I Had Forgotten....

....how much fun this could be! (insert sarcasm here)

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When I got home from Mt. Graham yesterday, I was surprised to find the house completely spotless. (My husband is either the best man ever or just can't stand our messy house, so he waits until I'm gone to clean.) Anyway, another part of the surprise was that Frank's crib had been moved back into the nursery and his "big boy Thomas bed" had been moved into his room! I was so upset that I didn't have my camera, because the look on his face was absolutely priceless. He spent the entire evening laying on his bed playing with his cars. He didn't even get off the bed to say prayers with us last night, he loves it so much. Andrew & I had talked about putting Frank in the toddler bed, but I think I've blocked out the memories of doing this with Emma, because it was a NIGHTMARE with her. I hadn't really prepared myself for all that is involved with this big move.

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Such as:

1. No one in the kids' room going to sleep until 9:30 pm because Frank kept climbing into bed with Emma.

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2. Cold little hands on my face at 4:41 am and a wiggly little stinker worming his way underneath the covers to snuggle with Daddy for the rest of the night.

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3. Random musical toy noises eminating from the bedroom at 11:00 pm.

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4. Frank in bed, out of bed, in bed, out of bed, in bed.......etc.

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5. Mommy on the couch, off the couch, on the couch, off the couch.....etc.

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When he got home last night, Andrew mentioned that he thought it was a good idea to do this now, before I got too big & fat. (Ok, he didn't call me fat, but I know that's what he probably meant.) I thought he was being overly cautious, but now I admit that it was a great idea. After about the 15th time I had to get up to put Frank back into bed last night, I was thanking my lucky stars that I have a thoughtful husband. I was out of breath as it was- I don't even want to think about doing this little routine at 9 months along.

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So when I get my camera back on Thursday, I'll post some pics of my big boy in his big boy bed. Oh, it makes me sad to see my little man be so grown up. But I guess I'll have another little guy here soon enough to start all of this fun over again. Yippee!

Well, I've been totally lazy lately. I've enjoyed reading everyone else's blogs, but haven't even attempted to contribute to my own. I'm such a bum. Anyway, here's a few of the things that we've been up to.

Emma's 2nd week of preschool. What a doll! She's out of bed even earlier than normal lately- usually about 5:45 am or so. Luckily she's been pretty good about being quiet to let everyone except Mommy sleep. She has this compulsive desire to come in and kiss me as soon as she gets up, and no matter what I do, I can't convince her to wait until my alarm goes off at 6:30. Adorable? Usually. Annoying? Sometimes. Convenient? Always. I NEVER thought that I'd ever be grateful that she wakes up so early. But the fact that I'm not having to drag her out of bed to get ready for school really makes the mornings easier to bear. (Mommy is NOT a morning person.)

The 24th of July Celebration in Thatcher. We missed most all of the festivities for the 4th, so I wanted to let them see the parade & fireworks this time around. I can remember the Pioneer Day hoopla from the time I was very small, and I want my kids to have the same memories. This year it literally poured for about an hour, but who cares? It's not like it's cold, and the kids adore playing in the rain, so I figure it's no big deal if they're dirty & soaking wet. That's what memories are made of, right? Somehow I forgot my camera, so thanks for these pics, Mom.

Gotta sport the cowboy hats at the cowboy parade!

If it's so wet outside, how is his face still so dirty?

Somehow I don't think this umbrella is keeping anyone dry!

Monsoon season! This is my favorite time of year. How can it not be? After all, I was raised by a man who built a 4-car canopy at our house just so that we could all sit outside & watch the storms in the summer. So I guess it runs in my blood. We've had a couple of HUGE storms lately, and the roads around our house are eternally about a foot deep in mud. That's what happens when you live in a rural area, I guess. We even had some dufus drive through a wash about a mile from my house that runs at least 60 feet wide and 3-4 feet deep. Needless to say, he didn't make it across, and his brand new Honda got washed off down the river. After about 3 hours, the fire department rescued him, but I think they should've let him get out on his own! As an Arizona girl, I don't have a lot of sympathy for people that refuse to respect the power of the weather we get here. Case in point:

This is the wash that runs adjacent to my driveway. It's running at LEAST 2 feet deep at this point.

This is the idiot that is intending to drive through it until he saw me on the bank with my kids & camera, taking pictures. He sat there for almost 20 minutes glaring at me until he finally decided that I wasn't going anywhere, and turned around and left. I was standing out there teaching my kids about how dangerous the water was, and I was determined to get a picture of this idiot getting stuck. It think it would've made a nice addition to the evening news, don't you? But alas, he got smart and left. A good teaching moment for the kids!

On the way back up the driveway, Emma & I were trying very hard not to get wet. But Frank had other ideas. Like I said, he's all boy.

FHE on DVD. This is Andrew's find, and I admit that I was very skeptical at first. However, my kids LOVE them, and they really do learn a lot from them. Like the package says, all you need is a snack! There's 4 songs to choose from on each lesson, and there's time for prayers, scripture discussions, and lesson review. You just hit the Continue button at the end of each segment to move on to the next section, so you can take all the time you want to discuss the different points of the lesson. There's even a whole segment for Testimony Time. A few weeks ago we did Happy Helpers, and last week we did Tithing. So we made little homemade banks for the kids and they've run around the house for the past week finding money and putting it in their Tithing, Fun, and Savings banks. This FHE on DVD idea is not an every week sort of thing, but if you don't have time to do a lesson, it's awesome to just pop in the DVD & have FHE be done. As Jamie Kennington would say- Brilliant!

And to top it all off, we just got back today from Mt. Graham. The Larsons are having a camping trip, and we went over so that the kids could spend at least 1 night on the mountain with the cousins. This time I remembered to take the camera, but forgot to bring it home! So when we get it back I'll post some pics. (I even got a few of Emma with a caterpillar, definitely a first.)

Emma's Big Week!

After many months of waiting and waiting and waiting some more it finally got here- Emma's preschool started! (We have year-round school here in the Vail School District.) Ever since we got word that she was accepted into this program, she's been harrassing me daily to let her start school. So it was with great relief (& sadness) that I helped her take this first big step into the world beyond our home.

Emma is attending the preschool at our local school district office. They have 6 classrooms that run both AM and PM classes, but the competition is surprisingly stiff to get in! We even had to switch teachers more than once, but now that it's all said and done, I absolutely know that she's in the perfect class for her with the perfect people to guide her. And bonus- I LOVE the teachers in her classroom. They even have a dog that resides in Emma's class, and one of the male teachers plays the guitar for all of their music time. Yea!

Here's my little- sorry, BIG- girl all ready for her first day of school. I really don't think that she knows how to take a picture without posing.

I was surprised to find that one of the biggest challenges of starting school was finding this little girl a backpack! My mom bought her one, too small for what the school wanted. Daddy bought her one, also too small. But have you looked at the size of backpacks at the store? Most of them literally banged against the back of her knees when she tried them on! I felt like the bear family in Goldilocks. This one's too small, those ones are too big- but finally, we found one that was just right! And it's a Disney Princess bag, so what could be more perfect for my little girl?

Taking the big walk into the building to start school was very exciting! But I honestly thought that at any minute Andrew was going to grab her and run back to the car. He's had such a hard time coping with the knowledge that his little girl is actually growing up. Poor guy actually asked me if we could withdraw her from school and keep her home forever. And he asked me this when we were in the car, on the way to the district office to drop her off for the first time! Daddy does love his little girl.

Gotta get the backpack just right. I love the tongue sticking out to just the precise angle!

Emma adores her teachers, and here's something really interesting. When I ask her what her favorite thing about school is, she replies that it's Circle Time! My little girl that can hardly sit still long enough to get shoes on, and thinks that Primary is absolute torture because you have to sit and listen LOVES to sit and listen in Circle Time. It's just another testament to me that the people in that classroom are giving her exactly what she needs, and that she's soaking it up and wanting more. You know, it's hard to see my little one grow up, but the fact that she's so happy, and that this is so obviously a perfect fit for her makes it a pleasure to take her to the district office and drop her off every day!

We love you big girl!

Random Pictures

Mom, I thought you'd appreciate this picture. These are the goggles you bought her. (Who's goofy kid is this, anyway?) Emma has developed into quite the fish in the pool. She swims everywhere, dives underneath my legs, and has also discovered how to do flips underwater. I am absolutely amazed at how good she is, especially since we didn't even really teach her how to swim! This is her doing a flip, & she demanded that I take her picture to put on the blog. Like I said, goofy kid.
Who knew that my brave, almost fearless little kids would be so scared of a sparkler on the 4th of July!
This is Aunt Tammy's new dog, Pixie. Emma was a bit like Elmira from Tiny Toons, and almost loved this poor little dog to death. Thanks for being a good sport, Tammy. Emma has raved about Pixie ever since we got home! They were watching cartoons together when I took this pic. Amazingly, Pixie seemed more than happy & completely relaxed. What a cute pair!
An exact quote: I want to be like Daddy with the big boy hat!
No comments on the success of the garden, I don't want to jinx it! By the way, Emma pretty much lives in her swimsuit from the time she gets up until I let her get in the pool. Frank would rather stay in his jammies! (The board wired to the fence and the chain link panels in the background are evidence of where the dogs have chewed through almost every section of our fence!)Andy wanted a pic of me working in the garden. This is me basically weed-eating the tomato plants in the hope that they would actually start producing fruit! Good times.

Our Un-Vacation

Just like Alice in Wonderland had a Very Merry Un-Birthday, we just finished up a Very Merry Un-Vacation. For quite a while, Andrew & I had been trying to decide what to do to get away for a few days before summer was over, and then we realized, summer WAS over! Emma starts school on Tuesday and we hadn't ever done anything!

We thought about going to Vegas, California, Pinetop, and a few other places, but honestly, I just didn't feel like riding in the car or on a plane to go anywhere! Besides, if you travel, you have to pay for gas, hotel, and food so you feel guilty spending money to actually go DO anything. So, Andrew had an epiphany. What if we had an un-vacation? Would it be possible? What if we just stayed home & had our very own relaxing weekend without the kids? Then we could go spend money doing things we NEVER do & wouldn't die of shock when we got home to our depleted bank account balance! We were still stewing over how to accomplish this feat when Aunt Robyn solved all of our problems. I was talking about what we were wanting to do, and she actually VOLUNTEERED to take our kids off our hands so that we could just spend time together & relax. WHAT A WOMAN!!!!

So Friday afternoon we dropped the kids off at Robyn's house & the fun began. This was our first ever night away from Frank, and Emma has only spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa's once for about 7 hours before we got there, so this was huge for us, especially me. I was DESPERATE for some time away from the kids, but was very nervous about actually being away from them for 3 whole days. Luckily, we have very independent kids that were awesome for "Aunt Wobby" & cousin Hailey, and I managed to not get too crazy for them until Sunday came around. Thus, everyone was happy & excited to be back together again when the weekend was over. Now we can get Emma started in school tomorrow & see how this new phase in our family's life is going to go.

Here's a blow-by-blow of my awesome Un-Vacation. Remember, this was Andrew's idea, and he planned most of it for me. What a great guy!

Friday:

-Drop the kids off & go eat all by ourselves! I didn't want to eat too much because I didn't want to be too full for the next activity- you'll see why. So we hit Eegee's & shared a roast beef sub. Yum!

- Andy's 1st great idea- MASSAGES! We booked massages at SpaOne. They have a GREAT deal for 1st time customers- an hour-long massage for just $39! (Even my prenatal one.) My massage therapist made fun of me for almost falling asleep & being so relaxed that she had to literally lug my arms & legs around to work on them. Hey, what can I say? I was bound & determined to enjoy myself, and I did!

-Next we wandered around Best Buy for an hour or so- what's an hour when you don't have kids screaming, climbing out of the cart, and knocking stuff off the shelves?

- Andy's 2nd great idea- a dessert lounge called Something Sweet (on Speedway just east of Craycroft). We've always wanted to try this place, but thought that it would be too expensive or fancy to take the kids. But honestly, if you live in Tucson, you've GOT to try this place! You can get amazing desserts for as little as $4! And they have all sorts of board & card games for the customers to play, so it's very low-key & relaxed. I loved it, and will be visiting it again soon, even with the kids!

- Home to an empty, quiet house. No tears yet, I was just excited to climb into bed knowing that I could sleep in as long as I wanted to the next morning!

Saturday:

-SLEEPING IN UNTIL 10:00!!!! Need I say more?

- A nice leisurely breakfast & watching whatever I wanted to on TV. Amazing.

- Nap, anyone? Yes, please!

- Andy's 3rd great idea- After naps, we got dressed & headed to town to try Mama Louisa's Italian Restaurant on Craycroft, just south of 29th St. I've heard that it's a Tucson legend, and now I know why. The food was AWESOME, and the service was great. Andy & I actually felt like newlywed lovebirds for a while- except that my big pregnant belly kept banging into the table. Well, we could pretend, couldn't we? If you go, be sure to try the fried zucchini appetizer- the best I've ever had! I had forgotten that when there's only 2 of you, you can afford to order appetizers!

-Now to the movies- how nice to choose any one we wanted because it didn't matter what time we got home! We saw Journey to the Center of the Earth. GREAT! Although, if you can go see it at one of the theaters showing it in 3D, I would do that. It's awesome either way, though.

- A little shopping at the mall, and actually trying on clothes without any kids in the dressing room with me. Another thing I think I had completely forgotten about!

- Just driving around trying to decide what to do & spotted a car show at Little Anthony's Diner. So we walked around for a little while before running into a friend of Andrew's from work & his little girl, Sasha, who's only 3 months younger than Frank. I swear, I would steal this kid if I didn't think that her parents would know who took her. Adorable doesn't even begin to describe her! We went into the diner to have a milkshake & fries- and this was my downfall! I played with Sasha for more than an hour & came down with a SERIOUS case of loneliness for my kids. But I just snuggled Sasha a little more & felt OK. Until I got home to an empty, quiet house.

-Sitting in the kids' room being sad. Wait a minute, nobody told me that after only 30 hours I'd actually want them BACK!!! Who knew?

Sunday:

- SLEEPING IN until 9:00! Sorry, we totally went apostate today & smashed the Sabbath to smithereens. There was NO WAY I was going to be able to make 8:00 church this morning. I'll have to make up for it next week.

- Andy's 4th great idea- breakfast (or is it brunch after 10:00?) at the Triple T. YUM!!! Yes, it is a truck stop, but that also means that you get trucker-size portions of the strawberry-covered waffles! OK, so the trucker-oriented service sucks, but everything has a trade-off, right?

- A little wandering through stores & window-shopping at the mall. Terrible, I know.

- By 2:00, I was so ready to go get my kids! This was the best part of my whole weekend. When we came in the door, Frank just stared at me for a minute, dropped his blanket & screamed as loud as he could! Then he did some sort of little hip-shaker dance & came running so fast that he almost knocked me over. I don't think I've ever been hugged so long or so tightly by this kid, and it was amazing. Emma just pretended to be shy & hid in the hallway until I called her. Then she came flying into my arms, too. Now that's sheer bliss!

I now understand why Andrew wants to take the kids everywhere we go. He told me that this weekend was pretty hard for him because he gets to see the kids so little as it is, that he wants to be with them every second that he's not at work. Now I can see where he's coming from, and I appreciate him sacrificing so that I could re-gain a little sanity. I knew that I loved this guy for a reason!

One thing I learned this weekend is that Andrew & I do still like each other! We didn't argue or fight or nit-pick at each other even once all weekend. I guess it's true that just having kids changes your relationship. Now I'm going to try hard every day to appreciate him more & let the stuff with the kids stay there, and not project my frustrations onto my husband. What an amazingly simple thought, but one that's definitely hard to put into practice.

So here I am, all renewed & refreshed. I'm ready for Emma to start preschool tomorrow, and I've even spent the entire day cleaning my house, with more to come after everyone gets up from naps. It's amazing what a little un-vacation can do for one's mental well-being, and I would most definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a little break.

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(I realize as I read back through this that I sound like some miserable convict that escaped from Mommy-Prison for a couple of days. Please don't think that I'm too pathetic, I just REALLY needed a break, and REALLY appreciated it when I got it!)

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Happy Very Merry Un-Vacation to me!

Finally!

I have been trying to load these pics for days now, but Blogger kept giving me error messages. Since I've been having such trouble loading them, I'm not going to do too many. The REALLY good ones are on my friend Ashlie Hilton's blog (follow the link to the right). Be sure to go to her blog & see them. They're GORGEOUS! So, without further ado, here are a few more pics of my beautiful angels!

Fun jumping in the puddles.I love this one because I have a love affair with my kids' little toddler hands. So chubby & cute- I wish they'd stay young forever!OK. I've had a couple of requests for a pic of my pregnant belly. Well here it is at about 25 weeks. Whatever.

I loved that the entire day we were shooting pictures, Frank wouldn't walk anywhere unless he was holding my hand. I adore that he's a Mama's boy.

OOPS!

Completely out of the blue yesterday-

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Emma: Is the baby going to come out of your pee-pee, Mommy?

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Mom: (after choking on the food in my mouth) No, honey, he's going to come from my belly.

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Emma: No, Mommy, he's going to come from between your legs!

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Dad: No. It's magic, honey. He's just going to come right out from Mama's belly.

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Mom: How do you know that, Emma?

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Emma: Because I watched all the babies on TV come out of their Mama's pee-pees!

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Dad: What the heck!!!

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Mom: Uh, maybe I might have left the TV on the Discovery Channel the other day?!

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OOPS!

So much for that awkward "Where do babies come from" conversation. Sounds to me like she's already got it down. Man, my kid is too smart for MY own good!