Loggin hours in the car!

Last week I was able to visit my sister down in Oklahoma. It was a total blast! I think one of the things I liked most was being able to sleep all night! I know that sounds sad but with having the paper routes I don't think I have slept a full night in about two years! Anyway the drive from my house to hers is between 11 and 12 hours which of course no one, meaning Bryan and my parents, were really all that excited about my driving by myself with 3 kids! So after much prodding my Dad made the right choice and came with me. So here is where it gets fun, my Dad lives in Ohio so he drove out with my brother so I met them half-way (about 3 and 1/2 hour drive one way) picked up my dad and drove back home and then the next morning we got up and left for OK! The Kids were completely awesome in the car! Poor things put in about 18 hours in the car in two days!

Abby and Luxie were so cute when they saw each other! They haven't seen each other in over a year but the ran to each other and gave each other a big hug. Considering we had 5 kids ages 4,3,2,18 months and 11 months they all got along really well and the squabbles were spread out so that was nice! My Dad felt sorry for me and was nice enough to detail my car while we were down there. And I mean detail-cleaning, vacuuming, shampooing the whole shebang! I seriously don't think there was a spot anywhere on that car that was not wiped with some cleaner and a rag! It looks awesome! So a huge THANK YOU! to you Dad! He also was nice enough to put up the kids bugging him through out his project. Mostly Dylan looking for some guy time!

While we were down there I celebrated my birthday. We took the kids to the zoo which let me tel you is ALOT bigger than the one we have here! Abby and Dylan had fun seeing all the animals that we don't have here and my sister Sarah almost got peed on by a Rhino! I don't think many people can say that! We dressed the kids up and attempted to take some pics there too. That wasn't too successful but they were good while we were trying! Thanks again to Dad for being patient when we would stop and take a million pics! The funny thing was after all our trying to get a fun pic at the zoo we got a great one in the park across the street from Sarah's house the next day!

After the zoo, lunch and with the kids down for a nap my Dad treated my sister and I to manicures! It was a first for both of us and we had a lot of fun! Thanks Dad for letting us go and holding down the fort and to Sarah for spending my birthday with me and making my most favorite cake!

It was so much fun just to do nothing and let the kids play. They were able to be outside alot and they loved every minute of it!

Thanks Sarah for letting us invade your house!

After all the fun we had to head back home which ended up being in rain the WHOLE time! So that was stupid! Then the next day my Dad and I left to meet my Mom half-way to hand my Dad off! Thankfully Bryan was able to stay home with the kids. I just couldn't make them get back in the car! But my mother in law Jenny was nice enough to go with me so I wouldn't have to drive by myself! Thanks Jenny!

I think that about covers the trip in a nutshell but I will leave you with a super funny story! My niece Luxie likes to use words that just sound funny coming from a 3 year old! We were at the zoo and she says "this zoo is incredible!" We were eating dinner and we told the kids that when they were all done eating we would go to the park. Everyone finished except for Luxie and she just sat there staring at her burrito. Here is our conversation:

Me-"Luxie eat your burrito so we can go to the park"

L- "Aunt Allison this is disgusting to me"

Me-"You haven't even taken a bite"

L- "well I don't like it"

Me-"just eat it"

L-as she points to the burrito "there is poop in here"

Me-trying not to laugh "Luxie it is beans you have them all the time"

L- "no this is poop"

Me- "No it isn't! Do you want to go to park?"

L- "yes"

Me-" Then you need to eat"

L-"well how about I take it outside so the birds can have it?"

Me-"why don't you pretend to be a bird and eat it"

L-"well, I don't like it"

As you might have guessed she is stubborn and ended up taking a few bites and that was it. It was just so funny!

Let's Dance!

Abby had her first dance class today! She is getting so big! She absolutly loved it! I dropped Dylan and Lacey off at a friends house so I could take her by herself for the first class. We got there alittle early because she needed to get sized for her tap shoes which fortunatly they had in stock! We had a talk in the car about listening to the teacher and doing the things that she asks you to do. We also talked about how dance class is not scary and it will be tons of fun! I was alittle afraid that she wouldn't want to go in the studio by herself or that she would have a shy moment and start crying! But she was awesome! She went right in and they got started. They shut the doors and the parents were able to watch through the mirror. I was really funny because you could totally tell what they were telling the girls to do because Abby followed exactly what they said to do. If they told them to stand on the piece of tape on the floor she stood directly on the piece of tape! Here are a coupke of pictures they arent very good because they were through the mirrior and I was afraid to use the flash! So they are what they are!

Bunch of Silliness!

Today I took Abby out just the two of us to do a alittle running around. Her favorite stop I think was the Dancer's Closet. We stopped there to get her ballet shoes and a skirt for her dance class that she is starting next week! She is so excited! She has changed in and out of her leotard, skirt and shoes about 10 times this afternoon! On our way home the sun was reflecting off the car behind us, Abby had turned around and spotted it, she turned back and said "Hey the sun is driving in the car behind us! I saw it in there! I think he (apparently the sun is male!) is listening to music like me but not Strawberry Shortcake songs (her obsession) like I have those are for girls-he listens to boy music". I wasen't able to get what "boy" music was but whatever it was that is what he listens to! She is so funny! I love to be able to get a glimpse of the world through her eyes! It is quite entertaining!

A couple days ago we decided to wash the car. Usually Bryan takes it to a car wash the do-it-your-self kind cause it is easier but those things scare me so I thought it would be a fun activity for the kids if we washed it at home. It took them a short while to not freak out when ever they got water on them! But then Dylan found the hose and it was all over after that!

Play'n ball and eating sticks!

We were outside yesterday-it was absolutly beautiful and cool. It was just a really nice afternoon! Bryan was trying to teach Dylan how to bat for the first time. It was really cute. He showed him how to hold the bat and hoe to swing it. He was sort of getting the hang of it but as you can image, a two year old's attention span isn't very and he was soon distracted and looking around while Bryan was throwing the ball at him and then lost interest and went to play in the sand box!

While this was going on Lacey decided that she was hungry!

I guess we don't feed her enough!

No More Olympics

Some of you might be wondering why I haven't taken the olympic pictures off and well I am going through post-olympic depression and they make me feel better! I absolutly love the olympics and between the 3 channels that we got it on it was on seriously 24 hours a day! It was so much fun! They were absolutly spectacular! I won't bore you with all my favorite moments but I will bore you with some pics!! Since the summer games are over I guess I will just have to settle for counting down to the winter games in Vancouver! Feb. 12, 2010! Only 18 months

Sunday Afternoon

Well I don't know how you guys spend sunday afternoons but ours are spent with kids draped all over! Bryan in an effort to keep the kids out of the kitchen while I made dinner had all the kids sit with him to watch a movie. Dylan who did not take a nap snuggled up and was asleep in about 2 minutes flat! It was really funny! He was out so fast! Unfortunatly he only slept like 20 minutes so was very very grumpy the rest of the night! Oh well I guess you have to pay a price for a cute picture!

A Fun Site

I just found this site. If you like fun crafty things then you might like this one! It has fun kid things and a variety of other things! http://www.makeandtakes.com/

Monkeying Around!

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I painted Dyan's room like a jungle a while back and he has some monkeys with velcro hand that he and Abby like to play with. They were having such a fun time pretending to be monkeys I just had to take some pictures of course! The camera is never very far at our house and they know it!! You also get a glimpse of Abby's fro! Poor girl! Obviously we didn't get around to doing hair that day! Whoops!! I will say in my defence they had asked for a "jama day" so that explains the pajamas altleast!!

Two Popcicles

I bribe it's true, I admit it! Sometimes on days when the kids have had a hard day and behavior hasen't been the best they will ask for a snack. So I will ask them "well, I don't know have you been good enough for a snack?" and of course they always say "yes". So yesturday we had been outside for a while and when I said it was time to go inside I was immediatly met with opposition so I asked "do you want a popcicle?" That did it. Abby and Dylan raced inside, I asked what color and got what each of them wanted. We had the kind that are connected and that you have to break down the middle. So I break them and give them each one and Abby turned and said "Mom, I have been good enough for two" She is one smart little girl! I guess I need to switch somethings up on her!

The Grandparents Visit

Well last week Bryan and my Dad went up to the Boundry Waters for a week long canoe/camping trip with 6 other people. They had a great time and we had fun while they were gone! My mom hung out with us. The kids were so excited to have them here! It was really nice now that they are alittle older and didn't have the warm up time for grandma and grandpa! Our week was pretty busy, Breaking Dawn came out-which was totally awesome and jam packed with good stuff!-so I had to juggle my time! I was trying to read when I could but my mom and I had projects planned also. We went to the zoo with a friend who's husband and oldest son had also gone on the trip and my mother-in-law Jenny. Who honestly is, and they both will tell you this, is exactly like my Mom! This was way fun and also Dylan's first time. He was so excited to see all the animals that we talk about and learned the sounds of! It was alot of fun to watch him!

After we were done at the Zoo we went to a park for lunch and let the kids play and run around. We had beautiful weather and a great afternoon. The next day my Mom and I painted my kitchen. My poor kitchen had been sadly neglected while the other rooms in the house got all the attention! We painted a red around the bottom and a lighter tanish/peachy color and also put in a chair rail, which I cut by myself-I am kinda proud about that!! I wanted to decorate in americana style so my mom brought out all her extra americana stuff (and she has alot) for me to pick and choose from. Thank you tons Mom!!! We also used her cricut, which I totally have to get now, to do some lettering on the wall. It says "Land of the free and the home of the brave". I think it turned out completly wonderful!

So we got all that done in time for the boys to come back and dump all the camoing stuff all over!! It really wasen't all that bad. Then we have some friends at church who have a brother who has a corn field that he grows for himself and his neighbors and from the extra you can go get all that you want. Jenny and Bill, my in-laws, got a truck load and so my mom and I got about 25 dozen ears of corn to make frezzer corn. It was ALOT of corn! All together it took like 2 hours to get it all shucked and cut. So lets just say that this year my mom will really appreciate what goes into making the corn when she eats it this year!!!

We let Abby and Dylan help alittle and it was so funny because every ear that got done Dylan would yell "corn its corn!" It was like he was suprised everytime! It was way funny!

So we had fun during our visit and Abby kept asking why granda had to go and saying that her house was too far way. It was really cute. I am really greatful that the kids get to see and spend time with my parents as much as they do!

More to come!

Well the Olympics have started so my free time is limited!! I absolutly LOVE the Olympics! Bryan and my Dad went on a week long canoe trip so my Mom hung out here. We had a total blast of course! So I have pics to post from that and I have been trying to finish Breaking Dawn but since we had other projects I haven't been very successful and then with the Olympics on-well it will all get done some how!! I don't know about you guys but our house is all olympics all the time!!!!!

Photo Mosaic Meme

Alright Jeanette here you go! Some of those questions are kinda hard!!

Here's how it works: a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. Choose 3 columns with 4 rows. The Questions: 1. What is your first name? 2. What is your favorite food? 3. What high school did you go to? 4. What is your favorite color? 5. Who is your celebrity crush? 6. Favorite drink? 7. Dream vacation? 8. Favorite dessert? 9. What you want to be when you grow up? 10. What do you love most in life? 11. One Word to describe you. 12. Your flickr name. (kid version: favorite animal?) Alright I am going to pass this on to- Jen H. Tara Jen B. Josie Have fun!

This is gross!

This is gross not blood and guts gross but yucky gross! My mom and I and the kids were driving in the car yesturday. Dylan started screaming and crying so I asked Abby why he was crying he said "He wants my gum" Now I knew that I hadn't given her any gum and the last time they had some was like 3 days ago. So I asked her how she had gum and she said "I put it on this" She held up and black plastic thing that she found in the back of the van. "Abby-that is really gross!" I said to her. She didn't think there was anything wrong with saving it I guess! So the gross part was we got home, I got out of the car and went to get the kids out, I opened the door, unbuckle everyone. Dylan came over to get out, I looked at him and he was smacking on Abby's-three-day-old-stayed-in-the-car-during-super-hot-days-and-high-humidity-already-chewed-gum! And he was just like "Hey look at me I have gum!" kids can be so gross!

Summer Prizes!

Today I decided that Abby and Dylan had been coped up in the house for too long so we went to the library to return some books and for the kids to turn in their summer reading charts. At our library they had a summer reading program where the kids had to keep track of how many minutes they were read to (in my kids case) and when they got to 300 minutes they got a half-way prize which was a fresby and today they got their finishing prize part of it is something we probably won't use. They got two coupons one for a free potato thing when you buy a taco at a loca resturant and the other is for a free child scenic cruise on a riverboat when you buy and adult one. And the part they got into was that they got to pick out a book from a shelf to keep. They were really excited about that!! They were looking at them in the car Abby was looking at the one that Dylan had choosen and said "Hey Mom, Dylan picked out a good one!" I was like "oh, do you like that book?" and she said "Yep, it's a good one!" She totally cracks me up! She talks so grown up sometimes!

"You are being mean to me!"

Abby was blessed with the talent of being able to stay strong and focused when she puts her mind on something and even more focused when you are losing your patience. Last night we put her in bed and she did the classic come-out-and-ask-a-question thing over and over. Now I know that we should be strong and not get crazy and put her in her room untill she gets it. The problem is that we don't have central air, just window units and in an effort to keep their rooms cool at night we leave their doors open with a fan in the hall. Dylan gets an elevated gate-can't climb over can't go under, so he is taken care of. Abby on the other hand feels she has to put her opinions in every conversation we have! She kept coming out and out and out and out. So I finally told her that I needed her to listen and obey and that I was losing my patience with her. She came over with her blanket and tears in her eyes and said "Mom, you guys are being so mean to me!" If I was weaker I would have melted and scooped her up and given her a hug, but you migh think me cold hearted but really I know my daughter and she was really tired and just trying to keep herself awake! So I told "Well I am sorry you feel that way but you aren't being nice to me when you don't listen and obey and when you don't do those things mom and dad reserve the right to punish! So she went into her room, NOT quietly, I shut her door and she went to sleep!

Lacey Vs. the Fan and Drumming in the Kitchen

Lacey discovered the fan this afternoon- you can decide who won! You can also see what I meant in the earlier post about Dylan thinking he can play with Lacey with the same abandon as he does Abby!

Why do we invest money in toys from the store when all you really need are some groceries and some chopsticks!

Dylan and ungrasped concepts

Poor Dylan, it has to be hard to be in the middle, kidwise. He and Abby will play on the floor and lay and roll and fall on each other and its "a fun game". But Dylan does not understand why he can't do these things with Lacey. He just doesn't get that playing with her is not like playing with Abby. It is quite comical to all of a sudden hear Lacey screaming for help and to look and see Dylan laying across her looking at you like "what?" He keeps expecting Lacey to wiggle out or play with him and doesn't undeerstand that at least for alittle while thats not going to happen!!! Poor little guy!

No Batteries

Well I have some funny pictures and videos to post but my camera batteries died and I forgot to get some more. I hate when I go to the store for something and come out without it! I forgot my rechargable batteries at my moms house so i am stuck buying batteries. So untill I can remember to put them in my cart you will have to settle for a little story! Dylan, I discovered today needs alittle lesson on compassion! Maybe that will be our next topic for Family Home Evening! We were in the car coming home from the store and Lacey was kinda crying/whining to herself. She is still is working on that tooth and was tired and trying to stay awake so she was making noises like "dadadada-ahhhhh-hahah" kinda crying at the end and then from the back of the car I hear Dylan "dadadada-ahhhhh-hahah" in a high voice-totally mimicking Lacey and then laughing about it! I was like oh man that is kinda funny but not good! So that is something we will be working on now!

Primary Activity

Yesterday we had a Primary activity at some friends house. This was Abby's first one so she was so excited! The day started out rainy and cloudy and since we were doing outdoor water things I was alittle worried! But the skys cleared and the sun came out and provided the heat so the water was a nice relief! There were 7 different activites all but two involving water. Each activites had a scripture story that went along with it. Like the tug of war went with the story of Moses and (everyones favorite) the water balloon fight was a Nephite/Laminite war! Even though Abby didn't really know what was going on and just kinda followed her group around she had a great time! Dylan even found ways to occupy his free time!

Outside Inside

Well now that the warm temps have made an appearance, the humidity has decided to make it a party! So in an effort to keep summer cabin fever at bay we have been doing outside activities inside! Abby just got a jump rope and is trying hard to figure out how to turn and jump at the same time and Dylan, at the moment is determined to do EVERYTHING his sister does, adds his own energy into his effort at mastering the jump rope as well! Abby unfortunately has a personality that is not very conducive to activities that require patience. She gets discouraged and even mad when she can't get the hang of something fast. I always have to tell her to calm down, get control of yourself, and try again. That speech doesn't really get a good reception from her but hopefully after a lot of repetition it might sink in!

Slow Going!

Well not too much has been going on here, mostly because I haven't really been motivated to get stuff done! My fault! My dad and Bryan are going up to the Boundry Waters with some others for a week long canoe trip and my mom is staying with us. So I have a ton of things that I want to get cleaned up and put away and have only crossed one thing off my long list! I know my mom wont care what is clutter free and what isnt but I want to be focused on having a good time and not on what needs to be put away-do you know what I mean? Anyway so I am struggling to find the pep to get it done as well as new organizing ideas for you know toys, books, craft stuff that actually work! Any ideas would be greatly appreiciated!

Lacey Laughing

We had some friends over for our pizza and movie friday night. This so funny, Jen was holding Lacey and Lacey decided to have a little fun! She enjoyed the attention of the boys a little too much!! She caught onto the game really quick and knew that if she pretended to drop the cup the boys would pretend to catch it. She is actually giving a real laugh so that is way fun to hear!

Lacey's idea of shopping

We were at the store and Lacey, who is working on getting some teeth so she is crabby and tired, decided that she was tired of shopping and everything else pulled the blanket over her head and went to sleep!

How Horrible Am ?!

O.k. this is kind of an embarrassing story about myself that happened today. Totally not cool! After the kids got up from naps we decided to go pick up Bryan from work and then go to the store. So Abby gets in, I put Lacey in her car seat and buckle Dylan in. Then we drive the 15 minuted to get Bryan, wait 10 for him to come out and then head to the store. We are getting ready to turn into the parking lot when Abby says "Lacey is standing up!" I turn around and Lacey is looking at me with a big smile like "Hey mom what's up!"! In my rush to get Dylan in and buckled I had completely forgotten to buckle her in. How horrible of a mother am I?! I can not believe that she even sat there for that long before she got up! So I grabbed her arm because I was driving and had easier access to her as she is behind the passenger seat and Bryan's arms don't bend that way. I have her arm so she can't go anywhere and she was just looking at me like "What the big deal and why are you holding my arm like that?!". Totally nuts! It can be funny because she was fine and didn't get hurt!

Clean Your Room?

Well this was just too funny so I had to share! Dylan was supposed to be going to bed but i guess in an effort to keep himself up as long as he could decided to clean his room. Or really I should say he changed the saying "clean your room" so it fit his need!!! Funny Boy!

Fireworks!

We ended up going to a friends house for a bbq. They have a pool but we didn't go swimming. We had fun talking with everyone that was there and eating some good food! We left from there and went to see some fireworks. We were alittle scared as to how the kids would react to the noise because neither of them are loud noise likers! Last year they fell asleep in the car so we decided to skip and just went home. This was Lacey first year and she did awesome! We waited in the park for a very very very long time! They kids were really good-I was actually surprised!

They of course found ways to keep busy. Even Bryan found something to occupy his time! Lacey unfortunatly decided that she was no onger afraid to be on the grass, so we had to chase her and bring her back. She has gotten pretty quick!

Then, the fireworks started. Lacey had taken a small nap but was wide awake for all the excitment. We put earplugs in her ears but those didn't last too long! One of the others didn't really seem to care and fell asleep half way through! It was really nice. No one freaked out or started crying! Dylan clapped and yelled "yea" after everthing! Even Lacey sat and watched them all, well I should say she was trying to keep herself awake so she didn't actually "sit" for the whole thing! So a big thanks to Grand Mound for the great fireworks show! Sorry no fun pics of fireworks-hard to take when your holding a 9 month old!

Happy 4th of July!

This morning we went to the parade here in town. We decided to support our little town and this way Bryan won't have to get into a fight of spots at the parade in "the big " city! Bryan's parents and his brother Kris and his family came up too. We had alot of fun! It took a while for Dylan and Abby to get brave enough to go after the candy that was thrown! But the got it and ended up with quite abit, it was almost like a mini-halloween! Abby was completely freaked out by all the sirens and refused to get any candy that wasn't within arms length of where she stood! Dylan on the other hand was all over the place once he realized it was candy he was looking for! They each had a bag full and were very proud of all their candy! Dylan was also very excited to see all the tractors! If you have ever been to a mid-west parade you know what I am talking about! We had every fire engine within 2o minutes of us which was like about 6 departments. A couple floats and tractors, tractors and more tractors! They probably make up at least half of the whole parade. It is pretty funny! Now a minute to vent-there was this boy next to us, he was probably around 8 or 9 and he would come over by us and take candy that was right in front of Abby and Dylan! One time it was like an inch from Dylan's shoe and the other kid tried to grab it before Dylan could bend over to get it so protective mother that I am grabbed it really quick and handed them to Dylan! That kid glared at me like I had walked over and pulled it out of his bag or something! So I just looked at him with a don't-take-stuff-from-my-kid look! Pretty proud of myself! But I mean come on if my kid was taking candy from a 2 year old I would be saying something! I guess next year I will just have to send out a flyer on Parade Etiquette!

Water Fun!