friday.saturday.sunday.

friday: lots of laundry. homeschool. swimming. errands. lunch at sam's club. finished another fabelhaven book. pizza party with the Trader girls. getting good at homemade pizza thanks to Kate's class. laughed at dinner when Zack said, "HI PIZZA-- COME TO PAPA!" while opening his mouth wide. left the boys with their favorite babysitters and went on a date with Aaron. 15 minutes late to the movies. isn't meant to be that we see Time Traveler's Wife. walked the isles of Costco instead. bought new mascara. love it. rented 17 again. Zac Efron is seriously hot. invited the Trader girls to sleep over at our place. played charades and ate junk food until midnight.

saturday: early donut run with Keyonna and Sam. temple session with hubby at 9 am (and Azy and Chris.) almost fell asleep during the session-- but stayed focused. hairiest man alive helped me through the veil. lunch with the Goins. long afternoon nap. visited our new neighbors at their house with crystal doorknobs. grocery shopping. scrubbed the kitchen and cleaned out the fridge. early to bed. love saturdays.

sunday: woke up early. visiting teaching. made cinnamon rolls. listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir while peeling 100 potatoes. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing is my favoritest song ever. fantastic Sacrament meeting. dressed up as Sister Friendly for the primary kids. had to change sharing time plans last minute. appreciate my sweet husband for helping me in the library. adore the children- especially my own. came home from church feeling uplifted. quickly threw dinner together. invited guests= new family in our ward+ Azy and Chris. enjoyed dessert a little too much. played games. called Grandmas, including our adopted one. read scriptures as a family. stayed up late with the kids laughing at baby pictures. felt baby #4 kick. think he might become a pro soccer player. talked with the husband long after the kids fell asleep. committed to a stricter budget. hate that there's 5 whole days until another weekend.

I think I can. I think I can.

Yesterday while coming home from our favorite little library nestled in Red Rock canyon, I saw an old man (probably late 60's/early 70's) jogging along the dirt road. I shouldn't have been surprised to see him because we had already driven passed several bikers and runners in this area-- it's the most gorgeous stretch of land in Las Vegas. But I was shocked and in awe.

It was obvious he had been running for a while. His shirt was drenched with sweat and his legs looked very tired. He wasn't moving fast, but he was definitely moving. He was at least 150 pounds overweight. Just watching him run made me exhausted... but I was impressed and inspired. It's amazing that you can feel so much respect for a total stranger.

I wanted to honk and wave or yell something encouraging out the window. But I didn't. I just drove passed and smiled. He will never know how much he inspired a tired, pregnant mother of three who was anxious to get home after a long day.

I know how hard it is to feel motivated. Sometimes I feel like giving up, especially when the odds are against me. But this old, sweaty man slowly jogging along the road gave me motivation to do more and be better. I wish I could write him a fan letter. Adding him to my list of inspirational people will have to do for now...

I kid you not....

Ten minutes after I wrote about Zack's obsession for typing new words on the computer, he came running to me wanting to know how to spell "LASER HAIR REMOVAL".

Apparently, one of the passwords for a Poptropica board was indeed the phrase laser hair removal... which absolutely makes no sense at all. Is the children's game getting some kind of advertisement payment from a major cosmetic company? I am still scratching my head about that one....

**off to install internet filters on their computer**

the Zack-inator and other tall tales

My house is infested with little superheros. I thought by having all boys I wouldn't have to deal with "dress ups" but I was wrong. The other day, I sent the boys upstairs to change into their pj's. I came up a few minutes later to find them like so... not exactly what I call pajamas. They all received a harsh spanking and were sent to bed without any rice pudding.

(lucky for me, Darth and Spiderman weren't wearing their masks-- so I could tell which one was which..)

Zack is, has always been, more into superheros than the other two. He is constantly saying things like, "If you touch this button, I will have heat vision." I can get him to do anything if I ask him to use his super-strength or flying powers.. so I don't mind so much. The other day, he told me to call him the Zack-inator. I asked him if that was his new code name. He looked at me and said, "Nope. It's my USER-name." Hmm. If only I knew his password...

The kid is so talented on the computer. He can type a handful of words-- most of which have to do with superheros and all of which get Googled. I am going to need to get a parental computer blocker soon because you never know what your three year old is gonna find on his internet searches. The other day, he asked me if I wanted to play Super Smash Brothers with him. I declined. Then he said ever so encouragingly, "Come on, Mom! I'll go easy on ya!"

Yesterday, Zack kept talking about wanting to be an Asian. I heard him say it over and over until I finally asked him if he knew what ASIAN meant. He was so disgusted that I even asked. And then in a teenager-kind-of-way he said, "I want to be an agent-t-t-t. You know, like with a T? I don't even know what an Asian is!" Mystery solved.

He is really coming along with his letters and always wants to know how to spell everything (which, frankly, is quite annoying.) But apparently, he isn't so good with his numbers. The other day, he wanted more than one cookie. I told him no way. He started to negotiate and I told him he could have ONE or ZERO. He looked at me and happily said, "Zero." After a long pause he said, "Mom, is zero a lot?" Ben and Luke thought that was hilarious and have teased him about it ever since. They keep telling him if he will do something they will give him zero ______. He quickly learned how much zero isn't.

Although Zack is often center-stage, the older boys still make me laugh every once in a while, too. A couple of days ago, while grocery shopping, I noticed Ben and Luke standing inches away from the yellow onions. Both of their faces were practically planted. I walked over and asked them WHAT they were doing. Ben announced to the entire produce section that if you stare at onions for a long time, you will start to cry. Gullible Luke could have been there all day, with his eyes wide open. Oddly enough, not one tear was shed.

sometimes the best kind of entertainment comes while in a public restroom.

Tonight my husband and I went on a hot date. We planned on going to see The Time Traveler's Wife. I love anything sappy and romantic.. especially when it involves Miss McAdams. Eric Bana is alright, but the stunning Rachel McAdams is totally worth paying $10.50 a ticket. I think I love her.

I accidentally took a 3+ hour nap this afternoon and it (kind of) threw off our schedule. Instead of heading to the theater, we went to dinner and ran a few child-less errands, which is equally romantic. Now I think I might read the book before seeing the movie. Any comments on which should come first? Anyone?

An hour into the date, we were casually walking the isles of TJMaxx when I had to go to the bathroom for the 300th time. As soon as I walked into the restroom, I hear a cute little voice coming from the handicapped stall.

"Mommy! Someone else is in here! I hear them walking. They opened the door. They are pulling down their pants. Mom! I think they are right next to us! Mom. I heard you toot. Are you going poop? Are you finished going potty? I think the person next to us is going potty. I can hear them peeing. They aren't peeing as loud as you are. Are you done yet? Is the water yellow? Let me see. Oh! The other person is done! Their toilet is flushing. They are washing their hands... "

In between the narrative coming from this darling little voice, the mother tried to hush or distract. I was hoping she wasn't embarrassed because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wondered if I should have said something through the stall like, "Gotta love it" or "sounds like you have a talkative one" just to offer my support... but I just smiled instead. I never saw either of their faces. They stayed in the stall until I exited the bathroom. Strategic move by mommy. I've hidden myself in the stall several times after such an incident and escaped only after the coast was positively clear.

As I walked back to my husband, I thought of my oldest brother who was passing through Vegas on a family vacation. He took his little daughter into a public restroom on the Strip. While he was using the toilet, my niece was laying on the ground peeking her head into the neighboring stall. My brother was grabbing at her and telling her to stand up. She finally obeyed and asked loud enough for everyone to hear, "Daddy, why is that man next to us wearing women's underwear?" Daddy was too mortified to answer. He never saw the undercover cross-dresser face to face, but what a fantastic story.

Kids. They really are the best kind of entertainment.

long lost blog

Last night, I went to the movie theater with some of my girl friends. We saw this movie:


I related a lot with both women for different reasons. Julia Child's personality was as large as her 6'2" frame. Her passion and enthusiasm for life (and cooking) is contagious. Watching the movie made me more comfortable in my own skin. Both characters were madly in love with their husbands and I can never get enough of real, true, ordinary love stories. Luckily, I have been blessed with a fantastically supportive husband who knows about my crazy up-and-down personality... and he sticks around anyway. I have never thrown a tantrum on the kitchen floor like Julie Powell, but if I did, I am pretty sure he would still love me.

Oddly enough, the movie made me think about the relationship I have with my blog. It's been 8 days since I last posted. Eight whole days of not blogging (or thinking about it) used to seem like an eternity. These last eight days have been filled with field trips, a weekend getaway, lots of homeschooling, reading, playing, cooking, shining mirrors, making cookies, ironing my husband's entire closet, carpet cleaning, and lots of laughing. The kids have said such funny/adorable/hilarious things. I know it's a shame that some of these memories will be forever lost because they won't be documented, but I am a much more balanced person now. I go days without checking my email or turning on the television. I spend lots of quiet time meditating, exercising, reading. I write less, and although I seem like an internet introvert, I believe I am living my life with more purpose and meaning.

A year ago, there were 800 people stopping by on a daily basis to read this blog. I was writing to entertain and to relate and to connect with total strangers. Today, I have about 80 readers and even though I am not as open or as personal as I used to be, I feel as though the world is as it should be. I do not want to be a famous writer. I am not getting paid to impress or entertain. I am living a balanced life and giving my family 99% of my attention. My house is cleaner, my husband and I are closer (he's always hated the blog.. still does) and I am more balanced in every area in my life. I feel like I am doing what I need to be doing-- which is just being present for my family. Whether or not life gets documented, doesn't really matter-- because it's being lived. And when you're enjoying life-- it flies by. I cannot believe September is almost here. How?

off to make omelets for breakfast!

the shade tree

The past several weeks, I have felt on top of the world. I have been waking up early (between 4:30-5 am) making my house spotless, exercising, ironing, cooking up a storm, swimming daily, baking cookies for neighbors, taking my kids all kinds of fun places, sewing curtains, going on bike rides.... you name it. Feeling sick for so long (say the first 4 months of pregnancy) has made me so grateful to feel good again. Everyday I wake up like the energizer bunny with a new agenda.

But yesterday was a really hard day. I'm not really sure why. I couldn't pull myself out of bed. I didn't want to shower or get off the couch. Every room in my house was a disaster by the end of the day because I didn't feel like cleaning. We had lots of kids over all day and I was just wiped out. By the time my husband came home for work, I was a wreck and so was the house. Dinner was burned, the kids were hyper and I was on the verge of tears. I went to bed early while my husband put the kids to sleep, fixed my broken vacuum and cleaned out my van (oh, how I love him.) His only response to all my complaining/crying was, "I am glad to know that you're normal. I was wondering when you were going to slow down."

This morning I woke up, dropped the kids off at a sitters and went on a service project with a few sisters in my ward. We visited a battered woman's shelter, dropped off lots of goodies (diapers, toilet paper, toothbrushes, etc) and served lunch. It only took a couple of hours. I did nothing to organize it, but I felt privileged to be a part of such a worthwhile project. My heart was full as I dished out hot plates of food to the children and women living at the shelter. I visited with one woman who was separated from her daughters and doesn't know when she'll see them again. I held a tiny newborn with a full head of black hair. I wanted to take him home with me. My eyes filled up with tears as I saw a teenage girl sitting next to her mother, holding her hand. I wonder what her day-to-day life is like. I hope she doesn't end up at a shelter in a few years with children of her own.


I couldn't help but think of my handsome sons, without a care in the world, playing safely at a friend's house. I thought of the dinner we had the night before. Yes, it was a little burned, but we had plenty of food. We were lucky enough to eat together as a family, at our own kitchen table. I thought of my sweet husband who worked a long day at the office and then came home to vacuum out my van. I placed my hand on my growing belly and felt the baby kick me from within. He is already a part of a family who is counting down the days until he arrives. He will have three older brothers who will teach him the ways of The Force and a Daddy who will read him stories at night with silly accents. His mom is so thrilled he's coming that she can barely think about him without her eyes filling up with tears. He will live in a warm house with bedroom of his own. He already has more clothes than his little 6 lb body could possibly wear... they are already neatly hanging in his closet.


Sometimes I feel really overwhelmed with LIFE, but I really have no right to complain or feel sorry for myself. Yes, it's exhausting keeping a house clean and organized.. but how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and food in the refrigerator to feed my children whenever they are hungry. It's sad to know that it takes an outing to a women's shelter to make me realize ALL that I have-- both big and little blessings.

I often feel grateful for the highs and lows in life. If I never felt sick, I wouldn't know how wonderful it is to feel healthy, etc. But today I realized that my lows are not really lows, not compared to what others consider lows. I need to do more and be more because I have been given so much. I need to teach my children to be grateful for what they have and to eat all of their food because they don't know what it's like to be hungry-- really hungry. On the way home, we were talking about our children and I said something to the fact that I was going to go home and slap them into shape because they don't understand how lucky they are. But instead, hugged them tight and told them how happy I am to have them in my life and how lucky we should all feel to have a Daddy who loves us and provides for us.

Now, I am going to turn off the computer, tuck them into their cozy beds and pray that we can always remember how blessed we truly are.

a little bit of Luke

Luke is the middle child and he probably gets slighted a bit-- at least on the blog. But he knows that he's my favorite. I adore everything about him. His face is handsomely delicious. He has been an easy-breezy kid from day one. He never complains about anything, goes with the flow, is always sharing whatever he has, etc. etc. I absolutely love this child.

A couple of weeks ago, his primary teacher gave him a foil-wrapped chocolate for being good in his class. He waited until he got home to eat it and went straight to the kitchen. I watched him pull out a sharp knife and cut the small chocolate into three parts. As his brothers came into the kitchen, he gave each of them the most minuscule piece of chocolate. I probably should have been more touched that he did something so sweet and kind-- but to tell you the truth, it was an everyday kind of Luke gesture. He is such a lovable boy and our family would be missing our HEART without Luke around.

Sometimes I wonder if he feels like his opinion doesn't matter. He's never talked a lot.. and when he does it's usually quiet (because he has super hearing powers :) Whenever I ask the boys what they want to eat/where they want to go, Luke usually waits for Ben to answer and then he will pick the same thing. This makes things easy for a parent because they never fight or disagree, but I worry that he doesn't get a say in things around here. So recently, I thought of a new game to play with them. I will give them an option and on the count of three all of my boys have to give me a "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down" about the suggestion. This way, Luke won't have a chance to see what the other boys want before he makes his decision. I thought it was a brilliant idea. I gave them a yes or no question, counted to three, and THIS is what Luke gave me.


Of course, I cracked up... because, really, I should have known better. Since then, Aaron and I have used the sideways thumb sign several times when the other asks a question. Looks like Luke has set a new trend in our house. If it's not a life or death situation, it doesn't really matter.

When it comes to homeschooling Luke, I throw my hands up in the air. Ben is the biggest teacher's pet you'll ever see. He LOVES worksheets, grading, stickers, drills, tests, etc. Luke, on the other hand, could care less about anything that documents your progress. Surprise, surprise! He is actually much smarter than Ben in most areas. He doesn't say much, but he knows what's going on in the world around him. I never taught him his alphabet or the letter sounds. He just picked up reading without any official lessons. Math comes easy for him. A few months ago, while driving in the car, I asked him if he knew what 8X8 was. He responded, "You mean, 8 squared?" Not only did he know what a square root was, but he had memorized all of them, all on his own. He really is a smarty-pants, but getting him to complete a worksheet is like pulling teeth. He doesn't see the point in writing out his work on paper. He thinks it's boring and pointless. Nevertheless, I try to get him to do it every once in a while. Yesterday, I corrected a worksheet that he took an hour to complete. Then we had this conversation.

Me: Luke, I know you know the answer to this problem.
Luke: I do.
Me: Then why did you write zero?
Luke: Because the answer is zero.
Me: 12 divided by 4 is not zero.
Luke: I know.
Me: Then why did you write that?
Luke: Because that's the answer. Read the question.
Me: Julia, Sam, Kyle and Jane made a dozen cupcakes. They shared the cupcakes equally. How many cookies did they each eat?
Luke: See. The answer is zero. Worksheets are so dumb, Mom.

Monday Nite bowling

Red Rock lanes does $1 bowling games on Mondays. We can't hold ourselves back. This time, we brought a couple of friends with us.


These five boys were so fun to watch! I had several people come up to me and comment how cute they were. ALL of them stood by and watched the ball roll slowly down the lane protected with bumpers. When their ball finally reached the pins, they would jump up and down and give each other high fives. The three year olds could barely lift the 6 lb balls, but they threw it rolled it all by themselves... Luke accidentally let the ball slip and it flew behind him. That was hilarious. And Jackson's ball went into the lane next to us. Ooops. Max won the first game and I believe Jackson won the second (after he got a strike!) We've got to practice to be as coordinated as the Walker boys!!

Please won't you be my neighbor?

My dear friend and neighbor, Emilee, moved today. I hate that she and her cute family are gone. She lived just a couple of blocks away from me and I am not sure I can drive down her street without missing her. She was the best early morning walking partner. We always had the most uplifting 6 am conversations as we watched the sun rise over the desert. She was quick to forgive me if I accidentally slept in. She was the best piano teacher to Ben and Luke. I don't know how I can find an adequate replacement! She let us borrow her keyboard. She let me break into her house if I ever needed cupcake pans or a vacuum, or whatever. She was always up for a party-- even if I wanted to throw one at her house. She would randomly drop off yummy cookies and nice notes. She is a fantastic mother of three beautiful girls. She is positive, uplifting, energetic and three days after she has a baby, it looks like she was never pregnant. I am really going to miss Emilee and couldn't stop crying today at church. But I am grateful that we were neighbors for a short while and even more grateful we have the internet and can keep in touch through blogging even though we'll live thousands of miles away. Texas is going to love them.

In two short weeks, one of my bff's from high school is moving to Vegas! I could not be more excited to have Azy for a neighbor. She and her husband, Chris, were married about a year ago and lucky for me, Chris was accepted to dental school at UNLV. They just bought to most adorable house just a few minutes away from ours.. and we are both expecting baby boys just a few days apart from each other. I am so looking forward to hanging out with her.. traveling up to WJ together when our husbands are too busy to spend time with us.. and being her neighbor when she first embarks on motherhood. Azy and Chris were here last week to take care of a few things before the big move and I did get a picture of our round tummies, but my camera is not cooperating. Oh well. We will have lots of preggo photo opportunities in the near future!

Whenever God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.

summer school.

we don't take an official break from school at our house. Well, we have breaks all the time, but we don't actually have a summer vacation, if you will. I would probably like to have a couple of months "off" but that's probably from all motherly duties rather than just "schooling" hours. I mean, I have always homeschooled, so I am not sure how to be a mom without schooling them at home. Do I tell the kids I won't read to them at night because it's summer? Do I take away art projects, learning games or piano practice for a couple of months just because other kids don't go to school? I don't think so. Anyway, we still do classes with our fave homeschooling friends... mainly because the kids LOVE it (and I love having a break from them every once in a while too.) Granted, if kids get sick or we're out of town or we just don't feel like doing school for a week or two-- then we chill out.. but learning happens no matter what. If I didn't plan some sort of activity or lesson, then I can guarantee my kids would be bored out of their minds. And nothing is more annoying than a child who is bored. But I have been terrible about documenting our activities.. I've guess I've taken a summer break from my blog. Anyway, here are a few recent pictures of our summer schooling adventures (in no particular order whatsoever.)


The boys participated in the summer reading program at the library. They needed to read 20 hours each in order to earn a prized gold medal and an invite to an end-of-the-summer party. We decided ahead of time that we would NOT be including the time I read to them-- because what we do at night is for fun only... if they don't want me to read to them, I would be more than happy to get a few extra minutes of sleep. Anyway, if they wanted to earn rewards for reading, they needed to do it on their own. For Ben, reading 20 hours was super easy. Luke is actually my best reader, but he had to work hard for his prize. I was really proud of them for sticking to their reading schedules and earning their hours. Eventually, they realized that Zack wasn't going to make his goals-- so they took turns reading to him. They set the timer everyday and believe it or not, Zack reminded them when they didn't have "brothers reading time". I can't tell you how many times I caught the three of them cuddled up together reading a good book. Zack was able to earn his gold medal and enter the library drawing for prizes. I thought the end of the year party at the library was a total bust (otter pops that weren't even frozen and a bit of sidewalk chalk in the blazing heat= lame) but the kids enjoyed themselves and that's all that matters, I guess.


My boys have literally enjoyed every minute they spend at Sabrina's house. Not only do they get along fabulous with the kids and beg to have sleepovers every night, but Sabrina teaches them art classes every week and they always learn a ton. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids sculpting play dough blindfolded. I would tell you which artist started sculpting when he lost his eyesight, but I didn't attend the class and the kids aren't around to tell me. Sabrina, if you're out there, remind me again of what my kids learned that day....


Our homemade playdough hieroglyphic class turned out fabulous. We had a few extra kids that day, but it was a lot of fun. The kids carved their names in the clay and then we baked them in the oven and let them wear them around their necks... The older kids loved the "secret coding" and kept writing messages to each other than no one else could decipher. boys can be so mischievous.

After the hieroglyphic lesson, the kids were planning on playing outside in the water. They all wore their swimsuits and were psyched to get wet. However, one of my kids was telling his friend about a scene from Pee Wee's Big Adventure, and eventually the movie got turned on. I thought they were going to watch a minute or two and then head outside. But there is something magical about this movie. It's either the music or Pee Wee's completely annoying voice that has them hypnotized. All eleven kids (ages 2 to 10) were literally GLUED to that screen for the ENTIRE movie. When their mom's came to pick them up, I apologized for exposing them to Pee Wee, but the kids were all thoroughly entertained and didn't want to leave before the show was over. weird.


We ventured out in the heat and visited the children's discovery museum. We've been several times before, but they are always changing it. It has a new (disgusting) exhibit called GROSSOLOGY that's all about the human body. It teaches the kids the facts about farting, burping, puking, pooping... you name it. Honestly, my kids don't need any encouragement in that department. It's difficult to scold them when they start out a sentence, "Well I read at the museum that your anus vibrates when you fart...." Seriously, who was in charge of this project anyway? I took pictures to prove it, but apparently the picture of the pooping station didn't turn out. bummer.

Lucky for me, while my kids were learning about farts and throw up, I was able to talk to one of my best friends who met us at the museum. Danalin brought her beautiful kids and we were able to chat it up (when we weren't chasing down kids.)


The boys favorite parts of the museum were the hurricane machine and the virtual sports screen. Luke is still complaining about the soccer ball that virtually hit him in the head and Ben actually thinks he's the best volleyball player this side of the Mississippi...

Three cheers for summer school!

and just a side note.. This morning, my husband and I took Ben and Luke to tour the elementary school they "should" be attending in the fall-- today was the last day of the year and the new (year around) school year starts in two weeks. I think Aaron wants me to explore my options just in case I feel overwhelmed when the baby comes. I am all about exploring. But after spending the day at the museum and coming home to take a nap after the long morning, I just don't see how I can send my kids to school from 8:30 to 4:00 everyday (the bus stop hours.) Doesn't that seem like SUCH a long day? Honestly, I don't have any issues with the school system and believe Ben and Luke would do just fine in bigger classrooms. But who in their right mind thinks that ONE 15 minute recess is enough for kids when they are in school for almost 7 hours? Lunch is also only 15 minutes long. say what? Obviously, this is a big decision and I know bringing another baby into the family is going to throw my schedule off quite a bit-- but it kids should be kids, no? But then again, I did just buy my boys new backpacks. Maybe they should be used for something more worthwhile than carrying around water balloons. Decisions, decisions....

sleepless in las vegas

I am feeling better than ever. I really have no complaints as of late, except the fact that I some kind of internal alarm clock that wakes me up at 4 am. Usually, I lay in bed and toss for an hour or two before I fall back asleep. Sometimes I wake up and work on a project. Other times I exercise and take on the day. Today I am going to surf the web. I need to research the best homemade play dough recipe. Later today for history we are going to carve hieroglyphics in "clay" and bake them in the oven. (we're learning about ancient Egyptians, btw.)

Anyway, as I was tossing and turning a minute ago, I was thinking about how funny Zack is. I accidentally laughed out loud and tried not to wake up Aaron... so I snuck out of our bedroom and figured now is as good as time as any to document it. His is so full of personality, I can barely stand it. I mean, his little voice could not be cuter and things that he says are hilarious, but it's his facial expressions (whether he's talking or not) that just make me bust out laughing.

Recently, meaning the past month or two, he pretends that the reflection he sees in the mirror is another person. It's usually while out in public that he passes a mirror his size and starts talking to it. He has said a range of random things (and usually when he confronts his reflection, he's pointing his little finger and pulling a really silly face.) I know I've forgotten most of the funny things by now, but these are a few I can remember... "What you looking at, kid?" "Hey! Don't I know you?" "Cool shirt, dude!!" "Did you lose your mom? You better go find her." The most common threat he gives is "Stop looking at me/pointing at me!!" Usually after he talks to himself, he will look at me and say, "What's so funny?" as if I have no reason to smile.

Earlier this week, the kids and I were picking up a few things at the grocery store and Zack was in the front of the grocery cart. As we passed the fresh fish, Zack quickly grabbed his nose with two fingers, scrunched his face up and said with a nasally voice, "Can we pleeeeeeease go to another store??" I could not help but laugh because his facial expression was exactly how I was feeling. It really did stink!

While swimming yesterday, I stuck him in a friend's floaty and took him out in the middle of pool to chat. It was a seat-type floaty and I could tell he was enjoying sitting back and relaxing. He looked at the big blue letters written on the front of the float and asked, "Does this say SUPERMAN?" I told him no. In fact, it says MY BABY FLOAT. His face dropped and he immediately responded, "Get me outta here." I knew he was going to dislike being in anything labeled BABY but it was fabulous to see the disgust on his cute, freckled face. We took the floaty to the steps. He kicked it aside and wouldn't go near it again. They grow up so fast, don't they?

Ben was trying to swim from one end the pool to the other without coming up for a single breath (Aaron told him he would pay him a dollar if he could do it.) Zack was cheering him on from the sidelines and kept saying, "Swim towards the light! Swim towards the light!" Honestly, I don't know where he gets his material. Aaron had to pay up, by the way. Ben is an awesome swimmer!

Sylvia, Sabrina's little three year old, is Zack's best friend. He really loves her even though he pretends that he doesn't. See-- every time they are together, Sylvia begs Zack to marry her. He is constantly giving her lectures like, "If you keep wanting to marry me, I will not play with you anymore." She is so cute and they are seriously the best little playmates. I love to watch them together and Ben and Luke LOVE to tease him about what he "played" with Sylvia because it's usually house (or mom and dad as they call it.) Yesterday, Sabrina and I were talking and Sylvia interrupted with an enthusiastic, "Zack and I had lots of babies and they got really sick and died! We tried to take them to the doctor, but they just died!" We thought that was really sad, but she was already off to something else before we could respond. Later, when Luke and Ben were not around, I decided to see how Zack felt about having babies with Sylvia. This was basically our conversation.

Me: Zack, did you play house with Sylvia today?
Zack: Yep. She said we had to have babies this time.
Me: How many did you have?
Z: Ten. I think ten is a lot.
Me: Ten is a lot. What happened to them?
Z: They all died.
Me: That's what Sylvia told me. How did they die?
Z: Sylvia said they got sick and we had to take them to the doctor.
Me: Were you sad?
Z: I was sad because I wanted them to get shot.
Me: You don't want your babies to get shot.
Z: Yes, I did! A bad guy got into our house and took his gun and shot them all and they were bleeding everywhere. But he never could shoot me, even though he had a machine gun.

Amazing how differently boys and girls "play" isn't it?

saturday swimming at it's finest

hot weather. fantastic pool. waterslide. waterfall. family. friends.


what more could you ask for?

happy august- Tequila!!

As sad as it is to see the summer fly by, I absolutely adore this time of year. There is so much to look forward to in the next couple of months... the Fall, everyone's kids going back to school and leaving the parks/museums empty for us, Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and a baby due in the middle of the mix. Of course, August still means it's bloody hot here in Vegas, but the autumn and winter bring perfect weather. I am really looking forward to closing out 2009 with a bang. What a year it has been!

Last August, we were venturing out on our month-long hotel stay.. I still cannot believe we were homeless for an entire 30 days. Isn't it funny how you go through an experience and even though you tell yourself it's crazy at the time, you look back and think how/why/whuuut? So grateful that "adventure" has come and gone. I honestly wasn't emotionally stable last year at this time. I didn't realize that I was about to have a breakdown, but I certainly did- (come January.) It's been a hard year, but I have learned so much. Someone knew I needed a lot of growing up to do. I think I am finally ready to turn 30. I've spent a lot of time prioritizing my priorities. I honestly feel like a different woman than I was 12 months ago. I look forward to what's in store for the future, even if that means spending all my time surrounded by testosterone.

We planned on welcoming August with a family camping trip. But for some reason (not known to my husband or myself) it just didn't happen. Instead we organized the garage, put up shelves, mopped under the washer and dryer, hung curtains, bought a new vacuum- and a carpet cleaner, swam with friends, went garage sale shopping, watched movies, enjoyed slushies at Sonic, and relaxed somewhere in between. I think I will take that over camping, anyday.

Friday night, we got a sitter for the kids and went on a hot date. I have been wanting to see The Proposal for some time. Two weekends ago, we got to the theater a little late and it was sold out. We bought tickets to Harry Potter instead and I complained the entire movie. Don't get me wrong.. I love Harry. I've read all the books and I eventually wanted to see it (like when it came out on video) but I am definitely not a die-hard fan of the movies. Anyway, this weekend we were finally able to see The Proposal and I was completely disappointed. It was cute, at best. After it was over, I told Aaron I would have rather watched Harry Potter again-- and he punched me. I guess I was expecting it to be funnier because so many people told me it was. But I don't think I laughed at all during the entire movie. I did LOL at dinner, though.

We had a nice, quite, child-less dinner and Aaron told me at story about one of the secretaries at his office. I guess for years she assumed that LOL stood for "Lots of Love" so whenever anyone was going through a hard time, she would make sure to write extra LOL's in her loving emails. When the office tried to explain to her that it actually meant "Laugh Out Loud" she was mortified. She had to send out a long email to all her friends and family explaining that she wasn't really laughing during all their difficult times, but was in fact trying to send them extra love. That makes me smile. I wonder if some of her friends are still her friends after getting an LOL in response to a death in the family....

During dinner, we also talked money issues-- which I HATE to do on a date. I believe the conversation opened with me mentioning all that we have to look forward to (new baby, the Holidays, etc.) which made Aaron think about ALL that we have to pay for in the next couple of months. I resent him for being so practical and responsible. We have a lot of debt- thanks to law school- and we haven't exactly been penny pinching, lately. For instance, a simple dinner and movie date ends up costing $75 (when you include paying the babysitter and getting popcorn.) Can you believe movies these days are ten bucks a pop? I constantly wish we still lived next door to the dollar theaters in Provo. We used to go on Tuesday nights when it was 50 cents a show- which happened to be the same night Del Taco had 3 for $1 tacos. Those were the days, when dinner and a movie cost a total of $3. And we had to walk to the movie theater in the snow, barefoot... uphill, both ways.

Anyway, over dinner we made a few financial goals for the rest of the year. #1- no more eating out. We both agreed we can go the entire month of August with not even a soft drink the the drive-thru. We went a solid 2 months at the beginning of the year, and it wasn't too hard. Just takes a little more planning. #2- more creative date nights. I think getting a babysitter is always a brilliant idea, no matter what the costs. The kids love it and I can't survive without a night away. But we don't need to be spending a ton of money when we go out together. Most of our dates during law school were spent walking in the park or finding the craziest books at Borders. There's no reason to spend a fortune when all we really want is to be away from the kids. #3- a challenge to see who can spend the least amount of money in the next 30 days. We are down to a cash system and will be counting every penny. I think this will be the most difficult for me because I am with the kids ALL day and tend to splurge when I see that new backpacks are on sale. And when you buy a backpack, you get a cool new Transformer or Star Wars lunch box for free. Granted, my kids don't even go to school and the last thing they need is a new lunch pail, but I caved in. You would realize it's worth it if you saw Zack flying around with his new Superman backpack (that came with an embroidered cape!) Ben has carried his Bumblebee lunch pail and new water bottle around him since we bought it. I probably shouldn't have bought Luke's GI Joe backpack because he is a kid who has never cared about anything. I could've given him a plastic bag and he would have given me the same shrugging shoulders response. But I figured I should treat them all equally... some mom's tend to do that.

I can't write a weekend wrap-up without mentioning that we watched Pee-Wee's Big Adventure with our kids. Oh, yes we did. We found the new DVD at a garage sale for $1 and I just couldn't resist. Our boys LOVED every minute of it-- the Abraham Lincoln pancake flipper, the ginormous toothbrush, Francis: the fat man-child rich kid, the magic store, the psychic, the Alamo, the pet shop fire and the unforgettable motorcycle dance scene, "Tequila!" Of course, their favorite person was Large Marge. Zack was a little scared by her ghost, but he got over it soon enough. As much as I hate to admit it, the movie is a total classic. If it's been 20 years since you've last seen it, I would highly recommend it to you and your kids. If you live close by, I have a copy I am more than willing to lend out. After it was over, Ben asked if he grew up to be Mr. Bean. I told him no sadly. He grew up to be a pervert. I know you are, but what am I?

Oh, and yesterday I finally saw the Twilight movie for the first time (I watched it by myself while sewing curtains.)
I gave it a 7 out of 10. The books were a 4.