Memorial Weekend

So for some reason when we go and visit our folks the weather is less-than-stellar. Oh well. We had snow on our last trip to Denver, and rain and hail on this past trip to Utah. Whatever. We still had a grand time and really the kids could care less - they love being inside the grandparents' houses; it is so exciting to them!

So here is the run-down of our trip:

Saturday:

That morning we went over to the resort-place where my dad works - sometimes. They have a carousel there and so that was fun. I wasn't sure how much the boys enjoyed it - but both of them did say they wanted to go again and so I think it was fun for them. I felt sick on it. :)

That afternoon we went to this really nice Rec Center with a pool - it has a "kiddie" area that is from 0-3 feet deep. There is a playground thingy in the middle and a big waterslide, too. Emmy loved it - I loved looking at her in her cute swimsuit (thanks rebecca!). Jonas wasn't so sure about it and waited about 10 minutes before deciding to come in the pool. Miles loved it. Loved it. It was a really fun time!

Sunday:

Sunday was church of course. This is one of my favorite dresses - I found it at the Hand-Me-Down store in town. Love it - love it more with Emmy in it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Miles making a mess of his yogurt lunch,

Jonas enjoying one of his favorite activities while there - playing on the stairs,

and Emmy getting a playdate just for her. Our friends, one of Ben's best friend and his wife and sweet little baby gal, came over late that afternoon and visited and ate with us. What a treat for us all.

Monday:

We had Baked Pancakes for breakfast - so yummy. Jonas loved it - or at least loved the powdered sugar.

The rest of the day was very rainy and even hail-y. So we drove to Cabella's and the kids loved looking at the giant aquarium tanks and all the "stuffed" animals they have. Plus the shooting-range was entertaining. It's actually a fun store. More like a museum for our family - a free one at that. Perfect.

Then we went to Ikea! I haven't been since it's opened in Utah. I Love that store. But I was depressed upon leaving as I couldn't really buy anything that I really wanted. Which is really sad because that store is a relatively cheap store. Oh well, maybe next time?

Tuesday:

Our last day. And, of course, it was beautiful. Sunny and warm. Ben and I were able to get out and play some tennis in the morning while Emmy napped and my dad watched the boys. Ben beat me 6-5. Pretty good for a girl, huh? Pretty bad for a boy, huh? Haha, kidding.

Then we took the kids to the park before we journeyed back home. And what kid doesn't have fun at the park?

Emmy does!

Jonas does. Even if he was referred to as a girl while there.

And Miles does. The last 2 pictures are of the "ice-cream stand" that Miles invented. He had 2 piles - one pile of pennies and one pile of ice-cream. The customer would come up and Miles would give him a penny (right, he is suppose to collect money - not a very good business technique) and then give him an ice-cream. Yum. I got chocolate. Lucky me.

Our trips always end this way: as we drive back in the car and I have to listen to either Jonas whining or Emmy crying, I always think, "Was it worth it?" Then I look at my pictures and am reminded that, yes, indeed, it was very, very worth it. Definitely.

Anatomy 101 by Miles

On Sunday afternoon while I was out in the living room talking to my folks and Ben was on the couch browsing a book, this is what Miles came up with:

Wilson. . . Old at Heart

So Wilson, our dog, turned 6 years old yesterday. He acts much older - like 10 or something. He's grouchy if you want him to do something other than sleep, nips at you if you want him to do something other than sleep, and grrrs if the kids are in his way of sleeping. He's old.

But in honor of him here is a joke that really does epitomize the goodness of the dog species:

"A dog is truly a man's best friend. If you don't believe it, just try this experiment. Put your dog and your wife in the trunk of the car for an hour and drive around. When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you?" ~garrison keillor

Since we have forgotten to celebrate his birthday for the past 2 years we decided to do something this year. So Wilson got a special dog bone - that is now hidden somewhere in our backyard. As well as a nice, long walk. To help us celebrate we made these fun doggie bowls (cake cooked in small foil pie tins, frosted, then topped with Cocoa Crispies).

So we're glad to have Wilson around. If for the only reason of having cake and ice cream on May 17th.

Kidding. Kind of.

Daddy Dates

So this month was Ben's month to take our boys out on Daddy Dates. Ben decided to do them both today - Miles in the morning and Jonas this afternoon.

Ben took Miles fishing:

After fishing it was off to Starbucks (inside Target) for some hot chocolate. What yummy fun.

Then after nap Ben took Jonas out. They started out at Coldstone for, of course, yummy ice cream:

After that they went and played at the park. First on the playground equipment:

Then they had fun with all the ducks:


What fun times. Lucky ducks.

Mama's Day

So I had to say "mama" because when I was talking (lecturing) this morning to Miles how he should not talk like that (yelling "NOOOOO!!!!!") to his "mother," Jonas chimed in and said, "No you are not mother. You are mama." He's so cute (Jonas, that is).

But I had a lovely mama's day. Complete with baked pancakes and fresh fruit for breakfast, 3 different types of chocolates from my 3 kiddos, great help at church with Emmy, a post-church nap, and a back-rub. Lovely indeed. Ahhh, yes, I can't forget the delightful presents I got from the boys. They had a primary activity on Saturday and made these flower pot/recipe holders that they gave to me after relief society. Ain't they sweet?

Swinging and Motherhood

Swinging is a lot like motherhood: full of a lot of ups and downs. Ups and downs. Ups and downs. And just like swinging, in motherhood you can have an Up one second and then a complete crash Down the next second. Only to bounce back Up again.

Why do we women put ourselves through this day after day after day? Here are the three reasons why I do:

p.s. Happy Mothers' Day to My Mom and My Mother-in-Law. As Ben always tells his mother: even though we are "old" we still need our mothers. We love you both and hope you know that you are very special and needed in our lives.

Kudos

Congratulations to my husband - he is now a CORN. Well, okay, professionally-speaking he is called a CNOR: Certifired Nurse of the Operating Room.

But I like Corn much better.

Fun, fun, fun

til our Daddy takes the T-bird away. Or until we drive back to real life.

So we spent the last 5 days at Grandma Diana's and Grandpa Max's home. It was great. The weather wasn't great until Saturday and Sunday, but oh well. The kids just loved playing at the house and so they didn't even care and probably didn't even know we didn't have "ideal" weather (it snowed a couple of inches on Thursday).

But we had fun playing at their house, shopping at 1/2 a dozen stores for a soccer ball for Ben (no, he never found "the one"), walking on the canal with the boys, running on the canal (for me and Ben), eating yummy dinners that I didn't make (thanks, again, Diana!), going to the Temple for Ben and me, going out on a date (bowling and then appetizer at Olive Garden), hanging out with friends, going to the Zoo, and just being with our family. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Too bad we didn't get many pictures, though. But here are a few:

Emmy had fun wearing this hat - which was worn by Aunt Laura and Aunt Debbie way back when. :) Actually, she had more fun playing with it and trying to get it off.

The Zoo. Just about every shot looked like this - the back of the kiddos. But here are the boys - Soren, Miles, and Jonas. Looking at the giraffes.

Jonas was a nut. He wanted to get so close to all the "loose" animals - ducks, chicks, rabbits, peacocks. Ya know, the animals they have at every zoo that just kind of walk around and scare people who are scared of birds (you know, like me). Jonas was running after the bunny shouting, "Come here, bunny! Bunny! Come here!"Our monkeys checking out the zoo's monkey. And, yes, we forgot a belt for Jonas.

QuoteS of the Week

So it's been awhile since I've posted a quote of the week. But, really, how can you top, "Everyone, the pie is yucky"?

Anyways, I have a few quotes, all from Miles. They really aren't funny, but just typical of Miles.

One day we were driving by the golf course:

Miles - "I don't want to be a golfer when I grow up."
Me - "Oh, okay, why not?"
Miles - "I want to be a worker."

Very typical of Miles.

At stake conference after a few people had gotten up and given talks:

Miles - "When is it my turn to talk?"
Me - "Oh, I don't know. Maybe when you are a little older."
Miles - "Maybe when I am 5?"
Me - "Maybe so."

At Grandma Diana's house:

Miles - "Do you know what I don't like about life mom?"
Me - "Uh, no. What don't you like about life Miles?"
Miles - "I don't like doing naughty things."

Ohhhhhhh, if only words spoke louder than actions. . .

Six. . . Long. . . Years. . .

So, yes, 6 years ago Ben and I were married. (Ohhh, happy anniversary to you, too, Kristen!). Appearently six years is a really long time - long enough to effect your memory; long enough to have a conversation like this with your husband today:

(Ben is hugging me and reminiscing of our wedding day and says)

"I remember being at the Temple and then seeing you come in because you were late or something."

me: "AHEM. AHEM. HAHA. AHEM. HAHA. Do you want to think about that a little more? AHEM. . . I don't think so. YOU were the one that was late. You never saw me walk in the temple because I was already there."

Ben: "Oh. So maybe my memory got a little confused."

(I'm still laughing about it.)

On our 12th anniverary (6 years from now, of course), Ben will probably say something like, "Oh, I remember our 6th anniversary. I made you breakfast in bed. We went out to a very fancy restaurant that night. I gave you a 45-minute back rub. . ."

And I'll be like, "Yeah, right. That so did not happen."

But I guess it doesn't matter that today was basically any other day. Because I didn't marry Ben because I wanted someone to share exciting adventures with. I married Ben because I wanted somebody to share Life with. And Life is what we got. A pretty darn good one, too.