sickos

My life gets thrown off course when I have a sick baby and I am about to lose my mind! It's so nice and sunny outside, but all we do is sit around watching movies... blah, blah, blah. Thanks to Denett for taking Ben and Luke to the park yesterday, they were going crazy inside (which was driving me crazy!)
Zack has been motionless for what seems like forever! The first couple of days were nice because he wasn't his usual rambunctious self, but now I just miss his little gallop and silly personality. The only thing he says is "I so sick" and "clues clues" but I am taking advantage of my cuddling time! I have been reading him stories and he can't even open his eyes to look at the book. I know he's listening because he smiles at the funny parts so I know his little personality is still in there.. somewhere...
This video was taken last night after FHE. And although it's not exciting, I am posting it because it has been my life the past few days.. one sick child laying on the couch, another one running around making obnoxious noises, and the other annoyingly "transforming" on the floor. Ugh! Can't a girl catch a break once in a while?

the temple with a view

After a year of living in Vegas, it doesn't seem odd to me that our options for date night are 1) a thrill ride on the top of the Stratosphere or 2) a session at the temple. And even though my vote was for the Big Shot, we both knew where we needed to be. Going to the temple always seems to be a challenge. For some reason it's harder to pay a babysitter to worship than it is see a movie. Why that is, I am not sure. But I am not about to let my new years resolutions die this early in the year, so we packed out temple bags and headed north. We live about 25 miles from the temple, but thanks to a big accident on the freeway, it took us a whopping 90 minutes to get there. (Traffic= one of my favorite things about living in a big city.) When we finally arrived, we knew we wouldn't be able to go to session and be home in time for the babysitter. So instead, we decided to walk the grounds, sit by the fountains and enjoy the view. What seemed like a rather uneventful night, turned out to be just what the doctor ordered...

Going to the temple should be our most important date night.. because let's face it, it's by far the most expensive.. that is, when you consider the tithing we pay to get in! (10% is a lot more when you have an actual job!) Last night while looking at this magnificent building and thinking about the hundreds of others around the world, I felt so honored to be a part of it. And even though I don't express my appreciation as often as I should, the blessings that come from the temple are my most treasured. What would I do without the knowledge that my family is FOREVER? Everything that I work so hard for would seem temporary and fragile. What a blessing it is to live so close to a building of such importance.. a house of the Lord. And how lucky I am to have a husband who is worthy and willing to go with me.

While in bed last night, I just couldn't stop thinking about our beloved Gordon B. Hinckley. What a vision he had for temples across the earth!! I heard the report of his viewing/funeral services and the thousands of people who were waiting in the cold for HOURS to pay tribute to the man who had influenced their lives. Then my thoughts turned to the millions on the other side who must have been waiting in line to greet him, to shake his hand and express their gratitude for all his service. I am sure the heavens are full of countless people who have been blessed by his enthusiasm for temple work. Not only did he have a vision to spread temples across the land, but he put forth the HARD work to implement the plan, giving the opportunity for thousands of people to receive their own endowments and millions of others who never had the chance while they were living. What a joyous homecoming he must have had! His example makes me want to live a better life.. to give more of myself and of my time. I am truly grateful for ALL of my blessings and hope that I will be able to show my gratitude through more frequent temple visits... And if walking on the grounds could inspire me and make me feel this much joy, I can only imagine what it will feel like after making it inside!

raise your hand if you're SURE!

Don't you want to sing that song every time you put on deodorant? ...um, I mean..... I don't either.

I kind of feel weird posting several conversations of my kids playing the game "the raise your hand if..." But they are funny, so I'm gonna. Zack loves this game and enthusiastically shouts "ME!" for any question asked. Ben and Luke know this and take advantage of our little guy. Today I overheard a conversation like this:

Luke: If you have a poopy diaper, raise your hand!

Zack(who wasn't poopy) raised both hands in the air and shouted: ME!

[both older boys giggling]

Ben: If you want to wear a dress, raise your hand.

Zack: ME! I do!

[more hysterical giggles]

Ben: If you want to wear makeup, raise your hand.

Zack: ME!

Luke: If you're a girl, raise your hand!

Zack: ME!

At this point I decided to interrupt.... I would never forgive myself is Zack grew up to be a cross-dresser. I came into the room and tried to teach Zack a lesson..

Me: Zack, are you a girl?

Zack: Yes [something he hardly EVER says]

Me: NO! Mommy is a girl. Zack is a boy! Say, "I'm a BOY!!"

Zack: I SHARK boy! [with all the enthusiasm a 2 year old can hold]

Luke: Then who's Lava Girl?

All of us ended up laughing over that one. He obviously isn't quite ready to understand all of this boy/girl stuff. We will have to try again in a month or so.

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Another thing my kids have been obsessed with is double meaning for words and JOKES. They have been trying to make up their own jokes for a while now, but of course, they are the only people who think the jokes are funny. Every once in a while, something comes out that I must write down...

Ben: What animal eats grass and is good at math?

Me: hmmm... I am stumped.

Ben: A COWculator! Get it? Like a COW?

and another one--

Ben: What does one car say to the other car?

Luke: Don't drive by me.

Ben: No, it says, 'Do you have gas?'

I don't think Luke got it, but I thought it was clever...

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The other day, I asked Ben to run upstairs and grab something for me. He came down looking devastated and said:

Mom, I have two really bad news. The first is that I can't find it. And the second is that I have NO good news.

Chin up, little fella.

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Another thing that had me smiling this week... While out shopping, Ben had to go to the bathroom and absolutely refuses to go in the women's bathroom with me. I waited outside while he was in the men's (desperately hoping he flushes the toilet and washes his hands.)

When he came out, he says: BOY! It sure smells like raisins in there!

I just busted out laughing. I guess there are worse things it could smell like.. ?

I heart cookies.

In my expert opinion, no Valentine's Day should be celebrated without a batch of sugar cookies. Last night, we had a few friends over to join in the fun.

I've realized (after many failed attempts) that if you want to keep the table/floor/kids relatively clean during the decorating process, ziplock bags of frosting are the best solution. It's one spoonful of frosting per child, no knives or crusted bowls of left overs... and the kids are thrilled about squirting it out of a small hole cut in the corner of the baggy. And best of all, the children can each pick their OWN color!

Last night, 4-year old Mara (the only girl in the group...poor thing!) insisted she had PINK frosting.. well, of course! When Luke voted for BLUE, she said, "I don't think you can have blue frosting on heart cookies." OBVIOUSLY! Luke responded very matter-of-factly:

"Actually, where I am from, you can!"

I went to bed last night pondering the question: Where exactly is he from?

mystere

With all this birthday chaos and blogging madness
I almost forgot about documenting our date night last weekend.
It was fascinating!!
Aaron decided to splurge and take me to Mystere at Treasure Island.
We had dinner at a TI's Kahunaville and went to the show... it was magical!

Of course, this picture doesn't say anything (except that we looked tired after the late show)
so I decided to post a video of the incredible performers.
It's mind boggling with the human body can do!!