy Grant, All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, Baby, It's Cold Outside by ???, and many, many others at the top of my lungs. I am pretty sure that I one point, just to pretend that I was on some movie, I actually did a spin around the mop. I definitely felt like I was on a movie :)
And you know what??? I was in such a good mood for the rest of the day!

Oh Christmas/Christmas music/Holiday season, why has it taken you so long to get here? Is it okay if I start bringing some holiday cheer to my home in September? Even though Scott says it is breaking all the rules to start now and has completely banned me from you until December 1st, you and I can still have our secret relationship and he doesn't ever have to know.

And just for fun, here are some more pictures of the boys that I finally got off the camera from camping and other fun times:

Ty, just lounging in his chair, roasting a hot dog on the campfire. This kid is a true camper.

Make sure you notice the completely filthy face that comes as part of being a 3yr old and camping.

Scott is a sucker for buying "man things" for the boys. We all went to REI one saturday morning to get water bottles or something like that and Scott and the boys are just in heaven. They oooh and aaah over just about everything and I have to be the one to tell them all no. But Scott told me that all little boys needed a hat to bring camping with them and since these were on sale, the boys got to pick out their hats. Ty and Cam love wearing hats because they get to be like dad. And I think all three of my boys look pretty stinkin' cute!

During quiet time one afternoon I couldn't hear Ty for a few minutes and I got a little bit suspicious. I peeked in to find him asleep on his bed, surrounded by stuffed animals, wearing a headlamp. Sometimes I wish I was a kid again. Just so precious.

Out of order...another camping picture again..brothers roasting hot dogs. It was right after this that we all sat around telling stories about when Scott and I were little and the funny things we did.

A couple of big days

2011-09-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

We have had a couple really big days over the past few weeks...

Cam turned THREE! He is such a delightful and wild little munchkin. This little kid can just warm my heart. He is crazy and goofy and still so loving and sweet. We absolutely adore him.
On his birthday he had Joy School, which he couldn't have been more excited about. We brought cupcakes to share with his friends and he got to wear the "birthday crown" at school. We came home and had a yummy lunch and then got a jamba juice and went swimming at Amy's house (which was the one thing that Cam said he wanted to do for his birthday). We came home for pizza and cupcakes with the family and opened up presents. Cam was all smiles all day long.

(Cam wearing the birthday crown. Is it sad that this is the only picture I got of his birthday? I got lots of video with the video camera, but this is the only picture. And can I just say that I love Cam's crooked smile!!)

The boys also both started school! Cam started Joy School and Ty started Preschool. I was lucky enough to get into a Joy School group with four of the most amazing women. I love the women and I love their kids and I am so excited for Cam to become friends with them. He goes on Wednesday and Friday from 9am to noon. Perfect. Sooo perfect. He comes home after each class and can't wait to tell me what he has done or something fun that happened. The only downside is that on the days that he doesn't have Joy School he still wakes up and gets ready and puts his backpack and pleads with me to take him.

Ty started preschool just a few days after Cam started. We had a couple mornings to just spend together and I think that time was priceless. We really bonded and I can honestly say that I miss him when he goes to school. He is such a joy to be around. But he would much rather go to school than hang out with me :) He is loving it. He has a friend from church in his class with him and so he and Lincoln are little buddies. He goes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:15am to 11:45am and just loves it. He adores his teachers and can't wait to go back to school!
It makes me feel so happy that my boys are both loving school!

This is how Cam feels about taking pictures 90% of the time. This is the reason why I don't take many pictures.

Ty on his first day of school. He was so excited and he squeezed my hand so tightly as we walked through the doors, I thought my fingers were going to fall off. I could tell he was nervous, but he just did awesome. He put his backpack in his little cubby, sat down in the circle where they were singing some songs, turned around to give the "thumbs-up" that he was okay and I could leave.

Ahh...there is that cute little smile I was looking for. I might have had to bribe him for this smile. Oh man, this little man is so full of life. His smile is so perfect (and a little crooked)

The two boys off to school. This is Cam's new picture face. I have more pictures of this face than anything. Where did he get this from? Side note...I love picking the boys up from school because I just listen to them chat in the back seat about their day. They ask each other what they did and what they learned and the other will say "No way!" or something like that. It is so cute.

So yes...ME...I get two FULL mornings off each week. I know, I know, I shouldn't be this excited. Two and a half hours of blissful peace and non-stop productivity. It makes me so happy. I decided that I would use one morning to be productive and clean, do laundry, dishes, etc. There is always stuff that needs to get done around the house. And then the other morning is all mine. I can do whatever I want. Read, watch a movie, fun crafty projects that I have wanted to do for years but never had the time. That is MY morning. I am loving it!

A Post about Nothing

2011-09-07T20:22:00.001-07:00

I love writing posts about something. But I also love writing posts about nothing at all.

I feel so pregnant. So So pregnant. I can't wait for the weather to get just a bit chillier so that I can stop sweating so much. And does it have to be so uncomfortable to sleep when you have a baby inside of you? I mean, seriously! Ok, that is all the complaining I will do about being pregnant...because really, most of the time it is magical. Really though, it is. The boys LOVE to run up to my belly and say "hi" to the baby and tell him what they are doing. Every time Scott talks to the baby, I think the baby does a somersault in my tummy. It is crazy. Yet another boy to just adore his daddy.

I had my first morning (ever really) with having no kids. Cam was in Joy School and Ty started preschool today. (More details and pictures on that to come). It was wonderful. But I feel like I wasted those few hours. I am going to have to be better at managing my time.

Do your kids fight? Because mine do. Man oh man! We are really in some kind of phase these days, but it is almost unbearable. I just barely printed out some charts tonight and we are starting a new idea tomorrow. This has got to stop. It seriously is every minute that they are together.

Due to all the fighting and arguing I wanted to just get the kids out to get some energy out so we met some friends at the park. We stayed til almost six and so when we got home, I made mac n cheese for the boys. I heated up a leftover pasta dish that I was going to save for Scott and I. The boys didn't have a single bite of mac n cheese and ate the entire pasta dish I had heated up for Scotty and I. Guess what I had for dinner?? (Yup. Mac n cheese!)

Funny thing...when you stop exercising, you gain weight. Isn't that crazy?? I know.

We went to Happy Hollow a few days back on a random thursday morning. (Happy Hollow is a mini-amusement park for kids and it has just a handful of rides and one roller coaster. It also has a zoo and petting zoo area). There was no one there. The place was totally deserted. I thought it was going to be the perfect day ever to be at Happy Hollow....
And then the boys wanted to go on the roller coaster. Ty is tall enough to ride by himself and Cam sometimes is :) Often times, the worker lets him ride with Ty and they say he doesn't need an adult, but sometimes they say I need to ride with him. This time was the latter. So the three of us jumped into the roller coaster and we rode it all by ourselves around the jumpy, jerky, bumpy circle. The boys giggled with delight and I loved knowing that they were enjoying the ride, but not particularly enjoying it myself. They let you go around twice and then they stop the ride when you get in the second time to get off. Well, we pulled in and the operator asked if we wanted to ride again. Thanks a lot. Of course, the boys screamed "YES!!!" and around we went again. And then again. And then again. (Remember, each time we get to go around twice). Then we stopped to let one other boy on. And then we went around again. And again. Again, again, again...I rode that blasted roller coaster FOURTEEN times! I finally told Cam I had to get off cause I was feeling sick and the mother of the other boy that was riding offered to ride with Cam and she rode around four or five times with him. (Isn't that so nice?) The boys keep asking to go back to Happy Hollow, but I think I need a little distance from that place. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

I finally "re-did" (yes, official wording) my kitchen chairs. The plastic had been ripping off of the chairs for months now and since we painted the table top black, I had been wanting to change the fabric on the chairs too. After all this time, I actually got it done. And I only stapled my thumb once in the process. Yeah, for me! That is improvement people. Here are a few pics:

And here is a cute picture (one of the TWO) I took while on vacation with my parents. The boys LOVED taking baths in Grandma's big bath and even got to use the bubbles a couple times. Doesn't this just look like heaven?

This Summer

2011-08-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Really??? Has it been since June since I last posted? Well, I guess this is the quarterly update :)

First and foremost, we found out the gender of baby #3! After spending over an hour laying on the ultrasound table and waiting patiently for the lady to just tell us the gender already, she finally told us that she couldn't tell. WHAT?? That was unacceptable. So when she left, she said I could get up and walk around and casually mentioned that the baby was too squished down and needed to move up a little in my abdomen. So, as soon as she closed the door, I jumped off the bed and announced to Scott "I am doing a handstand. Right now. Catch my legs!" Before he even knew what I was doing I was up in the air and wiggling my body all around trying to get the baby to move. Of course, as I was partially undressed, attempting a handstand, and wiggling by body, the lady walks back in the door. Let's just say she knew I REALLY wanted to know the gender.
So I jumped back on the table and voila! The baby had moved. Just enough for her to tell us that we are having another BOY! We are so excited.
The boys both said that our family is too rough for girls :) And I am pretty sure that visions of football games, wrestling, and dirt biking are constantly playing in Scott's mind, which is why he has a perma-grin! We can't wait!

I think that in order to be most effective, I am going to just hit the highlights of the past few months:

JULY
-Fun sleepover with Ben and Jaimi Thomander for the 4th of July. And delicious family bbq at the park with guacamole burgers. yum.
-my niece Lucy was baptized and so Scott's parents came to town for the event. It was so fun to be with them and with Lucy on her special day. Papa and Mimi (Scott's parents) got to see Ty at soccer practice, play ball with the boys, see them wrestle, got them ice cream, and we loved every minute of it!
-Said goodbye to some great friends, the Laytons, who moved away to business school at Tuck. We were able to head out to a yummy dinner (Benihanas) which had particular significance for us as it was the first double date we went on together when we first moved out here...what four years ago?? Ty and Leah were little babies then and they were just in car seats! Where did the time go? We did pretty much every major holiday with Maren and Ryan and we are really going to miss the sleepovers, the late night crazy games of Ligretto, yummy yummy food, Harry Pot-a-thons, and just great company. After dinner, we took them to another friends house where everyone had gathered for a surprise going away party!
-We camped in Yosemite for two nights and it was...AMAZING, wonderful, perfect...we truly loved it all. We went with the Thomanders (Ben, Jaimi, Emerson, and Waverly) and the Harmans (Ed, Lindsey, Sarah, and Kai). We cooked yummy food in the dutch ovens, roasted marshmellows, drove all over Yosemite (some of us more than others :)) jumped into the freezing cold waters of Mirror Lake, stayed up late talking around the fire...it just doesn't get much better than that. The weather was perfect and the company was even better.

AUGUST-
-Boys and I hit the SF zoo and it was so much fun. Just a nice fun outing for us! We got great seats to watch the grizzly bears eating and I am pretty sure that I loved it just as much as the boys. When we got home, it was me that was so animated in telling Scott all about it :)
-Had a delightful breakfast from my Uncle Dave who was in town just for the day. The boys are stilling talking about the chocolate chip pancakes that Uncle Dave bought them. We miss them and wished we lived closer!
-Found out that we are having a healthy baby boy!
-Left on our long trek out to SLC where we stayed for a few days with Scott's parents. We packed in those days with many, many rides on the lawn mower (which Ty always points out that he did ALL of the steering and Papa didn't have to help him) and running in the sprinklers, eating yummy food, playing with all the new toys, spending time with Hunty and Abby and meeting new little Chloe. I had such a blast spending the afternoon with Lindsay, Scott's sister, who feels more like one of my own sisters. I could have spent days on end just talking with her and letting the kids hunt for bugs :)
-Then drove up to Idaho Falls for about 10 days with my parents and Becca. Oh man. I almost don't know how I can describe it. I am always so nervous about traveling by myself with the kids. Oh, by the way, did I mention that I did all of this by myself?? Yep. I did.
Anyway, I always get nervous that the kids are going to get off and get really grumpy and I will just be so overwhelmed and then that the world will end and Scott won't be there.
But, this trip was so wonderful. The kids were delightful and I thought they were champs. (Especially given that they are 2yr and 4yr old!) We went to a water park, the zoo, made a slip n slide in the backyard, made homemade raspberry ice cream, made cinnamon rolls, went on walks and bike rides with Gus just about every day, made cucumber boats and floated them down the snake river, went the the visitor's center, went to a "music in the park" event, went to an Indian Pow-wow, the list just goes on and on. I can't believe how much we did.
I LOVED being with my mom and dad. Nothing makes you realize how lucky you were to have such great parents, like having kids of your own and still not being able to keep up with you parents!! And Becca...what can I say about my little sister?? I wish she lived closer to me. No...I wish she lived with me. I laughed and cried and teased and played with her and it just made me miss her so much. The night before we left, Becca stayed up til who knows how late putting notes all over our car and in all of our stuff. So as we started our long journey home, I found these little love notes that made me seriously laugh and some made me start to cry just because I already missed her. They were in my purse, one in just about every place in the car, in the luggage, even when I stopped to get gas the first time and popped the gas tank door, there was a little note for me. I loved my trip home so much, can you tell??
We drove from Idaho Falls and spent one last night in SLC and I was able to spend the night with my grandpa Bagley, who is just one of the kindest men I have ever known. He made fresh bread (just coming out of the oven) for us when we got there in the morning and then when we got back there that evening to spend the night he had make some zuccini bread for us to take home. He sent us back with many loaves of bread, homemade jams, green beans from his garden and other little goodies. I love my grandpa. We saw Becky and Luke and Seth and played with them for awhile. It was just enough time for Ty and Cam to keep asking when their friends Luke and Seth can come over to play at our house. And we spent some time with Candace and the kids and I was able to hold 5 day old baby Alicia. It was like heaven. And to top it all off, I was able to have dinner with one of my best friends in the whole world, Mandie (or as I still call her, Sister Hendricksen). Deborah was there too (our other MTC companion) and we were able to sit and catch up on life while the kiddos played. I really am one lucky girl to know such amazing people.
-We got home Tuesday night and I felt like I had just run a marathon or something. I was so exhausted and I feel like it took me days to catch up on sleep enough to function properly. But nonetheless, we still got up enough energy to go beach camping on Friday night. We drove just about an hour away to Sunset State Beach and had a great time. Our good friends the Millers joined us for the first night. If it wouldn't have been so foggy and kind of...wet...it would have been perfect. We still went to the beach the next afternoon and it turned out to be a great day. The Millers had to leave to go home but we stayed and put on some tin foil dinners on the fire and they might have been the best tin foil dinners I have ever eaten. We topped it all off with some delicious apple crisp in the dutch oven. I have to say...I was pretty proud of how it turned out :) We really just had such a fun time sitting around the fire with just our little family of four and the boys kept asking us to tell story after story of us when we were kids. They mostly liked the ones about "dad being naughty when he was little" and he sure has plenty of those :)

Life has been so good for us the past few months. We are healthy, happy, and feel so blessed. Life is good. Real good.

By way of catching up...

2011-06-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I am finally going to update the blog on some of the happenings in the McPhie life. It has been busy and fun these past few months and I wish I could go into detail about all of the fun things we have done. But I know I won't do any of it if I try to do too much. So here is a just a little taste of what we have been up to:

First of all, Scott and I went on our fabulous trip to Hawaii for 8 days! No kids! People...it was heaven. Just perfect. All of my siblings were there (with spouses) and of course my wonderful parents. It was so fun. My two favorite things we 1)the snorkel tour where a whole pod of dolphins swam right next to us and we got to see them up close and personal. It was so cool. On that same tour we saw a 6 foot reef shark and huge sea turtles and tons of gorgeous fish. Awesome. and 2)jumping off the cliffs(25-30ft) at a waterfall and swimming across the lake to do the rope swing. To be honest, I really can't believe I did it. I am usually pretty chicken about stuff like that. Ty and Cam stayed with Amy and Erik (Scott's sister and her husband) who live here in our same city. They had so much fun that they keep asking when we are going away again so that they can go back to Amy's house.

Next off...more by way of announcement...we are expecting our third child! We really couldn't be more excited! Ty asks just about every day if we are going to have the baby today. It is making the time go really slowly, but I love his excitement for our new addition. I am 13 weeks and my due date is Jan 1st...but since it is going to have to be a C-section, I get to pick a day between Dec 20th and Jan 1st. We are leaning towards the week between Christmas and New Years...maybe Dec 27 or 28th. I am feeling great and everything is going well. I did feel much more tired and sick this pregnancy but it has passed and to be honest, it wasn't much to complain about anyway. I will definitely keep you updated on this :)

Ty finished up his Tball season and just did great! We are so proud of him.

We have been going to the pool here just about everyday because it has been so hot. The boys are really coming along with learning to swim! I was thinking about putting them in swim lessons, but now I am thinking that just going to the pool everyday and they are bound to learn :) Ty is already jumping into the deep end and swimming to the edge. Cam still jumps off the edge and sinks to the bottom. This kid has no fear of death. Needless to say, it is rarely relaxing when I go to the pool.

We had a wonderful Father's day and the boys and I make caramel breakfast rolls for Scott when he woke up. Then for dinner, we went to Ben and Jaimi's house and made an amazing meal of grilled steaks, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and watermelon. And washed it all down with a yummy lemon cake. On the way home Ty said "When does it get to be kids day?" Scott and I laughed hard all the way home. I think Ty was being serious, but I couldn't stop laughing to answer.

I have wanted to put off potty training for so long, but I think it is time. I think that once I finish watching the baby (which is next week, by the way) I am going to do it. I am dreading it, but also looking forward to having it done. Cam says he can't wait and begs to wear underwear all the time. I told Cam that he should pick a big treat that he can get once he fills up his chart and you know what he picked? Getting ice cream with Daddy. So cute. Wish us luck!

I couldn't do a blog post without letting you all know that Scott cut his hair. Oh joy of joys. He cut his hair! I have been happier in the past three days than I can ever remember :)

We took a family trip to Happy Hollow which is a little zoo and amusement park all in one. I have been with the kids several times, but this was the first time that Scott got to come and I have to say it was by far the most fun! The boys were loving every minute that they could do roller coasters and rides and show Scott how brave they are. Forget mom...they were shouting "Hi Dad!!" from every ride. I love it. I really do.

Scott and I in Hawaii (Kauai) hiking up to a beautiful beach and waterfall

Ty's face when he was just getting ready to get on the roller coaster

Cam and I getting ready to ride the roller coaster

When we got home from Hawaii we gave the boys these "surf shirts" and they immediately asked if they could wear them to bed. We decided that they could and so we put them on and Cam broke right into his famous "squat and wing out" dance. It seriously cracks me up. You have to see it in person and it will change your life.

A good friend on a bad night

2011-05-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a little story...

I was enjoying a delightful root beer float last night when Tyler came out of his room crying. He had throw up all over him. I quickly rushed him to the bathroom where he continued to throw up and then I cleaned him off and popped him in the shower. Meanwhile, Scott had gone into the bedroom to take off Ty's sheets and came in with Cam, who was also throwing up. Such a sad sight. I quickly cleaned Cam up and popped him the the warm shower with Ty and they both just laid in the tub, curled up in a ball.
Scott was the absolute best husband in the world. He went into their bedroom and cleaned EVERYTHING. He scooped up everything he could and then he hand-rinsed two quilts, four pillow cases, two sheets, three blankets, and two stuffed animals. He seriously spent probably just shy of an hour cleaning their room and rinsing all of their stuff off before we took it to the laundry room. What an amazing guy. I am thankful for him. While he was doing all of this by himself, he popped his head out of the bathroom and said "Rach, I am glad we are a team! I was just thinking that you usually do this stuff and I am glad to be able to do this now and give you a break."

As soon as this all started, I texted the lady that I nanny for and told her that I wouldn't be able to nanny the next day and then I also texted a friend of mine, Shayla, whose children I was going to watch the next day. I felt so awful to have to tell her that my kids were sick because she had set this up weeks ago for me to watch her kids so she could go with her husband on a date in the afternoon to find out the gender and health of their third child (so fun, huh??!!) Anyway, within just minutes of texting her, she called me.
The first thing she said is "Hi Rach! What can I do to help?" Do you need anything? What can I run get for you from the store? I am actually on my way to a store anyway."
I had realized just minutes before that we didn't have enough quarters to do all the laundry (Oh yes. Don't be jealous. We still get to do our laundry in coin-op machines. Super. fun.).
Shayla quickly agreed to bring some quarters by for us. I was so relieved to have such a kind and thoughtful friend. Scott was still cleaning the kids room and I was holding the bowl for the kids as they continued to throw up. I don't know what we would have done.

Then Shayla shows up at the door. This is SOOO Shayla. She brought with her...

BRAND NEW SHEETS!!! I actually hadn't even remembered that we didn't have spare sheets that fit the kids new twin beds. The list goes on...she also brought

Two containers of pedialite for the boys
A bottle of gingerale
Two new fun toothbrushes that light up--so they could get the yucky taste out of their mouth
A new movie to watch today while they are getting better

Honestly, I wanted to cry. I was so tired already and just so overwhelmed at the thought of being up all night. Shayla just swooped in and put the sheets on the beds and gave the boys their toys and made them feel all better. I was so relieved. I was so happy to have a friend like Shayla.

But it even goes on. I know, how can you get even nicer than that??

She took ALL our gross sheets and blankets and brought them to her house and washed them and I had fresh clean laundry first thing this morning dropped off at my house.

Now that is a really really great friend. I am so blessed to have really great friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving me!

I hate yoga

2011-04-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

I really do. I hate yoga. I wish I didn't. I wish I was one of those "I can't even start the day without a wonderful, relaxing, mind-cleansing, powerful, hour long session of yoga". But I am not.
In fact, I can't even do FOUR minutes. The last four minutes of my workout video is yoga and I always start doing downward dog and within 10 seconds I have turned the tv off and do my own stretching :) I guess that means that I probably NEED to do yoga more...but, don't count on it!

In other news...

Only four more weeks til I get to go to Hawaii. I am beyond excited. I am thinking of making a chain and draping it all around the house and when I get overwhelmed I can just look at it and think happy, relaxing thoughts.

I REALLY REALLY need to go get some fabric to make some new chair covers. The plastic covering is completely ripped off of one chair and I have been meaning to do it for so long. And now I also wants curtains for the family room.

Ty and Cam got their hair cut really short. They look so old!

I am so much happier with the children because of our new "Kindness Jar". Ty and Cam get to have an icecream bar each time they earn 10 kindness pennies. This has drastically decreased the amount of times that I have had to deal with fighting over toys, sharing issues, yelling, hitting, etc. Sigh of relief. I was close to going crazy. Actually, I crossed the line just a bit.

We went to Monterey this weekend with some friends. It was amazing. Everything was amazing. The food...oh, the food, staying up at night to watch movies/talk while the kids slept, the beach, the bike ride along the coast, the Dennis the Menace park, the friends, the scuba diving (for Scott and Joe). I want to go again this weekend :)

I want to find a good book...couple of books to read on the plane and while on vacation. Anyone have any suggestions?

Cam is talking so well these days and I love it when he grabs my face and puts his nose right to my nose to say something important.

We had an awesome dance party here in our living room a few days ago. I am talking a real dance party people. Handstands, somersaults, and even spinning on the head was demonstrated. Cam's feet move like lightning and Ty can strike poses that you have never seen before in your life. It was so much fun. And Scott pulled up from work right then. And he joined right in with his own groovy moves.

Wish I had pictures to post...sorry.

Birthday celebrations

2011-02-26T18:24:00.001-08:00

Today, Ty woke up and ran into our bedroom and shouted "Hey, wake up! It's my birthday!"

We had such a fun day with him today! We started the day out at Hobee's with his birthday twin Jaimi (Ty's possible future mother in law) where he was thrilled to be able to order pancakes with chocolate chips. We headed straight to "The Jungle" in San Jose which is just a piece of heaven for two little boys. It is a huge play area...with nets, and tubes to crawl around in, a few ball pits, slides, etc. We set them loose into the play area and would go searching for them if it ever went too long without seeing them surface. It is so much fun! We made it home just in time for naps (and even the birthday boy took a nap after all that playing). After naps, we opened presents (and then Ty rode his new bike around for a bit) and then started watching his new movie "Beauty and the Beast".
We took a little break from the movie to go in and have Ty's dinner of choice: beef stroganoff, watermelon, and corn on the cob. Ty ate his own corn on the cob, begged for Scott's (which Scott ended up giving him since he wanted it so bad and, after all, it was his birthday) and even finished up Cam's. This kid LOVES corn on the cob.
Back to the movie to let the food settle.
Then paused the movie again to go in for cake. Ty asked for a strawberry cake with strawberries on top this year. Honestly, I let him pick any cake he wanted and thought he would totally go for the chocolate amazing looking ones. He really wanted the strawberry cake. Then we walked to the candy aisle where I told him he could pick whatever he wanted to put on top of the cake. After looking a minute he simply said "I think I'd like strawberries on top". I will take it!! Halfway through the week he said he wanted me to make the cake look like the Iron Giant. So I did my best and felt glad that when I asked him to come look at the finished product he could at least tell what it was :)

Man, I love that kid. He is so good. While we were at the restaurant this morning, a lady tapped me on the shoulder and said "Your kids are so wonderful. You should be very proud."
She couldn't have picked a better day to remind me what truly obedient, kind and just genuinely good kids I have. Especially that Tyler. He sets such a good example for Cam and he wants so deeply to do the right thing. We are so blessed to have him in our family!

Checklist for today

2011-02-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

Stay in my pajamas all day long....check.

Feel miserable from the cold I have had for a week now and realize that I probably have a sinus infection...check.

Watch a little five month old for over eight hours. One that is teething and has a double ear infection....check.

Have two completely rambunctious boys who need to get their energy out but can't because it is cold and drizzling all day...check.

Get a massive migraine in the middle of the day that comes on so suddenly that I can't prepare or take medicine and have it wipe me out for the rest of the day...check.

Have cheerios for dinner...check.

Immediately start crying when I talk to Scott on the phone (who is out of town for a few days)...check.

Let the boys play in the bathtub for ALMOST AN HOUR...check.

Go to bed at 8pm...soon to be check.

Questions, comments, and concerns

2011-02-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

Ty has had the following questions over the past few days....

"Mom, how do you REALLY make babies?" I guess he hasn't been satisfied with my glossing over the subject the past few times he has brought it up.

(partially in tears) "Why can't we have another baby in our family? Can I help you and dad get a baby?" This was as a follow up to the previous question.

"How does a fish live under the water all the time and not have to come up?"

"How does a cow make milk from just eating hay?"

"What is fat? What does it do to our blood?"

"Mom, here are your choices. You can either let me watch a movie or play a game on your phone. What do you choose?"

"What does it mean to zorse around?" To which I answered that I have no idea...but I then explained that I usually say "horsing around". He still thinks that is a weird phrase. It kind of is.

Yesterday, Scott walked into the family room and turned on the light. Ty followed him back into the bedroom and said "Dad, you broke something of mine." After further questioning about what Scott had broken Ty finally said "You turned on the light...and it broke my spookiness."

Yesterday we decided to go to the park and the boys rode their bikes. We passed a man who looked a little bit homeless...he had the torn clothes, dirt all over, unshaven, etc. He even had on a big hat and it was pretty ragged as well. He smiled at Cam as he passed and Cam stopped and got off his bike and ran over to him and said "Hey, are you a scarecrow?" I didn't know how to explain my child and the man just laughed and kept walking. Cam came running to me and said "Mom!! Look, a scarecrow!!!"

A few other happenings...on Monday, Ty and Cam were playing "bad guys and good guys" and Ty ran right into the mirrored sliding closet door. It immediately cracked in that spider web way all the way up the mirror. Luckily, Ty go further back before all the pieces started falling. We have told the boys so many times that they may not run into that mirror because it could break. So as soon as it did, Ty was crying and apologizing and sat down right by the wall before I even had time to process what had happened.

Later that night, for a valentines date, Scott and I went to Costco with the kids. So romantic.
In the line to check out, a little girl from the line next to us wandered over and the boys both waved him. Then, without warning, Cam walked right up and wrapped his arm around her and gave her a big hug. People around smiled. Then Cam pulled back and kissed her right on the lips. People around gasped and said "Aaaahhh". The mother of the little girl was still on her cell phone and just kind of smiled and pulled the daughter away. Costco really is romantic.

Beach

2011-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that right. We went to the beach on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and the kids even braved the water (just up to their knees). We spent most of the morning just hanging around, cleaning, fixing random things. Then after naps, Scott just said "Everyone put your shoes on! We are going to Santa Cruz!" We quickly packed some snacks and popped in the car. We made it to the beach just in time to see the most beautiful sunset and still feel the warm sand on our feet. Seriously...it was heaven! Here are some pics...

Cam running in the waves. The water was freezing..but they didn't seem to mind. You can see Ty WAY out there too. They both ended up getting their pants all went and it made for a sad walk back to the car.

Pretty background! And such a handsome boy!

Oh us.

Family pic

The brothers...Cam is getting pretty tall. Ty keeps reminding him that he is still older though.

Love this picture. Especially because they boys aren't looking. Doesn't it always seem to happen this way...

I also had to include fun family memories like these ones...

Of course, they had to take their shirts off when fighting. Ty said it is because he looks stronger that way. Cam did it because Ty did it. Oh my...thinking about the future makes me need some strong medication :)

Let's catch up...

2011-01-31T21:31:00.000-08:00

(This is our family, in case you have forgotten what we look like since I haven't posted pictures in so long)

Scott-
This handsome dude started a new project at work today! As most of you know, Scott has been working for the general contractor that is redesigning and rebuilding part of the San Jose airport. Scott has been there for the past three and a half years and the project there has quickly been coming to an end...which meant either they quickly found another project for their employees or lay-offs. For the past several months, I could cry at the drop of a hat if I thought about us losing our job. (To be honest, I can almost always cry at the drop of a hat...). We feel so blessed that the company found a job and, EVEN BETTER, we get to stay right here in Nor Cal! Scott will be working on the Santa Clara Medical Center for the next several years and he is very excited about it! He just started today and he seems to be excited and invigorated to be learning something new and having something to throw is energy into.
He has also been really excited about his music lately. He was able to attend NAMM (don't ask me what it stands for because I have no idea. In fact, I don't know really anything about Scott's music stuff :)) I do know that while he was at this prestigious music conference down in So Cal, Scott was able to get a music sponsor (super cool!) and he also got a picture with Kenny G!!! (Oh yeah...and a bunch of other rock icons that I have no idea about, but Scott was so excited!) If you want more details about this, you'll have to ask him because that is about how much I know. The only other thing I do know is that whenever I meet anyone who works with Scott on the music front they ALWAYS tell me that I am married to a musical genius. They have not heard me play Heart and Soul. I can play both parts all by myself...I seriously don't know how you can beat that! :)

Rachel-
I am doing just great. Did three weeks straight of P90X. And then went back to sitting on the couch and snacking :( I start a "nanny" job tomorrow for a 4 month old boy whose mom is going back to work three days a week. The boys are really excited to have a baby at the house and I think I am excited too...I guess only time will tell!
Now that we know we are going to be here for a few more years, I am getting excited about reorganizing the house and doing some fun little projects. I took several days and went through the house and did some decluttering and throwing out of things we haven't even looked at in years. It felt so good. And my first little project was to make a quilt. I went to a friend's house in our ward and she showed me how..and I finished it this morning. I feel so excited about it and now I can't wait to go get some more fabric!

Ty-
Oh this kid. Do you ever have days where you look at your kids and think "Oh my goodness. You actually look older than you did yesterday?" Well, I have that just about every day with Ty. He just acts so old sometimes...and then quickly reminds me that he is three by saying something like "Mom, I told Cam to stop looking at me and he won't listen. Will you please talk to him?"
Ty is very pleased that he is getting bigger. He always wants to measure how tall he is and he always wants to show his muscles. He keeps asking when he will be big enough to "work out" because whenever I would get ready for my P90X video I would always tell the boys that they couldn't play with the weights because it is just for adults to get stronger. He thinks he is ready. I don't think he could handle Tony.
On that same note, Ty cracks me up about some of these workout videos. He loves to watch me do the Kenpo video. (For those who don't know...it is a lot like Tae Bo, so there is kicking and punching involved). He would sit and watch the entire video while I worked out. And then he would start repeating what Tony Horton would say. Just today I heard him saying "Hoof, uppercut, now sidekick! Hoof, uppercut, sidekick!" (Supposed to be hook, uppercut, sidekick).
I think I have mentioned before that Ty really loves that he is starting to get hair (more like peach fuzz) on his arms and legs. He brings it up constantly as a conversation piece with his friends. The other day, it was pretty chilly outside and we were going to ride bikes and Ty had a little tantrum because he didn't want to wear his sweatshirt. He cried and cried when I told him that he couldn't come out until he had a jacket on and through his tears he exclaimed "Mom, my fur will keep me warm!!"
Scott was sitting and talking with Ty the other day on the couch. Just some man to man bonding time. They were just laying there and this is how their conversation went:
Scott: So, Ty, tell me what kinds of things you think about.
Ty: Well...hmmm...God...our town...and true love.
Nice one Ty! Way to catch your dad off guard for that one!
We just signed Ty up for T-ball this spring and he is just beside himself with excitement. He can't wait and can't stop talking about it. Poor Cam cries and asks "Why me no team??" He doesn't think it is as cool to just be able to play baseball with mom.
Last, but certainly not least, is that Ty is well on his way to reading. He spends LOTS of time everyday working out of his "workbook" and loves writing on the whiteboard. He reads and writes all of his letters and can sound out small words. He learned to write all of our names today! I am so proud of him and how much he just loves to learn. He is truly such a fun kid!

Cam-
Oh, lets just take a look at the wonder that is Cam.

Let's evaluate:
First of all, he loves to take his shirt off. This must be something in the male gene. He shows his muscles and growls a lot too. Next, make sure you notice the "bling". Cam is the real deal, folks. He walks around like he owns the place and waves to all the neighbors...especially the female ones. Next is the hat. Cam will almost never been seen without a hat. He will also never be wearing it forward...ALWAYS backwards. He says it is because he wants to be like "dad" but Scott wears his hat forward sometimes. Not Cam. Not ever.
Now please notice the rain boots. I think they make a nice statement...don't you? (Note that it hadn't rained for weeks when I took this picture...even though it is rainy now). Now turn your attention to the saw that is lying right within his grasp. It has been a crucial thing for him to learn that he must be ready to retaliate at any moment. He and Tyler both always carry some kind of weapon with them at all times in case "the bad guys" or a dragon or even one time he attacked Cinderella. I know that they say it is to get the bad guys, but I really know that they hold those so that they can tease each other without me knowing. Nothing gets past this mom.
Last, don't overlook that dazzling smile he puts on and his eyes...just like his dad's!
Cam is just a wonder-boy. Scott calls him wasabi. (I don't know if that is how you spell it...but it is that incredibly spicy stuff that you put on sushi). I have only had it once...and I didn't know what it was and I was terribly surprised. I think that the name is fitting...strong, overwhelming to a point of crying, powerful, a little goes a long way, when you get a taste you feel like you are going to explode, etc. Cam has so much personality packed into his little body. And have I mentioned he has the energy of an asteroid? From the minute this kid wakes up, he is just going, going, going. He hates to sit down, even to have breakfast because he wants to run around and play. But, on occasion, he has been known to throw down more food than most adults. He had 7 waffles for dinner once...yes, SEVEN. I think I had two and a half. I assume he eats in these massive quantities so he can fuel himself for his day.
It has been an intense undertaking to try and tame this child...or at least to try and direct his energy positively. But he is doing very well. He is really becoming a great listener and helper. (Much is due to the example of his big brother). Cam jumps out of bed in the morning and starts his chores right away. They have a little chore chart and they get to put magnets on them when they are done and Cam just loves it. He makes his bed and then quickly strips down out of his clothes so he can get dressed. Then he and Ty both run to the bathroom to do their hair...yes, they do their own hair and I am not allowed to help. I wish I had a picture of them doing their hair...they both love to do their hair "spikey" and it just the most adorable thing. He is learning to be obedient and he can be such a joy...when he wants to. When he doesn't want to...it is almost earth shattering. Cam loves to sing and he and Ty usually sing songs to each other at night.
Oh...I almost forgot to mention that Ty and Cam got a bunk bed for Christmas from Santa. So Cam is in a big bed now and does great...only got out one night and had to sleep in his crib. He hasn't gotten out of bed since. We are loving the bunk bed...and probably will love it even more once we take the crib out of the room and have all that space back!!

My goodness...have I said enough??? That ought to give you a little snippet into our life! Life is busy and crazy and wonderful all at the same time!

The Past Few Months

2010-12-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

I have not forgotten about this blog. In fact, I think about posting something a couple times a week. And then I never do. I guess it is just one of those things that gets put to the bottom of the list until it is actually embarrassing that you haven't done it (kind of like cleaning the bathroom).

Our past few months has been so much fun! We have tons of pictures, but none of them are on this computer...they are in where Cam is napping. So I won't be posting pictures today. But here is an update...
We had a wonderful Halloween party with all of the "Hot Mamas" and it was just perfect! Good food, lots of candy, darling costumes, pin the nose on the jack-0-latern, trick or treating, etc. The boys had a ball.
We left for Utah right after the halloween party and had a terrific trip there! We stayed with Scott's parents for about a week and did a whole bunch of fun things including: campfire with Papa (complete with tents, flashlights, and of course, fire...all things that the boys just LOVED), a fun farm which I don't remember the name of where we went around and saw a ton of animals and had a swarm of geese follow us because we had a bag of food, walk around Silver Lake (again, I don't remember if that is the right name), swimming with cousins at Holladay Lions, seeing our dear friends Jeff and Julie and their darling kids, spending a day in Provo and seeing all the old sights of where Scott and I first met, first kissed, first apartment, etc., attended the wedding of the best friend I could ever have and someone I just admire so much, Mandie (I still call her Sister Hendricksen...from the mission), eating tons of good food, date night with the adults, and just fun time with Papa and Mimi. We loved having them all to ourselves for the week!
Next, I went up to Idaho for a week...which I often fear doing because I am not a great single parent. In fact, I feel like I usually fail miserably when I try to do it by myself. But Scotty had to be back to work and I really wanted to spend time with my parents and sister, so we gave it a go. And it actually turned out great. That doesn't mean that we didn't have some HUGE meltdowns from the boys..no, that was definitely there, but I handled it and we got through it. When we first got there it was so cold and then it started snowing for almost an entire day. Then next few days were just heaven for the boys and they asked to get in their snow clothes the very second they woke up. Ty was a little trooper out there and even after Cam would give up and come in because he was too cold, he would continue to make snow angels and slide down the hill all by himself. The boys just loved bonding with Grandma and Grandpa with movie nights, making cinnamon rolls, going swimming, playing in the snow, doing crafts, playing games, learning songs, etc. They also just couldn't get enough of Aunt Becca. Ty actually keeps asking for a sister since we have been up there because he loved playing with Becca. She built a fort with them and played doctor and chased them around the house. She even took a turn bathing them and getting them ready for bed one night. We were certainly spoiled!!
As soon as we got home I felt so homesick and missed all of the fun people and fun things that we were able to do over those few weeks!
Next comes...Thanksgiving! We had such a terrific day...I dare say it might have been my favorite Thanksgiving ever! Maren and I ran the turkey trot first thing in the morning (which I have to say thanks to Maren for coming over several times in the prior weeks in order to help me get out and training for it without the kids) and it was awesome. Then home to my sweet and wonderful husband who is actually such a terrific chef. She stayed up until around midnight the night before so that he could get the stuffing going in the crockpot and when I got home from my run, he had the kids all dressed and having fun and had a few other Thanksgiving dishes prepared. He is so great!
We met at the Laytons around 1pm and fed the kids and put them to bed! The adults enjoyed a blissful dinner where we ate all that we could without having to stop and feed anyone. Then we moved to the family room where we promptly fell asleep to a movie until the kids woke up. By the time the kids woke up we were just about ready to head over to the Katz's for dessert with several other families. It was amazing! I love getting together with friends on Thanksgiving and sharing holidays together because it makes them feel like family :)
Anyway, after dessert, the Laytons headed back to our place and we put the kids down for the night and then the real party started. We played games and chatted and laughed our heads off (at least I didn't wet my pants this time) until super late and then put on Harry Potter. The next morning, Maren and I went shopping while the boys watched the kids. We picked up lunch and brought it home...mmmm Five Brothers burgers!! That night we headed over to the Layton's for another sleepover at their place. We seriously had so much fun!!
Over the last few weeks I feel like I have been in heaven because I can blast the Christmas music from our house and I don't get weird looks like I do when its July. We got out our Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving and our whole life feels so Christmasy. We had a whole group of friends over for donuts and hot chocolate (after we tried to go look at Chrismas lights, but it didn't exactly work out :)), we made gingerbread houses with some friends, we sing christmas songs by the light of the tree and sometimes with Scotty playing the guitar, we have watched Polar Express more times than I care to admit, and I am just getting all the ingredients out for sugar cookies for this afternoon.
Cam is now awake and desperately wants to watch the Will i Am Sesame street video...if you haven't seen it on youtube, you should go check it out. Then you will know what I listen to all day long :)
I will try to post some pictures of our ever growing and ever so cute boys.

Before I forget...

2010-10-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Every single day, the kids do something that makes me laugh. Every day. And I always think that I should write them down somewhere. And I never do.
So I am going to write down the few that have happened today and yesterday....cause you gotta start somewhere!

This morning Ty and I had a conversation about switching over to closed-toed shoes instead of sandals. He has been so upset that he can't wear his sandals anymore and he insists that the other shoes are "squishy" even though they are actually one size too big for him. His biggest complaint was that he wouldn't be able to play soccer in his shoes. I told him that it would actually be better with the newer shoes because they cover his feet and no one could step on his toes and he wouldn't step on any rocks. At the mention that he wouldn't get hurt by rocks, he raised his eyebrows and said "No, mom. You don't understand. If I saw any rocks, I would just jump over them. Now can I wear my sandals?" Oh...I hadn't thought of that one. Thanks for clearing that up, Ty!

When Cam woke up from a nap the other day, he walked into Ty's room to play with him and Ty squealed "Check this out Cam! I made a bomb shelter!" I have NO idea how he learned what a bomb shelter is, but I think it might have something to do with Scott's video games.

I checked in on Ty during quiet time one day and found that he had moved the toy chest and a couple other things to make a fort in his room. I look suprised because I didn't realize he could move all that stuff himself and said "Wow. That stuff is heavy" to which he replied "Well, I am strong...like a big boy and like a jaguar!"

This one I am still laughing at as I type this....last night we had a lesson on the priesthood for Family Home Evening. We told the boys that if they are obedient and righteous that they will be able to hold the priesthood one day. So this morning, Cam and Ty were arguing over a toy and Ty had asked nicely for the toy but Cam wouldn't give it to him. I heard Ty yell "CAM!! If you don't be obedient, you will NEVER GET THE PRIESTHOOD!!!!" I am just happy that the lesson stuck!

At the park today, Cam was standing right next to me when a man running in black sweats and a black hoodie pulled up over his head was jogging right past us. It was obvious that he was running around the park and had been for a long time, so I wasn't nervous in the slightest (even though the above description sounds like it might have been scary). Cam on the other hand....he panicked and screamed "BAD GUY! BAD GUY!" Of course all the other kids and moms at the park looked over and started to get scared. The poor man that was running just put up his hands, like "I didn't do anything" and I tried to assure Cam that everything was okay. I am glad that Cam is scared of strangers, but I feel bad for the poor guys who are suddenly singled out by Cam. He did it in Costco on Saturday as well to a man who had a long beard. I am sure the man heard, although he didn't acknowledge it.

In other news...this isn't funny...mostly just frustrating....Cam and Ty both LOVE opening and closing the door. I think we need to put a chart right on the door showing who opened/closed it last so that we know whose turn it is next. Every time there is a knock on the door the boys both run to the door and whoever wins opens the door, while the other falls on the floor in a huge tantrum right in front of whoever is at the door. It makes for a great welcome for anyone who comes by. Because of the tantrums and problems, the boys lost the privilege of opening and closing the door for a whole day. That was pretty much the longest day of my life!! Now that it is over, they are doing better about at least not screaming and throwing tantrums right by the front door.

Also, Ty and Cam got to watch "The Princess and the Frog" for movie night on Friday night. They have been running around saying "Oh, Naveee-eeeen!" the way that Lotty did when she was running out to meet Prince Naveen at the parade. It is so funny to hear them say that to each other. Cam has called Ty that so much today that Ty actually answered to it one time. Ty laughed really hard when he realized what he had done. What a crack up.

That is all I can think of right now. I will try to post more because I know that I am missing some really funny ones. That's it for now!

Lemos Farm

2010-10-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

We made the annual trek to Lemos Farm this past week with a group of good friends. Ty had been asking everyday if it was Friday yet because he was so excited to go to the pumpkin patch. Finally, Friday morning arrived and he ran into my room at 6:30am and said "Mom, get up! It's Friiiiidaaaay!" Yes, he was very excited.

We got a ride up to Half Moon Bay with our good friend Mary and Livia and the car ride went pretty well. Once we got there...oh boy. I feel like I am my very own circus sometimes. Trying to watch and keep two wild boys in line is sometimes just too much for me. Here are a few of the events from those few hours:

Cam ate a handful of goat food that Maren gave him to feed the goats.

Ty tripped and scraped his finger. There was a hint of redness on the skin and he would not rest until he had a bandaid. Luckily there was a first aid lady from another group right there.

Cam went crazy when we were able to go into the goat pen. So many goats and so many tails to pull. There was a very pregnant goat laying on the ground and I told him he needed to be VERY careful by her and, of course, he ran right over to "snuggle" her. He fell in love and spent most of his time near her. He did, however, venture away from her in order to explore the body of another goat. He put his fingers in an unmentionable place and it made the goat VERY angry. I dont blame that poor little goat.

We got passes to go into the "fun zone" which had a few bouncy houses. The boys were in heaven. They could have stayed there for days.

Cam had a head-on collision with another little boy. It was totally an accident and they both just happened to jump right toward each other and they wacked heads and both fell backwards. The other little boy shrieked and screamed until his mom came into the house and got him. Cam was stunned for a minute and then laughed and said "Again!!". That is vintage Cam. Something might be wrong with him :)

We rode the train and both boys said "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!!" the whole time. They loved it!

When we were looking for a couple little pumpkins for decorations the boys had such a hard time not picking up the pumpkins and throwing them. When I questioned Ty as to why he wasn't being obedient and he kept picking up the pumpkins he said "They look just like basketballs. And Cam keeps doing it. He is not setting a good example for me and so I just do it too!"

Some of our friends did pony rides while we were there. I let the boys choose when we got there if they wanted to do the fun zone or pony rides. Needless to say, it was quite the battle and there were many tears.

At the very end we decided to head out to the parking lot (in order to get away from the pony rides that were causing all the tears) to look at the horses out there. The horses were standing right by the fence and so we got to pet their noses. Cam kept putting his fingers right near the horses mouth and I kept telling him that it was too dangerous. But he insisted that the horse "lick" his fingers. Finally the horse gave a little chomp and Cam gave a little squeal. He pulled his fingers away and had a totally suprised look on his face as he angrily said "Horse bite!!" His fingers were okay and they were just a little red and smooshed.

Overall, it was a fun trip. Those little boys sure keep me on my toes, but I love them so much!

"Mom, are you kidding? You really want us to look at you when there are so many other things to look at??"

Ty was so sweet with the goats he kept peeking around and asking them all "How did you sleep last night?"

Cam gives great snuggles. Especially to pregnant goats.

Ride 'em cowboys

You can see his nasty cold sore. The rest of his face was pretty cleared up by this time, but he had them ALL over his face. Poor kid. He didn't eat much for almost a week!

Fun Happenings

2010-09-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the fun things we have been up to lately...

Ty's hat--Ty has been saving his pennies (that he earns for being obedient, kind, sharing, etc) for a long, long time. He didn't want to spend them on something silly like a toy or a treat. No, this boy knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be like his dad and buy a hat. So, while it took him months to save up all the pennies, he finally bought his hat with dad. Both Scott and Ty were happy little boys!

Visit from Mimi--Scott's mom came to visit and the boys had a blast. We went to the Mountain View Art and Wine Festival that was in downtown Mountain View, just blocks from where we live. While we didn't drink any wine or look at any art, we did spend hours at the bouncy houses and slides. Ty and Cam were literally dripped sweat as they climbed out and they both exclaimed "That was FUN!!" We ate ice cream and kettle corn and it most definitely spoiled our dinner, but that's okay! It was such a treat to have Mimi come!

Weather turned cold--This is definitely a "fun happening". I have been waiting for fall and winter since, well, since last fall and winter! We celebrated by pulling out the rain boots...and the boys have not taken them off since!

Camping at Ice House Reservoir--We went camping with my grandma and grandpa and lots of my aunts and uncles. It was so fun for the boys to get to know more of the Wright family and see their great grandparents. They had so much fun and they both cried when we had to pack up our tent to go home. I wish we had more pictures...but alas, we don't.

The boys played by the lake, threw hundreds of rocks into the water, were showered with love and candy from my aunts and uncles, got to go fishing, and just plain got dirty! They loved it. Cam even had a battlewound to prove that you should not take climbing rocks lightly :)
Scott and I loved riding on the boat, riding the seadoos, and even jumping off of a 30 ft cliff. (Ok, so really, I climbed to the top and chickened out. Scott jumped. He is so brave.)

More fun things to come later!

Yet again...

2010-09-02T14:18:00.001-07:00

I have lost my phone.

Actually this time it was stolen. I found the case out in the gutter right next to our house. I had the phone one minute. Then next minute it was gone (must have fallen out of the stroller).
I went back to see where I had walked...like 20 steps from our front door and found the case there. I tried calling the phone and it is off.

I am so angry.
I am so frustrated.
Yes, this is the new phone that Scott got me about three weeks ago because I jumped into the swimming pool with the phone in my pocket.
Oh I am so mad right now.

I probably shouldn't post when I am this upset, but maybe I can leave all my anger here on the blog and I won't let it ruin the rest of my day.

Oh yes, and happy birthday Cam. I love you. I really do. I know I have been crying for the last 30 minutes, but it isn't your fault. And you still get presents tonight.

A Few Things I Love...

2010-08-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

---Monday mornings! Most people don't like monday's, but I do. Wanna know why? Garbage day! It starts my week out great when the boys happily jump out of bed and get dressed right away and wait by the window for the garbage man to come by. Since this is the case EVERY SINGLE monday morning, all the garbage men know the boys. They stop by the window and wave, they honk the horn, and sometimes they even let them yell the magic word and then the garbage cans go up to be dumped. It is so magical for them. It gets even better though...ALL day as the garbage trucks drive around town they recognize the boys and they honk and wave. It is so cute! We actually just got back from a little walk and one of the garbage men that we haven't seen in awhile actually pulled over his truck to jump out and say hi to the boys and give them a "hi five". I wish they all could know how much these little guys look forward to seeing them each week.

--My Running Cheerleader! The other day as I was trying to go five miles (after not running on my injured knee for about 10 days). It felt like I was running 10 miles. It was so hard. Right around 3 miles I really felt like giving up and my legs were sore and I had just hit a wall. I turned a corner onto a major street and up in front of me about 50 feet was this woman with a bright orange and yellow African dress on with a matching head piece. It was gorgeous. She was old in age, but very young in spirit. As soon as I turned the corner with my jogging stroller, she jumped up and started cheering for me. "Come on girl! You can do it! Wow, what a woman! Girl, you got it goin' on!" She just kept cheering for me and clapping. I was a tad bit embarrassed at first, but then I didn't care. As I ran past I am sure I had the biggest smile I've ever had while running. Thank you wild and wonderful lady for keeping me going!

--"Cami-boy". When Cameron was first born, Scott and I didn't really want people to call him "Cami". It sounded too much like a girls name. But, I've gotta tell you...hearing Tyler call him Cami or Cami-boy is the sweetest thing I have ever heard.

--I love that a few weeks ago at the park, we saw this man with a HUGE dog that was black and white and Ty asked the man "Can I pet your cow?"

--I love that while I was writing this post, the boys decided to eat sugar by the spoonful. Literally. I accidentally left the bag of sugar on the table from breakfast and when I peeked out to check on the them, I caught Cam white-handed with an overflowing spoonful of sugar that he popped into his mouth before I could reach him. Sugar ALL over the floor. Sugar all over their clothes. I wonder how much they ate....

--I love that no matter how hard I try or no matter what I do, boys (or at least my boys) turn every toy into some kind of weapon. Right now, Ty and Cam are wandering around the house as a firefighter and a police man and trying to get the bad guys with their golf clubs that they hold up to their eye and then shoot. Where do they learn this stuff? They will have none of this coloring or sitting down to do a puzzle. Not enough aggression or physical contact.

Buck, the scarlet retriever

2010-08-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today at the park, Ty found a ladybug.
He sat underneath the swing where he found it and played with it the whole time at the park. He called over Cam, and they admired it together. Ty was sure to let Cam know exactly how she liked to be held and how to talk to her just right. They giggled and laughed as her little legs would tickle the palms of their hands. They gasped in awe as she opened her wings and they saw how she could fly. But she didn't fly away. She just stayed there with the boys.
Ty begged and begged until finally I told him he could bring the ladybug home. He quickly placed her in the trunk (small container on the back of his tricycle) and put some grass in there and some sticks so she would be "nice and comfy for the ride home". Ty rode his bike very slowly home, making sure to not hit any of the usual bumps so as to not bother the ladybug. On the way home he said "Mom, I want her to be in our family forever. That is why I won't go on any bumps, because I want her to love me and to stay with me forever. She will be so happy in our family!"
When I asked what her name was he replied "Her name is Buck, just like Dad's doggy when he was a little boy. Buck was a golden retriever and that is what I want the ladybug to be."
I said "That is so neat Ty! Dad will be so excited! Except a golden retriever has fur that is golden...is your ladybug golden?"
(Ty)"No...she is red. Could she be a red retriever?"
(Me)"Sure...or do you know another name for red? It is scarlet.
(Ty)"Ooooohhhh. She could be a scarlet retriever!"
He beamed from ear to ear and pedaled even faster on our way home. He was one happy boy.

As soon as we got home, Ty rode right up to the front door and waited right there for me as I walked up. Just as I walked up and told him I would go inside and get a jar for Buck, he opened the trunk to check on her. I heard him gasp and then shout "Noooooo!"
Up, up, up and away she flew. Immediately came the flow of tears. I gave him a big hug and we talked about it for a minute. Still sad, he walked his bike over to put it away and then sadly, head hung low, he walked back to the house.
As he walked in, with huge tears in his eyes, he asked "Why did she leave me? We were going to be a happy family?" As I hugged him and talked to him more about it and told him that it was so wonderful that she living out in nature and we should be happy, he finally said "Mom, I think I just need to call dad. He can make me feel better."
A quick phone call to dad made his tears go away. Even though he still was missing her, things seemed to get better after that. I feel the same way about Scotty. He makes everything better!
I love that we had Buck, the scarlet retriever in our family for a few minutes.
I love even more that we have Scott in our family forever!

Midnight Snacks

2010-08-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning, I woke up and really wanted to make a raspberry smoothie. Scott had just been to safeway on Friday night, and I saw that he had bought two little packages of raspberries! I was so excited. But as I searched the fridge up and down, I couldn't find the berries. I hollered to Scott "Hey...where did you put the raspberries?" to which he replied "There are right there in the fridge." Nope. They were not. I kept searching as Ty casually walked into the kitchen. Ty said "Oh, are you lookin' for the raspberries? I ate them last night!" I totally didn't even pay attention and just kind of mumbled back to him til he finally grabbed my shoulder and said "Mom, I ate all the raspberries! I got real hungry in the night and you and dad were sleeping, so I just had a snack of raspberries."
Sure enough, both containers were there in the trash. Crazy kid! He ate 16 oz of raspberries sometime after midnight (cause that is when we went to bed).

Then this morning I found an empty bag of chocolate chips on the counter first thing in the morning and when I questioned Ty, he admitted that he was hungry again in the night. Luckily the bag was almost empty already!

In other news, our little Lango (aka Camerlango) is doing great. I can't believe he will be two next week. He climbs and jumps and runs like he has been doing it for ten years. He sings the abc's and lots of primary songs (but he usually only knows the word at the end of each sentence). He is a wild dancer, a fantastic wrestler (thanks to his brother), an avid reader (but only if there are trucks or tractors or diggers in the book), and he has a great imagination. Cam already plays by himself with cars and I can hear him helping them, singing to them, putting them in timeouts, changing their diapers, etc. He loves any kind of truck, especially fire trucks.
Cam is fiercely independant. It is sometimes painful. But, I have been learning patience and I turly have loved watching him learn how to do things on his own. (Even if it does take us an hour to get on shoes...)

Lastly, I ran three miles yesterday for the first time in 10 days. My body felt stiff and awful. I don't know how I am going to get my body back into "running" mode, but at least my knee felt okay...(not great, just okay. It hurt, but didn't throb with pain.) I am still nervous about it, but I am trying to not let it ruin my attitude!

That's it in news for us!

Let's make a deal....

2010-08-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

It seems as though I wait to post anything on the blog until I have a cute story, embarrassing moment, or major catastrophe. As soon as I have one of those, I usually am too busy cleaning up said mess or waiting for said embarrassing moment to actually be funny, so I don't post it on the blog. This is a nasty cycle.
So today, I am just going to post about nothing. And everything. So it will probably be boring to everyone, but it will be fun for me :)

A couple weeks ago, Ty started saying "Okay, mom. Let's make a deal..." and then he would continue with some outrageous thought that usually included him getting candy or a toy. It started out hilarious...and it still is. To hear this little guy actually try to sell some of these bargains is just humorous. I know when he has thought of something he wants because his eyes will get big and a cute little grin appears on his face and he begins "Okay, mom. Let's make a deal. I will be veeery obedient today and you will clean up all my toys."
or "I will go wipe my nosey like you asked and you will buy me skittles."
or "I will watch a movie and you will make cookies,"
When I suggest a "counter-deal" (something like, he wipes his nose and then I will snuggle him) he thoughtfully replies "thanks Mom, but I like my deal best!"
He also has started asking me all the time "Mom, how did you get to be so pretty?" Gosh, the things this kid thinks up...it kills me!

In other news...
I am so excited for Christmas. I can't wait. The weather has turned a little colder here and it is overcast most of the morning. It is too much for me. I just can't handle having Christmas be so far away. I am already listening to Christmas music. I made chocolate chip cookies and watched Polar Express with the boys. I have had "Silver Bells" stuck in my head for several days. Do you think if I just will it to come sooner that it will happen?
Thinking of Christmas makes me miss my family. I desperately want to go and visit...and I hope we will soon. I think we will. Oh please, let's go!

Running hasn't been going so well. This week was supposed to be a 16 mile run...I got to mile 7 and had to stop because my knee was KILLING me. I could barely make it home. I was so disappointed in myself. I still kind of think it was 50% my knee hurting and 50% that I didn't want to run. And now my foot is really sore...really. It seems like every time I take a step, the top of my foot aches. But regardless, I am running today. AND I have already decided that I will listen to Christmas music, because that will most definitely keep me going!

I made chili for dinner tonight. I love making chili because I put it in the crock pot and it simmers all afternoon...and our house already smells like October. (Don't you think that the month of October smells like chili?) Mmmmm.

Last night, for Family Home Evening, I gave the lesson (really, it was more like a two minute thought) about serving a mission. We talked about how happy Heavenly Father is when people serve a mission and how happy it made me and Scott to serve a mission. Before we ended, we asked the boys where they wanted to serve a mission and Tyler said he wants to go to San Jose. Remember last year when he said he wanted to go to the North Pole? Things are improving! When we asked Cam, he just tackled Ty (as if just speaking to him suddenly gives him permission to release some atomic energy that had been building up in the three minutes that he had to sit still). End of FHE. Off to Dairy Queen for an ice cream.

Rats. Cam is awake. End of my blog post.

A small victory, but a victory none the less!

2010-08-02T09:47:00.001-07:00

WARNING: This post is going to seem lame and weak to all of my runner friends. Don't laugh or mock or make fun of me!

Okay, so most of you know that I am training to run the St. George marathon in October. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time now and I am excited to just buckle down and get it done. We are about half way through our training schedule and I felt (note: past tense) like everything was going fine. I was keeping up on my schedule and getting all my runs in.
I have never been a fast runner...and I have never really cared that much. I just run. Put my head phones in and turn up the music, give the kids some snacks and books, and then I just go. I didn't even care how far or where I went. I just ran. And it was fun.
But, like I said, I am pretty slow. I am talking...like really slow.
Anyway, we just did 13.1 miles two weeks ago and I was feeling proud that I even did it. We finished in just under 3 hours...I think it was 2:55 or something like that. That is about 13:30 minutes per mile. (Side note: Scott is much much faster. But he trots around and runs in circles around me to keep me motivated. He tells me jokes and reminds me to push myself as hard as I can. He would run it in half the time...but he stays with me. Isn't he great?)
Anyway, we got an email from the St. George marathon with general information about the course, the schedule, etc., but the thing that stood out to me was the timing...it said that the course closes after SIX HOURS. Six hours. If my half marathon is just barely under three hours...then I am looking at finishing right at six hours. But what if I need extra time? What if something happens?
Do you know how discouraging it is to know that I could train for something for five months and then not even be able to complete it? I knew I was slow, and I knew I would be finishing at the very tail end of all the runners, but I didn't realized I would be LAST!! I didn't realize that they just might close the course before I could even cross the finish line. That is kind of depressing. I'll be honest, when I started realizing all of this, I was so so sad. Scott talked me through it and made me feel like I could do it...but I still doubted myself.
So, this past Saturday we had scheduled a 10 mile run. In the morning, Scott had a terrible migraine and he was going to be able to go, and I considered not going myself. Last minute, I decided that I would go. I geared up and took off. I had set some goals to try and run just a little bit fast this time, but I don't know what came over me. I just kept running faster and faster. And I would get lost in my thoughts and look down and I would be running an eight minute mile. So I would slow down (so I wouldn't burn out) but just kept going and going.
Finally, as I ran into our driveway of our complex the running watch showed exactly 10 miles and exactly 2 hours. I quickly did the math...that means twelve minutes per mile!
Seriously....do you know how hard it is to cut off a minute and a half per mile? FOR TEN MILES?? I was so proud of myself. As soon as I walked in the door, I fell on the floor and started crying because I was so happy. And Scotty, being the terrific husband that he is, made me feel like I had just run the whole marathon.
I know it sounds like I am tooting my own horn here...so for those of you who didn't catch it...I am still running a 12 minute mile (which is usually under the "jogging/speed walking" category) so it isn't much to brag about. But I am still really proud.
It seems like a tiny little step for most runners out there, but it was a giant leap for Rachel McPhie!

And so it began...

2010-07-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

There I was. Standing on the side of the road, waiting for my brother to pick me up.
I saw him walking toward me and, because I didn't want him to think I was checking him out or anything, I quickly looked away. But I most definitely blushed and my heart started beating faster. He was just about to pass me, when...
What? Um...stutter...I don't know what to say....some super hot guy is asking my name!
AAAAHHH!

Yep! That is how it all began.

Scott had me at hello. Right there on the street.
He studied with me at the library. Yes, I was pretty much a nerd.
He took me to BYU football games, even when he rooted against us.
He brought me food when I was sick.
He always opened my door. Always.
He would sit and watch me straighten my hair just so he could be with me.
He is just as perfect now as he was then!
He always tells me I am beautiful. And when I roll my eyes and shrug it off, he stops and tells me again.
He holds me when I am sad and lets me cry.
He cleans the kitchen when I haven't for over a week. (Not that that ever happens...)
He laughs at my totally lame jokes.
He goes to see chick flick movies with me. In the theater! And even when he is falling asleep and I ask him why he isn't watching the movie he just says "I want you to be happy."
He doesn't get mad when I accidentally jump in the pool with my phone in my pocket and totally ruin it...or back our car into our jogging stroller.
He tells our boys that he loves me. Even when I can't hear. I know this because Ty said the other day "Dad said that you are very special Mommy and we be veeery obedient to you. And you are very pretty."
He cheers me on and tells me he is proud of me and makes me feel like I can do anything.
I really feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
If you can't tell, I am in love.
Happy Anniversary Scotty!

It's about time!

2010-07-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

We are still alive! And after months of neglecting this poor, little blog, I am now going to show it a little attention.

Since I can't even really remember what I did yesterday, I am most definitely not going to remember all the fun, crazy, wild, frustrating, and amazing things that have happened to us in the past few months. It has all been there though. We have all been happy. We have all been sad. We are all happy again!

Some highlights over the past few months:

-Retreat with the McPhie sisters! We all went on an amazing trip to New York. It was such a delight. I loved every minute of it and I LOVE my sisters! Thanks so much to Mom McPhie who made that all possible!

-Camping, camping, camping! We have been camping several times this summer and we just love it. The boys are at that perfect age where everything from a pinecone to a dusty leaf are treasures and a tree stump can give hours of entertainment. We went to Yosemite at the beginning of May with a friend from Scott's work, then to the beach at the end of May with several friends, and then back to Yosemite in June for a family reunion. The boys had so much fun playing with their cousins and getting to see grandma and grandpa and even GREAT grandma and grandpa! We are so lucky to have such wonderful family!

-My sister Betsy got to fly in a few days before the family reunion and I got to spend a lot of time with her. I miss her. I love being with her. My kids just loved her and they were so sad when we had to drop her off at the airport. We talked, went on walks, went to the park, she styled my hair, etc. Even if it was for just a few days, it sure was heavenly!

-Swimming lessons have made up the last few weeks for us. Ty has looked forward to his swimming lessons since we signed up a few months ago and he had been asking daily when it was time. Finally, they arrived and he had a little bit of a hard time at first, but he is doing such a great job. Since all of the beginning (level one) classes were full, he was put in the level two classes and I worried that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the older kids. But he is doing a fantastic job. I am really proud of him...mostly that he learned to overcome his fear and has continued to do lessons even though he gets nervous most mornings. After lessons, he usually jumps into my arms and says "I did it Mom! Are you so proud of me?"
Cam, on the other hand, is another story. This kid...He loves the pool at our complex. He loves splashing and getting wet and jumping off the wall to me. In fact, this weekend, he jumped off the diving board at a friend's pool. But will he do a parent/tot class with me in a kiddie pool? Not a chance! The teachers keeps saying things like "As he gets older, he will get more adventurous and daring and he will warm right up to the pool" and I think to myself "Heaven help me if this kid gets any more daring!"

A few other fun things...training for our marathon is going great! I guess I haven't mentioned that Scott and I decided to run the St. George marathon this year. We found out in May that we got into the marathon (since it is a lottery) and we were so excited/terrified. We are several weeks into our training and things are going well. Sometimes I ask myself why in the world I would do something like that to myself, but in the end, I find such a wonderful release when I run. It is terrific! And the kids do well in our double jogging stroller...I often look down and see them reading books to each other, playing with cars, or Ty dividing up the lunch. (I won't mention the times I look down and see them crying or fighting over a toy or hear the phrase "Mom, Cam is touching me!!!". What do I do? I turn the music on my ipod louder and go to a happy place.)
Ty and Cam really are becoming such great little buddies. Everyday that goes by, Cam learns more words and is more like a little toddler than a baby (even though I still say things like "Scott, can you go get the baby?" Ty is so happy about it! In fact, Cam got a hand-me-down trike from some friends a couple weeks ago and has been learning to ride it lately. Ty is right by his side cheering him on and the other day, after Cam had pedaled two or three times on his own Ty exclaimed "Mom, I love having a brother!" It is little bursts like that that make me beam.
Cam has learned how to climb out of his crib. That does not make me beam. In fact, it sucks the light and life right out of me. We might have had a breakthrough tonight though...we will see. It is only 9:30....

Well, I think that sums it up over here...hopefully I will post again before September :)

WARNING: MANY PICTURES FOLLOW

Ty adoring his little cousin Izzy while sitting with Uncle Joe

I LOVE this picture. It is one of those that I snapped just in time to see the boys hiking with Scott and Ty turned around to reach out for Great Grandpa Wright's hand. I really love this picture.

Our family overlooking Yosemite valley.

This is how the longest and hardest hike went for the boys :)

I love how green the background is here...just off to the side of a waterfall having lunch

The theme for our Wright reunion this year was "Semper Fi" (an army theme). Ty still wears his dog tags everywhere (just ask anyone who has seen us since then) and will randomly holler "Semper Fi!"

Lunch at the beach

Just close enough...

Ty loves the beach. He would stay in the water the entire time if we let him. He loves it the most when Dad goes in the water with him. I heard screams of delight all the way to our spot on the sand

A picture of the fam at Sunset Beach (camping)

Bridal Veil Falls

Sad times while camping

Happy times while camping

Like father, like son

Cam's first bloody nose...and the brother who gave it to him!

Funny Family Quotes

2010-04-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

background: sitting at the table for lunch. we were having green apples.
me: Ty, these green apples are just a little bit sour. Do you know what sour means?
ty: yep! sour means when something makes your face wiggly!
me: (laughing) what do you mean?
ty: watch! (he takes a bite of green apple, puckers up his face, and wiggles it back and forth). See...my face wiggles!

background: i did my hair curly for church on sunday
ty: wow, mom! your hair is very shaggy. we should cut it!

background: driving to church, trying to remind the kids of how we behave during sacrament meeting
me: .....and we just sit quietly and can we can play with our toys if we play soooo calmly!
ty: yes, we need to be good because Santa is always watchin' us!

background: today, just chatting with the kids
me: Hey, Cam, do you love me?
cam: no!
ty: (laughing) cam, do you love me?
cam: no!
me: Cam, who do you love?
cam: CAILLOU!!!!

background: i was cleaning up the kitchen, clearing off the table after a snack
ty: (runs into the kitchen) mom, i am really proud of you for cleaning up. great work! (runs out of the kitchen to play)

background: yesterday, making bisquits in the morning for breakfast
me: hey ty, do you want to come help me mix?
ty: could you ask me the right way?
me: please?
ty: sure...because you asked nice, I will help. i love it when you ask me nicely mom! great job!
(do you think we have over done it a bit??)

background: a few nights ago, in the middle of the night, scott rolled RIGHT next to me
me: (in an angry, tired, groggy, mean voice) Scott! Go far far away from me!!!
(in my defense, i don't want to be mean in the middle of the night. i just can't help it. i can't control it. it's like i am a completely different person)

background: scott just got home from work and ty ran and jumped in his arms. scott goes and sits on the couch next to me, still hugging tyler
ty: (suddenly pulls away from the huge hug he gave dad) hey dad? would you love a glass of water?
scott: sure buddy! thanks!
ty: (turns to me) umm, mom? could you get dad a glass of water?
(i guess i know where i stand, eh?)

background: changing a dirty diaper of cam's
ty: eww! it looks like guacamole
me: ty! that's not very polite.
ty: but mom! dad says it!!
(he threw you right under the bus, scott!)

I am sure that there are so many more. It is sure delightful living with these boys of mine!

He Knows Me

2010-04-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged much in the last few weeks. I have left out some fun family outings, a very fun date night with Scott, and other cute things that have happened. But of all the things that I could blog about today, this is exactly what I want to say.

In a conversation I had today, I was overwhelmed with emotion as I remembered a sweet, tender experience I had with one of my very dearest friends. It was one of those experiences that, no matter how many months or years pass, you still feel like it just happened because you can remember every little detail. Usually a really important moment. Like when you find out someone you love has passed away. Or when you are proposed to. You know...
I remember when I first KNEW that Heavenly Father knew me personally and was aware of what I needed.

After I had Tyler, I really struggled to get back on my feet (not literally :) ). I felt so unhappy for so long and I cried many, many hours a day. No matter what I did, I just couldn't seem to pull myself together. I didn't really want to admit that I was depressed and I was really embarrassed that I felt the way I did. My sweet, sweet mom came and stayed with me for about a week and a half (maybe even two weeks) and just was a complete angel. As I struggled to step into my new life as a mother, she was right beside me, helping me and guiding me, and letting me know I was going to be okay. I knew I was okay because she was there with me.
And Scott. Oh, what can I say, but that he was the absolute perfect man for me. He would get up with me during the nightly nursing because I didn't want to be alone. He would do the baths, the burping, the diapers, and whatever else I needed. He was such the perfect husband and father. So my mom had to leave on a friday morning because she needed to be home for something. Scott had gone out of town and wasn't going to fly in until friday afternoon. A few hours...couldn't be a big deal, right?
I couldn't be more wrong! I sobbed and sobbed when my mom was leaving. I knew she had to go. But I also knew that I couldn't do it by myself. I felt so unsure of myself, so inadequate, so unstable. My mom left and I walked back in the door and just kept crying and crying. It wasn't too long before there was a knock on the door.
There was Nancy Roberts. She lived two or three doors down from us. She was one of my best friends in the ward and we served in young womens together. She had FIVE kids and was pregnant with her sixth. She is pretty much the picture of perfection. Every time I spent even five minutes with Nancy, I would always think "I want to be just like her!" I really looked up to her in every way.
So there she was, standing on my doorstep and she said "Hi Rach. I was just thinking about you and thought that I should come over and see how you are doing." I burst into tears.
She stayed with me until Scott got home. She held Tyler when he was screaming and I couldn't get him to stop. She walked around the block with me...what, three times?
She had five kids of her own to take care of. She probably had a million other things that she needed to do, but she came over to see me and take care of me.
It wasn't too much later that I pulled out of that awful stage and things got much better. When I think about all the days or all the weeks that I have lived in my life, it is simply amazing to me that the Lord knew that on that day, at that time, I needed Him. I needed someone.
I will NEVER forget that experience and I will always love Nancy for her Christlike love and compassion.

If I ever wonder if Heavenly Father knows me, I always think of that day that he showed me that he does know me.

Not a Peep!

2010-03-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Cameron is pretty much like Rambo. Or like Iron Man. Or like some other incredibly tough guy that walks around with huge wounds that don't seem to bother him.

That is Cam in a nutshell.

This kid gets so many bumps, bruises, cuts, scrapes, etc and I don't even know how they happen because he never cries! Just this morning he ran and fell straight into the wall. He has a HUGE goose egg right on his head. Didn't even wimper.
The other day he fell off a park bench onto his face...on the cement...he just rolled over and kept playing.

And..this is the good story and true purpose for the post...yesterday, we went jogging and then stopped at a park to play just for a few minutes. As we jogged up, we saw a squirrel (there are tons of them around) and Cam hopped right out and ran at the squirrel. What kid hasn't chased a squirrel, right? Of course, the squirrel scampered up a tree and I just let Cam run off and play. Didn't think anything of it. Tyler joined him and they were giggling and having tons of fun. No one cried. No one screamed. Then they both run off to play on the slide and other play stuff. About 10 minutes later, as I am looking at Cam, I thought "what is that all over his face?" I ran over to check, and yes, his whole face was totally scratched up! One side was even bleeding!! I frantically asked what happened and he said "Swuirrel! Swuirrel!" Ty came over and I asked him what happened and he said "A squirrel growled and Cam and then just jumped at him" Of course, I am totally dumbfounded. Did a squirrel really just attack my baby? Didn't they think to come and tell me? Not once did Cam even make a peep. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it.

So, to sum it all up, I am not positive, but it is pretty likely that Cam got attacked by a squirrel.

Or, to make it sound a little better, my helpless little child was ruthlessly mauled by a pack of ferocious hairy little beasts. (Does that sound good Nate and Kelly?)

Sweet Home Holly

2010-03-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

You have to see this blog....you just have to!

http://sweethomeholly.blogspot.com/

This is one of my dearest friends and roommates from college (actually, we weren't ever really roommates :) ) She is so amazingly talented! I truly will spend hours looking through her blog and have taken several of her ideas and used them in my house. In fact...that is what I am doing right now. (and probably will still be looking at her blog til midnight. I love it!)
I am so glad that she has a "interior design blog" now that everyone can see.

An Art Project

2010-03-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Don't laugh. This is my first try at being "artsy". Maren inspired me to try it since she did a mod podge that was so darling.

I made these for the boys' room. I actually like them...imperfections and all!

(Don't worry, I fixed the crooked picture :)

This last picture is one that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! It is Scott's dad when he was little, kneeling by his bed. It was a church print! We have it hanging in Ty and Cam's room. The other night, I asked Ty what he could do if he started getting scared of bugs at night (a recent problem :( ). He calmly replied "I can look up at Papa and not be scared anymore!"

Over the last month....

2010-03-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have posted, and lots of stuff has happened. Nothing big. Just regular life. But it sure makes me laugh, cry, etc. Here it goes...

First of all, I have been pretty sick the past few days. I am finally feeling much better. I had the sore throat, stuffy nose, achy body all over, etc. It totally wiped me out on monday. So I cuddled up on the couch and we watched movies almost all day. Sad, I know.
But by the end of the day, Ty was thinking only in terms of disney movies. When I was telling him the scripture story of Abinadi, and told him that King Noah killed Abinadi, Ty said "Oh, kind of like Scarf (aka Scar) killed Mufasa?" and then later when I said that Alma ran away and King Noah was very angry with Alma, Ty clarified "Do you mean he was as mad as Cinderella's step-mother?" I just had to laugh. I was sick...so I had some kind of excuse.
Speaking of which...I just have to throw this in here....I have the greatest friends. Over the past few weeks of sickness that have plagued our house, I have had so much support and love from friends. One friend brought a beautiful bunch of flowers while the kids were sick. And then on Tuesday showed up with an amazing dinner just at the perfect time! And I had countless other offers to bring dinner and others to watch the kids. Thanks to everyone.
Moving on to some other wonders of the past month...
Cameron is magical. Truly. He has been given the gift of finding ANYTHING you send him to find. You think I am joking. But no. He is amazing. If the phone is missing, I will say "hey Cam, can you go find the phone?" A few minutes later, he'll wander over with the phone that has been missing for a few days! Same thing with his sippy cup...gone. I had searched everywhere. I finally said out loud "Cam, do you know where your sippy cup is?" A few minutes later, he came running up to me with his sippy cup. And the best one ever...EVER....about nine months ago, Scott lost a little tiny piece of computer equipment (kind of like a USB drive) that have thousands of dollars of stuff on it. When Scott told me it was missing, we spend days searching the house inside and out. But to no avail. It was gone. It has been gone for nine months (or more). Then, when we were at the church for Tyler's birthday party, Cameron comes over and hands me something that he found as he was wandering up on the stage. Yes. It was Scott's computer piece!! I couldn't believe it. Cameron is marvelous. He is up for hire....

On to Ty's birthday party...I can't believe that Ty is 3 now! Seems like the time passes so quickly! Ty talked about doing two things for his birthday: have pizza and a movie night and ride on a bus. That's it. And he has asked to do that for his birthday for months now. So, Friday morning, we got up and got all ready and walked down to the bus stop right by our house. Ty and Cam were absolutely giddy with excitement as they waited for the bus. I was terrified at the thought of bringing two toddlers and a double stroller onto the bus. As the bus pulled up, I had Cam on one hip, the double stroller all folded up in the other hand and Tyler was holding onto one of my pockets...I am sure it was a sight to see. The doors opened and Tyler jumped right up and in a loud voice said "Hi, bus driver! It is my burfday!" and then promptly walked to the VERY back of the bus (of course, saying hi to each person he passed with things like "hi, grandpa man") and took his seat. He wanted to sit all by himself and it was just the most adorable thing I have seen. He pointed out just about everything he saw over the following 6 minutes. We only took the bus a few stops up and then got off to pick out a piece of candy at Walmart. I thought that he would be so excited once I told him he could get a piece of candy, but he was more worried about when we could get on the bus again. Needless to say, it was an absolute success! Then, in the evening we had lots of friends over to church and did pizza and a movie night. It was so much fun. We brought our projector and watched "The Lion King" on the big screen...it felt just like watching it at a theater. We had tons of pizza and cupcakes and it seemed like everyone had fun. Ty still talks about Simba, and is also always asking Cam if he wants to play "lions" with him. So much fun!

Here we are getting ready to leave to ride the bus

waiting at the bus stop was almost unbearable. they were so excited.

Ty's seat at the back of the bus

Ty and Cam on their first bus ride. Ty says "Now I really am a big kid, cause I can ride the bus!"

Last, but definitely not least, Scott played his concert last weekend. I am married to a rock star! He did awesome. The concert was so much fun. There were a few hundred people there and TONS of our friends came. It was amazing to see how many people came out to support Scott and we had so much fun. It only took about 24 hours to get my hearing back to normal :)
So many people talked to me after the concert and asked all about how long Scott has played and how often he plays now, etc. It started me thinking about how lucky I am that Scott puts the church and his family first in his life. I just had to put that in here because he truly is such an amazing musician, but he puts even more time into being an incredible dad and husband. He comes home and cleans or cooks dinner, plays with the kids, puts the kids to bed, and then only ONCE a week does he go and do music stuff. He spends all his other time with me! I am so grateful for such a wonderful and talented husband! (Pics to come)

ugh, double ugh

2010-02-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

On Thursday evening, I heard Tyler talking in his bed fairly late (around 9:30pm). I went in to check on him and he said "Well, you'd be so proud of me, cause I stayed in my bed, but Cam made somfin yucky in his bed." Of course, I thought Cam had dirty diaper. Nope. He threw up all over. And then fell asleep in it! (Sorry, I know it's gross, but it was my life for the past few days, so I am kind of numb to what is gross...)
Anyway, that was the beginning. Over the past three days, I have cleaned up more throw up than I ever thought was possible. Tyler started throwing up on Friday morning (poor kid had to miss his own birthday party (combined with three other friends) and he had been looking forward to it all week long :( ). I have done so many loads of laundry, it is insane (I think we are on load number 5). As soon as I cleaned up one kid, the other one started. And the sad thing is that Cam is so young, that he didn't want to have a bowl under his little mouth. He would just want me to hold him. It is such a sad thing that it is hard to push him away when you know how sick he feels. And so, yes, several times I got thrown up on. Ty was the same way, but he did a little better getting it into the bowl.
Friday afternoon was the worst. Both kids were right in the thick of this awful bug. I can honestly say it was one of the worst 24 hours of my life. Awful. Cam throws up all over me. I just clean him off. Clean me off (hair and clothes). Scrub carpet. Tyler starts throwing up. Clean the couch off. Both kids want me to hold them. Both kids crying. Start a movie. Cam throws up again. Try to get a load of laundry together to go and wash stuff so our house doesn't smell disgusting. Come back to find Ty throwing up again. Clean up the bathroom. Scrub out the bathtub. More kids crying and throwing up. No one could nap cause they were so sick. And the day went on and on.
I can't even tell you what a relief it has been to have gone 36 hours with no one throwing up.
Thank you, thank you, thank you that this is over! I never want to relive that again!

My Dad: The Super Hero

2010-02-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

So, I guess that all little kids just think their dad is amazing. I know I sure thought that (and still do!). If there was anything that I didn't know....my dad knew it. If there was anything I couldn't do...my dad could do it. I know Scott felt the same way about his dad. He told me once that he used to just look at his dad's hands and think "Wow! One day I will have big strong hands just like my dad"....as if those hands could stop a train (and to be honest...they probably could have!)

Anyway, this is EXACTLY how Tyler feels about Scott. EXACTLY. I know that Ty loves me, but man, the way he loves Scott is just out of this world. Just yesterday, we were riding bikes out in the front as we were waiting for Scott to get home from work. One of our neighbors was just getting his mail when Scott pulled in the driveway. You could hear both kids scream (at the top of their lungs) "Daaaaaaddddddyyyy!" and they both ditched their bikes and bolted for their dad. Ty jumped into Scott's arms and wrapped his arms and legs around Scott so tight and Cam clamped onto Scott's leg. The man that was getting his mail just stood there and watched and then as we walked away he said "Wow". It is so cute to see how much those boys love their dad.
Cam has been "reading" a lot of books lately which means that we need to repair them when he is through, but Ty confindently says "It's okay. Dad can fix it when he gets home"
Or when the Netflix on our tv wasn't working Ty just said "Mom, let's wait for Dad to get home. He knows how to fix it." (What about me, Ty????)
After going to the bathroom and feeling so proud of himself, Ty shouted "I am getting bigger and bigger and soon...(gasp) I get to be like daaaaadddd!"
Then, two days ago, we decided that rather than just sit around our house, we were going to walk around Target and look at the toys. As we were walking down the main aisle, on one of the end caps they had a special on some kind of body building equipment. On the front of the box, it showed a man flexing his muscles. One of those guys that has probably worked for 20 years to look like that and they make you think that after a few weeks with their program you will look like that...anyway, Ty runs right up to the box and said (soooo loudly) "Hey, that's my daddy!!" About three people kind of chuckled to themselves and another man walked by and said "I wish my kids would say that about me." Too funny. But still, that just goes to show that for Ty the strongest man in the whole world is his dad.
Then yesterday we had kind of a scary/learning experience when Ty opened the door for someone when I was there and he told them to come in. After the experience I sat down with Ty to explain to him how scary it is to let people in our house that we don't know and that we should never open the door when mom or dad isn't right there with us because someone could take him away. I'll admit, I was kind of trying to scare him a little bit so that he would grasp the severity of what I was telling him. Anyway, after telling him a few times that someone could take him away he said "Mom, it's okay. Dad would be soooo frustrated with those guys. And my dad would save me."
Ty's dad can do anything.
Ty's dad can save anyone.
Ty's dad is the strongest man ever.
Ty's dad can fix anything.
We sure do have a Super Hero on our hands!

A quick chuckle

2010-01-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

The kids have been doing the funniest things lately. I keep meaning to write them down because I knew as soon as I sat down to blog them, I wouldn't be able to remember any of them. But here are a few that I do remember:

The other day, Ty asked me (in a very dramatic voice) "Mom, can I please have a microwave?" (shocked, confused) I said "Why do you need a microwave, Ty?" and he says "because I really need to sing!!" yes, that is right. Ty sings with a microwave aka microphone
Because of the dreary rainy weather, the boys have been in desperate need of "running around crazy" time. But since we can't go outside...we started our own fun way of getting energy out: We put Aladdin on and skip to either the genie song (I think it is called Never had a friend like me) or the Prince Ali song. Ty and Cam dance and sing and it is really cute. I'll admit...I think we danced to those songs probably 15 times today.
When Ty asks for things lately he adds a "Pleeeeeeeaaaaase" on the end. It is quite funny. Sometimes (like yesterday) he starts his question with something like "Mom, you are so very pretty. Can I have a fruit snack?" Who does he learn that from??
Ty sang his own rendition of "Santa Clause is Comin' to Town" yesterday. It included phrases like "He sees you when you won't nap. He knows if you hit Cam. He knows if you aren't a good listening boy or if you aren't obedient." He sings these songs when he is laying in bed trying to nap. It always makes me chuckle.
Today, Cameron fell over and hit is head on the wall. He started to cry and just as I opened my mouth to calm Cam down, Ty shouts "Dog-gone it! Oh, come here Cami-boy!" And suprisingly enough, Cam went to Ty and not to me!! Ty hugged him for a minute and then said "Where does it hurt? There? Okay. Let me kiss it better" And then it was all over. Cam went on playing and so did Ty. Who need mom anymore?
When Ty got up from his nap the other day he ran right to me and gave me a big hug. Then he promptly picked up my hand and licked it. A big lick. I pulled my hand away and said "What are you doing?" He replied "Oh, sorry. I was just pretendin' to be a dog". Oh. Okay. Good to know.
(I might have already posted about this...but maybe not). Ty frequently finds things of Scott's around the house and pretends to be "dad". I will find him in Scott's hat and work boots or something. One day, he came in to the bedroom wearing Scott's shoes and hat and said "Well, I'm goin' to work. Bye baby!" Then went to Cam and patted his head and said "You're a good boy!" Funny enough...those would be exactly Scott's words!
I don't know exactly how this happened, but the other day, Scott and I were coming home from somewhere and we each loaded one kid into the car and then as we were walking to our doors (Scott drives usually, so we crossed paths at the back of the car) we somehow got into a "balancing on one foot" war. We stood there for a long time and I completely forgot that we had two kids waiting for us in the car. It is fun when you are in love. (PS. I totally would have won the balance war, because I have much better balance, but Scott cheated and so I fell off the curb)
Cam LOVES to wrestle. LOVES it. He is always running at full speed and jumping on Ty or falling on him. Ty is usually a good sport about it and tickles him or something. But today he was watching tv when Cam came running and landed right on him. Ty did a little throat growl sound (like he was really angry) and then said "Uh..Cam! I don't want to play right now. Your makin' me so frus-rated!" Poor Cam. Totally didn't understand and went in for another attack giggling all the while. Man, if you can't tell, these boys sure give me a run for my money!

The other day we were walking out of Costco and we were waiting at the door so they could check our reciept and Ty shouts "Whoa! You have a mustache!" and points at the person behind us. Sure enough, there was a old man with a big old mustache. I have to admit, it was pretty shocking and noticable. Not the kind that just blends in with the face. I probably would have shouted that too...in my mind! Luckily, the man was really kind and joked around with Ty after that.

Life is so full of spice when you have two active little guys! (there is also some crying in there too!) We love our cubs!

A little late...but oh well!

2010-01-14T20:05:00.001-08:00

So I feel like I have barely been surviving over here lately. I don't know if it is the post-Christmas blues or maybe the fact that it is just kind of cold, rainy, and blah outside, but life has not been kind over the last week.
Yes, I think I have cried everyday. Poor Scott.

But today, I feel like we kind of pulled out of our slump and so I thought I would actually post! I know it is late, but here is what we did during December:

Packages that came were so much....for many days!

Acting out the nativity on Christmas Eve...Ty wanted to be the donkey (I gave him the option to be something else..but that is what he chose) and Cam was baby Jesus. Ty has socks for ears and mittens for hooves. Clever boy.

A close-up of this little burro.

Cam desperately wanted to join in on the fun of wearing socks on his head. This is how it turned out for him. I still laugh when I see this picture.

We did a pretty small Christmas..but it was so much fun to set up all the present for the boys when they woke up. Ty left out a plate of cookies (on the stool) for Santa. They each got one fun toy, a cereal, and a couple little stocking stuffers. I think that Scott and I had more fun setting it all up and getting it ready than we thought we would.

And so it begins...all Ty wanted to do was play with the toy that Cam got. Cam was pretty upset.

Cam LOVED this ball he got from his friend Leah. He carried it around for days and days after that.

Here is Cam sporting the new clothes from Grandma and Grandpa and the coon skin hat from Papa

I love that they got matching outfits. And the coon skin hat just tops it off. Ty likes to wear the hat and have the tail come right by his cheek and he rubs it on his face cause it feels "so fuzzy".

I neglected to get pictures of the rest of the day. We went to the Laytons house for scones. Yummy. So yummy. And then came back for naps and movies. You would think that we would have started Christmas dinner. But, umm, no. The Laytons came over and we put the kids down for bed and we were going to eat dinner after they went down. Unfortunately, I forgot about the hours of prep time it took to cook some of the food. So we ended up eating a little late...but the crab legs were out of this world. I hope we get to eat crab legs with the Latyons every year! Then we busted out the blow up mattress and a big bundle of blankets and we fell alseep watching the Harry Potter movies.

In the morning we had the McPhie Christmas morning casserole (even though it was the 26th). It was so much fun! Yarr, Ty!

Over the next few days, we had lots of late nights with friends, dinners together, and just all together fun times. It is sad to be away from family for the holidays, but it makes up for it when you have friends that feel just like family! We really loved Christmas this year!

Our weekend get-away

2009-12-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

On Wed (Dec 9th) morning, Scott handed me a piece of paper before he went in to work. He said it was an early birthday present. It ended up being the first clue on a treasure hunt that he had put together around the house. I searched high and low (literally) for all the clues and it finally led me to my suitcase. The last clue said that I needed to pack for 4 days and 3 nights at that I needed to be ready to leave by 4pm THAT NIGHT! I cried and cried (out of excitement!)
I couldn't believe it! I was so excited. Scott had worked out every single detail of a get-away weekend for us. The kids had babysitters all lined up. People were coming over to sleep at our house so the kids would be able to sleep in their own beds. Scott bought airline tickets and made hotel reservations...not to mention dinner reservations and entertainment. It was so much work for him...and he did it all by himself and kept it a secret from me (which is another huge task)! It was such an amazing suprise!
I knew we were flying there, but Scott didn't tell me where we were going. Finally, around 5pm, wonderful Amy showed up at our house and was ready to take over. Ty and Cam didn't even flinch as I said my goodbyes and walked out the door.
Finally as we were almost to the airport, Scott told me where we were going: LAS VEGAS!

It was a weekend full of yummy dinners (for my actual birthday dinner, he took me to PF Changs), two cirque du solei shows...umm amazing!, two movies (New Moon and Blind Side), lots of laughing...tons!, staying up til 2 in the morning, sleeping in til 10am, room service, the Titanic exhibit, the shark exhibit, CSI experience, and more. It couldn't have been more perfect! Here are a few pics. You can tell that Scott takes most of the pictures because as I looked back at them, they are all of me and we don't have any of him!

Me and Scotty in front of the Bellagio

Right before we saw "Ka". It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!

Just being crazy...if you can't tell, I am posing just like the lady on the billboard behind me

I asked for a diet coke at lunch...and they brought me an iced tea on accident. I am embarrased to say that I actually spit it out on the table. Do people actually like that drink??

Just walkin' the strip. Chilly...but fun!

At the shark exhibit, there were some huge jellyfish. Scott asked me to do my best impression and, unfortunately for me, he snapped a quick picture!

We stayed at the Wynn...super nice! (side note...when we were checking in, they asked if we wanted to upgrade our room and it would be as cheap as an extra $25/night. The guy was really trying to sell us on it, saying it was such an incredible deal. We opted not to, just to save money. As he was finished up getting us all checked in, I casually asked if they had a car service that drives you to places on the strip. He just laughed at me. Seriously, I don't even think he answered me. Later I found out that they do have a service like that...but it is in a Rolls-Royce and costs something like $300 per ride. I think he thought that if we weren't willing to pay an extra $25, then we probably weren't interested. Ya think???

I love my Scotty! He is so great to me. He is my little Mary Poppins (practically perfect in every way)...except he would be the rock star version of her!

Maren

2009-12-18T16:01:00.000-08:00

Last night was a dream.

I went to a piano recital that was so perfect. The programs, the setup, the kids, the pieces, the treats afterwards, etc. And it was all done by Maren. She so kindly let my piano student join her recital.

Then I came home and ate some cookies from a fabulous cookbook that Maren put together. It is my favorite cookbook in the world. Everything I have made from it has been delicious. And when I look at it, I think of my friends.

Then I cuddled up and watched a movie that Maren gave me. "A Cinderella Story" with Hilary Duff. Guilty pleasure. Love that movie.
I was tempted to make myself some delicious hot chocolate with candy canes that Maren gave me, but I decided to save it for tonight or tomorrow night. I can't wait.

Needless to say, I LOVE my friend Maren. She is simply amazing. I want to be just like her.

Bring on the Pictures

2009-11-22T21:09:00.001-08:00

Cam and Ty LOVE playing/wrestling with each other. In this occasion, Ty was in the middle of belting out "Hot, hot, hot...hot chocolate" from the movie Polar Express. (Which reminds me that today Ty said he wanted to serve his mission at the north pole. I was laughing, but Scott so calmly said that there are lots of elves there that need the gospel).

They sure love each other...doesn't this look just like love :)

Ty found a great hiding spot!

When Ty ran off to go hide for "hide and seek", Cam wanted to join in. So he took off too. This was the best hiding spot he could come up with. I think it is perfect!

Carving "punkins" with daddy

Cam's contribution to the pumpkin carving was teeth marks in the lid

Ty loved squishing all the seeds around in there. He was literally up to his elbows in pumpkin guts!

Family photo.
I love the irony of it....

This is the cutest fireman I've ever seen!

My daughter from Denmark (okay...I trained her on the mission...but she does call me mum!) came and stayed with us for a day. Ty had a crush.

Ty is a budding musician. He loves to play the piano. He HAS to have piano music up there so he knows what he's playing (of course).

Cam is just about the cutest thing ever. He smiles ALL the time. For no reason. Just a happy kid.

My mom sent us a package with all the stuff for decorating pretzel sticks for halloween. Thanks Grandma! We had so much fun!

Christmas mix

2009-11-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

I am making myself a "Christmas Mix" of fun christmas songs, but somehow my mind is going blank. I only have a few that I can think of...so I need your help.
I want this to be an up-beat mix...and I already have the Carpenters christmas cd and lots of kenny g christmas music. So what are some of your favorite christmas songs??

So far I have:

All I Want For Christmas is You (Mariah??)
Baby It's Cold Outside
Tennessee Christmas (I guess this one is slow...but I love it!)

HELP!!

Oh, so proud

2009-11-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

This post is about Scott.

I am so lucky to have Scott. He really is one in a million. Okay...so he might let his beard grow out a few weeks longer than I might have wanted...but, I'll take it! He is so amazing.

He is such a good dad. He bathes the kids when I have a headache (like tonight, for example). He makes dinner (or goes and gets food) when I haven't cooked anything. He always gives me a kiss in the morning before he leaves for work...he hasn't missed a day in the last 4 years. He tucks me in bed and waits til I fall asleep before he gets up and finally gets a minute to do whatever he wants to do. He cleans and organizes and puts away my clothes when I leave them on the floor. He folds the laundry because I hate doing it. When I cry, he makes me happy. And he makes me laugh so hard that I cry. But most of all, he has a rock solid testimony. I will often hear him teaching a gospel principle to Ty as he is getting him in his pajamas. Or he will tell me how wonderful the part of the book of mormon is that he is reading at the time. Or he will do an act of service when he is exhausted and really just wants to come home and relax. Or he will set an example for everyone around him.

That is what really has sparked this post. I went to a work dinner with Scott last night. Scott works in construction (for those that didn't know). The people he works with are...are...not exactly of the same standards as Scott. You might think that being with people that are rude, crass, unkind, undisciplined, and sometimes just downright disgusting, would somehow rub off on him after several years. I am here to tell you, that this is not so with Scott. I can't even express how much love and admiration I felt for Scott as I watched him interact with his co-workers. Everything about him was different than them...his language, his dress, his actions, his manners, etc. They even teased him when he wouldn't drink alcohol. They even took a picture, thinking it was so funny, when his virgin pina colada was delivered. But Scotty didn't flinch. He was so confident and true to himself and acted exactly as I would have imagined the Lord would have wanted him to act.

I just love him and want him to know that I noticed. I know others noticed too. You are a great example. To me. To our kids. To so many people.

And I am proud of you.

Funny Quotes

2009-11-13T12:58:00.001-08:00

Lately I have been finding everything hilarious!! I mean, everything! Cam got his feet stuck in a drawer and I was laughing. Tyler was singing with a beater as a microphone...I was dieing. Cam stole one of Ty's toys and Tyler immediately fell to the floor crying. I laughed. Tyler accidentally backed up too far and fell into the open toy chest. I almost couldn't keep it together. I don't know why I feel this way. Especially when my children could get hurt. But here are a few things more things that I have been laughing at lately:

-Right now, Tyler is singing himself to sleep with a hearty rendition of "Santa Clause is Comin' to Town" that leads right into "Jingle Bells". I wonder if he will really nap today.

-Yesterday, I thought I swallowed a bug while Scott and I were watching 30 Rock. So I suddenly started coughing and choking. (This was real, people). My eyes watering, face red, hand on my throat, I choke out the words to Scott "I think I swallowed a bug or something". More coughing. Then Scott replies "I don't know why you swallowed a fly." (I didn't catch on) I said "That was really scary!" to which Scott says "I know...perhaps you'll die!" I couldn't keep from laughing...and still coughing. (Truly, I think I swallowed a bug and it bit my throat on the way down!)

-We have our boxes of Christmas stuff sitting in the corner of our room ready to be set free and spread Christmas cheer. (But Scott won't let me yet!) Anyway, Ty opened the box the other day and the stockings were sitting right on top. He asked what it was and asked if he could hold it. So he was rubbing the stocking up next to his cheek as I told him that we hang the stockings in our house and then Santa comes and fills it with yummy treats. He looked up at me and said "It's perfect." I didn't know perfection came that easily. Score.

-Last night, Tyler asked for a bedtime story and because I was flustered and had lots of things to clean up and still had to get Cam a bottle, I asked Scotty if he would do it. He agreed and went right in and started a story to Tyler. I went to the kitchen for just a minute to clean a few dishes and heated up a bottle. I didn't hear how the story started, but this is how it ended:
"Then, he jumped in the big digger and turned it on and he started smashing his friend with it. His mom yelled to him to stop because he had cut off his friends legs. So, he stopped and told his mom that he had been so frustrated that his friend wouldn't share. But his mom told him that even when he gets mad, or sad, he still needs to use his words and he can't be mean to his friends. The end." Tyler's face was shocked, scared and confused. I am not sure what the friend could have done earlier in the story to deserve that, but I am definitely going to take back the responsibility of bedtime stories.

-Tyler found a half of a lime in the fridge the other day and promptly took a bite. His face squished up and he twisted and turned his head until the taste was gone. He stood there for a minute and I said "Wow..did you like it?" "No!" I guess I just assumed that he throw it away, so when he walked away, I just went back to cleaning the kitchen (yes..it feels like I am ALWAYS cleaning the kitchen and yet, it is always dirty). Anyway, about one minute later I hear Tyler laughing so hard that it made actually get nervous for what he had just done. As I was trying to find where he was, I heard his say "Eat it again, Cam. It is soooo good!" I caught them just before Cam took another bite of the lime. Boy, they sure love each other.

Above is a picture of Ty and Cam just before bedtime. I usually would not let Ty sit on Cam like this, except Cam LOVES being tickled and he was absolutely laughing his head off.

I know I need to...

2009-11-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

I don't really have the energy to post, but I haven't done it in so long. The days keep passing by so quickly and there are so many things I would love to post about. But I will keep this short and simple.

Halloween was great. We had so much fun at the many parties we attended. Ty loves "earning" a piece of candy each day by using the potty. I am pretty sure all that candy will last us a few years. Ty was a fireman and Cam was a tiger. They were so cute that I completely forgot to take any pictures...at every single party. Nope...not joking! I think that some of my friends might have taken some pictures...anyone?

I am sick. It isn't the swine flu. Just the good old, normal cold. But it still is awful. I do have to say though...I have the greatest friends. Two friends offered to bring dinner tonight and one actually wouldn't take no for an answer and brought over lunch for me. So sweet and thoughtful...it is so nice to have friends that are just like family out here!

I am supposed to run 12 miles on Saturday. My half marathon is next weekend...so I really do need to run. I hope I don't die on my run.

I just tried to post a picture and it isn't working. I am too exhausted to try to figure it out. I can barely function...and it is only 8:30pm! I am signing off and crawling right into bed and I hope I don't wake up for 12 hours! Sweet dreams!

I hope they call me on a mission...

2009-10-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ty loves the song "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission" and I am pretty sure we have sung that for a bedtime song for the past three months. I catch him singing it to himself as he plays with cars. I heard him telling his dinosaurs the other day that they will "love goin' on a mission". But, tonight was the icing on the cake.

We were sitting on the rug in his room, telling stories and just about ready for a song and prayer before bedtime. I had told him a story about a frog who said a prayer to help him feel better (don't ask me how I come up with these things...) and so after the story was over, we starting talking about prayer. Totally out of the blue, Ty says "Mom, Heney Fader and Jesus want Ty ta go on a mission!" It was as clear as day. Ty is speaking really well lately, but this was like nothing I have heard. It was as if a 10 year old said it. I was so taken back that I just said "What?". He said it again, exactly like the first time. I know that it might sound funny, but I was really touched when he said that. I looked at him and I could just see him out there in his suit teaching people on the street. It almost got me choked up thinking about it.

And then he jumped on Cameron and I realized that we have a long way to go!

But I am still excited for that time!

One time!

2009-10-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

I still shocks me. It is amazing. I only have to do or say something ONE time and it gets repeated over and over and over again.
A few weeks ago, Ty and I were brushing our teeth together and I stopped and ran my fingers through my hair while my toothbrush was still hanging from my mouth. Not a big deal. Ty laughed and copied me. And now, he does that EVERY SINGLE TIME he brushes his teeth. He consistently brushes and brushes and then right before he is done he stops and runs his fingers back through his hair and then takes his toothbrush out to spit. I laugh every time (which doesn't help at all with wanting him to stop!)

I am going to need to be more careful around that little monkey!

Some New Stuff...

2009-10-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I have realized that lately I have mostly been posting about all the mischevious things that Ty and Cam do and I haven't really been posting about all the funny, cute things they do. They are really so darling and they are SO much fun. Here are a few things they have been doing lately:

*Cam says "Haaa!" in a high pitched voice when you walk in the room as if to say "Hi!" just the way I say it.
*Tyler knows that the rule about eating is that we only eat in the kitchen. So lately he has been holding his snack in his hand and keeping one foot on the tile and scooting his other foot so far away he is practically doing the splits so that he can try to still see what is going on in the family room. Does this remind you of anyone (Nate)??? Always trying to see how far he can stretch the rules...great!
*When Scott blows his nose, Ty oftens gets wide eyes and asks "Is dad a elephant?" I love it.
*We had a FHE lesson last week about Nephi building the ship and I got out Ty/Cam's tools so that we could have a "visual aid". The next day when I asked Ty what he wanted to play, Ty grabbed the tool box and said "Mom, let's play Nephi and build a ship!" He still often plays "Nephi"....I am just glad that we didn't tell him about how Nephi shocks his brothers or how the brothers bind and beat Nephi. I think that we will wait for that lesson...maybe until he is 18.
*Scott has started playing Hide and Seek with Ty and Cam. Ooooohhh! If there is ever a time when you should see the McPhie household, it is during Hide and Seek time. There are the absolute cutest giggles and squeals as they run around the house to find a hiding spot. Basically Ty just runs around and sits in a corner somewhere and Cam is only one step behind him. It is so cute to see little sets of toes sticking out from under blankets or to see our comforter on our bed with a big buldge and hear Ty say "Come on Cam! Sssshhh!" I took the cutest picture of both the boys hiding under the computer desk. As soon as Scott finds them, they scream and he tickles. It is no wonder that Ty asks to play EVERY DAY!
*Cameron climbs on everything! Anything he can't climb on, he pushes a toy over to step on it, so that he can climp up. This kid...he is a clever one! He climbs on beds, couches, in laundry baskets, and I even found him almost on top of the kitchen table!
*Both kiddos did so well during conference! I didn't expect them to last long, but they were so good and quiet during all four sessions! On Sunday morning, we snuggled up in blankets in our pajamas for the first session and I snapped a quick picture of Ty and Scotty!

Ty and Dad during conference

Ty making a cute little face at dinner time

Ty and Cam playing hide and seek

I love this picture! This is what happens when Scott puts jammies on the kids...Cameron's pants become Tyler's kapris! I really do love how much Scotty does for our family!

Ode to my Momma Bear

2009-09-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

The nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me was "You remind me so much of your mom". If it were true, it would be like a dream come true for me. I want to be like my mom more than anyone else I know. She is the most amazing person!
My mom is/was the perfect mom. She always had little games or treasure hunts for us when we got home from school. She sat down and helped us with our homework. She always made me laugh even when I came home from school crying. I knew I could always talk to her, even when I had done something wrong. She would lay on our bed at night and read us a chapter from whatever book we were reading and she always made the book so interesting that we didn't want her to stop reading and kept begging for another chapter. She made a home cooked dinner pretty much every single night...and even took special requests some nights! She taught me how to work hard and to feel proud of what I had accomplished. She taught me how to clean and how to LOVE a clean home. She taught me how to love my brothers and sisters and how to do little acts of service for them. She is the one person I think of when I think about charity. Even now, when I call home on sundays, there is hardly a sunday that they haven't invited someone over for dinner...a new family in the ward, an single mom, and elderly couple, family that goes to BYU-I, the singles branch, etc. She always wants to give and to make other people feel welcome and loved. She always made FHE so fun and even on weekends I would rather have spent time at home playing games and eating popcorn (mom's famous caramel corn) because there was never a dull moment when my mom was around.
My mom always shared her testimony. I never doubted that my mom knew the church was true. She let me lean on her testimony until I got my own. She helped me through hard times, and I knew I could always trust her. I knew that she prayed for me. I would overhear her personal prayers sometimes (or her prayers with my dad) and they would pray for all of the kids individually. I knew my mom fasted for me many times. I felt so strongly the power of her fasts and prayers when I was on my mission and I know that she helped me through some extremely difficult days/weeks/months because of her faith. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader and always told me that I could do things that even I didn't think were possible. My mom is the kind of person that everyone wants to be around because she always makes you feel better, smarter, and happier when you are with her. My mom makes every holiday so memorable and amazing. So many of my happiest childhood memories have Kenny G playing in the background, because my mom loved Kenny G. And now I listen to Kenny every day.
My mom was a complete lifesaver for me after I had Tyler and I struggled to find my feet and feel comfortable with having a new baby. When Cameron was born, my mom cleaned my house from top to bottom and still made the dinners, took care of me, and entertained a wild and needy 1 1/2 yr old, got up with the baby every single night, planted a garden for me, etc, etc. I am still in awe at the things that my mother can do. My mom taught me to always go to Heavenly Father for what we need and have faith that we would receive the blessings.

This list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the ways that my mom has blessed my life. My mom is simply amazing. And the only problem with that, is that I know I will never compare to what a tremendous mom she is. But I will always try. That is my goal: Be like my mom.
I love you so much mom and I am so grateful that you are my mom. I am so blessed to be able to know you and learn from you. Thanks for your example for me and for my family. Thanks for loving me and for helping me become who I am today.
I love you. Happy Birthday!

Is this possible?

2009-09-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

I was just telling Scott how excited I am that we are almost to October and we get to go to the pumpkin patch and do all the fun fall stuff. Then I randomly found this picture of our family last year right around this time.
I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW FAST TIME FLIES!!! Is it really possible that one year ago I had a newborn?? No way! Crazy. Crazy, I tell you!

Pen and Cinnamon

2009-09-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things that Ty has been up to last week:
On Tuesday he found a pen laying around and colored on our couch cushions.
On Wednesday he took the cinnamon from the table and dumped it all over the front room.

These two things are enough to push a mom to her limits. Luckily, the rest of the week went well. I am excitedly waiting to find out what this week's adventures will be.

(Yes it was inside the toy chest too!)

(I should have taken more pictures but there were about ten of these little "ant hills" around the room. )
Just FYI...you can vaccum cinnamon up, but it will still leave a dark film all over. So you will still need to scrub the carpet down (even if you just got it cleaned last week) and you will still need to scrub the couch (even if you just finished getting the pen off of it the night before)!

Another quick piece of advice: Don't put the vanilla right next to the apple cider vinegar in your cupboard. When you are in a hurry to make smoothies for lunch, you might just accidentally grab the apple cider vinegar instead of vanilla. It doesn't taste the same.

I think

2009-09-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

I think that no one should have to go to work; I hate being so lonely during the day.

I think that kids should come already potty trained; I have changed more dirty diapers than I ever thought was possible in a day.

I think that Christmas should be twice a year; One whole year is too long to wait and I miss it so much.

I think that sweets should be the new health food; I don't want to eat brocoli, I want to eat ice cream!

I think that when you call someone on the phone they should HAVE to answer; I have called Scotty so many times today and he hasn't picked up his phone (side effect of being alone)

I think that as soon as you lay down on the bed to take a nap, you should be able to fall right asleep; I hate laying there thinking of all the things I should be doing instead of napping and then finally feeling like I am just on the verge of falling asleep and then hearing the kids wake up from naps.

I think that every month you should be allowed to get one new item of clothing for free from any store you want; I want lots of new clothes and shoes, but I don't want to pay for them.

I think that all houses should have a yard; not having a yard stinks.

I think that every family member should have to live right next to you or on your street (or we could build huge houses and everyone just lives all together); I miss my family.

I think that chapstick and lipgloss should be edible; everytime I put in on I always wish I could eat it.

I think that it should be illegal for it to start raining two minutes into a walk to the park after it took ten minutes to get diapers changed, shoes on, water bottles, snacks, and kids all in the stroller. Yes, I think the weather should go to jail. Or maybe just get a ticket.

I think that all music should be Kenny G or christmas music; You can only imagine how I feel about the Kenny G Christmas cd I have.

I think that every person should have a little person that just wakes up from a nap and says "Can I snuggy you please?" and then gives you the biggest hug you can think of; that is what just happened to me.

Even still, my life is happy, full, and rewarding. I am a lucky gal.

EGG-citing News

2009-09-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

We got our carpets cleaned today!!!
Why? Isn't this the second time in less than six months? Can't you keep your house clean, Rachel??

Well, apparently not.

About a week ago, I was was back in our bedroom folding laundry and looking online for a cute idea for a birthday cake for Cameron. I heard the kids laughing in the front room...I mean, really laughing hard...and thought "How cute! They are playing together!"

How wrong I was.

I walked in to find the carton of eggs in the middle of the floor, half empty, and Ty with one in his hand ready to smash it into the carpet. I looked around the room and found that we had about 6 or 7 eggs ALL OVER the family room. We had one on the couch, several covering the carpet, the wall, the door, AAAHHH! Wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't smeared them all over the floor after breaking them. Cameron was crawling through the mess, so he had tracked it all over and it was all over both of their clothes. I did get a couple pictures taken before spending my afternoon trying to clean it up....but it didn't work very well. I thought I had gotten it all, but we would randomly feel parts of the carpet that were hardened with egg yolk. Then, Scott found little drops of egg yolk splattered all over another part of the front room....and that was enough to push me over the edge and I decided to get the carpets cleaned.

Luckily, both kids are still alive :)

(By the way, when I told Scott, his first words were "I bet Cameron thinks that Ty is the coolest brother ever! Then he told me that he did that once when he was little, so we probably had it coming...I let him know that he would be cleaning up any future messes that come because of the crazy things he did as a kid!)

ONE

2009-09-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Has it really been ONE entire year? It feels like maybe ONE month!
We have a ONE-derful ONE year old now! Cameron is such an incredible, amazing little guy and he just keeps getting cuter and cuter every day.
We had a fun little birthday party for Cameron with our Mother's group (thanks to everyone who came and made it such a fun day!) and then we had another little party when Scott got home from work. The missionaries came over for dinner and then we had a puppy birthday cake and opened a few little presents (for which Tyler was more excited than Cameron!)
We sure love our little Cam-bam and we feel lucky to have him in our family. He has a smile that can stop the Earth in orbit! He can take pretty much any kind of fall, hit, bump, or bodyslam (thanks to Ty-ty). When he laughs, it just changes the mood of any situation. We will go to great lengths to get Cam to give us a little giggle! Cameron is such a peacemaker and wants everyone around him to be happy. Often times, when Tyler is in time-out, Cameron will crawl over to the corner and giggle at Tyler and Ty will almost immediately stop crying and smile at Cam. He has such a great spirit and we love him so much!
We are ONE lucky family!

A Family Outing

2009-09-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we decided to take a little family outing to San Francisco and Alcatraz. It was fun-filled and exhausting all at the same time.
We got tickets and arrived in San Fransisco just in time to hop on the boat. Tyler was thrilled to be riding on the boat and loving every minute of the ten minute ride over to Alcatraz. In fact, he didn't want to get off and was pretty disappointed when we told him he couldn't stay on the boat. We wandered around the island and took the audio tour of the main cell building. It was actually really fascinating! The kids did great, considering the fact that they were both tired and hungry and the tour was over an hour long. We had headphones on and we were really intrigued by the history of the prison, so we might not have noticed if they weren't being great :)
After taking the boat back, we ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe...and fun restaurant with a jungle atmosphere and lots of animals all around the tables. We got a table back in a little "cave" and there were snakes that hung from the trees and big huge butterflies flapping their wings. Tyler loved it! He even got so excited when a large tree frog came around to give him a hug. We thought he would be terrified, but he jumped right down from the table and gave him a big hug.
Then I changed the kids into their pajamas after dinner and they both fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was such a fun day!

A family photo

This is a happy little munchkin

Not too far off, is it??

Three handsome devils!

Momma and Cub

Book of Mormon Challenge

2009-09-06T15:38:00.001-07:00

So our ward relief society issued a challenge to read the book of mormon in 90 days. They gave us a bookmark and it had each day on it and exactly what page we should be up to. The challenge ended today and I was able to complete it!
I have to say, it was one of the greatest experiences I have had in a long time. I felt so strongly that Heavenly Father was helping me to find the time to read my pages. It didn't seem as hard to stay awake at night to get my reading done. It didn't seem as hard to wake up early and read and start my day. I felt like I found patience when I truly had none left to give. I felt more charitable towards others. I was just happier (most of the time :). It is really amazing to look back and see that the circumstances of my life didn't really change at all (I still have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 yr old that really give me a run for my money) but I just felt like I had added strength and peace and desire to do good. It was a real life changing and testimony building experience for me!
I'll admit that most of the time, the Book of Mormon is not always the most interesting book to read. It wasn't that kind of book that I just couldn't wait until the kids went down for a nap so that I could pick it up and find out what happens next. But that is totally how I felt this time. It suddenly became so real to me and it was interesting to see how all the stories fit together. (Unlike other times, when I would open the book and think "Now what is going on here? Who is that person?")
It was just such a neat experience. I am so thankful that I was able to do that and it changed me so much that I have decided that I am going to make myself another bookmark and see if I can do it again before the end of the year!

Honesty is the best policy

2009-08-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Usually Scott always tells me that he thinks I look really "cute" when I first wake up in the morning. But this morning, I got the honest opinion of a two year old.
I walked into the boy's room right after I rolled out of bed. I opened the door and Ty said "Hi Mom! Wow! Your hair looks...umm...spikey!" And then came the laughter. He doubled over laughing which, of course, made Cameron laugh too. What else could I do but laugh with them (especially after I looked at my hair in the mirror!)

I feel okay about Tyler telling me that my hair looked awful this morning, because recently he has been just randomly telling me "Momma, you're pretty".

Tyler told me yesterday that he loves the baby, but not when he takes his toys.

He also just woke up from his nap and came in and told me that his fingers hurt. I said "Oh, I am so sorry. What can we do to make them feel better?" He put his finger to chin (in a thinking position) and said "I know! We should watch a movie!

Man, I love that kid.

On to Cameron....

He is walking! WALKING! I can't believe it. It almost seems impossible that I could have two toddlers. Cam LOVES pushing the little "lion" that we have...a walker that looks like a lion and has music to it when we walk with it. It was Tyler's but it hasn't been used in awhile...except now, of course, Tyler really wants to play with his lion. So there have been a few lessons on sharing....
Cameron walks up and down our complex driveway...so many times a day that I can't even count! Tyler runs along side him and helps steer the lion if it starts heading for a pole or something. They are quite the team. But man oh man...as soon as it is time to come inside or put the lion away, Cam brings out the big guns. I talking loud screams, flailing arms and legs, water works, EVERYTHING! This kid sure knows what he wants. The other day, a neighbor actually came out of her house to make sure everything was okay because of Cam's screaming when I started to put the lion away. She said it sounded like he had been seriously injured. Cam sure is quite the drama king.

Poor kid is still teething. I don't know how long those blisters/swollen gums will last but they are still blackish/purpleish in the back and I keep thinking those molars are going to pop through any day, but not yet. He is being such a champ, considering how painful that must be.
He loves to chew on everything and it is pretty cute to see him knawing on stuffed animals or other toys.
He loves his daddy and he reaches for him and snuggles right into his shoulder as soon as Scott picks him up when he gets home from work. Often times, Cam will just lay there and coo on Scott's shoulders for several minutes. These boys love their dad!

Playing Trucks

2009-08-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have no words.
Nothing could accurately describe how cute Ty is when he is playing trucks.
I don't know what the headlamp is for, but he insisted on having it.

I laugh each time I look at this picture!

2009-08-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

This is a quick snap of the boys during "Friday Pizza and Movie" night.
Ty looks forward to this all day. In fact, today he spent probably thirty minutes going through the disney movies thinking about what movie he wanted to watch for tonight. When he finally decided on Pinnochio, he HAD to call dad to see if he wanted to watch "nochio when you get home". He is such a cute little kid.
We have loved starting this fun little family tradition!

Dear Mom

2009-08-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Mom,

I have been in the family for almost a year now and I feel like it is taking you EXTRA long to figure out why I do the things I do. So I thought I would help you out. Here is a list of a few things you seem to be "misunderstanding":

*I actually LOVE having food in my hair, especially spaghetti sauce. So you don't have to wipe it off every time I get some up there.

*Do you really think that I like the whole wheat double fiber bread? YUCK! I would rather wait til eating time is over and then find some paper to eat. So next time, don't fish the paper out of my mouth; it's my lunch!

*When you take away toys like the stapler or scissors, it makes me so mad that I scream a blood curdling scream and clench my fists together and let my whole body shake. So next time you see me do that, just give me back whatever you took away.

*I want to help you clean the kitchen. That is why I am always getting into the cleaners. Nothing personal, but you could keep the kitchen floor a little bit cleaner (who throws all that food onto the floor??)

*I have a great idea about where to keep our clothes. Instead of keeping them in the drawers, lets try just having them thrown all over the floor. You keep picking them up and putting them away just after I get them all out. You have no idea how tiring it is to keep taking them all out! Next time, give it a few days and I am sure you will love my idea!

*Why do you keep closing the bathroom door??? That is my favorite place to go! And it has my favorite hiding spot: the toilet! Man, it took you so long to find the phone yesterday. And you should have seen how cool it looked in there. I don't understand why you were so upset....

*I am a pretty stubborn guy. So when you say "You may not put your hand in your dirty diaper while I am changing you" what do you think I am going to do? Next time, don't tell me what I can't do...cause you and I both know that I am not afraid to do it!

*I love playing with Tyler. He is such a great brother. He is getting much better about sharing and playing with me. But do you think you could ask him to stop body-slamming me? That is usually where things start to go south....

*When you put me in my crib and I cry and pound on the wall, that means that I don't want to take a nap. Please just come in and get me and then give me 100% of your attention and don't even think of setting me down and keep bouncing or swinging me so that I don't have enough time to think about how tired I am. Is that too much to ask?

*Oh yeah, and one more thing. I am tired of trying to squeeze into six month clothing just because you don't want to do the laundry!

This is just a short list and once you master these things I will give you a new list. Keep up the good work!

Love,
Cameron

Cruel Crows and Chocolate Thunder

2009-08-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

So this post contains two hilarious stories....maybe they won't be so funny once I write them, but they were incredibly funny when they happened.

First, Ty has really taken a liking to chasing the crows at the park we go to. We generally go to a school playground and so there is a big open field and he runs like crazy and chases all the crows away. On Friday, he was doing just that! This kid can run longer than I have ever imagined is possible. It is more like sprints. He sees a few crows gathered near each other and he runs as fas as he can to make them fly away. Then he laughs really hard and takes a little rest to let them land somewhere...and off he goes to chase them away again. Anyway, on Friday there was one particular crow that wouldn't really "fly" away, he would just run away or barely come off the ground and land 10 or 15 ft from where he was before. Ty kept running at him to make him really take off and fly away, but he just wouldn't do it. Ty chased him all the way across the field, across the playground, and finally the bird flew up on top of one of the buildings. The crow sat on top of the building right at the very edge as if to taunt Tyler...and that is exactly how Tyler felt. He kept jumping and waving his hands at him to try to scare him. Then he started yelling "Boo, Crow!" Nothing worked. It was exactly at this point that I remembered thinking, I bet this crow is getting pretty annoyed that Ty won't leave him alone. I hope he doesn't do anything mean to him....Ty was standing right exactly underneath him and the crow turned around and went to the bathroom....alot! LUCKILY...very luckily, Ty had just turned to me to ask me for help in scaring the crow and he took one tiny step away so it just missed his head....I mean, barely missed his head! Ty looked down and saw what happened and exclaimed "Hey! He went potty on me!" It was really funny...and really mean of the crow...and then really funny again!

Next story....Scott and I went to dinner last night (thanks to our friends Jen and Luke who came over to watch the kids) and we had so much fun. I always end up feeling like a 12 yr old girl who can't stop giggling when I go on dates with Scotty. Anyway, at the end of our dinner our waiter came over and said, "Can I interest you in some dessert? Perhaps some cheesecake or some chocolate thunder?" I don't know what came over me, but without thinking I said "Oh, that's okay. He's (pointing to Scott) my chocolate thunder!" Scott just gave me a confused look and then we both just started laughing so hard. I could not stop the tears from coming...oh man it was so funny. The waiter just said "I'll go get the check" and let us laugh our little hearts out! Then, walking out to the car, I was still ready to fall over from laughter at any moment, Scott proudly said "I have always wanted a girl to publicly announce that I was her chocolate thunder. So thanks, honey!"
Well, baby....you truly are my chocolate thunder!!

Just Saying "Hello"

2009-08-06T12:56:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I was out walking around our property and cleaning up the laundry room as part of our job here. Cameron was taking a nap and Ty was just walking around with me, helping me pick up trash, and just talking to himself. I love hearing what he pretends to do and be...Anyway, I was wiping down the washing machines and I heard him say "Well, hello bug. Hi there bug" and start talking to this "bug" which I assumed was imaginary since he had been talking to himself all along. But when I looked over, I saw he was talking to a cockroach. It was flipped over on his back and was wiggling his legs desperately to flip over...which made him look all the more disgusting. Of course I squealed then told Ty that we don't talk to cockroaches. I think that lesson is almost as important as not talking to strangers!

Name Calling

2009-08-03T20:01:00.001-07:00

Tyler has just recently made the connection that mom and dad also go by Rachel and Scott. He was so funny the other day because he was trying to tell Scott that Cameron was awake in his crib, and he was standing right at Scott's leg and kind of pulling on his pants and saying "Dad, baby is awake. Dad....dad..." and then suddenly "SCOTT! Baby is awake, Scott!" Scott just totally started laughing. I didn't know that he knew our names!
He has also insisted that I call him "cheetah" for a whole afternoon. When I slipped and said "Ty, will you put your books away?", he promptly corrected me and said "No, mom. I not Ty. I'n cheetah. Cheetah put the books away!"
I'm okay with that...as long as the books get put away!!

Just life...

2009-07-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

So, I know I haven't posted in soooo long! And every day there is something so adorable or funny or sad that happens and I always think "Oh, I should post about this on my blog." And then another day passes and I don't do it.
So this post is me trying to think of all the things that have happened lately that are note-worthy:

-Ty had his first ever ear infection...and then allergic reaction to his medicine. About 12 hours after he started on amox he broke out in hives all over his body. He was such a trooper and watched Cars with only a couple times saying things like "Mom, I am pretty itchy".

-Cam pulled my straightener off the bathroom counter onto his arm on Sunday morning. Man oh man...you should have seen the waterworks. I was SOBBING! Cam actually did quite well. We held some frozen cheese on it and gave him some Tylenol and he did great. Of course, now, whenever I straighten my hair Ty reminds me that Cam got burned and that he will go get the cheese if I need him too.

-Ty and Cam are finally sleeping in the same room. It was a painful week or so, but now it is wonderful!! I love hearing them babble at night or early in the morning. Usually I wake up to Tyler laughing so hard! He thinks it is funny because when Cameron stands up at the crib his head just barely pokes over the rail so you can see his eyes. It is super cute and I would probably wake up giggling too! Last night as I walked past their door I hear Ty say "Okay, baby. Go to sleep!" I love that Ty calls Cam "baby" still. It makes me laugh every time I hear it.

-Cam stands on his own now...or he is learning to stand. And he is so close to walking. He took two steps the other day! But he is still wobbly enough, that I think it will be a few more weeks before he actually takes off!

-Ty has started to love helping me cook dinner. He gets his little apron on and pulls the chair up to the counter and says "Lets whip up...what mom?" I can't do anything now without his help! We had a huge breakdown a few nights ago, because I opened the microwave and he "neeeeeeded to do it!"

-Ty is sooo...what is the word? Persistant? Stubborn? Strong-willed? Take your pick. He loves to say that he will do things "all by myself!" He spent a FULL five minutes trying to take off his own pajama shirt the other morning. It was totally stuck on his head and he would NOT let me help him. I waited for a few seconds and then calmly asked "Would you like help now?" Nope! He still said "All by myself!" So Cam and I went in to get some breakfast and Ty wandered out later and finally asked for help. I should have taken a picture of the shirt stuck on his head...it was too funny. But I love his determination to succeed!

-Both boys absolutely can not wait until Scott comes home every day. Seriously. Ty sits on the toy chest and watches through the window for Scott to pull up. He jumps and laughs and yells YEEAAAA as Scott walks in the door. And Cam crawls as fast as he can and pulls himself on Scotty's leg. It is truly an amazing sight to see. One time last week I actually got choked up watching it. These boys absolutely adore their dad!

-We had a pizza and a movie night last Saturday and Tyler was in heaven. We first got to go for a little swim in the pool...cause it was such a hot day and I just thought that it would be a nice way to the end Saturday. Then we came home, jumped in the shower, got in our pajamas, sat down in the front room with pizza, and watched Toy Story. Tyler HAD to sit next to dad and I snapped a picture of the three boys that I will have to post later (I don't know where the camera is right now...) It was a fun night.

-Scotty took me out on a nice date for our anniversary! I can't believe it has been four years! I am the luckiest girl in the world....no doubt about it! We went to The Melting Pot and it was just divine! Then we went and saw Up. It was such a fun night. Gosh I love Scotty!

-I know I still need to post all my pictures from our family vacation to Yellowstone. It was so much fun! I loved being there with all the family and meeting the new little neices and nephews. I have such an amazing family!

I am sure there are tons of things I am missing...so I will just have to post them as I remember! And hopefully soon I will get some new pictures up!

A tender moment

2009-07-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

There is just something magical about letting a little baby fall asleep on you. I don't do it very often because I want Cameron to learn to fall asleep in his bed, but every so often I love watching his eyes slowly start closing and watching his whole body just curl up into mine. Oh...it is one of life's precious moments.

I gave it my best tri!!

2009-07-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Scott and I did our first triathalon at the end of June and it was so much fun. I can say for sure now that I really should have trained more before just jumping in and doing it, but since we took it really slow and easy, it went really well. Scott swam with his "wave" of young male swimmers and then got out and waited for me to finish my swim. (He is so wonderful!) Then we took a nice little bike ride that went really smooth and was quite easy. Then for the run, we just picked a nice slow pace (for my benefit) and just plowed our way through. Towards the end, Scott was making me laugh so hard that I almost tripped a few times. I have so much fun doing those things with him.
(A HUGE HUGE thanks to Cheryl who came over at 5:30 in the morning and watched our kids for us so that we could do it together. Next time we will have to re-think signing up for an event that starts at 7am and is about an hour away....but thanks again to Cheryl for everything!)

I loved doing this triathalon so much that we are going to sign up for another one...I think in August!

Happy Bday Scott...two months late!

2009-06-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pics of Scott's birthday that I am just now getting around to post on the blog.
Ty and Cam made a candy card for Scott and we put it on the front door for him so that he would see it as soon as he came home from work. Ty worked hard...and got a little tangled up in the tape! After dad's birthday dinner Ty played around the house in Scott's shoes!

Reading Glasses

2009-06-15T14:54:00.001-07:00

I LOVE this picture. Papa and Mimi came to visit (a few months ago) and I Ty just had a blast. This is my favorite picture of all time. Mimi came over one night to help put the kids to bed. After Ty was bathed and in his pajamas she told him he could choose a book to read. He ran and sat on her lap with one of his favorite books. She started to read the book and said "Oh, I need my glasses." As she searched her purse for her glasses Ty hopped off her lap and then came back ready to read a book...with HIS glasses too!

A few random pics

2009-06-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Just before I crossed the finish line...I was too tired to even look over at the camera!

Getting my game face on

The girls before the race

Ty sure loved great grandma and grandpa Wright!

If you ask me...these sure are cute kids!

2009-06-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

I am going to have to start bringing cheerios and little toys for Scott. This is what happens when Scott gets bored during church.
(In case you can't tell, Ty and Cam have mustaches)

Oh Scotty, what am I going to do with you???

A Couple Big Happenings

2009-06-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

We have had a whirlwind of a week and so many fun and exciting things have happened. I will start in order...

First, on Thursday afternoon, Scott called and told me that his bosses at work called him in for a meeting. Even I was nervous...and I was just on the phone when Scott told me. Then again, I am kind of a wimp when in comes to large, dirty, offensive men. Luckily, Scott deals with those kinds of people all the time and so he wasn't nervous. Anyway, they gave him a promotion! He totally deserves it. He has been working so hard lately and really going the extra mile and just doing an amazing job. So that was really exciting for us and I feel so happy that we have so much job security in such an unstable economy.

Then on Thursday evening, I had my first piano recital. I combined with Maren (thank goodness) cause she is a pro at all this and she made it turn out great. It was so fun to see the students hands shaking as they sat and waited for their turn to play. I only had three students play in the recital, but they all did fantastic. I was really proud of them all.

Then Saturday I ran my second half marathon! Whew...it is over! It is one of those things that you look forward to, in a dreading sort of way...you know? I couldn't really sleep the night before because I was so nervous. It was really fun though. Unfortunately, it was alot longer than I had expected. I know what you are thinking....aren't all half marathons the same distance...13.1 miles? Well, yes. But if you were me, then you would be training with a Nike plus that wasn't calibrated correctly and you would have been running less than you thought you were. So, when I finished my half marathon (according to my nike plus) I had not even reached mile 11 yet!!! So, I have to say, those last two miles were pretty brutal. Really brutal actually. At one point, I was thinking to myself "I should just stop. Yeah. It will be fine to take a quick break and walk for a little bit." Then I actually said out loud "Nice try Rachel." I knew that if I stopped, I probably wouldn't start back up again. So I definitely used mind power to finish the race, and I was really sore right after. But I thought I would be in so much pain and totally miserable for several days after, but I have felt great.
Now I am entering into the world of doing two events in one day. Today I ran a mile...to the pool and then swam. I feel good and I am really excited for our tri coming up!

So, Saturday afternoon, Scott and I decided to go to an early dinner and celebrate that he got a promotion and that I did my half marathon. We took the kids and they were being so well behaved. Ty was calmly eating his food and Cam was just smiling at every person that passed...enough that everyone would stop and comment on what a happy kid he was. I said to Scott "Wow. We are so lucky. We have two really great kids. They are just so good." And then as we talked about the kids, we decided that, obviously, we do think they are wonderful, but that we were probably kind of biased since we are their parents. Every parent thinks that their child is amazing, right? We kind of laughed about that and then a couple that was sitting at a nearby table was just paying for their food and getting up to leave, when they walked over to us. The wife said "We just want you to know that you have such wonderful children. They are so happy and so smiley...and sooo well behaved. You are really lucky." It almost got me kind of choked up. I felt a huge sense of pride (the good kind, I hope) as I looked at those boys and knew that they were mine. It was a fun day. And a yummy meal!

Early Anniversary

2009-05-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Scott decided to give me an early anniversary present and I am SOOO excited about it.
He got me a new road bike! And a new swimsuit! And signed me up for our first triathalon!
He is such a great husband! I love my new bike and we have been on almost four or five bike rides in the last 7 days. It is so fun!
I have really gotta get cookin' though because the event he signed me up for is in THREE WEEKS! I can't wait though...and it will be fun to do it with Scotty!

I can't forget the best part of the story though...awhile ago, we had talked about getting me a bike, but we decided that we would wait because we didn't want to spend the money. So part of the gift was that we didn't spend one penny of our money for any of this stuff! You'll never guess...Scott sold one of his guitars to get me my bike! When he told me, I cried. It really was cute how he did it...but I will spare you all the details. Scott's guitars are more precious than gold to him. And I thought he would never part with them. But he did. He is so wonderful!

Oh, how I love my Tyler...

2009-05-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

So, if you were Tyler, these are a few of the things you would have been doing this week:

-Putting yourself into time out for hitting and pushing the baby...sometimes I think that he truly weighs the options and decides that the rush from pushing the baby over is well worth the few minutes he has to sit by that wall. He does it...and before I can even say anything, he'll tell me he is going to time out and he will go right there and sit down and stay there. I am starting to wonder if I need to re-think that consequences for hurting Cameron....

-Slowly evolving into a monkey...this kid climbs on EVERYTHING. He loves to climb up anything that I tell him is too high or too hard for him to do. As soon as I say "That is for big kids" he is bolting toward it, as if he needs to prove he can do it. We were at a park the other day with a little rock climbing part and there was a sign that said it was for 5 years and up. Ty climbed up it all by himself...with Scott as a spotter. (But Scott really didn't even touch him...he did it all alone!) He also has alot of arm strength and can hoist himself onto almost anything.
He has now completely mastered the art of climbing out of his crib and then slowly lowering himself down. It is quite amazing to see this kid in action. Except now we need to get him a bed.

-Doing your first (and hopefully last) session of interior design. Apparently Ty thought our couch needed a extra hint of BRIGHT RED. So he took the liberty of dumping nail polish on the couch. Oh man...it was such a sight to see. I had jumped in the shower because I was already going to be late for visiting teaching-- got out to see that Ty's hands were covered in nail polish-- completely lost it and started crying--Ty ran to time out--I frantically tried ANYTHING to get it off the couch--started smelling something burning and realized I had forgotten about the muffins in the oven that I was going to bring to our visiting teaching appointment--Cam woke up crying from his nap due to Tyler's crying from time out....AAAHHH! I can't re-live this experience any more. Let's just say...it was awful! And if anyone has any tricks for getting nail polish off of a microfiber couch, I am all ears!

-Constantly making Cameron smile...Papa (scott's dad) called them "Tyler and the Smiler". I think it is perfect! Cam is ALWAYS grinning and it is usually because Tyler is near. He has been crawling around like a lion and jumping out from behind pillows to make the baby laugh, but recently he has started with a new technique: self torture. It is really funny to watch. Cameron will just absolutely be belly-laughing and almost tipping over from laughing so hard. Ty will bang his head on the piano, face plant on the ground, or anything to get a laugh out of Cam. It is pretty cute how much they love each other, but I have already started to steer him away from those techniques (even though they get some good laughs!)

I wish I had a picture of Tyler that I could post right here. He is such a cute kid...especially with his new summer haircut (completely buzzed!) What a good kid!

Yes...I cried!

2009-05-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

So, I know that I am an emotional nut case sometimes...well, a lot of the time. But I bet that you would have cried too if this happened to you....

This morning I went into the kitchen to make Ty some breakfast. I had cleaned the kitchen last night and done all the dishes, so it was nice and clean....except a can of soda that was sitting on the counter. I wasn't even thirsty, but I wanted to clean off the counter so I picked up the can to throw it away, but realized there was just enough left for about one swallow. Yes, I dumped it in my mouth. And walked over to the trash can to throw the can away. I had only taken about two steps when I realized that there was more than just soda in my mouth. AAARRGG! Just thinking about it makes me want to puke! Right where I was, I spit out the drink to find that there had been a cockroach in my mouth!! I immediatly burst into tears and found myself hanging over the sink spitting and rinsing my mouth out. Ty (who was totally alarmed and came running to the kitchen) walked to my side and said "It's okay mom. It's okay." So not only did I have to deal with a disgusting cockroach in my mouth, but I spent the next thirty minutes cleaning up the soda that was ALL over the kitchen that I had just cleaned yesterday.
Let's just say that it was not a great start to my morning!

So much to say....

2009-05-21T14:04:00.001-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in awhile and I feel like there is so much to blog about...so here it goes...

First off, Ty has been sick. It has been really sad. He hasn't been eating anything these past few days and just barely started getting some energy back today. He has been relatively good during the day, but at night...MAN! I feel like I have a newborn! He wakes up every hour and just cries and cries. And I feel bad just letting him cry because I know that he is sick. So the past four nights in a row, I have gotten up at least six times during the night (one night it was eight!). Finally, last night he only woke up at 10pm (but we hadn't gone to bed yet) and then slept until almost 8am. I hope that is a sign that he is getting better!

Our half marathon is coming up and I am so excited. I had the WORST 12 mile run this past saturday though...if that was anything like the real race, I should be dreading it. I didn't sleep well the night before, I forgot to charge my ipod so at three miles it died, which meant that I didn't have music but I also didn't know how far to go or when to turn around, I forgot my little water bottle and my gu packs, and I had foolishly overeaten the night before, so my stomach hurt the whole time! I am really going to do things differently for the real race.

What else??? The cubs are as cute as ever! Cam usually doesn't whine or cry to let us know he is awake in the morning. He pounds his legs on the mattress. It is so cute! There is just a little thud, thud, thud....and sometimes some cooing...and we know our little guy is up! Lately, as Cam has been babbling more and more, Tyler has been talking to him and having cute little conversations. He usually says the same things that I do...like "Oh, are you talkin' baby?" or "Whachoo talkin' bout baby?" but it is a million times cuter coming from him!
They are such cute little brothers!

The "I can't sleep" blues

2009-05-15T01:40:00.000-07:00

100 Miles??? YEAH RIGHT!!!

2009-05-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

So at the beginning of May, I had these lofty dreams of running 100 miles during the month. WHAT WAS I THINKING? 100 MILES?? I was crazy! That is really far. I had it all mapped out and scheduled as far as when and how long I would run each day. Since I am in my last month of training for the half marathon, it seemed pretty reasonable. Then I realized that I have two kids and so many things to do and things just started coming up and I would miss a run here and there. We are already at the 13th and I am only at like 35 or 36 miles so far. And this isn't really something you can just "catch up" on. So, I have pretty much given up on hitting 100 miles in one month. Maybe some day I will do it....a good thing to put on my list of things to do before I die!
Still running my half marathon on May 30th though...I am really excited! We are doing 12 miles on Saturday and it will be my last "long" run before the actual race. Woo-hoo!

Cam's first...crawl!

2009-05-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it has actually happened...Cameron started crawling. He popped up on his hands and knees yesterday and took one little leap toward a toy. Tyler was right there and he was so excited for him. In fact, all morning he has been taking whatever toy is in Cam's hand and placing just out of reach in order to make him crawl again. (Which means that Cam has been having a pretty rough morning!) Ty will get down on the ground, just like me, and chant "Come on, baby!" or "You can do it, Cam!" But I don't know if I really want to encourage Cam's mobility....can I really handle two kids that can move around? I don't think so! It is one thing to have a toddler and then a baby....but two toddlers??? I guess it is too late now! Watch out world...here comes Cam!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

I am such a lucky mom. I have so much to be thankful for. I have two amazing children and an incredible husband! For mother's day, Scotty got up with the kids (at 6:30am) and fed the baby and then started breakfast for me. I loved hearing him in the kitchen cooking and hearing Ty ask cute little questions and try to help his dad. We had some gourmet eggs, muffins, and juice! Church was great...and then afterwards we went over to Ben and Jaimi's house for dinner. We had shish-kabobs (sp?), cous cous, watermelon and corn and then CHEESECAKE for dessert! It was delicious! (I felt okay about eating cheesecake since we ran 10.5 miles on saturday!)
I have been trying to think of all the wonderful things that come from being a mother, but I can't even name them all. I think that what I love the most are all the little day to day things. I love that Ty giggles and adds a little jump to his stride when he is excited. I love that he has to be tucked in each night before he can go to sleep. I love that Cam will fight sleep with every muscle that he has, but he completely gives in once you start to tickle his cheek lightly with your finger. I love that Ty RUNS to Scott when he gets home from work. I love that Ty asks to say every family prayer and when it is his turn he ends with a very strong "A-MEN"! I love watching Ty lead the music during sacrament meeting. I love that Cam is constantly waiting for someone or something to smile at, ready at any moment to send a huge toothy grin your way.
That is just to name a few...

Mother's Day is wonderful, and it makes me glad I am a mom. But it also makes me thankful for my mom and everything she has taught me. And thankful for Scott's mom, for raising such a terrific son!

Thanks to all my friends that are moms or soon to be moms for all your love and support in helping me be a mom! I love you all!

Singing to the baby

2009-05-11T20:10:00.001-07:00

So cute....Ty is really good about trying to help the baby when he is upset. He always finds his binki and gives it to him or shares his toys. Lots of times, he sings to the baby. Usually it is Old MacDonald or Twinkle Twinkle, but today I heard him from the kitchen singing I am a Child of God. I peeked my head in and he was sitting right next to Cam on the floor and was rubbing his head and singing to him. It was ADORABLE!

Our first family vacation

2009-04-28T20:15:00.001-07:00

We decided that it was time to take our first family vacation to Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur a few weekends ago. I learned a few important lessons:
1. When you bring kids with you...especially when you have a 2yr old and a 7 month old, it WONT really be a vacation.
2. Naps are crucial to happiness
3. Eating too many carmeled apples will make you sick, even if they are the tastiest thing you have ever had
4. If you stay up late enough, you will laugh harder than you ever have before.
5. If you have a child sleeping in the bathroom (in a pack and play) you will inevitably have to use the bathroom every few hours!

We really had so much fun. We got to go to the Monterey Bay aquarium and see sharks (Ty's favorite), run 6 miles up and down the coast, see the ocean from our balcony and watch the otters splash around, get a massage and facial at the spa (THANK YOU Scotty), find a secluded beach up in Big Sur and play in the water and watch the water splash up on the rocks, eat some delicious seafood, take a bike ride with the kids around Monterey, and see some of the prettiest sights I have ever seen! I have to say though, one of my favorite parts was getting to be with Scotty all day long! It was so fun to be together and laugh and play....it felt like we were dating again...and then the kids would cry and we would be brought back to reality! It was awesome!

Happy Easter Bunny!

2009-04-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ty has been learning and saying such cute little things. Today, he had a bite of his quesadilla for lunch and said "Mmmm. A-licious mom!" He has also starting asking "Why cause?" when I tell him he can't do something. It is pretty darn cute!
He has also started saying "Happy Easter Bunny" as we put him to bed each night. He was so excited that the easter bunny brought him some candy and he so desperately wants him to come again!
These two little guys are such good friends. Cam has some bumps and bruises to prove how much Ty loves him! Cam smiles the biggest when he sees Ty, and the first thing Ty asks when he wakes up in the morning is "Is baby awake?" Let's hope this lasts!

Ty's birthday

2009-04-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

We sang...

He ate...

We all smiled!

Hands in my Pocket

2009-04-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know how he got so cute! (Probably from his dad!) Anyway, Ty has discovered how cool his pockets are. He walks around with his hands in his pockets ALL THE TIME! I just thought he looked so cute the other day and took this picture...and of course, he wanted his hands in his pockets. I can't stand how cute he is!

Another Shrimp on the Potty

2009-04-10T22:23:00.001-07:00

So I wanted to write about a few things....
First of all, we had shrimp and pasta the other evening and Ty really loved it. He kept saying that he loved the "chicken" and I kept telling him it was called shrimp. So he started picking up each piece of shrimp and saying "Hi pimp. Bye pimp". And then he would throw it in his mouth. It was really funny.
Also...Ty used the Elmo potty again! That makes time number three or four now. Of course, before he was even done going to the bathroom he jumped off the potty and did a little dance while shouting "I get candy! I get candy!"

I love being a mom.

Finally!

2009-04-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

I read blogs all the time.
I keep thinking that I should start one.
And finally....I have!

I will post some pictures of our little cubs soon... As soon as I learn how :)