Lagoon

The highlight of J's year came, Stake Lagoon Day. He was so happy in church three weeks ago with the Lagoon tickets showed up.  Apparently the boats were all he talked about in Sunbeams. I know Stake Lagoon Day sound bizarre to all you non locals, but really its just a marketing scheme. You get in for a discounted price one day a summer depending on your Stake, and then never see anyone you know the whole day. It is not endorsed by the stake, there is no greeting anyone. It just a marketing thing. J looks forward to Lagoon all year, for what ever reason. Actually you get in for free but can't ride any rides, so then you buy the discounted ride package, or tickets to ride individually. Of course we started off with riding the baby boats. Our kids are little, and we are cheap, so bought tickets for individual rides, we spent $26 the whole day including parking. 

Although he dropped baby, and just called them little boats this year. Really the only reason he wants to go is the baby boats, so we should just let the kids ride them three times and go home, but yet we don't. Lagoon is really not as fun as he remembers, as he learned today.  And what do Brent and I do during Stake Lagoon day, sit in the hot heat.

We spent the morning walking around Pioneer Village (which is free). It has a WHOLE lot of pioneer artifacts and I found it quite interesting. We have never done it in the morning, so by the point we go there we are tired, and the building are hot, but since it was still morning, they weren't too warm, and we all still had energy. We had not seen the majority of the buildings, so it was nice to have something new to do.

Here is an old newspaper from my Alumi Mater.

 We also where we learned Nan knows that guns say Bang Bang. Nattie rarely talks anything other than baby

babble, but occasionally when we are out of the house, she does something like point to a gun and say "bang bang". She was scared to death of the buffalo head, and hugged her daddy real tight.

 One of the buildings that we unforutantely have seen every year is the circus model and old doll muesum.  Nan found that little baby in the basket and was so sad she couldn't have him.  She cried, so much and kept hitting the glass, when I tired to get her to leave, she ran away from me, and ran back to the baby.  Finally I coaxed her out, and said bye bye. 

But boy was it tramatic, she had to hug and kiss me for at least 5 minutes after we said good bye to the baby. That and a large fake horse, was quite scary to her.

Then we ate lunch.  What I love about lagoon is they allow you to take food in, so a lot of the guest bring in their own coolers, and they have tons of pavilions and grass for picnics.  I love that I don't have to spend $30 on food and drinks.  Not to mention my kids don't like fast food when they are hot. Still I'm sure more guest buy food than not.
Then we went back for a few more kiddie rides, the two things J was looking for was the baby boats, and (kiddie) bumper cars. I don't even know where he learned about bumper cars, he started asking to ride them before we got to Lagoon.

He hates rides that go up in the air because he has a fear of heights, so there really isn't a lot out there for him. But we still put him on one that didn't go too high, we thought he would be fine, but apparently we were wrong.  He told me he would "never ever ride that whale ride again".  Just for the record we do not tell him he is scared of heights, we ask him he wants to do something, and he says no, I don't like to be high.

He had fun, but not as much fun as he expected.  I think over the last year, he had built Lagoon up in his mind to be more exciting than it was. Nan hates those quarter rides you find at the mall or in front of the dollar store, she likes to sit on them until they move, but she loved the baby boats, so I guess we have a convert. We ended off the day with a really cool parrot show. Nan sang, danced and clapped, just like they wanted the audience to do.

J sat there silently smiling, his favorite was the parrot riding the scooter, because he loves his scooter so much. But unfortunately our pictures is the parrot riding a bike.

We got a picture with the parrot that might have been Cotton's parrot in Pirates. The guy running the show, said if you've seen Parrots on TV they are his parrots.  His parrots have been in movies, like Ace Ventura, and Pirates of the Caribbean, and Cotton's parrot in the movie is blue and yellow.  But who knows, maybe its a different parrot and that is ok too.

Anyone else

Does anyone else have those days where:

• You are so exhasuted from a week/month of so much fun you feel like you can't think straight
• And you have nothing you want to do since you since you sent your husband to work so you could have your "own time" since he isn't going to school during his one month break
• But he is gone you can't really lie in the already made bed, that he makes each morning, and nap two feet away from your loving husband who is actually working
• And so instead of sewing, like you thought you wanted to do, you spent hours on the internet reading random blogs, because they take no brain power
• Then you think back to 2007 when you started blogging, when not everyone and their sister in law made mommy blogs, and it was still cool to blog, and it was ok to blog stalk all the time, or at least you didn't realize it was wierd to blog stalk so you still read random people's blog on a regular bases, but now you only do it when your exhausted
• you look down after walking in your front door, and wonder who the heck bought those ugly skinny shorts. 
• Remembering it was you, and why the heck did you buy two pairs?  Oh yeah they are in style and the only thing you could find reasonably priced.
• And you find yourself relieved when you kid come home from a friends house, because then you can watch PBS kids with him, because the only channels that have anything in English that isn't soap opera-y or people's problems is PBS kids, but its embarrassing to watch Arthur by yourself.  Yeah, free TV is WAY pathetic.

You don't have those kind of days?  What is wrong with you?  I cleaned my house everyday this week, and now its clean, and I don't want to spend money, and no one was home all day, what else was I suppose to do. 
Did I mention I'm tired? 
I'm not in a bad mood, I'm just....tired....bored....and in the middle of a really boring book.

Main Event

The reunion was very low key. Thank goodness. The adults mostly sat around and talked,

...while the kids ran around, blew bubbles, ate candy and played video games.

I love this picture, I think the toddlers are all so cute.  But then again they are my favorite age, I love to watch the walk around, like they own the place. Nan looks quite a bit like Cousin O in the green shirt, in this picture.  Who would have thought, I thought O looked like his dad's family, and N looked like mine, but apparently their related, I guess that's why the attended the same reunion.

This is Brent, his cousin and his cousin's wife.  If they would have held a vote, I think she would have won for favorite family member.  Everyone seemed to gush that they were so glad the cousin married her.  She was super fun.

Don't I just have cute nieces?  I counted before we went up there, my kids have 28 first cousins between my family and my husband's, and two more on the way.  I can't even imagine having thirty cousins before your turn 5.  But my kids have been luckily they got to play with all 28 of them in the period of a month.

I'm so glad my husband's family got together.  I have so much fun with them, and enjoy all my in laws a whole ton. I got way luckily with who I married, sure I knew I loved him, and I picked him.  But who knew when I got married I had found another stellar family to be apart of.

Pioneer Day Parade

My son of course had fun playing with cousins at a reunion, but he often sees his cousins, so for him I think the highlight of the weekend was the parade.

Here are the pioneers

My daughter enjoyed plenty of candy during the parade.

My son gathered so much candy! He had an entire bucket, I think only a few of the older nephews got as much as he did. Luckily he did not eat all his candy like some of his cousins.

First Night

Last weekend, it was my husband's turn for the family reunion. We had a grand ol' time. Here a few of my snapshots from the first night.

The kids started an unofficial contest to see who could get the dirtiest. The joke was on them, the house we were stay at out didn't have hot water that night, and I made they get clean. They were mad.

Here are some adults, to mix things up.

Who she is

After contemplating my weak sauciness, I realized it was not the MBA that did it to me.  It was my daughter.  I love my daughter more than words could express more than anyone who is a not a parent could understand, but boy is she a pill. I don't know if you can see my daughter's face in this picture, because of the shadows, but this picture perfectly describes my daughter. She gives me this look more times a day, that I can count. Every time she is upset at me, disappointed, or annoyed at me. Which is often.

It can be quite frustrating to receive such a disappointed stare directed to you so many times a day.  It gives me pity to women who have children with medically recognized problems. But boy does, she wears both her parents to a frazzle almost any day.  The MBA is easy in comparison to caring for her. One day she might read this and ask me why did you write this?  And I'll say, honey I love you more than you could know until you have a daughter, I've loved you since the day you were born, but I can not count the amount of times we have been visiting at someone's house and they ask is she always like this?  "Like this" means whinnying non stop in all she does for at least an hour.  I respond saying, yes, always acts like this, its the miracle of Nan, she can be truly horrid all day, and yet I love her no matter what.
My husband and I were talking about it the other day in the car. Sometimes my daughter is extremely happy and joyful, she loves what is happening, but more often not. She is either very happy or very upset, mostly upset. Unless she is well rested well fed and outside. I told my husband sometimes I think, she just acts poorly because we allow her, its self fulling prophecy and so she acts how we think she will. I think no more, I'm going to think of her as a happy baby and strong willed but joyful baby. Then I swear, she gets worse, spends more times crying and throwing fits than usual. I give up, and think ok, she is who she is, I'll accept her for who she is, and just know, she is going to be ornery a lot of the day. Then all of a sudden she relaxes, she still cries a lot, but she just acts more relaxed. After saying this to my husband, she pipped up from the back seat in her carseat, I swear she was saying, thank you for accepting me as a baby that cries a lot. Its who she is, and apparently who she wants to be. But I'm not giving up faith I'll full expect her to grow out of it one day.
I will always be grateful to the lady who I go to church with, she has 7 kids, and her oldest is about my age, and her youngest is 8. I said a few things about my Nan and she says, that is exact how my second was.  She looked at me dead serious and said, there comes a time when you just have to say, ok its not colic its sometime else, maybe its who she is.  My daughter who was like that was by far my most challenging child, and I wouldn't have had 7 if I had another one has challenging as her.  Anytime I hit my limit, and I remember talking to this women, I feel relived, to know someone understands what I am talking about.  Most people look at me, think I'm exaggerating. I do exaggerated from time to time, but when my husband agrees with me, you know I'm not exaggerating, in fact I think he thinks she is worse behaved than me.
We see my grandparents often as possible, it usually ends up being about once a month, but we have also spent days in a row there.  So my grandma has watched her for the last 19 months. At this point, my grandma just laughs at her like I do, because what else is there to do, when out of no where she starts throwing a fit.  My grandma says, she never changes does she, she has been making those sounds (whiny noises) since she was a baby. 
That being said sometimes she can be extremely sweet. She loves to give me and her dolly kisses, and she loves to mother other things.  I would love to have another child some day, but my daughter has to drastically mellow out, or be in kindergarten. And that is acceptance.  Accepting who she is, what she needs, what my son deserves, and what my husband and I can handle. 

Weak Sauce

Its official, I'm weak sauce. Through the PMBA program we went to a baseball game and ate free hot dogs.

We were of course there with other PMBA students and their families.  I saw a few pregnant wives, I saw a few new babies and wondered.  I wondered a lot of things, but mostly how? why? (at this point someone related to me through my husband should say, you don't know how babies are made? or say, well when two people love each other) But no those were not the questions in my head.
Apparently I'm weak sauce, I could not handle a pregnancy or a new baby right now.  One family even had about 5 or 6 little ones with a new baby, really little ones, I doubt the oldest was more than 9.  I felt pathetic in comparison to that mother.  But then again I didn't. I felt completely content.  I'm perfectly happy with my two children.  Although I'm capable of being excited for mothers showing off their baby bumps, the idea of me having one, makes me want to cower in fear under the computer desk and rock back and forth in fetal position. Just like my daughter did this morning when I tried to put her new tennis shoes on (needless to say I returned them for something that lights up and is pink).

Luckily I married a man who has no desire to fill his quiver full of children.  Yes, I thank my lucky stars neither of us are aspiring for such gains. If it was up to him we would stick with even odds.  And in case I forgot, my children were really really awful the first two innings of the game.

Then luckily the bee came by and scared the living socks of my daughter. She became quite mellow after that, while my son got a free drink and snack with kids eat free on Tuesday.  Oh yes, I'm completely content. I have no idea for more in my life. I'm so glad I don't work right now.  Does that go with this post? 

Anyway, we had a fun evening.  At least I think everyone did. My hair seems to look very blond. I don't know if its the lighting or being outside with the kids, I haven't highlighted it in over a year.

Weekend Trip

This weekend we went to a reunion for my husband's father's side.  It was super fun, I'm so glad I married into such a great family, and that I'm friends with my in laws. Not only that, in the paraphrasing of my sister in law its great when people marry great people, so I'm related to even more awesome people. My husband and I spent a good chunk of time scanning old pictures, while other people watched our kids it was a good deal for all.  Here are some gems. My husband shooting a doll. I told my husband I was going to put this on his facebook profile.

My husband and his paternal grandma.  I never met his grandparents.  So it was fun to see pictures.

Brent and his paternal grandpa, I love that is grandpa is reading Where's Waldo.

And here he is with both of them.  I'm so glad for pictures like this, which is why I give my kids to their grandparents to take pictures.  If I want to know what my husband will look like as we age I just have to look at my father in law and pictures of his grandpa.  I also know what J will look like over the years.  Its nice to be apart of just a strong gene pool.  Leaves nothing up to chance.

One of the good other good deal about the weekend was I met two more of Brent's cousins.  Plus all of his aunts and uncles were there, so that was also good.  He has a fun family. But after so much fun we were all tired, so my baby slept from 11 am yesterday to 5 pm, my son took a nap, as did I.  It was a good day. Not only that, I had so much fun scanning pictures over the weekend, after 5 and half years of planning to scan pictures of my husband's childhood, I finally did it.  It didn't take more than an hour or two, its pathetic it took me years for an hour.  Now I can finally return the pictures are I borrowed from my mother in law, and maybe I'll finally make my husband the scrapbook for him I've planned on for years.

Oil Oil Oil, want a political post?

My husband and I have been listening to the world is flat on car trips.  Its long it has been taking us forever.  But what has really stuck out me was how we have stopped pushing science in our country, and we are falling behind.  We have less people getting science degrees, and we have less international students staying in the US after pursing degrees.  To continue to be a power house we need to stay on the forefront of science, bet yet we aren't and we aren't changing policy at all. Ever since the end of the Cold War we stopped pursing science.
The author also discusses how President W. Bush had the opportunity with 9-11 to say, ok lets get off foreign dependency of oil. To have the US really purse green technologies.  In a similar way to how the US rallied together to be the scientific leader during the Cold War.  But yet what did our president do?  Tell us to go shopping, thanks.  What would we expect from a President who's family is bed with the Saudis.  Nothing else.  
Here it is nine years later and we not getting anywhere closer to any new technology, other than maybe what Toyota and Honda have done with Hybrids.  But yet we do nothing, nor do we all care, all we want is the house market to bounce back so we can save our bad investments, our second home equity loan and go shopping. Every time I hear anything about the oil leak, it infuriates me that our private industry or government can no do nothing.  Nor are we doing anything to prevent this in the future other than having the same discussion of no drilling or keep drilling, I'm pretty sure there is a middle ground.
But have a done anything?  No, what can I do?  Write my congressman?  That might be beneficial, except for my first PolSci Professor who pretty much told us its the biggest waste of time, no one other than interns reads them, the Congressman doesn't care, and its only political nuts, and old ladies that write.  Now yes, I do realized that Professors are a lot more cynical than what world functions, but none the less, he has still prevented me from ever doing it except when the church leaders asked us to write them a few summers ago.

Summer Reading Program

I went to sign my children up for the summer reading program.  I'm not sure why they are still too little to really understand.  We read at bedtime and there is no way I'm going to have J get out of bed and color the chart after he is already relaxed so I'm the one that fills it out.  But he does enjoy the prizes, and if he gets prizes, the girl sure as heck wants one too, and she lets us read to her too, so why shouldn't she get prizes.
But I digress. (ha ha, does that make me a real blogger to use that dumb phrase?)
They have a summer reading program for adults too, so I signed up.  I got a free book for signing up.  So I have busily reading my books this summer.  Here is what I've read, with one line reviews:

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll --I loved this book when I was in middle school, apparently my imagination is gone.  This was too gooby gock for me these days. 
• The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships by Gary Chapman, Chapman, Jennifer Thomas --If you like his Love Languages book, you will also appreciate this one.
• The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale --This book was totally lame, but I had low expectations, I was just looking for a fast read to full fill my summer reading requirement and it was on display on the library so I grabbed it. It was INCREDIBLY predictable.
• Rapture of the Deep (Bloody Jack, #7) by L.A. Meyer  I loved this book, I love all the Bloody Jack books, if you are looking for fun YA strong heroin and you like pirates this is for you. 
• The Mother in Me: Real-World Reflections on Growing Into Motherhood ed. Kathryn Lynard Soper

I will actually give The Mother in Me a longer review, its been floating around in my head for the past week now. It will be good to get it out. Its a complied book of stort essays by Mormon mothers.  Yes, sounds real cheesey when I put it that way.  My sister wanted to read it, and here in Zion libraries loan things from Desert Book. After she gave it back, I read it.  One of the stories mentions being sick and pregnant and wondering if Eve had doubt like she did about being pregnant.  The author believed yes, I didn't really agree.  I think Eve knew what she was doing when she partook of the fruit, she had been taught about the future of motherhood by God, not by mostly worldly forces.  I'm sure Eve felt gross and disgusting like very other pregnant women, but I doubt she doubted her decision, I think she knew exact what was doing.  While most of us on the other, have no idea what we are doing, because we completely ignore anything about motherhood until we decided we want to be pregnant. Not to mention we have been taught since we could think that life is suppose to be non-stop happy, easy, and revolve around ourselves.  I'm pretty sure Eve knew life would not be easy if she ate the fruit.  Although the scriptures only use the word "nevertheless" I'm pretty sure the real life was a lot longer and lengthy and she knew life would be REALLY really hard.
  I really liked the third stories (second story as far as numbering goes) about the woman who didn't expect to be a stay at home mom and didn't start out as one, and often felt bad that she didn't hold up to being as good as a prophet's mother. Yes I could relate to all that. I'm very grateful that my husband has never forced me to be a stay at home mom, but at the same time told me in his opinion me raising our kids is way more important than a job, and he doesn't want a day care raising my kids.  I was not a stay at home mom the first 14 months of my kids life. It was a hard adjustment to being at home every day.
I also appreciated the stories from women who said they felt and knew their children before they ever conceived them, and their personalities were not surprising because they already knew their spirit. Neither of my kids have surprised me at all I've always known who they were, the little one's personality might be challenging, but hasn't surprised me. I've always known who she was since I realized my oldest wouldn't be an only child. It was also nice to remember, that God is merciful, and has not told to me to have more children than I can handle, or closer than I can handle. It was a nice reminder that children are challenging but can bring joy not misery.

Oh and as a part of the summer reading program I've gotten a pack of post it notes, and new chap stick. Sweet huh?

Groom and Mother of the Groom

What are the children doing you may wonder?

Why rolling on the ground.

I'm not sure why they did other then they were children, but the bizarre part was it was only why grammy and Uncle Danul were dancing.

Ha ha, they look so silly. I'm pretty sure my daughter and David were the instigators.

I'm pretty sure that this is the end of the wedding pictures. FINALLY! Just in time for Brent's family fun. Unfortunately I'm already tired! I'm still tired from the wedding. I loved having some of my family stop by and visit during my family fun, and I already miss them, but I'm tired.  Last night as I was falling asleep I told my husband I am SO glad your family renion doesn't take place anywhere near our house, and no one will be stopping by.  I'm so glad I don't have to clean our house.  He laughed, then we fell asleep.

Random Candids

I am so trilled to have this picture of my husband and I, it seems like it has been soo long since I've gotten a picture of us, other than shot at a museum by a four year old.

My daughter loved running her car around the dance floor.

While my niece loved twirling.

Here is my brother with my daughter. 

Saturday Afternoon

Life must be getting back to normal.

A little Nervous

I'm getting a little nervous.  My son has a natural tendency to hoard. When he was younger he would hoard and hid food and drinks, he wasn't happy at the table without three cups of liquid at dinner.  This was alarming to me, because those are things children who are extremely abused do.  He was not abused so I wonder why he was doing such things.  I don't know, he sort of grew out of it, and we all have our own ticks right?  He likes to hoard, but my husband and I through different methods try to discourage such actions.  Until lately, I don't know whats going on he is starting to hoard again. Not just collect, collect I can almost handle. But hoard?  The other day at Discovery Gateway, he gathered every single plastic egg in the entire center then held on to them for about an hour.  No one was allow to touch them, at the sake of not playing with anything else, he just walked around looking holding on to his eggs.  Then later he hoard clear plastic balls.  When I said now what are you going to do, he sat down next to me and watch other kids play as he held tightly on to the clear plastic balls.  Then today he was gathering up material (unsewn baby blankets) and little stuff animals and in fear someone would take them, he just keep shoving them under himself.   I'm a little concerned his preschool teacher is going to tell me he doesn't play with other kids he just collects toys. I really am worried.

Singletons

My husband and I read the article about Singletons in the recent TIME Magazine.  He saw the cover and said look its giving us permission to have an only child.  I said, I was the one that wanted a single child, you were the one that convinced me to have "The Whiny One".  He said, I was right we don't J a single child.
The article states singletons are not self absorbed and spoiled like the stereo type goes, they actually have better grades and test scores across socio-economic lines than their peers because there is more parental investment.  I'm sure all that is true.  My husband has many friends that are only children, and the article is right they are all well adjusted smart adults.  But you know I think there might be something more important than test scores.  Which is why I let my husband convince me to have another kids (that and the Lord was more persuasive than my husband, I think that was the only time in my life "the still small voice" in my life wasn't so still and quiet sounding.)
If I wouldn't have gotten pregnant two years ago, I'm sure we could have gotten to my son to read by the age of four.  As of now he is not very close at all.  But like I said I think there is things more important than test scores.  With one child everything fits so squarely into your schedule, into your life, into your plans, into your life.  All the balls are being juggled, the house is clean, there is time to read books, its cheaper to fly. Then our second came, and nothing fit squarely into our life.  Our life was turned upside down she still cries so much of the day, I have absolutely no control, none of the balls are being juggled, the kitchen floor always needs to be swept.  But you know what I kind of think life is about the second scenario.  I think life is about not being in complete control. I'm surprised how much fun I have in life when I'm not in control.  How much room it gives my heart to love, even if I'm stressed.

New and Improved FHE

Yesterday morning I was feeling bad that my children did not know more primary songs and more scripture stories.  Then I took a three hour nap in my husband's work office/our bedroom, and he made sure our children didn't kill themselves while he was working. By twelve thirty both my four year old and I had eaten lunch, my daughter was down for her nap, courtesy of her father, and boy did the world look better. I remembered their ages are one and half and four, and figured they knew plenty songs and stories for their respective ages.
Then came yesterday evening.  Family Home Evening, my son loves FHE.  He wanted to give "the lesson" on a ziploc bag full of craft supplies he filled during my nap. I was more than happy to pay attention to him and listen to his babble, but I hardly find that a lesson.
And yes, I fully remember the talk that said remember your audience.  Ten minute scripture study with a five year old is probably 8 minutes too long.  Although I have no idea who said that.  But really, we were struggling through family home evening. Then I hit an a-ha. We have a new section in our family home evening-- show and tell.  Our four year old gets to find something in the house that he wants to tell us all about.
So our new family home evening schedule is as follows

• Singing- one or more songs depending on how much my daughter is enjoying it, she loves the songs, not to mention J needs to hear them more than just on Sunday, even if singing time at home usually makes him cry
• Prayer
• Show and Tell
• Lesson- which rarely last 2 minutes, unless J is really enjoying himself
• Treat
  
• Bedtime

I kind of wish we played a game, but J is still young enough he really struggles at playing by the rules, which dad insists upon, he doesn't have the energy to follow the rules of a game and after singing and lesson.  But he does love "house games" (board games) even if his parents don't feel the same way so we should play them more often with him, maybe I should start pushing for that Sunday afternoon, but then when would all of us other than the four year old nap? No I do not have a no movie/no computer game rule on Sunday in my house, because once again how would I nap if I spend my Sunday afternoon reading The Friend and writing a journal for my son.  Yes those are important things but so is sleeping so I don't yell at my family. The computer games usually lose interest around the time I'm gaining consciousness, so it works well. Not to mention the last thing my son wants to do after three hours of sitting still is reading The Friend.

Daddy Daughter Pictures

They are dancing.