WOW!

What a day! I can't believe that these boys are 6 today!!

Our Sweet Joel. He loves to help in the kitchen, and count Hummers on the road. He can barely handle surprises, and he loves to snuggle. He's a good friend and a sweet big brother. He loves his gymnastics class...flipping on the trampoline is his favorite part. He's very excited to start Kindergarten! Give him some markers and paper and he's busy for a long time, creating with his active imagination! Thank you for adding fun and happiness to our home.
We LOVE YOU JOEL!!! Happy 6th Birthday!!!
Our Lovable Jaydon is such a
happy guy! He is completely obsessed with cars...what kind, what color & how fast! He loves to build endless tracks for his trains, and make creative structures with Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs. He's a master on the bars, trampoline and rings at gymnastics. He loves his family and is smiley most of the time!
WE LOVE YOU JAYDON!!!
happy 6th Birthday!!!

Tagged by Cara...

-Post these rules to your blog.
-Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.


My Joys:
1- My family
2- making new delicious recipes
3- watching and listening to my children use their imaginations


My Fears:
1- Losing a loved one, especially my children or husband
2- knowing my children will be faced with terrible, worrisome temptations (can't I keep them in a bubble ) :)
3- watching friends/family suffer with illness


My Goals:
1- do a home organization project every week after the boys start Kindgarten
2- get the backyard finished in time for a summer BBQ (Aug 31st?)
3- find and train for another race.


My Current Obsessions/Collections:
1- Blogging...
2- spices
3-Grocery Game (still...it's addicting)


Random Surprising Facts About Me:
1-I took piano lessons for 7 years...can barely pluck out a tune ( I dread it, and CANNOT play in front of people).
2- I still have and wear the same retainer that I've had since I was a Jr. in high school
3- I wash my feet in my bathroom sink every night (gross, I know)


I'm tagging:
1- Sheena
2- Kaylynn
3- Kasey
4- Heidi
5- Ali

and anyone else who'd love to do this fun TAG! (I'd love to know these facts about all of you!)

Nerves!

They are just setting in...

I Forgot.

I have forgotten what it's like to have a 2 year old.

I forgot:
- that they scream every time you take away the sharp scissors, or marker, or glasses,...
-that they throw themselves on the floor kicking after you get them out of the mud puddle, off the table, out of the drawer,...
-that when they go to feed the turtle, it doesn't eat the ENTIRE container of food
-the freshly painted walls are their blank canvas for creativity ( or just scribbles)
-that the sink is a favorite mess-making past-time
-when the poo has come out of their diaper they look at you and innocently say "eeeeewww"
-saying "come back here right now!" really means "Keep running as far away as you can"
-throwing their food is their way of letting me know meal time is over

I also forgot:
- how they love to repeat everything they hear, in their own sweet little voice
-that playing peek-a-boo can bring out a giggle that is better than any other sound in the world
-how cute they are when they stand at your feet, reaching up, saying "pup peeesth" (how can you resist?)
-that when the music comes on they love to dance their awkward little silly dance
-that they love to mimic every animal sound they hear
-that they are so easily entertained
-how my heart melts when they lay their head on my shoulder when they are tired or sad
-how precious it is when they kneel down by their bed and say their own little "prayer" each night


I'm so glad that my little one is helping me REMEMBER!!

Guess What We Saw?

...Animals that are MORE wild than we are! Thanks to some great friends with extra tickets, our 2 families were able to enjoy the day at the San Diego Zoo.

The kids were so excited to see all the animals and the shows. Joel was our Zoo Navigator as he figured out which animals to go see next and what time each show started. (We made it to 1 show).

They were even selected to go up on stage during the magic show and taste some nasty-tasting flowers.

Look at these two monkeys staring face to face!

Too bad I'm not the worlds best photographer, otherwise you could see better pictures of the kids and the animals. I just point and shoot...sorry for the amateur shots!

We had tons of fun, and everyone was wiped out...again.

This One is For Grandpa!

Some of the many faces of Ezra...

California Judges

Super (busy) Tuesday

I got to go on my first field trip as a mom! It was so fun to take Jaydon and Joel to join Emily and her 2nd grade class at the Diamond Valley History Museum.

Each student got to be an archaeologist for a day. They were able to use tools and equipment to excavate "fossils" from the sand and dirt. Emily was so excited to see what treasures she would uncover!
Here was one of her favorite surprises! A very sharp tooth.
She wanted to show the boys, but they were busy doing this...

Siblings were not allowed in the Lab, so they had to watch, longingly at the window.
(I did get to sneak them in for a second to take a peek).

The main exhibit was the highlight of the day. The displays were amazing and the kids loved all the hands-on features. They even got to make their own Ice-Age Creature "fossil".

After 6 hours at the museum we were pretty tired, but had to move on to gymnastics for the boys, and a sweet Mother, Daughter tea party for Activity Girls for Emily and I.
We were exhausted, but it was a fun day.

I gave birth to a monkey

I really can't believe I'm about to blog this , and get the "worst- mom- of -the -year" award. I have never been so close to having a heart-attack in all my life!

In a matter of 45 seconds, I found my almost-two-year-old thinking he's a monkey. See the pictures, and replace the giant, over-stuffed gorilla with a fearless, curious, adventurous 23 month old. (This is from the bottom of the stairs looking up). AAAAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!! I was just running something down stairs and came back to get my little one (and his innocent, on-looking friend, Jack) to come down for some fun. When I approached the stairs, I saw Jack looking up and dashed up the stairs to carefully retrieve my little one from over the stair railing!!! I knew he was a climber, but this is a first...and a LAST. I don't even know how he gets these ideas in his little head. oh dear.

Gone too soon

I just returned from the most wonderful retreat I've ever experienced (maybe because I have the most responsibilities I've ever needed a moment away from).
BYU Women's Conference was amazing!! Every speaker was very up-lifting and easy to listen to (unless, of coarse I was starving or dead tired). Ultimately, I left the conference feeling refreshed and having a new motivation to be a better mom, better wife and better friend. Listening to President Monson was absolutely the highlight of the conference. Just being in the same room with him and being filled by the Spirit and love we felt was overwhelming. I loved being a part of something so large and so productive. You give a crowd of ladies a bag of yarn and you can't imagine how many little baby booties or scarves can be made! Busy hands!
When we weren't in class, Sheena and I were eating delicious food, shopping, tasting samples, browsing thrift stores, eating a little more, and driving around (and around). I got to see some hidden treasure shops on Sheena's tour. It was shopping heaven.
Here is the little gem I've had my eye on for some time: Anthropologie will never let you down. Practical, yet not-so-practical (I have to cut the butter so it'll fit) it makes me smile every time I look at it.
For more details and even some pictures (why take my camera when I'm with the photo queen?) see here!

I was Tagged...

...a long time ago! Cara tagged me with a fun, new "purse" tag, that I finally got around to doing!

I've been searching for a purse recently.
This is a little $1 Spot treasure I found. I'm not crafty, but I had to add the strap and the ric-rac...

...and I HAVE to have pockets in my purse, so I added 2. And a snap.

Here are the contents of my purse (minus the 3 gum wrappers I threw away).
Kleenex, lady necessities, Water Babies sun-block stick (love it!)
Velvet Tuberose lotion (not my favorite, but it's O.K.), hand sanitizer,
Orbit gum, Sweet Mint- yum, 3 bobby pins, pocket calendar, wallet,
ticket from UTA trax, wipes, Mentha Lip Tint (FAVORITE) lip gloss,
keys, cheap Target sunglasses (they do the job), and of coarse, a spare binki.
At any given time there could be extra snacks, or a diaper thrown in there too! Since I love to see what's in people's purses, I tag:
Ali
Crystal
Marie
Sheena
Kasey
& Kaylynn (when she starts a blog)

Just for Men

Tonight at family night, Ryan was talking with Emily about getting older. The subject of gray hair came up. (as if Emily was getting gray hair because she's growing up so fast). Then, the conversation went something like this:

Ryan: "Does Troy have gray hair?"
Kids: "No"
Ryan: "Does Trent have gray hair?"
Kids: "No"
Ryan: "See, I'm the only one. It's from stress."
Jaydon: "Don't worry, Dad. It's not gray. It's white."
Joel: "You are not the only one."
Jaydon: "Yeah, Grandpa Jibson and Grandpa Southwell have gray hair."
Emily: "And Nana and Papa have gray hair."


That's when my laughter would not stay contained and I ran to get the computer!

Mr. Mom Understands

Day three. I'm not searching for pity or compliments here, seriously, but I was thinking today about stuff. Cool eh? Well, here's my thought. After making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and picking up the house, mopping, and doing dishes so I don't get behind, I realized that I was... lonely. I felt like this could be such a hard, difficult life for those who are single parents or feel like they slave away to no avail. But most importantly I missed having communication with other adults. I see why my wife is always on the phone during her mid-day kitchen cleanup. But me? I didn't really have anyone to call to just talk to, being that most male adults go to an office job. But it's not even a guy thing to do, yet found myself wishing.
(Of course I love my kids, despite that I spend half my day breaking up their fights. But Kelly makes he way through it all and is Wonder Woman for it.)

Jack Wayland once wrote a book called "Charlie" where a guy marries a girl who is sick, but they have a baby and then the mom dies. I happen to know what happened next that was not in the book or movie (they were based on a true story in case you didnt know). He later finds another lovely lady who fulfills his life. And here I am. Point being, a man needs his woman. And I can see that through different eyes now. Not for just the cooking and washing our clothes, but for sanity, to avoid that loneliness.
Anyway, this is sounding depressed. I am not, but I appreciate things like my dad, sister, mom, and wife for the struggles they have come over.
Soooooo, I took the kids to the pool and my back looks like a fresh cut of Basashi (raw cut of horse meat. Japanese delicacy). Sunburn. Although the kids had a great time. Oh, and Ezra thinks he's funny by sticking his bulgy stomach out and walking in the shape of the letter "c".
Tomorrow, we go to the air show and then I get to socialize with other adults in the evening. Can't wait.


Time to go do some laundry....